Zen Palate (CLOSED)

I have eaten at vegetarian spots all over Manhattan, but none compare to Zen Palate on 105th. The food always tastes fresh and their delivery is SUPER fast! I recommend the hot and sour soup, the Autumn rolls and the sizzling meddalions. It's a little more north than I prefer, but the ambiance in the restaurant is awesome--they have a cute patio section in the back that's lovely in the summer.

I've never been to the other locations but decided to give it a try when it moved to my 'hood. I went around 7p on a Monday evening and I ordered the Felicity Mushroom. My order came quickly and steaming hot! It was delicious with lots of mushrooms and veggies. The basil peanut taro spring rolls were very tasty too. The wait staff was very friendly and attentive. Not sure how the service is on a busy night, but the UWS now has another great vegetarian/vegan restaurant in addition to Blossom and Peacefood Cafe!

It's just too bland.

We went to the newest Zen Palate tonight and we were first struck by the great open spaces and design. This is going to be one of our favorite vegan-restaurants-with-outdoor seating once it gets warm! Looking forward to coming-back and sitting outdoors in the front space off the sidewalk or, even better, in the back along side the huge old tree+mega-vine that still grow out of part of the back space. We also liked the overall atmosphere and the two huge skylights in the back that must let in tons of light during the day. Our meals were very good, though we both like spicy / intensely flavored food so we asked for some hot sauce which spiced it all up quite a bit. We definitely over-ordered as we both had soups - my Hot & Sour soup was delicious. We then shared the Appetizer Sampler for Two which we quite big and a nice assortment. Then they brought out our main courses. The Temple of Zen was supposedly one of their more popular dishes and was very good. It was nicely / moderately spiced with a visually stunning array of vegetables along with grilled tofu and a garnish of fried kale. The Bangkok Fried Rice was beautifully served in a half pineapple and was very good with small pineapple chunks in the fried rice along with the vegetables. We finished-off our extravaganza with a slice of their Banana Bliss (Banana Cream Pie) which was creamy and delicious. :) We're definitely going back!

A friend and I eat heartily on two bowls of hot and sour soup (unlike the globby junk you get at most Chinese restaurants these days, this was light and really flavorful), a Thai salad (an enormous plate of fresh shredded veggies with a light, delicious peanut sauce), and steamed veggie dumplings (the wrappers were perfect, not gummy.) Total cost: $20. Our waiter had trouble with English, but was attentive and courteous, as were the maitre d' and busboy. This will be a weekly (if not more often) destination for me.

My dining companion and I ordered: one wonton soup, one Peking "duck" wrap, Shredded Heaven, and Sesame Medallions. We loved everything. The soup was hot and nicely flavored. There were enough wontons for us both to share. We moved onto the wrap, which was fresh and filled with the mock duck. The salad was bright and crisp--nothing unique, but good. Shredded Heaven is quite nice. The vegetables are fresh and flavorful. The pressed tofu and seitan shreds soak up the fabulous sauce. There's a bit of a kick in there, but we like heat and it's not much of a kick. It's great. Finally, sesame medallions with broccoli: I loved it, but my companion thought it wasn't anything special. That was fine with me, though, because it meant I could eat the whole thing. How to describe it? The medallions are chewy and filling. They aren't quite like meat, but they are meaty if that makes sense. The sauce is nice--not too salty, not too sweet, and definitely not oily. The broccoli was freshly blanched and tasted great. Everything seemed freshed and prepared with care. We ordered our food to go, but we'll come back to eat in. The decor is really nice and serene. They have a nice surprise in the back room: a view of a tree in a stone garden! It's quite a nice escape. And they serve beer and wine, in case a zen escape isn't enough. ;) We loved it and are happy Zen Palate is in the hood. I hope they can keep up the excellence.

Service was the poorest ever, from getting my order wrong to insisting that seating in the "garden room" in the back was reserved for those ordering the most expensive dishes (?!). The waitstaff succeeded in making every interaction awkward and graceless. When our sesame medallions arrived, the bed of broccoli was stone cold, the medallions covered in a sad, flavorless brown sauce. We took a Zen approach to all of this and quietly left.