Hardena — Restaurant in Philadelphia

for $7.00 you get a rice plate with your choice of three different pre-made dishes. selections change slightly from day to day, but they always have about 10 choices of various meat dishes, a few vegetarian options, and usually some greens (sometimes veg, sometimes not). portions are excellent for the price! and if you want more you can add a 4th or even a 5th scoop on top for just an extra dollar each. if they have fritters try them!! one is tempeh and one is shredded veggie (the better one imo), both deep fried so they are extremely greasy which i know for some people is a turn-off but for me is a plus :) only $1 extra each or it can be one of your meal choices. family owned, staff is incredibly friendly and knowledgeable! (both daughters speak english and know exactly what is in everything including which dishes are legitimately vegetarian, so if you have food restrictions there is no guessing. also they're adorable and sweet and always have a smile!) though it's not full service there are tables so you can eat in after ordering, but it's great for quick takeout because everything is already made so you are literally in and out in 3 minutes! homemade hot sauce is extremely spicy (so i've been told, i always skip it). TRY THE TEMPEH!!! it's one of my favorute foods in the whole city....

Surprised by the 5-star reviews! We got multiple things so we could try everything. Beef rendang, egg/tofu curry, eggplant, beef soup, lamb skewers, vegetable fritter and spring rolls. The best by far were the spring rolls and vegetable fritters…but that’s where the good ends. The beef was average — I thought it would be soft, since it’s slow-cooked, but it was still slightly tough and there was zero flavor to it (they should add some sauce). Eggplant & egg/tofu was fine but still lacking flavor. The beef soup was pretty disgusting as it was mostly soft gooey intenstine pieces and only one or two small pieces of edible meat. The worst by far was the lamb skewers — extremely tough, my husband was literally ripping the pieces off with his teeth and they wouldn’t fall off the skewer. They also tasted strongly of lamb (in the bad way) — I don’t know if that’s from cheap cuts of meat or the way it’s cooked, but we didn’t finish any of it after trying. I don’t think we’d come back but I’m glad everyone loves this place! Very cool to see so many vegan options. We also spent $70 but we got a ton of food and were hoping to keep it for leftovers, but didn’t...

Even an ongoing pandemic and yesterday’s dreary forecast couldn’t detract from the delightful tastes and cheery touches of Hardena. Upon approaching the door to place our order (at an appropriate 6 feet distance) we were greeted by a friendly message reminding of Hardena’s loyalty to its patrons throughout this challenging time, complete with fun and relatable emojis.

After an amicable conversation with a member of the restaurant staff and a quick wait for our dishes, we dove into a delectable vegetable corn fritter which combined a perfect level of crunch (on the outside), fluff (on the inside) and flavor (throughout every bite). What truly distinguished the fritters was that the taste of oil didn’t linger, demonstrating the freshness of the restaurant’s ingredients.

Our tastebuds were further entertained by tender and flavorful meat and subtly seasoned vegetables, all atop a hearty bed of jasmine rice. Hardena’s homemade hot sauce packed an extra punch of flavor, with a pleasant balance between spicy and smoky notes. Needless to say, we were happily sated and look forward to enjoying another evening with Hardena...