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CLOSED: Panda Garden
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4
Closed
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Veg-options
Vegan-friendly
Ovo
Chinese
Buffet
Take-out
Non-veg
Serves meat, vegan options available. Formerly all veg but no longer, as reported to HC. Still caters to vegetarians and offers some veg food in their weekday lunch buffet, plus a vegan dinner buffet on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings. Reported closed to HappyCow, Apr 2015.
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948 W Grace St (at Harrison), Richmond, Virginia, USA, 23220
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Last update on 02 May 2015 by Guest
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Added by bijinda on 01 Aug 2007
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10 Reviews
First Review by noah
Tinavegan
Points +32
Not that vegan??? - Edit
I heard about Panda Veg years ago...2003ish & was an instant fan. I ate there regularly until about a year ago so 2006 early 2007. There was a guy who worked there eating chicken wings across from our table. My husband and I ordered wonton soup...my husbands had a piece of chicken bone in the bottom of the bowl when he had finished the wonton. I am not making this up. I have not eaten there since & was very disappointed because I liked that place a lot. My husband insists that the bone was accidentally in the soup somehow. He eats meat so it was no disappointment to him but for me...a different story. Maybe it was just the employee & maybe he is gone. Just putting it out there for folks to be a little wary.
Read moreGuest
cowrenn
Points +114
Unhealthy but SO GOOD - Edit
Now only does the vegan buffet on the weekend, but I make sure to hit them up on my visits to Richmond. The buffet is usually the best deal, I've found. The vegan crab wontons are worth it, too--they're made with spinach wonton and stuffed with tofu and deep fried. Out of this world. Good location as well. Very greasy, salty, and sugary, so don't go here looking for health food.
Read morePros: Delicious, Great variety, Vegan buffet
Cons: Unhealthy, Now serves meat
Guest
pentagoth79
Points +104
Fast veggie food - Edit
Really good food. Don't go for a healthy meal because it's a lot of greasy and sugary food. Not to say that it doesn't taste really good and fast.
Read moreI've had the fried and steamed wontons and the steamed was much better. The orange "chicken" was really good.
They have a lunch buffet where you can try many different things.
Pros: Yummy, Fast, Vegetarian/vegan
Cons: Greasy
Guest
Kangarupe
Points +174
May as well try it before they close. - Edit
As an out of state visiting Vegan newbie to Richmond, my friend took me to "Panda Veg" 2 years ago. I was blown away. I had never tasted mock beef quite so delicious.
Read moreThe following year I returned and had the shrimp...eh, not so great. But the texture was amazing, I didn't know you could make something that wasn't shrimp feel so much like shrimp.
One year later (today), I returned to the restaurant, only to be informed that it had changed it's name to Panda Garden. As another reviewer has noted, they now serve meat as well, I was disappointed. I asked the guy why they served meat now, and he said they had to start serving meat to stay in business. I don't really know how adding meat to the only completely 100% vegan place in Richmond (Harrison St. Cafe has cheese) helps you save your business. I would have thought it would do nothing but turn the clientele away.
I ordered the sesame chicken today and quite frankly, it was garbage. It was chewy and did not resemble chicken in any way shape or form. Now this isn't a huge problem, I don't really care if it tastes exactly like chicken but that's what it's marketing itself as. I just care if it tastes good, which it didn't. I will give it up for the mock ham fried rice though, it was excellent as always.
I don't predict Panda Garden will be in business for much longer. I could be wrong though, who knows. They still do have a very large selection of Vegan items, but as others have noted, is just junky food. Check it out. But if a Vegan place can't survive in Richmond, VA...I don't know where it can.
p.s. Dude definitely shorted me a spring roll in my lunch special today, bastard. ;) haha
Pros: Large selection of Vegan items, Quick food
Cons: Atmosphere, New meat additions, No portion options
Guest
allerson michele
Points +32
It's a little unkept, to say the least. - Edit
I must say, I was a bit uneasy when I got there. It didn't look to be the best running place, but I gave it a shot anyways. The food was great! Horrible for you, most certainly, but still amazing! Would probably eat there again.
Read morePros: Tasty food, Great prices
Cons: Unclean
Guest
Dave-a-roni
Points +41
Yummy! - Edit
This was my 1st visit to an all vegan Chinese joint, and I must say that I was upset that I didn't have enough money to try everything on the menu. The service was great, the people were really friendly.
Read moreI picked mock scallops, mock crab rangoon, and mock beef & broccoli... and the food was incredible! It was greezy, as expected, but damn delicious! I highly recommend!
I didn't buy the buffet, which was there, but that looked awesome as well, so maybe next time :-)
Guest
bullcityveg
Points +195
5 minutes off the interstate = yay - Edit
We were gonna try and hit harrison st coffee but found them to be (as always) closed. (what is with their hours?!) Panda Veg was open. The buffet was pretty broad-- 4 mockmeat dishes, spring rolls, vegetables, potatoes, rice, soups, lo mein and dessert.
Read moreThe mockmeats were a miss for me, but the lo mein, spring rolls and tofu made up for them. Standard american chinese stuff, great, greasy and easy to eat. We didn't order off the menu. They took our credit card.
To speak to the meat issues-- I wouldn't expect meat but I did have a little dairy fear towards their yellow doughnuts.
As far as cleanliness goes, as long as you wait til *after* the meal to go to the bathroom, you'll be okay. It's pretty yucky in the food prep/bathroom area.
Pros: cheap, wide range of foods, location
Cons: kind of dirty, mockmeats are subpar
Guest
cookiem
Points +5871
Half-step up from Take-out - Edit
This place is a convenient location if you're in the vicinity of VCU. However, it is not the best place in terms of atmosphere. They use styrofoam cups, seem to forego accepting credit cards, and, well, it seems a bit unkempt, to put it nicely. The food variety on the menu is rather broad, but the flavors don't seem to have much depth. It's an all-around decent assortment of items, but hard to find lots of different tastes on the menu. It's all mediocre. Portion sizes are generous, so that is satisfying. Get it to go if you can help it, but of course, then you're stuck with a throw-away container. Good to go here if you're hungry and not concerned about atmosphere/environment, don't feel like hassling with credit cards, long lines or non-veg places. However, there is another eatery down the street that is nicer....
Read morePros: Good portions, Fast
Cons: Atmosphere, Unkempt, Cash only!!
Guest
GoatxThrower
Points +42
I'm a fan - Edit
Some people will say it's "hit or miss." I can understand that since it seems like it may not be the healthiest vegetarian-friendly food out in Richmond. However, I always try to make sure I'm in town on the weekends for the buffet. I'm usually satisfied whenever I leave.
Read moreGuest
noah
Points +71
Cheap vegan food - Edit
This place is basically your whole in the wall style Chinese/Japanese food, but its all vegan. And its really cheap. It was hard to order $12 in food, which ended up being three courses. The mango dish was good, but all the food had a salty taste, which is what I would expect from this style of food (cheap fast Chinese/Japanese.) Well worth the money and the visit.
Read moreGuest
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