Vegan
Thai
Buffet
Take-out
Southeast Asian

Est. 1999. An all-vegan restaurant serves Southeast Asian style Thai food. Most dishes feature a soy meat plus veggies. Menu shows a photo of each food item. Has cakes, soy jerky, and sometimes fried doughnuts. During lunch on the weekdays, there is a 16-inch combination steam table where you choose your food. Location is in a shopping plaza with parking. Reported closed November 2023.


Venue map for Wheel of Life
© OpenStreetMap contributors

62 Reviews

First Review by Meganfrolic

tkash

Points +74

Vegan
13 Oct 2023

Still Amazing after all these years.

We have been coming to this restaurant for over 10 years and still love it. Everyone is so friendly and the service is incredibly fast and fresh.

Pros: Choices, Staff, Freshness

LorraineGadsden

Points +6290

Vegan
24 Sep 2023

Vegan Meats & Lots of Options

Wheel of Life has a large menu consisting of Thai & Chinese dishes. We tried the spare ribs, sweet and sour pork, sizzling bean curd, and tiramisu. The spare rib, sweet and sour pork, and sizzling bean curd were all tasty. They each had a solid protein, and the main dishes were accompanied by an abundance of veggies. If you’re into vegan meat, this is definitely your place. My boyfriend was happy to see so many diverse vegan meats. The tiramisu was not what I would call a tiramisu, but it was still a tasty cake. Everyone working was friendly, and the food came out quickly. I cannot complain. Support local vegan establishments!

FrankPaulin

25 Sep 2023

Dvenat

Points +308

Vegan
18 Sep 2023

My favorite restaurant in the OC

Omg I can't believe I had never added a review because Im there almost every weekend .. Anyways I lovee love this place! The service is amazing and the food is amazing ! Papaya salad,pad thai spinach steamed buns and the tom kah kai are my favorites ❤

Updated from previous review on 2022-02-20

Pros: Full vegan, Good services , Cute place

Cons: None

shawnirobisongmail.c

Points +69

Vegan
15 Apr 2023

Awesome Thai food

The whole menu is full of authentic Thai recipes that are all vegan. Delicious! Can't say any more!

Pros: The whole menu is vegan

Alyssa.Rosa

Points +118

Vegan
12 Apr 2023

Great

This was my first experience with vegan Asian food years ago (aside from homemade stir fry) and I was satisfied with it! There are many options and everything I tried was delicious! Plus it’s family owned. Lovely.

kirstenrosenberg

Points +46

Vegan
04 Dec 2022

Nice service and atmosphere but food disappointing

Nice restaurant with pleasant and fast service. But, sadly, not tasty. Gardein beef tips from the grocery store taste way better. Broccoli beef was bland with hardly any beef, and the beef was obviously plain soy chunks tossed in a bland sauce.

Pros: Totally vegan, big selection, Friendly, fast service

Cons: Food was very mediocre--fried wonton were "ok", Broccoli beef had very few pieces of "beef", The "beef" tasted like barely seasoned soy chunks

MConnell

Points +146

Vegan
09 Jul 2022

Let’s Go!

Yo! This is a good spot. I had the cashew chicken, broccoli beef , and the chow mein. The protein is legit, and I was shocked I did not any hot sauce to any of these dishes. I always do that at Thai places usually - good stuff - stop by and support them.

#veganpower

Pros: All Vegan - enuff said!

KurtM.Ross

Points +22

Vegan
19 Jun 2022

Very pleasant surprise

was unexpectedly in the area on Father’s Day. Saw the signage in the front window and couldn’t believe my luck and boy am I happy!!

Pros: Many options, warm staff, Speedy service

Cons: None, None, None

Kplant

Points +3984

Vegan
18 Jun 2022

Great service, delicious 😋

Friendly attentive staff. Delicious food. Nothing like thai food with country music in the background.

Pros: All vegan, Open to customize order

TessaWhite

Points +867

Vegan
22 May 2022

Fab Thai

Wicked flavors with lots of options

FrankPaulin

Points +899

Non Veg
12 Apr 2022

Yummy

This place is amazing. I had the BBQ beef, and orange chicken. The beef looked and tasted so real. It was perfectly cooked. The orange chicken was delicious. It had the right amount of orange sauce. It wasn't overly sweet like most places. They also have a lunch special where you order from the steam table. A nice thing is there's pictures of every menu item. Service was also very good. I'll definitely be back.

Pros: Pictures of every menu item, Fast friendly service

chocomint

Points +80

Vegan
01 Apr 2022

Vegan Thai food

What a blessing to have an all-vegan Thai restaurant nearby! I'm not a huge fan of fake meat stuff (which a majority of the menu features, although I suppose that's how Thai cuisine in general is like), but their versions are made in-house and are surprisingly convincing. Even my omni family members thought so! Personally, I love their curries and steamed buns. The thai iced tea is also really good.

The owners are super nice, too. Definitely drop by - being able to enjoy this type of food as a vegan is a rare treat!

helloimkaren

Points +44

Vegan
12 Jan 2022

Love it

This place is incredible, great food and I love places that make their protein in house.

Pros: Fully vegan!

soursky

Points +24

Vegan
14 Nov 2021

Steam Buns & Spicy Noodles

Found this spot on a trip to L.A. and loved everything we ordered. Service was friendly and quick. Would definitely recommend!!!

Pros: 100% vegan

alienvegan

Points +4933

Vegan
17 Sep 2021

Fantastic

Fantastic food with many options, vegetables, tofu, mock meat and mock seafood. The food doesn’t come with rice so if you want it make sure to order it. We got delivery and loved it!

treen123

Points +16

Vegan
17 Jun 2021

If you miss omelets or frittatas go here!

I had been here several times and loved every meal. I accidentally discovered near the
end of the menu under specialties "Thai Style Omelet with Quinoa". OMG! Soooo
good! Takes about 20 minutes to make so be patient and you will not regret it!

Pros: Excellent Food, Booths Available

KimHostetter

Points +137

Vegan
14 May 2021

Glad I came during lunch.

The food was very good. The lunch special allows you to choose three different items, which I love because I would rather taste multiple things than have a big portion of one item. They even allowed me to do half and half of the side fried rice and lomein. Everything seemed very fresh. Staff was very kind. Will return.

Pros: All vegan, Fresh, Friendly

Jepjep

Points +22

Vegan
07 Aug 2020

Excellent

Pad See Ew and Thai Tea were both delicious. If you want spice make sure to ask for it. Otherwise it will be no spice. Great service too

KatFrench

Points +295

Vegan
18 May 2020

Great Asian Food!

As an Asian, there were certain foods that I enjoyed prior to going vegan that I thought I’d possibly never eat again (not that I regretted it). However, Wheel of Life offers a variety of veganized Asian dishes that are just as tasty, if not tastier, than the original ones. I ordered from these guys during isolation time, and they were super accommodating.

cczaus

Points +16

Vegan
10 Feb 2020

Scammers overcharged us

These scammers added a 20% upcharge to our order. They don't give itemized receipts, and when I received the bill there was a 20% upcharge not including tax. I was suspicious because the bill was nearly 70$ so I added up the item values on the menu, which the middle aged Asian owner tried to take from me while I was doing the calculations. When I noticed the discrepancy I asked for an itemized receipt. At this point we had already been waiting half an hour for the food (it wasn't busy). The owner didnt give it to me and instead grabbed the non-itemized receipt and went into the kitchen for a while. She came out 15 minutes later and instead of giving us a receipt, gave us a box and said "here are your SIX items". She tried to play it off like they accidentally added an additional item to our order. I told her I only ordered five items and that I was still waiting on the itemized receipt, which would have showed that they were simply scamming me. They refused to get the receipt and just gave me $11 cash and rushed us out. Would never come back and will warn everyone away from this scammy place.

Pros: Good chef

Cons: Scammy, Overcharged, Rude

casella7

Points +19

Vegan
03 Sep 2019

A change did come

I've been a Vegan for 40 years and in the past, I had enjoyed the food and portions for the buffet lunch and for the dinners. I don't know if it was due to the change of ownership, but the sit down meal I had recently was miniscule
compared to the past. When I asked about the small portion, instead of making it right, the waitress said it would be made right when I came back.
I haven't been back since.
Also, in the past, I used to select any of the three items displayed for the buffet price. Recently, I was told that I had to select their choice of three items to get the buffet price.
The food was the best Asian food I have had since I had eaten at the Buddhist Restaurant in San Francisco years ago.
I suggest that if you order a sit down meal, when your plate arrives, check the portion to make sure it's a meal and not an appetizer.
bob

Pros: Excellent food, Freindly Waitresses

Cons: Small portions for the price.

Nikki5239

Points +166

Vegan
14 Jun 2019

Yummy!

As soon we walked in the woman said “We don’t have meat here!” Awesome! I’ll take it! Were vegan !! Lol

Pros: Great Customer service and welcoming, Food and Deserts were amazing, Food that make you question “is this vegan?” Lol

leiaplant

Points +77

Mostly Veg
08 May 2019

Very lovely!

A place where I think all my meat eater friends would like and hopefully see how wonderful vegan food can be. The steam buns are really good and flavorful! Plus, the customer service was lovely!

Pros: The steam buns tastes wonderful., Customer service is great., Lovely area

Sarrie

Points +150

Vegan
11 Apr 2019

Depends on your taste

Good food, LOTS of menu items.

Just, they don’t really have any options WITHOUT (vegan) meat, which isn’t really my thing.

Pros: LOTS of choices, Friendly employees

Cons: Lacking options without vegan meats

SummerLee

Points +1677

Vegan
07 Jan 2019

Great meal every time

The menu is very fake meat heavy, but you can ask to get some of the dishes with out. Love this place:) usually get take out!

KaitlynBevan

Points +51

Vegan
18 Nov 2018

So many options!!!

They make all of their vegan meats from scratch and they are all impressive. Love this place, can’t go wrong with anything you get

Pros: The best chefs

Cons: Weird hours

Awake1234

Points +1111

Vegan
28 Sep 2018

Great hidden Gem nestled in shopping plaza near highway

Super nice staff and great selection of vegan food. Good deals on vegan lunch buffet and tons of other items. Can’t wait to come back.

Pros: Very nice people, Great food and selection, Easy access and outdoor seating




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