Go Zen
“VP2 has fake chicken fried deliciousness that will keep the fat veggie kid in me coming back time and time again.”
“My favorites have to be the crispy soul nuggets (who doesn't love these things?)”
“I come here way too often, and I do prefer it over red bamboo, which, don't get me wrong is great, but they don'thave the Yuca…..”
Go Zen
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Very similar to Red Bamboo next door but just not the same. Menu items were less exciting and there was no ambiance. Literally no one is ever in here. Teapot came out cold once filled with only water. Portion are okay though.
Went here for a dinner with a lot of others.
I wouldn't recommend sitting in back as there is an occasional heavy smell from the bathroom. It's assumed but something should be fixed back there.
Had one of the "sizzling dishes," which was "Pressed Bean Curd black mushrooms, Chinese seaweed and mixed vegetables." I think it was 12.95 which isn't bad. Large portion of food. The flavor of it was a bit bland outside of the tofu but I didn't mind for the price. Maybe around 3.4-3.6.
From the appetizers, I tried their soul nuggets as well as their Scallion Pancake. Soul nuggets, as everyone else has noted, taste eerily like chicken and the giant portion size leave it was a solo dish option for an appetizer alone. Highly recommended.
Scallion Pancake was a bit hard compared to normal. I don't recommend it as much outside of the large portion.
Allagash Witte for 6/7 bucks isn't bad either.
I probably would have given a 3 but those nuggets, oh my.
I've been here so many times having dated a religiously pushy Vegan and partially having lived the lifestyle for months. VP2 is Vegan cuisine with a soylful asian twist. They serve alot of Chinese style dishes (like chicken and broccoli) soy based with soulful edge.
The ambiance lacks here. Alot of reds and black.
The size of the restaurant loses the 5th star for me. Typical of West Village resturants but this place is crammed. I believe we visited once for Dim Sum because my Ex loved their dumplings. I ordered the Soul Nuggets with a vegetable mix of carrots and bok choy. Very flavorful but simple. I prefer Red Bamboo ' s menu but VP2 is a nice little spin on Chinese style vegan meals.
What I have learned about vegetarian meals is that they fill you up alot faster with more wholesome content. When on the West Siiiiiide give V2 a try.
Another veggie place that definitely impressed me from the upside.
A bit different from Dirt Candy, Go Zen actually tried to mimic lots of meat dishes. My friend and I shared a couple of small plates and the main dish. My favorite course was Beijing Duck – don't get tricked here! The duck has nothing to do with the real roast duck; instead, it was completely made of tofu, paired with steamed pumpkin (I love it!!) and Chinese broccoli. Very thoughtful and delicate!
The only minor point I would add towards the almost-perfect veggie meal was that the fried mushroom was a little bit greasy, as the bread crust was too thick…
Attentive service. Our waitress kept coming to us and checking on how well it went. Ok add back half a star and make it a five!
VP2 doesn't quite top Buddha Boddhai in terms of vegetarian Chinese food for me, but it comes pretty close. A door down from its sister veggie spot, Red Bamboo, VP2 is set off from the street with a flight of stairs leading down to a subterranean haven that seems to be well-loved by the NYU crowd.
I expected the siu mai with soy protein to taste like a boiled-cabbage version of its shrimp-stuffed brother that you see on Lazy Susans across Chinatown's dim sum joints. While the interior was a bit too mushy, I did appreciate the hit of umami and the chewy dough wrapper.
I wilted inside at the size of the pressed bean curd clay pot, but it turned out to be a perfect amount of food, after I had helped myself to my friend's wonton soup. I liked that the clay pot contained tofu skin, so rarely seen outside of Chinese restaurants, and a good variety of vegetables (zucchini! broccoli! green AND red peppers! even the dreaded carrot slices). The one downside was that the actual tofu chunks were weirdly sour – nothing untoward happened the next day, but the taste was a little off. Anyway, I was uncomfortably stuffed by the end of the meal, to the point that I had to turn down the peanut butter bomb for dessert.
A point to the waiters as well – even though there were only two that night, they were extremely efficient and very helpful with explaining what was in each dish, so that a newcomer or total stranger to an all-vegetarian place wouldn't feel intimidated. It's been some time since I've seen waiters so on top of their game and making sure that tables had filled-up water glasses, bringing food out quickly, and indulging all my questions.
NEXT TIME: peanut butter bomb for sure, soul nuggets, fried wontons
Recently had my birthday dinner here with about a dozen friends, including several meat eaters, and we all really enjoyed the food. We ordered about a dozen appetizers and that many entrees and enjoyed it all. I would say some of the standout dishes were the BBQ seitan and kale, the butternut squash risotto, the Japanese eggplant, and the ginger kale (though that would be better as a side than an entree).
The cream of cauliflower soup was so-so, the citrus avocado dip was good but kind of weird, aside from that, loved it all.
Oh vegetarian's paradise, you have a new fan! We recently came here for a meet up to celebrate thanksgiving and I was happy to discover that everything on the menu is vegan. Not only that, I was pleasantly surprised with the meal we had here. We had several dishes with mock meat, one that stood out was the paradise turkey dish! It was flavorful, and the texture was uncanny. The accompanying sides were just as good. What really impressed me were the portobello fritters! It was tender inside and extra crispy on the out.
With excellent service, great food, and even better prices I would not hesitate recommending this restaurant to those looking for a great cheat meal 😉
Some of the best vegetarian Chinese food I've ever had. We started with the Soul chicken and scallion pancakes. The soul chicken was great with a nice dipping sauce. The pancakes were good, but just a little too dense (huge portion though). For the entree we had the mango chicken which was awesome. It was served in the mango's themselves and the "chicken" had a nice texture with a great sauce. Good prices and nice service make this little dive a great spot for lunch or dinner…