Veggie Castle II
“I love the ginger chicken and their acorn squash is bangin and I hate squash lol.”
“They have a bunch of different selections such as fried rice, meatloaf, beef stew, etc. It is $7.08 for 2 sides and 1 protein.”
“Most of the locals seem to get takeout, but I went to their open-to-the-outdoors seating and DUG IN.”
Veggie Castle II
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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The Harolds, Kumars, Hipsters, "Harekrishnas", and the rest of us can enjoy every bit of what this "Brown Castle" has to offer. Definitely worth a visit for all things nutritious and Caribbean flavorful. If you have not been here, the menu will be daunting and this tiny joint has little wiggle room for you to stand around and conceptualize your craving. Here are a few suggestions.
In front you will be a display of 4-5 soy protein options and ~10-12 sides like mac, rice, quinoa, fries. A mini-meal will be enough to nosh or coupled with a small smoothie/juice will be fine for lunch. Any size above that will be plenty for one. Alternatively, you have Caribbean style patties with a plethora of fillings (try the pea/bean) or soy protein burgers.
Though I would have liked more robust seasoning or at least some salt and less chunks of ginger in the chicken, here is a totally unique take on vegan cuisine — Veggie Castle, is what you crave.
Veggie Castle 2 is extremely close to JFK Airport, which makes it convenient in case you're looking for a quick vegan meal before or after getting on a plane.
Be warned it's basically just for take-out and most of the customers seemed to come there for juices and smoothies. If you want to eat-in there are two small cramped stools in the back, but they're not ideal for much of anything.
I had a roti wrap ($6) which is basically a whole wheat wrap filled with your choice of two fillings. You pick from what's available in the hotbar. This part is kind of confusing, because it's not clear to me what items would go well together and many of the hotbar items have wildly differing flavors. For that matter, some of the hotbar items didn't look that appealing, either.
I opted for curried chickpeas and curried soy chicken so as to avoid crazy flavor mismatches. These worked well and created a hefty meal. The roti broke apart too easily, but the dish was easy enough to just eat with a fork at that point.
For dessert I had a slice of blueberry cheesecake ($5) which was above-average, though I wish the crust had been a bit more defined (it was soggy in this case). That said, the cheesecake portions and the blueberries were nicely balanced in terms of sweetness and smoothness.
All in all, Veggie Castle 2 is pretty good. If it had seating and more defined menu choices I'd give it another star.
Veggie Castle is the joint! So far Ive gotten take out twice. The first time I walked in I was overwhelmed with all the options (food is out buffet style). There were atleast three different kinds of rice and peas, lo mein, quinoa, pumpkin, tofu dishes, Brussel sprouts, kale with tomatoes, onions and mushrooms, collard greens…the list goes on. Oh and I can't forget the array of sliced vegan cakes too. I settled on a lentil pea patty and was very satisfied with my purchase. The patty crust was soft and slightly warm (fresh) with a perfectly seasoned lentil pea filling. I liked the variations of your basic patty they offered; I believe they have fish and okra as well.
Second time I came was around 10am, their breakfast options were a bit limited but everything looked delicious; I peeped whole wheat bakes too. I had the provisions (sweet potato, yucca, tomatoes, peppers), sautéed spinach and steamed broccoli, cauliflower and carrots. Provisions were bomb, broccoli and cauliflower had been lightly steamed which left them with a nice crunch (not dead and overcooked like other places). The spinach was a bit oily for my liking but the halved garlic cloves I appreciated. Hubby was satisfied with the lo mein, kale and mac and cheese he ordered. He said the portion was good for two meals (we got smalls for $7 and some change each), nothing was overly seasoned and overall everything tasted pretty good.
I'm looking forward to more check ins
5/30-Update. This spot now accepts cards and the service is good. I still go here almost every weekend.
I come here almost every weekend for my fresh juice fixes, this is one of my favorite spots in NYC. They serve the most flavorful vegetarian dishes you can get, and their hot sauce is deadly….I love it. The Cassava cakes and other baked goods are great too. The only thing i dislike is that it's cash only and sometimes the older staff seems a bit moody or almost like they don't want to help you. I guess you just have to be aggressive and yell out what you want.
The place is a lil intimidating with selection for a first trip, but the staff was nice and answered our questions and gave us samples. I do wish the food was labeled to make life easier though. After taking a sample, I decided to go with a small meal with the jerk "chicken" and two sides (one was pumpkin and the other I can't remember). All were delicious. Definitely more than enough food. They were out of plantains though, which was a bummer. We also shared a dessert that was really good too (involved peanut butter and chocolate). We shared a juice – can't remember which one but it was super delish, despite looking like pepto bismol. The names of the juices were also hilarious.
The outdoor sign is ridiculous and wonderful.
I was so hungry…craving foods I had long ago abandoned
thanks to my trusty yelp app I would soon be satiated
if you are a vegetarian you must go here …even if you live far away
why because this food is so good!
step into their small shop but the display is beautiful
big trays of steaming hot food and its all vegetarian!
plus this is a fresh smoothie place a match made in heaven for me
there are many meal options
protein and vegetable choices
I opted for 2 proteins and 2 vegetables
had some amazing BBQ beef with just enough bite
and bbq chicken drumsticks…scared me as I was chowing down they build them on a stick so they look "real" they taste real I thought oh my gosh are they real? well they are not real chicken. Someone at this castle knows how to prepare this choice so perfectly
I had collard greens and kale both hot and fresh, you could taste the healthy
so many smoothie and juice options I had a strawberry banana blend these are not those sugary smoothies these are the real deal
very friendly service and when I asked about a "meat" the girl said here try some and offered up a big hunk
they have a tiny dining room seating for about 16 people its worth sitting there so you can enjoy your food piping hot
I am sold on Veggie Castle
Woohoo! I love this place. I only get here infrequently but I've never had a bad meal. That said, it's basically soy meat and somewhat overcooked side dishes, so adjust your expectations accordingly. I feel the prices are a little high, but that could be because diners go heavy on the soy meat (which can be pricey) so the combo meal price needs to include that.
The service is friendly, and I love that they have a largish seating area in the back. Last time I was in, it was terribly hot outside, so it was nice to cool off inside and people watch from the large, open doors in the dining area.
This place is absolutely amazing! I've been here several times and the customer service is phenom–on my last visit, the man behind the counter served us up a HUGE large-size container of 3 sides and 2 protein dishes (or in this case, we doubled-up on one) filled to the max. Just as a lady brought out the ginger ch*kn, our eyes went wide, wishing that we had seen that just a minute before. The man sympathetically gave us a FREE dish of the ginger ch*kn, as if to make-up for poor timing. Que muchacho generoso! We got the spinach rice (soft, fluffy, with a hint of coconut), tumeric chickpeas, and steamed veggies while talking with him for bit about the spices in the dishes and about the health benefits of the Roots drink, an herbal concoction that goes down sweet-and-sour into your belly and is supposed to be good for a man's back (my boyfriend needed it, that's for sure)–not for fearful, though! We felt guilty about just leaving him a $2 tip, especially after he gave us that thankful gesture of two fist beats to the heart, and doubly so when we went back for dessert. We felt it was only fair to politely declined his free offer of an oatmeal cookie so as not to take advantage of his host-with-the-most 'tude, and paid for it instead along with a deliciously sweet pistachio cake.
*The new seating area just opened a month ago and it is BEAUT-i-FUL! Come for the food and seat your tired self in the lovely space just next door while indulging wildly on the veggie options galore! Ask for a sample, you won't regret!