there are a lot of great vegan-friendly restaurants just outside of los angeles, and i gotta say that green temple in redondo beach is one not to miss. they have a huge entirely vegetarian menu where lots of stuff can be veganized—don’t let their online menu fool you; they offer much more than that. salads, bowls, burgers and mexican food can all be found at green temple.
i hit up green temple for the first time over the weekend with my husband and ordered the tofu bowl, which came with tons of beans, savory tofu and the famous tofu sauce…all of which was beyond delicious.
tofu bowl: organic brown rice, organic black or pinto beans, oranic tofu served with organic tofu sauce. $10
the scrumptious tofu was grilled perfectly and the TOFU SAUCE was some of the best sauce i’ve ever tried. i can’t even write about how good the sauce was. although it was tasty, the tofu bowl wasn’t really a bowl at all. it was a plate, and it really didn’t have much food on it for $10. i guess you pay a premium for off the hook sauce.
my husband ordered the temple green salad, which was also delicious.
temple green salad: organic hand torn green leaf lettuce, shredded beets and carrots, organic mixed greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocados and seasonal sprouts. $12
while there was nothing to fault taste-wise about the salad, it really wasn’t worth $12. it was just a salad with vegetables, no protein or anything. that’s more than most vegan places charge for a huge salad overflowing with crazy fake meats and soy cheese. the temple green salad did come with a nifty piece of bread and tahini sauce for dipping, though. that went down pretty well.
for what we got, our meal was pretty expensive. i’m guessing you pay higher prices at green temple because the atmosphere has the potential to be incredible. there are a few tables in doors, and then a bunch of outdoor seating in a peaceful courtyard with tons of plants and a trickling fountain. when we were there though, all the indoor seats were full and we had to sit outside in the december beach cold. plus the service was pretty awful; we waited ages for our food, the waiter was inattentive, and a member of the staff looked at my husband like he was crazy when he asked where the bathroom was.
brrrrrrrrr. sitting outside at green temple.
so the bottom line is, the food at the green temple is great, but pricey. i’m sure under the right circumstances though, it would be well worth it. if the weather was great, or if we had a seat inside and someone who actually gave a fuck was waiting on us, everything would have been perfect. i will definitely go back to green temple again and give it another chance. the tofu sauce is calling me.
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9:40 am on December 17th, 2008
The tofu bowl looks so good!
10:33 am on December 17th, 2008
Awww, I hate when waiters are so careless that they make you feel as if your presence is inconveniencing them. Ugh. Your tofu and bean and saucy plate looks awesome, though! Usually I don’t mind paying a certain price if I feel the value is there, so it stinks that they didn’t give you too much food. Even if the tofu sauce rocked.
Of course, you food photos are beautiful. Thanks for the review!
11:24 am on December 17th, 2008
The tofu bowl/plate looks tasty and the salad looks lovely, though I agree that at $12 that looks to be quite a ripoff. I’m just imagining some of the ginormous salads we can get around here for less than that but twice the size and ingredients. From the picture it doesn’t look much bigger than your average dinner side salad!
Poor customer service always bums be out, even more so than bad food. Maybe wait to go back till it’s warmer out, more people will be sitting out on the patio, so maybe the waitstaff will be less lame about going out their to serve customers.
11:49 am on December 17th, 2008
That’s one of the few veg restaurants I walked in, looked at the menu and said, ah I’d rather spend my $ somewhere more inventive
A little too vegan 1.0?
8:39 pm on December 17th, 2008
I have friends who are in Redondo Beach often! I’ll keep it in mind in case I visit. The plate looks delicious!
10:33 pm on December 17th, 2008
That tofu bowl looks CRAZY with all that sauce. Fuck a $12 salad!
2:30 pm on December 18th, 2008
that place is basicly the same food as the Spot but more expensive.
9:15 am on March 9th, 2009
Try the tempeh in your “bowl” next time, instead of the tofu. It is so good! I like the portion sizes at the green temple. i usually can finish everything without being stuffed. I’d rather pay the extra money to support a business that is run with such care and integrity. I see the owners twice a week at the Torrance farmer’s market. I usually get out of there for about $20 for lunch or dinner for two people, which is amazingly inexpensive for the quality of the food and experience. Also, the service is better when you treat them as people and friends, rather than “servers.” Also, try the tempeh!
5:02 pm on January 28th, 2010
i have been going to the green temple for about 5 years now. not so much in the past year since prices have raised and my paychecks have decreased, but OH MY GOD. i have had practically every single item on their menu and EVERYTHING blows my mind with deliciousness. the sproutada is a really good salad to get that makes you feel like it’s a bit more worth the price. i highly suggest it if you’re in the mood for salad. but i generally stay away from their plain salads unless i’m feeling RICH. haha.
on a real note though, if i could have a faucet that ran with that tofu sauce, i would pay whatever price to have it, because it is THAT good to me. i’d also like another faucet that had the tahini sauce.
and in response to “street cloud,” yes, they have the same stuff and they’re more expensive but they do everything better than the spot. although i LOVE the spot’s tacos with the burger meat. seriously though, they are way way way better than the spot. the spot cooks ALL of their tofu with like basil or something that just doesn’t taste right with the things they serve it with.
my other favs from my fav restaurant: the burger, the blue plate (comfort foodzzzwaaaksjdhsa), the little tostadas, and of course the tofu bowl.
another side note before i end this way too long comment: every single person i have ever taken here has fallen in love with this place, and 9/10 of those people were hardcore carnivores who thought vegetarian food was disgusting and empty.