The Green Temple

When the weather is good (often) there is no better place to have an outdoor meal in the South Bay. I have been a regular here for over a decade and have never had a bad meal. The food is fresh and organic. We see the owner at the local farmers market on a regular basis and she only buys the best local organic produce. The menu is 100% vegetarian with about 40% vegan or can be made vegan. GF options are well labeled.

Island holiday setting. Nice servers. Home style cooking. Nice experience.

Vegan food in this restaurant is outstanding. Everything I have tried here from the soup to the strawberry pie have been delicious. Ingredients are fresh and everything has been perfectly cooked and seasoned. The bread is baked in-house and juices are freshly squeezed. Service is very friendly. The environment is incredibly relaxing.

This is such a great place for lunch or dinner. The garden and beautiful and tranquil. I love the veggies with tofu sauce. My only complaint is that their soy cheese is not vegan!

This beautiful, eclectic, and peaceful place is enchanting. Although it was a little hard to find even with google maps and then two different smart phones using their navigation. I recommend sitting next to the fountain as we did. It was one of those dining experiences that makes you feel centered after visiting. Along with the relaxing fountain with live gold fish, there is assorted meditating Budhas, South Asian style embroidered pillows, burnt orange sponge painted walls, mosaic tile bistro tables, wooden peacocks three dimensionally carved partition screens, and Sedona mixed chairs and benches.

We order the Veggie Quesodilla as an appetizer. At first we missed the cheese, but then enjoyed the balanced flavors of stewed vegetables in a grilled hearty tortilla. I had mentioned to them that it was a little more accurately a grilled veggie wrap. After which I ordered the White Lasagna and my fried got the Babamut. At first, was disappointed that there was no pasta in the lasagna, but I quickly began to appreciate that the lasagna was more like a souffle or quiche covered with an Alfredo sauce. Unfortunately, unlike other dishes on the menu, this selection is not available in a "junior size" as the Babamut is. A little under seasoned, The Babamut's redeeming quality is its sweet corn.

If you're in the Redondo Beach area, this is definitely worth visiting.

Veg out,

Veggie Army
www.VeggieArmy.ccom

Good meal in a nice, quiet atmosphere. Friendly service.

Everything about this place was wonderful. Servers were friendly and knowledgable, menu is creative with lots of choices and the ambience perfect! Go veggie!

This restaurant has good veggie food and the ambience is very nice if you ignore the actual staff. I came in by myself an entire hour before they closed - was told in no uncertain terms they closed in an hour and did I still want to eat? Well depends on you - shouldn't take a single person more than an hour to eat unless you are super slow. Just really left a sour note to my meal - I felt pressured to eat and get out. I tried again to give them the benefit of the doubt but not near closing time - they just give off this pretentious not welcoming vibe. [edit by staff]

The patio is charming, i much prefer to eat out there than inside. The food is pretty good; everything down to the ketchup tastes healthy. The salads are fresh, I'm a fan of sunflower sprouts, which they have. My daughter liked the veggie burger. The soups and the rice, bean and veggie bowls are just okay, I find them a little bland... But I won't be back any time soon, the wait staff was so unfriendly and unaccommodating the last time i was there. They acted put-out when I asked for menus, when I asked to substitute one salad item for another they said they don't do that; how easy is it to have a "no problem" policy when it comes to that kinda thing when I'm spending $40.00 on lunch. Also, they wouldn't let my daughter and I sit at the only remaining patio table (4 person table) i assume because there was two of us. So we ate inside, by the way no party of 4 came to occupy that 4 person table the whole time we were there.
Updated from previous review on Saturday March 22, 2014

What a delicious place to enjoy vegan/vegetarian dishes. The closeness of the ocean adds to the funky, quiet atmosphere. The staff is attentive, and eager to answer any questions about the menu.

If your choice of foods is plant based the menu offers many choices. They do have eggs, real cheese, and butter for those that are open to those choices.

I had read about this place on happycow, and here's my The Green Temple review.

Stepping into the Green Temple is like stepping into a garden paradise. Everywhere you look, you see something beautiful, from mosaic tile-top tables and Indian tapestries to stone buddha statues, colorful plants, a water fountain, and people enjoying themselves.

The menu is extensive and varied. We decided on two entrees: The Blue Plate and the Broccoli Loaf. The first consisted of a house-made veggie patty and mashed potatoes both generously covered in a rich mushroom gravy accompanied by steamed broccoli. The second entree was a tenderly baked Broccoli Loaf served with organic black beans, steamed greens, and a creamy dressing. Both entrees were very delicious, flavorful, and filling. The entrees also came with a choice of salad or soup. We chose the salad + an organic house-made tahini dressing, and that was yummy, too.

Although we didn't stay for tea, The Green Temple offers an extensive herbal tea menu which is perfect for a relaxing afternoon hang-out.

Highly recommended.

Green Temple in Redondo Beach is one of my favorite vegetarian staple restaurants. I go there at least once a week and it never gets old. The creamed tofu sauce, their specialty, sounds weird but is eerily delicious, as is all the rest of their food. Watch out for a few rare entrees, though, because not everything is as amazing.
The ambiance is great - a beautiful outdoor wonderland with a fountain and candles. The waiters are great too. They're all extremely friendly (and very cute!).

Wow! Did I enjoy my meal @ The Green Temple? Yes, I did, and so did all of my friends. We came in hungry and left totally full. The serving sizes are very ample. The White Lasagna was so yummy and so was the Walnut Loaf. The desserts are incredible. You can't go wrong with any of them. The service was fantastic, our server, John was so friendly and polite. He knows the menu backwards and forwards. I live in northern CA, otherwise they would see my Happy Face often if I lived in the area! The sign outside on the street was small, but it was dark and rainy that night, so it could have just been me. It's near Avenue I on the east side of Catalina. The ambiance was wonderful, too. We wandered around their building looking at their patio tables with heaters and wonderful decor. We all had a great time. Thanks to the Green Temple Crew!

If you are looking for the quintessential southern california vegetarian spot, look no further! I can't believe I haven't eaten here before. The menu is amazing, heathy mex, pita, salads, mostly organic, light and based on veggies! The atmosphere is a wonderful indoor outdoor eclectic blend of good karma. The serive is unbelievable attentive and poliet! I believe you can call ahead and reserve a table, its incredibly popular and you'll want an indoor or next to heater spot on a windy day. I wish all vegetarian restaurants were like Green Temple. Healthy veg is still alive and well here!

This was a very cute little restaurant wth nice ambience. There are some tables inside, but it looked like most of the seating was on the patio which looked very nice. The food was good. I liked that a lot of the choices were organic and made with whole grains. The tosdatidas were very tasty, only would have been better if the beans were refried or mashed because it was very messy with nothing to make it stick together. Had potato soup that was very good. The spicy corn soup was just ok, pretty bland. My favorite part was the brown rice with creamy sauce on top that came with the tostaditas, so yummy! Everything was a little pricy, you do get a lot of food, but overall a little out of my budget.

What a relaxing, peaceful setting with plenty of outdoor seating. Wonderful, friendly staff. Great food and good portions at reasonable prices especially for a beach setting. We walked from the pier. You can either walk along the beach path or take the sidewalk overlooking the ocean if you choose. Both are a good walk, but well worth it. Ask any local where to find the "Village". They'll direct you.
Be sure to order something with the tofu sauce that comes on some salads and sandwiches. Don't let the name fool you. It's awesome! Too bad they don't serve it with a straw!

I am a fan of simple, good food. Not overdone or extremely fancy... nor of trying to make vegan food like it's meat counterparts. I love how they do this and they do it well. =)

The Green Temple is a very good vetetarian restaurant with vegan alternatives. My daughters took my wife and I here on my sixtieth birthday. what a great treat!