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Vegan soul food restaurant with full bar and weekday happy hour. Menu offers choices like bbq tofu, southern fried tofu, mac n cheese, red beans and rice, corn bread, potato salad, gumbo, spaghetti with falafel, and burgers. Makes cakes and cookies. Holds cooking classes. Black-owned. Est. 2009. Reported closed October 2023.
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301 Broadway (at Jack London Square), Oakland, California, USA, 94607
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Last update on 20 Oct 2023 by themuppetlibrarian
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Added by PhytoFan on 19 Jul 2009
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196 Reviews
First Review by michelleg
avegbee
Points +28
do not miss this place! - Edit
If you skip this place while you are visiting here or if you live here and haven't been, shame on you.
Read moreI live across the country and this was the first place I stopped for breakfast with my carnivore fiance, and we both LOVED it, he even made mention of it a couple times on the trip and since we've left... kind of a big deal for him.
This place is inexpensive and delicious.
If you are looking to be a healthy vegan, go elsewhere. This place is not advertising to be health conscious, so I was obviously not expecting salads and wheat grass and what not, just delicious soul food I could splurge on.
My fiance and I got the macaroni and cheese, potato salad and mashed potatoes (yes, all for breakfast) to share all for like $12 or something. (They do not carry soda, fyi) and we were SO FULL and it was SO GOOD.
The cornbread was not as delicious as I had envisioned, but that was my own fault as I was picturing the cornbread circa my vegan-ness and my standards were set unreasonably high, but it was still really good.
Since we were visiting, we were able to go right when it opened on a weekday, so I'm unable to comment on if it gets really crowded or not, but the service was very fast, and the people were friendly and talked to us.
Just a note, if you are sheltered/never been to California like me before:
The style of ordering in California is a little different than where I'm from, instead of being seated and ordering, you order your food from the person who would typically seat you, and you include the tip there, which I don't like and I think is slightly unfair to both the customer and the server. But obviously, this isn't exclusive to this place, so I wouldn't consider it a "con" or anything, just a comment.
Pros: price, taste, not crowded when i went
Guest
syork2
Points +207
BRUNCH in the East Bay! - Edit
This was my first time visiting Souley Vegan. My husband and I wanted vegan brunch SO badly and decided on this great restaurant to curb our craving!
Read moreBrunch is from 10a-2p on Sundays only and they only serve brunch - nothing from their regular menu. It was a tad disappointing that we couldn't scoop up a few to-go dishes for later since we were there, but the brunch made up for that!
They offered a combo plate (which my husband got) that included grits and corn, tofu scramble, toast, smothered potatoes, and a few slices of fruit (for $10). He also added blueberry pancakes with maple syrup (+$2 more) and a biscuit with gravy (+$2), just to try everything out! Let me tell you - he was stuffed by the time he was done!
I got the three combo plate for $10 - a biscuit with gravy, tofu scramble, and smothered potatoes (I don't really know what they're smothered by - but it's amazing). It also came with some toast and a few slices of fruit.
You get pretty decent portions for the money you spend and the food was great!
I can see people thinking that things may be a little salty, but I didn't mind it. It definitely didn't take away from any other flavor! My favorites were the grits and corn (husband let me try his - they were creamy and flavorful, just be sure to eat them together!), the smothered potatoes and the biscuit and gravy (you only get one biscuit, but it's a big one!).
The staff were so incredibly friendly and attentive. They were hoppin' in there this morning and the fact they could be so nice while being so busy was great. It did take a little bit to get our food but not too long.
There's plenty of seating, too!
I will definitely be back for the brunch but REALLY want to try their main menu at some point!
Pros: Great food, Amazing staff, Decent prices
Cons: No main menu on Sundays
Guest
Benfell
Points +115
Wonderful! - Edit
If you have someone on your hands who insists they would starve to death without meat--like myself only a few years ago--I would submit this restaurant as a counterargument. I didn't see any fake meat (though they have fake cheese); the prices are indeed moderate, but the portions are ample and satisfying.
Read moreWalking in the place was a little disorienting. The place looks like it used to be a nightclub which has been painted over but is otherwise little changed. The usual clues about what to do are missing: order at the counter (actually, relatively low tables) from a menu on a board on the back wall; you'll get a number to take to the table of your choice.
Pros: excellent food, friendly staff, large portions
Guest
Seitan_Nic
Points +332
Vegan Soul Food - Edit
I love healthy vegan food. That said, I also love greasy, fried vegan comfort food. Souley Vegan, as the name would imply, serves up the latter. Deliciously! The country fried tofu is great! The bbq tofu is fantastic (maybe a little salty). I love the collard greens, the lentils and especially the black eyed peas. The potato salad is also top notch, and the mac n' cheese is one of the best I've ever had. I found the yams to be too sweet. I know that is the traditional soul food way to prepare yam, but I'm not crazy about it. Yam is sweet enough on it's own! But that's just me. I am also not crazy about the red beans and rice. It was okay, just to salty for me to have more than a couple of bites.
Read moreAs it should be at a soul food restaurant (or ANY restaurant, for that matter) the service is friendly. Exceptionally warm and friendly. They really make you feel at home.
The strawberry ginger juice is good too. This kind of food makes me want a beer though.... Anyway, an overall nice experience... worth a trip to the east bay!
Pros: Delicious soul food!, Great, friendly service
Cons: Some dishes are too salty., It's all tofu.... Delicious, but-, I'd love to see some seitan on the menu!
Guest
blackviolet
Points +101
MMMMMMMMMM - Edit
I was in Oakland visiting friends last week, and when they told me about vegan soul food, I HAD to try it. I've never had vegan soul food before, so I don't have much to compare it to. My husband and I both got the Toasty Crispy BBQ Tofu burger, which is insanely big. You have to squish it and even then, it barely fits in your mouth, haha. It's a burger with the Crispy Tofu AND the bbq tofu on it for $7. It's pretty much the most amazing vegan sandwich I've had. The mac n cheese was pretty great too. But next time, I'll just get the sandwich with only one kind of tofu, because I was stuffed to the point of making myself sick, haha. It was just too much food. But it tasted great, and was a good deal! ;)
Read moreGuest
Mimi710
Points +693
Good but wouldn't go out of my way to go here - Edit
Prices are decent, portions are huge. My boyfriend and I shared the $19 combo plate and a dessert. The dessert left much to be desired...it was an apple cobbler but the cobbler part seemed to be missing and the apples looked like they might have come out of a can. My boyfriend thought it was good but he wished that they didn't use tofu for all of the fake meats. I've been to better soul food vegan places in LA and DC, but it is nice to have one in Oakland now.
Read moreGuest
michelleg
Points +41
souley vegan rocks! - Edit
Out of town visitor in Oakland for a wedding. Found Souley Vegan on HappyCow and decided to try it out. AWESOME food! Very friendly service, laid back atmosphere and incredible food! I've never had "real" soul food, so I can't confirm authenticity in flavors, etc., but this is a must-eat place!
Read moreYou can order items a la carte or get their 'everything platter'. We went with the everything platter for $19 and upgraded to the $25 platter which then included red beans & rice and okra--both VERY worth the extra $6. All of the food was super flavorful and the platter portion was more than enough for 2 (we had leftovers). Trying everything was also really nice so we know what to get next time!
The only down fall was: cash only. (it's not too far to an atm, though. She also said they would be accepting cards soon.)
Pros: Fantastic food, Friendly, helpful staff, Nice n' casual
Cons: Cash only
Guest
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