Banana Soy Vegan Restaurant

My favorite restaurant in Oakland. I’m still mourning over it’s closure. :(

Honestly don’t go. The service is slow and the food lacking in flavor. I was there with about 4 other people total in the restaurant and the food and bill took almost an hour for the waiter to handle. It has potential because the inside is fairly nice for a vegan restaurant, but the quality of the dishes, portions and service make it not worth the trip. Sorry to disappoint.

Really nice vegan restaurant that feels cool and elegant, like where I could take my mom (rather than dirty and cheap, like where I could take my broke as a joke friends).
The service was super high quality (I mean, the guy could work at a top of the line resort with that kind of customer service skill). The ambiance was pleasant, safe, and comfortable.
And the food was great. I always get confused with veggie/​vegan menus, because I want to order one of each thing. Too many choices! But my server helped me out by recommending some kind of delicious garlic «beef» dish with vegetables (I also decided to order the pot stickers, but I should have skipped those fried little Sirens). The portion size was not too big.
This place is great!

Legit vegan Vietnamese restaurant in Oakland that I am definitely going to revisit when I’m in the area. The level of how impressed I am with this place is quite high considering how amazing their dishes turned out to be.
I usually like to give vegan restaurants a hard time when they call things ‘beef’ or ‘chicken’ on the menu because 1) it confuses me, & 2) it’s vegan, therefore call it seitan or tofu, or whatever animal free alternative there is. Don’t play with my vegan emotion!
However, Banana Soy did a wonderful job at tricking my palate into thinking I was actually eating beef tripe. Jaye just got trolled hard! Their #10 Veggie beef soup contains this faux-​tripe along with thinly sliced ‘beef’ (pretty sure it’s seitan) floating around in their hearty phở.
I also tried their #32 pineapple ‘tuna’, the texture blew my mind once again because I was so convinced whatever I was eating was not animal-​free. Huge kudos to you, Banana Soy, for doing a wonderful job at imitating said meat. This dish is delectable and I definitely recommend it.
#28 veggie ginger rice, and #7 papaya salad are amazing as well.
All this food for well below $ 40. Worth every penny!
A+++++++ excellent service, attentive staff, clean, and best of all great place to eat.

Three out of four dishes my friends and I got were really good. The yellow curry was bland but the noodle dishes were off the hook.
Yes, I said «off the hook» and I meant «off the hook.» They were that good.
Love that vegan Vietnamese food.

I know it sounds like a smoothie place, but it’s not. It’s the only fully Vegan Vietnamese restaurant I know of in Oakland. As someone that often drives all the way to San Jose to check out their vast selection of Veganamese restaurants, it’s nice to finally have one to call our own in the East Bay.
The interior is really nice and relaxing. Almost zen-​like. They definitely got the SJ places beat on that. The service from the waiter was serviceable if not the friendliest I’ve ever seen.
We ordered the Eggless Egg Rolls to start. The fishless fish sauce that was served as a dip was a nice accompaniment to the yummy fried rolls.
The #21: Special Yellow Noodle or Dac Biet was the highlight here and also one of the better Vietnamese dishes I’ve had so far. It starts out as a dish of dry but cooked yellow noodles, various fake meats, and veggies in a bowl. You then pour a separate bowl of hot broth over it creating a more soup like mixture. I may not know all what was in it but I know it was all good.
The Chicken «Carry» which I ASSume is Vietnamese for curry. I think they should leave coconut curry to Thai food as this one wasn’t very flavorful. Very disappointing too since the curry base was thick & creamy with beaucoup potential. There just wasn’t any spice or flavor going on here.
Banana Soy is a welcome addition to this downtown part of Oakland. Reasonably priced with several dishes that make me want to give it a full five stars. If you work in the neighborhood or just like Vietnamese food and don’t want to travel all the way to SJ, check it out. I know I’ll be back soon.

It was my last meal in Oakland before returning to LA so I decided to have something light. Banana Soy was about a five block walk from my stay at a nearby Marriott.
Business was light at 1730 Thursday eve. The place looked clean, was very nicely color coordinated and sparsely decorated. It had a peaceful feel and none of the typical Asian eatery scent.
My take-​out consisted of a mustard green tofu soup with added noodles and an order of bo bia. They ran out of mustard green so spinach was substituted in. Extra dollar for the noodle. Staff was polite, professional and service-​oriented. Total was ~ $ 15.
The food was well-​packed. The bo bia and noodle were kept in rectangular containers while the bulk soup was in a clear plastic container. Extra napkins and spoons were provided, which is always appreciated.
The bo bia was delicious. Main ingredients were jicama, lettuce, carrots, and fried tofu wrapped in rice paper, and cut up into 4 pieces. The accompanying peanut sauce was light and good. Two rolls per order. Heavenly.
I could not say the same though for the soup, which consisted of thin deep fried rectangular tofu, spinach, scallion, carrots, and two types of canned mushroom. The vegetables were appealing for the health-​conscious me, but the canned mushroom ruined the dish in my opinion. Tasteless.
If the proprietor is reading this, I would advise to not pre-​cut the bo bia rolls so the internals can remain moist especially for take-​outs, and lose the canned goods. Not good for an eatery that seem to identify itself with healthful eating concepts.
Beautiful website. Not too functional though if you want to review the menu in advance.

this ‘hood is becoming quite the veggie heaven, I am bummed I no longer work in Oaksterdam.
as for Banana Soy… #1: where the eff are the bananas? not a single one on the menu
#2: why can’t the waiter smile or even acknowledge your existence beyond taking your order & dropping the food on your table.
however, #3: THIS FOOD IS DA’ BOMB!!! I was going to take away a star for the service, but I really can’t. that waiter could have insulted my mother (whom I love dearly) & maybe even slashed my tires (BART is close, I could have gotten home!). truly tasty vittles.
we had started out with the young papaya salad. BEST I EVER HAD (makes me think of that dirty Drake song.) we also had a green bean & tofu dish with lemongrass & chili, HELLA SPICY (threw «hella» in there, it being Oakland & all), but delish. also took the advice of a fellow Unilocaler & went for the dry moodle or some such dish– wish I could remember the exact name because that shizz was awesome.
ambiance was nice– totally expected a hole in the wall, but they gave it some decent décor.
will definitely be back!

Not bad but I love the concept of vegan Vietnamese food. I had the vermicelli dish with imperial rolls which was ok. When I left I did take a to-​go menu and asked an employee there what he recommended. So next time I go– I will order what is recommend. I will be back to experiment. I will update my review on the next dish.

Everything we had was exquisitely and loving prepared, and absolutely fresh (our waiter had very helpful suggestions about what was popular and what vegetables were best that night). Nothing was exactly like anything we’d tasted before, and it was all delicious
Try the ginger chicken, the papaya salad, the lemon grass tofu (our waiter offered to add in vegetables, perfect broccoli, spinach, and carrots). And I didn’t see brown rice specified on the menu, but they do have it, and I believe it was at no extra charge.
Order one more plate of food than you might ordinarily (unless you’re getting one of the huge dishes of phở). The rice plates are bigger than «small plates,» but they’re reasonable, rather than enormous, portions. Since they’re priced like small plates, you can order several and have a very reasonable meal with a lot of different choices. An outrageous bargain for food of this quality.
As soon as you see the décor, you know this place is run by people with aesthetic standards. But they also have enormous kindness, and visible senses of humor. I’ll eat whatever vegan food is going, but it’s so wonderful to have a place where you could bring any of your friends without having to apologize for anything.
The place is beautiful, and they’ve hung the walls with marvelous real photographs of Vietnam. And in the back there’s a lovely montage of animal photographs — sheep, goats, giraffes, a cow, a rabbit, chicks, etc. — most of them looking right out of their eyes at us as if to say, «Hello, I’m sentient in here. When are you all going to notice?»

My friend and I stopped in to Banana Soy Vegan last night for dinner and I have to say, this place is great! The atmosphere is cozy and comfortable and dare I say, charming!
They have an extensive menu of carefully crafted and super tasty vegan dishes, I can’t wait to try them all! We walked in to a table of friends who were just finishing up their meals, and from their absolutely wiped clean plates, and happy expressions, they enjoyed themselves as well.
For an appetizer, we ordered the Bo Bia (Fresh Spring Rolls) — $ 5.95, filled with fresh jicama, carrots, mint, and other yummy goodness, served with a delicious peanut sauce.
For our entrees, we ordered and shared the Phở Ap Cho (Crispy Chow Fun) — $ 7.65, a delicious blend of crunchy phở noodles, veggies, and stir fried tofu and an order of their Com Cary Ga (Veggie Chicken Curry) — $ 7.95, a silky smooth yellow curry filled with potatoes, carrots, veggie chicken, served w/​a side of white rice. To wash all this tasty food down, we both ordered Smoothies, she got the Avocado smoothie and I ordered the strawberry smoothie, both were spectacular, and at $ 4.00 each, a hot deal better than the usual array of ‘gouge-​em-​like-​ya-​own-​em’ Frappa-​Smoothie-​Crapachino mega-​chain wallet suckers that are out there!
5-​Stars and hitting the high end of the list of places to make regular return trips for lunch and/​or dinner.
Joe Bob sez Check ‘Em Out — Your tummy and your wallet will both leave happy — not easy to do in the Bay Area — including tip, we were outta there, both fed and happy, for only a pair of Jackson’s, decent!

Lovely, surprisingly nice atmosphere and phenomenal food with a very friendly, very professional staff. Not greasy. The curry I had was so good I kept spooning the sauce into my mouth even when the rice and potatoes and carrots were gone.
A wonderful new addition to City Center’s culinary options.

Fresh, homemade. NOT greasy. This place is so fulfilling if that makes sense.
None of the sauces taste bottled-​this is not a place that throws in some vegan fake oyster sauce and sriracha and calls it a night. Every sauce tasted straight up homemade! So, nothing was too salty, too sweet, or too greasy. It tasted really clean and lighter than some other vegan asian food I have had. I do love the occasional greasy noodle but sometimes it also makes my tummy hurt. Here, I would eat on the regular, this is food that could become a weekly dinner that I would not feel terrible or bloated afterwards. It tastes clean and fresh and kind of light on the stomach while still making you full. (mind you, I am a pig, so I need food that even if it tastes clean, fills me up!!!)
I know some people didn’t like their peanut sauce for the spring rolls-​I think that is because it tastes so different from other peanut sauces! I know how most places make peanut sauce-​they mix hoisin and peanut butter and other stuff, which tastes super good and really strong. Banana Soy’s peanut sauce is lighter, and tastes homemade, so I totally see how that might not be what we are all used to!
Also, the people who work here and own the place are ridiculously nice!!! They helped me fit the bag of takeout I got into my backpack because my bike basket was full of Crixa Cakes. They also said they take customer feedback super seriously, so if you have a problem with anything or any suggestions, tell them when you are there!!! They will change whatever you think is an issue!
This is super different from Golden Lotus, so you can rotate places. Between Banana Soy, Nature Vegetarian (
) and Golden Lotus (
), vegans have downtown Oakland on lock!

I love having new biz in Oakland – and good vegan food without the air of belonging to some religion or another is extra needed. I wasn’t sure what this place would be like, and was a little disappointed to find out that it was another vietnamese vegan restaurant – I feel like this isn’t groundbreaking and in downtown Oakland, we already have 2 others (ok, new world vegetarian isn’t around anymore, but still).
The restaurant is visually lovely, and tastefully decorated, clearly a date destination – but note that they are only open Mon-​Fri. My first venture on Sunday was not to be.
When we arrived there was just one woman in the restaurant, seated in the middle at one of the 2 seaters. The waiter seated us next to her, also in a 2 seater. I was slightly taken aback, but thought perhaps they were going to fill up the restaurant. He must have sensed my thoughts, as he then asked if that was ok, but I let it slide. Needless to say, no one else showed up until the end of our meal and she choose to sit outside at one of the two tables they have there.
BTW, the tables are small, so if you’re having more than 2 rice plates, you should angle for a larger table. There wasn’t a lot of room to maneuver once we received all the dishes we shared.
We had the veggie pork claypot, beef and veggie rice dish and the chicken sticks.
The vegan disliked the veggie pork-I’m not sure, but I think these were canned – I liked them, soft and chewy, and he preferred the fried tofu cakes in the claypot. I’m thinking that if a midwestern american vegan restaurant were opened they could be utilized as rocky mountain oysters. (OK, I’m just being silly) Otherwise this was well done.
The beef and veggie dish was well plated, and tasty, representing itself nicely.
The 2 chicken drumsticks were «deboned» and deep fried a deep golden brown and arrived sliced and served with a generous amount of a wonderful peanut sauce.
The vegan ordered a strawberry jam juice drink. It looked so lovely, with a lemonade shade deepening to the darker red at the bottom. We didn’t realize that the description was merely a creative use of English so often found in Asian restaurants – they literally meant that it had strawberry jam in it! Hmm, it was tasty and interesting, but a little intense on the jam part of it. Beautiful for the visual presentation, but way too much jam to be served in a single drink.
There is a clear French influence in the cuisine, from presentation to portion size.
The business is new and clearly working out some kinks, but show a lot of promise, so I will be back!

Clean, stylish and plays instrumental contemporary jazz… not what one would expect from an Asian restaurant.
Ordered Bun Bo Hue and Phở. They were both pretty good! Waiter was really friendly and the chef/​owner even came out to say hi and explain his menu.
Overall inexpensive, tasty and a great dining experience.

Banana Soy is vietnamese cuisine, vegan style. décor is banana. mediating buddha sits to the side of the room. soothing instrumentals. modern seating, not balsam wood. .
eats:
eggless roll (5.95)
–carrot innards, etc. in veggie fish paste tasted so so, not so exciting.
–doesn’t come close to taste of imperial rolls.
–2.5 stars
bun ho hue (6.5)
–mostly straw mushrom. button mushrom, fried tofu, very few imitation meat gluten, bean sprouts, basil, didn’t see imitation pig feet nor pork blood.
–not that spicy and hot
–bun imitated but not duplicated.
–3 stars
leftovers:
–should have gotten the vegan phở, sounds better.
–no msg, no animal products used.
–flavors imitative, not duplicated.
–ingredients fresh.
–very good service
–very thirsty for some reason…

I just got takeout from here. Super cute interior, although I think they were cooking a pretty spicy pepper when i went in because it was making me choke.
I ordered the beef noodle soup, which is basically a Vegan Phở. Has rice noodles, plant based beef, plant based ham, plant based sausage and they give you bean sprouts, basil, lemon to add in. At $ 6.50 I think it tastes great and i will be back. My only complaint is they didn’t fill the container full with broth, only halfway… I mean come on it’s broth, just give me a little extra… The Pineapple salad is pineapple in a sauce with bamboo shoots and onion and peanuts… very tasty! Not sure it’s worth $ 7 though… There is also some crispy fried deliciousness on the side, not sure if this is gluten or what. All in all it’s very yummy and I will go back. Yay for new vegan restaurants in Oakland!

Just opened last week and I have gone twice already. I have a hard time finding good vegan food in downtown Oakland that I like. I ordered the lemongrass tofu and I had them add vegetables, which I recommend, otherwise you will have only tofu and rice. It tasted very good, fresh, and thank the lord, not swimming in oil. The second time I went I had the curry chicken which was awesome – a rich coconut milk sauce that included potatoes that had been roasted. Yum. Also, the added chick peas were a pleasant surprise. Spring rolls were good, though the peanut sauce was a little on the watery side. They didn’t have brown rice or pot stickers, but said they would have them soon. Also, they are not yet set-​up for credit cards, so bring cash.

I walked by and noticed this place finally is open. I had noticed the sign up for a couple of months. I tried the spring rolls (5.95) and the veggie beef and mushroom rice plate (7.95). The spring rolls were good, but I can’t say I liked the peanut sauce it was served with. The rice plate was really good. Lots of fresh chopped garlic, button mushrooms, tofu, onions and «beef.» The beef was quite good on its own.
I wanted to try the veggie potstickers, but they weren’t available yet? Also, the credit card machine is not in service yet and no paper menus printed yet. This place just opened last week. I’m sure they will be fully functioning soon. I ordered to go so I can’t comment on the service, but my dishes came out quickly.
Can’t wait to go back and try some more!

***Note*** Will not be open on Saturdays until September***
Banana Soy Vegan Restaurant, despite its name, is not a smoothie place. It’s a Vietnamese vegan restaurant. No animal products, no MSG. I had some excellent fresh spring rolls and yellow curry (asked them to leave out the fake chicken) dish (coconut milk, potato, carrots, spices, etc.) with rice. The interior is pretty and well laid out, the service was good, and there are many dishes to choose from – appetizers, salads, soups, noodle dishes, clay pots, etc. Not affiliated with the Suma Ching Hai spiritual community that is part of Golden Lotus, Loving Hut, Merritt, Golden Era, and others in the Bay Area. Close to City Center BART in downtown Oakland.