Vinh Loi Tofu

We read so many great reviews for this restaurant and we couldn't wait to eat there. We did last night and were very disappointed. The Spicy Garlic Fish's texture was so soggy and mushy, I couldn't eat it. The sliced tomato that came with it was not ripe - it was hard with no flavor. The other items we ordered were okay, but not great. The service was the worst though. It wasn't very busy, but we could not get the waitress to return to our table, or even glance in our direction, after delivering the meal. We tried to get her attention, but she just wasn't interested. I had to walk up to the counter twice, once to get a sauce for the Tuna Rolls and once to get the check. We won't be back.

Last night was my first and last time going to this restaurant. Look, I understand that restaurants get busy and overwhelming but when the owner treats me like I am a bother instead of a person interested in trying out his restaurant there is a problem. The owner was very short in tone and not personable at all.
You would think as an owner, one would be excited to have people showing up to try out what they have worked so hard to create.

It is definitely not a cozy restaurant with great light and hipster stuff. Its more like a bistro...but....the food taste sooo good. Great dishes with fresh vegetables, fantastic spiced Tofu and a great service. The owner is so nice. You have to go there! I highly recommend it!

This is one of those rare places where I as a lacto-ovo vegetarian don't miss the dairy at all. Not one bit. In fact, I could quite confidently say that if I had a place like Vinh Loi Tofu near me, I'd be that much more likely to go full vegan.

The food is classic vietnamese at it's best - bright, fresh and full of flavor. The meat substitutes are excellent (try the smoky duck bbq sub!), and it's relatively inexpensive for what you get.

If you are in the LA area this is simply a must visit if you happen to like asian food in the slightest.

I've loved Vinh Loi for the last two years after my cardiologist recommended it. Stunning food. Kevin makes his own tofu and delivers faux meat and seafood with the best. Dives like this are why you live in the LA area-- great food, inexpensive, and really unique.

I have a few favorites here (udon bbq duck and curry soup) and the dishes that are good are really good and the others are mediocre, I've found. Great little spot in the valley!

The food here is really good but seriously overpriced. Vegans beware, make sure to ask if everything you're getting is vegan.
Updated from previous review on Friday April 08, 2016

Updated from previous review on Friday April 08, 2016

I had read first about this place on happycow, and have eaten here many times over the years. Here's my Vinh Loi Tofu review update.

Whenever I am in the mood for Vietnamese pho noodle soup and Asian hot soups, I think of Vinh Loi. It's a little family owned and operated restaurant and store. Seating is limited, though I've seen many customers eat rather quickly and leave or they take food to-go.

The soup bowls are large and filled with an assortment of faux meats like faux beef, faux shrimp, etc, and most with a type of noodle. You can ask the owner, Kevin, to make your bowl with more veggies instead of the faux meats. He will be happy to arrange that.

The store part of the store consists of a refrigerated section of fresh soymilk, tofu, and an assortment of mockmeats. There is also an area for dried sauces and noodles. All the tofu and soymilk are made on the premises.

I especially like the fried tofu cubes, the hot noodles soups, the stir fried noodle, and the spring rolls (stuffing vary from tofu to vege ham).

I love everything about this delicious vegan restaurant. The staff is very friendly they have memorized my order so they know what to start making right when I walk in! I would highly recommend eating here and try eating the chicken curry!

I can't believe a place thst claims to be 100% vegan & presumably always would be now carries drinks containing cows milk for his "meat eating" clients. What's next? So disappointed. After finding out that Streets of India Cafe now serves meat we decided to leave and head over to Vinh Loi Tofu, as always the food was amazing. We also missed the lunch rush and Kevin was very friendly and happy to help. I love how consistently amazing the food always is no matter what you order and that he has made a commitment to stay true to always staying Vegan! I have been to Vinh Loi twice, both times Kevin "the owner" was not the guy everyone makes him out to be, he told us both times we should have ordered ahead for his convienence or at least thats what it felt like, service aside the food is amazing and the fun little extras he sells are worth the trip all by themselves, the house special soup is addicting, nice and spicy, very fresh, and huge portions. they do make there own tofu and its amazing, you get 5 generous pieces of fried tofu for only $1.25 and its delicious, especially the lemongrass & chili. Everything is so fresh and will not weigh you down. Perhaps we just caught Kevin on a bad couple of days, most people seem to think hes incredible.

Honestly, I was a little skeptical when we pulled up outside as the exterior is a bit sketchy. But glad that didn't deter us because once inside we discovered the restaurant is clean, comfortable and homey. The food is fantastic, reasonably priced for the generous portions and the owner is very personable and helpful.
I loved the udon noodles with the freshly made tofu and my only very recently vegetarian husband enjoyed the selection of creative house made mock meats.
Excited to go back soon and try a few more dishes from the incredibly extensive menu.

Tofu heaven found in Reseda. The food is simply delicious and the place is low key and cozy. The tofu duck is pretty amazing. My personal favorite is the bbq tofu duck filled steamed buns. They are my new obsession. Owner operated and that just makes it all the better.

I was so disappointed with this place. I arrived at a busy lunch hour, the owner was short with me. I asked for any dish with lots of veggies more than anything else. When the dish came I told the server he had the wrong table. All I saw was some beefy fake meat stuff and noodles. When he brought it to the owner he said it was the right dish and sent it back to me.He said the vegetables were on the bottom. I lifed the nnodles and saw a few pieces of iceberg lettuce and a few slices of raw zucchini. I left it untouched and paid for it. Never again and I don't think $11.00 for this is cheap. I'd give it one cow but the system won't let me.

I have been here a couple of times and the food is always fresh and tasty. The owner is very involved and attentive and very helpful in choosing from the extensive menu. They have a pretty good selection of desserts as well. 100% vegan. Best bahn mi I have ever had, btw.

What can I say? As a former carnivore I thought that the chicekn wings here were as good as those I used to eat at Hooters!. Really. Sorry that I have to admit that most 'meaty' foods taste better to the Western palate but honestly I've taken an equivocal approach to most vegan eateries and thus judged them on an independent scale.Not so here. The wings had just the right amount of spice and zip and really had a true 'meaty' mouth feel.

The tofu was out of this world. I can see why people come from out of state and literally freeze dry this stuff to take home with them for long term use.

While its not the largest restaurant in the world(ha ha) Kevin the proprietor WENT out of his way to make my family happy on a busy weekend evening. Although the wait was really not long at all(maybe 15 minutes) Kevin came out and offered the above wings free to My little kiddos even though we were happily waiting with waters and menus in hand. EXCEPTIONAL SERVICE-He took a "mi casa es su casa" attitude toward our party and really made us feel truly at home. As an Asian American I've been embarrassed by the terrible service that is unfortunately often the norm at Asian eateries. Vinh Loi is a happy exception to that rule.

Price was reasonable as well. We got out for about $50 for 3 adults and 2 kiddos which while high compared to a regular Asian dive like Sam Woo's or your typical Viet Pho place is a completely different ballgame here.

Visited once after friends recommended. Great food - the three of us really enjoyed the food and the friendly service. Then I bought fresh tofu to take home and happily cooked (cubed, fried and served over fresh salad!). Will definitely go back.
Updated from previous review on Tuesday June 16, 2009
Just to say, we keep going there on a very regular basis and we love this place, Kevin and his family. The food is great and this place is very friendly. I eat mostly the #1 soup and the tofu salad, though everything else we had there is awesome too.

Visited here for lunch and had a few rolls and the house special soup. I was impressed (as I usually am with vegan communities/restaurants) that most of the people who came in knew the owner (Kevin) by name. Our food was fresh, tasty, and my non-vegan friend really loved it too (to the point of inspiring him to make some positive changes in his diet!)

I can't say enough good things about this place. Flavorful, spicy, well done amazing vietnamese food. And it's all vegan! I was beside myself when my friend took me here last week. Everyone needs to go to VLT [:

Great food and owners! Best soup ever. Not a date or glamor spot though. Everyone I have brought, even non vegans love it

This was my first time at this vegan restaurant. I was recommended by the owner to try the Spam Number 5 salad and this was delicious. I came in alone but patrons there were friendly like the owner. I bought some homemade soy milk on my way out. I will be back soon to try out something new. Thanks for the wonderful opportunity.----Bea

Let me just say, i moved away 4 years. When I came back this was one of my first stops. Yes, this place is that good. And yes, I stocked up. I love the soy fish and the ham rolls.

I love the food at Vinh Loi Tofu! Kevin the owner has truly invested his heart and soul into the place - it comes across in his wonderful food and interactions with his customers. I love the udon noodles 2011 with fried mushroom tofu, "ham", cabbage, mushrooms and delicious udon noodles. I always vow to try something new but kinda stuck on this perfect dish. This is one of my favorite food destinations and I drive out of my area to eat there - thank you Kevin & family for making Vinh Loi Tofu so special for your customers.

I hate to be so boring and just add to the rants and raves of everybody else, but this place is actually labelled my favorite place in Southern California ever!

Everytime I go there I am pleased with Kevin's creations! I love the "pork" spring rolls and "pork" special vietnamese sandwiches that he makes!

The soups are just amazing too!

But I especially like the atmosphere there ~ It's very casual and we always end up talking to someone interesting and learning something new ~ It's sort of like a community center for super cool vegans =)

Thanks for the delicious food guys!

Full review and pics on my blog:
http://martysnycveggiereview.blogspot.com/2011/08/vinh-loi-tofu.html
In Van Nuys for a quick overnight I am psyched to find a vegan restaurant so close to the airport. I have no idea why I haven't found this place before because "find" is the operative word. I sat next to a couple who were not vegans and said they came there every Tuesday for dinner because they just loved the food. Now I know what they were talking about. Kevin Tran has done a remarkable job of putting a flavor explosion into his food. The walls are covered with pictures of dishes and I must admit, I love to order by picture.

The restaurant is small with maybe 12 tables. It's a bright and happy place. I was both confused and awed when I walked in. That my be my general state of mind but I love it when I see a big sign that says, "ORDER HERE!" I didn't see such a sign so had to do the uncool thing and ask, "Do you have table service or do I order here."

They do have table service so if you see a spot, take it. I discussed with my waitress what I wanted and the heat level. I settled on extra hot American which probably translated to mild Vietnamese. The chefs got it wrong and made the food mildly spicy but this was a lucky break for me. I got a small dab of the house special hot sauce. According to Kevin, the other hot chili sauces offered to diners were to him, merely ketchup. This stuff was the real deal. And I was warned to take it easy. It was, (and I don't use this word lightly), awesome. This stuff made you stand up and take notice! Perfect. And since I asked to buy some Kevin gave me a small container since it's not for sale! Then he queried me about how I was going to get this stuff through security and I told him I was the Captain and it was a private jet. At this point he took the sauce back ... and brought me a huge container filled to the brim. This will last me 6 months at least if I used it every day.


Small corner space. You're heading the wrong way on Sherman Way to see it. I had to turn around when the GPS said I passed it.

You can see the pics on the wall.
There are just so many options and choices here that it really was comforting to have my waitress help with the ordering. The food was delicious, which is easy to say, with many levels of texture and flavors. Heat levels coming out of the kitchen were under-estimated which is good for those with delicate palates. You can always add more heat but once a

You have to eat here! House speacial soup FTW! I always sub fried tofu for "meat". Seriously I eat here once a week, just do it!

Vinh Loi Tofu is one of my favorite places. The menu is quite extensive and there is something for everyone there. If you become a regular, Kevin the owner, will be able to provide you with custom recommendations that are not on the menu.

My first time here. The place is very small so I can imagine when it is super busy there would be no room to sit so you would have to do take-out. I didn't see any chairs or tables outside.

This is a very casual friendly restaurant where some of the customers were talking to each other and to Kevin, the owner, whom is super friendly! So nice to see that.

Now on to the food: I'm not much of an Asian food lover probably because I have only gone to one other. We ordered the fried tofu nuggets and tofu french fries - very unique dish - not that impressed with the flavor, but it was an experience. Now, the other dish was Curry Chicken w/ Rice Noodles and it was YUMMY - so many different flavors in my mouth all at once - WOW!!

I had to try their tofu at home, so I bought two huge blocks of it and it is very very tasty and inexpensive!!

I will go there again and try different things each time.
Updated from previous review on Saturday September 25, 2010
Updated from previous review on Saturday September 25, 2010

I love VLT. I love everything they have there (with the exception of the new "veggie burger" - an experiment gone wrong) and I have tried to steadily go through the menu and get new things because I have only been disappointed once out of eating here countless times in the past several years. I ate here even before going veg and loved it then. Kevin, the owner, is a warm and personable guy and he's quick with recommendations for VLT virgins (if you like soup, and you like spicy, House Special; if you want noodles, BBQ duck). The BBQ duck (which I think is just traditional seitan mock-duck but with a great sweet sauce) is amazing! Also, excellent banh mi (Vietnamese baguette sandwiches) for around $5. Best deal in town! For a special and unique treat get the seaweed roll. It's like a vegan ham sushi roll wrapped in rice paper, like some combination of Vietnamese spring roll and sushi. It is AMAZING.

I couldn't have been more excited to eat from here. The menu had a great number of choices. The owner was super friendly and the place was clean. I took the food home to eat with a Non vegan friend it was so good I think she may convert. Any time I am in the area I am certainly going to head back to try more of their menu items.

I've been dying to come here for a while after I saw some articles on this place and heard that they make their tofu fresh on the premises. I love love love tofu, and all of it's variations. Suffice it to say this place did not disappoint. From the first sip (then subsequent gulps) of the fresh milk, I was very content. We ordered a few dishes of what Kevin mentioned as house favorites, then topped the meal off with tofu desserts, and took home some of the packaged buns. The veggie buns are filled with a tasty radish mix and the taro buns are deliciously purple taro.
The vermicelli dishes were minty, fresh, and light. The noodle soup was flavorful, spicy (you can request otherwise if you want but I recommend the spicy sauce), and had very tasty mock meats. The tofu pudding was perfect and the ginger syrup was fabulous - it had the ginger kick I love without taking away the honeysweetness of the syrup, and it went perfectly with the pudding. The pandan pudding was a milder alternative but you have to be a fan of coconut milk to appreciate the full effect. Personally I love coconut milk and ended up finishing it... :P
I definitely recommend going with friends or family, preferably at an hour where you can all fit, and sharing a whole assortment of dishes and appetizers (the spring rolls were perfect).
To top it all off, Kevin is a riot and very friendly. I wish there was location closer to me, but it's probably better that there isn't! ;)

We have been meaning to go here for so long - and just finally got around to it last night. But now we'll definitely make a point of going back! The food was great. Everything had SO MUCH FLAVOR. We got the House Soup - we learned Kevin makes his own Chili sauce which goes in the soup - which is part of what makes it so amazing. We also got a teriyaki beef noodle dish w/ udon noodles (we substituted out udon for vermicelli) - Hubby said it was probably the best fake beef he's ever had. We also had to try the lemongrass fried tofu everyone raves about - a great price and great starter at only $1.25 for 4 nice sized pieces. Vietnamese vegan was a nice change of pace from typical veg'n restaurants which are often Thai or Chinese influenced. There were all these awesome noodly dishes which I'm used to seeing at non-veg'n restaurant full of yucky stuff - but here there were awesome noodly dishes all vegan and safe to eat! The owner Kevin is a hardcore vegan (and nice guy!) who truly believes in it, and devised all of these great dishes, so it's great to support an owner with those values. Especially one who makes such amazing food. Can't wait for our next visit!

The udon noodle soup and tofu rolls are big winners. This is a great place to take a non-veg place.

Kevin is always very friendly and eager to make helpful suggestions for what to order if you're not sure, because there are so many good choices.

My only complaint is that when I've ordered takeout I've gotten a huge amount of salad and very little tofu/protein.

We went to Vinh Loi for the first time yesterday and totally stuffed ourselves (as usual). We were greeted by Kevin's wife and later met Kevin when he came by to chat with us. Really friendly owners.

We ordered the lemongrass/chili tofu, mushroom tofu and the tuna rolls to start with. All super tasty. For the main entree, we ordered the BBQ mock duck noodles and the curry chicken noodles, but somehow the order for the curry didn't go through, which in the end was a good thing since we were getting stuffed. That didn't stop us from trying dessert though - pandan pudding and a chinese donut. You add coconut milk and sugar to the pudding according to taste and the chinese donut (HUGE for only $2.50) came with a sugar dipping sauce too. Yummy!

To further complete our tofu binge, we ordered a ham sub and chicken sub to take home for dinner. Kevin put the vegetables and dressing ("wet" items) in a separate baggie for us to add later when we ate it to prevent sogginess. I think I may have preferred to let them soak instead as the bread was a bit dry by the time we did eat them, so next time, I want to try a fresh sub while there as it was still really tasty at home. We topped that off with banana cake and carrot/coconut cake. We thoroughly enjoyed our tofu gluttony and plan to do it again, but show a little more restraint next time. ;-) We were kids in a candy store as the menu is really extensive and inexpensive - a great deal!

This wonderful Vietnamese restaurant is run by the friendly and enthusiastic owner. He's been behind the counter, taking orders and making suggestions, every time I've been there. He makes the tofu and soy milk on the premises, so you know you're getting fresh fare. I've tried a multitude of dishes from the menu and each one has been fantastic.

Nice little Dive Tofu restaurant. Make sure to get a dish with the tofu cubes, they are out of this world.

I stopped into Vinh Loi Tofu with my wife and my wife's nephew on on Sunday. Firstly, I was very pleased by how orderly and clean the restaurant is. The chef and owner was very friendly, and made our stay at the restaurant even better. In my opinion, Vinh Loi Tofu is one of the best Vegan restaurants around. The food we had was very tasty, well presented, and spiced just right. If you're in Reseda, you have to stop by this restaurant. They have excellent tofu too. Nice job Vinh Loi!!

Very good soup bases for the noodle bowls. Lots of tasty mockmeats (too much). Excellent fried tofu, and really cheap. I've been here many times and am a happy customer.

this place is wonderful. kevin runs the place; he's very amiable and courteous to his customers. the food is great and for the price it's definitely worth it.

Being of Laotian descent, I love Southeast Asian cuisines such as Vietnamese, Laotian, and Thai. I can never find Lao restaurants so my favorite eating out is at Vietnamese restaurants. I recently became a vegan and it was difficult for me to find vegetarian fish sauce, but I finally found it at Vinh Loi Tofu. The food is delicious and wonderful. This place sells food supplies as well as runs as a restaurant. I will say I am in complete Vegan Heaven now at Vinh Loi Tofu.