Vegan
Chinese
Take-out
Small vegan restaurant serving Chinese food. Offers pay-by-weight buffet lunch and a la carte menu dinner. Use a variety of vegetables, mock meats, gluten, and protein fibers like soy. Buddhist principles. NOTE: Take out only. Reported closed May 2023.
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617 Johnson St, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
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Last update on 04 May 2023 by CLRtraveller
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66 Reviews
First Review by dkingdesigndotcom
CLRtraveller
Points +10315
Tasty, healthy food - so sorry to see them go - Edit
Updating my long-ago review: Lotus Pond is - sadly for the community - closing on April 30, 2023. I picked up what is probably my final meals from them today. All good food. Tasty Szechuan sauce on the eggplant dish! Always-good turnip cakes, which I remember from their lunch-buffet days. Chow mein, fresh vegetables, mushrooms, tofu skins. I will miss this place. Open 4-8 pm, closed Mon-Tue.
Read moreOld review:
In the heart of downtown. Buffet (pay by weight) and full menu. All vegan. Chinese style. Buddhist, so I think they avoid onion and garlic. Well-prepared, home-cooked, tasty and satisfying food. I especially like the turnip cakes and potato cakes. Buffet has stir-fries, stews, spring rolls, noodles, vegetables (some with seitan veggie meat), dumplings and more.
Tranquil background music. Pleasant staff.
Updated from previous review on 2018-04-20
Pros: all vegan, tasty food, pleasant staff
Guest
vegoutvictoria
Points +823
The best of the best - Edit
Lotus Pond is seriously the best vegan restaurant in Victoria. Possibly the whole of Vancouver Island. I also think it may be the only entirely POC owned vegan business on the Island.
Read moreI think they even give the two Buddhist vegetarian restaurants on the Kingsway in Vancouver (Po Kong and Sun Bo) a run for their money.
Some favourite items:
Turnip Cake
Buddha’s Feast
Lemon Chick’n
Mapo Tofu (extra spicy)
Green beans
Spring rolls
But you honestly can’t really go wrong and should get the combo if you want to save some money.
It’s too bad they no longer do dine in and at the same time I see why they stopped, the space is small and doesn’t have “Sunday dim sum” at the round table ambiance.
Pros: Lovely family, All vegan , Delicious
Guest
ChantalPoulin
Points +2898
Good, but not special - Edit
The food was ok, good and not very expensive, but it's a very ordinary restaurant, not very tastfull food. When we went it was only for take outs. The only chinnese vegan restaurant in Victoria.
Read morePros: All vegan
Guest
Lampbell
Points +28
Love this place - Edit
Delicious food for a decent price, which means a lot with inflation right now.
Read moreCheck to see if the chef’s special includes vegetables. Their very popular lemon ‘chicken’ is only that. We ordered Buddha’s Delight and rice to go with it. As a dinner for two we had leftovers, which just adds value to the meal.
Guest
skazzers
Points +84
Great! - Edit
Lovely vegan food with lots of options to choose from
Read moreGuest
BellaCiclista
Points +157
Buddhist vegan - Edit
Super nice people, seems to be family-run, great variety of very tasty Chinese food.
Read morePros: Kind people, Lots of choices, Authentic Chinese
Guest
Sarilein
Points +25628
Flavorless - Edit
Read moreA Chinese vegetarian restaurant I Victoria with a high rating on google maps and happy cow
The service is super friendly and helpful with choosing items of the menu
The chefs menu includes a spring roll, a soup (I chose the wonton soup) and one dish with rice
I got the lemon “chicken” vegan which was very good, crunchy and well seasoned
The wonton soup was lacking flavor as well as the Black Bean Tofu with veg. I asked for no rice and more veg which was possible. Still felt quite small with only four pieces of tofu and the dish called black bean tofu.
Springroll was good - not too oily, only the sauce that came with it was more like jelly than expected (wished for a proper sweet and chili sauce)
The black bean sauce was lacking flavor and tasted quite bland so I had to add lots of salt and soy sauce - maybe because they don’t use garlic and onions…. Mhhh
All in all I wouldn’t go again because it’s not as tasty as expected also including tax over 18$ for take out is more expensive than vancouver (in Richmond are great Chinese options!)
Don’t get me wrong maybe Victoria isn’t just the best place for food but I have been to quite a few restaurants and have high expectations- it’s only about the food
Service is amazing and friendly
No dine in because of Covid, no wifi (no buffet only pre Covid)
Pros: Lots of options, Combo, Friendly
Cons: Expensive, Lacking flavor, No wifi
Guest
Marie-NoëlleRhéaume
Points +35
Wonderful - Edit
Love love love this place. Order a few plates and just eat a bit of everything. Keep the rest as left overs it’s wonderful and tasty!
Read moreGuest
LaraHarder
Points +110
Wonton soup, more like WINton soup - Edit
I haven't had Chinese food in YEARS and this is so reminiscent, well done Lotus Pond!
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2022-03-31
Pros: Get the wonton soup!!, And the lemon mock chicken, Great price
Cons: Too many options to choose from so, I guess I'll just come back for more
Guest
SashaWhittaker
Points +13
Best Chinese place - Edit
You should totally try the mock chicken!
Read morePros: Only vegan options, Better than non-vegan Chinese restaurant
Cons: The combos are a bit restricted
Guest
thehungryhobbit
Points +176
Delicious - Edit
Definitely try to mock lemon chicken, black bean tofu, spring roll (they are a bit curry-esque nummy) and red bean cake. The wonton soup was a bit of a miss for me. Since I'm a huge lemon fan though this was a bit win for me.
Read morePros: Nice staff, Good dishes
Cons: Not all dishes are a win
Guest
charmedu
Points +78
Fantastic vegan dishes - Edit
This is always a must stop when we come to visit Victoria. Plenty of tasty Asian dishes to choose from and you won’t be disappointed.
Read moreGuest
lavendereyelids
Points +150
My favorite veg place in Victoria - Edit
I eat here more than any other veg place in Victoria. It's just good food.
Read moreThe only cons are I wish they had pictures for their menu items because their menu is huge and it can be hard to know what you're ordering.
They haven't been doing their buffet since Covid and it's a shame because that variety of food in one meal is something hard to replicate without spending 100$ ordering off the menu. Eg. If you want some of their sweet and sour balls you have to pay 15$ but maybe you don't want 15$ of just sweet and sour balls, you just miss having a few. Their pricing of their turnip cakes at 4$ a pop is also kind of brutal though the place itself is generally reasonably priced.
I've definitely had meals from here I didn't like (not a big fan of lotus root apparently) but it's always been a personal preference thing and not because the food is necessarily bad. But with such a big menu it can feel hard to find what's gonna work for you.
My favorite thing to order are the mock beef noodles (subbed with bean curd if you like)- it just has a crazy good flavor I have no idea how to replicate at home (tried). Another favorite is their sweet and sour bean curd with tomato and green pepper.
Their sweet and sour balls, mock duck (just very crispy fried bean curd with lemon- nothing crazy meat like), turnip cakes, spring rolls, regular Chow mein, their ginger fried broccoli, and their cheaper veggie soup are all delicious.
Recently tried their veggie pancake rolls (can't remember the name) and it was literally tortillas, shredded cabbage and carrot with baked tofu strips and sauce). I was surprised. Not bad though, but my bf liked it more than I did.
Updated from previous review on 2021-04-09
Pros: Just good food, Average prices
Cons: Can be hard to know what to order, Small portions of buffet favorites not available
Guest
jessikajewski
Points +138
Good Chinese food - Edit
We didn't receive what we ordered for 1 dish which is the one I really wanted and instead got this beef one that tasted exactly like another we got so kind of got 2 of the same. Other than this the food was really nice and I would definitely order again, hopefully get the lemon chicken this time!!
Read moreGuest
raphalla
Points +776
Good Chinese Food - Edit
End of July. Dine-in was closed due to COVID. We did a take away of lemon chicken and seafood noodle. Seafood noodle (we had hor fun -- wide, thin rice noodle) was super good, but i thought the lemon chicken was supposed to come with rice & soup & spring roll. However, may be there was a mistake and we did not check upon departure, ours just came with the dish (lemon chicken), without anything else. (Lemon chicken was basically just some deep fried mock chicken in lemon & ginger sauce, no other vege.) So, for these two items (a noodle and some 'chickens'), it was 32$ for take out. This made the price steep. Just remember to double check your take-out before departure!
Read morePros: Food
Cons: *
Guest
ChhaviNegi
Points +47
Awesome food 👌 - Edit
Ordered lemon chicken and spring rolls to go. Both were amazing. Lemon chicken was soooooooo yummm!
Read moreHighly recommended!
Pros: All Vegan! 🥳, Lovely staff, Yummiiie food
Cons: None!!!
Guest
vegan_vancouv
Points +246
Try the lemon chicken! - Edit
All vegan Chinese cuisine - the lemon chicken is amazing! So many dishes to pick from, I have yet to be disappointed
Read morePros: Huge vegan menu, Delicious food!
Cons: Often closed, somewhat inconsistent hours
Guest
EsmeTardif
Points +94
Very yummyyy!!! - Edit
Generous portions, won ton soup and turnip cakes were super yummy. As well as the eggplant dish.
Read moreRecommended!!
Guest
KendraWeber
Points +25
Favorite place!! - Edit
This place is soo good!! The food is awesome! This is the only place we came back to on our trip!
Read morePros: Everything is vegan, Food is amazing
Cons: Nothing.: this place is great
Guest
Annikatt
Points +20
Amazing food - Edit
100% vegan chinese restaurant. One of My favourites. At the lunch buffé you pay by wheight and their evening menu is mainly set up to be shared with other people. Well worth a visit.
Read morePros: 100% vegan, very tasty
Cons: Not much seating
Guest
rpoulova
Points +1781
Basic but satisfying. Staff are really nice. - Edit
I went there for their lunch buffet. The selection was not huge, but all I tried tasted good (the turnip cakes were specially yummy!). Staff are really friendly and helpful. The buffet is really cheap - I paid less than 10 dollars for a full plate!
Read morePros: Friendly staff, Inexpensive
Cons: Not a very big selection, Limited opening hours
Guest
Mooloobooloo
Points +1421
Friendly, satisfying - Edit
Small Chinese-vegetarian restaurant in Victoria, with buffet available at lunch (with plenty of vegan options). As far as Chinese-vegetarian places go, this one is pretty good and is fair value for the price. Their daikon cakes a good, and plenty of gluten and tofu creations for one to get one's protein.
Read morePros: Lots of vegan options. Inexpensive.
Guest
TKoch
Points +617
Very good vegan food, friendly staff - Edit
We had dinner here and the food was really good. My husband had the claypot with taro and three mushrooms. I had the combo with the lemon chicken and tofu and veg in a black bean sauce. We also shared the turnip appetizer. The place has a few tables and was packed with locals(always a good sign). Very generous portions and the prices are good. $13.95 for my combo with soup, vegetable roll, entrees and rice. Bathroom was clean. Staff was friendly and knowledgable. We will be back next trip.
Read morePros: Food is good and plentiful, Prices are good, Friendly staff
Cons: Kind of noisy in the small space, Limited seating
Guest
efenosvriemen
Points +1926
delicious chinese cuisine - Edit
the food was good, lots of options to choose from and the staff was super friendly.
Read moreGuest
Arbutus
Points +129
Happy return customer - Edit
I love this restaurant for its authentic Chinese Buddhist food and all-vegan ingredients. They also do not use onions/garlic for those with sensitivities with alliums this is ideal.
Read moreThey do a lunch time buffet that is by weight.
At dinner time, I recommend the house special chow mein, lemon chicken (best item there!), assorted wheat gluten, spring rolls, red bean pastry cakes, and sweet&sour soya balls. Their mock chicken curry and teriyaki-style hot pot are also fabulous.
Pros: All vegan, Excellent food, Authentic, small family-owned
Guest
dontbedaft
Points +761
great Chinese food - Edit
Long-standing vegan gem in downtown Victoria. We always visit it when in the city (hours permitting). The Hot and Sour soup is my fave
Read morePros: Great vegan Chinese food, Good value, Quick service
Cons: Hours a little limited, Seating a bit cramped
Guest
AmberRoseWalpole
Points +28
Yum - Edit
Really great food, nice atmosphere. Felt like I was back in Asia again. Love it. Can’t wait to go back
Read morePros: Food, Cute place, Feels authentic
Guest
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