I recently visited San Fransisco and at at Millennium, a wonderful vegan restaurant. On our drive back down the Californian coast from San Francisco, we stopped in San Jose for dinner at The Vegetarian House.

The restaurant was very easy to find, right off the freeway. (Here’s a map.) However, once inside, we were confused. The restaurant is odd. The entrance is blocked by a baby grand piano used as a table for various health literature. To the left is a bar/bakery section. A food server greeted us and walked us back to the right portion of the restaurant, which looked to be an enclosed patio.

We were seated, given menus, and water and then we waited. The service is not great. They were rather busy and things seemed a little hectic. Maybe someone called in sick, maybe their management sucks, who knows…? But we weren’t the only ones who had to wait. Later, the place got even more busy and one poor guy sitting near us had to wait nearly 20 minutes before someone took his order.

However, the service, when it came, was great. Everyone was very friendly. They brought out the correct items with proper utensils and refilled our waters when needed. And the food was great! Just wonderful. The selection is terrific. I could eat every meal for a month there and not have the same thing twice. There is a HUGE variety of food on the menu, traditional vegetarian and mock meat dishes from around the world. And everything is vegan. In fact, It’s similar to a restaurant idea my mother-in-law had: international cuisine that’s only traditional vegetarian meals. I thnk it’s great, I just can’t understand how it could be profitable from the management perspective given the huge variety of ingredients you’d have to have in stock all the time.

We had a Thai curry potato soup and something called an “ocean plate”, which was bean curd wrapped in seaweed served with rice, sauce, and scallions:

I recommend the Vegetarian House in San Jose if you’re ever in the area. Just plan ahead and give yourself a little time. That, or order take out.

Read other reviews at Happy Cow Vegetarian Guide.

Sections: Vegan Food
Topics: All Vegan Links, Food, restaurants, veg