Vegan-friendly
Chinese
Take-out
Asian
Chinese vegetarian restaurant with several locations. Features a variety of Asian vegetable dishes, mock meat dishes, sushi, dim sum, and others. Large selection of tea. No beer or wine served. Quiet, relax ambiance. Confirmed closed, Jan 2016.
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966 Boulevard Rene-Levesque Ouest, Quebec, Quebec, Canada, QC G1S
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Last update on 16 Jan 2016 by Guest
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15 Reviews
First Review by Begonia
Babette
Points +2101
Great vegetarian restaurant - Edit
Zen is located inside a cute house on René-Lévesque. The menu is quite extensive and the staff is knowledgeable about which item contains dairy or not.
Read moreI had the $24 table d'hôte was extremely filling and quite delicious.
The service was not slow when I went.
Pros: Nice atmosphere, Friendly service
Guest
jcberger
Points +156
Delicious food -- slow service - Edit
The appetizers, tea, and soup my co-workers and I enjoyed at Zen Gardens were fantastic. The soup (one of the main course options) was especially delicious -- it had an amazingly rich broth and one of the most delicious faux meats I've ever had. The portions were a little too small, in my opinion.
Read moreThe atmosphere is lovely and very zen, but the service was incredibly slow. This is not a place to go if you're in a hurry, although our waiter did seem to speed things up quite a bit once we told him we were in a time crunch.
Pros: delicious food, calming atmosphere
Cons: slow service, portions on the small side
Guest
aabuck
Points +56
Good asian style food in a pleasant setting - Edit
We had a nice meal at Zen Gardens. Some things to note- the menu is entirely in french, and our waitress spoke no english so be prepared to translate the menu yourself if you are an english speaker. We ended up inadvertently ordering a bunch of spring rolls because we were unclear on what we were getting (they were good, however!). The vegetable dumplings and spring rolls were good, and the vietnamese pho-style soup was tasty, if a bit too full of a variety of mock meats for my taste. The broth was flavorful and delicious. The food took a very long time- we were there for an hour and half and were one of two occupied tables. Our server was polite but seemed very, very uncomfortable, and also didn't seem to know what credit cards they accepted at the end of the meal and had to run several of ours before she figured it out. The setting is a beautiful house that is decorated well and very calming. The food was good, I would go back if in Quebec because it appears to be the only all-vegetarian restaurant in the city but it wasn't the best asian-style vegetarian food I've had.
Read morePros: Tasty food, Nice atmophere
Cons: Takes a long time to get your food, Service could be better
Guest
sarock
Points +18
Zen vibe, amazing food - Edit
I live in Quebec city so I tried this restaurant a few times in the past (3) and I was never disappointed. The food is completely amazing, everything on the menu is vegetarian and asian style. My favourites are definitely the beef seitan and brocolis and the carrot cocktail. The sushis are also delicious. I recommand to go on weekdays because on a saturday night it can be pretty packed and the service will be very very slow. I'm talking of a 2 hours service here... The staff is nice, but it can be slow on weekends.
Read morePros: They know their [censored] about veg food, Fresh juices are amazing, Asian/zen vibe with gorgeous decor
Cons: Slow service on week-ends, Always packed on saturday night
Guest
JonJon
Points +20298
Beautiful asian food experience! - Edit
The ambiance of the restaurant is really elegant, the atmosphere is calm. Everything is there to enjoy your dinner.
Read moreIt is easy to find vegan options and every dish is enjoyable with relatively generous portions. I had sushis which were nicely presented with a sculpted carrot slice that means "luck and wealth" in japanese. I also tried grilled dim sums, a miso soup and banana donuts to finish. I am not traditionnaly fond of asiatic food but I really appreciated this dinner. Prices are reasonnable and staff is friendly. A vegetarian/vegan heaven in Québec city where restaurant choices are traditionnaly limited for veggies, which is sadly so close to France for that...
The restaurant is quite far from the city center but easily reachable by bus.
Pros: excellent japanese and chinese food, great ambiance, reasonnable prices
Cons: far from the city center
Guest
emmalilies
Points +27
Zen - Edit
Great little place, the ambiance is really good, and peaceful and calm and the people are very welcoming and vegan friendly, we once had a vegan meeting there and they were very accommodating. The service can be slow and if there is a lot of people it can be very slow but then the restaurant is called Zen so I suppose that's what we do, we stay zen, enjoy the food and for once, take the time to eat and enjoy what we put into our bodies.
Read morePros: Delicious Food, Ambiance
Cons: Slow service (if in a hurry)
Guest
Midori
Points +114
A tad heavy on processed soy, but otherwise great - Edit
This is definitely worth the walk away from Vieux Quebec. (In fact, I am not aware that you can even find vegan food inside Vieux Quebec, though you can find it a bit closer than this.) Unique among Quebec City offerings, Restaurant Zen offers fresh, perfectly spiced Asian fusion meals at a reasonable price and in a very peaceful, nice environment. The tea is also excellent, and they have coffee if you lean that way.
Read moreI would encourage Restaurant Zen to do a bit of experimenting with less processed soy, as a menu that relied less heavily on isolated soy protein would add to the zen experience. As it was, we found a good seitan dish, as well as a curry that my failure to ask specific questions about caused to arrive with soy chunks in addition to vegetables. This was my fault entirely, and I admit that they tasted good, as did absolutely everything else.
Pros: Taste, price, atmosphere
Cons: Highly processed soy
Guest
Traveling gal
Points +50
Good Food- Great ambience - Edit
We were recently in Quebec for my parents' anniversary and decided to give it a try. My sister and I have dietary restrictions and they were very accomodating. The miso soup was different and probably the tastiest I've ever had. My parents (who are meat eaters) thoroughly enjoyed their meal as did my sister and I. We had a buddha feast which was a little dull, but we asked for no oil, and that was our choice. If you have no restrictions, you will very much enjoy your meal, in this very comfortable, peaceful environment.
Read moreGuest
Veronica01
Points +168
Amazing flavours and food - Edit
My husband and I have been to this restaurant twice now. We are vegan and don't have a lot of options in Quebec City when we come to visit, but I am so glad that Restaurant Zen is here.
Read moreThis is the nicest, elegant vegetarian restaurant we've found. It's very enjoyable to come here considering most other vegetarian or vegan restaurants are dives.
This is what we got last night
H1. Dim sum à la vapeur
H4. 2 rouleaux impériaux
E6. Aubergines aux herbes et aux épices braisées sur sur hibachi
N3. Vermicelles de riz au curry de style Singapour
Dim sum, imperial rolls (spring rolls) Eggplant, Broccoli, basil vegetables with jasmine rice and vermicelli noodles stir fried with vegetables.
I have to say this was one of the top vegan meals I've ever had, the flavors of eggplant, broccoli and basil were so delicious and the noodles were just how I like them, sort of like egg noodle style.
Everything seems to be made to order, so it does take a while but it is well worth the wait and the service is always very good here.
I highly recommend you check it out, you won't regret it.
Ask the waiter for suggestions or clarifications on the menu if you have questions.
Pros: atmosphere, delicious food, intimate
Guest
jedzen
Points +108
Great relaxing atmosphere - Edit
There are not a lot of vegetarian places in Québec, so it's great to have this one. However, it is not the best food i've had in my entire life. Not the worse either.
Read moreThey do a lot of fried items : tofu, sushi, rolls, and desserts ( banana, pineapple... ) I would suggest not to order those because they all taste too salty and oily. Be sure to ask when you order because it's not always specified. Fortunately, the menu is wide enough and it is possible to get something healthier, and tastier.
This place is vegetarian, and almost everything can be made vegan if you ask for it.
Most of the soups are good. I love their purple jasmine rice, and i love their steamed veggies. They also offer a variety of fresh juices, which is nice. Food is well presented : they do pretty plates, especially their lunch bentos.
The atmosphere is lovely. I never seen this restaurant crowded and you can't here a noise from the kitchen. The music is calm and the place is quiet. That might be why it is called 'Zen'.
The owner, who generally doses the service, do not speak a lot of french and english but she does understand really well and she is always really friendly. The service is slow, but not in a bad way : like i said, all the atmosphere is zen, relaxing. You go there to enjoy your evening, not when you're in a rush. I truly think, and that is a quality they have, that nothing is pre-made. They take time to cook the food and set a nice looking plate.
Prices are fair. They have good deals for lunch.
I give this place a 4 because of the service, the atmosphere and the fact that i there are only 2 vegetarian places in the city. The food is really not that bad, there's just too much of fried items. But when you know what to order, it can be really good.
Guest
brentonagony
Points +83
Different in a very good way - Edit
I am visitor from Perth in Australia and where I'm from most vegan food comes in the form of Asian food so I didnt think I'd be trying anything new..
Read moreThe restaurant is very well presented and has a great atmosphere. The menu is entirely in french (which is intimidating as I know no french what so ever). The lady who served us translated it very well.
Amazing wonton soup. Spring rolls were not oily at all. The steamed Dumplings were very tasty. I can't remember what our mains were but they had a good mix of vegetables and mock meat.
All in all most asian style vegetarian restaurants could learn from this place.
Pros: Friendly staff, Good food , Well priced
Cons: French menu
Guest
thelink
Points +165
Peacful atmosphere and delicious food - Edit
We spent a couple of days in Quebec City in June and had dinner at Zen both nights. And we absolutely loved it. This is a great place for a special occasion dinner.
Read moreThe atmosphere in the restaurant was so calm and relaxing, the decor was beautiful.
The staff was very friendly.
The food was incredibly delicious and very well presented.
One night we had one "Plats principaux" and one "Nouilles sautées" dish, both came with a little starter and a spring roll. On the second night we had two "Grandes tables d'h'te" which consisted of several courses and were great value.
Both the miso soup and the wonton soup were the best I've ever had. Unfortunately we didn't have time to go back one more time to try the sushis which sounded very tempting.
The menu was only in French but the staff spoke English and was helpful with their explanations and made sure all our dishes were vegan.
The restaurant is a bit out of the city centre but there are a few bus routes that take you there from the old town.
During daylight hours a nice (long) walk from the old town through Battle Fields Park and Parc du Bois de Bologne brings you within a view blocks of the restaurant. And then it's a pleasant short walk through a nice suburb.
Guest
kennyp353
Points +1622
Excellent Chinese fine dining experience - Edit
I went on consecutive nights, both times the food was exquisite. Portions not large, but the set menus have five courses and by the end of it you'll be full. You start with an incredibly healthy-tasting juice mix, and finish with dessert and Chinese tea, and in between some stuff you'll never have tasted before - and I've eaten in a LOT of vegetarian Chinese restaurants!
Read moreFirst night, I had their new top-priced fixed menu. Main course is as in the attached photo - I had to take a picture of it, it was so impressive-looking. Second night, I had a build-your-own table d'hote, the "poulet kung po au soya" was similar to the fake-chicken sweet-and-sour-with-broccoli-and-rice I've had in dozens of vegetarian Chinese restaurants, but this was the best ever, by far.
Don't expect every dish to wow you - but as an overall experience, it's sublime. At $25 including tax for a multi-course meal, it's great value - you could spend almost that on Commensal's buffet.
I haven't even got to the service. First night the restaurant was busy yet I waited ten minutes for any staff member to appear and seat me! Each course did take ages to appear, though not to the point that I was irritated, since the surroundings are so sublime. The second night, service speed was impeccable.
My waitress, Phyllis, was so friendly and so sweet. Second night she greeted me by remembering my name and we discussed our respective travels and recommendations for vegetarian restaurants in Beijing and Shanghai. Her warmth and heartfelt friendliness and well-wishing will remain with me a long time.
Restaurant is slightly out of the way, but you can get a number 800 bus or a $10 cab from the old town.
Pros: unique and upscale Chinese food, sublime setting, amazing service
Cons: no English menu, two miles from downtown
Guest
krumbs
Points +28
good, out of the way. - Edit
this place is a little out of the way compared to everywhere else i ate in quebec city.
Read moreit was a very good meal. i got a big soup and my date had a mixed vegetable and tofu type of plate.
i didn't think anything of the service being slow until i read the other reviews. the service is slow. wasn't big deal...
Guest
Begonia
Points +61
Vegan Eureka - Edit
Completely vegetarian, although it is always good for vegans to check with the waiter before ordering as there are items with eggs on the menu that are not identified as such. Service was very pleasant and polite but slow, it seemed to be the two-women syndrome I run into often. We were the first to arrive and not the first to be served... Also the main dishes (cooked) were somewhat cold. In general, though, I was very pleased to be able to eat a completely vegan meal, which you can't do in very many places in this city, and the price was right. I am planning to return.
Read morePros: Completely vegetarian, Vegan friendly, Pleasant environment
Cons: Main dishes somewhat cold, Service polite but slow
Guest
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