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.
66 Reviews
First Review by dkingdesigndotcom
EmmaCebuliak
Points +1848
Really Excellent Vegan Chinese Food - Edit
My family and I ordered quite a few dishes for take-out + delivery from here last week and were really impressed! Each item was very unique, well-balanced, and flavourful; not too much oil, not too much fried food, and not too much of any specific ingredient. It seemed really attentively made and we all felt great after our meal! Definitely recommend. As a note, they are extremely popular and we had to wait over an hour and a half for our delivery after ordering over the phone around 5:30pm. The hostess on the line was nice though and checked whether this was okay before we ordered.
Read morePros: Healthy Chinese Food, Good Service, Yummy
Cons: Long Wait Sometimes
Guest
bagwasher
Points +124
Delicious - Edit
We tried the hot pot and the chow mein. Both were good and also came with spring rolls and soup. Too much food for 2 people. The service was great and the price was reasonable. I would definitely go here again
Read morePros: Excellent food, Huge menu, Good price
Guest
rachelandmichael
Points +373
great eats, recommended by other local vegans - Edit
Food was good, service was very nice. Kids devoured the food which is always great
Read morePros: price, portion
Guest
EmilyD
Points +42
good vegan options - Edit
This is a good "go to" place for any time of the day if you're in the area. They had a variety of food choices (soups, entrees, desserts) as well as really delicious juices and smoothies.
Read moreGuest
Ken.thompson
Points +426
ok food--bad soy sauce - Edit
The food here is pretty good, but the soy sauce is artificially coloured and flavoured, really bad stuff! Makes me wonder about the quality of their ingredients in general.
Read moreGuest
chrisgo
Points +75
Love this place! - Edit
Always reliable; good affordable ethical Chinese food. Sweet people run it; there is a buffet during the day if you're in a hurry. Charming.
Read morePros: Good food, Sweet staff, All vegan
Cons: Not licensed, Same decor from whenever they opened 30 years ago
Guest
Netalwins
Points +47
Amazing Vegan Buddhist Chinese Cusine Victoria BC - Edit
This is one of my all time favorite restaurant with a wide variety of dishes to suit almost everyone's taste. No big fish salads here. Great hot and sour soup.. In fact sometimes I just get the large hot and sour soup for 9.95 and that is my meal. I love the turnip cakes.... The chili eggplant is amazing and the Buddhas feast hot pot is awesome. They have a lunch time buffet as well. Yummy yummy and all vegan... Friendly staff... Yum
Read morePros: Great vegan food, Great staff, Amazing selection
Cons: Closed until April 22 :)
Guest
PeteSutherland
Points +44
love this place - Edit
The lunch buffet is great!! So many choices. Pay by the weight.
Read moreGuest
LittleFae
Points +20
Always a great meal - Edit
The service at Lotus Pond is always amazing - it's quite a small restaurant and is often very busy for dinner, but I've never felt that the service was lacking in any way due to the crowds. One time they were out of tables, so they set up a little folding table for my friend and I, which totally reinforced the love I already had for the restaurant. Their food is delicious, I'm always craving their wonton soup, and I've brought numerous meat-eaters to this restaurant who've thoroughly enjoyed their meals. The food is flavourful, and the portions are large, so there are often leftovers. I always feel like I got my money's worth. A great restaurant overall, and my go-to when I need a satisfying and affordable meal.
Read morePros: Great food - so many options, Good service, Affordable
Cons: none
Guest
vera sagram
Points +24
My favourite vegan restaurant - Edit
delicious food, lovingly prepared
Read morePros: delicious, friendly service, excellent value
Guest
vegheadcat
Points +21
Such a Treat - Edit
I love Lotus Pond!
Read moreIt is one of my favourite restaurants in Victoria and I find myself craving it frequently.
The staff are always welcoming, friendly and efficient. The food always comes fast and always taste so delicious. The price is fair and you always get a good sized portion with enough to take home (or sometimes its too yummy and you eat it all)
I've brought family and friends who are meat eaters and they've loved it and said they didn't miss having no meat :)
I would recommend to any veg head or vegan. It's definitely a must try and one of Victoria's little food gems.
Guest
DWNPhoto
Points +387
Great food! - Edit
Had a late dinner here after arriving in Victoria. Waitress was very friendly, and quick to take care of us.
Read moreLocation was easy to get to, as are most things in town.
Food was fantastic, but be prepared for LARGE portions! I would have paid the same amount for half the food. Normally I would just take left-overs home and make a second meal, but being on vacation and not having food storage in our hotel, it wasn't an option.
We took the extras and gave them to someone in need on the way back to the hotel.
Pros: Low prices, Good food, Friendly Staff
Cons: Heads up, LOTS of food
Guest
Chenley
Points +42
Met all expectations! - Edit
After reading HappyCow reviews, hubby and I rushed to eat at Lotus Pond.
Read morePpl mention its dingy but honestly we found it very clean, the staff was also very friendly and the service fast and efficient! We went at 5 for dinner on a Sunday and had the place to ourselves for most of the dinner!
We ordered a 3 item combo.
Tried both the wonton soup and hot and sour. Both delicious, the wonton itself was amazing-broth a lil weak but wonton made up for it. Hot and sour was packed with flavor and veggies and tofu and yumminess! Also comes with spring rolls which are so crunchy and good!!
We had the sweet and sour soya balls which were to die for. The plate was HUGE! Thick, pancake like batter- little bit sweet and very addicting. Best part is I didn't find them over fried, as a clean eater even a few French fries will give me belly aches but these gave only pleasure!
Also had the Bean Curd Skins in lemon sauce. Didn't even know what it was but so glad we ordered. Unique and very pleasurable dish, can't wait to explore more with that ingredient!
And we got way over zelest and got the Buddha delight. Giant plate of veggies and the like! Note- does have a bit of a fermenty- fungusy flavor for those who aren't sure! Great for the digestion however and the bok choy was like candy.
Anddd came with rice.
Lets just say that's enough food for like 4-6 ppl... The two of us brought home doggie bags.
Will most certainly be back again and again! And was so exciting to look at a menu and be able to use or eat everything!!
Pros: Huge variety, Fresh, fast, delicious, Unique dishes
Guest
RattleHeade
Points +21
Dinner at Lotus Pond - Edit
We went for dinner at Lotus Pond last night, I had been there once before for the Lunch Buffet. This time we ordered from the menu, where they made it fresh for us. A very enjoyable meal, from the Mock Chicken balls in a pineapple sauce (chunks of the pineapple itself were like candy), Buddha's Feast (with a great selection of fungus/mushrooms) and our crunchy & spicy chow mien with vegi's. All very good, satisfying. Reasonable price, friendly hosts. Look forward to going back again, soon.
Read morePros: Selection, Freshness, Friendly
Cons: none
Guest
blisssu
Points +145
Lovely lunch at the Lotus Pond - Edit
My husband and I probably wouldn't have gone into Lotus Pond had we not seen its enthusiastic reviews on Happy Cow and been very hungry for lunch. It's not prepossessing from the outside, but we read the extensive all-vegan menu posted in the window and decided to give it a try. So glad we did. Inside, the small dining room was simple but clean, and the staff was welcoming. We chose from the small but attractive buffet and paid by weight. Too bad we didn't have enough time in Victoria to return and order from the extensive printed menu as a few other customers had. Everything was fresh and delicious, and it's such a treat to go to an all-vegan place and not have to wonder about ordering something unfamiliar that might be made with meat. The turnip cake was delicious and a new dish for me, and the spring roll was noisily crispy and flavorful. I particularly like restaurants that offer vegan desserts, and I was attracted to the colorful lotus flower and sesame cakes, even though I assumed they'd be too sweet. Well, they were sweet, but crunchy and tasty too, and the rice-and-wheat-flour pastry enfolding the fillings was flakey enough to rival a well-made pie crust. So much for pre-judgements. The staff was friendly and helpful and we left Lotus Pond full and very happy.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on Monday September 23, 2013
Updated from previous review on Monday September 23, 2013
Pros: delicious all-vegan food, many choices, nice vibe
Cons: looks dingy from outside, tables a bit crowded
Guest
krissimi
Points +129
Delicious and peaceful - Edit
This is a sweet place for a peaceful and healthy meal.
Read morePros: location and atmosphere, food options
Guest
Profound_Raincloud
Points +111
Chinese Food *YUM* - Edit
We stopped into Lotus Pond on a Saturday for lunch. The buffet looked tasty but being nightshade free ordering off the menu seems like a better option.
Read moreWe ordered the dinner for 2. It came with spring rolls, wonton soup and brown rice. The two dishes we choose to include were lemon bean curd and buddha's delight.
I advised the server of my allergies and it seemed like maybe she didn't understand what I had meant but when the food came out there was not a nightshade in sight :)
Everything was tasty! The hubster said he found it to be the best veggie place with this type of fare he has ever been too. I quite in enjoyed the lemon bean curd, it tasted alot like egg in my opinion, kinda of like a lemon egg. Maybe that doesn't sound the greatest but it really was good! The spring rolls IMHO were a bit over cooked. The hubster and I both agreed the broth in the wonton soup was heavenly!
Definitely a place I would go back to if visiting Victoria again!
Pros: Friendly Staff, Excellent Value
Cons: Looks run down
Guest
Peacock41
Points +36
Great Food! - Edit
Really good selection for lunch buffet. Since it's pay by weight we had to pick and choose what we took, because we wanted it all!! Very satisfying and delicious!
Read morePros: great food
Guest
For Members
Why was my review removed? Guidelines for writing a review View our privacy policyFor Business Owners
Claim this business See inaccurate information? Submit an update here Link to this page from your site See an unfair review? View full terms & conditionsThis page has been viewed 24927 times.