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  • Zen Garden

  • 4.0 stars
    (Based on 12 Reviews)
  • Cuisines: Vegetarian
  • (519) 341-0866
  • 104 Surrey Street East, Guelph, ON N1H 3P9
  • Neighbourhoods: East
Recommend Restaurant?
5 people have voted
80% of voters recommend
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3
Reviews
4 months ago
  • I tried this restaurant recently after meaning to...
  • Overall
    3.0 stars
    • Food
      2.0 stars
    • Services
      4.0 stars
    • Atmosphere
      4.0 stars
    • Price Range (per person): $11-$25
    • Visit Again?: No
    • Party Size: 2
  • I tried this restaurant recently after meaning to try it for quite some time. It was a bit disappointing. The staff is really friendly and the restaurant itself is gorgeous, but the food is wheat meat/junk food for vegans & vegetarians.

    I had the spicy szechwan tofu. It was kinda cornstarchy and featured vegetables that came out of the freezer for sure.

    I really liked the purple rice, though -- a mix of brown rice, red rice & wild rice I think. Yummy!

    I won't be going back because Guelph has a lot of other great vegetarian and vegan options, and Zen Gardens is mediocre at best. I'm actually a bit miffed that people love it so much!

  • Order: Spicy szechwan tofu, purple rice
1
Review
11 months ago
  • I just got back from lunch at Zen Garden. As a...
  • Overall
    5.0 stars
    • Food
      4.0 stars
    • Services
      5.0 stars
    • Atmosphere
      5.0 stars
    • Price Range (per person): $11-$25
    • Visit Again?: Yes
    • Party Size: 2
  • I just got back from lunch at Zen Garden. As a vegetarian in Guelph, I can't believe I hadn't been before. The food was amazing. We shared the steamed bun and pan fried dumplings. I had the lunch combination of the tofu casserole and my friend had the teriyaki tofu and veggies. Everything was great and I will definitely return soon. An awesome restaurant all around.

  • Order: steamed bun, pan fried dumplings, tofu casserole, teriyaki tofu and veggies
2
Reviews
11 months ago
  • We had some great fake chicken balls (they...
  • Overall
    5.0 stars
    • Food
      5.0 stars
    • Services
      5.0 stars
    • Atmosphere
      5.0 stars
    • Price Range (per person): $11-$25
    • Visit Again?: Yes
    • Party Size: 2
  • We had some great fake chicken balls (they finally have the real sauce with them!), kung pow chicken and spicy bean curd. All was great!

  • Order: chicken balls, kung pow chicken, spicy bean curd
5
Reviews 2
Helpful
11 months ago
  • I first went with my mom after reading such good...
  • Overall
    5.0 stars
    • Food
      5.0 stars
    • Services
      4.0 stars
    • Atmosphere
      5.0 stars
    • Price Range (per person): $11-$25
    • Visit Again?: Yes
    • Party Size: 2
  • I first went with my mom after reading such good reviews for vegetarian food, and we both loved it.
    The Organic Green Tea is so good, and the pot is adorable! The Soy Drumsticks are to die for, as well as the Soy Chicken Balls, Spring Rolls, Wonton Soup and Kings Noodle (or something like that) soup.
    I actually went back on the 28th of November with my meat-loving, ketchup adoring boyfriend for our appetizer section of our anniversary dinner.
    Once again I had to order those drumsticks, and yet again they were awesome! He enjoyed them too. We also ordered soy nuggets (I quote "they taste like chicken!!"), Crystal Rolls (amazing!), Spring Rolls, and a pot of Zen's Organic Green Tea.
    My burger-loving boy can't wait to go back there again and try some more vegestuff!

  • Order: Zen's Organic Green Tea (in a pot), Spring Rolls, Crystal Rolls, Soy Nuggets, Soy Chicken Balls, Drumsticks, Wonton & Kings soup
  • 1 person thought this review was helpful
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5
Reviews
2008/08/14
  • Great Vegan/Vegetarian Menu Selection
  • Overall
    4.0 stars
    • Food
      4.0 stars
    • Services
      4.0 stars
    • Atmosphere
      4.0 stars
    • Price Range (per person): $11-$25
    • Visit Again?: Yes
    • Party Size: 1
  • Zen Garden...how appropriate. Enter into a calm environment that is tastefully designed - clean, contemporary, but with character. Soft zen-like music meld in the background. Menu selection is fantastic - all vegetarian - with vegan & non-vegan options clearly labelled. Service was a bit slow, especially considering there weren't many people there at the time I went but courteous. Dumplings ($7 for 8 pieces) were fantastic. Would definitely order again, and come back specifically for it. Then the next came a soy beef noodle dish with bean sprouts, which was disappointing. Lacked strong flavour, very few pieces of "beef", too much noodles, and thought there would be more veggies other than bean sprouts. Definitely can be passed on. Ginger tea was standard fare, but good nevertheless.

    Parking is on a residential street, and not difficult to find a spot.

    Would love to come back and try another main dish, and definitely get the dumplings again. FYI, this appears to be a local chain - about 6 locations all west of Mississauga. Recommended for lovers of Chinese food and vegetarians.

  • Order: Pan-Fried Dumplings, Soy Beef Noodles, Ginger Tea
Vivienne
2008/07/14
  • Vegetarian Paradise!
  • Overall
    4.0 stars
    • Food
      4.0 stars
    • Services
      4.0 stars
    • Atmosphere
      5.0 stars
    • Price Range (per person): $11-$25
    • Visit Again?: Yes
    • Party Size: 10
  • Zen Garden is a real treat for vegetarians as it is a very beautiful restaurant where we're able to order anything off the menu (a rare occurance when dining out)! We were a large group of vegetarians and non-vegetarians and everyone loved the assortment of dishes we ordered. The restaurant itself is in a renovated turn-of-the-century home that is decorated in bold, modern orange with minimalist artwork on the walls, but at the same time retains a refined traditionalist decor with focus on the solid wood fireplace and the original hardwood floors thoughout. The place settings are all modern, white ceramic and tea is served in especially beautiful glass teapots and small glass tea cups.

    We were well taken care of by our server who went beyond great service by even graciously spliting our bills evenly and taking a group picture of us outside the restaurant!

    The food itself was delicious. We shared an assortment of dishes and could not beleive that some of the dishes could taste the way they did. My only cautionary note would be that the Black Bean "Fish" dish is quite salty, and upon returning I would not order that dish again. Other than that, Zen Garden is highly recommended as eveything was wonderful and I am planning to return very soon!

  • Order: Various Teas (hot and cold), Mushroom "Ribs", Kung Pao "Chicken", Chow Mein, Spicy Eggplant, "Chicken" Balls, Black Bean "Fish", Avacado & Cucumber Sushi
Lola
2008/07/10
  • Cannot Wait to Return!
  • Overall
    4.0 stars
    • Food
      5.0 stars
    • Services
      4.0 stars
    • Atmosphere
      4.0 stars
    • Price Range (per person): $11-$25
    • Visit Again?: Yes
    • Party Size: 9
  • I would have to start by echoing the previous posting, the decor is very beautiful - stylish and 'zen' like! They do have a patio. The only drawback to this restaurant is that it doesn't yet have a licqour lisc. - They do however, have many tasty teas to choose from. The food we enjoyed here was so delicious, I am dreaming of going back! The food was unique and my meat eater friends enjoyed all these veggie dishes as well...no one left hungry! The service was also very attentive and patient with our large group. I would highly recommend this restaurant!

  • Order: We were with a party of 10 - we each ordered a dish and then shared all those dishes among our party. Therefore, we had quite a variety of Zen Garden's food. I have to say that each dish was delicious! I particularily remember the soy 'chicken' balls, mushroom stems, spicy eggplant, sushi, Kung Pao Chicken.
Laura
2008/06/13
  • Wonderful
  • Overall
    5.0 stars
    • Food
      5.0 stars
    • Services
      5.0 stars
    • Atmosphere
      5.0 stars
    • Price Range (per person): $11-$25
    • Visit Again?: Yes
    • Party Size: 1
  • My first impression of zen gardens was that the decor is absolutely fantastic. such a lovely place to go and pass the time. I got take out and although I wasn't there for very long the waitress was kind and helpful. The food I had was amazing. incredible really. I couldn't believe that i could have such yummy asian-style appetizers sans meat, but they've done it.

  • Order: soy-chicken balls, egg rolls
Jen
2008/04/23
  • Very yummy and very friendly. Typical food from...
  • Overall
    5.0 stars
    • Food
      5.0 stars
    • Services
      5.0 stars
    • Atmosphere
      4.0 stars
    • Price Range (per person): $11-$25
    • Visit Again?: Yes
    • Party Size: 2
  • Very yummy and very friendly. Typical food from the King's chain, with great service.

    We really enjoyed ourselves - try the seitan or something from the special menu.

  • Order: Assorted Seitan Platter, Black Pepper Veggie Chicken, A Noodle Dish
Amazing! finely SPICY veg food
2008/04/17
  • This is some of the best vegetarian food I have...
  • Overall
    5.0 stars
    • Food
      5.0 stars
    • Services
      5.0 stars
    • Atmosphere
      4.0 stars
    • Price Range (per person): $11-$25
    • Visit Again?: Yes
    • Party Size: 2
  • This is some of the best vegetarian food I have ever ate. Unfortunately, when you normally go to a restaurant you are stuck with either an old veggie burger or some pasta - here the entire menu is full of great stuff.
    I really enjoyed the fact that you can actually eat some chinese food that is not completely americanized and has no flavour. Take for instance the kung-pow chicken - I was breaking out into a sweat when I was eating it!
    True they are going through some start-up pains but I expect that they will speed up the service soon.

  • Order: Kung-pow fake chicken & won ton soup
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