Long Life Vegi House

i love the fake duck omfg. it tastes just like the real thing. (kinda) i always come here when i’m in town. and its just satisfies my cravings. :d

This is probably the best value lunch in the Bay Area.
The lunch special is a «rice plate» & just $ 5.99 w/​tax or $ 6.52 including tax including:
hot & sour soup w/​tofu & seaweed
spring roll w/​dipping sauce
entrée of choice many vegan options to choose from
choice between brown or white rice
For my entrée I recently went the Broccoli vegi-​chicken made from seitan w/​spices. It came with heaps of broccoli even more so than the vegi-​chicken which I preferred.
Recently on another visit I had the tofu w/​spicy garlic sauce. I added broccoli which it doesn’t come with normally for just $ 1 more & this is well worth doing. I think I preferred the spicy tofu w/​broccoli more than the Broccoli vegi-​chicken yet both are worth trying.
Long Life Vegi House isn’t an all vegan restaurant although I think I was here many moons ago when it was all vegan. Now they also offer «real» seafood along w/​veggies & rice.
Vegan hip hop singer Erykah Badu & «former vegan» turned «current pescetarian» rapper Common could dine here together. They were once a couple who remained friends!
Vegan & pescetarian U.N.I.T.Y. that’s a unity!

Oh my,
I have really mixed feelings about this restaurant. I was actually looking forward to trying Long Life Vegi House because I’ve heard it’s been a historical restaurant in Berkeley AND it’s Asian Vegetarian. How great is that?
Let’s start with the good. First off, prices are ridiculously inexpensive. You can get a complete lunch for about 6 – 8 $. This is complete with the main dish, soup, as well as an eggroll if that interests you. Food comes out VERY fast and service is friendly and efficient. If you want cheap fast food thats not Chinese express, go for Long Life Vegi House. The bonus is that they also have seafood which I may try later.
However, there’s a reason why this place is probably so inexpensive. Even though you barely dent your wallet, most of the portion size you get is pretty much all vegetables. And not chicken that’s made of veggies, but literally squash, zucchini, etc. For example, I ordered a Kung Pao Chicken plate and although portion size was huge, I was mostly chomping on cubes of zucchini. Yuck! But that’s the tradeoff with cheaper prices?
And furthermore, the vegetable substituted meat really didn’t impress me. I’ve had experiences where veggie chicken actually tasted like chicken. The consistency, crunchiness, etc… was all reminiscent of the real deal. However, here it seemed like the veggie version was literally just pieces of tofu. And so why not just call it kung pao tofu…
Even with the drawbacks on the food, which were many, I still think Long Life Vegi House is a solid option if you want inexpensive food. Just dont expect 5 star restaurant with 5 star taste. As an alternative, I would suggest you try Chengdu’s togo bar if you want fast, inexpensive food.
Overall, 4 stars for price and efficiency but 2 for taste.
Eat well and prosper,

Really love this place.
It’s hard to find a place with so many vegetarian options, let alone Chinese food. I know many non vegetarians who love the food as well. Huge serving sizes for cheap prices. This place is great for groups, it’s family style serving so each person can pick a dish and everyone can share. I’ve been here several times over the past few years. The people are very nice and there isn’t a long wait for your food.
Also love the complementary tea they give you before your meal and orange slices after!

Best veggie meat I’ve had at Berkeley as of yet. It wasn’t perfect, my veggie Mongolian beef was overly oily in its attempt to simulate the fatty flavor of the real thing, but a texture and flavor that is reminiscent of actual meat and perfect amount of seasoning gives it high marks. Rice was decent but nothing special. Tea had a sweet after taste and was free but likewise pretty standard. I kind of wish I had tried their soup, as the portions are very large.

Love this place.
Cheapest lunch in town and great selection.
Love the veggie chicken dishes and the free tea.

Sadly, I discovered this place my last semester of college, and I wish I had discovered it earlier! It’s cheap, has quick service, and the food is pretty good. Plus all the food is vegetarian – score! The lunch special is an awesome deal.
The Lunch Special: I would recommend actually eating here for the food and not taking it out. You get a regular sized entrée, hot & sour soup and a spring roll for just $ 6. They also serve you tea. All the food they give you is freshly made and steaming hot. I usually get the tofu with broccoli and spicy garlic sauce — it’s the perfect balance between savory and salty. The tofu was well made (sometimes a rarity!), and the spring rolls and soup are great compliments. They give you SO much food for the $ 6, a meal could easily be 2 meals.
The atmosphere: During lunch this place can get busy, but it still maintains it’s quiet atmosphere. Most of the tables are large dim-​sum family style tables, so you may have to end up sharing with someone, but the tables are so large, it doesn’t really matter. The waitresses who work are efficient and nice. They always check-​in to see how the food is and if I need anything.

As of this review, i have only been to Long Life Vegi House twice; once as an eat-​in and today was to go. Both times I have ordered the broccoli with Vegi chicken.
The eat-​in experience was a pleasant one. I was seated at the table right next to the window so I could watch the passerbys as I waited for my order. They served me hot tea and a cup of hot and sour soup which was perfect since it was a cold day. When my meal came, it seemed to be almost spilling off the plate. At $ 6.52 (without tip), it’s definitely worth your money. The only slight letdown was the Vegi chicken was a bit salty which is why I ordered it again as to go to see if it would be different.
The to go order was ready within 10 minutes of ordering which is perfect for me as I walk from work to here and only have an hour lunch. They give you a flat box with a napkin, fork, and fortune cookie on top. You could tell they just made it by the warmth of the bag. I couldn’t immediately eat it and took a small walk while I was it and at one point I realized there was an fried egg roll in there as well. I expected that it would be soggy and the thought made me a bit sad, to be honest. I got back to my office and opened the box. It was filled to the top and not just with filler white rice. This restaurant loads on their broccoli and Vegi chicken (and a few pieces of carrots and bamboo) which I appreciate since the broccoli is the reason why I get this dish. The broccoli is so crisp and green; you can just see the freshness before even taking a bite. Oh, and the egg roll? It was somehow still crispy despite being put on top of the white rice and the condensation from the box!
If there was more consistency with the vegi items and saltiness, I’d considering re-​reviewing for 5 stars but for now, it’s a solid 4. And as someone who loves eating meat, this is a nice alternative that still fills me up.

As a vegetarian, this is my go-​to Chinese place around campus. Service is always fast and friendly — as soon as you’re seated you’re brought tea. I recommend the «vegi-​chicken» dishes — in particular the broccoli vegi-​chicken and the vegi-​chicken with orange sauce. The lunch special is a bargain — soup, an eggroll, and an entrée all for ~$ 5. And they do not skimp on portions, an order from long life always lasts me two meals if not more.

This place is my go-​to veggie Chinese place. The prices are too good for the portions. I always go for tofu with broccoli and spicy garlic sauce, it’s a little sweet and the broccoli always has the crunch other places sometimes lack.
Fried taro bun is also super good it’s got that crunch with the softness inside.
Staff are friendly and the owners are on top of their shit. Overall good experience.

Very Fujianese place. They had a seafood rice plate which was above average and a good deal.
We got the dinner meal combo for two, which was below average chinese food. The 2 small spring rolls had nearly no fillings — it was just dough and a little cabbage. Hot and sour soup was nice, and had 木耳 which is great. Broccoli and chicken was very oily, more oily than normal chinese food. We packed it up to go and it never stopped leaking… more and more oil kept pooling out. The dish may be potentially renewable fuel source?
In terms of chinese food, it seems they get away with below-​average quality by marketing themselves as vegetarian. This attracts customers with less discriminating tastebuds…
We would probably return, the price is decent.

Amazing food, great service, unbelievable price. The $ 6 lunch special is a lot of food and really good.

SOooooOO many good choices for veg/​vegan
GO for it
yummy food, fragrant and generally healthy, plus the inside is nice!

awesome place. just went the other day — finally!
cheap food and gigantic proportions! i had food for 3 days — literally!
will def come again.

Long Life Vegi House in downtown Berkeley is SO great! My sister and I found this restaurant the closest vegan place near UC Berkeley.
We got the veggie Mongolian beef and veggie kung pao chicken and they were both delicious! Our waitress was very nice and funny. We had a great time and we have now made a pact to come here every time my sister visits if I get accepted into UC Berkeley. Fingers crossed!

Very quick service, attentive refills on water and whatnot, love the space, right off university, but it’s really quiet and chill.
The food is good, and you get some HUGE portions. The first time I went I was not prepared for the amount of food and didn’t end up finishing. Now I know to only go when I’m really running on empty so I can knock it all out. They also give you your own lil pot of tea which is j’adorable.
Lunch specials run from 1130 – 5 I think – so pretty much all day. I ordered sweet and sour pork once and it was kind of tough and chewy, but the broccoli beef is my new go-​to, and like I said, there’s a ton of it along with a bed of brown rice, a spring roll and a cup of interesting, tasty soup.
The whole thing costs about 6.50 and that is a straight up steal for a full ass vegan meal. AND I got a fortune cookie that said simply, «You are very pretty.» 6 STARS, LOVE IT!!!

I have been here twice. The first visit, I had the steamed dumplings. Those were tasty and hot. I shared them with a friend and he enjoyed the meal. We saw the servers and their children sitting at the back table, shelling green beans.
I recently had a soup and entrée to go. I had the wonton soup and the Mongolian veggie beef. It was ok, nothing stellar. It was the first time I had Mongolian beef without the red chilies put in. I don’t know if this was a mistake.
The family owned restaurant is definitely hole in a wall: Food with reasonable prices and portions in a place in need of renovation. The bathroom floors are old and worn. The toilets and sink looked fairly clean though. Someone etched cute drawings on the mirror. There are awards from the late 90’s hanging up on the wall near the cash register. The service was good on both visits, no complaints here.
Would I travel to Berkeley for the sole purpose of coming here? No, but it is a decent choice for vegetarians/​vegans who want to eat some Chinese food and are close by in the area.

I’m not usually too picky on vegetarian places and remembered that this place was decent from way back when I was in college. I’ve now realized that my palate was much more forgiving in college. We got some veggie dishes (curry chicken and szechuan eggplant) after a movie night in Berkeley and I only ate it because it was hot and I was hungry. The eggplant skin was hard and I had a hard time chowing it down. The curry vegetarian chicken tasted nothing similar to faux chicken and was way too salty. Definitely will not be back.

This is a vegetarian Aland seafood Chinese restaurant. Their lunch specials are around six dollars and includes a soup and a spring roll. It’s definitely a lot of food.
They have veggie beef, chicken, and pork options. I have tried the veggie beef and it was great, the veggie pork was also good but it seemed to be just fried dough pieces with sauce.
It’s worth checking out if you are vegetarian and love Chinese food.

From outside and inside, this place looks like an old establishment. I never bothered to try this place after 3 years in Berkeley because somehow the word «Vegi» turned me off. I’m not a meat lover but I’m very picky when it comes to all-​vegetarian restaurants (ESPECIALLY Chinese. What kind of Chinese restaurant serves fake meat?)
It was 3pm. I had just run 7 miles. I was craving phở so my bf and I walked 1.2 miles to get phở only to realize that restaurant had shut down. I literally threw a tantrum (sorry bf) and my patient bf was persistent in keeping me calm.
At 3pm, not many places were open. This place was. It had great reviews so I decided to give this place a try.
1. Prices. Especially the lunch special prices (which are valid til 5pm). WTF. Hole-​in-​the-​wall prices in a restaurant that was very clean and spacious.
2. Lots of complimentary food. Hot & sour soup (mmmMMm hit the spot), and if you come in before 3pm apparently they also serve free spring rolls.
3. At this point, it was too good to be true. Maybe the food is mediocre? I ordered the «daily special» seafood over rice with spicy garlic sauce. My bf got vegetables over crispy noodles. Both dishes srsly knocked our socks off! THEY WERE SO DELICIOUS! From what I hear, even their «vegi» meats are pretty good. The portions were also huge.
Bonus point for the cute little kid dragging by a waitress (presumably his mother). :’)
The two dishes were not a part of the daily special (which go from $ 5 – 6), so boo hoo our food was more expensive than could have been. Boo hoo $ 13. Booo… hooooo!!! THAT’S AMAZING.
So long, Mandarin Garden. So long, Great China. (JK I might return to Great China when I’m craving good peking duck /​need Chinese food at a fancier restaurant). This place is really awesome and WE’RE DEFINITELY COMING BACK TO TRY MORE OF THEIR DELICIOUS FOOD!