Vegetarian fast food restaurant with menu including items like veg chicken burger, fries, burritos, philly cheezesteak sandwich. Note the tartar sauce, soy cheese, and a few other items may contain casein, vegans please ask. Very casual atmosphere with walk-up and drive-thru service. Re-opened June 2014 after brief closure. Accept credit cards with small charge. Formerly called Orean's The Health Express. NOTE: Currently drive-thru only. Open Mon-Sun 9:00am-8:30pm.
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817 N Lake Ave, Pasadena, California, USA, 91104
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- Outdoor seating
- Accepts credit cards
- Cash only
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Last update on 31 May 2023 by Guest
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20 Reviews
First Review by ·X·
KatOcean
Points +60
Love this place - Edit
I've always loved this place, since it was called Orean's Health Express. Delicious veg fast food can be vegan or veg if you want dairy cheese. I've always loved the convenient drive thru and their chili cheese dog paired with air fries 😋 so many other great items. Been coming here for over a decade, always friendly. They were one of the only vegan options back when they were rare.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2023-06-16
Pros: Drive thru ease, Big menu, Chili cheese dog and shakes
Guest
veganSince2001
Points +86
The OG spot - Edit
This used to be Orean’s the Health Express. I don’t know if this is true but growing up the legend was that this was LA’s first vegetarian restaurant. Or maybe it was the first vegetarian drive through?
Read moreIt’s changed a lot over the years and the quality hasn’t kept up with the surrounding vegan restaurants but I still try to support them occasionally.
I wish they would just go all vegan already. It would help promote their spot so much.
There’s a good park off Lake Ave a little for eating your food at.
Overall I have very fond memories of this spot being where all the vegans hung out back in the day.
Pros: Old school vegetarian , Delicious comfort junk food, Drive through
Cons: Not all vegan, Little soggy sometimes but in a delicious way
Guest
CynthiaGomez
Points +18
No thank you - Edit
I tried just adding one star but the app automatically adds a star for restaurants with vegan options.
Read moreI came here for the first and only time with my boyfriend. It was his first time trying vegan food and I was not impressed. We both had stomachaches at the end of the day. The food was subpar. And the service was eh. I couldn’t see who was making my food through the drive thru window or how it was made. This is not real vegan food. Fast food vegan but I wouldn’t even come back if it was the only thing open.
Don’t let this place be an example of what vegan food should be. Veggie grill is better.
Guest
A-Cheer-e-ako
Points +311
Good food in a pinch - Edit
If you cannot cook and want something fast, come here. They have a good size menu and you can ask for anything to be VEGAN if you like.
Read moreI have had most items on the list. Nothing really stands out to me but I will say I keep coming back.
Updated from previous review on 2021-09-12
Pros: Anything can be made vegan
Cons: Expensive, Sometimes messy
Guest
PrincessAvi
Points +31
Rude, Rude & Rude - Edit
The man at the Window was so Rude & Nasty I didn't order anything. I will NOT Patronize anybody who is Nasty & Rude. No thanks!!!
Read moreCons: Terrible Customer Service!!!
Guest
DJStarr
Points +69
Old standby - Edit
Perfectly situated in a fast food section of Pasadena, surrounded by McDonald's, KFC, Carl's Jr... This is a mom and pop, no frills junk food joint offering vegetarian and vegan counterparts to what the neighbors are offering. Hot dogs, sandwiches, burgers, burritos, tostadas etc. They have a couple of spicy options, too.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2019-04-12
Pros: Vege options in the fast food district. , Air fries! , Old school vegetarian
Cons: Added charge for vegan cheese, Added charge for credit card
Guest
Photoesq
Points +36
Hit and Miss - Edit
I’ve gone here numerous times over the years and the food runs the gambit. There is a lack of consistency and they keep on raising the prices. However, they have some items that are very good (filet o fish, veggie burgers). I have had both good and mediocre burritos. I tend to stay away from them now and just stick with the basics.
Read moreGuest
scottie1134
Points +107
they use regular cheese there - Edit
At least they aren't lying about it anymore. But with as many vegan restaurants around, I see no reason to go here anymore. I did like the Philly steak. But you have had to ask about the cheese being vegan. Makes me doubt everything they have now. I'm wondering about the soft serve now. They seem to jump around that question.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on Tuesday November 20, 2012I'm sick of this place's inconsistency. You never know if it's going to be open or not. I remember it closed a couple years ago. I would have figured they'd learn a thing or two from closing down. But nope, I just tried to go here tonight, a little over 5 minutes till closing, and the guy waves me off from inside. I can see the clock inside is saying exactly what my phone says. Just complete laziness or they simply just don't care. But this is the last time I'll ever try to go here.
Pros: philly steak, fast food
Cons: unsure about what's really vegan
Guest
GatorPiston
Points +16
Vegetarian Drive-Thru With Vegan Options - Edit
I've been eating here for many years and I'm really surprised how hard people are on this place. I'm a life-long vegetarian and a 5 year vegan. Many newer vegans don't understand that establishments like this--catering to lacto-ovo vegetarians, were the norm back in the 70's and 80's. This is "old school" vegetarian. Us hippie kids ate eggs and cheese. I easily find vegan options here. I ask them to use Daiya and they do. As far as the place being dirty, I must have missed something. It may not be neon slick but I'm not seeing the "ick" factor. Dude actually came out and wiped down an already clean table for me, then brought out a huge bowl of water for my dogs. Orean's has never been fast, that's something you learn through experience. I never come here when I'm in a big hurry. Nothing tastes quite like their air fries and when I'm in the mood for them, nothing else will do.
Read moreTreat Orean's for what it is--old school vegetarian with vegan options. I understand they just went through an ownership change, we'll see how it works out. From this end, I got good food and friendly service a few days ago. I'll be back.
Pros: Awesome comfort food!, Air fries, Doggie friendly
Cons: Not everything is vegan, Food takes a while
Guest
Ryan MTB
Points +477
Delicious! - Edit
I've had their African burrito, Salad Burger, Chili, "Air Fries", and soy ice cream- all were delicious! You do have to specify if you want something vegan because not everything is (dairy cheese, honey in the granola desert). I've had rude service in the past, but within the last 6 months I've been twice and they were very friendly both times.
Read morePros: Vegetarian, Yummy, Easy parking
Cons: Not Vegan, No indoor seating, No restroom
Guest
vegan_ryan
Points +3865
Questionable 'vegan' items, unfriendly staff - Edit
I understand that this is a meat-free establishment, but please choose other places to support.
Read more1. They have consistently lied to many people I know about what items are vegan/are not. They will not be forthcoming, even when told that the law requires them to reveal ingredients.
2. Their staff is horribly grumpy and quite rude.
Please go elsewhere.
Pros: All-vegetarian
Cons: Lies about vegan questions, Rude
Guest
badrelijen
Points +28
I love Orean's! - Edit
I was surprised to see the bad reviews here. I have been several times with my boyfriend, and every time is better than the last! It's an older place, so it looks a little run down, but living in LA, I've seen much, much worse. I'd rather eat off the outside tables here than the counter at some California Vegan's I've been to. It's a vegetarian place, so you can bet there won't be any meat, but like the description says, stay away from the cheese, it's not vegan. I almost always have the Philly Chzsteak w/o cheese and a hot dog. The air fries are tasty, I like the seasoning they put on them. The African Burrito is AWESOME.
Read moreTo the people who didn't like this place, or "have no idea what they ate", why didn't you try asking? And if you were that concerned, why eat it in the first place? Geez.
Pros: fast food!, tasty, friendly staff
Cons: next to mcmurder, slow service
Colinski
I dunno, I have eaten there a few times and find the neighborhood kids working there to not seem to give two sh*ts about the type of food they are serving and sometimes have been MIA when I've come to the window. I wouldn't trust them to be able to knowledgeably answer *anything* about the food.
Read moreThat said, I have mostly enjoyed the food when I've eaten there, but don't think the negative reviews are without merit either.
Also, when are they gonna get on the bandwagon and start serving Daiya (or even FYH) instead of dairy-non-dairy cheese? It makes no sense: why not just serve real cheese, if they are going to go ahead and serve soy cheese with a milk product in it? It's not like they can call themselves vegan anyway, vegans already can't eat their cheese, and the lacto-veg folks will be happier. Seems like a bad business model whether they want to call themselves lacto-vegetarian or vegan.
Guest
Mir
Points +74
disappointing - Edit
I used to love this place, I am afraid not anymore. Last time we came, the food was awful! I ordered African burrito and ended up with a chunky old lettuce and cold/straight from can black-eye beans wrapped in tortilla. I am not sure what happened to the rest of the stuff that was supposed to be in but I was not going to turn around and go back - their 'air dry' fries were so greasy and burnt - shame on those cooks. Usually, when we come, there are girls serving and we had no problem with food, never. This time there was a guy in the window - ??? Bad food, bad service...very disappointing. What happened to Orean we used to know?
Read morePros: vegetarian, fast
Cons: bad food, food is not the same as on the menu
Guest
Kind67
Points +16
Only One of It's Kind In L.A. - Edit
Yes, it is dumpy-looking on the outside and the server's aren't too friendly, and they need more staff, but considering there's no other vegetarian drive thru's in Greater Los Angeles that I know of, this place is great! I almost always get the Philly Sandwich. What I have done lately, and this would interest vegans, is substitute the tahina sauce they use on the falafel for the cheese in the philly and it actually tastes even better! And I loved it before! However, the cheese contains casein so it got me squeamish. But I highly recommend the Philly with the tahina sauce instead of the cheese. Scrumptious!!! And I drive all the way from Whittier (about 24 miles away)several times a month to eat here.
Read morePros: great philly sandwich, one of a kind place, Has drive-thru!
Cons: grungy-looking place, VERY limited seating and only outside, servers can seem distant and cold.
Guest
gr8vegan
Points +2363
Scary!!! Dumpy drive through - Edit
So going here I thought the opposite of what this was going to be. I expected so much more and really this is just a ghetto dump, which probably used to be a Winerschnizzel or something equally as horrible converted into low quality veg barf. I had no idea if the hot dog I inhaled was vegan or not. It definitely wasn't clean, but I was starving... There are a few benches, but I wouldn't advise eating there, just drive threw... Its super slow, took 30 minutes and the cars in front of use just got drinks and an ice cream? What the heck? This place is not an experience, I mean I guess its better than going next door to a McDonalds or a KFC. If you are the owner of Orean's please contact me. I'll freak'n give you money to clean your place up and help you put some vegan designations next to menu items. It could be so much more. I have no idea what I ATE!
Read morePros: vegan soft-serve?
Cons: dirty, too cheap, questionable
Guest
amcwilliam
Points +32
If you care about what you eat don't go here - Edit
I've been going to Orean for years. I quickly learned to only trust the 2 ladies that work M-F until 4pm. At other times I had food that made me ill. One of those times the young girl at the counter had a friend deliver her hamburgers from McDonalds; to me that was not a vote of confidence in the Orean food.
Read moreI had asked many times whether they used vegan products and I was always told that they did. Today I asked for an African Toasada without cheese. I watched it being made - with cheese- and when the lady was informed that it should not have cheese she roughly removed the cheese layer
and then covered it (ie hid the remaining cheese) with another layer of beans. When I got the toastada I could see a lot of remaining cheese. What this told me was that they really don't care; they don't understand. My guess is that they are not vegetarians. This is really poor food service; clearly, they should not be in the food indstry.
The place is somewhat dirty so I was always a bit concerned, but the ladies were nice to me, and as a consequence I assumed that they were conscientious about the food that they prepared. They are nice and they work really hard, but I cannot go there again knowing that they don't really care about what I eat.
The other problem is that it is a bit expensive for what it is. Having read the other comments about Orean's use of dairy products which they claim to be vegan, a consistent picture emerges. Veggie fast food is a good idea, but Orean is not the place to provide it.
Pros: location
Cons: poor preparation practices, uncertainty whether its vegan, expensive
Guest
chobesoy
Points +1044
Orean's is fantastic! - Edit
Friendly and fast (after I finally decide what to get!), these gals are terrific. They're there all day and make fantastic meals. Love them, I drop by to get a bite whenever I can. Try to the philly cheesesteak and the super green shakes. Fills you up but still in a healthy way.
Read morePros: yummy!, quick, healthy
Guest
jamber79
Points +376
very fast food - Edit
This place is great because it's the only all veg drive through I've seen. The food is ok and the prices are a little high, but it works in a pinch.
Read morePros: quick, convenient location
Cons: priced too high for fast food, not much table seating
Guest
VeggiePinkoKat
Points +142
Went once and never returned, why should you? - Edit
Went here once when I first went veg and heard about the place as a good veg fast food place and the only thing i truly liked was the ice cream and fries. Tofu burger was runny and chili burger was just OK. However, the food was overall disappointing as well as the wait that I never went back after the one time, and good thing I didn't see seeing all these reviews about how shady they are using non-veg ingredients and I'm not surprised it's dirty--look at the facade. I suppose if you aren't a health freak and are lacto-ovo veg then you should eat Orean's, but I prefer fresh fare. I'm just really dismayed that they sound like they're being dishonest. I like to support any veg restaurant but this one is now questionable.
Read morePros: fries are good
Cons: not healthy fare, ingredients questionable, long wait and grumpy staff
Guest
·X·
Points +18749
It's OK, nice to have a fast food option though! - Edit
I did not care for their chili dog...yuck! However, I did like my friend's tofu burger [they were nice enough to share :)]. I'm a little disturbed by the comments below. Establishments who are deceptive shouldn't even be listed on this site anymore or should be flagged at the very least.
Read morePros: Nice Staff
Cons: Chili Dogs
Guest
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