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Amazing buffet!!!

5 Posted on 05 / 05 / 2013

The all-vegan lunch buffet is such a treat. Tons of options and such good food. A cute little place with a friendly atmosphere. I always go straight to the spring rolls while loading up a whole soup bowl of plum sauce, then I go for the phad thai and pour peanut sauce on it, and I sometimes mix in a little of the other stuff as well to see what I feel like. While you don't have to load up all at once because it is an all-you-can-eat buffet, it is difficult not to!

Pros: Excellent food, Many options, Friendly
Cons: The buffet doesn't go all day

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Vegan thai food? Yes please!

4 Posted on 02 / 11 / 2013

Thai food is usually off boundaries but a vegan thai restaurant? Any time!
We went there starving but the menu was so large it was hard to pick... We got the avocado curry, the cashew delight and the asparagus hunsa. All were delicious and super tasty. I preferred the hunsa but my husband preferred the avocado curry. That was so creamy and spiced just right although we could have handled more spices. Lots of veggies in all the dishes as well as tofu and seitan. The only con about the food is it cooled down pretty fast and that was a shame because it didn't taste quite the same once it was lukewarm/cool.
The service was great and the food came pretty fast considering the restaurant was busy.
Definitely will be back to try more of their yummy specialties. Would like to see sticky rice on the menu as well.

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Amazing Lunch Buffet!

5 Posted on 09 / 20 / 2012

Do not miss this gem! Araya's lunch buffet is full of delicious dishes...and everything is vegan! Fried rice, pad thai, soup, salad, noodle dishes, veggie dishes, spring rolls, fruit, and dessert. All for $9/per person, what more can you ask for? My husband and I went back up to the buffet line at least 3 times! Highly recommend.

Pros: Inexpensive, Cute university neighborhood location, Delicious ALL VEGAN food
Cons: Lunch buffet line gets long

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What you would expect

3 Posted on 08 / 27 / 2012

I'm a little worried when I see a vegan buffet - to me it seems somewhat ironic - but I decided to try this place because of the many positive reviews. In all, it was pretty much as expected, you get your fills-worth for ~$10, and food quality is what you would expect from a buffet. Nothing fancy, 8ish dishes to choose from, it was well worth the money but nothing spectacular. I'd go here again if I were really hungry, but I probably wouldn't take my friends.

However, I only tried the buffet, perhaps the menu items are tastier.

The service was very quick and pleasant, I was happy to leave a %20 tip.

Overall, there are no real "Cons" and a few nice "Pros", so this place is overall quite decent, but again, nothing spectacular.

Pros: Service, Quantity

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Great lunch buffets and excellent dinner menu

5 Posted on 07 / 29 / 2012

All vegan food. Huge lunch buffet and cheap. The staff is friendly and the food is delicious. Not a bad dish on the menu.

Pros: Friendly staff , huge lunch buffet, good value

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Good Food and Service

4 Posted on 07 / 24 / 2012

Upon arriving, we were warmly greeted and our server helped answer any questions I had about the menu. The buffet they have does not have an extensive selection to choose from, but it's good food for the price. The best part is they have vegan desserts! YUM :)

Pros: Decor, Service, Price

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WOW

5 Posted on 01 / 19 / 2012

Seriously amazing food. I love this place. Their thai tea and pumpkin curry is to die for!

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I love it!

4 Posted on 12 / 09 / 2011

Great food, good prices. The lunch buffet is amazing and the dinner menu is great as well. They do not serve alcohol

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FANTASTIC!

4 Posted on 11 / 19 / 2011

The food here is really fantastic. It's worth a visit.

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Overall good!

4 Posted on 02 / 20 / 2011

I very much enjoyed what I had. The staff was friendly and the food was good! I'm not a big fan of buffets, especially when I see little fingers poking around, so I ordered off the menu and go the Spicy Noodles.

My only real complaint would be that the place needs a little updating and the bathroom was neglected.

Pros: Friendly Service, Tasty Food, Good Variety
Cons: Needs Buffet Police, Dirty Bathrooms, Remodel due

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updated: Mushy food

2 Posted on 12 / 13 / 2010

I just re-wrote a long review that did not stick for whatever reason. I will re-write it again alter, but did want to make a change. Our noodles and rice on our recent visit was all mush. We seriously wonder if the food was recycled from the buffet that just finished. We will not be back. Thai places regardless of vegan/veg/veg-friends need to cook noodles and rice, plain and simple. Nothing we ate there stood out as a WOW dish. Not worth the expense.
Updated from previous review on Monday December 13, 2010

Pros: Vegan Thai , ,
Cons: cilantro overkill, MUSHY , $$$$$$

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consistently good

5 Posted on 12 / 02 / 2010

Very reliably good food, love the noodle curry and pineapple fried rice (can get it with brown rice). Friendly staff and really nice atmosphere.

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Great Buffet!

5 Posted on 10 / 13 / 2010

The buffet has many good food to choose. The vegan spring rolls are yummy, the salad and the soup are tasty...
I will come back when I am in this area.
Friendly Service!

Pros: Good Value, friendly staff

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Good food, huge selection

4 Posted on 09 / 19 / 2010

I'm mostly raw, but a friend wanted to take me here. I really enjoyed it. The menu is huge. Incredible to have that many choices. Service and ambience were good, and I'd definitely go back.

Pros: Tons of choices, Delicious food
Cons: No raw dishes

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Huge Menu, Great Atmosphere

4 Posted on 06 / 01 / 2010

I ate lunch at Araya's yesterday, and thought the place was awesome. The menu is huge and the atmosphere and service is great. As an appetizer, the veggie tempura was fantastic. My husband's lemon tofu entree was pretty yummy (but didn't taste very lemony). I got the veggie beef with peanut sauce. The sauce was great, as were the noddles and veggies, but I wasn't fond of the veggie beef. If I go there again I will probably stick with tofu.

However, the portions are large and there were tons of options on the menu. They have a daily vegan buffet that sounds great, but I haven't tried it yet.

Pros: huge menu, all vegan, nice atmosphere

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Love

4 Posted on 03 / 24 / 2010

Used to live across the street from this place (more or less) and they were always good for a quick pick-up when I had the need for some Red Curry. The spring rolls are to die for, the thai tofu is one of my favorite appetizers, and the Phad Phrik King, my standby whenever we go there and I'm not sure, makes me wish we still lived by there. My one problem - the bean composition seems to have changed in recent years...they may be using a new supplier, but it's not quite as good as it used to be. But that's really just nitpicking on what's essentially an institution for Seattle vegans.

Pros: Great Food, Unbelievably friendly staff, 100% Vegan
Cons: Lunch Buffet can get boring, No Massamun Curry

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Good, filling vegan Thai.

4 Posted on 03 / 13 / 2010

I would fully recommend this restaurant. I have not tried the buffet yet, so I can't say if the other reviews on the buffet are correct, but in general buffet food is nothing to rave about, I don't know why it would be better just because is was vegan. I had spring rolls and spicy noodles and tofu, it wasn't excellent, but it was pretty good and I felt for where I was it was a good enough value. I went by myself, but I would recommend this restaurant to anyone going with a few people, I probably won't go back by myself. I enjoyed the atmosphere and all the Buddhas hanging out all over, it felt relaxed and peaceful and in the middle of Seattle that is not something I can say very often. Also for any real spice lovers, this place hooked me up with the best of them, I asked for the real thing and they did not disappoint.

Pros: tasty, filling food, atmosphere

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Excellent value vegan thai lunch buffet!

4 Posted on 08 / 27 / 2009

Araya's is my favorite Thai place anywhere. I love their set price, all you care to eat lunch buffet and try to eat there every time I am in Seattle. The University District location they have is fairly central and offers the highest concentration of vegan & vegan-friendly places in Seattle. If I was able to do so I would give Araya's a 4.5!

Pros: Good location, Lunch buffet offers great value, Nice ambience inside
Cons: Price is higher than would be ideal, On a busy car-filled street / no view, Not in Portland (my city!)

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The buffet was nothing to cry out about

2 Posted on 07 / 27 / 2009

We were excited to try a vegan Thai buffet and came here excited. Unfortunately, the spread was not that good and the taste nothing to cheer about. The Pad Thai tasted like sauteed noodles and not like good Pad Thai I've tasted. The spring rolls were mediocre and the peanut sauce tasted like peanut butter. There were a few other veggie/tofu dishes that were nothing out of the ordinary. The soups were also not too interesting and neither did they taste that good. Except for the price of the buffet, this was a pretty "blah" experience. Honestly, I would've rather paid more for a better quality meal.

Pros: buffet, vegan
Cons: taste, quality

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Good

3 Posted on 01 / 23 / 2009

I was super excited about Araya's as it was recommended to me by a friend (I'm from out of town). I liked it, but I really didn't think it was all it was cracked up to be. I had the lunch buffet and some of the food was bland and overheated from the buffet table. I would definitely go back to try it again- maybe I just went on a bad day.

Pros: Atmosphere, Buffet, Cheap

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Vegan Thai - 'Nuf said.

5 Posted on 01 / 22 / 2009

When visiting Seattle, this is my favorite eating place. It's been in business a long time, because it's popular. It's popular, because of the food, whether you're a vegan or a carnivore.

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awesome lunch buffet

5 Posted on 01 / 14 / 2009

The Araya's lunch buffet is a great deal on delicious vegan food. I particularly like their soups. The staff is always friendly and the environment welcoming. They also have vegetarian/vegan resources available.

Pros: all vegan, yummy buffet, good value

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Good value

3 Posted on 01 / 08 / 2009

This place is good value if you are hungry. The lunch buffet is $7.99. The food is not all Thai; more like an Asian fusion style. My one complaint is that all of the food was too salty.

Pros: Good value, All vegan
Cons: Too salty

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best vegan thai food

5 Posted on 12 / 18 / 2008

I were recently in Seattle and visited this restaurant.It is a family run business which makes it very homely and friendly.
The food was amazing > I was with 2 non veg people who said it was as good as any authentic thai food that they had eaten.
We went back the next day for the buffet which was also very good with a good selection of food to choose from.
It is worth the visit.

Pros: good food, good selection, good portions
Cons: none

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Support Araya's!

5 Posted on 05 / 03 / 2008

All Vegan! with tons of informative brochures and support of animal rights!!!

Pros: all-Vegan, Animal Rights, Friendly

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Friggin Awesome

5 Posted on 04 / 04 / 2008

I absolutely love this place. The buffet is delicious and reasonably priced. An absolute must-visit.

Pros: Great food, Good service, Chill atmosphere

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So Tasty!

5 Posted on 03 / 23 / 2008

My family and I love Araya's!! The buffet is affordable especially with the endless appetites my teens have. We live out of town but will make a special trip just to eat here.
Besides, it's VEGAN and how many places can you find that cater to us that way, specifically?

Pros: VEGAN, buffet, friendly
Cons: parking can be tricky

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YUM! YUM! YUM!

5 Posted on 02 / 21 / 2008

I have been going to Aryas for years! I was going there when it was in the U district and fell in love with it! Their vegan cream cheese wontons appetizer! Best vegan Thai place to go to and I have brought meat eating friends to partake!

Pros: vegan, excellent food, atmosphere

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amazing

5 Posted on 01 / 17 / 2008

i eat thai food locally usually twice a week. it was not until i went to Araya's that i found my favorite thai dish. avocado green curry. all i can say is that i now have my local thai place custom make this dish because it WAS THAT GOOD. great service. good tea. decently priced. parking on site. oh, i also had pineapple fried rice, vegan, and it was oh so tasty. but if you can only get one, get the avocado green curry!!!

Pros: avocado green curry, parking

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A LOVELY PLACE FOR LOVELY PEOPLE

5 Posted on 10 / 20 / 2007

I WALKED IN HERE FOR THE FIRST TIME A FEW YEARS AGO AND HAVE GONE BACK PRETTY MUCH WEEKLY EVER SINCE. iT IS NICE TO GO TO A PLACE WHERE YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY WHAT IS IN THE DISH. ON A QUITE EVENING THE STAFF WILL TALK TO YOU ABOUT ALL KINDS OFF STUFF. ON A BUSY DAY, WELL THEY HAVE A JOB TO DO. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK. I WILL SEE YOU ALL THERE.

Pros: VEGAN, STAFF, PRICE
Cons: NO CONS, NO CONS, NO CONS

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Best Veg Restaurant in Seattle!

5 Posted on 10 / 08 / 2007

I looove this place.. I never ever eat out unless its all vegetarian and worth it. This place has a wonderful atmosphere they have a lunch buffet that is only $6.95!! But you should get their early alot of people come. The staff is so friendly its a happy family owned business! They have been around for 20 years and once you eat there you know why! Looove Araya's! I haven't found a better place in town! I live over 40 minutes away and I still go there.

Pros: they offer Organic, all vegetarian, no hidden animal product, very friendly and caring staff
Cons: they could offer more dishes, bigger space

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Yummy

4 Posted on 07 / 25 / 2007

I really enjoyed this place. We were seated in a corner surrounded by Buddha statues, which was an experience in itself. I had the Phad Thai and some sort of stir fry with cashews and mushrooms in it, as well as the spring rolls. The brown rice was good, not like regular brown rice, this was actually really tasty. The only drawbacks were the slow service-she took our order right away but didn't check on us or give us our bill until at least a HALF HOUR AFTER we finished eating. I was also overcharged. The Phad Thai was delicious, they say they make the spring rolls there, but they tasted exactly like the ones I can buy in the freezer section at a health food store for cheaper! I will definitely return, even though I am still miffed about being overcharged. I would like to try their lunch buffet.

Pros: Tasty Food, All Vegan
Cons: Poor Service, Overcharged

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Yummy Buffet!

5 Posted on 05 / 08 / 2007

I've been to Araya's several times in the past since I used to work next door, but I could never get my husband (he's a meat eater) to eat there until now. We both had the buffet and enjoyed it very much. The spring rolls and pad thai are my favorites. Keep up the great work!

Pros: All vegan buffet, Nice staff, Good value for price

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Great food and weekday buffet

5 Posted on 03 / 07 / 2007

Araya's has great food and sports a 100% vegan menu. They offer a weekday buffet ($6). Be sure to try the thai iced tea and the spring rolls.

Cons: Usually busy

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meh

3 Posted on 07 / 13 / 2006

Buffet was so-so. Be sure to get there early. Menu items are good, not amazing. Service has never been great, but is sometimes okay (feels disorganized). For the prices, especially at dinner, I'd want better. Portions are decent. ... Note the buffet price went up - it's $8 + tax now.

Pros: vegan, buffet is good, location
Cons: service usually so-so, pricey