Buddha Taste - Blackheath — Restaurant in London

Menu looked decent enough from the outside, we were going to try this place to eat, however we found that the lack of notification that this restaurant serves only vegetarian and vegan food was extremely poor.

It was only after reading the very very small, fine print in the bottom corner of the menu, after we were sat at the table, was it made known to us that the "meat" served in the restaurants dishes are made with Quorn or a non-meat alternative. We decided not to eat here on this basis as it felt a bit deceiving that there is no branding or anything else to show you that this is a vegan/vegetarian restaurant.

This isn't us vegan/veggie bashing, we can appreciate good vegan food and vegetarian dishes but found the way that it isnt presented to the customer as so, as being quite underhanded.

I would encourage the restaurant to advertise the fact it is vegan with clear signage and ensure that it is on the menu displayed in the window as it is not clear at all.

Edit to owner:

Thank you for your condescending remarks, but no it is not clear at all that nil-beef, nil-chicken etc. means no/zero. As an asian inspired restaurant we genuinely assumed this may have been some regional way of preparing these meats, perhaps a name for a particular kind of seasoning or dressing...

This is not about being open minded to try your food but rather the lack of obvious information for your customers to make informed decisions about what they would like to eat. The fact you have no meat on your menu is not why we chose to not eat here, but rather the lack of information and how it is presented to advertise that fact - we will not have been the first or the last customers to have avoided eating here for this reason, its poor to assume people know what a "happy cow" logo is and even worse to assume people observe the entirety of your shop front other than the displayed menu.

Choosing whether or not I eat meat is not for you to comment on nor to imply it is "greed or evil" or not showing "compassion" for doing so - it is exactly this mentality that reflects a poor light on vegans in general and a very poor reflection of your business ethos.

I have eaten at establishments with Buddha in its name, that serve meat.. there used to be an asian restaurant in the village called "The Laughing Buddha" and I would have no reason to assume otherwise that the word Buddha implies vegan food - nor should it be assumed that your customers would know this. Not eating meat does not make you a more compassionate person so I'm at a real loss for your reasoning behind your statements.

I would truly "appreciate" a business being frank and honest with its customers about what it is serving, and perhaps some of this condescending ethos that you are happy to preach on a google review would be best placed as a blurb of information about your restaurants mission on your menu - so customers can be better informed about what "Buddha" apparently means and perhaps adopt a more widely recognised logo (such as the vegan society) or even just putting a "VE" next to items on the menu to make the clear distinction of what food you are serving.

I would have been willing to give this place a second chance, but your hasty and condescending response has cemented the fact that you are not willing to accept constructive criticism and listen to those who have found clear issue with the way you attempt to conduct (read deceive)...

EDIT:

I don't agree with the reply. Mistakes do happen. This is a feedback which could be useful for other customers. The manager refused to speak to me and once again I'm being blamed.

I've said it before in the restaurant and I'm saying this again, I was clear while placing an order that I can't have mushrooms because I'm allergic to them. Not because I don't like them. I repeated it three times because I'm allergic. I also asked for a substitute and my server said that the chef doesn't have any substitute vegetable for it. I then requested for mushrooms to be served separately so that my family could eat it. Because I'm allergic that is why I asked again to confirm if the broth was made with mushrooms because I didn't want to sick.

Food was served promptly. While most of the food did taste pleasant, it mainly consisted of plain noodles with hardly any tofu or vegan protein and veggies. Considering the prices, food wasn't value for money.

Also, I could've landed in a hospital as my allergy wasn't taken into account when preparing food in the kitchen. I had made it clear that I can't consume one of their ingredients when placing an order. I was later given an option of having Pho without the allergen but I didn't have it.

I wanted to give my feedback to the manager who refused to speak to me because he was 'busy preparing food'. Not only was it disrespectful but also showed lack of interest in a customer's feedback.

Servers were attentive and their service was good. Restaurant was clean but had some strange smell. I was offered 20% off (£6). Sadly, I don't...

Such a shame to have to write a bad review. Our first experience here was lovely however the second time was completely off putting. My partner ordered a burger and the bread was clearly stale and had been out all day so we requested a new one. As it was being taken back to the kitchen we saw the waiter touching the burger repeatedly with his hands.

Instead of making a new one (which is what we wanted) for my partner, they had quite clearly used the same bread a microwaved it for a little while to soften the bread. Of course he couldn't and didn't eat this as now not only it is microwaved stale bread but also has been touched with unwashed hands of the staff.

When we were going to pay, it took 15mins to get them to remove the disgusting item off our bill and we didn't receive so much as an apology.

Absolutely horrific service, attitude and management. Will definitely not be returning and advise you choose wisely before dining at this terrible establishment.

EDIT: the reply from your management team is completely twisting the situation, we were not offered a new burger in the first instance. We asked for a new to be brought up and instead we received them back microwaved and the waiter staff was very rude saying "what do you want me to do". Will not be returning and encourage you to think carefully before dining here. Disgusting. Management's reply perfectly illustrated the problem with this establishment. REFUSING TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY when things go wrong...