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ok, i like some vegan junk food. and the service was not so bad. the atmosphere, however, was really uninviting and seemed rather dead. i also am not sure about having to listen to bob dylan while trying to enjoy a meal, just not very hip in my oppinion. what really gets me is that i left a cash tip, crossed out the tip line on the receipt, yet someone ran my card for an additional $3.08.

Sunday night,getting hungry...Kate's Joint came to mind,hadn't tried for a while.The MPages reviews reminded me why,I called and as the specials played the recording mentioned the date as November 14 or something,SEVEN MONTH OLD MESSAGE??..I'm thinking here we go,hit another button to order from a live person and -POW- hung up on...Nice.Call back again and reach a person,she takes my order, including a special request for some of their excellent focaccia,and asked about dairy/non-dairy and 30 mins later an excellent dinner arrived @ my door.The Southern Dinner for 2 rocked,each of the items included were very tasty,cooked right..

This is not a health food restaurant, it's a down-home diner with a bar for veggies and vegans who want flavorful fare that doesn't involve dead animals, but are not so monastic in their tastes as to reject comfort food. At Kate's Joint, you're allowed to pour the fake maple syrup you grew up on over multi-grain pancakes, or to have your tofu cutlets southern-fried with mashed potatoes and steamed collard greens (a signature dish that is as excellent as it is enormous.) As for service and vibe, this is the East Village -- meaning your server may be the nice bass player, or the lead singer's mean girlfriend. Have a drink, listen to an ironic rock mix, eat something good. Popular weekend brunches.

As an almost 10-year NYC vegan, I've been to nearly all of the vegetarian and vegan restaurants this incredible city has to offer, including at least 6-10 previous visits to Kate's Joint over the years, which have ranged from okay to great. I've generally been a Kate's fan, and have gone out of my way to eat there several times. The 'atmosphere' continued to be exceedingly bland and unwelcoming. The chairs were terribly hard and uncomfortable. The bathroom was filthy. The service was absolutely appalling - I don't think I've ever been spoken to so condescendingly and rudely in any restaurant before, especially when trying to clarify what is vegan and what is only vegetarian on a menu that is sloppy, confusing, poorly formatted, etc. I was snapped at repeatedly for trying to clarify which of the cheeses were vegan. I was first told "everything on the menu is vegan". I then said, "you mean, except the cheddar and mozzarella cheeses, which are said to contain caseinate?" to which she replied "all cheeses have caseinate, that's what makes them cheese!" (definitely untrue -- I buy truly vegan cheese every week) I then said, so what about the menu's "vegan ricotta? I'd assume that's vegan, since it's referred to as vegan and doesn't have the caseinate modifier". She checked with the kitchen, and NOPE -- IT HAS CASEINATE AND IS NOT VEGAN. I'm so sorry for all the vegans who have eaten this falsely labeled cheese. To top it all off, the white wine was warm, and we waited nearly an hour and a half from the time we arrived until we received our main course, which was so-so and cold! We did not get an apology but we did get snapped at repeatedly, with the server saying "there are only two cooks here tonight, and they've been slammed all night", although the restaurant was only ever 1/3 full during our nearly two-hour stay.

The food at Kate's is amazing if you're looking for veggie/vegan alternatives. Even if you're not, it's pretty damn good. I have liked everything I've eaten there. Especially the spinach and black bean quesadilla. It's a fun atmosphere, but can get noisy. Also the service is extremely poor. They are very casual there and that leads to really slow service. That's the only downfall in my book.

I truly have never have better tofu chicken. It was delicious.

Kate's was definitely my favorite place to eat in the LES and would even take my non-veggie friends to eat there because the food used to be great. Lately, the food has gone down in taste a lot. Mashed potatos are good. So is the veggie burger (original) and the buffalo wings, but not impressed with anything else really. And the bartender did not provide great service. I asked him two times for a beer. The first time he ignored me, the second time he said "fine" and then just never brought me one. My friend ended up just ordering two beers and had to give me one. ?!!!? I miss how it used to be