No Worries

For those of you who want to still check JayAr’s food, he’s still cooking and updates are right here:
He’s going to be at the Malcolm X Jazz Arts Fest this weekend!

I’ve been putting off writing this review because I really wanted to have some constructive things to say about No Worries. But I’m worried about No Worries. I never really understood the whole allure of mockmeat trying to duplicate meat in vegan foods. Just leave out the mockmeat and prepare traditional dishes made with fresh vegetables. There is no way to copy the unctuousness of oxtail in kare kare so don’t even try. Instead, use fresh beans that snap when you bite into them. No Worries’ beans had an artificial canned flavor to them.
UPDATE:
I wrote this review a few days ago and just found out that No Worries has gone the food truck route. I guess I was right to be worried.

This review is LONG OVERDUE, especially considering that at the end of the month they will no longer be at this location.
I was really excited to come to No Worries and try the food here, especially after reading a few articles about this place online. So when I took a trip to the East Bay and wanted to meet up with old friends for a mini-​reunion dinner, I was happy when one of my friends suggested No Worries.
It was early evening in Downtown Oakland (around 7ish), so there was plenty of street parking in front of the restaurant. We walked in and were greeted by a server/​hostess who happened to go to the same college I did, and with whom I have mutual friends. Small world.
The restaurant itself is very sparsely decorated. Tables and chairs, with some framed artwork on the walls. My friend who had come here a few times before and knows the owner ordered for us. We had the Soy Chicken Adobo, Afritada, and the Talong Sitaw Adobo. Those expecting authentic filipino food will not find it here. There are much healthier translations of «authentic» meat-​laden, greasy Pinoy dishes. I, for one, say thank god! All the dishes were delicious, and made further delicious by the good company I was with.
I love Filipino food, but I don’t love how I feel afterwards, and the feeling of heartburn, nausea, diarrhea that usually exists afterwards. I felt great after leaving No Worries. The only gripe that I have is that I like my food piping hot, and these dishes were not.
So long Oakland location. Hello foodtrucklandia!

Vegan Filipino food?!? Get it while you can!
No Worries announced on ⁸⁄₁₅ that Sunday, 8÷28÷2011 would be their last day and they would be transitioning to a mobile food truck. Flyers are on the wall in the restaurant (
). No timing on when the new venture will be starting up. I’m sad we didn’t try them sooner because we really enjoyed our meal here.
The waitress answered our numerous questions and we settled on Pancit, Lemon-​Herb Sautee, and Tinola.
The Pancit (
) tasted good, but was a little short on soy «chicken» (which didn’t taste too much like chicken) and the noodles were broken into 1−2″ pieces which is not how the previously posted pics are (not my pic
). This was the g/f’s favorite dish.
Next came the Lemon-​Herb Sautee (
) flavored strongly of rosemary which the waitress had warned us of when we ordered. We like rosemary so this dish was right up our alley. Large chunks of chayote and tender mushrooms and asparagus. Plain tofu cubes were a change of pace from the other soy «meats».
My favorite dish was the Tinola (
) which had a generous amount of soy «chicken». This must have been a different soy chicken than what was used in the Pancit because this had a denser texture and tasted like eating chunks of chicken breast in a hearty chicken soup. The broth was also garlicy and flavorful. I dumped in some rice to soak up the broth.
The waitress was great. Super friendly, patient, and knowledgeable. Just the right amount of checking on us and making sure our drinks didn’t go dry.

One thing the East Bay lacks that I truly miss from living in South City is Filipino cuisine! I’m not talking about the Jollibee’s variety, that’s like comparing McDonald’s to Barney’s. I’m no stranger to Filipino food nor am I a stranger to being a vegetarian; I did it once for lent (strange since I’m not even Catholic) and ended up sticking with it for about 10 months. What I am baffled by is VEGAN FILIPINO cuisine! YES! I said it! You heard right! VEGAN. FILIPINO. FOOD. I’m glad I bought a a FB deal because that gave me a chance to try more than 1 dish while being budget conscious since I was wary.
Sunday brunch was spectacular and I’m glad I came here specifically for that. The vegan TOCILOG (tocino [sweet pork], sinangag [fried rice] & itlog [eggs]) was hella (my NORCAL roots) good. Garlic rice could’ve been more garlicky, vegan tocino was ON POINT with the vinegar dip (drizzle in my case) and the tofu scramble was delicious! The tofu scramble had a tofu-​ish aftertaste but chased with the freshly chopped tomatoes provided a really balanced dish! I also ordered the vegan Kare-​Kare and although it was pretty good, it was really far off from it’s original interpretation.
Jay-​Ar, the chef/​owner, was also attentive and offered popular suggestions although I walked in with my mind set. He even remembered my name when I didn’t even remember exchanging it. No Worries is definitely a welcomed addition to the Oakland-​Hipster-​Vegan crowd! Now can I get a vegan version of Calderetta?! LOL

Maybe I don’t like Philipino food as I don’t enjoy sour taste so much. I like the lemon sourness though, that’s why I ordered the lemon herb dish.
It was too sour and salty for me.
I love vegetables as much as I love meat and fish. I try to avoid all the meat substitutes because they’re highly processed and not good for you. They only have 2 dishes without meat substitutes.

This has been in my bookmarked list for a long time now and I am so glad I finally got to try it.
Thanks to Unilocal again!
I found this place using the Unilocal application in my I-​touch device.
I was super excited to discover that it was only a couple of blocks from my hotel. So awesome.
First of all if you are a Filipino meat eater and have a craving for the taste of flesh, you are probably not going to like this place.
Truly understandable because it’s not the same.
However, if you are a Filipino and a vegan, you are going to love it.
I certainly did.
I had lunch here yesterday and ordered the 3 item combo with rice and a dessert.
I tried the Afritada, Bistek and Tocho all made with vegetables and tofu. Now… I’ve never had Tocho so it was new to me, but it was very flavorful.
I love the sauce and the spices that they used.
I thought the dishes were pretty good and my service was very nice.
The dessert that I tried was the fried banana egg roll with vegan ice cream. Very yummy.
I didn’t think it was possible to make those Filipino dishes vegan, but now I know. I have no hesitation in giving this place top marks.
I’m so glad a Filipino vegan restaurant exist in the states because they are rare. I travel all the time and this is the only one I know that exist!
Definitely recommended if you want to combine a guilt-​free gastronomic experience with a very nice and casual atmosphere.

Who knew Filipino Vegan food existed and was so good! I haven’t eaten a lot of Filipino before because it often makes me feel heavy and gross but No Worries’ Filipino Vegan food makes me feel delightfully healthy and refreshed! Everything my friend and I tried was rich in vibrant filipino flavors yet nothing was overly fried or greasy.
Lunch time is the perfect time to come if you want to sample a bunch of different entries. You can select a combo of 2, 3, or 4 entries (super cheap, only $ 6.95, $ 7.95, and $ 8.95 respectively) and it comes with white or brown rice (for $ 1.50 more). We chose a 3-​combo meal (see pics):
* Mungo (soft mung beans, squash, string beans, and eggplant) — soft almost soup like texture full of fresh cooked veggies
* Tocho (soy fish with ginger, black beans, mushrooms, and red bell pepper) — very savory dish, great combination of flavors
* Pancit (rice noodles, veggies, and soy chicken — one of their daily specials) — delicious traditional flavor without the traditional grease and with more veggies
I look forward to going back to try other entries in a future lunch combo.
We also split a Soy Chicken Adobo which was easily the highlight of the meal, so good that I should have ordered one just for myself instead of hogging most of it. My belly was definitely wishing the portions were bigger. Their Adobo is really delicious and infused with sweet and slightly tangy adobo sauce with perfectly juicy grilled eggplants and fresh chopped tomatoes which was a perfectly refreshing balance to the entire dish. I will definitely reorder this when I come back.
Some carnivores may fear the soy variety of your favorite meats but just think of the soy meat not as a meat replacement but maybe like a new kind of firm tofu you’ve never tried before. If you expect the taste and texture to be like meat, you will be disappointed. Focus on the good flavors and healthiness of the food served here and you will come out smiling.
However, one big downer was that the service was a bit mediocre. My friend and I came for a late lunch and the place was completely empty. We waited a couple minutes for someone to greet us and sit us at a table. We already knew what we wanted to order because we checked out the menu on their website prior to coming but once we got seated, it took another 20 minutes or so for a waiter to come back to take our order and drop off a pitcher of water. While it was another long wait for our meal, it gave us lots of time to catch up over our melon drinks which tasted really fresh and not overly sweet. We wouldn’t have minded the slow service if we had the time to spare but it was the middle of the work day so we of course were antsy about work piling up while we’re out of the office. Other reviews also mention slow service so it wasn’t just an off day for them.
Great feel good food, perfect for those of us who gave up meat for Lent, but don’t come hungry and be prepared to wait.

For those who know me, I’m neither a vegetarian nor vegan by any means. I enjoy meats of all kinds but I appreciate vegetarian and vegan options and I like we they have to offer.
Like many of the other reviews, hearing «filipino vegan food». I thought it wouldn’t be that great. In my opinion sometimes when folks work substitute recipes that usually have meat with tofu or soy-​based proteins, they perhaps over-​compensate with the seasoning and I feel like it’s too salty… However, No Worries is great.
The Adobo and other dishes taste great. During lunch I get a 4 item combo including their various dishes and Lumpia.
From a vegetarian standpoint, I like this place better than Golden Lotus which is right down the street.
Good addition to Downtown!
I need to try them for dinner.

Does healthy Filipino food exist or is it just a myth? Maybe not totally healthy, but no worries, there are healthier alternatives u can use when cooking Filipino food such as substituting soy proteins for meat which is exactly what Owner Jay-​Ar Pugao has done.
Truth is, the traditional Filipino way of cooking is not the healthiest which is why i usually try to stay away from eating it. Very meat-​heavy, oily, starchy, fatty.
No Worries, having an all vegan menu, I had to try it.
Their $ 5.95 Lumpia appetizer came with 6 halves served with sweet & sour sauce. Overall, appretizing but fails in comparison to non vegan lumpia.
Their lunch menu will cost you $ 6.95 for 2 items, $ 7.95 for 3, & $ 8.95 for 4 items. You can substitute brown rice for $ 1.50.
I tried the Pancit with Chicken Afritada served with potatoes, red bell peppers, green peas in a tomato based sauce. I’m not used to eating soy chicken so the texture kind of threw off the dish for me.
Highly recommended for Vegans. Open minded meat lovers will enjoy. I appreciate the innovative, health conscious idea behind no worries.

So I came here today for lunch and my first thought at the menu was, «that’s it?» The lunch menu is quite skimpy. There’s barely anything! Other than the small variety the food is actually very good. I ordered the lumpia and the giniling. When the food came I was super excited! I haven’t had lumpia in 5 or 6 years! To my surprise, it was really good! I love how there was a lot of mock meat. The only dish I wasn’t too crazy about was the bistik. It was salty!
The service was S L O W. We waited for a very, very long time for the bill. It was also ironic that the waiter and waitress weren’t filipino. haha. Sadly, the portions were kind of small but at least you don’t leave feeling too hungry or. too full.
Overall this place is great! I’m going to have to come back for dinner instead of the lunch.

as a vegan, I have not have Filipino food in yeeeeeeears. SO GLAD to have No Worries hit the scene!!!
we had the
lumpia: solid. could have eaten another order all. by. myself.
bistek: a bit salty, but still good. love to soy meat
mungo: YUM! I think that was everyone’s fave.
pancit: good, could use more veggies, but the flavor was top notch.
dessert– breaded & fried plantain & jackfruit w/​coconut ice cream: WOWOWOWOW. we were licking the plate.
melon: tasty & refreshing.
totally affordable. the portions look small… yet they are totally filling. cute atmospehere. friendly & attentive staff.
we’ll be back!

No meat? No worries! I love the way this place developed, as a business proposal and funded with a small grant and its goal of providing healthy alternatives in Filipino cuisine. Lunch is served from 11am-​3pm, Dinner from 5pm-​9pm.
We hustled in at about 2:40pm feeling slightly bad about coming towards the end of their lunch session. I angrily remember being shooed out of a restaurant which I won’t name as my group dined past their closing time. They even shut off the music on us! Aaanyway. back to No Worries, no such hostility here. we were seated by the window and we each ordered plates with 2 items, white or brown rice is offered for $ 5.95.
Melon drink: $ 3.50 (steeeeep!!) but incredibly delicious.
My plate: Afritada, Tocho and brown rice. The soy chicken in the Afritada is a trip. It’s like you’re eating chicken but you’re not… I guess you can’t really think of that. Just dig in and enjoy! The tomato base was quite tasty as well. As for the Tocho, it was alright. The meat was a bit chewy and I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it but it wasn’t bad flavor-​wise.
Her plate: Adobo, Bistek and brown rice. The adobo was saaaallltttyyyyyyyy! You know when someone plays a joke on you and unscrews the top of the salt… I think this happened to the chef. It left me guzzling water for the rest of the day. The Bistek was pretty good though. I’d say the best item we had. The soy beef strips had the texture of meat but was tender and flavorful, while the string beans were cooked just the way I like them.
Overall, definitely worth another try and hope the salt thing was a fluke.
Parking: On the street and be sure you go to the parking machine and display your ticket on the dash. If the machine nearest to you doesn’t work, then go to another one. Oakland will ticket your ass if you are one minute past your expiration time. Assholes… but I digress.
3 stars for the food but I’m adding an extra star for the service.

I am really happy that this restaurant exists because as a vegetarian, I’ve felt shut out from Filipino food (which is notoriously meaty).
That being said, the food has a lot of fake meat which is not something I usually like. The Menudo was good because the fake meat didn’t play a dominant role, but the ToCho (fake fish) was kind of chewy/​salty. I get that this is keeping it traditional but I didn’t like it as much as a result.
The lumpia were great, and the dessert (which was very lumpia-​ish, but sweet) was also yummy. Great vegan ice cream to accompany it.
I’d go again to try some of the other options, and the vibe/​design of the place is really inviting.
The servers were top class: attentive, friendly, and fiiiine.

Generally I am disdainful of fake, or stand-​in, products.
Fake flowers? I will shred them and flush them down a toilet. I absolutely hate them.
Fake hair? I used to live by a hair salon in Oakland that specialized in fake hair, and on windy days fake hair would fly from the trash onto the sidewalk. Urban dystopia at its most surreal.
Fake designer goods? Up to 10 years imprisonment.
Even when I was vegetarian, I was never a fan of soy-​based meat. It just seemed wrong, not to mention bland and overpriced. Tofu was always my go-​to staple protein.
I came to No Worries with both my biases and open-​mind. When I saw the menu, I gravitated instantly to the mungo because it had tofu instead of substitute meat, and I happen to love mung beans. Unfortunately, the kitchen was out of the dish. Instead I ordered lumpia and giniling, both of which had soy beef, and both of which were a-​ok, but nothing more. The giniling in particular would have benefited from more seasoning, as even after wrenching the lemon to get the juice out the flavor of the dish was far from maximized.
I liked the waitress a lot; she had a palpable enthusiasm for their project, which if you read about it on the menu, has been quite the work in progress! The screenprints of iconic Oakland spots made me proud to be an Oaklander, and seeing people on this nocturnally abandoned street made me all aflutter with excitement for the foodie boom in my fair city.
I think I’ll bring some of my veggie friends and get their take on it and spread the word. No Worries, No Worries. I think you have a bright future ahead.

No Worries is vegan filipino cuisine, not traditional. it isn’t greasy, it doesn’t y have traditional filipino ingredients. no worries integrates cooking ingredients and techniques from other food disciplines: rice paper (vietnamese) soy meat (?). no worries is fusioniastic with traditional filipino techniques.
décor: color scheme seem the same with new pics of oaktown in vibrant pastel colorings.
music: rock, hip hop
lunch 5.95 (2 iitems) 6.95 (3 items) 7.95 (4 items) with rice.
dinner: entrees and rice priced inidividually.
sampling: 4 items (7.95)
–lumpia: mostly veggie, didn’t taste the soy beef, crunchy shell, mushy veggies, not so great
–adobo: spicy, a hit!
–pancit: kind of cold, non greasy noodles, not much accompaniment
–afritada: mostly potatoes and a few beans. tasted good
leftovers:
–good service,
–food came out in a reasonable time.

Love, love, love this place! I can’t tell you how bored I am by the normal vegetarian restaurant, finally… something different and in my hood :)
Got the chance to check this place out with my home girl a few nights ago, and was super stoked that I was able to convince my meat-​eating friend to try the newest veggie joint in Oakland with me. I was a little worried because once we looked at the menu, most every dish had either soy chicken, soy beef, or soy fish??? Yes, friggin soy fish, a first for me even… lol. I see my friend glance over the menu and then she proceeds to tell me «I really can’t stand fake meat. I’ve tried to eat it before and I just can’t do it»… uhhh ohh.
To avoid the meat substitute she ordered the Mungo since it was the only dish without soy chicken-​beef-​fish, but I on the other hand went for it and ordered the Adobo… lightly friend tofu and soy chicken with seasoning and diced tomatoes. The Mungo was good, I personally didn’t think it was anything to rave about, but the Adobo… ohhh the Adobo… well that kicked some serious ass! I pleaded with my friend «just try a bite, come on, it’s great» and she finally agreed. I probably shouldn’t have told her how awesome it was because she loved it!!! Had to fight the bitch for every bite… hahahaha.
Besides the food, the waitress was great, the space was nice and roomy, and the location was close to everything in downtown. Needless to say we both left feeling a bit like Roseanne, but man… my friend ate some soy chicken and liked it for the first time in her life :) This place rocks!

NO WORRIES!!! I have heard so many good things about this new Vegan Filipino restaurant from my Vegan cousin and Aunt and I was fortunate to have gotten reservations on the 2^nd day of opening. From what I heard, opening day was super busy (AWESOME), and when me, my hub, my BIL (bro in law) and his gf came in, it was a perfect combo of busy and calm alike. Like any opening day, I know how crazy it can get and was just happy to have a seat. The place was buzzing and so fresh and running like it had been open for years.
First off, the service– Completely like being at home. The servers here are relaxed, friendly (and by this I mean, for example, someone asked if we were too cold and if so, could have the door closed upon request), genuine, and from what I could tell, happy to be a part of an amazing place. We were seated at once and given our menus as well as asked what we’d like to drink. I went for a glass of mango juice. All drinks are $ 1 and some change. All entrees are $ 8 and some change.
Oh the menu… menu…menu…as i write I am imagining the Adobo x 2 in a to go plate sitting on my kitchen counter… but fear not –My food imagination will not run a muck. So many choices. The consistency of every dish I had, completely blew my mind. Having switched to being a Vegpesc 3 weeks ago, the idea of what meat looked and tasted like was nothing new to me. So as I bit into the soy substitutions and thought I was biting into beef or chicken or shrimp for that matter, my palette was going berserk! Loved it!
Ordered Tocho, Adobo, Pancit, Fried Shrimp, Lumpia, and Giniling. I can’t say it enough, but the textures were completely off the wall, unexpected for Vegan food. Meaning-​everything tasted like meat, but alas, was NOT. We also ordered brown rice to accompany. We ate to our heart’s content and believe me, mine was singing like a mockingbird or more like a macaw actually. Can’t wait for dessert in the future. Maybe? OOoooo I could just picture some Vegan Puto right now. Halo-​halo? I will «go dumb!» if this happens. Or «dumber» cause I went «dumb» after my first bite of food here.
I was honored at the end of our meal to meet Jay (Jay-Ar’s bro-​Hope I got the sp right?) and he was more than humble and elated at our first experience there. He was like family and I had to hug him and thank him for such a delightful meal.
I left feeling full, amazingly happy, and presently missing what is now on my list of favorite places to eat. Jay-​Ar and his team can feed me anytime.

Good vegan food. Decent prices. Has some kinks to work out.
Vegan Filipino food is something that has definitely been needed. I can’t think of many traditional Filipino dishes that aren’t horribly bad for you. Thank you, No Worries!
Came here for opening night, and at first it didn’t look too crowded (around 630pm), and there were a few four seater tables open. Unfortunately, there were no tables for two left, and the staff wouldn’t seat us at a four seater. =/​We left our names and then left for a while to get a car, and got back around 715. During that 45 minutes it got pretty packed.
We got seated around 730, and ordered the fried shrimp ($ 5.95, vegan shrimp marinated in lemon juice and soy sauce, dipped in eggless batter and deep fried), the kare kare ($ 8.95, soy meat, eggplant, string beans and cabbage in peanut sauce), and the giniling ($ 8.95, soy ground beef sauteed with garlic and fried potatoes, peas and carrots).
They were having some issues with their ice machine, so it took a little while to get our drinks. Our appetizer fried shrimp came about a half hour later. It was a long wait, but it was pretty good! I’m assuming it was made out of some kinda yam, but it looked, tasted, and tasted shrimp-​like! There were nine pieces, served with slightly spicy sweet and sour sauce.
Another half hour later, we finally got our entrees. =/​The kare kare was DELICIOUS! The color didn’t quite look like real kare kare that I’m used to, but the peanut sauce flavor was there. The veggies were nice and fresh, and I liked that the eggplant wasn’t cooked to mush. The pork substitute in it tasted like and had the texture of pork. It was a pleasant surprise. We killed this one.
The giniling was the disappointment of the three. The veggies and the sauce were good, but the «beef»… it wasn’t a good substitute. It didn’t taste like beef at all. It tasted and felt like cut up marinated boca burger. It tasted alright, but the kare kare blew it away.
After we packed up our leftovers and got the bill, a worker that hadn’t served us came over to our table to thank us and apologize for the wait, and explained that they’re still working some kinks out, and will be getting their wait times down. A very nice gesture. All of their staff was very nice and tried to be accomodating, besides the seating issue.
I want to try more of their menu, but I will probably stay away from their «beef.» I can’t wait to try out their fish dishes. Hopefully the kinks get worked out soon so I can up my rating.

Not only is Jay-Ar’s vegetarian renditions of Filipino favorites great tasting and unique on their own, Jay-​Ar himself is a testament to Filipino innovation and the importance of family. And this guy has guts.
But before that, let me talk about his food. Two of my favorites…
1) Chicken Afritada…
Chicken Afritada first off is usually salty and has too many damn red bell pepper skins in it. But Jay-Ar’s is very well-​balanced in flavor, content, and believe it or not, his addition of soy protein is not a substitute for the chicken. To me, it is an upgrade.
2) Bistek…
I’ve become convinced that vegetarian cuisine is not the «healthy alternative», but is the next phase of human society! I was convinced of this when I bit into the strips of soy, thinking they would be «tofu-​ey» and nothing like beef. However, like the afritada, the flavors were deeply infused into the soy meat, and somehow Jay-​Ar harnessed a certain texture to it so that it competed very well with the traditional beef strips found in this Filipino dish.
And now Jay-​Ar. I was fortunate to hear him speak at a Filipino food symposium on whether bringing Filipino cuisine «mainstream» involved innovating it or keeping it original.
He mentioned that after his mom’s heart attack, he began experimenting with different alternatives of his mom’s favorite Filipino dishes. Which struck a chord with me because my mom had a stroke in 2005, which was highly attributed to her diet, stress, and sedentary lifestyle here in the US.
Last but not least, to keep innovating and improving his renditions of traditional Filipino dishes into healthy ones for those in a very stressful, stationary, American lifestyle takes a lot of courage. Filipino-​Americans can be very purist and traditional, yet Jay-​Ar has been at this for quite some time now, despite the disapproval of meat-​lovers of all ethnicities who do not believe using soy ingredients to substitute for the meats found in many dishes. Especially Filipino dishes.
Jay-Ar’s passion to take on bringing both vegetarian AND Filipino cuisine to the forefront, day in and day out, is the most important ingredient to his dishes. Be sure to order at least one of his trays for your party and find out for yourself.