Ok, so I rarely write reviews. I find them a bit of a waste of time, and I'm firmly against writing one if you dislike the restaurant. Hence why we're here. Well, at first I was a bit on the fence about ordering cause of the vegetarian/vegan menu, I like my meat, love meat, got to have my protein dammit! But wow! was I ever surprised and happy about following my gut and choosing to go there. You see, I'm from Vancouver, and if you know a bit about my hometown is that you know we have a very large asian population. Heck, I'd even go as far as saying it's my second language, (my first language is English and my parents are Chilean...never spoken a word of it) but I've been around it so much somehow, I feel I could get by given the chance. So, by examining the pictures from the online menu, I thought to myself; If the food is anything remotely like the pictures, it looks exactly like my fav spot in Vancouver - Congee Noodle King- also a must try if you're in east Vancouver. Just trust my absent Asian ancestry ok?! I ordered the N65. Fried Noodles with Steamed and Stir-Fried Bean Curd, and as a request asked them to make it spicy to which they happily and kindly obliged. This dish was packed with flavour. Oh em gee! Loaded with fresh crunchy veggies, the noodles were spot on: thin, velvety and a lot of them. Makes for some healthy slurps! Oh, did I mention the meat? No, I didn't, because it didn't have any, and I have never not missed something so much. The crispy fried bean curds tasted like deep fried spare ribs. My pupils dilated a bit. And that's ok cause I went into a food coma, got to heaven and wrote a review about the very first Asian restaurant I try in Toronto and I'm already planning to go back. If you give this place less than 5 stars you don't know food, Asian food or how to speak it so go on and chew on some meat! Thank you for the wonderful and friendly service as well. I shall return. How do you say that in Mandarin? Cheers! - Patricio read more

Stumbled upon this restaurant as I was looking for vegetarian restaurants and thought the food was pretty good! I tried their soy chicken drum sticks, kim chi, dumplings, siu mai, and radish cake. My absolute favourite and would recommend is the radish cake!! It is so good. The kim chi was off-putting and was drenched in whatever sauce. The dumplings are also really good as well. I like the layout and aesthetics of the restaurant. One thing to note also was that the employees just seemed miserable. I understand we came an hour before closing but they just seemed miserable and sort of ticked off that we were coming an hour before closing. read more

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Great options for vegans and vegetarians! Some of the meats were interesting to try and some of the sauces did not taste super authentic (like in the summer salad) but overall it's worth trying. It got pretty full with families for dinner on a Sunday night read more

Zen Gardens is such a nostalgic experience for me! The food and service are both amazing. My Family and I always used to go here many years ago, and I can not believe the atmosphere and food is still as good as ever. Staff is kind, food is very tasty and overall consistent, and the atmosphere is amazing. Overall, I would definitely recommend Zen Gardens as a food spot to anyone else in search of a good occasional lunch! read more

Had a dinner. Nice restaurant. Server was good. Dishes were ok but things were missing from menu. For example no fresh juices, no combos and sushi. Taste was ok. read more

Awesome vegetarian food with lots to choose from. Mostly vegan, but the items that do contain eggs or dairy are marked on the menu, and our waitress checked that we were aware and okay with the eggs in our order. The menu is mainly Chinese but there's a few other Asian options thrown in there. There's a good balance of imitation meat vs vegetable-focused dishes, and even the fake meats seem to be mostly not super-processed stuff, lots of seitan and soy protein. You order by writing down the numbers you want on a piece of paper, which was a litte confusing to us as first-timers because the paper provided was the back of an old receipt; we thought it was just an old receipt left on the table until someone came by to explain. We ordered a variety of items to share: steamed dumplings, assorted seitan platter, xiang chuen pine nut fried rice, and a special hotpot that I can't remember the name of. They got order tickets mixed up somewhere and started by bringing us fried wontons and kimchi that we didn't order, and we were confused but thought maybe it was a complimentary appetizer, and started eating. Then they brought out soy nuggets and we realized this was definitely not right and said something, and the waitress was very apologetic. She took the nuggets back but since we had already dug into the wontons and kimchi we offered to just keep those. After that, our correct order came out in a timely manner, except for our tea orders which came out near the end, although maybe that was intentional. The tea was nice too, though, and I didn't mind having it there to sip on after I finished eating. All the food was delicious, super flavourful, great textures for the meat substitutes. The seitan platter was notable in that the different seitan preparations didn't just use different flavours but were also cut differently which made each flavour a unique experience. The pine nut rice had an interesting herbal taste. The portions for the entree plates are very generous; we were full and had some leftovers. I regret not saving room for dessert. In spite of the order mixup, the service was very good. The environment was very calming with the relaxing music and dark foresty colours in the interior. read more

Zen Gardens - Steamed Dumplings, Xiang Chuen Pine Nut Fried Rice - Vegetarian Near Me - Mississauga, Ontario

Surprisingly you don't feel any less excited having this kind of elaborate vegetarian meal. Their indoor lighting was off and made the place a bit gloomy. The coffee cake desert was quite lacking and true punch. read more

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An all vegetarian Chinese spot! If you want to eat some healthy dishes with beef, that isn't really beef, with bacon, that isn't really bacon... check out this spot !!! I've always loved vegetarian dishes even though I'm not vegetarian. I also grew up with Chinese food and love seeing vegetarian options. We ordered veggie spring rolls, dumplings, bean curd rolls, a seitan platter, a "beef" black bean noodle, and a "bacon" beancurd roll. All the items were delicious and the "beef" really did look like beef but was 100% vegetarian. The Beancurd roll really did taste like bacon without the actual meat! Seitan platter is one of my favourites. It's made up of gluten and water. It's chewy in texture and marinated in different flavours. My only request is if more mushrooms could be incorporated in their dishes but that's just me Service was quick and they helped recommend items if it's your first time coming! The overall atmosphere of the restaurant was quiet and nice. It was a little dark as they didn't turn on any lights ... but it was a nice environment. I have been here a few times over the years, and will definitely continue coming back. Check out this spot today! read more

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On the food side: 1. Noodles with textured egg white & black bean sauce When we told one of the servers that the noodles were not fully cooked, the server had a look of suspicion on her face when she handed the dish to the chef for inspection. They neither asked if we wanted anything else nor made another dish with the same dish. The chef took a closed door attitude and made decisions on the side and never made a new one. 2. Vegetable Bacon Fried Rice We told the same server that the fried rice was salty and she said they could add more rice so the saltiness would not be as strong instead of making a new one. 3. Grilled Vegetable Balls Were absolutely terrible, do not order this! I didn't even know what I was eating. On the customer service side: 1. From my last pick up order, I ordered the King Mushroom Casserole and the oyster mushrooms tasted unpleasant from that. I called the restaurant and told them about my experience and they said that they serve the same dish to many customers on the same day and I was the only one who complained. Not only did they say I made it up and asked me to bring the food back to the restaurant for inspection they also told me that the next time I take an order I should try everything before going out. Finally, the person on the phone assured me that I would get a credit the next time I visit. 2. After we were seated, I told one of the servers that I had received a credit for the quality issues of the king mushrooms I ordered previously; he took it away because I ordered the same dish for free; when the food arrived, I told him that I never ordered it, he insisted that I said so, I pushed strongly, then he said "oh, I guess I have to pay for it" and he took it back, which I found totally inappropriate. 3. Below is the conversation I had with one of the guys when I was paying at the counter: Server: Here is your receipt, the king mushrooms have been taken off the bill. Please don't order king mushrooms again Me: You haven't given me the credit for the last time Server: We have removed the king mushrooms from your bill and you are still asking for extra credit? Me: Even though I never ordered king mushrooms this time? Server: (She looked like she didn't want to argue anymore and got the adjusted amount and the receipt reprinted) Here, I'll give you a 10% discount. Conclusion: I've been a customer there for 20 years and have never been treated like this before. I don't know what went wrong, but I will never go there again. I'm actively looking for a replacement. If anyone knows another good vegetarian place, please let us know! read more

From the outside of the structure it doesn't look too posh but interior is pretty decent. However they do not have the pot lights on so it looks a bit gloomy indoors. Tables and utensils are excellent. While generally not busy day this place is ok busy. What looks like chicken is actually a concoction of soy and gluten. Very fancy. Staff is lovely and takes pride in their operations read more

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Great place for vegetarians or someone who likes veggies Nice ambiance and decor with great service Very customer oriented We ordered Lo Han Chowmein And Kung pao soy fritters The chowmein was excellent lots and lots of the crunchy veg Awesome loved it However did enjoy the soy fritters as much tasted obviously soya Didn't eat it much Guess we ordered wrong When ur at this super awesome veggie place order as much of veggies as u can Don't waste on any soy Have not tried their imitation chicken and pork world love to try it on my next trip for sure Im definitely trying out more veggies and some chicken and pork (veg version) read more

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They didn't have turnip cake - only radish cake (as per the menu). I always come for the seitan BBQ. Absolute deliciousness. Wished the broccoli was blanched so I could eat them as opposed to garnishing the dish with raw broccoli. Would return for the radish cake and seitan BBQ. Maybe next time I'll switch it up to the assorted seitan. read more

Zen Gardens - Radish cake (not sure if the menu had a typo for turnip cake) - Vegetarian Near Me - Mississauga, Ontario

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Absolutely love this restaurant. It's in a great location and the inside is super spacious with lots of seating. They have traditional round tables for large groups as well as smaller tables for smaller groups. If you are vegan and miss dim sum, this place is for you. Even if you aren't vegan this place is amazing. They have a dim sum menu which features vegan version of traditional Har two and sui Mai which resembles the meat filled. Their crispy noodles is perfectly seasoned and topped with vegan meats that you don't even miss real pork. I highly recommend you sharing their appetizer meat plate. It comes with all kinds of vegan meats and it allows you to try and see what you like for yourself. Don't be shy to ask the waitress what they are, they are more than happy to answer any questions. I am definately going to come back! read more

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We arrived at Zen Gardens at about 12:30 on a Sunday with a party of 10. The restaurant was about half full and we were seated immediately. The food was very well prepared and presented. This restaurant is vegetarian, and a lot of the dishes are prepared so that they resemble their meat counter parts. We were particularly impressed by how they were able to recreate the Char Sui (BBQ Pork), BBQ Pork Buns and the Chicken. Although visually appealing, the dishes were hit and miss. The dishes where were hits and worth ordering again are: Barbeque Seitan - This dish looked and tasked like BBQ pork, although the texture was a bit softer than the meat counterpart and was the one of the best items on the menu. Fried Rice - Even though this was just a vegetarian fried rice (no faux meat), it was one of the best fried rice dishes. Chow Mein - Again, this did not try to imitate meat, but was a solid vegetarian dish. Spring Rolls - These were crispy and fresh Sweet 'N' Sour Lappa - The deep fired lappa tasted like the pork counterpart. Kung Po Soy-Fritters - This was very close to regular Kung Po Chicken. Crispy Smoked Seitan - This was an imitation crispy chicken dish. This was the most impressive dish in terms of imitating the real thing. It looked like chicken and even had a skin. The dishes that we found were misses are: Shui Mui - This looked like real Shui Mui but was very soft did not carry the correct taste Har Gow - to be the weakest at resembling the meat equivalent and turned out to be just a vegetable dumpling. BBQ Pork buns - These steamed buns looked exactly like it should, and although we enjoyed the BBQ Pork dish, the BBQ Pork buns turned out to be too sweet. Hot and Sour Soup - Nothing special, and not the best hot and sour soup. We also ordered two pots of tea and at $4.99 each, which were on the pricey side for what you get. So, most of what we ordered was very good with their main menu items being better than the dim sum. The prices are a bit high, but all the dishes were very well prepared and presented. The quantity was also very good. With 10 people, we still had to ask for takeout containers for the left overs. Overall, the food is very good (some dishes are better than others), and we will return, and re-order the dishes we liked from this visit. read more

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Zen Garden is closed during the pandemic. But this does not mean you cannot enjoy their food as takeout. Although the dumplings are not as good as it could be as take out, it was still great nonetheless. I highly recommend the "I can't believe it is vegan" white radish puff pastry. They were flaky and delicious. The dumplings and sticky rice lotus wraps were great as well. Can't wait till the pandemic ends for a full dim sum experience! read more

Zen Gardens - three trays of food in tin foil - Vegetarian Near Me - Mississauga, Ontario

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Zen Gardens is a vegetarian restaurant located in a nondescript plaza on Derry Road, close to Hurontario Street. While the outside lacks curb appeal, the decor inside is pleasant and calming. For our meal we ordered Sweet 'N' Sour Lappa (burdock balls cooked in a sweet and sour sauce, served on a bed of lettuce), Vegetable Fried Rice and Peking Roast Seitan. The vegetable fried rice was a bit plain, but tasty. The sweet n' sour lappa was alright, the sweet and sour sauce was too thick in my opinion, and the bed of lettuce was missing. The Peking roast seitan is a variation of the traditional Peking Duck, and it was quite nice; there was no spring onion, which is traditionally served with Peking Duck, only cucumber and the sweet bean sauce, but the major problem was that the seitan pieces were large and it was not possible to wrap the pancakes around the seitan; nevertheless, it tasted good. I was planning on giving the restaurant a 4-star rating for the food and service, but after the meal I felt queasy, which unfortunately ruined the overall experience; thus, the 3-star rating. Service was excellent. Parking is available on the premises. TLDR; good food, excellent service, nice decor, felt queasy after the meal read more

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Really good selection of vegan and vegetarian food. I've tried the chicken drumsticks, mock duck, mock shrimp, and I think one of their rices and it was all pretty good. However my only gripe is I'm South Asian so all the flavours are quite muted and sometimes bland if you're not focusing on the mock meat texture. So minus 1 star for that, but I can't blame them as it's Buddhist food which doesn't use too many spices from what I know. I would definitely recommend this place though and would go again for the textures. read more

Good options for folks who recently switched being vegetarians. Meat lovers may like to avoid but vegetarians paradise in Chinese food read more

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So if you are into Asian cuisine and are vegetarian this is the best place to go. Their entire menu is vegetarian with a variety of dishes. A few people in our group were trying Asian food for the first time so we ended up ordering a variety of appetizers. The dumplings were my favourite. We tried the spring rolls, a sushi platter, soy fritters. Hot and sour soup and miso soup. Everything was fresh and tasty. For our mains we tried the curry fried rice, curry noodles, chopsuey noodles, spicy tofu dishes, booked vegetables. All of them were very tasty. We lived their green tea so much that we bought a tin! Overall service was great, food was great and I would love to return! read more

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I have been to Zen Gardens a handful of times. I originally found this restaurant when I was trying to find vegetarian eateries for two colleagues from India who were helping my group out for a few months. We never went because they craved food from their homeland. I actually visited this place with our team months later. We have a vegetarian on our team. A few months after that, I came here with my manager. The food here is incredibly tasty. You don't even realize that you are not eating any meat. I have had the following delicious items: - Sweet and sour lappa (fake chicken nuggets, salad, and purple rice, and sweet and sour lappa) - Iced lemon green tea - Cutlet bento box - Har gow - Siu mai I love the sweet and sour lappa. Yum! It tastes like sweet and sour chicken. The purple rice is wonderful. Then again, I practically like anything purple. Naturally, I need salad. I feel odd without it. I have also tried the cutlet bento box. It is yummy, too. The iced lemon tea is exceptionally fragrant and refreshing. I was impressed. The har gow and siu mai dim sum items tasted authentic. Again, I didn't feel the void of meat. Everything was filling. As a tea freak, I was pleased to see a tea room at this restaurant. You can buy loose leaf tea here. There is a ton of variety. There is a decent number of parking spots in this small plaza. I have never had any issues finding a spot. I was hoping to return here for a colleague's birthday. Sadly, that didn't pan out. So, I'll need to make another determined effort to get out here soon. I miss the food. (91) read more

Ok so I've been here many times since I discovered it a while back, and I keep returning. The thing I love the most about this place are the soups! They are huge and just plain delicious! I've tried about 3 or 4 now and have yet to be disappointed! The atmosphere is awesome as it's very quiet and relaxing. I recommend trying any of their smoothies as well. Great options for vegans and vegetarians a like and you won't be let down by the flavours. Enjoy! read more

Zen Gardens - Hot and sour soup - Vegetarian Near Me - Mississauga, Ontario

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The service and the servers at Zen Garden are the best very polite and made great recommendations in regards to the menu for my family and I. If you looking for delicious vegetarian food I would definitely recommend you to try. My family and I will surely go back again. read more

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An amazing experience every time. This is a vegetarian and vegan Asian food place. The soy nuggets are bomb and the enoki mushrooms are to die for! Those are usually my staple dishes here and then I usually get a rice or noodle dish with another "protein" dish. The waiters are always super nice and no issue with parking here!!! read more

Zen Gardens - Vegetarian Near Me - Mississauga, Ontario

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We are visiting from the states and this place is amazing. All vegetarian options with a huge selection and very friendly staff. As 9pm was approaching (their closing time) they made us extra tea without us even asking. We didn't feel rushed and they were so kind :). Also with big groups (5-8 people) they have tables with a spinny center for sharing food ! It's very nice here and we will be back on future trips to Canada ! read more

Zen Gardens - Vegetarian Near Me - Mississauga, Ontario

I thought the menu looked familiar! This place is one of King Cafe's sister restaurants (KC is in Kensington Market). My grandmother is a vegetarian so it's my job to scout for the good veggie places and Zen had good reviews so I figured I'd give it a shot. My family ordered my fave from KC, the deep friend seaweed wrapped Enoki (E43 $14.99), Teriyaki Cutlet (E44), and a plated vegetarian noodle dish, bamboo soup, and imitation duck. Unfortunately I don't remember what the last 3 dishes are actually called so that's just my description of them :( E43 and E44 were good, but you will definitely want some tea and rice on the side because they were too salty for me. I think KC makes the enoki wraps better, and perfectly balanced. My cousin really enjoyed the Teriyaki Cutlet. Some of it was crispy on the outside, while some pieces were softer. The noodles were great and my favourite dish as it was well balanced salt wise, and had a variety of vegetables inside while maintaining the seasoning throughout. The soup was also a welcome dish. As for the duck imitation, my family loved it, but it was my least favourite dish because it was too sweet. Washrooms are single stall, very clean, and pretty accesible. Service was very attentive throughout our visit. To feed a family of 5, and for some unfinished takeout food that could feed 1 whole other person, our 5 dishes came to almost $80 after taxes. Great prices for the amount of food you get! read more

Zen Gardens - Left to right: imitation duck, vegetarian noodle, deep fried seaweed wrapped enoki mushrooms and teriyaki cutlet, half finished bamboo soup - Vegetarian Near Me - Mississauga, Ontario

The food was delicious and vegan at the time we tried in June 2019. Totally worth dining there. loved it!!

*grab a snack* I Came here for Mother's Day dinner and could not have been more disappointed. Overall, the quality of the food is great for being a vegan/vegetarian Asian restaurant, however, the service is what really made the experience extremely poor. While we were being seated (we were a party of 10), our server (who happens to be the manager) asked us if we were Chinese.. I don't see why this is even an appropriate question to ask.. She presented a Mother's Day menu which was a priced fixed menu as well as a standard a la carte menu. After reviewing the price fixed menu we decided to order off the standard menu. We start writing down our items and call a different server to come pick up our order. This server reviews our list of food items, and then tries to convince us to order the fixed price menu ($200+) because three of the items on our list were on the fixed price menu. We explain, no thank you, we would like to stick to our list... then says well if you want to do that then you will have to take these items (the dishes which are present on both stand and price fix menus) off or just order off the fixed price menu. So we review, and try to make adjustments. Then the first server who asked us if we were Chinese comes back to our table as we're trying to pick other items comes to scold us regarding the time. Saying that we have lost time because there is a reservation at 6pm showing up and the kitchen is busy. Ok, A) not my problem that it's Mother's Day and your establishment is busy, and B) It's 4:30... C) The restaurant wasn't even at capacity, it was half full. Lastly, she mentions to make sure we order everything that we want because after we submit it we will be unable to order more food. I have NEVER in my life heard of a restaurant that didn't want to make as much money as possible on one of the busiest days in the industry.. but again... we comply.. We put in our order, and the dishes begin to come out. All dishes came out except for one (which we ordered double of) and after 15 mins of waiting, staring at an empty table, we decided to cancel the last dish and just go home. This is where an already bad experience gets worse... We call over whoever we can at this point and follow up with our dish. No one seems to know what's happening. The server comes back to us and explains that they have run out of our dish. We say thank you, we would like the bill. We think why wouldn't you tell us that this dish has run out early on during our time there so that we can replace it? We get the bill, and the two dishes we never received are on there. We again explain that this has not come out, and the confusion is all over their faces because it looked like they were trying to prepare this quickly. So, did you have the dish or not? The server who originally sat us is asking us what the issue was, and states that you said to cancel the order so we didn't bring it out... how can we cancel an order when you claim to not even have it available?! And we cancelled it because 20 mins after finishing our dinner why would we want to eat a main dish with nothing to eat it with?! So... you forgot it then.. I begin to explain the frustration and instead of listening to us, recognizing that the dish had been forgotten and apologizing she continues to blame us! We did our job ma'am... we rushed to write down our items (some of which we wanted to order but were told we weren't allowed), didn't add more items to our list even when we wanted to because we could've eaten more , AND we finished by 5:15... the ONLY job you had to do was take our order to the kitchen and bring out what was asked... We didn't get an apology. Service here is usually decent. But this was really bad... read more

Great, unique vegetarian food and friendly staff.

Wow! Coming from a dedicated carnivore, who knew vegetarian food could be so tasty and delicious? We arrived right at 11:30 AM on a Saturday, and the place was filling up. First, the ambiance. This place made me feel like I was relaxing in a quiet garden somewhere. Classical musical is played above you, and the atmosphere is very calming. Second, the food. We ordered a) the Sweet and Sour Lappa (root of a plant) bento box ($11.99), b) the Kung Po Soy Fritters bento box ($11.99), c) a Zen's Hot Milk Tea ($2.99), and d) an appetizer sized portion of the Soy Drumsticks ($5.50). Our bento boxes were delicious - the "meat" was simulated to look, feel, and taste like meat. The soy nuggets in our bento boxes could have been McDonald's nuggets and I wouldn't have known the difference if I hadn't been closely looking at the texture. The Kung Po Soy Fritter dish was the standout for us and was so savoury, tasty and flavourful. The Sweet and Sour Lappa was also a wonderful surprise, and coupled with the purple rice, it was a very satisfying meal. Third, the service. Unfortunately, it can be very, very slow even if it isn't busy. It took about 45 minutes for our appetizer-sized soy "chicken" drumsticks to come out, and unfortunately, it came out at the very end of our meal so we didn't get a chance to enjoy it before our bento-box induced comas kicked in. Also, my hot milk tea came right in the middle of our meal after we began eating our bento boxes, not at the beginning while we waited for our food (which was about 20-25 minutes). Our items came out in a really random order, and service seemed a little confused and disorganized. Note that, as an aside, I think an important consideration to remember is that vegetarian food doesn't automatically equate healthy or calorie conscious meals. This stuff is still packed with oil, sweetness, and some items are still deep fried. Our dumpling soup, for example, had a pool of oil in it, more than I've seen at other restaurants. Overall, regardless, the food is still unequivocally delicious despite minor quibbles. For tastiness, we'd definitely come back. For two, people, with tax and tip, we paid about $41. read more

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First of all, I'm not a vegetarian, but I LOVE Zen Gardens. Whenever I want to have a "veggie day", I would come here. The food is definitely good enough to convince meat eaters to eat with you here without feeling too hipster (not that that's a bad thing really...) Even now, I'm sometimes amazed at how they make the mock meat look so real and taste so good! What you MUST order (or in my opinion, the best thing on their menu): ENOKI MUSHROOM BALLS. It is this savoury fried crispy thing that is as addicting as chips... so yummy. Even though it's a franchise, neither the atmosphere or food seems like it. Prices are pretty reasonable, and generally the food is quite good. Bento boxes seem to be popular at this restaurant. Also, they have authentic imported teas in which they sometimes have tea ceremonies...? If you've never tried a vegetarian restaurant, you should definitely try this place (regardless if you're an omnivore or not). read more

I love to experiment...with food. So I decided to try the vegetarian Chinese food. My previous experience with Chinese vegetarian food (about 15 years ago) was not bad and great taste, but it was so full of MSG, I drank so much water. This place was a completely different experience. A nice simple but elegant setting, the restaurant lives up to its name as it feels like complete zen in here. Also, I didn't detect a hint of MSG and felt like homemade. I ordered a spicy eggplant dinner combo (available at lunch time), which basically comes with miso soup, mock dim sum (har gow and siu mai) and a bento box featuring the eggplant. Miso soup - this was the most amazing miso soup I've ever had. Not too salty and lots of tofu. Real natural taste. Probably the way the Japanese intended. Har Gow and siu mai - Props to the chef because the presentation and imagery of this was just like real dim sum. Pretty good and for the siu mai, I couldn't even tell it was vegetarian. Spicy eggplant bento box (with purple rice, salad, spring roll and soy nuggets) - they really did make eggplant the star of this box. There was so much (at least 20-25 slices) and the flavour was great. The only minor improvement I would ask for is for it to be more spicy. The purple rice was delicious and had a nice crunchy texture, which was different but good and the salad was awesome. The vegetables were very fresh. The soy nuggets and spring roll was average. In summary: Why come here:You want good Chinese food without msg and without asking your mom to cook for you. I'm not a vegetarian, but I think this was one of the better Chinese meals eating out. Why you shouldn't come here: You want cheap, greasy Chinese food or Americanized Chinese food Final verdict: Check it out. Worth a try even if you are not vegetarian. read more

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And by "Vegetarian Restaurant" what they really mean is mostly vegan! Hoorah! My husband and I dined here last night to celebrate the new year. I was kind of hoping that they would have some mochi to celebrate, but alas they did not! Regardless, I had a really great time. The menu is extensive, maybe 12-15 pages even, and only a handful of those are not vegan. That is incredible for the Mississauga area. (Or maybe I'm just not looking hard enough.) I guess I should tell you that my review might be slightly biased. (... Or perhaps I'm missing the point of giving you MY OPINION.) Based on my DINING experience, I feel that Zen Gardens should probably get four stars. The food was excellent, the service was good, but that extra fifth star comes from the fact that I could browse the entire menu and have almost anything I wanted. Anything. I felt so excited just being there. The seitan was delicious. I've never been so excited to try mock meats before! But then you set the dining experience aside, and you realize that Zen Gardens actually has MORE to offer than just a meal. They offer take-away (with a 10% discount on orders $20 or more) AND they offer an enormous selection of premium grade loose leaf tea. (I am currently sipping on the Juicy Peach Green Tea as I write this.) Careful, though, some of these teas cost a shiny penny. But remember that these are shipped directly from China or Taiwan and they are the real thing, so if you're a tea snob, or you've just come from a visit overseas, it's worth every penny. Okay, so aside from dining, take-away, and a tea selection- they also do tea ceremonies! I have yet to experience one so I can't comment too much on that- but the fact that they offer it is fantastic. So, when you look at the dining experience, the service, the food, the tea, etc, suddenly five stars doesn't seem like enough. Love Zen Gardens, am super impressed, and will DEFINITELY be returning. Disclaimer: I've been a vegetarian for the better part of five years and a few months ago my husband and I decided to remove dairy and all other animal protein from our diets, so this whole experience was very new to us. That being said, I've only ever tried a handful of "mock meats", and I'd certainly never had seitan or TVP. read more

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We regularly frequent King's Cafe in toronto and read their name on the back side of paper menu there and thought hmmmm there is a way to get my hands on that veggie soy kung pao chicken and divine dumplings without having to drive for 35 minutes and find parking?? YES! The menu is exactly the same - and we in typical fashion mostly order the same food. The dumplings are the best (I like them more than Mothers' Dumplings yes I said it!) and not to mention the skewers, the won ton soup (which I never got to try as it always contains pork until here!) and so are the chowmein - noodles and the duck. I dragged my I-eat-anything brother here with my husband and mom (all 3 of us vegetarians) and his exact comment was "if this is vegetarian, sign me up!" He actually got another order of kung pao chicken to take home. Next, I need to figure out how and when to fit in enough visits so i can go through the entire menu. read more

I've always liked vegetarian food but this place made me fall in love. The mock meals look and taste amazing. They try to make it as close as possible and they do a great job at it. You can tell they put a lot of care in the meals. I ordered the sweet and sour balls bento box meal. Meals come with brown rice (another healthy bonus). I was slightly insulted they included a spoon with my meal because I am Asian and I can use chopsticks very damn well but it seems like they do that with all meals in the box. Got the mock chicken drumsticks as well (one of my favorites). This doesn't really taste like chicken in my opinion but it has a nice texture and is quite flavourful. Tea comes in fancy teapots. Extensive menu with very friendly staff to answer any questions you may have. You don't need to be a vegetarian to enjoy this place. read more

Zen Gardens - Bento box meal with sweet and sour "chicken". Chicken drumsticks in the back (4 in one order) - Vegetarian Near Me - Mississauga, Ontario

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Dinner at Zen Garden - arrived around 8 pm and the restaurant was almost full. We were seated at a large table even though we were two. The waiter was friendly and all smiles. The interiors are done well and in some way refer to "zen" theme. Although a little too noisy for complete zen. The menu is comprehensive and it took us some time to narrow down what to eat. Right from dim sum and dumplings to hot pot and all thats in between. We ordered the pumpkin corn soup. It was thick and creamy. Comfort food for a cold night. Then came the steamed dumplings. It was a little unsettling to the palate to not have meat in the dumplings. The star of the show was the Enoki mushroom balls. Crisp mushrooms with a ribbon of seaweed around them. Fried and served on a bed of Yu choy greens. All topped of with iced lemon tea. Guilt free good food. Recommend! read more

Zen Gardens - Enoki mushroom balls - Vegetarian Near Me - Mississauga, Ontario

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4.5* This place has been bookmarked for quite some time, but I just had the op to visit it, and it's GREAT! Initially, I was seated inside the 'Tea' section, but asked to be moved when an available table came up. The 2 tables that were set up in the 'Tea' section were just too make shift, dark, and separate from the rest of the restaurant. Getting service there would've been difficult 'cause it's behind a divider. Highlights of all that was ordered (pictured): - Enoki Mushroom Balls - which were more like mini wraps, soo yummy! The "balls" themselves were wrapped in seaweed and deep fried - Pan-fried Green Tea Cake - more mochi, love the flavour of the green tea filling - Asst. Seitan Platter - I've had this before, but it's a good dish since there are different flavours in 1 dish, bbq, sweet 'n sour, curry, etc. - Zen Garden Milk Green Tea - also very good. Tasted like the "Milk Green Tea", sans bubbles, that you'd order, but better! It did come out warm and slightly too sweet, so you hafta wait 'til some of the ice melts I could've done without the Har-Gow, Sao Mai, Dumplings. They were good, but the filling themselves were just too "loose". Not as firm as they would be with pork, shrimp, etc. Still good though, but I just wouldn't order them next time. I wanted to order the Coloured Crystal Balls, from the Dim Sum menu, but they were out, so next time! I wished that they had more photos on their menu. It's more helpful if you read Chinese, but there are parts of the menu which aren't descriptive at all, re: Dim Sum. If you like Dim Sum, but not necessarily the MSG-coma, check this place out! It's somewhat near the airport. Service was nice 'n calm, not crazy/rude/rough/rushed like usual Chinese places. read more

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Really delicious entirely vegetarian food including dim sum. Total winners are the bao and puffs with the bbq filling, the steamed rice in a lotus leaf, the gailan w ginger, spicy eggplant w tvp and the amazing addicting enoki mushroom balls. We take out from here often and they're great about having things ready on time, fresh and hot, even hours after I order. Another nice note: one time Mr Vegetarian went in with a bad cold and sore throat, and they asked him a bunch of questions about his symptoms and then gave him the right tea to help his throat - it worked! read more

It was rly quiet on the day my friends and I went. Would be 4/5 but it didn't feel like they had AC on that day and it was HOT. The space is nice, looks new. We were curious about this vegetarian place and were quite pleasantly surprised. This is the first chinese restaurant where I actually didn't see a lot of chinese. There were a lot more Indians, likely due to their dietary restrictions which were fulfilled here. My first time trying soy nuggets and they were really good! I was quite surprised but they had similar batter as McDonald's chicken nuggets. They were a little dry but the dipping sauce balanced that out. I ordered the enoki mushroom bento box and I loved it. Even my friends stole from mine eventually haha. The area is a little quiet, so there's plenty of parking available read more

I have been here a few times before and have always had a great meal. One of the better options for vegetarians who are dining out. When my family and I got in, it wasn't that busy and we were seated right away. We ordered zen bars, a sushi platter, enoki mushroom balls, BBQ meat, and soup. All were vegetarian and tasty. I wasn't a fan of the soup, it was something my mom could make at home. All of our food came within 30 minutes, so quick! The waitresses kept checking back to see how our meal was and to refill our waters. I really recommend this place for a different take on food. I personally love meat but didn't miss it while eating here. read more

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I used to go to place a lot before, after moved out of Mississauga last year I came back for the first time this year the service got worst!. The waitress brought out food not know what table order so she put down the fourth plates on our table without asking. We get out Fifth plate so I told them we only order 4 dishes, without explanations she said that we will charge you regardless because you already start eating!. Very strange philosophy. Customers pay for their own mistakes of bring out to the wrong table? Needless to say we didn't eat that dish because it's was terrible and BECAUSE WE DID NOT ORDER IT!!. Never coming back to the rudest restaurant!. read more