The Orchid Vegan Restaurant Reviews Summary

Customer Service

Pros:

• "The water was refilled continuously, staff were very attentive & kind to the kids, plates were cleared nicely."
• "Service was very attentive."
• "The staff were very attentive and it was evident that the restaurant is committed to their vegan vision."
• "The staff are very friendly and I loved how many amazing vegan dishes there were on the menu."
• "Staff are really friendly!"
• "The service was amazing and the food was so tasty!"
• "The service was fantastic, the restaurant is pretty and well laid out so you don’t feel rushed or crammed in, it’s fully vegan and has good natural light."
• "Staff: just brilliant, polite, tentative, smiles to die for and welcoming."

Cons:

• "The hostess has terrible manners! I walked in, admittedly without a reservation and asked if she might have a table for me. The restaurant was empty except for one table. She closed the door in my face!"
• "Ambiance was poor. A really noisy restaurant with no soft furnishings to absorb the noise. We couldn't engage in relaxed conversation whatsoever."
• "What vegan business owners need to understand is that often people go off their way on holidays just to find and support your place. So it was very disappointing to be denied a table because they do reservations only."

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The food was very good and well portioned."
• "This restaurant did a really good job of capturing the best parts of westernised dishes and delivering a tasty vegan experience."
• "As a confirmed carnivore I never thought I would say 'vegan Chinese food is delicious'. We had an amazing meal from the Orchid."
• "Amazing food! So tasty! Great choices."
• "Absolutely amazing food! One of the best restaurants I've ever been to."
• "Outstanding 100 out of 100 and staff special those taking orders and serving were extremely helpful and amazing they made sure we are okay with whatever we had ordered."
• "The food has opened my eyes to how delicious vegan food can be."
• "The portions are tasty and large at reasonable prices."

Cons:

• "The first thing that struck me was the excessive oiliness of every dish."
• "Furthermore, the overuse of batter on each dish was truly excessive."
• "To add to the disappointment, the flavors were disappointingly bland."
• "The batter on our battered foods was more soft and soggy rather than fresh and crispy and the sweet and sour prawn and lemon chicken tasted identical apart from the lemon edge."
• "I ordered takeout. The bao bun I had was okay, and the sauce on the General Tso's chick'n was good, but you can imagine my dismay when I found a bug in my food."
• "Disappointing food. For a vegan restaurant I would expect far more vegetables!"
• "I saw a 4.9 stars… I had to go. It does not disappoint. Not everything is mind blowing and I wouldn’t say that food is too elaborated."
• "I have both eaten in and had takeaways from Orchid. Eating in is great and they carer to your allergies with great service. Takeaways are generously portioned and keep the same great taste."

Ambience and Atmosphere

Pros:

• "It was warm & cosy with a pleasant for (freezing windy outside)."
• "The lighting was a bit dim and orange so photos will come out a bit dull."
• "Nice to see an all vegan Chinese food restaurant that is dine in, most seem to be takeaways."
• "The restaurant has a very nice ambience to it, but the lights were a bit dimmed so it gives a great 'date night' sort of vibe rather than a family meal which went for."
• "Immaculately presented, wonderful staff. Food was delicious. Prices are pretty good too."
• "Had a meal here when seeing a show in York, the food was fantastic, staff were attentive, polite, courteous and very friendly."
• "Service was great and plenty of COVID measures in place. Very relaxing atmosphere allowing for a proper conversation without having to shout."
• "It definitely lived up to the hype! The food is gorgeous, particularly the sweet & sour 'chicken' and 'prawn' toasts"

Cons:

• "The lighting was a bit dim and orange so photos will come out a bit dull."
• "Ambiance was poor. A really noisy restaurant with no soft furnishings to absorb the noise. We couldn't engage in relaxed conversation whatsoever."
• "The menu was also clearly an early draft and was missing the rice and noodle sides which they were charging for."
• "The last place I had vegan food as good as this was in Chengdu while caring for pandas at Chengdu panda sanctuary 2011. Exceptional food that looks and tastes like the real thing but no animals harmed x"