Zen Palate, New York City

Overpriced and not much difference in their dishes mainly because they use the same 3 or 4 different kind of sauces. The food also stays kind of heavy in your stomach which is not a great characteristic for vegetarian food. The highlights would be the spring rolls and the vegetarian "ham", other than that, there are much better vegetarian restaurants that have better dishes and much better prices. Expensive for a vegetarian restaurant.

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Zen Palate is known for its great vegetarian menu. In fact, they are so healthy, they don't even have a bar to emphasize alcohol-consumption, so BYOB (Bring your Own Bottle/Beer/Beverage!). The food here is relatively cheap for what you get, you can spend anywhere from $8-20 on a meal. As New York Metro wrotes: "Much of the menu has familiar Asian staples such as noodle soup, spring rolls and steamed vegetables; some corners are hardcore veggie (faux ham with low-cal conjex- whatever that is!) or just plain strange (moo-shu Mexican style?)."

Either way, Zen Palate is great for a cheap but filling Japanese meal. Also, there is outdoor seating! The first floor is more casual, with people eating at the bar. The Mezzanine has traditional japanese seating (on cushions, not chairs) and upstairs is more formal, classy seating, overlooking Union Square Park.

Favorite Dish: Sweet yam fries (($2.75), eggplant in garlic sauce ($7.95) and the harvest delight salad ($8.35)

Top rated vegetarian restaurant, offers a varied assortment of vegetarian dishes including stir-fried noodles, "Felicity Mushrooms" (Fresh Shiitake & Button Mushrooms Sauteed with Basil, Bamboo Shoots & Carrots), and "Tofu Delight" (Zucchini, Tomatoes, Soft Tofu in Black Bean Sauce, with Taro Spring Rolls, Brown & Red Rice).

I go to the one in Union Square, not the one in the Theatre District.

I have especially fond memories of Zen Palate because, looking back, I'd have to say that eating there during my first trip to NYC in 1998 was my first real fine dining experience, and one that has launched me on the path to being a culinary afficionado to a certain extent.

There was an intriguing writeup about Zen Palate in the LetsGo travel guide we bought, and we made having dinner there our big splurge for the trip. Back in those days that was a BIG splurge for us.

Neither of us really had any kind of frame of reference for the kind of food to expect. I can't recall exactly what dishes we had. I think we sort of just gave ourselves over to the experience and went with the server's recommendation, which I think was some sort of tasting menu. I remember that it was amazing, and a seriously horizon-broadening moment for me. I'd highly recommend it.

three locations. All very cute. The upstairs in union square is the actual restaurant, and the cafe is downstairs. Both menus are very good, the vibe upstairs is a little more elegant, but downstairs is really fun and cute. Uptown 46th, the back is the restaurant. My favorite one. They have two little rooms by the windows . You can pay ten dollars extra to have your private room, and you get to sit on japanese style with the door closed. I bring all of my friends and family here. Makes it much nicer.

This restaurant is so, so good. I worship thee, Zen Palate, even if you are kinda pricey.
There's plenty of room and several locations for this restaurant. I usually go to the location in Union Square. I've never had to wait longer than ten minutes for a table.

Favorite Dish: The Yam fries are incredible. So are the scallion pancakes. In fact, I'd say I've eaten most of their appetizers and they're all good. Their taro spring rolls are my favorite.

For main dishes, my favorites are the SHEPHERD'S PIE CROQUETTES, ROSE PETALS, and the HARVEST DELIGHT SALAD. The main entrees aren't too pricey...but it can add up. On average the entrees are about nine bucks. They also have awesome noodle/pasta dishes that are very filling and quite affordable (about six bucks). My favorite noodle dish is Stir-Fried Spinach Linguine with Vegetables.

Ohhh! And they have great iced teas, although pricey. $2.50 for a large iced tea is kinda silly, but if you feel like splurging, the cranberry flavor is really good!

The New Age atmosphere at this sleek, serene vegetarian gourmet shop/restaurant is a welcome respite from the hustle-and-bustle of the city. The noodle and rice dishes are exemplary, and the nondairy banana pie tastes surprisingly rich.

Zen Palate has to be the best vegetarian restaurant in New York. Well it's a toss up between this restaurant and Gobo (see my tip on Gobo Restaurant). The food is great superb at both (the restaurants are all within the same family). The food at Zen Palate rocks, and this coming from a big time meat eater. My wife certainly enjoys visiting because she's vegetarian. I certainly recommend a visit.

Zen Palate is the place for eating balanced vegetarian food that indulges one with the original flavor of the art "Zen."

They now have 4 locations, check their website for location, delivery, and for their menu.

Favorite Dish: Sweet Yam Fries are great!
Vegetable Dumplings are great!
Sweat and Sour Delight is excellent!