Garden Fresh — Restaurant in Mountain View

I love meat and have often fought with my sister over restaurant options when she was vegetarian. However, Garden Fresh was a place that we could always agree on. The fake meat here is tasty enough to satisfy the carnivore within. Many of the dishes can be hit or miss in terms of flavor but the standouts are anything but bland. Our favorites are Kung Pao Eggplant, Orange Veggie Chicken, Veggie Ham, and Veggie Chicken Curry. Be wary during entree selection. Some of the sauces and fake meats are repeated throughout the menu so you may end up with variations of the same dish. I always like to double check with the waitress to make sure this doesn't happen.

It's a very casual place with limited seating. The owner is very friendly and food comes out quickly though they can get overwhelmed when the restaurant is crowded. Parking in the lot is limited. A friend mentioned that this is the sister restaurant of Garden Fresh in downtown Palo Alto. I'm not sure if this is true but I heard that the wife operates one location and the husband operates the other.

Avoid: Spinach Linguine Salad with Sesame dressing (It used to be a favorite but it's become quite bland and they have become stingy with the sesame sauce). The happy family and orange beef were not great when compared to the other dishes.

Tip: Don't order soup because they usually give you a complimentary one after you place your order (it's happened to me during both lunch and dinner). The default soup is corn and tofu but I've substituted for the hot and sour...

I tried Garden Fresh Mountain View for the first time today and it was ok. I ordered take out, so it was not a fresh from the kitchen dining experience, but I only live 10 minutes away so the food wasn't sitting in the container for too long and was still hot when I sat down to eat it. I order the fried spring rolls and fried pumpkin appetizer, and braised eggplant medium hot lunch special.

The egg rolls lacked flavor and did not really contain much else besides cabbage and maybe a few strings of carrots in them, and there was no sauce to accompany the appetizer. The outer wrapper of the egg rolls were fried crisp and provided a nice crunch. Overall I would say a little lacking in flavor.

The fried pumpkin came with a thick fried batter, think something almost close to a funnel cake, but a little more crunchy. The dish was accompanied by a watery pinkish/red sauce that tasted like red sugar water. The pumpkin itself was ok, nothing spectacular and the sauce did nothing to enhance it. I ended up eating it dipped in Capital City Mambo sauce (Sweet Hot) to give it more oomph. Overall I would say this dish was also lacking in flavor.

The eggplant was by far the most flavorful dish, but when biting into it was more firm then expected, almost like an undercooked texture. Flavor was good, not very spicy, execution of the dish was ok.

All in all I would say the meal was fairly priced, but was not prepared with a lot of flavor. Temper your expectation when...

I don’t even know where to begin. I have been going to garden fresh for many years with my boyfriend (non vegan), and it is by far the best vegan eatery in my opinon. The owner Alice is so very kind and goes out of her way to make sure her customers experience traditional Chinese cuisine with a Vegan twist. if there’s one thing you take away from this review it is that if you’re going to try out garden fresh make sure to head to the Mountain View location even if The Palo Alto location maybe closer you will be delighted with The impactful flavor and Home cook feel the restaurant instantly gives off. every time I make my way over I am greeted with a huge smile and loving energy, not only is the food so rich and decadent which i will get into with more details,the owner and chefs go out of their way to make you feel embraced and excited to eat your meal. My all-time favorite dish is the black pepper chicken because of its savory sauce which includes caramelized onions (my fav) as well as the string bean chicken because if it’s fresh flavor and rich spices. Garden fresh is special because of the perfect blend of veganism and traditional Chinese that everyone can enjoy vegan or not. I can go on for days talking about how much I love Alice and the amazing food that is served at garden fresh. [please go ahead and give it a try you WILL NOT BE...