Vegan
International
Buffet
Take-out
Asian
Ottawa vegan restaurant offering an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet on weekdays as well as on the first Sunday of the month, in addition to an extensive menu that's available. Also a location in Toronto. All vegan as of June 2011. SHUT DOWN MAR 2014.
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354A Preston Street (at Aberdeen St), Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K1S4M7
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Last update on 31 Mar 2014 by Guest
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15 Reviews
First Review by CaroB
azaleea
Points +68
lunch buffet - expected more.... - Edit
i chose this restaurant for our family trip to ottawa, for the lunch buffet, based on the HC reviews.
Read morewhile the place was nice and clean, and the food was tasty, I was a bit disappointed. the choice was very limited for a buffet and it was almost entirely asian food. (we were planningh for an asian restaurant for dinner)
I am not sure i would return, because of the very limited options.
I must mention that the staff were very nice (the service), and accommodated us to use a private room for a nappy change :), as the bathroom did not have a changing station
Pros: tasty food, clean place, friendly staff
Cons: very limited options for lunch buffet, mostly asian food for lunch buffet, no diaper change station in the bathroom
Guest
HereHere
Points +97
Mock meats - Edit
Great that its a 100% vegan restaurant, but almost every dish has a meat or dairy analogue, hence is highly processed. Lunch all-you-can eat weekday buffet is cancelled. Tied to a fringe vegetarian/vegan religion, but you are never approached to join or harassed. I wish the restaurant has a GMO Policy, because I suspect the tofu is genetically modified. I also find most dishes spicy, even though they aren't labelled as such. On my most recent visit, the food was tasty but a bit oily. The noodles are always tasty. Service seemed a bit slow, but is usually prompt. Service is always friendly. I don't recommend sitting near the door in winter.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on Friday January 27, 2012
Pros: vegan 100%, friendly service
Cons: processed (meat analogues), genetically modified soy?
Guest
Babette
Points +2101
This place is alright... - Edit
I ordered the fettuccine deluxe (Spinach Fettucine with soy steaks and salad). It was not amazing, but it was pretty good. And there was no dressing on the salad.
Read moreOn the other hand, the cheesecake is PERFECT!
Pros: Vegan Cheesecake, Outdoor seating, Cheap
Guest
LeenaThampan
Points +20
Seriously awesome Food! - Edit
We tried the Thanksgiving plate for one person which included faux turkey with stuffing, autumn veggies, harvest soup, mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy and a delicious punk in cheesecake - all vegan and absolutely delicious. We also had the chick'un burger that was incredible in itself but the hand cut Fries took it over the top. Can't say enough good things about this place!!
Read morePros: Delicious, Healthy
Guest
faunus
Points +34
Good Selection and Excellent Value - Edit
Friendly place with quiet and efficient service. Tried the Sour soup... it was excellent, with lot's of shitake slices. My wife and daughter tried the Buddha burger and enjoyed them, The rainbow soup was also good. Fresh juices too! Overall a pleasant experience, with the only real off note being the whole grain rice, which should be rinsed a little more prior to cooking (to remove the "off" flavours. Amazing value for money. We will eat here again!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on Wednesday August 08, 2012
Pros: Great Value & Great Service, Good Selection, Good Sized Portions
Cons: A Little Dark and Worn in the interior
Guest
KD
Points +75
Tasty, Great Servers, A Lot of Faux Meats - Edit
I ate twice here recently...once for lunch on a weekend and once for supper on a weekday. I ordered off the "rice corner" section of the menu both times, and both main dishes were tasty and generous in size.
Read moreThe "three flavours" with brown rice was outstanding...I would order this again. The "sweet and sour" dish was good, but I didn't like the faux meat. Next time I would order it with tofu.
I tried the carrot cake, but the piece was small and it was dry. I had a tropical smoothie, but I tasted more banana than anything else. I ordered the summer rolls, only to find that they come with lettuce...something I can't eat and that is not listed on the menu.
If you are fond of faux meat, you will find a lot of options. If you are not, you will need to substitute tofu for the faux meat. There are very few dishes offered without tofu or faux meat.
The servers were very friendly and efficient. The only complaint I have about the service is that the meals arrived a few minutes apart. I assume this relates to the kitchen staff and not to the servers.
Pros: Large portions (rice corner), Friendly servers, Large range of faux meats
Cons: Most items based on faux meat or tofu, Lettuce in summer rolls (not on menu!), Meals arrive one at a time
Guest
Lola Crumpet
Points +84
Expanding Horizions - Edit
Green Earth is both in Ottawa and Toronto. Their lunch buffet is generous and delicious. Their menu is good too. Service is good, sometimes slow, but always kind and considerate. It is on our list and we highly recommend the Green Earth. Far better than the other restaurants that surround it!
Read morePros: Good location, Good food, Good srvice
Cons: Hard to park
Guest
kelligerrity
Points +33
One of our Fav veggie restaurants - Edit
We all love love love Green Earth and have been going there for a few years now. We regularly go to their Toronto location and when we are in Ottawa, we also visit the location there. My daughter, who goes to Trent University in Peterborough, comes back to Toronto at least once a month, not to see us, but to go to Green Earth! Huge menu, but probably my favourite is the curry and veggies. A bit hot too, but just right. My favourite appetizers are the veggie nuggets and the spring and summer rolls. Oh, such good soups too. And can't forget the desserts...the vegan chocolate cheesecake is delicisous as is the chocolate cake. Haven't tries any others, but certainly they are good as well.
Read morePros: delicous food, nice ambience, pleasant staff
Cons: not enough locations
Guest
raphalla
Points +619
Not the best buffet experience - Edit
We went there on Monday afternoon at around 1.30pm. The buffet closed at 2pm and the restaurant closed at 2.30pm. But when the time we arrived, they were already ran out of food. Basically left only half bowl of brown and white rice, some turnip and carrot soup and a plate of water melon. i asked the waitress whether those food will be refilled and she said the kitchen was working on it now. So we decided to stay. After waited for a while, they refilled a small portion of each: stir fried brocolli and carrot, french fries, salad, mock meat and tofu and salad rolls. The refilled portions were small and there were 4 tables including us, around 11 persons there. So things ran out soon. Basically we had the buffet but left feeling still hungry. There was only one waitress too, so basically they were lacking of staff. The food wasn't particullar good too, may be because they were just 'refilled' so was done in a hurry. So for buffet lunch, may be people should go before 1pm since they started at 11 or 11.30am.
Read morePros: Clean, Ambience
Cons: Service, Food management
Guest
iwilldeny
Points +148
green earth - Edit
normally I'm not really a mock meat fan, but when I am in the mood for it this is the place I go to. Their fake chicken/duck/whatever it's supposed to be is quite good! I've gone to the buffet a few times (they do a lunchtime buffet during the week for under $10 and the first Sunday of the month they do a dinner buffet for $12.95 I think) and it'[censored] or miss. Generally the fake poultry is a safe bet but some of the stuff isn't as great. It's a real mix of foods. Generally asian inspired but I have had mashed potatoes (that tasted like instant??) there before. I've had the Green Earth Rotisserie off the menu a few times and it's been consistently good so sticking with the menu is a safe bet if you don't want to chance the buffet (you can always go back and take a look at it and decide).
Read moreTheir desserts are....odd. I have not had one that I've liked unfortunately. They garnish the cake with a grape tomato which is kind of weird. And sometimes they'll put a weird gelatinous thing in the buffet.
It's a nice little area too, despite living not that far away I rarely make it down to Preston. If the weather is good there's a patio out front that's really nice to eat on.
Pros: good prices, friendly , good fake meat
Cons: Supreme Master TV, kind of creepy, a little hit or miss with the buffet
KD
Was the garnish some type of fruit or berry, by chance? My cake was garnished with a fruit or berry (I'm not sure what type) with the green leafy portion still attached. It was round, reddish, and only slightly smaller than a grape tomato, so I could see how the two could be confused.
Read moreGuest
jedzen
Points +108
Nice plate to have dinner. - Edit
I don't know how is the lunch buffet. I went there for dinner. If you don't like fake meat and fried items, check the menu carefully. I've been able to order a really nice plate by talking to the server, because i was not sure of what i would get. I first had a really great salad, with greens, avocado, strawberry, apples, nuts, that was fresh and tasty. We got fresh juices ( carrot/ginger ). Then we ordered rice with grilled veggie and tofu brochettes. It tasted great. The desserts we chose, cheesecake and almond/chocolate were both vegan and came with vanilla soy ice cream. I liked how everything was nicely presented. Nothing i never tasted before, but they have a way to set up plates, and some personnal touches that i appreciated. The service was quick and lovely. I would recommand that place for dinner ; enjoy a fresh juice, a dessert, and order a plate with non-fried food, and that can be a nice experience.
Read moreGuest
procrastinasian
Points +273
Good restaurant - Edit
My husband and I had been to the Toronto Green Earth restaurant a few times, and enjoyed it. The menu is the same (or almost the same) as the Ottawa restaurant. The Ottawa restaurant is in a slightly nicer area, and is bigger and feels a little more upscale, as well. The staff was friendly. We went on Valentine's Day, and didn't end up ordering the special prix fixe menu, but it looked really good. I wish we'd been able to go for the buffet, but we were only in town for a couple of nights. Recommended!
Read morePros: Friendly staff, tasty food, few non-vegan options
Cons: Not the healthiest food
Guest
Richard Haney
Points +15
Slower Food, Slower Diners and Slower Expectations - Edit
The food at the Green Earth is infused with Love!! Slower food, slower service and slower expectations are one of the hallmarks of a quality functional vegan or vegetarian restaurant.
Read moreIf a diner comes in the door in a hyper-McDonald's state of mind then it is their own responsibility to slow it down to the ambiance and the mood of the vegan restaurant.
It is very challenging to run a new excellent vegan restaurant with all the old expectations that fast-moving, wired diners carry in with them. It is URGENT not to sacrifice the quality of the food for the speed of delivery. Please, fast-food folks, go to the fast-food (vegetarian) restaurants. Let the rest of us slowly enjoy the slow food experience............Thanx.
How about a second Green Earth Restaurant out in Bells Corners for we westerners??
Pros: Won Ton Soup, Crispy Chow Mein, Thai Banana Rolls
Guest
Parasol
Points +353
Good food but not worth the appalling service. - Edit
We went to Green Earth yesterday for (Saturday) lunch. I was excited about a new vegan restaurant in town!
Read moreThe ambiance is nice, if a little institutional. [edited by wm- see terms].
The menu is mostly vegan and very extensive. Generally, the food was decent but a little bland. The side salad that comes as a side dish is a sad, limp pile of shredded lettuce and carrots with a flavourless dressing.
Dessert was excellent and I would consider returning for the dessert alone. The cheesecake was magnificent.
The biggest problem I had with this restaurant was the service. The service was slow, and the waitstaff did their job in very slow stages. It took a few minutes to be seated, another few minutes to get the menu, another few minutes for water, etc. In between courses, the service was inattentive and painfully slow. Someone on staff would come out to the dining room, bring someone cutlery and go back behind their counter (instead of checking in on the other diners, taking orders, etc). It took dessert a half-hour to get to us and only after we walked up to the counter and asked about it (another table had ordered the same two desserts, they said, and they forgot about us - even though we were seated in the front window in plain view). Water was filled up once in the ninety minutes we were seated. We had to ask for cutlery. We had two people serving us and weren't sure of who our real waiter was.
Overall, the service was appalling. I attribute it to beginner hiccups but, in my opinion, you have to hit the ground running when you open a new restaurant and have the service (at least) fine-tuned from the beginning.
I would only go back for their daytime buffet so I wouldn't have to wait for service. We went to the counter to pay (not wanting to wait another half-hour for someone to return to the table) and the woman behind the counter (one-half of our wait staff) said it was hard to find good waitstaff for a vegan restaurant. At least she acknowledged that it was terrible but she didn't do anything to make up for her fellow staff. No excuses, please.
Honestly, the food is not good enough to warrant the terrible service. We left frustrated and disappointed.
Pros: Dessert, Location, Extensive Menu
Cons: Service, Food Quality
Guest
CaroB
Points +18
Great Taste, Nice Welcome - Edit
I went to Green Earth Vegetarian Restaurant with my family and everybody left happy and fulfilled. My kids were asking to go back the next day!
Read moreI took some crunchy chow mein noodles with veggies and soy protein on top. We had the chance to taste crunchy won ton as a welcome appetizer offered by the restaurant on grand opening week. My daughter and mother-in-law enjoyed their won ton soup, while my husband took a garden burger with greens. My younger daughter had crispy golden rolls that filled her up so I was lucky to have the fettuccini Alfredo she had order for my lunch the following day. They were green and tasty, accompanied by a vegan cream sauce and some mushrooms and red peppers. We also shared a platter of spring rolls made with rice paper. They tasted very fresh with the mint leaves and noodles that were inside.
Then the house offered us dessert to thank us for visiting them: banana rolls with vegan whipped cream.
Everything was delicious. The restaurant is very clean, the decor beautiful with inspiring paintings and decorated fans. And the owners were so welcoming and friendly that it almost felt like visiting relatives.
This restaurant is a fine addition to Ottawa's dining out experience. Since it is very close to my home, I will go there often.
Prices are very reasonable: $62 for 5 people and an extra doggy bag lunch with the 17% tip included. I also noted that the box containing the leftovers was made of cardboard.
Congratulations and good luck to this restaurant.
Guest
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