House of Vegano — Restaurant in Saint Petersburg

My friend and I love to support local Saint Pete, vegan restaurants so when I subscribed to an online app that gives you incentives to try new local restaurants, I definitely chose the vegan option! My vegan friend traveled an hr to join me for what was supposed to be a lovely dinner date. I had called earlier in the day and asked if I can make a reservation for 6pm. They said there’s no need for reservations and that we should just come in. After we arrived, I let them know that I belonged to the incentive program and they said “sorry on this one Monday of the month we do a special test kitchen event so we can’t honor the program”. This event is posted nowhere on their website.

Since my friend had traveled a long way and were there to try vegan sushi, we agreed to the overpriced menu and had to pay upfront. The food was very mixed. About 2 out of the 8 things were good enough that I would order them again. We didn’t receive any ginger, wasabi or dish for soy sauce so after the fourth or fifth course, we asked the waitress If they could bring us some, unfortunately, after the fourth course, the menu took a nose dive and did not have any more sushi on it. Instead, we got a single random taco and some very mushy tasteless risotto, followed by a thimble of rice pudding which is the same exact texture of the risotto, but tasted of cinnamon and vanilla.

A note on the wait staff: with each course, our waitress quietly put it on the table, so that we didn’t even know what we were eating and had to ask them what it was. With the price we were paying I was expecting a presentation on what each thing was so I could possibly order it again should it be good.

When we left I did let the owner know that we did not enjoy the experience and asked if she could please honor the program as I did not want to return. She said no and that i would have to come in at a different time if I wanted the discount and that the wait staff were temps because it’s hard to keep people. I wonder why, especially when you expect people to pay and tip upfront before getting their food.

Overall I was not impressed by the food and will not be returning. Someone mentioned vegan “jacking” in another review (taking advantage of plant based/vegan eaters by-overcharging for food because vegans are used to paying more) and I would say they are guilty for sure. Rice, edemame, nori and vegetables have pretty low overhead so why it was $84 for a bowl of rice, edemame, 10 pieces of sushi and two 4” tacos is beyond me. They probably put all of their money into the atmosphere and their Himalayan salt brick floor which is kind of gross and slowly rusting the windowsill

Had they honored the program I would have taken it as a lesson and left. I do want our local vegan business to thrive and new ones to pop up but not at the expense of...

AMAZING. Best staff around. Talented kitchen. I've been here several times already and find myself coming more frequently now.

Tonight though, I brought a friend in to introduce them to HOV for their first time and forced myself to try something new besides their popular vegan sushi rolls. I went for the spicy tahini dumplings (sounded very unique!) and spicy tom kha ramen (I'm OBSESSED with lemongrass and Thai flavors), as did my friend. We just walked up, ordered, picked a number, and sat ourselves down. Around 6:30 p.m. on a Friday, we picked one of the last non-communal tables left. Packed - even more so by the time we left around 7:30 - sooo happy to see, but plan accordingly on weekend nights. Ambiance is casual, but it's beautifully decorated; was a great spot for girls night catching up.

Not that I didn't have good expectations about the food already, but whoa, that scent off the fragrant tom kha ramen broth was next levellll. And $14 for that big bowl?! Great deal! The vegan "meats" had quite unique giants and texture, so couldn't pinpoint what they were made with -- but they perfectly complemented the spices. Some of the chunks (may have been huge mushrooms?!) absorbed the strong lemongrass and Thai spices SO beautifully though, I wish I had a few more morsels included. I came with the idea to have leftovers to enjoy for the weekend... nope didn't happen, too good to stop.

The spicy tahini dumplings, I expected a bit more of a spicy-buffalo-meets-sesame, but instead tasted more akin a peanut sauce (but sesame forward) -- with a GREAT kick, though! Very nice surprise; these had a bit of an unexpected flavor arc. I may want a bit more of whatever they used to dilute the tahini though, as I wish it had just a wee bit less sesame paste (to be fair, I'm not a huge tahini fan and only felt adventurous because WE TRUST THE CHEF). These dumplings are almost perfect though and I'll most def prefer these again. The dumplings themselves were cooked to perfection, too.

All in all, another phenomenal dinner here and they have made it even more difficult to pick what to eat next time I'm back.

Signed, a...

We really wanted to love it here but they just missed the mark. My mom and I are visiting and House of Vegano was highly recommended by multiple people which probably added to our disappointment.

Food: we started with a seaweed salad. It was unremarkable, dyed green sadly, but good enough. It came out quickly but the rest we waited probably 45 mins for and it wasn’t that busy.

The best part of our experience was definitely the Tom kha ramen. It was rich and delicious.

We got two sushi rolls. They were decent but not worth $24 each. The flavors were muddled and indistinct. Both were stuffed with a large amount of watery shredded cucumber that diluted the taste. Half way through we realized, pulled it out, and it was tastier.

Environment: at first glance, it feels like a more upscale place but the more time we spent inside the worse it felt. The lighting was dark but not in a romantic way, more a depressing way. Some of the glasses and plates were plastic which was weird.

The decor was a gaudy mix of plastic and metal with gold accents. The walls were trying to be artistic, spackled for different textures and splattered with gold paint. Sitting next to it just felt dingy. The mural was very nice though.

The worst part of it was the bathrooms. They were beige and undecorated with fluorescent lights and just kind of dirty. The sinks had dirt and grime built up behind the faucets and the floors weren’t clean.

Service: The two ladies working the floor were very nice. But though they seat you and bring you water, you order at the counter which was just kind of strange for the environment. And again, it took a very long time for the food to arrive.

They say the food is made with love but no one in the kitchen seemed passionate or excited. Overall, the place feels kind of neglected. Sadly it was a wasted opportunity for a nice dinner...