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Asian bistro serving Vietnamese vegan dishes including banh mi sandwiches, pho, vermicelli noodles, and various dishes with tofu and faux meats. Has Thai ice tea and vegan desserts. This branch became all vegan in 2018. Relocated from 6171 Mission Gorge Rd Ste 118. Open Mon-Sun 11:00am-8:00pm.
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4616 El Cajon Blvd suite 3, San Diego, California, USA, 92115
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- Outdoor seating
- Accepts credit cards
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Last update on 03 Oct 2025 by NicoleParks
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Added by FrayDoh on 23 Apr 2015
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68 Reviews
First Review by FrayDoh
pyatrus
Points +171
Wonderful Veggie/Vegan Asian Menu - Edit
I focused on vegan versions of standard Vietnamese foods: the summer roll (not fried) appetizer and the "Vietnamese sandwich." They were excellent. For the sandwich, they do NOT include the traditional (halapeno) hot pepper slices so ask for them if you want (hot) authenticity.
Read moreUpdate about "Vietnamese sandwich": 3 options: seitan (chicken or beef flavor) or lemongrass tofu). they now bring all of the ingredients to you so you can select what you prefer (everything in my case!). You must ask for peppers if you want then. There is still the option to have the sandwich made in kitchen & brought to you, if you prefer. Sandwich is larger now & one of their best menu items. Be sure to say you are vegan if you are; they are a vegetarian not vegan restaurant.
I also tried another variant of summer roll and the garlic noodle shrimp dish. The “Prawns” in Garlic Noodles dish was OK, but not great.
Updated from previous review on 2017-09-01
Pros: freshly made, fresh ingredients, option to substitute veggies on some items, option to substitute tofu for fake meats
Cons: Not all menu items are excellent., Be sure to say you are vegan (it is not assumed)
Guest
MattStait
Points +18
Love this place! - Edit
Every time we visit San Diego we make sure we stop at Purple Mint. Everything we’ve eaten there has been fantastic! Most items are vegan or can be made vegan. The drink selection is one of the best I’ve seen - great tea selections and smoothies :)
Read morePros: Lots of options with delicious, well-prepared food, Great decoration and ambiance, Great tea/drink selection
Guest
veganinsandiego
Points +829
Good food, inconsistent service - Edit
We really love the food at this restaurant. The first few times we went, we had excellent service. We recommended it a lot but kept hearing that service was bad. We've had a few bad experiences with service (time, missing items -- but they always make it right) but the atmosphere and delicious food make up for it. Double (nay, triple) check that your dish is vegan; there have been a couple typos on the menu in the past. Drinks are all questionable since they are mostly not labeled vegan. Just double-check when ordering, and expect a few hiccups in service and you will leave full and happy. Our favorite dishes: Yam and Sweet Potato Curry, Kung Pao Chickn, Spicy Noodle Soup, Banh Mi Sandwich.
Read morePros: Good value, large portions, Atmosphere, ambiance , Some excellent dishes
Cons: Inconsistent service , Some questionable items
Guest
dmgstuff
Points +32
I wanted to like it, but..... - Edit
I wanted to like it but the food was just very Bland, I've been there twice and have walked away disappointed each time.
Read moreGuest
Mudnotblood
Points +74
great food and atmosphere - Edit
When you walk in there is a man made pond under you and you can hear the water, great first impression I sat down on a comfy booth seat with a pillow and ordered a Thai milk tea and it was delicious ( I posted a picture). I ordered the pork and shrimp spring rolls on the appetizer section (also pictured) and the meats tasted like the real thing. Yeah purple mint is one of my new favorites
Read moreGuest
Gregpope410
Points +151
Delicious! - Edit
Although this place is not 100% vegan, it has sooo many options! Probably 98%!
Read moreReally good lettuce wraps!
Definitely recommend this place! It's also next to a donut place that offers vegan donuts! ;)
Guest
macoe
Points +37
Great Vietnamese food - Edit
The food here is absolutely delicious! The sizzling steak dish is amazing. I've been vegan for 13 years and it may be the most convincing red meat vegan dish I've had. Note: most but not all dishes are vegan; look for the v. Service is good and place is spacious and cute with outdoor seating available. Very happy to have this fairly close to our neighborhood. Prices are very fair. There's tons of tables so it's easy to go with a group and find seating. Sometimes the parking lot is full at lunch time and I have to find street parking but I've never had that issue at dinner time.
Read morePros: delicious, Lots of seating, affordable
Guest
CeeDee
Points +185
Beautiful food, beautiful atmosphere - Edit
The Purple Mint is a uniquely wonderful Vietnamese restaurant with delicious food which is both traditional and innovative. They use non-gmo and a lot of organic ingredients. The restaurant is clean and peacefully pleasant. I was delighted to visit there twice when I was in San Diego recently.
Read moreTheir soups are very authentic and interesting. Their soup stocks are tasty and satisfying.
Pros: Delicious food, Very accommodating staff, Authentic and innovative dishes
Guest
Bgilly
Points +377
Fantastic venue and food - Edit
Beautiful place, very relaxed and open atmosphere. Great food. On my short list of favorite places.
Read moreGuest
Vegitrd
Points +137
wonderful food! - Edit
We came from Washington state looking for a great vegetarian dinner and we found it here. Every dish had wonderful tastes and unique flavors. The restaurant itself was a nice setting with great service. Be careful with the peanut sauce it's spicy. Although we did not have dessert, the choices looked really good!
Read moreGuest
janetgottlieb
Points +305
Worth the trip! - Edit
Living in NYC, a vegan restaurant is not a novelty. But PurpleMint is awesome! Both times we ate there we over-ordered because everything was so tempting.
Read moreI'd recommend, in particular, the Orange Chicken, and the Avocado Egg-Less rolls are truly unique.
The restaurant is not vegan but almost everything is or can be made so.
From the menu: "We use reputable mock meats like Gardein, Beyond Meats and VegeUSA", so no doubt what you're getting.
Pros: Food
Cons: Service
janetgottlieb
Six years later, they are all-vegan and service is first-rate.
Read moreGuest
Trummerflute
Points +259
scrumptious! - Edit
It is great to see a quality vegetarian restaurant going head-to-head with Souplantation, which in my opinion, has lost its way due to corporate greed.
Read moreSimple decor, small, exquisitely selective menu, sauces that pop, great service.
We had Vegi Pho, "Chicken" Satay (my favorite), Lemon Grass Chicken - all vegan.
Pros: price, service, quantity, flavor
Cons: nothing
Guest
Azbigmike
Points +68
great vegan pho - Edit
We're staying in La Mesa and slim pickings in this neck of the woods and we were happily surprised to find this place.
Read moreGreat pho soup and springs rolls and curry dish.
Guest
FrayDoh
Points +18
Delicious Vietnamese Food - Edit
I had the lemon grass dish as an entree, and I had these spicy shrimp items as an appetizer. They food was excellent, it has a lot of flavor, and the faux items were cooked very well, not just thrown into the dish as an after thought. The place was nice, casual, but has a nice decor. I really liked what I had here and will be coming back to try the other items on the menu.
Read moreGuest
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