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Native Foods - Westwood

  • Vegan Vegan
    ( 38 reviews )
Contact 310-209-1055
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1114 Gayley Ave (at Westwood Village), West Los Angeles, California, USA, 90024

Small chain of vegan restaurants originating from Southern California, this one is one of the first outlets, est. since early-2000s. Offers a menu of sandwiches, veggie burgers, bowls, salads, and others. Order at the counter and food is brought to your table. Open Mon-Sun 11:00am-10:00pm.

Category: Vegan, American, Fast food, Take-out, Catering, Fusion

Reviews (38)

First Review by heatherveganmom

Thanksgiving - Edit

It was an all you can eat buffet with their Native wellington and all the fixings. I have to say it was an overall pretty good assortment of what to expect for thanksgiving. It was my mom's first time to Native foods. The staff was really patient and helpful with accommodating her allergy concerns.

Pros: good food , helpful staff

Cons: A little expensive


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Best Vegan in LA - Edit

Wow...the food here is amazing. Creative combinations and by far best sweet potatoe fries on the planet (tip...order them crispy with side of chipotle). Favorite is chicken bacon avocado club sandwich. And move their salads, have great Reuben and fabulous desserts.

Pros: Sweet potato fries, Tofu bacon, Vegan desserts

Cons: Only one location


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Maybe one of my favourite places in the world - Edit

Great location
Wonderful staff
Extensive menu
Super speedy service
Inexpensively priced
What's stopping you...head there now. I know I would if I could. Every trip to LA this is a pit stop for tasty, down to earth, scrumptious food. I have the fondest memories of eating here over the years. Thank you.

Pros: Excellent range of savoury items , Speedy service , Super pleasant staff


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Absolutely amazing - Edit

Everything about this place is wonderful. The staff greet you warmly and take your order at the counter, then you get to choose from upstairs or downstairs seating, and then eat amazing vegan food! My favorites are the lavender lemonade (sometimes I mix it with the watermelon fresca), Bangkok curry bowl, tortilla salad, and peanut butter parfait (and all of their other desserts!). The chipotle dressing is really good even though I don't usually like chipotle flavor. I always have fun when I go here and I always go whenever I'm in LA.

Pros: Huge selection, Super friendly staff, Great atmosphere

Cons: Only in LA


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OMG OMG OMG - Edit

We came here on our last day in the USA. Unfortunately we only discovered Native Foods (in Santa Monica) the day before. The horror of the wasted opportunities!

Another excellent meal, only this time I wasn't stupid enough to order anything other than the Oklahoma Burger (which I had to steal half of from my wife the previous time).

Did I mention the Oklahoma Burger is the best burger in the world? Chased down with a strawberry parfait it can't be beat.

I also learned that it's better to get the buffalo wings rather than the nuggets for the kids. The wings are bigger and better and only a couple bucks more. I got my son 2 serves, stole a couple and ended up taking the leftover one in a napkin in my backpack. Got home 24 hours and a trans-pacific flight later, found the wing, gave it a sniff and gobbled it down. Vegan food baby!

Pros: Yes they are.


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Perfection at last - Edit

Wow, am I happy when I am in the neighborhood of one of their locations! Been dining at both Westwood and Costa Mesa locations for years, and have never been disappointed. Their food is like a drug, and the staff are awesome. They are the Gold Standard for sure.


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My go to place in West LA area - Edit

My two favorite things here happen to be both moroccan! The moroccan lentil soup on mondays and the moroccan rockin bowl. Absolutely my fave! My friend also liked the split pea soup alot. What I like about them is that they freely give you a sample of the soup before trying. The nachos are always a hit when we have groups too! Love this place.


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Great Food! - Edit

I love the food at Native Foods Westwood. I ate there 4 days a week, for 6 months last year. The only item that I didn't like was the Ruben sandwich. But, everything else has been delicious, especially the Italian Meatball Sub, Italian Meatball Pizza, Chicken Burger, Potato Salad, Sweet Potato Fries, Lemonade, Cupcakes, Strawberry Parfait, Portobello Mushroom and Sausage Burger, and Soul Bowl. There are other items that I also like, but those are the main ones.

I just wish that Native Foods posted nutritional information online; sodium content, fat, calories, etc. This is L.A. after all. Smiles.

Pros: great food, nice workers, large, spacious restaurant

Cons: needs faster service at the register


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nice remodeled location - Edit

I decided to update my review after they remodeled and moved next door. The new space is large, very nice and similiar to the other locations now. We were surprised and pleased by how large the area upstairs is. The order counter is right up front with the desserts to tempt you. There are drink fountains both downstairs and upstairs which is very convenient for refills. My favorites include the chicken wings, Oklahoma bacon cheeseburger, the reuben, the strawberry shortcafe parfait and many more although I like trying all the new specials they have too (like the Dagwood, Chicago au jus and banh mi sandwiches). Overall, Native Foods, regardless of location, offers tasty and filling food. The service is quick and friendly and I always enjoy my visits. The elephant paintings in the restroom made me smile too. Go visit if you never have. They validate parking for an hour as well.

Pros: tasty and filling, quick service, desserts


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Fast food - Edit

This is just fast food, prepared by cooks, not chefs, and most likely not vegan cooks. As a result, the food can be hit and miss. I have been to several Native Foods, and the service is ok but the food has never been hot enough. Also, you don't feel the passion in the cooking. However, the Scorpion burger was delicious and so was the Greek Gyro. Other locations were better than this one.
Heavily processed food so not for every day... I

Pros: All vegan


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Epic epicness - Edit

My first time here and I'm totally impressed by how good everything was. I LOVED the portobella w/sage "sausage" - it was delicious as was their balsamic vinaigrette for the side salad. Filled me perfectly. The only thing I didn't like was their drinks. The watermelon and the lemonade one were both way too sweet for my liking. I'll eat here each time I have to visit the UCLA hospital around the corner. The prices were just right too.

Pros: excellent food, great value, friendly staff

Cons: drink options too sweet, parking


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Great food, but limited seating and parking - Edit

This is another great location of the Native Foods franchise, which is one of the top vegan restaurants I've ever been to.

Unfortunately, this location is pretty small, so there's limited seating, and parking is obnoxiously difficult.

However, once you actually have your food, this place is a dream-come-true. The food is really amazing, and you should definitely go here.

Pros: All-vegan, Super delicious

Cons: Difficult to park/get a table


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Better Than Ever - Edit

I had first read about this place on happycow in the early 2000s. My husband and I been coming to this Native Foods location over the years since 2003, and we have eaten here at least 100 times. We've also brought many out-of-town guests here as well - to everyone's delight. Here's my updated Native Foods review.

This year, Native Foods Westwood moved into an expanded location right next door. I went for lunch just yesterday and was totally impressed. It's in a huge place with plenty of seating both downstairs and upstairs.

Over the years, Native Foods has also changed and modified its menu. The current one has most of the old favorites plus some new ones.

The original founder and chef, Tanya Petrovna, created a truly unique brand and food menu using lots of from-scratch-made food like tempeh and seitan, and various dressings and sauces. Overall, the food is colorful, creative, and tasty. The handholds can get really messy, though.

Some items I like:
- Ranch chicken burger
- Twister wrap (wheat tortilla wrap with crispy veg chicken, creamy chipotle dressing, diced red bell peppers & onion, lettuce)
- Native fries
- Poncho's quesadilla (grilled veggies with melted non-soy vegan cheese and vegan sour cream grilled between a wheat tortilla then topped with lettuce & diced red bell peppers, EXCELLENT)

Highly recommended when in the West Los Angeles / UCLA / Westwood area.

Pros: tasty, creative, quick and friendly


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