Dharma Kitchen

Excellent vegetarian resto, quality food and good portions, but you def. pay for it. Burgers are great as is their chai tea.

Omg I travelled from down town to come here and the waiter was soooooo rude time, I asked him for a recommendation he was very unhelpful and passive aggressive and argumentative… I had indigestion before I ate so I left! Not recommended however I did not try food

If you are Vegan, you should be here, it’s like a heaven. You can order anything (even Chai tea — it’s so good and it’s with almond milk as a default!!) without worrying about.
Eventhough all dishes are great here, I must say I see this place as a «high-​end Vegan burger place». :)
My fav. is «Boddhisattva Burger ($ 18)» which is loaded with everything!!! It’s pricey but it has a great portion, so I share it with my friend usually (then it becomes reasonable!!) You never go wrong with this dish!!!

I am a vegetarian who eats vegan at most times. I love the food here, as well as the juices and smoothies! I used to go there with my partner every week, until we got busy! The staff is friendly and attentive, your water glass will never be empty!
The only reason I am giving it ⁴⁄₅ is the ambience/​overall feel of the space. I brought friends form out of town there, and they will not go back. They said the food is excellent but that the space felt dirty and that they didn’t feel that the resturant was clean and therefore they had concerns about the food. It’s unfortunate :(.

Whenever I have to time in between classes, I sneak out here for lunch. If you’re tight on time, I recommend calling in ahead to order because their food will take quite a while before it lands, steaming hot, on your table. For a vegetarian place, there are quite a few options to choose from and my go-​tos are the Green Goddess Bowl, NuCao bowl, and lemongrass w/​tofu entrée. For a vegetarian place, there is tons of flavour and texture in their food! Wait staff are friendly, talkative, and accommodating. It’s really a no-​frills kind of place, super casual, laid-​back, and where you go when you crave tasty food without the guilt after. Not exactly student budget-​friendly menu however and make sure you have some form of entertainment with you if you’re eating in alone to take your mind off the hunger while you wait for the food to be served. Still, one of my favourite healthy food places in the city!

A hidden gem!!! I’m not vegan — but for herbivores & omnivores alike, this place is fantastic.
The value is very good — very fresh ingredients, non-​GMO soy products, large portions (I often have enough for leftovers). There is a good variety of dishes — no matter what you order, make sure to try the miso gravy. It’s the best in the city!
The ambience in the restaurant is very cozy and relaxing and the owner, Tommy, is very sweet and makes you feel very welcome. They do great daily specials ($ 12 daily feature) and are great for takeout too.
A perfect place when you’re too lazy to cook but want something healthy.

The food is not so bad but really salty thats the only reason i gave four stars instead of five. Btw the waiter really dnt knw how to give suggestions lol doesnt really matter tho but kinda funny

Food: portions were a bit meager for the price though. I had a Dharma Dude bowl (potatoes w/​miso gravy and a tempeh patty on top), gf had the Tempeh Burger w/​potatoes as the side. The «tempeh» on my Dharma Dude Bowl tasted more like a veggie patty… potatoes were well-​cooked and tasty though. Miso gravy is always a winner with me. A few too many peppers though — seems like they were trying to use more filler.
My gf was very satisfied with the burger.
The banana tapioca pudding for dessert was good, and decent sized portion too even between the two of us.
Service: This is where I had some issues. The server was friendly, but tended to hover a bit since it wasn’t that busy. Also, when we ordered dessert, he paused and said «…Okay.» as if he thought I made a bad choice. The pudding was good, but came piping hot, so my gf and I waited for it to cool down. The server noticed and had the stones to say to us «…seriously guys? It’s gonna get cold.» I think he was trying to be funny/​friendly, but since he didn’t give off that vibe to start with, it just came off as rude. So then my gf started to stir the pudding to cool it down, and he made another quip — «What? Are you looking for the bananas? They probably melted by now.»
What’s his problem?
TL;DR the food is tasty, but slightly overpriced and nothing really that special. The service can be odd.

Fantastic restaurant. This is my second time here and I am DEFINITELY coming back. I’ve had the burger and a potato bowl — both delicious. All organic, vegan and they make it themselves. I even loved their pudding and I am not a pudding kind of girl!

We have found our newly favourite vegan restaurant. The host is welcoming, cheerful and funny. The chef brought out the food and was very considerate about how we liked the food. We will definitely be back.

This is the second time I’ve been here and I love the food. I would go as far to say that their bowls top the Naam, even their miso gravy. Portions are big, and staff are nice too. They have daily specials which are a great deal. I had the Dharma Bowl tonight and it’s delicious.

Love this place, great for lunch. Beautiful, healthy and filling portions. Great for vegans.

Always love this place, great food and a great atmosphere! Take your meat eating friends here and start converting them! We have been steady customers there for 2 – 3 years and will keep hoping back for sure.

Quality of the food at this restaurant was okay, but the portions are tiny and the price is high for the amount of food you actually get. I like to support full vegan restaurants and I will probably give this spot another go, but like many openly vegan spots in Vancouver, there’s a little to much spiritual smug for conscientious eaters who don’t want to hear any spiritual mumbo-​jumbo. This spot has a pretty good selection of beverages (mmm vegan matcha).

Without a doubt, Dharma Kitchen makes my absolute favourite burger in Vancouver. I’ve tried a whole bunch of things on the menu with varying appeal, but I have never been disappointed when ordering the Bengal State Burger. At times when I’m a bit hungrier I’ll order the Boddhisatva Burger which is basically the same thing but with extra toppings like mushrooms and avocado. Their burger patty is the owner’s own delicious home made tempeh recipe, not some frozen store-​bought patty like many other restaurants serve. I’m telling you, in my opinion, it’s the best.
Some of the other reviews that I’ve read here have said their food was boring; while I don’t necessarily agree, I can see where they’re coming from. Many dishes are just different combinations of veggies and sauces. That said, I’ve never encountered a dish here that I didn’t enjoy, and the Bengal State Burger is as good as it gets. Try it.

I think that Dharma Kitchen is excellent. I’ve only eaten there both times, but each time I’ve gone, my entire party has been impressed and satisfied. The service is generally very good, and the portion sizes and food quality impress me, especially for the price (i.e., it’s good value).
I would (and do!) recommend Dharma Kitchen to others.

Dharma says on their website that they’re vegan but yet I was offered honey with my tea. Bad start already…
I have to say that the menu looks very exciting and I thought I was in for a treat…
Sadly the food was bland. I ordered the basil tofu and my husband the Dharma dude bowl. The prices were high but the portions big. Our dishes had exactly the same veggies with different sauces.
The Dharma dude bowl is supposed to come with tempeh but there was no tempeh on the plate. I know tempeh and that was not tempeh, just a commercially made veggie burger (probably Yves Veggie). Really? That’s false advertising!
Anyway, based on those prices and the food, I won’t be going back.

Solid, dependable, delicious, and cordial. Yes, it’s a consistently pleasant experience in terms of dining. That it is *totally* vegan just makes it that extra bit special.
The atmosphere is decidedly unpretentious, so if you’re afraid you’ll be assaulted with New Age condescension — don’t be. I would say management is decidedly Buddhist in terms of personal religious views, and this is reflected in the decoration as well as the cooking, but there’s nothing aggressive about it. Dharma Kitchen wears its philosophy like a tree wears its leaves; and I respect that.
I might agree that the options are somewhat limited — all meals tend to circulate around a common set of ingredients, and readily divide into salad/​rice bowl/​tempeh burger triad of vegan categories. The style of cooking is a cross between Japanese macrobiotics and contemporary raw-​food outlooks. I would have liked somewhat more Chinese/​Japanese options in terms of ingredients and cooking styles – I think that would be my one suggestion if I were asked — dishes with more spice.
Still, I come here regularly and always leave happy, satisfied, and well-​treated. The servers learned my name and take care in using it.
And, if you read my reviews, you know what I am going to say next. Yep! I’m a transsexual woman and I can say that I am treated with delightful courtesy here (always correct pronouns, non-​judgment, etc), and you must understand how much I value. Unlike the transphobes at Chai Gallery, DK practices what it preaches (health+respect).

OH MY! No… Just no.
My friend and I stopped here for lunch one day. It was super dead. I wondered why at first… now I know.
The server was very friendly. Really friendly. Topping up your water every few minutes friendly. I didn’t mind because I’m a guzzler with my water at restaurants, and they’re short glasses… but maybe some people wouldn’t like that.
We didn’t want anything else to drink, but he brought us a little sample of chai to try. I don’t really like tea, and I hate coffee. Hate… But this chai was good, and I actually thought well I can probably drink it’s cuz there’s no dairy in it either. It was really good. So I would say the chai is best thing about our experience here.
My friend ordered the tempeh burger with roasted potatoes, and I ordered the dharma dude bowl.
I had asked what was in the dressings, but could not get an answer if all the dressings had oil in it. I can’t stand salads with nuts, avocado and oil all over it. It’s really too much concentrated fat for a small bowl of lettuce.
But all he said was «Everything on the menu is healthy». I just kinda laughed inside. Healthy is relative. If you eat too much of anything that in itself can be unhealthy… so that’s why I wanted to know if all their salads were just oily salads. Essential fatty acids are good, too many calories from fat is not good. You know what I mean?
So we waited for a while and then our food came out. The tempeh I got on my bowl, was the same as the burger patty. It looked and tasted like a burger patty. It was all right. Definitely the most flavourful thing in the dish. The rest was just plain steamed veg, with an oily mild gravy and some COLD slightly reheated potato rounds.
The potatoes on my friend’s plate were the same too.
We felt cheated, like everything on the menu is the exact same stuff presented in different combinations… and this is not a good thing.
It all tasted like blah.
Now if you’re vegetarian or vegan, don’t you generally know some tasty recipes for veg bowls and stir fries? You’d think right.
Cuz this is probably the worst blah tasting vegan food I’ve had in Vancouver.
I create healthy low fat vegan recipes for my business. I KNOW how to do healthy and flavourful. But this kitchen doesn’t get it. Even without garlic and onions, you can still make stuff flavourful, and not have it just be barely reheated and tossed together.
I have to say that I have no desire to come back because I’d rather pay $ 14 for something tasty at an Omni restaurant. It’s a shame because the place looks nice and warm inside, but the food is what is driving customers away.
When you’re dead all the time, it’s the food or the price. In this case it’s both.

So much hate for such a gentle spirit, what’s up with that Unilocalers? You guys are turning this place into the Drama Kitchen. A group of us came here for dinner to satisfy our vegetarian delights, but felt like we were supposed to lay down on the table and get a massage while we waited. There was something very relaxing and calming about being in there, I don’t know if it was the smell or the calm music or the fact that I was exhausted from work, in any case, I had to force the BF not to wrap his sweater on his head and take his clothes off. Maybe then we could have laid him on the table and done experiments on him and had him type some numbers into a computer on a scheduled basis to give him a complex that he could die if he didn’t… oh wait, that’s the Dharma Initiative, not quite the same thing.
We were brought a big jug of water with a little lemon in it to add some zest. I ordered a cup of the miso soup, which was alright, it didn’t taste very miso-​y, it tasted more like cilantro, and could have used a touch of spice. I also had the basil and tofu rice dish, which I really liked, it was spicy, in a flavourful way and not a hot kind of way. The BF had a carrot, celery, and ginger juice, which was really good. I usually find vegetable juices to be a bit too bitter for me. He also ordered the Nucau bowl, which was kind of like a salad on top of a rice and steak (tempeh) dish. He said he gave it a 4/​5, I personally do not like tempeh because it has such a meaty texture, and even though I am not a hardcore veggie, it weirds me out. I’ll stick to the tofu dishes thanks.
The bill was pretty easy to figure out since most of the dishes are around $ 10, but there is no breakdown, so if you are paying separately you may want to ask for separate bills. We chilled at the table for a bit, since it was a family dinner and all, and one of our servers brought over some complimentary chai teas for us, which were pretty stellar. What a nice way to end the meal too! Everyone at the table was super satisfied with what they ordered and I am sure we will be back again soon. I was eyeballing the Green Goddess dish that one of our table members ordered so I think that will be my next choice.