Monster Vegan — Restaurant in Philadelphia

I've been to a lot of vegan restaurants and I have never got sick and the manager of the restaurant when I first walked in and gave me a nasty attitude but when he realized that I was probably blind which I am some people and what they naked I really don't believe in but he still was courteous to make sure that I was satisfied with not paying for something that was making me sick as a customer I think I should've really had a better experience You know and I would never be going back to this place you know it and at least I tried it and then they have another restaurant another restaurant down the street at least they have a little bit classier options and better customer service you know and it is called bar bonbon you know it's like a Mexican Spanish vegan place they all have alcohol you know what I mean so it's like how is this a vegan restaurant restaurant right now to for the vibe of the people probably I've never tried the cocktails or the alcoholic beverages so I can't say much about something I never tried but just when the guy said the owner or manager said Oh Whatever you put in your body is not The Food it doesn't affect you that was the most ignorant response from anyone I can hear from or hear about when you put anything in your body if it doesn't agree with your body you would not accept it so it calls me a reaction and when he served me This pineapple juice he told me it was 100% yet he did not tell me it had other stuff in it and one of the things that was in it was carbonation it was a carbonated beverage and then he act like when I said that like I was supposed to be blind did not know what I was drinking he played me again so I just said you know what I'm not ever coming back here y'all take care of whatever I gotta take care we got his bill I even made it up to him to say that he can even file charges and I'll take them you know and he said no it's not even worth that we gonna talk through this because I believe that XYZ trying to persuade me to make me believe that that food was good I go to nourish all the time and the food and the quality the quality the quantity and The Customer Service is top notch of The city of Philadelphia so far can't find nothing like Norish like Norwich Philly all day all all...

Decided to give Monster Vegan a try today after passing it numerous times and making a decision to Make Lunch Great Again. I haven't gone out to lunch (or gotten takeout) on a work day in over a year! That had to change.

I ordered online for pickup through their website. I was disappointed that the mac n cheese balls were out, but I didn't really need allll of that for lunch anyway. It was hard to choose between the various "chicken" cutlet sandwiches but I ultimately picked the General Tso's, with a side Roasted Beet Salad (sans almonds because they don't like me), and Nutter Butter Beignets because why not also treat myself to dessert for lunch. The website said it would be about 20 minutes. I think I arrived about on time (admittedly went for a little stroll around the block first!) but it still took another 5-10 minutes for my order to be ready when I got there.

The food was amazing. The sandwich was huuuge and full of flavor, so much so that a dribble of oil and sauce was running down my arm while I held it up to eat. The nutter butter beignets were a nice treat, and I am glad the portion size was small because those pack a lot of sweetness! I ended up eating the salad later for dinner because I was stuffed from the sandwich. I actually didn't know I liked kale until today. I thought I hated it and so when I first opened the salad, I was thinking to myself "oh no, you didn't read and it's got all this kale" BUT ACTUALLY it was pretty bangin'. It was a huge salad for being a side portion size. They probably could have taken half the kale out and it would have been just fine.

Overall: food is amazing, but VERY filling and the sandwich was just a tiiiny bit too oily/wet for me (but that's way better than a dry sandwich). That combined with my order taking a little longer (unexpected for a lunch takeout spot)... I'd give it a solid 4 stars. I'm sure...

SECOND UPDATE: 5/9/22 - My wife and I had a lovely meal here a few weeks ago. The service was attentive but not too overbearing. Overall, we really enjoyed everything and plan to come back with some friends. It’s vegan comfort food, so pretty easy to please most palettes. While the entire menu is vegan, I would swear the dishes we tried did not “taste vegan.” My wife had a Caesar salad that would rival a traditional non-vegan version. We had a creamy penne pasta that tasted really creamy without any cream. The Bava was flavorful and fun, and the truffle fries are an absolute must - delicious! I’m the vegan between the two of us and what we liked is non-vegans can really enjoy this place and see just how flavorful vegan options can be without sacrificing flavor or texture. Prices are reasonable and the vibe is fun. We ate outside but did walk through the restaurant to use the restroom and it has some cool decor and a great playlist.

UPDATE: 4/3/22 - Lauren from Monster Vegan reached out after this to offer an explanation and tell me how they have fixed the mishap. We have a reservation later this month and I will update this review further after that experience. I changed my rating from 1 star to 3 stars. Knowing how hard it is to run a small business and personally wanting more restaurants like this to succeed I'm hoping things go well!

3/25/22: Had a reservation for 6:45pm on a Friday. They were clearly very busy from happy hour. We were told multiple times it would be about 5 minutes till they could seat us (party of 2). We waited over an hour before we left. I’m patient for places that are busy but that’s unacceptable. Can’t say anything about the food since we didn’t eat there but unfortunately the...