Essence — Restaurant in Pittsburgh

Fully vegan menu. The restaurant was empty at 12:30 on a Saturday. When sat, brought to the table is a carafe filled with ice water and a plate of pita bread with olive oil and pomegranate, greatly appreciated and delicious. Appetizers are very well priced so we ordered 3 to try, the pakora, buffalo cauliflower and the tofu spinach dumplings. The pakora was great, the yogurt sauce was too thin to fully enjoy. The buffalo cauliflower was the best item we had, the sauce was perfect. We really enjoyed that the cauliflower was baked rather than fried, and it was baked perfectly. If you enjoy a bit of heat, make sure you order this as an appetizer. The tofu spinach dumplings, we ordered these fried. The presentation was beautiful and the dumplings were fried great... unfortunately the filling was bland. For entrees we both ordered the Essence burger, it's fried mushrooms, individual fried mushroom pieces. Seasoned well, some mushrooms were much better than others. The bun was great, the fries were double fried. If you enjoy a salty fry, you will enjoy it. Lastly we ordered two of the mint lemonades to-go, we were given a sample, pictured...and it was perfect. It's not overly sweet which I prefer, the mint is so refreshing with a hint of lemon. This is a need to try!! Overall a very decent place for lunch. My recommendations are the buffalo cauliflower and the...

The service was excellent and the interior is beautiful. I see a lot of promise, and I hope this restaurant is successful. With the correction of a few critiques, this place could be 5 stars. The Asian Bowl had perfectly cooked tofu, but the bowl was not flavorful enough. The sauce was very lightly drizzled on top, leaving the rest of the bowl mostly dry and bland. When we asked for more sauce, the waiter happily obliged. However, I wish the sauce had more gochujang and the addition of soy sauce and garlic. The Black Bean Bowl had deliciously spiced vegetables, but the rest of the bowl also lacked spice and flavor. The menu advertised this bowl as having a creamy sauce, but this was mixed into the rice so it did not seem creamy. I would suggest to either add more creamy sauce or remove the misleading description from the menu. Overall, this restaurant is promising but needs more spices and flavor in its dishes to take them to...

This place was absolutely incredible. As a Portland-based vegan, I was beginning to become seriously depressed with the plant based food selections in western Pennsylvania after only a few days out north of Pittsburgh. However, I found this spot on happy cow and decided to stop in before I left, and I am so glad I did. Not only is this a fully plant based restaurant, but their meals provide a quality balance of nutrients and are absolutely delicious! I got the ful madamas, a delightful bean stew, and my comrade got the black bean bowl, which was wonderfully spiced and came with heaps of veggies, as well as tofu. The atmosphere was incredible, the service was great, and overall it was such a breath of fresh air compared to the drab carnivorous pub food I found elsewhere. Even in portland we could use some great plant-based African-inspired food like this. A+, 10/10, absolutely will come here whenever I'm...