Green Gourmet

6.5 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  6      Value  7     

After the continual feasting in the past month, we have decided to slow down a bit with a vegetarian meal. We headed to Green Gourmet opposite St Leonards station for dinner on Sunday.

The restaurant serves vegetarian meals aligned to the ideals of Buddhism, plain, simple cooking without garlic and onion. The fried taro fish was interesting and the burdock stir fry was light. The dishes were not super delicious but we trust that they were healthy and cleansing.

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Mar 07, 2012 

3 Below Average

Food  1      Ambience  4      Service  6      Value  1     

My gf is veg so I took her here so she could have some options other than the standard pasta at all other restaurants. Sadly, I think we both would have preferred pasta, from just about anywhere. We walked out (paid the bill) but still didn't eat anything more after the first bite of our mains. Worst food I have ever tried to eat. No flavour, not even in the curry dish.

Vegetables we obviously the frozen bagged kind, which was a huge let down and the Tofu was oily. Just because you do vegetarian doesn't mean the food can't have any taste/flavour, I honestly would have rather eaten cardboard. If I could have given a 0 for food I would have, service was ok because they got us our bill quickly. Terrible!

Feb 17, 2012 

7.8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  6      Value  9     

I have been going to Green Gourmet in St Leonards for many years now. It is hands down my favourite place to eat in Sydney. I am a vegan and would recommend this food to anyone and everyone. Every doubtful meat eater I have taken there has thoroughly enjoyed the food.

It is very clean and I have had no problems there whatsoever. Yes there's one bathroom for men and women but big deal, its clean and there's a lock to both the bathroom and the toilet.

The service is friendly and as good as you can get really, I mean this is Australia and let's face it guys the service at restaurants in our great country is not very good. At best you just get served nicely and in a timely fashion. Australia doesn't tip, unlike countries such as USA & Canada - where I always enjoy being looked after so well, so I think that makes a difference unfortunately. Anyhow I digress... the couple that own this restaurant are lovely.

Yes you can't drink alcohol due to the Tao philosophy that they follow, but I don't see how that's a problem. There's 2 pubs across the street if you need them!

I absolutely love the food! Ok so there is a couple of dishes I don't like but I think that simply comes down to personal taste. If you aren't sure and don't have a problem with tofu try 'Tofu Pillow with Cashew Nuts' its so good. The only person I've known to not like it is one of those older very aussie guys that thinks anything that isn't meat is wrong! If you want a noodle dish 'Braised Green Vegetables & Tofu with Noodle' is yummy. Really, the food is excellent, so try it, if you don't like it don't give up just try another dish i promise you, you will find several things you like!

The prices are a little steep, but not too different from other prices in other places. Sydney is simply expensive. Plus being a vegetarian restaurant unfortunately means it keeps closed minded people away, when anyone could have an enjoyable meal here.

I'm just happy this restaurant exists and I have somewhere I can go where I can eat everything on the menu! So rare for us poor vegans and vegetarians! For me the no onion thing is good and although I like garlic, I don't even remember they don't use these ingredients when I eat there so it doesn't bother me at all.

The Newtown Green Gourmet is ok too, and good if you want a buffet, but its obvious to me that there are different chefs and I much prefer St Leonards.

Feb 15, 2012 

5.3 Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  6      Value  5     

Not very impressed with the food at all, it was oily and bland. Sauces tasted cheap and "out of the bottle". Meals were overpriced. Service was Ok. Waitress not particularly friendly though. The interior isn't particularly nice either.
The only thing the restaurant has going for it, is that its vegetarian. A very average experience. Wouldn't go back.

May 06, 2011 

4.5 Below Average

Food  4      Ambience  4      Service  5      Value  5     

They don't believe in using garlic or onion (or anything flavoursome) in the dishes so it all tastes a bit bland.

Mar 19, 2011 

4.5 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  6      Service  2      Value  5     

Been a regular for years but yesterday's visit will be my last due to awful service and dubious hygiene practices. I stopped by for some take away, glanced over the menu, decided on one of my regular dishes and put the menu back. I ordered the dish by name and the waitress yelled "what number?" and before I had the chance to finish saying "I'm not sure of the number..." she shoved the menu at me so I could look it up for her. When placing the menu back, a set of chopsticks fell on the floor. So I picked them up and handed them to the waitress so they could be disposed of. No, she just put them back in with the clean ones after they had been on the floor - just wow. I went to pay by credit card and the owner rudely asked "why can't you pay cash?". When I explained I didn't have cash on me, she sighed loudly. Food has not been so great lately and the rude service and dirty utensils make this place not worth the bother anymore.

Feb 07, 2011 

7.3 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  7     

Each time I want to eat healthy, I come here. I work on the road a lot, so whenever lunch is near by I come here. My first and only great vegetarian restaurant. Nice setting. Fresh vegies. Ok service. Can't ask for more. Would I come back? yes, all the time.

Jan 24, 2011 

8 Recommended

Food  9      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  8     

I had the "not pork" for entrée and found them delicious and I also had some veggie meat for mains and also was very tasty. The restaurant itself was pretty basic, perhaps, a little cramped and service was ok.

Aug 02, 2010 

4.8 Average

Food  6      Ambience  5      Service  3      Value  5     

The food all sounded very interesting but in the end wasn't really. Mixed entree for starters was okay. Just deep fried food. My main of hot and spicy mushroom and soy steak started okay but flailed a bit once the initial surprise was gone, and it left an after taste. My wifes dish turned out to be basically just steamed vegies and she had to sprinkle chilli on it to get some flavour.

Only my lads Lemon not-Chicken seemed to go down well. Service was very slow and a few language problems. It cost about the same as eating at a regular chinese. They do not allow wine, which surprised as other vegetarian restaurants do. There's no meat in grapes, is there? An experience as a one-off but unlikely ever again.

May 14, 2010 

4.8 Average

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  1      Value  5     

I went to this place on a Sat with two people. Service was very slow, the food was mostly palatable and the atmosphere very casual. I enjoyed the laksa, san choi bow and the satay skewers and the steamed gow gee.

Not happy with the service as the lady waitressing (they only had one staff member waiting for a Sat lunch, got peeved that I wanted to pay via Eftpos because I had insufficient cash. She wanted me to walk down to the servo, incur a fee for using a different ATM and walk back to pay. Hell no! I had my card ready and she had Eftpos, her excuse was she was 'busy' and that there were people waiting to order.

Well, excuse me for wanting to pay and get out of your disappointing restaurant.
A forgettable experience in all but I enjoyed the company that I was with.

Apr 11, 2010