Veggie Lee Restaurant — Restaurant in Hayward

It’s not often I can go to a restaurant and order everything on the menu. I usually have to scan the menu for something plant-based or at least pescatarian. At Veggie Lee, a vegan Chinese restaurant, the sky’s the limit. The restaurant also accommodates the practice of some Buddhists who eschew garlic and onions. Those ingredients are not included in any of Veggie Lee’s dishes and that fact is clearly marked on the menus.

I have ordered Veggie Lee offerings through delivery service many times. I have only eaten in the restaurant twice. On this visit, I ordered from the lunch menu. My rating is more a reflection of the limited wheelchair access within the restaurant than the food or the service.

My dining partner and I ordered pot stickers as an appetizer. The filling was wonderfully textured and flavorful. The outer shell was soft and crisp. I could have made a meal of potstickers and may do so in the future. We had hot tea with the meal and I heartily recommend the citron honey tea, a cold drink I’ve had with many Veggie Lee delivery orders. My entree was preceded by hot and sour soup. The spicy soup with small tofu chunks was an unexpected delight and prepared my palate for the entree, vegan sesame chicken.

I ordered the vegan chicken with brown rice. It was so tasty. The flavor and texture made me want to be more adventurous and try more items on Veggie Lee’s menu in the future. The sesame chicken entree came with broccoli. My years of plant-based eating have led me beyond broccoli. It was well-prepared, but I’m not in love with broccoli any more. Sorry, broccoli. It’s me, not you. We also ordered green beans. The crispy green beans were packed with flavor, but were salty in spots.

The disappointing part of my dining experience occurred when I had to use the restroom. The spaces between tables and booths are narrow. As long as waitstaff wasn’t taking someone’s order, I could clear the pathways in a small manual wheelchair. The barriers started when I left the dining area and approached the hallway to the restrooms. There were high chairs for children stacked at the beginning of the hallway. I could barely scrape (and I did scrape) by. With a larger wheelchair or mobility device, I wouldn’t have been able to access the restroom without asking for help. Asking for help to the restroom is not something adults enjoy doing. The sink in the ladies room is far, far away from the counter edge. I had to lean far, far forward to reach it. That isn’t something I can do all the time. The thought of having to leave the restroom without washing my hands is not a good thought.

My recommendations to the restaurant to improve accessibility (because I’d like to come back) are to 1) consider replacing the sink and counter with something that isn’t set so far back or, at least, give customers the option of using hand sanitizer in an accessible location within the restroom; 2) consider replacing restroom doors with ones that aren’t so heavy; and 3) please, please, please move the...

My wife and I come here often and travel 40 minutes to veggie lees, never had our order ever been ready in less than 10 minutes, nor has it ever been this cold, it tasted like it had been re heated and lost its seasoning. When we called veggie lees the women who answered the phone said we needed to bring the food back and take pictures which then we told her we live far away which she knows this as we are frequent customers of there’s, and we have work and cannot come back. then she became rude and said she would not give us a refund, which we didn’t care for the refund but wanted to know the reason our food didn’t taste the same as usual because we love veggie lees and the food has always been good and mouth burning hot and fresh. After being outraged by the customer service we told her we would not be doing any business with them and we will pass along this message to our family, friends and coworkers. Then the manager called and we explained the situation and she said “the chicken isn’t the same today”. The first person we spoke to could have explained this to us without being rude and disrespectful. We told the manager we will not be doing business with them as they shouldn’t be serving this cold food to anyone and they shouldn’t be serving the chicken if it isn’t good. We’re very disappointed in veggie lees...

I came here for dinner on a Friday night on the early side and it wasn't crowded at all. Service was exceptional from start to finish. The menu is extensive and creative and all vegetarian or vegan, which is absolutely amazing for anyone of either of those two diets. Also, they don't use MSG. We had spring rolls, salt and pepper fried tofu, orange "chicken", "beef" with Chinese broccoli, and rice. The portions were generous on all but the rice, but the rice was cheap so no biggie. Flavor was incredible across the board, and everything was cooked very well. The textures and flavors of the fake meat products are good and hearty. I'd happily take a non-vegetarian here without worry of them not liking it. All around, I really enjoyed the food and service. I'll definitely be back.

Edit- I've started coming here at least once a month, and every item I've tried has been excellent. The service is always excellent, and they even sometimes throw in an extra item for free in my takeout orders! They have proven to be an excellent option for weeknight takeout and Friday night with friends alike. I'll...