The Green Elephant

Definitely just go here. So good. Portions a bit small, only complaint, but I’m a bigger dude tbh.

Maybe it is the lighting. Perhaps the atmosphere. Possibly the energy… Something catches the eye, then the mind, then they desire to enter.
Once inside you feel relaxed inn the comfortable space that feels cozy but not crowded. The hostess and waiters/​waitresses are always welcoming and smiling. They show honest excitement for your coming in.
The food is scrumptious. The menu offers delights for everyone’s Asian influenced vegetarian cuisine taste. If your are feeling adventurous ask them to choose and I promise you, you won’t be sorry.
The food is like art, and the dining experience feels like a mindfulness meditation practice.
Price may be the only deterrent but for a once a month venture it won’t break the bank.

Only thing holding this place back from a 5 star review is the prices. They’re a little steep for my blood. This place won’t lose my business over the prices, I’m just saying I would be wondering over to the Green Elephant more often if they were a little more poor people friendly
The food, location and service = 5 stars

This place’s food is so tasty. Portions run a little small, so feel free to try things out. Anything with curry in it is really nice!

This is a wonderful spot, I highly recommend it. They have a lot of great options for healthy dishes and the presentation is fabulous.

Always one of my favorite go-to’s. Meat eaters won’t even miss the meat!

One of my favorite restaurants. Ever.
Each time I come here or get takeout my one and only battle is to decide between all of these delectable dishes. Coconut soup, asparagus salad, veggies with brown rice & PEANUT SAUCE (YUM!), fresh spring rolls. I also tried their fried bananas with coconut vegan ice cream recently… to DIE FOR. I want the ice cream by the gallon. I actually did ask the server if I could order some to go by the pint and she kindly informed me who the local creator was! Oh– and the service is always on point. Very friendly, very mellow.

Celiacs beware!
Ixnay the Ixnay –
I was out at Green Elephant Restaurant in Portland last week and, after specifically ordering gluten free entrees, I asked about any hard cider they might have on tap. They suggested the new «gluten free» Ixnay from Geary’s. So I ordered it. And got sick. Whaaa?
I was careful in ordering my meal, so I suspected the beer and visited the Geary’s website for more information — the fine print reads:
«Some people with severe sensitivities to gluten, or people who have been diagnosed with celiac disease, might still experience a reaction to gluten-​removed beer.»
The waiter did not ask if my gluten-​avoidance was severe or not, nor did I have any reason to believe that this beer from Geary’s was anything other than having been brewed with gluten-​free ingredients. (I’ve been celiac for 15 years, I’ve never heard of «gluten-​removed» beer.)
I am puzzled why, in this modern world of incredible beers, Geary’s would bother to brew a «gluten-​removed» beer if people who need a gluten free diet can’t drink it?
All of this rises great concern about Green Elephant and what THEY mean by their «gluten free» meals…
If you are celiac, proceed with caution.

Cutest vegan Thai restaurant!
The sister restaurant of Boda (Thai tapas), The Green Elephant is a beautiful vegetarian Asian Fusion spot that does not skimp on taste or décor! I loved how every wall had a different theme, and different paintings and décor made each section of the restaurant look like a completely unique restaurant. We came in for lunch on a weekday and it was pretty much empty, but the staff was neither too attentive nor lacking, which was the perfect balance.
+ TEMPURA ASPARAGUS SALAD: This is not your average salad, as it had fried asparagus, red onions, egg, cilantro, cilantro, scallions, and a coconut milk/​chili dressing. It was a heavy way to start our meal, but I liked the twist on this salad.
+ PAD THAI: This pad thai is gluten free and tasted just like other pad thai I’ve had at traditional Thai restaurants. It wasn’t as oily and I didn’t feel guilty after eating this!
+ TOFU TIKKA MASALA: The masala curry sauce had chick peas, tofu, and edamame making this a very chunky curry! It was hearty paired with the brown rice, peas, and carrots and added a lot of texture. This is a very healthy twist on a classic dish.
+ FRIED BANANA: The presentation of this dessert was stellar! It comes with two fried banana balls and two balls of coconut ice cream. The batter was very light, and the coconut ice cream but light, icy, and perfect next to it.
TIPS:
* vegan & gluten free
* substitute coconut milk or cream for any drinks and dessert
* option to have entrees without hard boiled egg
* bathroom is very cute and well decorated!

One of the excellent restaurants we have been to. The taste was great. We went on a Saturday night and had a brief wait time of 15 minutes but we got the table quicker than expected. We were looking for vegan and vegetarian options. We found many options.
We had tofu nuggets and prawn Mushroom pakoda as appetizers. Tofu nuggets almost tasted like chicken nuggets and Mushroom like prawn my friend said. For main course we ate penang curry with soy meat (4 out of 4 spicy), Tempeh peanut curry, drank Chilean wine while our friend sipped white ale. The dinner was very delicious. The spice was different in that, we didn’t feel at first. Then it hit us. But it wasn’t too spicy for Indians, just right amount of spicy. We eat very spicy. Tempeh and soy meat were well done.
Highly recommend this place for dinner.

Okay so I had really high hopes for this place based on what I have heard about it… unfortunately a few things fell flat for me.
The saving grace for my experience at the green elephant was the food. It was absolutely delicious, and definitely lived up to its reputation. The service on the other hand was terrible.
So we had to wait a little bit for a table and as we were sitting there waiting we saw that a table was coming up to complain about their seat and that they wanted to move. They decided to leave their seat and give it to us. The moment we sat down we realized exactly why they wanted to move. The table next to us was playing the drums on their water glasses with their chopsticks… this is not a joke. It was horribly inappropriate and very disruptive and they. My friend was so uncomfortable, and we could barely hear each other over their drumming. My friend asked if we could move as well which they were accommodating with but they gave us attitude about. They seemed miffed that we wanted to move and the other couple wanted to move. So here’s my note, if two different tables are refusing to sit at a table because of the behavior from another table that should make the host want to talk to said table but nothing was done about it and the couple that sat there after us got up and asked to move as well.
We were seated at a nice quiet table. The menu was so fun to read, everything sounded so delicious and we were stuck on so many things. It took our waitress quite a while to even notice us. I had to put my hand up and signal her and she had this look of «oh yeah I forgot» on her face. She took a drink order and we got to looking at the menu some more. We ended up splitting the Vegetable Dumplings and my friend got the Pad Thai and I got the Thai Ginger Noodles.
I ordered a Sauvignon Blanca and didn’t care for it at all, it was very dry and didn’t taste good to me at all. I told the waitress and she actually took it off with no problems which I was impressed with.
All three food items were exceptional. I was so impressed! I have not dabbled enough in tofu to really appreciate it but I definitely am a fan of it after my meal tonight. It was crispy and delicious and the texture did not put me off at all. The dumplings were so tasty and the sauce they came with was perfect. My friends pad Thai was one of the best I have ever had. My Thai ginger noodles were very good, my only complaint is that their version of 1 star is basically no heat what so ever and it was really lacking that heat element for me. So I asked for some chili flake to jazz it up a bit.
I will be going back yes but I am really hoping the service will be better! I already know that I want to try for next time.
(Asparagus salad I’m coming for you!)

Delicious food. Friendly service. Warm atmosphere.
I really enjoyed my meal: a coconut soup and a salad topped with rice noodles. The tamarind dressing was especially good. My only complain was the lack of a bar. They have beer and wine only.

I am so thankful for this restaurant. I am sad that it is the only dedicated 100% vegetarian and mostly vegan restaurant in Portland but they do such a great job that it’s almost okay. Their spicy soy sticks are amazing, their brussel sprouts are tasty, and their stir fry and noodle dishes are scrumptious. The atmosphere is very clean and modern, and the servers are always pleasant.
Now, let me tell you about dessert.
The chocolate orange mousse pie alone is something worth going to The Green Elephant for! The filling’s texture is smooth, silky, and velvet soft. Its dark chocolate flavor is out of this world — with a kiss of orange to brighten things up. The crust is made with Oreos but somehow tastes more sophisticated than that. This, I tell ya, is one of the best desserts I have EVER had. And it happens to be vegan… you would never even know it was vegan unless someone told you!

I went here for lunch with a friend while visiting Portland for the weekend. The staff is very friendly and attentive and the food was great !
My friend and I both had the peanut curry. I was pleasantly surprised how delicious it was. I would come here again if I was in the area for sure!

For me, The Green Elephant has been and continues to be one of the best restaurants in the city. Throughout the years, they’ve — at least in my experience — never had a misstep or stumble with the quality and consistency of the food, the space, or the service. Every time I come it’s a near perfect experience, I leave full, I leave well taken care of by my server, and I leave wondering why it is I don’t come here more often (because it truly is a chameleon of a restaurant, effortlessly accommodating of romantic date nights or groups of friends celebrating a birthday).
Service:
On top of things without ever being invasive. Quick without ever rushing. Helpful without being pushy.
Space:
It’s minimalism meets Buddhism meets Portland, ME meets warmth and homeyness. If one can envision that!
Drinks:
+ Red wine here always hits the spot, but…
+ For me, it’s all about the tea, specifically their namesake blend.
Appetizers:
+++ Soy Nuggets (served with chili sauce), vegan, $ 7: Sometimes I just come here and get a couple (yes, a couple) plates of these. They’re so «meaty» and filling and delicious. If you really want to impress your omnivore friend, start with these.
+ Crispy Wontons (stuffed with soy cheese and spinach and served with chili sauce), vegan, $ 7: Definitely for the more «advanced» herbivore or adventurous omnivore. I don’t think they taste like soy at all, and I do still eat cheese. We always forget about these, because we’re blinded by the Soy Nuggets, but these are SO GOOD. And help fill that crab rangoon void!
+ Steamed Edamame, vegan and gluten free, $ 7: You can’t really go wrong with steamed edamame, am I right?
Entrees:
+++ Siamese Dream Curry Noodle (rice noodles, snow peas, carrots, red peppers, tofu, soy-​meat, fried shallots, cashew nuts and spinach in a thick coconut curry soup), vegan, $ 16: I can’t even begin to describe my obsession with the bowl of food, so I won’t. But it’s probably one of my top three favorite meals in the whole city. Every single element in it is perfect and divine. There’s SO MUCH FOOD, too, so come hungry… or prepare for leftovers on this one.
+ Peanut Curry (slow cooked in coconut milk with soy-​meat, chickpeas, sweet potatoes, carrots and onions), vegan, $ 14: Stick-​to-​your-​ribs comfort food right here. It’s thick, it’s coconut curryish, it’s hearty in an autumnal kind of way. Very, very good.
+ Chinese Broccoli with Crispy Breaded Soy Filet (stir-​fried broccoli, Chinese broccoli, carrots and Thai bird chili in a brown sauce), vegan, $ 12: Always a good choice; it feels very «meat and potatoes», only sans meat and potatoes — hopefully that made sense!
+ Veggie Citrus «Spare Ribs» (stir-​fried with broccoli, carrots, bok choy, zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers and onions), vegan, $ 15: This was the first thing I ever ate here, and I’m glad it was — it was the perfect introduction to The Green Elephant menu. Its simple, fresh, and filling.
— Pineapple Brown Rice (sun flower seeds, soy-​meat, sweet corn, peas, carrots, scallions and egg), vegetarian, $ 12: The only thing I’ve had here that I genuinely didn’t like. It was dry, it didn’t really taste anything like pineapple, and was underwhelming.
Desserts:
+++ Chocolate orange mousse pie: It’s not on their menu online, but it’s usually available. It’s creamy, decadent, rich, and chocolatey with just a hint of orange. Imagine those candies you smash and they break into perfect orange wedges… gone vegan and in pie-​form!
Thank you, Green Elephant, for being an oasis in Portland all these years for those of us with plant-​based diets to take refuge at.

Despite the great reviews here on Unilocal,my visit was not as pleasant. The have a decent variety of Asian Vegetarian options. The food was «OK» not great, not bad. The portions were big. Too big.
What was NOT OK, was our waitress. She was rude and she messed up my friends order. When she was told she messed up my friends order, she told my friend that SHE was wrong. Um, my friend knows what she ordered. There were 3 of us at the table, we all knew what she ordered. My friend decided to keep the mistaken entrée, but the waitress never got any friendlier. She didn’t apologize, and was just flat out rude.
She was completely unpleasant, and as a result I would never go back to this place. There are plenty of places with better options and friendly professional service.

Lovely atmosphere, wait staff was very attentive and friendly. Order the Brussels Sprouts to start. They’re incredible!

I am a Washington DC Unilocaler, and I wish our vegetarian scene had a place like Green Elephant.
Green Elephant is an Asian fusion vegetarian restaurant in downtown Portland. My local friend had heard of the restaurant from many people, so we decided to try it. I’m so glad we came — they did not disappoint! We came without a reservation at 7pm on Sunday, and immediately got a table.
I ordered the green curry that comes with brown rice. They added a bunch of green vegetables — broccoli, green beans, and sprouts. They made it a real «green» curry! For most dishes, they ask for your spicy level from a 0 to 4 scale. I asked for the 4, assuming that they’d be weak with the spiciness… Boy, was I wrong! I had to chug water after each sip and my lips were burning afterwards.
My friend ordered the local mushroom bowl (the current special) and it was earthy and warm. I really enjoyed trying some of hers.
It’s a fantastic restaurant with extremely friendly staff. I highly recommend coming here.

This Thai inspired restaurant serves edamame. Translation: it is vegetarian food with Asian-​Thai-​specific inspiration. For those of you who go to all-​veg restaurants, you know very well what that often means: not authentic for any cuisine but vegetarian cuisine. It took me several days to be inspired enough to go here because the lines are always long and… The menu… is so vegetarian. With a rainstorm in tow, I figured: why not?
Ok… So… What was everyone else ordering? Noodle and fried rice dishes. Ok. That seems like a good idea.
Another note about this place is that they don’t bother with fake meat, so that is kind of cool. They have tofu and tempeh for protein slabs and chunks. There are also some dishes with egg. It’s nice that the menu identifies when egg is in a dish because Thai restaurants are notorious for egging things up without denoting as much in the menu description.
More importantly for the folk affected by allergy and dietary choices, the menu is brilliantly marked with what is vegetarian vs vegan, how to veganize, as well as what’s gluten free and, if possible, how to make it gf when it is originally not gf. Cool.
Still, the big issue for my palate is this place is veg first and Thai/​pan-​Asian second. The food is decent, but salty. The portions are good, not too big or too small. There’s a lunch menu and dinner menu with a lot of overlap. Lunch is slightly less busy than dinner. The salads looked to be the most aesthetically pleasing dishes, but I suppose anything looks fabulous when compared to a veggie stir fry with a mound of brown rice.
I doubt I will come back. It’s not bad, but the high salt in the dishes and mediocre at best flavor profiles left me unsatisfied.

Yet another instance where savvy Unilocalers have led me in the right direction when in an unfamiliar place, thank you! Though I wouldn’t necessarily jump at the chance to go to a vegetarian pan-​Asian restaurant, I’m glad I trusted in the many rave reviews as I had a wonderful lunch. Due to awful weather and an early lunchtime for me, I was in an almost empty restaurant, but judging from the other reviews I would definitely plan ahead for crowds at rush hours as they don’t take reservations.
I was in an Indian state of mind so I went with their tofu masala, which came in a HUGE serving (see photo). The curry had edamame in it which I didn’t expect from an Indian dish but it added a nice texture to it. Definitely not the most authentic tasting curry I’ve ever had, but really flavorful and tasty nonetheless!
The best part about The Green Elephant for me was the friendly and kind service. It was a quiet time at the restaurant and the servers had the perfect balance of attentiveness and also leaving me alone with my book. They also made some great suggestions and actually had real opinions — I hate when I ask what my server’s favorite is and they say ‘everything’s good!’ Then again, that might actually be the case at The Green Elephant as people really seem to flip out over every dish. Guess I’ll just have to come back soon and try my luck with more menu items!