Vegan
American
Organic
Beer/Wine
Take-out
Catering
Upscale sister restaurant to Candle Café. Vegan organic cuisine presented in a two-floor dining oasis with an organic wine and sake bar. Brunch on Sunday. LAST DAY DEC 31, 2019.
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154 E 79th St (at Manhattan Upper East Side), New York City, New York, USA, 10075
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Last update on 01 Jan 2020 by kenvegan
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135 Reviews
First Review by Poundie
hailseitan23
Points +108
This is the vegan restaurant of my dreams - Edit
I have longed for an upscale vegan restaurant for ages. I found it. We went there for a weekend brunch and a weekday dinner, and both times we got in quickly without a reservation. Service is excellent and attentive. The only downside is that the upstairs tends to be on the warm side.
Read moreThe food is amazing, freshly made, and flavorful. It ranges from fancy upscale stacks of food to chowing down on a messy burger. And don't go without getting dessert; I've never had vegan cannoli before but the taste and texture was perfect. This will be a frequent stop whenever I go to New York City!
Pros: Amazing food, Attentive service
Cons: A little on the warm side upstairs
Guest
VeganChazilian
Points +102
great food, off staff - Edit
Classic vegan food, done well, with seasonal menu options. Pricey. The wait staff young man who seated us seemed unhappy, but our waitress was awesome! She had fine suggestions and really made us feel like she sincerely cared despite it being a busy night. We were not rushed, cake/dessert was exquisite. We even got a complimentary appetizer! Would go to again--nothing life changing, but definitely a nice meal.
Read morePros: seasonal, all vegan, relaxed, raw options
Cons: expensive, tense staff
Guest
void
Points +89
Fantastic for a special occasion with vegans and non-vegans - Edit
We came here for a special occasion dinner and it was definitely the right choice. The service was quite a change from the usual casual restaurants and we thoroughly enjoyed treating ourselves to this experience. This does reflect in the prices, but we ended up with around $100 for two people, which is still pretty alright given the quality and the experience. We shared an appetizer - the fried dumplings - that we both loved. I was particularly into the gingery sauce. We each had an entree, I had the chimichurri seitan, and shared a side of polenta fries. The portion sizes of the entrees are definitely on the smaller side, which I appreciate. The polenta fries were a good size as a side for two people; definitely too much for one person alone. They were tasty, but bland in comparison to the rest of the food. Nothing I'd get again. I really liked my entree, especially the plantains, that just had the right amount of sweetness to them. The seitan may have been the most tender and least chewy I have ever had - I wonder what their secret is. Afterwards, we shared the chocolate-peanut butter bliss. It may seem like a small serving, but it is incredibly rich and delicious and was clearly enough for both of us. I enjoyed it a lot and would go back again on another special occasion.
Read morePros: upscale service, great and quiet atmosphere, high-end dishes
Cons: pricey - special occasion only
Guest
Tray-C
Points +495
The BEST! - Edit
Mind blowing and delicious. I had the black bean pumpkin seed burger with the unbelievable heavenly polenta fries and my sister had the seitan piccata and she loved it. We shared the peach galette and peanut butter mousse and were super impressed. The cocktails were great too. Our favorite was the berry long engagement. Perfect late lunch spot.
Read morePros: delicious food, quick service, great location
Cons: pricey
Guest
Shaki411
Points +32
great service OK food - Edit
I seen a few reviews calling this restaurant The Best Vegan Fine Dining in Manhattan ...No lol This is a casual dinner place with nice food.The staff are brilliant and atmosphere was relaxed family vibe...not a date night place.
Read moreGuest
ErikaMackenzie
Points +26
AMAZING! - Edit
What an amazing dinning experience! The food is incredible and not overly rich and filling which was nice. Lots of wonderful flavours and the service was also great! Would recommend the chickpea cake and the Mexican chocolate cake soooo good!
Read morePros: nice ambiance , good service , amazing food
Cons: tightly spaced
Guest
NedaB
Points +13
Delicious vegan food in a nice ambience. - Edit
After a long day of traveling by plane, subway trains and buses for hours and hours I was treated to dinner in this restaurant followed by a walk through Central Park... both things were lovely, even with jet-lag!
Read moreI had an Indian dish of well-spiced carbs and curry on a bed of perfectly cooked (i.e. not overcooked at all) green beans and broccoli with nut slivers on top. It was a great combination. My cousin had meatballs!
Since I was taken out for dinner I can't tell you about value for money, but it's one of the most delicious meals I have had in months... and we cook yummy food at home!
Pros: Delicious food., Good size portion., Nice vibe.
Guest
XOXO
Points +1776
nice ambience - Edit
Very nice place with very nice food. Enjoy your visit!
Read moreGuest
VisForVegan
Points +24
so good - Edit
Good atmosphere, perfect for a nice date, quick lunch, or drinks with friends. The food is amazing, I just want to eat everything on the menu.. The specials are always cool too.. So don't forget about them. I've gone to both locations and they are both so good, I love this place and you will too!!
Read morePros: food , service , drinks
Cons: sometimes there's a small wait, but it's NYC what , reservations book up fast
Guest
Jennbot2000
Points +36
Worth it!!! - Edit
Amazing experience! We made reservations before arriving in NYC and were not disappointed! The staff was very helpful but not overly pushy to order! The raw lasagna with cashew cheese was my first cashew cheese experience and my boyfriend had the Setian piccata and it was delicious as well! Go for the deserts too, you won't be disappointed!!
Read moreGuest
Katharine S
Points +190
Divine - Edit
Candle 79 is always the first place I want to eat when I visit NYC. Their nut cheeses are divine, their gluten-free mains amazing, their desserts to die for. If you go to just one vegan resto in NY (and I hope you get to go to lots), make it Candle 79. Beautiful, upscale spot, well worth the price.
Read moreGuest
AprilvNicole
Points +90
SO GOOD - Edit
This is my favorite restaurant to go to in the city. I've been back a handful of times and I've gotten something different every visit and have never been disappointed.
Read moreMy boyfriend surprised me with a reservation here New Year's Day and he requested they get me flowers and they did it! They were waiting on the table for me when I got there.
The drinks here are fantastic as well. I've gotten their peach lemonade that tasted like sunshine in a glass.
I love this place.
Guest
3muh
Points +20
vegan fine dining! - Edit
I went with my meat-loving sister and her meat-loving boyfriend and they were quite pleased overall! we loved the appetizer special we got (empanadas). the moroccan chickpea spice cake was great & the seitan wheatballs were amazing! from someone who is 2 years vegan and a former lover of spaghetti and meatballs....this made me so happy. we got the wheatballs as a side, not a main dish with the spaghetti*. the steamed dumplings were okay, but i wish they just had veggies in them and not seitan. the zucchini fries were not that good and we usually love zucchini fries. for dessert, we got the cannoli and the brownie which were both fantastic but the brownie was a bit dry. overall, 3 people shared 2 appetizers, 1 entree, 2 sides, and 2 desserts. they also got a beer and the treehugger cocktail. i think we hit all bases but can't wait for my next trip!
Read morePros: all vegan, classy, wide range of cuisine choices
Cons: expensive, busy on saturday night
Guest
MizzB
Points +3731
Vegan upscale dining in Gotham - Edit
Candle 79 dining more than lives up to its reputation of vegan fine dining. Excellent food, friendly service, fine ambience, and the best polenta fries outside my own kitchen. Their cookbooks and prepared frozen foods available in many natural food grocers allow for continuing the Candle dining experience outside the restaurant.
Read morePros: Excellent all vegan food, Friendly, knowledgeable staff, Vegan fine dining
Cons: Expensive
Guest
Aspen22
Points +38
Best food I have ever eaten!!!! - Edit
Amazing amazing so I had two orders!!!!
Read moreGuest
ufleydee
Points +466
Good food, great desserts, expensive - Edit
Very nice Vegan restaurant, amazing service, decent food and excellent desserts. The warm apple and cranberry pie with a scoop of ice cream was the best dessert I've ever had. Expensive place.
Read morePros: Best dessert I've ever had, Amazing service, Creative menu, plenty of options
Cons: The food is far from being amazing, it's decent, Very expensive place
Guest
Trishroberts
Points +90
Delicious and reasonable at lunch! - Edit
I visited with two friends and my teenage daughter. We all ordered from the fixed price menu. We started with complimentary mini-muffins from the kitchen. Then our choice of smoothie or fresh squeezed fruit juice, entree and dessert for only $32. It was a great deal for the quality of the food and the location.
Read moreI saw previous reviews saying the staff was racist and that made me wary about visiting, however, our server was a little stiff but efficient and we got pleasantries on our way out. No problems there! I would love to go back next time I'm in town!
Pros: great food, reasonably priced lunch menu
Guest
Tiptip
Points +24
best vegan food in the city! - Edit
We came for a visit and our local non-vegan friends took us there for a double date.
Read moreThe place is very romantic (but too dark to take good pictures!)
And the food was a-m-a-z-i-n-g!
I've ordered the tamale and that was the best vegan dish I ate in town.
The starters we've ordered was also good.
Highly recommended.
Pros: great food, nice staff, romantic
Cons: not cheap (worth it though), juices are meh
Guest
BriggitteJ
Points +3002
Try the Seitan Piccata! - Edit
My husband and I went to Candle 79 for my birthday dinner. Luckily they were able to fit us in last second without a reservation but I would recommend calling ahead because the dining area is small and they fill up quickly. My husband ordered the pasta special with cashew cream sauce, which was good and I ordered the seitan piccata, which we both agreed was amazing. We also went for a brownie Sunday for dessert, which was good but a bit small.
Read moreOVERALL, the food was very good. The portions were about average. I would consider it on the pricey side BUT this is NYC and I live here so I know that everything is pricey. For the quality of food and flavor the money is well worth it.
Pros: Delicioso! , Nice Location, Friendly Staff
Cons: Pricey Drinks/Desserts
Guest
christinncollins
Points +75
spectacular! - Edit
Unbelievable menu, great atmosphere, fabulous service! May come back again tomorrow!!!
Read moreGuest
jackie2
Points +49
Don't get the portobello - Edit
Candle 79 was an ok vegan experience. The host was a little standoffish but we had a very polite server. The chef brought out a free (!) taster of some kind of tabouli-flavored dish.
Read moreI ordered the portobello off of the gluten-free menu and was not even close to being impressed. I ordered the chocolate-peanut butter bliss for dessert and it was BLISS! It was so good.
I was visiting NY.. probably would try out other restaurants if I returned rather than trying out Candle 79 again.
Pros: Vegan, Gluten-Free, Ambiance
Cons: Flavor, Snobby, Expensive
Guest
veganamanda
Points +251
Pretty good - Edit
I really enjoyed my meal at Candle Cafe. I got the Seitan Piccatta for dinner. I also sampled my friends Lasanga which was good too. For dessert I got the Cannoli which was delicious! I also tried the Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss, which was good, but not quite as good. The restaurant itself was underwhelming. There was a plastic banner hanging with the restaurant name. The tables were foldable and very close together. The servers took FORVER to pour us water. We watched so many servers walk to the other tables before they came to us. I would go again, but I expected a little more.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on Monday August 27, 2012
Pros: food is great
Cons: service
Guest
FrancescaRose
Points +74
Wholesome, familiar, creative meals - Edit
Delicious, wholesome food in a fancy, fine-dining setting. I had a yummy juice, nori rolls to start and the Moroccan chickpea cake with veggies which had creative and yummy flavours. Their take on traditional meals is incredibly inspiring. Even non vegans would find a meal that they would feel comfortable eating. You have to have the Mexican chocolate brownie and the cannoli. INCREDIBLE! I would recommend this place without a doubt.
Read morePros: Desserts , Familiar meals, childhood favourites, Comfortable setting
Guest
Ellebell524
Points +29
Amazing food and service - Edit
We had a series of appetizers and a large plate to split, which the waiter handled very well. The seitan skewers were divine, as well as the cornmeal poppers and the kale salad. As our main dish, we had the special seitan dish, which was pan fried and served with mashed potatoes and asparagus. This was also amazing, and would've been the perfect size dish for one person. We finished the meal with desserts: ice cream, peanut butter chocolate mousse cake, and cannolis. The cannolis stood out as the best to me, but all three were delicious. All in all, one of the best vegan meals I've had.
Read morePros: good for sharing, skilled waiters/waitresses, amazing food
Guest
VegHeadNYC
Points +238
Upscale Vegan Oasis - Edit
Candle 79 was truly the innovator in upscale vegetarian and vegan dining - it paved the way for restaurants like V Note, Blossom and Dirt Candy that followed. The food there is truly excellent - my favorites include the seitan skewers and seitan piccata. The cannoli dessert is not to be missed. It is best to make a reservation when going on a weekend evening. The prices are high, so this is a good restaurant to go to for special occasions like birthdays and anniversaries.
Read moreGuest
HRJVEGAN
Points +26
Great food - Edit
This food is so good. I cant even tell you how good. Its like orgasms in your mouth I need your secrets all of them especially for the toasted almond cocktail!!!
Read morePros: Order everything Go ahead..
Cons: None
Guest
MuK-UK
Points +262
Quality - Edit
I would certainly recommend trying to eat here. The menu is varied and interesting and the quality of the food is second to none.
Read moreIt's not cheap, but considering the location, the quality of service I've encountered and the overall experience, it's well worth a try.
Pros: Haute cuisine
Cons: Haute cuisine
Guest
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