Wild Leek Food & Juice Bar — Restaurant in Halifax

I'm not sure why there are so many good reviews of this place. I have tried to like this place since I lived nearby for several years and am obviously also vegan, but I've never had a good meal here. Today I was visiting Halifax for a few hours before I flew out and maybe had the worst restaurant experience of all time? We arrived when they opened to grab some brunch. Nobody greeted me or my mother, although there was a girl behind the counter, until we had decided to sit down. When we ordered, it turned out they didn't have the ingredients for what I wanted so I chose the zucchini soup. I was worried it would be bland, so I asked the server to ask the cook whether it was bland (past experience with their soup) or just generally what it tasted like. She went back and asked him and they had a loud little giggle at my expense. When it arrived it tasted like someone had poured an entire box of salt into it. I told the server my observation, and she asked if I wanted anything else instead. I figured they couldn't mess up the potato wedges, right? Well you'd be wrong to think that. When she reported the soup issue to the cook he again laughed at me and talked about me loudly with the server. The potatoes came out soggy, burnt, clearly from several days ago, and microwaved. The cook was clearly having quite the time pranking me. They also seemed to be out of everything and couldn't give anyone the first thing they ordered, which was odd since it was right after they opened... After a few bites of the crappy potatoes, we got up without finishing anything, paid (luckily not for any of the garbage I was served) and left in a hurry. I'm not used to being joked about or having pranks played on me by people who I am paying money to. Why is this place even still open when the best place in the city for vegan food (Blue Apples) had to shut down? I am baffled by this...

An excellent little vegan place that I've been to a handful of times over the last decade. It's small inside, so if you want to guarantee a table, you may be best to go at off-peak meal times. Today I just called in an order to go, to bring back to work. The Wild Bowl looked to be one of the healthiest items on the menu. (The whole place is very healthy conscious, but I wanted less calories today). My two coworkers said it smelled very strong when I opened it. I'm recovering from covid, and my sense of smell and taste aren't 100% yet. So to me it wasn't strong, but what I did taste was good, a touch of sesame in the dressing, but no heat as expected, for its name of 'dragon sauce' served on the side. The broccoli, kale, carrots & cabbage were very fresh and crispy. The sliced tofu was a good amount worth. Little bit of spreadded beets hiding in there. A good quantity of brown rice as the base. I am content after eating it, not full, but just right for a weekday lunch. Friendly staff. I will be back sooner than later!

Update: July 10 2024: arrived about 10:30 on a hot Wednesday morning and was the only dine-in customer for the half hourish visit. Greeted immediately by the friendly staff as usual. She mentioned they have a daily special on: the Shakshuka. This dish has been a favorite of mine for years, to cook at home or at any restaurant. So I immediately said yes and it lived up to my expectations of perfect. I was full afterwards, although it is a healthy, mid-sized portion, served with slices of rye. The tofu "eggs" with their version of a Hollandaise was bursting with flavor and just enough heat, to satisfy spice lovers like me, without overwhelming people who lean...

I've had a few things here over the past few days I've been in Halifax and I feel pretty good about my decision. I've had the choco-lite smoothie, wild bowl, titanic burrito, elixir juice, carrot cake, mac n cheese, and two different kombuchas (the lavender sage one and the rosehip hibiscus).

My favourite things so far were the smoothie, mac n cheese, and dragon sauce. Unfortunately for me and my taste buds I found the burrito kinda of one note I was hoping for more diverse flavours between everything that is in there (a symphony if you will). The carrot cake tasted kind of funny to me... it is hard to describe but I was expecting more cinnamon-carrot and to me it was a bit more clove I guess? I am not sure - I was also not a fan of the whipped topping. The wild bowl was good, and the dragon sauce really helped, but I do think it should come with one more little container as the vegetables and tofu are quite chunky and the rice isn't flavoured so the sauce didn't go a long way and it basically ended up tasting like plain vegetables half way through. They do charge more for extra sauce so yeahhh... For me it would have been better if the veggies and tofu were more bite sized so I could get a bit of everything, instead of taking a big bite of broccoli or kale with some rice or tofu. Or maybe if the tofu was marinated (?longer)... I am sorry I am not trying to dissect the food ~ just wanting to share some feedback.

The kombucha was great, local, and just a standard booch.

I want to come here again one day (I am from BC) and try other things ~ I want to try the green juice! I love a good pineapple and...