Souen

Had the miso curry ramen lunch special and it was very tasty. So many great vegetables in there but my favorite part of the meal was actually the different dressings that came with the sides. My husband got the salad which was way more delicious than my over streamed mixed veggies. His tahini dill sauce and my miso tahini were amazing though! Service was a little slow but our waitress was super nice, will definitely come back.

Delicious food, good prices, and filling portions. Incredibly slow service. Piece of advice: remind them that you already ordered. Like 5 times.

This place used to be very good, as in 4 stars good. However the service and quality of food have dropped dramatically.
The last time I ordered delivery, they forgot to add dressing for my macro plate. I called the store to pick up the dressing and when i got home, they gave me the wrong one. Poor service all around

Pros: Great food, healthy and flavorful, reasonably priced. The curry miso and tahini miso soups are the best, and I love that this Souen location offers zucchini noodles as an option. Harvest plate is grand as well.
Cons: inconsistent service: sometimes they’re nice, often they’re snarky. They can be quite stingy with proteins and condiments (for example: my harvest plate came with about 1.5 tablespoons of diced tofu, and if you ask for hot sauce, they bring you literally a teaspoon of it and then charge you for it).

When you’re want some delicious food that is guaranteed to leave you feeling thoroughly nourished, healthy, and satisfied. After eating the great dishes from here, I feel like my body is saying THANK YOU — never leaves you with that overstuffed, bloated, bleh. Just the opposite, filling but you feel great.

I used to LOVE Souen (particularly this location) however ever since they re-​opened after the alleged gas leak I find that the portions are SIGNIFICANTLY smaller. I ordered the other day a tofu squash meal to go and it was a size of the small steamed vegetables, with less veggies. I live 5 blocks away and gave the delivery man a 20% tip and he huffed at me.
Hope they improve their portions.

As a vegetarian I was really excited to come here, but I unfortunately I was pretty disappointed. We came on a Thursday night and it was a bit crowded, but we were able to get a table. Everything on the menu sounded really good, but the dish I ordered (squash tofu) was pretty flavorless. The portions was good, but it was pretty blah, and also didn’t actually have much tofu in it. Maybe the ingredients are organic or whatever, but It’s still a little pricey for really unremarkable food.
Service was also very slow all around. They were nice but seemed a little understaffed.
Given how much delicious vegetarian food there is in the East Village, I don’t think I’d return.

Horrible service. We put our name on the wait list, but they crossed it out without even calling us. They told us the wait would be 10 minutes, but ended up being 40 min. Organic ramen was delicious, but they simply need to hire a new hostess.

Honestly really disappointed. Unilocalers you steered me wrong! :(and now I’m hungry. And what SLOW SERVICE JEEZ!
I ordered the Brussels sprouts with peanut sauce — the peanut sauce tasted like absolutely nothing.
I also ordered the miso soup — not tasty at all plus I saw it had mushrooms in it which they didn’t specify that it does — I’m allergic so I sent it back regardless.
I ordered the cooked salmon roll — I had everyone taste it at my table and everyone couldn’t figure out why it tasted so weird and the rice had a nasty texture and taste.
Then my friend and I shared the steamed kale with the sesame vinaigrette and it tasted like water…
All my other friends got ramen and thought it was pretty good.
I just got really unlucky and our waiters barely checked on us and when I said I had no idea the miso had mushrooms and that I was allergic the guys reaction was surprisingly rude. Not into it. Not coming back. And seriously the service is so slow…

Maybe I’m not used to vegan food or maybe it’s because I’m not into being healthy, but the food here was inedible (to me, at least). We ordered the macro plate and everything on the plate was horrible. The veggies were either steamed too long and mushy or wasn’t cooked enough and raw. I also ordered the mushroom risotto and the flavor of the broth they used was not pleasant. My friend had the curry ramen, which apparently was no bueno as well. Great service, but never again. If this is eating healthy, I’d rather be fat.

Wow the eat in dining experience at Souen REALLY disappointed me. I’ve gotten their Tahini Miso noodle soup and macro plate before to-​go and the macro-​plate was tasteless but was saved by the sauce. The noodle soup, though, was delicious. So I thought any noodle soup here would be great. Boy was I wrong.
–2 stars food: I ordered the Maitake Mushroom Soup with Homemade Buckwheat Noodles special. The pumpkin and mushrooms were good but the noodles were horribly overcooked. All the noodles were in tiny pieces and I don’t think I got a single noodle over 1 inch long. The noodles disintegrated on my tongue like a watered down doughy paste and it was disgusting. Worst of all I told the waitress this problem and showed her my tiny chunks of noodles and my clear dissatisfaction but she just brushed it off and said the buckwheat noodles are just like that. They’re «fragile».
–1 star service: The service was extremely slow and unorganized. I get that it’s a Friday night but it took forever to get a server’s attention, we didn’t even get all the menus and when we finally ordered and got our food, we had wave them down for utensils because they didn’t give us anything to eat with. Still, I consider myself lucky because there was a group of people who had been waiting on a 8:30 reservation for over an hour! The servers were also unapologetic (see food comment above). We were also seated at the only table along the other wall and were blocking the entrance. People kept squeezing past us to get in and get out and every time the door opened, there was an gust of cold wind. This made for an even more uncomfortable dining experience.
+2 stars for positive takeout experience.
Bottom line: Save yourself the horrible dining-​in experience (especially on a busy night) and order your food to-​go but do steer clear of the overcooked mushy mess they call «buckwheat noodles». You’ve been warned.

From someone who is not a vegan, and even stubborn about vegan diets, this place does vegan food very well. The ingredients seem to be of very good quality and are very well prepared. The chef is an awesome guy too!
Itadakimas!

I love this place. Great food, good price and nice atmosphere. The food was really a quality food.
The reason for 1 star deduction is the service. They must have been short staffed. I went there after 2 pm, so it was well past the peak time. Yet, It took 10+ minutes for someone to recognize me as a customer. Then, since I was alone, I had to sit at sushi counter with strangers. It bothered me a bit, but quality vegetarian food is more important.
I will definitely go back.

Small and intimate, food is top notch if you’re into vegan food, but still has something for all the regular people out there. You can add fish to anything, so with the macro plate you’re set for lunch.
Lunch specials between 12 and 3:30 (lunchbox is an absolute banger)
Fantastic for lunch and the waitstaff is pretty chill!
P. s. — if you can, order the cornbread with apple butter, souen’s secret weapon. You can thank me later.

Food was delicious. I loved how there were multiple noodle options for gluten free and also just whole wheat/​healthier. The broth of the ramen was nice considering it was not meat based and it was actually refreshing not to have a salty broth.
My only complaint is that I asked for blackened cod as a topping ($ 4.75) and they charged me as a cod plate ($ 10.00) bringing my bowl of ramen to $ 27.00 total. It was a little ridiculous but the staff was nice enough to suggest a dessert as a substitute, albeit unapologetically. Be sure to emphasize that you want any protein or side as a topping or side otherwise you’ll end up paying $ 32.00 for a bowl of soup.

Love the food!
4 stars only for long waits that happen on Fridays and Saturday, but get a reservation! Place is packed in the evenings, so you have to make sure you will get a table. I came here around 2 years ago for the first time, and I was coming back a few times a week. This is the only restaurant where I went the most in my life. I am vegan and I cook at home a lot, but I cannot make miso soups like they do it:)
Great atmosphere, music is not overbearing and it is quiet, so refreshing after noisy cafes.
You know what, 5 stars! It is stupid to give them 4 simply because they are popular:)
Thanks

this place is absolutely amazing! the owner is very friendly. I reserved a spot for us four. very clean and cosy ambiance. and the food was delicious! I had the squash tofu and my husband the pad-​Thai.

**Vegan restaurant, with pescatarian options**
Order from their daily specials on the blackboard! We shared a bunch of their specials. Staff is attentive and sweet. Quiet, dim restaurant which is great for good conversation with a friend :)

The customer service here is a bit iffy. When I came here with a group of about 6 people everyone’s dishes came out different times, and they messed up one order and gave the person shrimp instead of salmon (they were allergic to shrimp too), they made them a new dish no questions asked.
The vegetable dumplings were very delicious. They’re probably the tastiest vegan dumplings I’ve had to date since I went vegan. I also got the curry miso vegan ramen. It didn’t quite taste like normal ramen, not because of it being vegan, but because it wasn’t really salty and the toppings were healthy macrobiotic things. It was still good, I just wouldn’t compare it to traditional ramen. I would’ve liked it more if menma was a topping (I have no idea if menma is macrobiotic). But my favorite thing about Souen’s food is that you can taste the nutrition when you eat. You feel like you’re eating healthy (and you are) and it’s still very flavorful and tasty. You will feel healthier after eating here and not feel like a fatass at all, even if you eat a ton. It’s wonderful.

Managed to check this place out at a birthday boy’s wish. Overall, it was an ok experience. The atmosphere is definitely very low key, which is good for a potential date or outing with a small ground of friends. Also, very vegan /​vegetarian friendly, with a range of options to suit most of their soups and/​or plates. I myself had the curry shoryu ramen with brown rice noodles and a piece of salmon. The broth was great, with a nice spicy kick within the aftertaste, just what I’d expect from any sort of curry dish.
The only thing I’d wish they would have is more of a variety with their menu options, as it seems that, at a glance, the offerings don’t seem as enticing if wanting to cater to a wider group. Definitely understandable given the environment, but a feel that broadening the selection would help draw in more of a crowd.
Overall though, not a bad place if it is able to meet your needs, I’d suggest giving it at least one shot!