The Naam

I really wanted to like it but I did not. According to a number of people this place is supposed to be the best vegetarian restaurant in Vancouver, but my visits here make me wonder why? I was super excited to try it, but my experience did not meet the expectations. The first time I ordered an Indian dinner special and it was the worse Indian food I have had in this city. When the server saw that I did not finish my food she inquired and I told her I did not like it. They knocked off the price of my dinner from our tab and I was impressed so I returned two weeks later with my partner more to repay the kindness than to savour the food. This time I decided to stay clear of the specials and order a staple which Unilocal reviewers praised, Buddha’s feast but I found it unappealing. My husband did not like his veggie burger either. This time we did not complain and politely paid our bill. So, thats my experience. I see a lot of people like it but its not for me. I would praise the service and the ambience though.

As a meat eater, this is the first relatively enjoyable vegetarian restaurant I’ve eaten at that hasn’t left me feeling empty inside. I tried one of the Dragon Bowls, and it was much better than I expected. It was a good amount of food for a fair price. Would recommend.

I am a serious meat eater but The Naam today had me so satisfied it made me question my love of meat.
I went in the afternoon with my boyfriend. There was a bit of a wait as the place was packed, but it wasn’t long before we got a cozy little booth in the back corner.
Our server was friendly, prompt, cool and calm during this very busy time.
I had the Gold Dragon bowl, my boyfriend ordered the Maui Maui burger. The burger was delicious and nutty without being overwhelmingly earthy. My gold dragon bowl was like the most epic poutine ever. Sesame potatoes with cheese, savory miso gravy, carrots, grated beets, sprouts and a ton of other vegetables. The portion was so huge I was able to take a lot of it home for a midnight snack. We finished off our meal with the hot apple crisp with vanilla ice cream! The best apple crisp I have ever had the pleasure of eating.
All in all this place is definitely worth checking out. There are so many vegetarian/​vegan options its hard to choose just one thing! I’ll be back again to try a milkshake, and breakfast sometime in the near future.

World’s Best Vegetarian Restaurant! Visited in March 2015 and had a very enjoyable, casual, cheap & filling meal — perfect for students! Open ²⁴⁄₇ since 1970 we were told, and the service was quick & friendly. Portions were generous and the vibe was hippieish & low key, with a musician performing.
Naam burger was my favourite but a friend had a fantastic Dahl dish.
The poutine wasn’t exactly to our taste, but it’s a must-​try if you’re in Canada!
Healthy options abound too.

I would stay away from the pita and hummus and the veggies used sometimes are actually under cooked or salad could give you a horrible stomach ache.

So it was my first time to a vegetarian restaurant, and admittedly I went very reluctantly. You see, to pay for a meal (especially at a place where parking for free is difficult) without meat, is against my principles. But, tis a new year and I opened just the slightest bit to go against my principles.
I told the waiter, who was very accommodating I might add, that this was my first time to a vegetarian place, and that I would let him choose something on the menu for me, that would convince me that meat is not necessary in every meal. Basically, give me all you got, because this may be the only chance.
He smiled and said, «Got it. Something that will blow your mind. Do you like cheese?» I told him yes, and he left. (This was fun, as I very much enjoy surprises.) So the dish he chose for me: the cashew and avacado enchilada platter (picture posted).
Naam salad: The salad was phenomenal. Very refreshing, very light, yet flavorful. But was I impressed? Well, I equate it to going to a steak house and finding the steak phenomenal. It should simply be the case.
Sesame fries with miso gravy: high marks. Very good combination.
Now the main. I would hardly call it an enchilada. Now I’m no expert on Mexican food, but it was more of an avocado dip casserole with a toritilla on top. It was sort of like warm baby food topped with tortilla and cheese (and I seriously don’t mean this in a negative way). A friend and I split an order of nachos, which I began to use as a base for my enchilada. So basically I began to eat my main, as a dip.
Overall, I am quite, quite full. It seems the money used for meat goes into portion size, which equals, pretty massive portions. The fries you get are probably about an entire potato and a half’s worth. Unfortunately, I would have to say, the waiter was not successful in convincing me to turn vegan (or whatever specific kind of vegetarian class this restaurant fits under. I really don’t care to study all the differences.) The platter with tax turned out to be about 20 dollars. So you ask me, «Would you pay $ 20 for a meal with no meat again?» No. I would not.
All that aside, the atmosphere is cozy, the service is slow but friendly, and a ton of people seem to like it. The waiter suggested I come again and try the dragon bowl. I’ll let you know if that ever happens. Also I got two cookies on the way out. Sounded interesting! Bee pollen and ginger pecan.

I am a total omnivore (with a preference for meat), so coming into the Naam to eat was a little disorienting. I didn’t realize it was (incredibly) vegetarian friendly and scanned through the menu for meatier options. Besides this nifty fact, the Naam was a great experience.
As it was December, Christmas decorations were placed throughout the restaurant, complete with a small Christmas tree. Live music played at around 7 pm, featuring an elderly-​looking man strumming away on his guitar.
Our food arrived quickly and steaming hot, and the presentation of the dishes were beautiful! I couldn’t even finish my food because it was very filling. The dragon bowl was sauced profusely and was quite good, but didn’t really suit my taste buds. My friends finished off most of their meals but some took their leftovers back.
We purchased a slice of cake to share but it was dry and quite crumbly, so I would not recommend their desserts. Other than that, if you’re a vegetarian this is a good spot to check out!

I come for the sesame fries and miso gravy, and I am never disappointed. I tried the chai late today and it is lovely, not too sweet. Thanks to my server, I love the flower in your hair!

This restaurant makes me want to become a vegetarian again. Open 24/7,busy as f@$! but the buzz & atmosphere of this place could wake a dead man. The Naam Dragon Bowl & Popeye Spinach Pizza are go to classics and never fail to satisfy.

Love this place, lots of tasty options on the menu, including desserts and some beers on tap. Priced very reasonably with nice ambiance (the best at night), ok, patio outside in summer. Service is usually pretty quick and good. I would avoid the very hectic dinner times as it can take longer and fries can come out burnt.

I can’t believe I have never been to this place until now. This place is awesome!
It’s open 24 hours and the inside is soooo relaxed and chill. It does get busy, but it’s worth the wait.
The thai nooodes was amazing. It was vegan pad thai where the sauce was tasty and the dish was filling, it hardly felt like vegan. I also loved the milano quesadilla platter which included salad, fries and miso gravy. The carrot, ginger, yam soup was also perfect for the cold day. The food was not only good, but the portions were pretty big too.
Definitely will be back to try out other dishes :)

A unique experience! We love the variety of dishes. The staff is always so friendly. The food is AWSOME! We always get the Naam nachos cause they are soo good! We love that it’s open ²⁴⁄₇ so it is a great place to go for a late night snack.

I’m not quite sure about the low reviews I’ve seen posted. I come to this restaurant every time I visit Vancouver. I love that I can eat everything on the menu (I’m vegetarian). My friends (who aren’t vegetarian) also enjoy coming to this place. Their menu is unique and you can get all sorts of food. I personally love the masala bowl and the dragon bowl. I do however wish they served seitan, but other than that it’s a great place to go (vegetarian, vegan, or meat-​eater). I also love their desserts. There is normally a line because the food is delicious, but it’s definitely worth the wait! The only time I haven’t had to wait was because we came around 8 pm on a Friday. I think it’s because that’s after the normal dinner rush, but before the bar closing rush. Anyways, delicious food, nice staff, and unique flavors. Definitely a place worth checking out.

Love this place. Came here on my birthday and it was so lovely. I turned 15 so I got a 15% discount on my main. Atmosphere is great, servers are so friendly. I got two desserts, a vegan carrot raisin chocolate cake, and a vegan blueberry pie. I was blown away by the warm blueberry pie. I also got the fries, had to see what the craze was all about and now I know. I got a Dahl soup with bread. Mom ordered extra rice, Americans, and extra bread, which came at no charge at all :)

We had an excellent experience at The Naam. We were surprised by a line out the door at 2pm on a Saturday, but after reading through some of these reviews, I now see that a line is pretty much the norm. We didn’t end up waiting any more than 10 min for a table though, and I’m glad we stuck around.
I got the Naam Burger with a salad and fries with miso gravy and it was awesome. I opted for lemon thyme dressing on my salad and it was excellent. I wish we’d join in on the gravy + fries train in the US, as it is really the way to go. My husband and I shared a pot of oolong tea, and really had a very nice meal. All of our food was delicious, and after a day of tromping around the cold beach, it was exactly what we needed!
Also, I wish my town had a 24hr vegetarian restaurant!

I am really conflicted while giving this restaurant an overall rating. So, I’ll write it in the theme of a famous spaghetti western.
The Good:
1) One of the Vancouver eateries that are open all night. It’s such a joy to not have to go to a McDonalds to get a fix for a late night craving! Vancouver would have been so much more colorful had some of its restaurants stayed open for nightcrawlers like me! (No movie referece intended :)).
2) I ordered the India thali offered on special. It came covered to the brim with basmati rice, chic pea soup and a vegetable curry. The curry was really good, haven’t had anything like this in a while, the chic pea soup was okay at best. The chic peas were under boiled.
I also got to try Crying Tiger Thai Stir Fry (sounds more like some complicated karate move from Kung Fu Panda). Two of my friends had ordered it and I had tried it from the friend who asked for a mild spice level. Nothing out of ordinary, other than the enormous portion size and the fact that I have a thing for curries made with coconut milk! Also, luckily my friend has a good tolerance level for spices for the preparation was higher on the spice scale than what was expected!
The Bad:
1) Judging by my experience, this place can get really crowded! There was a constant line up of people who were waiting to get a table.
2) The table and interior décor were not very impressive, and the service was really slow. I understand that the place was really crowded, and the staff must have been working super hard, but I’d still prefer not to have to wait too long for my food.
The Ugly:
Somehow, every time the waiting staff went past my chair, they managed to bump into it or clip it! I made sure that I crammed up the chair as much as possible towards the table, but this just kept happening! After 5 – 6 times I stopped counting and resigned to the fact that I was just having a bad day.
Once again, I totally understand that none of this was on purpose, and perhaps they had very little space to carry the huge cutlery around, but an occasional apology on behalf of the servers would be nice.
Everything being said, I’d still like to return to try out some of the other things on the menu!

Our experience at The Naam was a good one!
Hubs and I were having the munchies last night at 10. We decided that we would have a night of fun out, a something that we hadn’t done in a long time. As I had already planned to visit The Naam weeks ago, it was the perfect time to give it a try. So off we went to Kits for another vegetarian experience!
The interior of the restaurant was very retro, but this makes sense as the place is very, very old. When we got there, there was a lineup but no worries, we had all night! Hubs and I chatted when we waited and finally they gave us a little table for two near the entrance. Didn’t take as long as I thought, but maybe we should come later next time to avoid the lines.
Hubs got the gold dragon bowl on my recommendation and I got the Thai variation. When the bowls came, they were filled to the brim with fresh vegetables. Delicious! The sauce in my Thai bowl was tasty as well; it went with the rice and toppings perfectly and I was literally shoving food in my mouth because I was starving haha.
Had a taste of hub’s bowl and I didn’t like it as much. I thought the miso gravy was too vinegary and the «Naam fries» were soggy and reminded me more of roast potatoes. I preferred mine but he really enjoyed it. Ah, to each his own I suppose. The portions were really big though. We didn’t even need desert.
As for the service… What can I say. We had to wait and it was IMPOSSIBLE to flag someone down because they were too busy. In fact, our waiter said that he had 12 tables to deal with. Like what?! If you have that kind of business please hire more people! I didn’t really like his tone but I figured, meh. He’s being worked like a dog so it was forgivable.
–1 for the service. Otherwise, I would come back. Probably at a less crowded hour.

This is the best vegetarian place I’ve been to. I literally could not choose what to order! Ended up with the servers suggestion of the spinach and chili enchilada special with side salad for 10.95, great deal and super tasty!
The gluten free blueberry and apple pie had a good inside but the crust wasn’t great.
The server was super friendly and helpful when she was at our table but service was a little slow
Overall a good experience.

The Naam gets respect for being a Vancouver vegetarian institution, but frankly it’s horribly outdated and not worth visiting unless you need vegetarian eats at 3am. The menu is large, consisting of Mexican, pan-​Asian, and American (ie. burgers) comfort food. Prices are reasonable and portions are large. They’re open 24hrs, the space is homey, and there’s a cute garden/​patio area.
The problem is the food is bland and uninspiring. Perhaps when Naam opened almost 50 years ago (!!!) Vancouverites had less exposure to real Asian and Mexican food and limited access to vegetarian food. In 2015, however, the Thai, Indian, and Mexican dishes seem like boring imitations of the amazing flavours in authentic version.
When I do eat here, I keep it simple and get the Sesame Fries with Miso Gravy ($ 5.75 + $ 1.75) and the Sesame-​Honey Fried Tofu ($ 6.95).
For amazing, flavourful, and modern vegan/​vegetarian comfort food try Meet on Main instead.

I stopped by here for a solo breakfast on saturday. I was so excited for a nourishing meal, a nice cup of tea, and reading the paper by myself. When I came in the hostess asked «For one?» Yep. Just me. She looked around and said there was nothing available and to just hang tight.
Except for the part where there was two tables available? One (a two-​top) was dirty, the other was a four-​top so I get they may have wanted to save that for the ever busy turn over that is the naam. I waited a solid fifteen minutes for table 1 to be cleared, and it never was.
So alas, I left. Not too gutted that I did either, as reading the reviews it seems that it may have gone downhill since the last time I was here. Ah well. Maybe next time I’ll be able to judge the food too.