Red Lentil Vegetarian & Vegan Restaurant - Watertown — Restaurant in Watertown

Total Failure. Been going 1x almost every month since Red Lentil opened. Used to love it. Now they fail on the most basic restaurant stuff. We are done. Normally I would say something to a manager. Based on problems in total, the management is the problem.

The basics: No water glass refills! No coffee refills! A table of 4 orders apps to share, bring out 4 plates, not 3!!! A table of 4 orders 4 drinks, and you come back with 3, and you walk away?!?! No one ever came by to say “How is your meal?”. Day One stuff, folks.

The bums rush: Arriving at 455, the place was half empty, and we asked for a table for 4. We were asked, “will you be here more than an hour?” Never been asked that in my life! It’s a good thing we said we did not say Yes, or we would have had to take our dinner to go. Our drink and app order was taken at 5:10. We ordered entrees at 5:20, when our drinks came. Our apps did not come out till 5:35. Our dinner did not come out till 5:55, which would have given us a whopping 5 minutes to eat! A 25 minute wait for apps, and a 35 minute wait for food, and you are worried about your customers not moving fast enough? Does that see right to anybody?

The hunger: The 4 meals seemed less flavorful than in past visits, and seemed smaller. One of us ordered the “Nirvana Delight” advertised with “topped with mango apricot salsa, and cucumber yogurt sauce.” It arrived with no salsa nor sauce of any kind. Another’s meal was ROOM TEMPERATURE!! No server asked why she was not eating it! Again, DAY ONE STUFF! At this point, we were too over it to complain. We wound up snacking at home.

The bill: The Harry Potter looking dude delivered our bill. He was one of our committee of 3 rotating servers. This is one the only point in the visit anyone showed any interest in us at all, and he was over the top. “Thanks , My Friends!! HAVE A GREAT DAY!!” What now? This is how you treat your friends?

We still tipped 20%, because the problems are way deeper than one server not refilling your coffee, bringing enough plates, bringing enough drinks. Huge failure at every opportunity. Done.

Nirvana Delight Gluten-Free Boston Food Vegan Boston Food An Ayurveda-inspired meal, balanced with nutrition, flavor, texture, color, and variety. Grilled tandoori tofu kebabs served with quinoa biryani, topped with mango apricot salsa, and cucumber yogurt...

Great experience overall - My only complaint is that we made a reservation for 8 people, only to have it be cancelled by the restaurant because of technical cell phone issues/not being able/not knowing we were being called (if you're curious our cell phone needed to be restarted in order to regain phone service, so we were oblivious to the fact that we had gotten phone calls/that we didn't have cell service until we arrived at the restaurant). While we had an irregular situation, the least I can ask is for a note to be added to the reservation confirmation saying to expect a phone call before your reservation to confirm - We were not expecting to need to confirm over the phone in order to keep our reservation. Everything worked out in the end, but it was annoying to have to stand in a small, crowded waiting area while we waited for people to leave. We also didn't love how it felt that we kind of pressured some people to leave and get their desserts boxed up. At least they pulled some tables together from across the restaurant and quickly cleaned and set them which allowed us to finally get served. It didn't help though that you can only make reservations for parties of 6 or more, which explained why we were not the only ones waiting. While most of the food was good, I didn't love how the miso soup was just broth with seaweed, there was no tofu or veggies unlike the menu stated. We loved our waiter, he took pictures using multiple of our phones! All in all, we would return, having learned our lesson, however I just wish Red Lentil would do the same and make at least one hopefully simple change based on this...

I have come to red lentil several times. I am so glad I discovered this place because not only is it walking distance to where I live, but it is delicious. It is in a convenient location for locals to run errands. Aside from this, I have not had a thing on their menu yet that I didn’t not like. Trust me, you will never go wrong with these nachos! I always get them no matter what! The Gobi Manchurian is also one of my favorites. I recommend both of these, especially if you come in a large group. Enjoy the attached photos! I always order more then I can handle, and that’s a lot because I used to do eating competitions. They have a large selection of vegan options as well. What is sad is that I have never had any of their desserts because the dishes are so good and I order too much of it for me to have enough room for desserts. Their prices are very reasonable and their portion sizes are pretty large for the type of restaurant this is. The customer service is awesome, they have always kept my water glass full to the top! Another plus is that the food comes out in reasonable time once it’s ordered, so thank you chef! This place normally has a wait time, but the service is normally fast so people come and go quickly. It is a small cozy place and seating is limited. The establishment is very clean and eco-friendly. Parking is also very limited as well, so please bring quarters with you if you plan on staying around these blocks. By how busy this place normally is, I’m surprised there isn’t more reviews! Vegans, vegetarians, and all, I hope you have the same great experience I have had each time I have...