The weekday lunch features a steam table. Has an all-day special plate in addition to a large menu of dishes with a variety of faux meats in rice and noodle, claypots, main entrees, and more. Operated by disciples of supreme master ChingHai. Short walk from 12th St BART station. Apr 2013 reported to be all vegan. Open Tue-Sun 11:00am-8:00pm.
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1301 Franklin St (at 13th, downtown), Oakland, California, USA, 94612
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Last update on 19 Jan 2024 by geometric-noise
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95 Reviews
First Review by tartarugafechada
cooldara
Points +341
Soooooo good! - Edit
with the jalapeño fried tofu is one of the most delicious things I've eaten in a long time! I have never had anything like it, and I have been vegan for 19 years!
Read morePros: Great selection
Guest
rmagarik123
Points +59
Great place! - Edit
Food is excellent—Vietnamese mostly. Salads, soups, and claypot all strong. Occasionally they close early which is odd. The clientele is fun and very old-time Oakland, which is good. Overall a great value. The lunch buffet it far more generic—not highly recommended.
Read moreGuest
AnthonyMa
Points +24
A beacon of vegetarian food - Edit
I've been coming to Golden Lotus for the last 26 years...have seen 3 generations of the original owner and his sons and daughters. Yes, it's very much a Vietnamese family place. It show in their preparation of the food and the casual, friendly service. They offer dishes made with mock meat and greens. Very tasteful. I'm just glad it's still serving the same great food after so many years...there's a tradition for you!
Read morePros: Great food, Great food, Great place
Guest
aengber
Points +58
Favorite restaurant of all time. - Edit
Golden Lotus is my favorite restaurant in the Bay al-Area. The food is affordable, and every single dish on the very extensive menu is delicious. My favorite dish is the Mushu Mushu wraps, which are basically scallion pancake wrapped spring rolls. Their soups are normally what I go for, but their clay pots and curries are also amazing.
Read moreGuest
anutthar
Points +889
Great food - Edit
Pot stickers, fresh rolls, Thai fried rice and curry chick’n - food was pretty tasty and fresh
Read moreGuest
lvincent67
Points +88
Good food. Reasonable prices. - Edit
Used to eat here a lot when I worked close by. They knew me and my order by heart! Delicious!
Read moreGuest
sugz
Points +440
Delicious, all vegan! - Edit
You can eat every Asian dish you have ever wanted in their vegan version. Their Thai Ice tea is bomb and the deserts are great! My fave is the yellow curry soup!
Read morePros: Completely vegan, Affordable , Located downtown
Guest
Croissance
Points +2930
good option - Edit
A classic Asian restaurant. I think it could have been better. Appetizers and desserts were quite good, but I found the main dishes lacking, except the eggplant tofu which was amazing.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2019-06-05
Pros: vegan, some great options
Cons: some things could be tastier
Guest
MyhrtKookie
Points +64
I had the spicy shrimp, oh my goodness was it delicious! - Edit
I ordered Take out. I got there there was a gentleman that attended me he was nice. I will definitely be going back for more shrimp. We tried the wonton soup, it was definitely not my fave. Will not be ordering that again.
Read morePros: Tasty!
Guest
TessaWhite
Points +867
Fully Vegan, Fully Delicious - Edit
All made fresh, lots of analogue meats and fresh veggies. My kids LOVE it ❤️
Read moreGuest
J.e.n
Points +176
The BEST! - Edit
So delicious and everything’s vegan!
Read moreGuest
HalehNiazmand
Points +51
What Treat. - Edit
By far the best vegan restaurant in the East Bay and maybe beyond, especially if you know what to order. Thanks to happy Caw App for finding this place.
Read moreMy partner and I go there at least once a week after having tried nearly all the vegan restaurants in the area. Golden Lotus is our top favorite. The food is tasty, and the food is on the lighter side since it is served with a lot of raw greens. The wait staff members are as sweet as it can be and the place is clean and well maintained.
Here are my most favorites from the menu:
Appetizers:
KALE SALAD (their most delicious and balanced salad)
MUSHU MUSHU WRAP (SIMPLY AMAZING)
LOTUS SALAD IS ALRIGHT BUT NOT AS GOOD AS THE OTHER TWO
Soups:
SPICY NOODLE SOUP
CURRY NOODLE SOUP
Noodle plates:
CRISPY CHOW FUN (SIMPLY AMAZING)
YUM YUM VERMICELLI (MUST BE MIXED WELL. IT IS GOOD BUT NOT AS GOOD AS CRISPY CHAW FUN)
Then the best is the many Chef"s Specialties:
SPICY CHA CHA (imitation Shrimp that is indistinguishable from the real thing, served on a bed of raw greens)
HOUSE RICE CLAYPOT (beyond delicious rice combination stand-alone dish that I can eat every day)
SPICY GOURMET CHICKEN (imitation Chicken served on a bed of raw greens)
CLAYPOT FISH is my other favorite, and it is best when eaten with brown rice.
Side order
BROWN RICE (it is mixed with a bit of black rice gives it a beautiful reddish color and lots of antioxidants)
Drink
RAW KALE DRINK (surprisingly yummy)
DESERT (in the order that I favor)
OREO CAKE (It only has oreo colors of deep chocolate brown and white but tastes nothing like oreo)
FLAN
MOCHA CHOCOLATE CAKE
MACHA CHEESECAKE
The prices are moderate About $10-S14 per plate. Since the food is tasty and they have a large variety, you may find yourself ordering too many dishes, eat more and pay more. My recommendation is that you go with a group of friend and order many things to share.
Updated from previous review on 2017-05-23
Pros: Best vegan food in Bay Area, Good service, Clean
Cons: Hard to find parking
Guest
thisgirlcooks
Points +52
Excellent! - Edit
This place gets 5 stars just for the spicy noodle soup alone! It is sooooo good!! Actually, everything I’ve had is delicious! I’ll be back with friends!!
Read morePros: Plant based, Friendly staff, Spicy noodle soup
Guest
Nybreed412
Points +66
Really good Vietnamese Cuisine - Edit
Fried Imperial Rolls are to die for. I had 3 orders while I was here. Has alot of choices to choose from.
Read morePros: Food comes out really fast.
Cons: Not in a really good part of oakland.
Guest
Mountjoy32
Points +312
Comforting Spicy Noodle Soup - Edit
I had lunch with a couple friends here when I wasn't feeling so hot. I got the spicy noodle soup. It tasted very good. It was a lot like pho, where they give you bean sprouts and mint to put in it. Spice level was good... Like a 6 out of 10 on the heat-scale. I enjoyed the pieces of vegan ham, but not the vegan beef... The ham was very flavorful and unique... The beef seemed like it was aiming more for being like real beef and I didn't enjoy it as much. At $6.50... This was really good. And it really helped make me feel so much better. Very soothing and healing for cold symptoms.
Read moreAs an appetizer, we got the fresh spring rolls. They were good... Tasted the same as any fresh spring rolls. Smaller than I've gotten used to from getting these at other restaurants, but they give you a lot of peanut sauce... It was nice not having to carefully ration that.
Also tried the cucumber salad. It was tasty and fresh. The spicy lemon dressing definitely wasn't spicy at all... It was tangy in a citric way.
My friend got a Thai iced tea and said it was one of the better and more full-flavored ones she's had.
Booths were comfortable and employees were nice.
Pros: Price, Spicy Soup
Cons: Generica
Guest
TheAllisonBauer
Points +267
Amazing! - Edit
Delicious! Great food and friendly staff.
Read moreGuest
galagarza89
Points +100
Amazing! - Edit
Have been there twice since moving to Oakland. What a great spot. The teriyaki chickn and their crispy chowmein are delicious. Will definitely be making more stops.
Read moreGuest
JKay
Points +156
Experiences may vary but this one was great! (5/5 green stars) - Edit
In case you get confused by the “fish,” “chicken,” and “beef” on the menu, the servers helpfully wear T-shirts with the word VEGAN printed on the front in large letters. It probably saves them from having to answer a dozen questions per day along the lines of “is this soy ‘chicken’ really vegan?” We ordered the Spicy Thai Fried Rice and the Thousand Layers Tofu Eggplant and both were exceptionally good – the best Asian food I’ve had so far this year. My pet peeve with fried rice is when it’s barely fried – if I wanted boiled rice that’s pushed around an over-oiled wok for a minute in a desultory fashion and then served as a soggy-greasy mess, I’d order it! Their fried rice was appropriately caramelized and very flavorful, with a good level of spice contrasted with small sweet chunks of pineapple. Eggplant is tricky to cook and I’m hesitant to order it in case it comes out bitter, oily, or undercooked. Everything in their Thousand Layers Eggplant Tofu was delicious, but particularly the eggplant and the sauce (made with black beans, perhaps?). Highly recommend both dishes. Just had water to go with it, so total cost for best Asian meal of the year was $25, including tip.
Read moreI’m giving them 4/5 “green stars” for social and environmental impact, based on these reasons:
• Their entire menu is vegan as far as I know (not 100% sure about the Thai iced tea - check if you want to make sure you get a vegan version).
• I believe they encourage customers to bring their own boxes for take-out. Had full intentions to take some of the large portions to go but we couldn’t resist eating it all!
• As far as I know, the restaurant is still owned by spiritual guru Ching Hai, a rather glamorous and self-promoting guru with a hand in many enterprises. Personally, that’s not such a big issue for me – I haven’t come across anything horrific while reading about her. One of her beliefs is “Be Green, Go Veg, Save the Planet,” hence her many vegan restaurants around the world, including the Loving Hut.
• I’d like to see more info on whether they use organic ingredients – especially for soy-based items. I’d rather skip it if made from conventional soy, grown from neonic-coated seeds.
• Again, more info on the company would be helpful – they have no website.
Interested in writing green star reviews? If so, contact me! (greenstarsproject)
Pros: All Vegan menu, Very tasty food, Nice surroundings since they remodelled
Cons: Neighborhood may seem sketchy at first
Guest
renakatz
Points +64
My favorite Asian restaurant - Edit
I've eaten at Golden Lotus twice in a day - I work near the restaurant and it's just that consistently good. It's my favorite Asian restaurant.
Read moreI recommend the lunch buffet - 3 or 4 items out of a selection of rice, noodles, veggies, eggplant, sweet potato curry, mushrooms, green beans. If you go there for dinner, their noodle soups are large and delicious. Basil Eggplant Tofu and Sweet Potato "Chicken" Curry are excellent with brown rice.
Pros: Great lunch buffet, Fast, consistent, and polite service, Food has delicious sauces and seasonings
Cons: Closes too early at night
Guest
steveoliverc
Points +144
Very good place for lunch - Edit
Such a variety of mock meat dishes and soups. All have been delicious. Only downside is that many of the dishes are covered in high-calorie sauces. There's a reasonably-priced lunch buffet too. I prefer it to the menu because they tend to be healthier than the menu options. Your meat-eating friends will like this place.
Read morePros: Very tasty dishes, Lots of variety, Lunch buffet
Cons: A lot of the sauces are high fat and calorie.
Guest
martint
Points +9684
Chinese vegan - Edit
It is very nice to go to a chinese place without worrying about an egg or dairy in your meal, while normally it is not easy to achieve. The menu is very wide, with many options, salads, soups, noodles, fake meats, rices, clay pots, etc, at a very nice price. Everything I tried was delicious. Also the waiters was very attentive to us. I liked the cleanliness of the restaurant.The only thing I did not liked excesively is the presence of fake soy meat in almost every plate. It was hard to find a meal without "chicken", "beef", or ,"ham". More veggie-only options, please!
Read morePros: traditional chinese food, fast service, afffordable
Cons: fake meats
Guest
Jeremiahdavis
Points +85
Solid but slow - Edit
They were pretty good. Standard vegan Asian food. Potstickers and orange chicken were both very good. I would go again but the service was pretty slow. It was kinda busy but there were still open tables.
Read moreGuest
jbuberel
Points +66
Great Chinese vegan - Edit
Their yellow curry taro in clay pot is amazing. Their spring rolls are terrific too. Parking in this part of Oakland can be a challenge, but it's worth the trip.
Read moreGuest
Josh Fossgreen
Points +144
Awesome! - Edit
Love this place! Staff are nice, food is awesome, prices are reasonable. My favorite dish by far is the Potato Chicken Curry. So good.
Read morePros: awesome food, good variety of different Asian cuisines
Guest
Tac0_flavored_kisses
Points +150
Delicious Food, crappy area - Edit
I love the Golden Lotus. The food is fabulous. Amazing mock meats, non-vegan friends love it, it's inexpensive, great desserts......downsides: the area isn't great, no alcohol is served and parking isn't always the best. The atmosphere in the restaurant is just so so, very casual. The food makes up for it though.
Read morePros: Amazing food, inexpensive, nice staff
Cons: crappy area, parking, no booze
Guest
DSpocklington
Points +44
Surprisingly good faux meats - Edit
I am always a little wary of places with a lot of faux meat, because I am not looking for the taste of meat. The Golden Lotus has done some very nice dishes that are great in their own right without trying to replicate meat. Whenever I'm in Oakland I eat there, and I have always been pleased and a few times I have been delighted. Good value, pleasant staff.
Read morePros: Creative/delicious meat alternatives, Good value, Nice staff
Cons: Not much on atmosphere
Guest
m@earthville
Points +10386
An enduring favorite - Edit
We have enjoyed hundreds of meals at Golden Lotus since 2001, and it continues to please.
Read moreThe menu is diverse enough to have something for almost everyone, including some of the best faux-meat specials one can find as well as plenty of dishes with fresh, steamed, or stir-fried veggies. Brown rice is available.
Most of our favorites are listed under the specials (e.g. lemon grass chicken, curry chicken, tamarind beef, and many others), but there are also great picks among the less expensive items (e.g. vegetable chow fun and the soups and appetizers). The lunch specials are great value. For those with a sweet tooth, the vegan Thai iced tea (which can be ordered without ice) and the carrot cupcake (actually a proper carrot cake in the form of a largish cupcake) are nice additions.
The owners (originally from Vietnam) are kind and generous people and we're happy to see them still doing good business after all these years.
Pros: extensive menu with diverse options, both vegetable-oriented and faux-meat
Guest
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