The Vegan Joint — Restaurant in Los Angeles

THE VEGAN JOINT (Woodland Hills) is intimate and delicious. Their recently redecorated, partially underground location is part of a small chain established by Rattans P, in Culver City (2006). Five years later Rattans opened in Woodland Hills. Downtown LA came in 2015.

The mostly organic, recently updated, vegan menu is a mix of Asian and American comfort foods. I enjoyed my childhood favorite: fried chicken and pancakes. Yes, breaded and fried vegan chicken patties, with a stack of vegan pancakes, all to be smother within soy "butter" and maple syrup. (Sometimes life is fair.)

The (soy) beef and sliced fried potatoes tastes remarkably like mama's Saturday dinner, only her's was made from chuck steak.

The vegan Spring Rolls are as good as I remembered from Won Kow, a Chicago Chinese restaurant, my family visited most Sundays, during my childhood.

The selection of soups, sandwiches, and wraps, all provide a satisfying, and delicious experience.

Drop by on long or bad day. Look at the menu and order anything... anything. You wilI feel better.

The alcove, with its ground level view of De Soto Avenue, provides a comfortable separation from life's cacophony.

Servers are knowledgeable and usually friendly. Although, at lunch time, this is a very busy place. Reservations are not accepted. Take-out is available and maybe the better choice.

Parking underground is free, easy, and ADA compatible. Enter from Ventura Blvd, turn left (West), and drive under the building and make the first turn left (South) into the under building parking. The well marked restaurant door is on the West wall.

Both the patio and indoor seating are wheelchair accessible, as is, the gender neutral bathroom.

And yes, they have vegan cakes, cookies, soft drinks,...

BEWARE VEGANS!

My first time eating at The Vegan Joint, as I heard their food was decent—ordered a “beef” burger with fries and the famous chicken tacos. Not only was the food awful but it looked freakin weird! The soy beef on the burger was white and not in the form of a patty but sliced, little white pieces. The fries tasted funny, like they were warmed in a microwave. Why evenwait 15 minutes just to warm up food?? I know it wasn’t freshly cooked—should have taken 5 minutes. Secondly, I took one bite of the taco I orderd, and I almost threw up. It was cold and unseasoned. I kid you not, this place is the worst junk food vegan joint I ever experienced. The place was also quite dirty.

Vegans, if you want some good junk food once in a while, try World Veg One in Pasadena, Fresh brothers vegan sliders [impossible burger] or Bodhi Thai in Beverly Hills, or even Vegan Glory, which is not my favorite, but at least the food is worthy. Don’t waste your time squandering your money...

We wanted to sit outside. I went in to order and was told I had to pay up front. I did so and was told the food would be delivered to our table. So, assuming it would be normal-like service, I left a 20% tip. What was delivered was a paper sack with all the food packed in to-go containers, along with two transparent napkins and some heap plastic utensils. Hardly restaurant service, more like a to-go picnic outside. Then there was the food. I ordered the chips and guacamole, figuring a Vegan place would made it nice and fresh. WRONG. What I got was two tablespoons of a sickly-green goo, obviously out of a bottle days ago, in a little plastic container. It tasted like watered-down green sauce, more chemically than natural. The Tofu Larb was ok, but would have been much better had the tofu been small dice instead of chunks. It would have absorbed the sauce much better. All in all, won't be returning here, as I can get much better at a Whole Foods...