Candle Cafe Review

Lovely food most of the time, but tonight we ordered from their menu the Impossible Burger, and when they brought it out it was a Beyond Burger. When asked about this, their response was just that it was the same thing, only a different brand. There's a pretty big leap in quality between Beyond and Impossible - be aware of this if you're ordering the Impossible Burger from their menu.

An great little vegan spot on upper east side. Always fresh and delicious!

One of my favorite veggie places Quick and friendly service and delicious food. The ambience is quaint and informal.

I just became vegan this month and I have gone there 2 or 3 times! Their food is delicious! You wouldn't even know it's vegan just from eating it.

Amazing vegan dishes. We had a wonderful time their. The staff was very friendly and helpful.
The only thing was the quality of the wines, which didn't feel right for this price.

Probably my favorite casual restaurant in NY. The menu has enough variety for whatever I am in the mood, but not overwhelming. I've never gotten a bad dish or dessert. It is small and usually full, so plan ahead.

Got there right after it opened and was one of the first people seated. I ordered a side of beets as an appetizer and their special of the day for my entree. I probably waited at least 30-40 minutes to get my entree, while I watched restaurant fill up and have everyone get their entrees well after I had ordered mine. My waitress never checked to see how I was doing, never asked if I liked the food. I barely felt like I existed in there. I saw other people treated well, and their service looked great, so maybe it was just me they didn't like ;) But why give them four stars you might be asking? Because the food was delicious and well made (when it finally came). Everything tasted really fresh, and because nothing was over seasoned, you could really taste the "food" you were actually eating. Some people have talked about their food being bland, but it wasn't for me. I think they consciously use less salt than people are accustomed to, which makes it taste fresher and healthier. I would certainly go a second time and give them a second chance to treat me better, based on just the food alone. So I recommend it and hope you also get better service than I did.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first visit to this casual restaurant. The menu items- all plant-based- are diverse and the portions ample. I had the kale salad, my girlfriend had the southern plate, and we shared the chocolate mousse pie. The staff was friendly and helpful.

Salt and pepper, apparently doesn t exist here. Food is bland, uninspired, and extremely lacking. Cardboard and socks taste better. The ketchup was the best thing.

Variety and quality of vegan food and drinks. Nice ambients and good service. We will be back!!

Delicious vegan burger, great service and atmosphere. Will repeat if I have the opportunity.

The minute you walk in you welcome by friendly waiters, and shock to see how pack it is , alot of people come here , it was my first time here on a date I came here base on Google reviews but to experience it for yourself it was more better , 1st tip is no need to dress to impress come casual, 2nd tip be prepared to pay over around 90 dollar's for a table for two. And tip 3, is bring your own bigger straw to zip on the thick smoothies the have small straws that just don't do the job rite. The food is excellent wow its very organic and feels like your eating vegetable food no chicken or meet on the menu but not to worry food is very good you taste all the seasons. My date was happy with the deserts as well 5 stars all the way

The most delicious, original, fresh, organic vegan food ever. My favorite place in New York!

Candle cafe was an amazing experience. Amazing food, very friendly staff and a great environment.

Vegan comfort food. A little high in calories so go easy when ordering. Consider splitting some of the dishes between two, like the lasagne.

Excellent Cafe with great variety of vegetarian tasty foods..

All of the food is amazing. Since you're already eating healthy you should probably try the desert; the seasonal fruit pies are worth the trip alone.

the food was super tasty!! We ordered the burgers and it was great!! The service was a little slow tho so keep that in mind.

That wild mushroom salad is reason enough to give this place 5 stars. But! The service and the rest of the meal and... everything about this place deserves all the love. Super impressed! But seriously that mushroom salad was everything.

this place is awesome i got the mushroom burger and some green juice. pretty good service, and amazing food. definitely worth a visit

My first meal here was remarkably filling- we shared the Chimichurri skewers and I had a mushroom and seitan burger. The burger was scrumptious- the patty was warm and crispy, likewise for the truffle fries. Service was a little sluggish for a weekday lunch.

I ordered the Southern plate.. it was delicious! The cornbread was perfect. Also, the server, James, was so friendly and fun!

Such a creative menu but your experience really varies day to day and server to server. Some days, it s a fine experience in the city with kind staff, and most others days it s frustrating. There s an upcharge for anything and everything imaginable, and you can neither order from the happy hour menu nor pay full price and get the food from the happy hour menu when taking out. The impossible burger sliders on pretzel buns were excellent. The juice came out warm and chunky...it was unreal - I ve never had juice served that way. Some of the staff are so friendly and kind. The chocolate chip cookie was great. The prices are very high, and although there s a happy hour menu, not very much is served with your dish. The Cajun seitan sandwich was flavorful. The seitan mushroom burger had the silliest, tiniest amount of sauce on the bun (of course, there would ve been an upcharge for a pretzel bun instead, too!)

the food is just as good as candle 79, with cheaper prices and less decor

My daughter and I went to the Candle Cafe East location for lunch. They have an extensive vegan menu covering light or heavy fare. We shared the avocado tartare which popped with flavor! We got the following dishes: Seitan and mushroom burger, a crepe and bagels w/loxs. All three dishes were very tasty and the portions were very generous. James was our server and he was excellent! The restaurant seems to have a devoted following and we noticed several families with children. There is enough variety on the menu to please young and old.

Great selection of vegetarian gluten free food. It all tasted great. Loud and crowed environment inside so it was hard to have a conversation. They need something on the walls to absorb the sound.

This was a fun place to get take out. I ordered two menu items with satisfaction with each one, even hours later. I look forward to an opportunity to go back.

Very cozy place and I loved the variety of healthy meal choices, coffee and desserts very tasty too. Kudos!

Great spot for vegetarian, but service can certainly be better. I don't know if they are consistently short staffed or the staff is just inattentive. Certainly could be better.

The goddess drink was good. However they did not mix the ingredients but I mixed it with my spoon. The split pea soup was good but the bread that came with it was a generic half piece of toast. The entree was tofu vegetable stir fry. The serving was ample on a bed of brown rice. It was hearty and good. However, the ginger miso sauce was practically non existent. The dessert was a fruit cobbler. It was nothing but a mix of liquified oats with strawberries and a dollop of ice cream---a major disappointment.

Not as nice as the sister restaurant, however still one of the best vegan spots in the city.

Went here with a vegetarian friend, though I wouldn't normally be interested. I wanted to make sure she had food she could eat. I was impressed. I enjoyed my meal, some kind of pumpkin seitan.

Great juices and food! Not a vegan and I still loved it!

Great Ceasars salad, and I enjoyed the beyond burger plate.
The staff was very friendly and courteous. Nice place for a date or group of friends!

Just like it was before many years ago when I used to dine here.

Candle Cafe is such a home feel space. People are always exiting and entering and this has been this way for as long as I can remember.

New York City is a pretty fantastic place and more than ever, Candle Cafe has represented the heart of the Upper East Side Manhattan.

Boy has NYC changed. Tree lined streets and compost drop off on every block.

The food is wonderful at this cafe and especially the magical miso soup for those vegans out there who love a hot soup during these cold months of Fall.

Somehow everything makes sense now that I have returned. I Love New York!

Delicious bean and portobello mushroom burger. Good service Will return soon.

Food was awesome and the people were customer friendly....

I never had vegetarian food before, and it was actually really good.

I love the all vegan restaurants and this is defenitly worth a trip. Really great food and nice stuff. From cookies to cake to burger to nudles to kids menu and various other vegan food you dont want to stop to eat. Fits well that the portions are large so enjoy the vegan lifestyle.

Amazing food, friendly service, and a warm atmosphere. Wonderful!

Rally nice and chic atmosphere. I got the Cajun sandwich and the Cajun flavor didn't really pull through to me. Still a great place and will go back to try something else.

Honestly best Vegan entrees I've had in a while dining out. James our server was personable and wonderful. Great overall experience.

Very cute! I'm super glad I found this place, next time I'm in New York I'll definatley be back.

Over the last ten years this place has been in a state of decline. They quit carrying the Peanut Butter Bomb and their carrot cake is a completely different, bland recipe. They have the worst vegan mac n cheese I've ever had. There's a $5 delivery fee (but they won't tell you when placing your order) so keep an eye out for that before tipping. And the worst is this new menu. Tonight we ordered their enchiladas and the cajun seitan sandwich. Their new chili aioli is basically flavorless with no heat, and they forgot to put the grilled onions on the sandwich. I remember when their aioli was so thick and delicious. Now it just melts into the bread and you can't even taste it. The enchiladas were neither spicy nor even remotely flavorful. It's such a shame because about ten years ago this place was THE GREATEST. Now I can definitely say it's the most mediocre vegan restaurant I know.

If you have to dine here, stick to the healthy options such as steamed veggies. No point in wasting calories on fried food with no flavor. And I've cycled through all the latest desserts feeling nothing more than MEH.

Food was great, and service was excellent. But the coffee was terrible! Don't know that it's quite worth its price

Awesome Uzbek / Russian kebab place! This might be my new favorite! I love their skewers, especially the lamb chops and lamb ribs! Also great patyr or non (round tandoori bread), and salads.

Consistently good vegan food. Stir fries are out of this world.

Food delish! Service is great! If your a new vegan like me, is a great place to start, servers are really knowledgeable and help you choose your meal. The chef is really accommodating. Cant wait to go back!

The sweet potato and maple syrup smoothie is amazing. Pictures online don't match the actual store, it's a little bit scruffier.

Came here for Brunch with a friend. Had delicious shakes with pancakes and "bacon, egg and cheese" sandwich. Food was great and hands down the best service we ever recieved. The Young lady was very impressionable and recommended helpful vegan tips.

hats off to the one who cook here. the food is just.....i cant explain in words. i just love it.

As a non-vegetarian (but once vegetarian!), I found the non-seitan/fake meat dishes very tasty. I highly enjoyed my Indian plate. But, I can tell you that cashew cheese and imitation meat are not up my ally. My friend ordered the "chicken parm" and the the vegan cheese was chewy, refused to melt and had an offer flavor. I can now definitely say that vegan tapioca cheese is very unappetizing! I definitely wouldn't bring someone unfamiliar with vegan food here.

Awesome, cozy place with delicious meals. Loved my steak as it is very tasty, tender and juicy. Great job Candle Cafe!

Great place! Mexican vegan meal is the best.
Inexpensive at all for NYC restaurant.
Warmly recommended to all of you vegan and non vegan as well!

Great location, amazing food plating, delicious meals, awesome collection of drinks and magnificent service. Well done Candle Cafe!

Although staff didn't seem all "there", the place was amazing. Some of the best vegetarian/vegan food I've had. The vegan cheese on the mushroom burger was better than most real cheeses I've had and now I'm on the hunt to find where I can buy it myself. The carrot cake was super moist and tasted amazing. The cauliflower wing appetizer was great and the sauce that came with it was delicious. Drinks were phenomenal, too. Just go. Don't think about it. Just go and see for yourself.

delicious food, excellent service -- organic wine and beers offered. Weekly specials are the best bet. Can be busy on weekends. Most of the dishes are also healthful but some are fried.

I regret writing this review as I realize the pandemic has hit many of our cherished businesses hard, but I felt the need to since I used to have such a love for this place. I went in for a late brunch yesterday after not having visited the restaurant in about a year or two, and immediately was struck by how ugly and tattered the place looked inside. I had to do a double-take, because I remember this place having a beautiful ambience, and now it looks like a dirty, neglected diner. This made me even more surprised to see the menu prices as way too high. Further, when I ordered my food and saw and tasted it, I was even more disappointed at the lack of quality, taste, and effort in the food served. The $10 soup special - cauliflower and artichoke - was literally a bland white puree of probably only those two vegetables and salt. The brunch pancakes advertised to come with seasonal fruit for $12, were 3 small-to-medium sized pancakes with literally less than 5 slices of a banana and a couple strawberries on top. I remember the food at least being plated and beautifully presented, but this was not the case. I was appalled and beyond disappointed and do not think I will return until there is improvement. COVID-19 REGULATION NOTE: I have to remark on the amount of people who were eating inside - I did not feel that the restaurant workers were observing any capacity ordinances as the small restaurant was nearly packed, and that is why I sat outside. The bathrooms also did not seem clean nor maintained well. I hope this restaurant cleans up and does a better job of pricing the now-lowered quality of food and ambience.

This place is elegant, the service is quick and friendly and the outcome of the quality is outstanding. Super healthy, and caters to all.

Incredible menu...was tough to decide what to order, as everything sounded delicious! Great service and lovely little restaurant. Vegan food done right!!

Everything that they have is good, and I'm not even a vegan, so.

I wanted to give vegetarian food a try so I headed over to this popular east side spot. I was a little apprehensive before I walked in, having no experience with this kind of food but I was very pleasantly surprised by my experience.

The waitress was very helpful and completely made me feel at ease as I explained I was a beginner. She even complimented me when I left for being able to try new things. Everyone from the waitstaff to the diners were open and friendly. No attitudes, no snobbishness at all.

Oh, and did I mention the food was absolutely terrific.

Fantastic little vegan eatery. Great menu and lovely staff.

There was a person on the phone we talked to and said we could use a gift card from the same company but different location, a location that had closed. Once it was time to pay they told us we couldn't use a card from the same company but different location. So they made us use our regular credit card. This is a disgrace and we feel we should have been able to use the card but no, nothing at all. We payed full price. Otherwise the food was good and so was the service.

You don't need to be vegan to love the food here. They serve food for the masses - french fries, battered "chicken" (seitan), and frosted carrot cake - in an atmosphere that feels upscale and sophisticated, not granola crunchy. This is the real deal.

Good vegetarian stuff. Too bad it cooks fake non-vegetarian cooks (with tofu, seitan, etc). It would be better to use vegetable proteins in their original form (beans....). But everything is tasty and well cooked. The place is ok.

Obsessed with this spot - would be living at the bar here if they were located on the UWS :)

Very warm and snug place, welcoming and polite staff and best part was the delectable food! High quality!

The Eggplant Napoleon was very underwhelming and lacking in flavor. The staff was courteous but healthy food doesn't have to be bland. (And I even ordered something breaded with cornmeal so not that healthy) For the price, I expected fresh, tasty food.... not just food that sustained me til my next meal.

service a bit slow. food is always amazing. worth a wait.

Best vegan this side of town. One of the best restaurants, period.

Extremely friendly staff and very decent food. Large portions and reasonable prices. If you want a healthy meal, go here. Also very quick. Modern decoration and good acoustics. You can have a private conversation right next to other people.

Amazing specialty drinks and food, with later hours than most. Also the epitome of vegan friendly.

What a delightful and friendly little local cafe this is! Juices and entrees are fresh, and service is warm and polite.

So impressed with their commitment to accommodate my son's food allergies. The waitress was well trained on identifying nut-free options for us. And the manager visited our table multiple times to answer any questions about how the food is prepared. Oh, and the food was delicious! We will definitely be coming back.

Upscale vegetarian place on the Upper East Village. While I am not a vegetarian, I loved all the options here. The portobello mushroom steak is highly recommended.