Loving Hut

we couldn't get enough of it! all the dishes were sooo yummy! could not even name a favorite. the salads were creative,fresh and super tasty! absolutely recommed it

Huge selection of vegan food in a buffet style fill your own plate service. Seemed busy and popular and friendly owner. Was in New Plymouth for two days and wouldn't have thought to find such a place! Very inspiring to see it busy with a range of people from all walks of life incl. families.

I go for the lunchtime buffet which is well-priced and tasty. When I say tasty, I mean awesome in the true sense, much tastier than any meat meals I ate when I ate meat. I didn't know you could do so much with 100% plant-based food and not even a sniff of dairy. There is plenty of choice and I should patronise this place more such is it's value in the dairyland of Taranaki.
The decor is plain, it is more of a cafe than a restaurant I think but that food..mmm.

I visited the Loving Hut with my boyfriend in May this year, it was my birthday and I was really excited to be going to an all vegan restaurant in the small coastal town of New Plymouth.

The lunch time buffet is really great, it's amazing value and there are so many options to choose from. There are 3 plate sizes to choose from, you pick your size and pay accordingly. We are both very greedy so opted for large! It was $12 each and we left feeling very full and very happy.

The dishes include: spring rolls, curries, stir fries, salads, fried tofu, pasta in sauce, shepards pie, lasange and fresh veggies. You can grab a bottle of water for free and read a book about veganism while you dine.

The staff are amazing and there is a notice board towards the back advertising cool things like yoga and meditation.

This place is a true gem and I would highly recommend it!

My first time at a solely vegan restaurant and it was a lovely experience. We got the tofu starter. A generous portion and very tasty. And the burger for main which was delicious. A little book shelf too with informative books and recipe books. (we were there for the dinner menu on a Saturday night)

We always eat here at least a couple of times when we visit New Plymouth for WOMAD weekend in March. The food is great quality and everything in the restaurant is vegan. I love it. Cabinet food and buffet choices don't vary too much but the options are all tasty (I've tried everything!)and they charge by the plate size so you can mix up the options depending on what you decide to eat on the day. It's generally popular and busy and the buffet/cabinet is constantly being restocked from the kitchen.
The desserts are always interesting with great cakes and when we were there 2 weeks ago, delicious passionfruit cheesecake! Tasty smoothies and juices are available to compliment the meal. Highly recommended!

We never thought we would find a vegan havan in New Plymouth. This place has a small-ish buffet, you pay by plate and there are some extras like pies and "sausage rolls"... and fantastic deserts. It all comes at a reasonable price.
Updated from previous review on Friday April 12, 2013

Yummy food, lots of great options! I had the lunch buffet. My fave was the spaghetti with bbq sauce. Also had the cheesecake which was delicious!! Got takeaway for dinner as did my meat eating boyfriend!

This was our second trip to New Plymouth for 2015 and we made a beeline for the Loving Hut, having eaten there several times in our last visit. While the lunch menu is a buffet, dinner is a la carte. Husband had a large burger with enemies crunchy chips as his main while I had a brown rice and nut salad with dried fruits and veges. Both meals were enormous. We regretted having ordered a shared starter of tempura veges as this alone would have sufficed! Husband couldn't resist dessert though and gorged on nut cheesecake while the Christmas Santa parade marched past us through the window. Hoards of excited children with their adult minders kept us entertained. There was also a tattoo convention in town, so the restaurant was filled with lively young tattooed vegans. It was great fun.

Good deal for the buffet lunch, lots of choice including rice, noodles, salads, curries. Chocolate cake was lovely and moist. Staff were friendly too. If I'm in New Plymouth again I'll definitely go back (shame it's closed from today until the 19th January)

I was in New Plmouth on a Friday night so was lucky enough to go to one of New Zealand's rare vegan restaurants. They were busy so I was glad I had made a reservation.

The place is very clean and fresh, lots of pro vegan quotes and magazines and posters on the walls so it is a proud vegan space.

The menu had 3-4 options for starters, mains and desserts plus a juice and smoothie bar. I had tempura vegetables with a dipping sauce for a starter. It was a large portion for only $7 and very good. I had the laksa with noodles and tofu and vegan chicken for a main. This was huge and tasty and only $13. Other options included nachos, tofu and spinach hot plate on rice, and a burger (I saw this being served and it had huge fries and salad with it and I definitely will order this next time I go). For dessert I had the cheesecake with an extra of ice cream. This was also yummy and very filling and cost $7.
Updated from previous review on Saturday November 15, 2014

Loving Hut has been under new management for about a year now. The food, the atmosphere, the staff are all so much better. Good, cheap, healthy food. New Plymouth is so lucky to have such a great Vegan Restaurant.

I was in town for 1 day and at 4pm with only breakfast inside, so I had 1 large plate of different things, 1 small plate of different salads (with fruits too), a mango smoothie (huge 2 glasses size), carrot juice, pot of nettle tea, a vegan "cheese" cake and a chocolate bliss ball. The big plate had a canelloni (just googled it to spell it right), spagetti with mock chicken, a few curries (one with lentils), potato & vegies, and something kind of aubergenie or else veggy thing (sorry I am not a chef) with help-yourself soy and tomato sauce on everything. So, basically, I nearly stuffed myself. I liked some things more than others (I didn't think any were "greasy"), but it's the only VEGAN place in town, so I am not picky. The cheesecake was yummy and the smoothie great. The place itself was very neat, staff cheerful and the loo immaculate.

It's great to find a vegan restaurant in New Plymouth. The staff were friendly, and the options for dining (various bowl and takeaway container sizes, pick what you want from the buffet) are great. However, I found the food quite greasy and a little bland. Also, some of the dishes had been quite heavily picked over - there was only sauce left, no mock-chicken in it - and this was only at 12.30 (so not even close to the end of lunch). The food in the bain-marie was not as hot as I would have liked (it should be hotter for food safety reasons).
I was sad they were not open for dinner the night I was there.

My vegetarian family are tired of doubtful assurances that eating-places use animal-free cooking oils, and of dining with carnivores. So we were astonished, in this city where vegetarians are as rare as hens teeth, to find a vegan one. Previously there were only eight so-called 'vegetarian friendly' ones.
They don't even use honey!
Apparently the sole branch of this chain in New Zealand at present, it was certainly bold to expect to flourish here; but they seem to be thriving, and good luck to them.
The advantages of self-service are obvious, no waiting, and getting exactly the meal you want. The food is nutritiously balanced and very healthy, and staff pleasant and helpful beyond mere politeness. A refreshing change from the modern trend towards waiting hours for tiny portions artistically arranged on the plate by 'prize-winning chefs' (or in other words, pretentious and expensive rubbish).
Smallish groups (20 to 30) can meet here by arrangement, choosing their own meals. The attention to detail is not lavished on furniture or decor, but quality of things such as tea and water. The giant milk shakes are a delicious speciality.
This chain has peculiar but rather fascinating spiritual overtones, but these are, like Hare Krishna restaurants, not at all 'pushed'; most diners indeed seem to be unaware of them.
The premises are rather plain and not large, but this does not worry me (as a Libran); the food is delicious and well-cooked. The system of self-filling a bowl of selected size at a low and set price works well. The place is relaxed and informal, and we definitely recommend it, to those who appreciate this image.
It's nice to sit down to a meal without worrying what it died from!