Sweet Lemon Vegan Bistro – Portland, Oregon

Located inside the Bethany Village Centre at 4888 NW Bethany Blvd in Portland, Oregon, Sweet Lemon Vegan Bistro serves up Asian-inspired dishes infused with compassion and kindness. Working at this eatery is more than just a job for the staff members, who all lead a vegan life and follow the Buddhist teachings of Supreme Master Ching Hai. They are spreading a compassionate way of living towards all beings on the planet. What a beautiful thing!

Atmosphere

The dining hall was large with plenty of room to spread out at one of the many purple tables and chairs. The decor is simple and elegant designed to make guests feel at home.

While waiting for my food to be prepared, I chose to read a bit in the comfortable reading nook featuring books by and about Supreme Master Ching Hai.

Menu

The menu at Sweet Lemon Vegan Bistro features wraps, soups, salads, noodle dishes and rice dishes. Raw options are available as is a wide array of vegan cakes and cookies. Their drink menu includes coffee, tea (even vegan Thai iced tea which I hadn’t had in ages!) as well as an assortment of bottled drinks, such as coconut water and sparkling apple cider. With so many tasty options, we had a hard time deciding what to order.

We began with an appetizer of peace-pot stickers, which are dumplings stuffed with tofu and vegetables in a light sesame dipping sauce, as an appetizer. We found the flavors mild and gentle.

For her entree Mindy ordered the wisdom wrap, made with soy protein, roasted peanuts, carrots, and cabbage served with a Thai peanut sauce. The textures would a good mix of soft and crunchy and the Thai peanut sauce gave it the moisture the wrap needed.

In the mood for a noodle dish, I opted for perfection noodle soup; with a name like that, how could I go wrong? This dish from central Vietnam, marked with a red chili pepper on the menu, consists of rice noodles, tofu, soy protein, bean sprouts, cilantro and onions served with a fresh lime wedge to be squeezed over the entire dish. The flavors of this dish were sutble and as such, I found that the ingredients slowly worked their magic on my taste buds. By the end I was drinking the broth!

Service and Prices

Upon arrival we spoke with Men, who was very welcoming and friendly and most definitely spreading, by way of demonstration, the message of compassionate living. Patrons are to order food from the counter and pick it up when it is ready. Our meals came promptly and always with a smile.

With every dish on the menu under $10 we found the prices at Sweet Lemon Vegan Bistro very reasonable and comparable to those in the area, especially when considering the quality of the ingredients and the amount of love that goes into each dish.

Due to the embodiment of compassion and the message of kindness towards both human and non-human animals, Sweet Lemon Vegan Bistro is one of all-time our favorite restaurants.