Pepper Tree Veggie Cuisine

Best Vegan buffet in Houston! Super kind staff and great service at Pepper Tree! The quality of food here is always fresh and tasty. You can eat the buffet or order from menu. On the weekends, they have Vegan sushi! We keep coming back year after year because the food is 100% Vegan and the staff is lovely and courteous. This is one of the most popular Vegan spots for a reason. Even carnivores will enjoy the vegan versions of ‘chicken”, ‘fish’, ‘beef’.
The only negative (and not a biggie) is parking.

My friend JJ is a vegan and invited me to try this Chinese Vegan hidden gem in Houston
We went there for lunch, and all 3 of us ordered the buffet… it looks like everyone orders the buffet
The owner «Happi» takes a lot of care to maintain a clean environment and the food fresh… she keeps a close eye on everything… and refreshes buffet items on a timely basis to assure the best experience
The atmosphere is not elegant, and some would probably consider this to be a run of the mill low budget buffet… but that is the great surprise awaiting the guest… the food is #1

Eggplant is awesome. Miso soup is tasteless. $ 10.99 lunch buffet is a great deal. $ 14.78 dinner buffet is a good deal as well.

Came here after a dance performance downtown on Halloween. I was super hungry, and my vegetarian-​vegan mother suggested this place since she’d been before. When we walked in there were some families chatting quietly, great ambiance. Wasn’t too crowded since it was about 2 in the afternoon. There was a lot to choose from at the buffet, all pretty fresh and tasty – not over the top flavorful but that’s okay. I loved their green beans and their curry. Their deserts were great as well! Loved their coconut and strawberry jello! Also a big PLUS: they had purified water. My biggest pet peeve when eating out is tap water. Gross, no thanks.
I can’t wait to come back!

After a long time found a neat clean vegan restaurant. Surrounding is too good.
Food was descent. Worth the pay other than fried Tofu which did not meet the expectations. There is a wide variety of food.
For all those who are trying to give up non vegetarian food but finding it hard there is a substitute you can choose vegan chicken, vegan fish, vegan beef.

I absolutely loved this place when I first started going there years ago. An all vegan Asian buffet in Houston. What’s not to like? And although they haven’t done anything horrible to offend me, they haven’t really done… anything. And that’s the problem with Pepper Tree. It hasn’t changed at all. Always the same exact food every time.
In some ways, that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but a little variety every now and then would be nice.
My go-​to items on the buffet are the silken tofu with cilantro, the lo mein (even though it’s just spaghetti noodles), the fried spring rolls are descent, the yellow curry… I’ll get a little bit of that every time I go, they have these little deep fried crispy veggie ball things that are quite good, there’s a soup with tofu and cabbage I really like, and I could eat twice my body weight in their awesome green beans.
But like I said, it’s the same stuff that’s been there for years. And some of the stuff isn’t really very good. The fried spring rolls are a little bland, the lo mein is just okay, the yellow curry is far from the best curry in the city.
Sometimes when I go there, even at peak hours, the food looks like it has been sitting out all day. Like the last time my wife and I went there, it was around 6:00 pm on a Saturday. The place was packed, but the lo mein was dry, the green beans were droopy, egg rolls were a bit soggy, curry was dried out. Most of the time, the buffet is freshly stocked, but it can be hit or miss. Kinda disappointing.
Considering that it’s all you can eat, I think $ 15 is reasonable. After a busy Saturday or Sunday, it’s a good place to go when you really need to stuff your face.
The parking situation is almost never good. The lot is just too small for all the shops there, and parking nearby in the street isn’t much better.
A lot of the customers there are pretty annoying. You will always get certain people who hold up the line. Like the people who don’t think the staff understand English well enough, and don’t trust them when they assure them that all of the food is indeed vegan. Just for the record people: ALL THE FOOD IS REALLY, ACTUALLY VEGAN.
Then there is another group of people who hold up the buffet line. These are the meat eating first-​timers. They look at everything on the buffet, make a disgusted face, and ask their friends what the heck it is they’re looking at. It’s food. It’s all food. You eat it with your mouth.
The buffet is only served on weekends and during lunch on weekdays. Going there during lunch on a weekday is kind of entertaining. There are a bunch of people who go there from nearby office buildings. All they do is talk about work. They spend their lunch break… their break from work, talking about work. My wife and I get a kick out of eavesdropping on their conversations. And the food is almost always fresh when you go for weekday lunch.
There’s really nothing bad about this place, and if you’re vegetarian or vegan (or veg-​curious), it’s a place you have to try at least once. But the thing is, there isn’t anything particularly great about this place either.
I’m sure I’ll probably eat there again many times, but Pepper Tree is LONG overdue for a menu update. At least change a few buffet items every now and then.

Vegan Asian food! (largely Chinese-​style food IMO)
My bud and I stopped in for their lunch buffet. Kind of pricey. I recommend it for vegetarians & vegans, but I’m not sure that the typical omnivore would go for this. I myself really enjoy vegetables, and it was good but not at this price point.
I’m all for NOT wasting food, but they have pretty prominent signs that made me feel guilty for not cleaning my plate. I get it from their standpoint, but I still didn’t like it.

Expensive and not that tasteful. I ordered some tofu curry which was lunch special for $ 9.20 with tax quantity was less and food was not that great.
They do have lot of vegges options. But I am not going there again. Everyone has different taste so may be you might like it, but personally I have had better food for that money.
Just if you plan to go try buffet which is just couple of bucks more and you will have more options.

I really, really want to give Pepper Tree a five-​star review, but I can’t justify that last star. See below.
Pepper Tree is great because it is one of the few Houston restaurants that offers all vegan food. There is a daily buffet. There is a large variety of raw and cooked food. My favorites are the vegetable dumplings and coconut cake. You can get the buffet to-​go also. They give you a large to-​go box, a small to-​go box, and a cup with a lid for soup (or whatever), and they will exchange the last two if you’d like.
The service is always impeccable. If they are out of a dish you want they will make a whole new one from scratch if you ask. The owners are very kind and accommodating people. It is a pleasure to know that your money is going to these people.
So why not five stars? The food is sometimes a little bland, especially if you order off the menu rather than the buffet. The first time my wife and I ate here we planned to never return. We’re very glad we did (and have many times since). Food off the menu can also be a little pricey but the buffet is definitely worth it. The buffet has the same items every time, but they are good items. My last gripe would be parking: unless you eat at an off-​hour or want to walk from a paid lot or take the long trek across Richmond, you’ll need to compete for a spot with everyone else in the strip center.

This was the second time we tried getting here. The first time we came (about 2 months ago) the was literally NO parking in the cramped parking lot. I didn’t want to park in another establishment’s space and chance a tow (as there are signs every few feet warning of such), so we left and ate elsewhere.
This time the lot was pretty empty; thank Labor Day Weekend and folks being out of town? Who knows…
So, on to the review.
The restaurant is pretty unassuming and bland. Not a bad thing, just nothing fancy. You pay at the counter and after counting up two buffets, a mango smoothie and a bottled water, the tab came to nearly forty bucks. WTH!!! This was certainly on the expensive end of dining (for me), especially expensive considering this is buffet-​style dining.
On the first go-​round, I had the steamed kale with sesame seeds, veggie sushi, ‘fried’ brown rice, sesame balls, pickled spicy cabbage, shredded carrots, crunchy veggie fritters (awesome!) and browned tempeh in sauce.
The food was good.
Nothing tasted oily. Clean is the word that comes to mind. You know, this whole clean-​eating phase everyone is into these days. People have complained that the food is not flavorful, but if you use some of the condiments and sauces provided at the table and on the counter, you’ll be fine. I liked that the food wasn’t overly spiced and salted just right.
I enjoyed it, but after seconds of largely the same thing, I was ready to go.
The mango smoothie was probably the biggest disappointment. Very little mango taste and not sweet at all.
This place is ‘solid’ (and probably a better deal in the daytime on their $ 8.50 lunch buffet menu). Service was mechanical, but not unwelcoming … just little more than transactional.
I don’t have any complaints per se, but I wouldn’t advise anyone to rush out and dine here.

My sister is newly vegetarian and we saw this place while heading to Costco and decided to try it. We weren’t sure what to expect. We walk in and quickly realize it’s buffet. The restaurant is small and the buffet line is on the counter next to the register. It’s the weekend so it’s 14.99 a person. We thought that was a bit pricey compared to a vegetarian buffet in Bellaire with more choices and considering we weren’t all that hungry. But the food was good. we liked everything we sampled. They had salad choices, a variety of tofu dishes, stir fried eggplant, squash, dumplings, sesame balls, and sushi. The restaurant was pretty packed. Service was good… workers were constantly taking up old plates, cleaning, and refilling beverages.

Peppertree is definitely the best Vegan Buffet in Houston. Quality food with a peaceful Environment. Great place to eat lunch with friends or even alone. I go often and EVERY friend ive recommended has always enjoyed the food. You will be happy you chose to eat at peppertree.

Ok for all the haters out there, don’t come to a place that is known to serve VEGAN food and get disappointed when you don’t see any animal based proteins around. If you want meat, go hit up Fogo or Chama Gaucha. However for the tofu and veggie lovers out there, I would definitely recommend this place. Pepper Tree Veggie as many have stated isn’t the largest or fanciest establishment but it does the job to get your fill of plant based proteins and veggies and fruit galore.
The set up of the buffet spread is a bit weird, you pay and then you have your choices of leafy/​raw veggies likes bell pepper, kale salad, corn, edamame, and carrots with your desserts mixed in such as the coconut jello and strawberry pureed jello, as well as a platter of red bean sesame balls with chocolate sauce which was a bit confusing. Then you have the hot foods such as your noodles, fried rice, tofu, eggplant, fried spring rolls, kabocha, dumplings, and what I liked to call fried vegetable fritter, long beans, bok choy, soup, and if coming for the weekend buffet the end has the vegan sushi.
So, I wasn’t a fan of everything I tried but I did try everything, and my favorites are:
–Kale salad, very simple but tasted so refreshing
–Long beans, haha again so simple but quite tasty, I guess I like fried things
–Egg plant, you can rarely go wrong
–JELLO, I confirmed, the strawberry jello has actual pureed strawberry
–The sushi with the red looking rice and the tofu skin quite yums
–TOFU, yes the tofu dish by the noodles were my favorite as it was savory but had a hint of sweetness to it, also if you like a bit more flavorfulness I would just eat a lot of the fried tofu skin (tofu pe), also I liked the «meat» they used for their version of kung pao (the dish in between the bok choy and long beans).
In conclusion,
I love tofu and veggies as they are quite tasty quite tasty indeed
I love tofu and veggies just wish it didn’t take as much money to eat
I love tofu and veggies and will be back for lunch instead as a tasty treat
I love tofu and veggies and think Pepper Tree Veggie is the place for me

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this place before!
I’ve been coming here for years. It’s one of the safe places to eat — vegan (I’m vegetarian and not vegan, but no meat is a great thing!) and no onion, garlic, leeks, or chives. I don’t eat out much, but when I do, this is one of the few places on my list where I don’t have to interrogate the poor waiter or am stuck with a salad or bread or something equally disappointing. I once went to Pepper Tree with some coworkers and they were amazed that my plate was full, haha.
The place is in the center across from Costco on Richmond next to Chipotle and it seems as if you usually need to fight for a parking spot, especially during lunch and dinner time. I ended up just parking in the Costco parking lot and walking over to save myself the hassle. It’s a buffet, anyway. Might as well work off some extra calories! Don’t judge; I would be heading over to Costco for some shopping afterwards.
First, you go to the cash register and pay and then you grab a plate and load it up. There’s a option to order off the menu too, if you would prefer. The fare is pretty simple and consistent — healthy Chinese food, which is quite rare. Most Asian food out there is full of sodium and grease. If you’re expecting overly flavorful and greasy food, this isn’t for you. I personally prefer lightly seasoned food. There’s a salad bar of sorts with fresh fruit. I don’t do salads but I love the kale and the cold tofu. Next it goes into the hot dishes. It ranges from various veggies, a curry, eggplant, these wontons in a tomato based sauce, noodles, egg rolls, veggie fritter balls… They don’t offer too many dishes with faux meat, but there are some. There are also two soups: miso and hot & sour. Then there are the desserts: these coconut cake bites, agar agar «jelly» bites (strawberry flavored, I believe), and these fried sesame balls with chocolate sauce. If you ordered the water or an alternate drink, it’ll be at the end of the line by the soup.
NOTE: the food isn’t labeled but though it would have been nice, it wasn’t necessary for me. I’m just happy I can eat everything there.
It’s a buffet so largely self serve, other than how the dishes will be removed from your table once finished. The silverware, straws, and napkins are past the soup against the wall, behind the booth. The place itself is pretty open and the seating plenty (for the most part). It’s also clean and isn’t overly loud. The owners are really nice and tend to stay out of your way.
My only complaints — limited parking during the peak hours and the prices are a bit high, especially since I don’t eat more than 1.5 plates. I try to not eat before I go to try to get my money’s worth and I would go for a special occasion and/​or in the area.

Pepper Tree is great for vegetarian food or if you’re feeling like eating a lot but also eating pretty healthily: P. I came here for lunch on a weekday (it’s cheaper!) and I was impressed with the food.
Everything was very fresh and homestyle tasting. It was all things that I felt like my mom would cook. There’s a salad bar with typical greens and toppings but also a cold tofu dish, spicy edamame, pickled Asian cabbage… which would be standard for a restaurant but impressive for a buffet. Out of the hot food, I really liked the eggplant, kabocha squash, and broccoli and tofu skin. There were also other stir fried veggies, tofu curry, veggie dumplings, and fried bites like egg rolls and fried mushrooms. I also really liked the mini sesame balls– I’m a sucker for cute small sweets.
The price for lunch is reasonable for a buffet with fresh ingredients, but the weekend price is pretty high. The food here is good, but it’s not anything that I would call amazing. It’s just very simple, clean, and green :).

Pepper Tree is my favorite vegan restaurant in Houston! I’ve been going here for about 4 years now. Their service is good and the food is fresh, tasty and well prepared.
Aesthetically, it’s not a game changer, but it’s extremely clean and really simple.
If you’re on the fence about their menu, stop in one weekend and try their buffet. There’s a little bit of everything there, so you’ll really get feel of what they have. There are some different items on the menu, but why menu when you could eat everything?
Fantastic! One of the few places I can eat freely without reserve. Friendly owners and good food! They get my vote!

HEY YOU. Don’t discount this place if you’re not vegan/​vegetarian! Once you wrap your head around the fact that nothing served here is an animal byproduct of any form, you’ll curiously realize that your stomach is as filled and happy as you would be as if you ate a very large steak (perhaps I’m a bit bias and minimally exaggerating here since I’m not a huge meat lover, but you get my point: you’re full).
Peppertree isn’t the most inspiring dining experience in terms of interior design and service as it is more similar to a quick eat with the less than inviting seating and «order at the cash register» approach. It’s very similar to maybe a chipotle or something of the like, pre-​food consumption. However, for what it doesn’t make up for in presentation, it makes up for in food.
I exclusively come here for the buffet that’s only served at lunch time on weekdays and a larger time slot on weekends. It’s a little steep regarding price, but $ 15 seems standard for a buffet. Pro-​tips would be to come on the weekends as there are a lot more loved peppertree classics like sushi and potstickers, etc. available. Another pro-​tip would be if you want to maximize your money’s worth, I wouldn’t eat much at all leading up to the meal as that is now an agreed upon strategy amongst my friends before we tackle the peppertree buffet line.
Food here is very fresh and delicious. A lot of it is what you’d imagine a vegan/​vegetarian place to offer like extensive vegetables and salad bar options, but there are also plenty Asian-​inspired dishes like noodles, rice, cooked/​seasoned vegetable, and a lot of tofu done in various ways. I’m a huge tofu fan so all the choices make my stomach sing a little. But there are also egg rolls, sushi (even purple rice), dumplings, wontons, dessert and etc.
what’s crazy is that peppertree is a wizard with tofu! The chefs craft them to resemble very closely to certain meat dishes. On the buffet line, they have fish provided that is entirely composed of tofu! I literally made a double-​take when tasting because I could’ve sworn that this restaurant was trying to pull the wool over my eyes by slipping some meat in my food. Moreover, my friend once opted out of the buffet option (unheard of) to try a «duck» dish. And lo and behold, when the waiter brought it out, the plate held something that looked exactly like duck! She sampled a bit hesitantly at first, and then later raved about how similar the texture and taste was to meat. Unbelievable.
What also gets me every time is that whenever I make a peppertree run, there are always a ton of single bachelors enjoying their meal here at lunch breaks or after work. My jaw drops every time because they’re like young businessmen who you’d expect to gravitate toward a more manlier food alternative that showcased meat, but instead they ignore the socially constructed feminine concept of a vegan/​vegetarian place and choose peppertree. If that’s not evidence enough that you should check this place out, then I don’t know what to say to you.

If you like taste of indian food and thai food, you will not like it here.
They charge $ 16 per person for all veggie&tofu buffet on Sunday sounds very typical «vegans have no where to eat so let’s charge them double» to me.
Food from this place is not as greasy as most of Chinese place and they serve Taiwanese home cook dishes. Nothing fancy. In another word, their food taste very simple and plain. You can order food as well, I tried my friend’s sautéed basil eggplant, it was delicious.
I think loving hut is better vegan restaurant as they have more choices and their food is more flavorful.

Best vegan spot in Houston. Hands down. The buffet is consistently awesome. A variety of tofu dishes and veggies. I love the curry and the veggie fritters. Also for whatever reason, I’m addicted to their water. Its from the gods!
They keep it simple, but super clean. Employees are also great and attentive. We have been coning for years and no complaints!

A bit of an expensive indulgence and for the lack of variety it’s not a place to become a regular of.
That being said the buffet is really healthy and enjoyable and service is great.
I’ve only been for the buffet. Parking is sometimes a headache as it can get crowded in this shopping plaza. You go in, pay, and can start off with many raw options. Veggies and fruits and delicious jellies.
After that you can choose from different options of tofu, some curried some fried. there’s veggie lo mein and fried rice. My favorite is the sushi. There’s also eggplant dishes. All yummy.
The desserts are also healthy and delicious. Fruit, cake, and a sesame seed cake ball thing with fig like filling. Whatever it is its delicious.
I do like this place but I wish there was more variety. They never change the menu! So I always know what I’m going to eat when I go there. Also pretty pricey.