Happy Veggie

The place is loaded with vegan and gluten free options. The food was fresh and good, it just wasn't great. Good spot for a quick lunch...

The food is so good. I used to venture out and different items on the menu but now my order is the same every time I walk in...

Chicken Drumsticks and Pho.

Those are my two favorite things here. The chicken drumsticks are a great appetizer. Crispy, delicious, and juicy.

The pho comes in a huge bowl and is so filling. Only on a few occasions have I ever been so hungry that I drank the broth too! I could eat it every day. It reminds me of the noodle soup my Mom makes.

If you don't like noodle soup I also highly suggest the curry.

The place may not look like much but ooh it's good.

fresh veggies. i think they dont use MSG. Not what I would call substantial (I had the soup described as "serving two", it almost served one).
Quick service.

Great little place to grab a bite.

We were super happy with the food, fresh and tasty. Low fat and not greasy like other vegan restaurants. Mongo smoothie was to die for!!!

This is one of my favorite restaurants and I am so happy that I found it. The menu says "vegetarian restaurant", but it is all vegan. They have a great variety of dishes with and without "mock meats". Their curries are really flavorful, as well as their pho. My personal favorite is the Happy Veggie Wrap and I get it almost every time I go :)

The food is great. I usually come here and get the spring rolls and pho. The curries are also delicious. The atmosphere is lacking a little bit. Most of the time they don't have any music playing, so it's just awkward silence. Some of the servers are also kind of rude, like you are inconveniencing them by being there. I recommend coming here for a tasty lunch or takeout, but not for a nice date.

Today was our first visit. The restaurant is a small one in a strip mall, but the flavors were Big. We sampled their Pho, Lemon Grass Chicken, Curry Veggie Masala, and Vegetable Dumplings. All were well prepared, flavorful, and nicely presented. Brown rice is available for a small surcharge. We thought the prices were very fair and the serving sizes more than adequate. Personally, my leftovers will be enough for another two meals. The atmosphere is tranquil and the service gracious and friendly.

Does Vietnamese food make you happy? There is something wonderful about the right blend of sweet, spicy, salty, and savory that makes Vietnamese food so so so good. The happy veggie does it right – vegan, delicious, and so satisfying. Love this place. I smile when I know we are going there, and I smile for at least an hour after we eat. Happy is right.

Recently ate here - had the "chicken" drumsticks and veggie curry. Very yummy - will be back. One downside is $2 extra for brown rice - seems steep. Very nice owner as well.

I've had many different dishes at Happy Veggie and enjoyed them all. My favorites have been a basil eggplant special, the Pad Thai, and the "drumsticks" are freaky good.

The ambiance is really mellow and relaxing even though it is in a strip mall, and you feel great after your beautiful meal.

The staff is friendly enough, but I wouldn't exactly call them attentive. I feel like I usually have to get their attention to ask for more water, or to say we are ready for the check... things like that.

My girlfriend and I absolutely love eating here. We found it when we lived in the area, and we still make it a point to drive back from time to time. The Asian themed all vegan menu is all awesome. We especially love the curry soup. The vegan cheesecake is perfect too!

Clean, small, vegetarian only restaurant located in sidewalk mall. Food was just okay, a little too bland for me and needing salt. This would be good for someone looking for a low salt option. The "spicy" was very mild too.

Price was average for a vegan restaurant. I had one entree and one starter. The total was just over $20.

Parking was in the small mall lot. During busy times for the mall I could see it be a little hard to find a space (I was there around 5:30 on a Tuesday afternoon, and it was a little packed in the lot then).

The wait staff was friendly enough and the manager truly believed in the Vegan life style. The business was honest and local. Nice to see.

I was in Redondo Beach on business and came here about 4 times in a week. Definitely the best vegetarian food in the local area by far! The Pho is to die for.

I had read about this place on happycow, and came here once for a dinner meal. Here's my Happy Veggie review.

Pam, the owner, was very gracious and made our party feel at home. The four of us veg foodiees shared many dishes: summer rolls, casaval spring rolls, pho noodle soup, pineapple chicken and brown rice, au lac pancake, fresh zuchini spaghetti, tofu cheesecake drizzled in berry sauce, vegan carrot cake, and hot tea.

We ordered so much food and manaaged to finish everything. Each dish (except the desserts) was made fresh upon order and tasted delicious.

Personally, I especially liked the pho, the zucchini spaghetti, and the au lac pancake, and I would recommend them for anyone to try. It was apparent to us that the chef (brother to Pam) prepared each dish with the utmost care, and the results were wonderful.

The only suggestion I have to make this place even better is if they offer more choices that are made without mockmeats, as most dishes do contain some kind of mockmeat.

This is a place I would eat at once a week if I lived nearby. Will try to return soon, cuz I miss the pho.

Finished a bike ride in the South Bay at this little gem. Cute lil place, friendly service, was gratefully surprised to be told the menu was completely vegan. :) Enjoyed dumplings as appetizer, pad thai, chicken curry w/white rice, & lemongrass chicken. All fresh looking & tasting! Ordered carrot cake & coconut ice cream for dessert. Pleased to see so much business during our short visit. Great food. Friendly service. Will definately return if I'm ever in the area again. :)

I wanted to like this place, the employees were friendly but very slow. It was difficult to get drinks or other service. The food was ok, some things were better than others. The server told us they were having a busy night and apologized for the service, but it was so bad, and the food wasn't good enough to make me go there again.

Went here for the first time for dinner with three non-veg friends. We all had a fantastic time. The food was great (I had the pho, yum! AND you've gotta try the drumsticks as a starter- to die for!) and the owner was super friendly. We all had such a lovely time we're planning to make it a regular thing. Now go on, what are you waiting for, go get your happy veggie on!


Updated from previous review on Sunday April 03, 2011

Great selection, very friendly staff, great value... My girlfriend and I were more than happy and look forward to going back in the near future! Easy to find as well, right on the PCH in the Albertson's Plaza.

This is my favorite restaurant in Redondo Beach California. Friendly staff with great food at a great value. My whole family enjoys this restaurant.

This is hands down the best vegan Pho I've ever had! I've even taken my meat eating friends here and they say it's awesome! I also just discovered their soy chicken curry which is out of this world. I can't say enough good things about this place. Pam Cote the owner is the most gracious, welcoming hostess I've ever met. In the South Bay it's definitely the best. Happy Veggie and Real Food Daily in Santa Monica are my top two faves.

everything i have ever ate there was delicious. i do not usually write reviews for places but this restaurant is amazing. the staff is also very friendly. my bros n sis' even like the food which is not usually the case

I hate to sound cheap/negative, but $2.50 extra if you want brown rice is ridiculous. Other than that I like it.

Born and raised in the Midwest on meat and potatoes, the thought of Vegan food used to send my head spinning. Never in a million years would I ever think I could enjoy vegan food so much. This isn't just vegan food, it's art. The food is fresh. The flavors are devine. The dishes are original. And most importantly, the food is made with love. Pam, the owner, is a sweetheart if there ever was one. I tell everyone I know, if you're in the Southbay, Happy Veggie should be top on your list. If you're a vegetarian, it's a no brainer...go. If you're a meat eater, it's still a no brainer...go. The pho soup is awesome and the Happy Veggie wrap is one of the most unique wonderful dishes I've ever had. Great news for all us Happy Veggie lovers...starting in March, the Happy Veggie will be open Sunday evenings starting at 5pm.

This place is awesome! The food here is simply delicious especially the house special chicken and chinese broccoli noodles. I've tasted most of the menu and have invited others with me. The most consistent comment they give is that they can't believe there's no meat or dairy flavorings. The entrees are special and the staff, including Pam, are attentive and gracious. I wish they were open on Sundays.

LA is home to many great Vegan restaruants these days, this one is the best.

I loved this place. It's a cute little joint with a super-friendly hostess (who was on the phone organizing an animal rights meeting when we entered). The decor is bright and inviting.

The food was spectacular. My mock chicken in curry sauce took me back to Thailand---the coconut curry was amazingly rich and filling, along with potatoes and excellent, nicely-textured mock chicken. My friend's Mongolian mock chicken was also savory and subtly sweet, with a great array of vegetables. For dessert, our vegan cheesecake was fresh and light.

My only gripe was that our hot tea was served with our food, though we wanted it earlier and specifically asked for it to arrive before the food did. Other than that, I was greatly impressed with Happy Veggie and will definitely return whenever I'm next in LA.

just to echo the other reviewers, this is a great restaurant. despite the generic name, the food is fantastic. the service was very friendly. we came in at around 4 or 5pm, expecting to have dinner. our host gave us the lunch deal without us asking. they really go out of their way to please to customers. we were very happy with our experience.

I went here about a year ago and I was very pleased with Happy Veggie. The service was genuinely friendly and food was served promptly.
The menu had very many things I would like try. I had the pho soup and spring rolls. The soup was my favorite. Now that I am in the area more I will be going back to Happy Veggie.

With Happy Veggie being number one on the list of top rates restaurants on happycow, when I was staying in Redondo Beach, I made it a point to make darn sure I got to go to Happy Veggie. I went in with very high expectations....and they were completely blown away! The attention to detail for the whole experience from extrememly fresh lemon water to the amazingly fresh foods, Happy Veggie deserves 5/5 happy cows over and over again. The owner is a wonderful, friendly woman, who said she was born and raised vegan. I took a nonveg friend with me, so I let him choose what we'd order. We shared potstickers and fried tofu for appetizers, and pho soup and the 1000 layer tofu for entrees. The food was just amazing. The potstickers came with great lightly pickled veggies. The fried tofu was so unique, it was so crispy but not at all greasy. I would say it was like a vegan version of a pork rind. It came with an amazing citrus dipping sauce and a leafy green (I'm not sure what is was, but it was delicious!) that you wrapped each piece of tofu with. The pho was simply incredible. The broth was so fantastic I slurped down my entire bowl. The 1000 layer tofu ended up becoming my next day's dinner, as we'd ordered a bit more than we could handle! The portion sizes were very good and the freshness was great. This place was so amazing, I wish I lived anywhere closeby so I could go more often. I can't say enough nice things about this place. If you are ever anywhere near the LA area, make the trip to Happy Veggie, you won't regret it!!!!

I found Happy Veggie on this site. The reviews stated that the food was inexpensive and wonderful, and they were correct! They also stated that the decor was less than it could be, and here I disagree! Fresh flowers on the tables, table cloths, darling light covers and bamboo everywhere. I have brought many non-vegans, adventerous and not at all, and they were unequivocally astounded at how fresh, creative, and just plain yummy the food is. Must try: Mongolian "beef," PHO, Vietnamese "Chicken" salad, jicama spring rolls, pot stickers, CHEESECAKE!!! And a jasmine tea unlike any other! The service from mom and son is warm, friendly and very prompt. You won't have to ask to have your tea reheated because they are on the ball! Please visit soon and often to help keep them in business!

If you only have a few minutes, then stop by for an order of springrolls. Totally savory, chewy & crispy with some wonderful peanut dipping sauce. I had high expectations and they were exceeded!

The woman who waited on me for take-out served me some wonderful lemon water while I waited. Great conversation.

Deep understanding of vegan/vegetarian philosophy.

Their "mock meat" didn't seem real enough to cause me unease.

I have been a vegetarian for 25 years, and I have to say that this restaurant blew me away! It's very modest with a small storefront in a Redondo Beach stripmall, but inside, it is very cozy and the ambiance is enhanced by the friendly attentiveness of the owner and her staff.
The food is... amazing! From the appetizers of amazing potstickers to the PHO soup... 1000 layer tofu to the chicken with snow peas... and then on to the 'green dream' dessert - a confection just creamy and sweet enough to keep you longing for just another bite - and everyone in my group, vegetarian, carnivore and omnivore alike, were all happy with the quantity and quality of the food.

Thanks, Pam, for a great restaurant - many blessings that your business prospers and reaches out in a way that shows even more people that vegetarian food is delicious, when prepared properly!!!