Eden’s Vegetarian

Alex is a great host and cook! His passion for cooking reflects in his delicious food. The restaurant is built inside a house so it’s easy to mistake it for just a house. So be aware, THIS PLACE HAS DINE — IN!!! And if you call Alex before and tell him what you’d like to eat, he’ll make it for you! How cool is that?!

Such a great find. The food is surprisingly excellent. The food was made to order and was extremely tasty.
We had brown rice with black beans and chickpeas, BBQ ribs which was made out of soy and amazingly good, fresh steamed vegetables and a salad. The chef /​owner, Alex, was personable and friendly with a desire to make people healthy.

A wonderful discovery minutes off if I-​95!
My husband and I stopped in during a long drive home from vacation. Traveling as a vegan can be hard so this was a great find. From the moment we walked in the door Eden’s owner and chef Alex made us feel like family.
If you can, call ahead and let them know you’re coming in. This helps them to better prepare meal options. We didn’t call but lucked out as they had several yummy options.
Everything was served family style. We opted for the Bbq «ribs» and curry «chicken». Both were delicious and served with rice and beans, potatoes and collards. The food and the atmosphere make you feel as if you’re dining at the home of a vegan friend vs at a restaurant close to the highway.
If you’re traveling or happen to live near by, don’t miss out!

Loved the mashed potatoes and the steamed veggies. The lentil soup was amazing! They only had the lasagna when we went, so that’s what we had. We didn’t get menus and when he told us what they had, there were no prices attached. We got two big pieces of lasagna (we split one for both of us and it felt super filling), two mashed potatoes, two salads and one soup for about $ 35 before tip. Our toddler loved the lasagna and the steamed veggies too. She also had the run of the place, which was empty except for us. The man who ran the place was very friendly and service was fantastic. I was more of a fan of the lasagna than my wife — I’m not vegan or vegetarian though, and I was honestly hoping that some of the other items on the menu would be available when we searched the place out after finding it on Unilocal.I’m not a big fan of soy pretending to be meat or cheese. They did a fairly good job of hiding it, and it was filling, I was just hoping for a chickpea or black bean burger as I saw on the menu. Not a big selection here if that’s what you’re looking for, but what they had was good.

I am very glad to have found this restaurant in North Carolina on a recent drive from Florida to DC on that ribbon of highway known as I-​95. The restaurant’s close proximity to I-​95 is the traveler’s good luck (Exit 93). For anyone in the Smithfield area, you have a gem amongst you.
This is a great restaurant. Full stop. No extras. No qualifiers. My wife and I ate lunch at Eden this past Wednesday. It was one of the best meals I have had — anywhere, breakfast, lunch or dinner.
More than being vegan or vegetarian, Eden is really about creative, fresh and appetizing food. Vegan or vegetarian food is based on it’s ingredients — it is not a cuisine such as Chinese or Italian. Eden features original soups and entrees and dishes drawing on Caribbean, Indian and barbecue flavors, as well as unique salads and desserts.
We arrived about 1:30pm — the web site says lunch til 2pm. We were seated and greeted by the chef who explained lunch was being served family style featuring a choice from four entrees — curried «chicken», bbq «ribs», a chickpea burger and something that is escaping my memory, along with rice & peas, mixed vegetables and a salad. We chose the curry «chicken» and the chickpea burger.
The whole meal, served family style on serving plates, was excellent. Colorful and fresh salad, lettuce based, made to order, preceded the entrees. The curry «chicken» and the rice & peas were exceptional. The curry «chicken» is a well balanced yellow curry — Caribbean style curry. Even done spicy, it is mild to other curries. Very tasty. For me as a non-​meat eater (Yes I know fish is meat) and someone who likes wheat meat (seiten), tofu and such stuff, the mock chicken was great. Just get it out of your mind that it is supposed to be chicken. It isn’t but do you want to call it wheat meat? And did I say that the sauce is tasty? Very very tasty. And the rice & peas — top notch — true to Caribbean original style with unique original flavor flourish.
The chickpea burger was great — served with a tomato sauce on top and no bun. The tomato sauce was flavorful and fresh tasting. Chickpea burgers are not about light and fluffy — even when cooked with eggs. These burgers were solid but not dense and the sauce kept it from being too dry.
Mixed vegetables were an al dente medley of broccoli, carrots and some others with a light sauce. Very satisfying.
Dessert was a carrot cake with lots more than carrots in it — dried fruit and nuts made for lots of flavor — and fresh cantaloupe and watermelon — a great wrap up to a wonderful lunch.
We are looking forward to our next stop — will call ahead too.
(My biases — pescetarian — for close to 40 years my diet is oriented towards vegetarian with some fish. I live in a family that eats meat more than occasionally. I have lived with vegans. And I have eaten vegan food that I would not eat again just as I have eaten meat food that I would not again.)

Wow, what an unexpected delight we found on our way home from Myrtle Beach! Alex and his wife run a small, lovely vegetarian restaurant just minutes off 95 in Smithfield, NC. My husband and younger son are vegetarians, so eating on the road, especially in the South, (my Yankee husband refers to it as the Land of the Fried Napkin) is often a challenge. The food at Eden’s was tasty, filling and fully satisfied all of us, herbivores and omnivores. That doesn’t always happen.
We had the lasagna, the black bean burger and the curry «chicken,» all were wonderful. The sides, rice and field peas and collards were incredible as well, even for me, an NC native who is used to collards cooked with meat. Alex’s homemade chickpea and sunflower seed salad dressing was just plain delicious, if you’re lucky, he’ll have made some for your visit, too.
All in all, this little gem of a restaurant is a definite don’t-miss, whether you’re a vegetarian or not — the food and the atmosphere are lovely and we’ll definitely be stopping here again.

We went to Eden last night a group of 3. Two non vegetarian and one vegetarian. Alex the chef made us feel welcomed and comfortable. He served us family style and it was nice, relaxing and delicious! We would recommend calling ahead. It was excellent dinner and had amazing flavors. And, We would all go back.

The review by April S. says it well!
I dined here for lunch today, and though everything was fresh and wholesome, it didn’t blow me away.
We each started with a cup of delicious pureed squash/​carrot/​sweet potato soup, @ $ 3.75. My wife had the «meatloaf», with curry sauce on the side, comprised mostly of nuts and grains. Texture was entirely too soft. I had the soy bbq, and found this to be very chewy, like calamari. Flavor was good. The accompaniment of freshly steamed vegetables, a medley of carrots, broccoli, and onions, was excellent. Our mains were $ 11 each.
We passed on dessert.
TIP: Call before coming.

A top choice for Vegans. Convenient to I-​95! Expertly prepared meals.

A co-​worker of my husband’s referred us to this place. We had tried the vegetarian lifestyle for a week or so and actually didn’t mind it at all. The location is an old Victorian style home with a wrap around porch. Located in a nice quaint neighborhood.
Alex, the owner and exec chef, greeted us with a friendly smile. *a heads up – call or email ahead of time to let him know you’re coming in and how many. He prepares all his dishes fresh and likes to know what to have ready for your party!*
email:

I had the vegan «chicken» and curry and my husband had the vegan oatmeal burger. We also had a family style vegetable curry rice. Everything was delicious and he prepares it to your liking. He asks ahead for spice level and if you have any allergies let him know and he will accommodate.
Be sure to check the website for specific hours of dining. They are closed Sat and Mon.
We’ll def be back to try other stuff! Happy Tasting!