• Golden Temple Natural Grocery & Cafe

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  • Health-food-store Health Store
Vegan-friendly
American
Juice bar
Take-out

Vegetarian cafe and grocery store, est. since 1973. Serves coffee, fresh pressed juices, smoothies, soups, salads, sandwiches, main plates. Has dairy-free cheese and gluten free bread as substitutes. Store stocks fresh fruits and vegebles including organic, grocery, nutritional supplements, and more. Open Mon-Fri 8:30am-7:00pm, Sat 9:30am-6:30pm, Sun 12:00pm-5:30pm. Hours are for store - cafe hours are Mon-Fri 8:30am-3pm, Sat 9:30am-2:30pm.


Venue map for Golden Temple Natural Grocery & Cafe
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17 Reviews

First Review by DanimalPanda

wandering44

Points +102

Vegan
26 Jul 2023

Great spot for lunch!

His place is great! Like others have said it’s a throwback to a simpler time. The menu is not fancy or full of boutique fusion dishes . It’s is basic solid wholesome foods . They have daily lunch specials that are huge portions an super tasty. As far as price it is no more expensive than anyplace that has jumped on the it’s vegan we can charge more wagon🤣and GT gives you what you pay for .

Pros: Potions , Staff , Quality

TofuTrey

Points +817

Vegan
28 Dec 2022

Wonderful Vegan Food Reasonably Priced

From what I have heard, this place has been serving up vegan and vegetarian meals since the ‘60s. There’s a reason they’re still in business today. Delicious food and reasonably priced. We had a group of five and got out for about $55.

Pros: Delicious vegan food, Reasonable prices

Cons: Serves non-vegan food also, Styrofoam cups for tea (not eco-friendly)

Paige01

Points +627

Mostly Veg
10 Nov 2022

Good healthy options!

I like that golden temple is one of the few places in the Bham area that offers healthy, whole food based veg meals. Their menu is very basic, but tasty. The mushroom hot chocolate they have right now is amazing. Get it with the Om mushroom hot cocoa powder and almond milk.
The store has wonderful vibes as well. If your wiccan/pagan/ecclectic, you'll enjoy it here.

Pros: Healthy vegan options , All vegetarian

Cons: Expensive. $10 for a avocado and veggie sandwich.

iheartplants

Points +210

Vegan
19 Aug 2022

love it here

golden temple is a birmingham plant-based staple. if not for the food, it’s worth a visit for the atmosphere/experience. i usually only order a coffee or tea at the cafe, but recently tried the vegan golden temple stack with grilled veggies. my friend ordered the black bean burrito. both options were fairly good (though the veggies were a bit too oily for me). golden temple is a great adventure for a vegan foodie!

Busterbjr7

Points +16

Vegan
18 Jun 2022

Lunchtime favorite

Awesome salads, soups and entrees.
Great variety reasonably priced.

Pros: all vegetarian - Vegan optional , Fresh homemade food and fruit smoothies , Daily specials

fxckinhidiot_Xxuwu

Points +50

Vegan
28 Mar 2022

got a cute asf sticker

saw so many cute things but was only there for a second, got the cutest bumper sticker

Gnarone

Points +17

Vegetarian
09 Dec 2019

Awesome!

What a nice and healthy space! Totally vegetarian and made in the house! I highly recommend it. It’s mostly vegan and good!! Very good

Pros: Made daily fresh, Tasty and healthy

iamladypeach

Points +29

Vegan
27 Oct 2019

Yummy

I loved the rice bowl I had. It was kinda like stir fry. Lots of herbs in the store section. I’ve been determined to go back every since my last visit to Birmingham

Pros: Store and cafe

Cons: No parking

arbacadarba

Points +94

Vegan
25 Jun 2019

Old schoolbut ok

As other reviewers note, this is a 50 year old new age hippie institution and not a fancy modern health food store. In other words, don't go here expecting to stock up on vegan groceries. I ate at the cafe and had a vegan mexican pizza, which was totally decent but indeed used "old school" (pre-Daiya) vegan cheese which was a throwback to when that was the state of the art. Really the best part of this place is that they have a freezer full of boxes of vegan novelty ice cream treats that you can buy individually for dirt cheap. I bought both a tofutti cutie and a soy delicious mocha fudge bar for $2 total. Also got to try two brands of local kombucha which is always fun.

Pros: Dirt cheap vegan ice cream treat freezer , Decent vegan food at cafe

Cons: Not really a place to buy groceries

SabraRogers

Points +97

Vegan
10 Jun 2018

Everything

From supplements to singing bowls this store will have everything, especially with the vegetarian café connected.

FareedShakir

Points +15

Vegetarian
18 Aug 2017

LOve this place best food in Birmingham

LOve this place best food in Birmingham Plus there is a side market that sells everyting you need.. Blessings

Pros: Good food / Side store, Good people, Good location

Cons: Needs more locations , There advertising sucks , Love this place

skat

Points +136

Vegan
15 Nov 2016

Birmingham Veggie Staple

Golden Temple is a staple of vegetarian cuisine in Birmingham. Having been open for almost 50 years, it's a great spot for lunch any day but Sunday (the cafe is closed), and they've got an eclectic store, as well. Every menu item is either vegan or can be made vegan, and they have a different special every day. I just wish they were open for brunch and/or dinner!

Pros: All Vegetarian, Anything Can Be Made Vegan, Kind People

Cons: Sometimes They Get Busy, They Only Serve Lunch, Cafe is Closed on Sunday

MikeSwiston

Points +190

Vegetarian
15 Apr 2016

good, fresh food

My family ate lunch here on a recent visit. The vibe is very 70's hippie, but the food was good and fresh. There is a full menu of vegan and vegetarian food, with daily specials. The staff was very friendly and happy to explain the menu. A lot of restaurants in Birmingham have very minimal vegetarian options, finding the Golden Temple was a great surprise. We will make it a point to return the next time we are in the area.

Pros: fresh, healthy food, fully vegetarian, friendly staff

Cons: hard to find parking

cookiem

Points +5871

Vegan
20 Feb 2016

Not hip, just outdated

The recent reviews captured my shock for this store quite well... What is up?! So much potential, but it has seen its best and has since just declined into a state of decrepitude. Sad.

The produce is locked, well, not really, but imprisoned in glass refrigerators. That means people ain't buying it fast enough. One look at the bananas, which were one of the few produce items not locked in the refrigerator, and you know you want no food here.

The people here seemed to want the nick nacks of a flea market style selection of stuff. If that's your expectation, you will love this place. For the rest of the public seeking to buy some food... Well, I would advise going elsewhere. Sad store is an understatement.

Pros: ??

Cons: Run down, Old food, Prices high

anikalehde

Points +169

Vegan
20 Feb 2016

Weird and Anachronistic

Nice to have a place with some vegan grocery foods, but half of the store is filled with gross dusty incense, and psudo-new-age stuff made in China. Did not seem to be keeping up with the times and felt dirty.

Pros: good location, some vegan items

Cons: dirty, smelly

thereallunchgirl

Points +228

Vegan
16 Jan 2016

Nice local store

I've been here a few times looking for specific items that I couldn't find anywhere else. I have never seen meat being sold here as the other reviewer claims. Yes, they sell cheese, but it is rennet-less. I don't eat dairy, regardless because it's essentially one and the same with the veal industry. They have lots of great items for a small store and some produce from local farmers. The entire store smells like incense. The only problem I had with this is that I bought a frozen loaf of bread, took it home, and found that it also tasted like incense.

Pros: Smells like incense, Supports local vendors, Vegetarian

Cons: Tastes like incense, Limited parking downtown, Prices kinda high for some items

DanimalPanda

Points +478

Vegan
13 Dec 2013

the pseudo-intellectual disestablishmentarianist grocer

It's nice that anything towards nature is attempting to exist in Alabama...
However I don't feel anything natural about walking in this place... Just all the keywords to SELL "natural". Vegans still have to sift through and read every label. They sell meat and lots of dairy and honey and wool and other things stolen from nature. The cafe is not really vegetarian because it sells cheese... The present word used by humans to define the eating of vegetables must have been stretched to include cheese even if it is lined with calf innards (known as rennet).

It's in the city so high prices are to be expected... But they are really high.

I usually get so excited about bio shops, but this place just deflates me with all it's marketing, not much substance or LOVE. If you're going to do it for love do it for love, not for the money.

Pros: bio goods

Cons: smells bad, sells meat, expensive




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