Greater Boston Buddhist Cultural Center

How could you do this to me :’(How could you close when I love you with all of my heart! Where am I suppose to get amazing vegetarian food now? WHYYYY *weep forever*

The food here is delicious. The options are limited, since every day they have a specific lunch box menu which you can order, but I loved every item that they served. The service is very fast, the people are friendly, and the atmosphere is relaxing. Definitely worth a visit, whether you are veggie or not.

This is Chinese cooking that I have to admit is WAY better than my grandma’s cooking (Sorry, Grannie). Actually correction: this is way better than most of the Chinese vegetarian cooking I have in Chinatown! That’s barely existing nowadays…
I came here for lunch yesterday after seeing reviews about Greater Boston Buddhist Cultural Center. For one thing, I am quite surprised that such a place like this exists around Cambridge! When I stepped in, seeing the meditation room brought me back to my younger years when I used to attend to holiday traditions with my family at a similar Buddhist temple. At the same time, the ambiance is indeed tranquil. I was seated, and got the veggie express entrée and tea combo for $ 9.95. Remember, this place is also CASH ONLY!
Yes, like all the reviewers said, the entrée always change, so it’ll be different when you come in next time. I got a delicious cup of soup (which hilariously I thought it was my tea until I took a sip and it realized it was savory), which had chopped sweet potato and turnip. I got cinnamon apple tea (which is also yummy and appropriate for this time of the year).
I want to comment on how I love how the entrée was plated. Not only is it colorful, but in a weird way… philosophical in terms of tastes, textures, and senses. In the middle of the plate, you get the brown rice. In the upper part, there’s this delicious cabbage mix, which you can taste the savory broth in. In the lower part, there’s the bitterness of Chinese Spinach (Yu Choy… I hate it growing up actually). In the left side, there’s a nice crunchy mix of Buddha’s Delight (with tofu and mushroom). In the right, the saucy sweet and slightly spicy stir-​fried tofu. I felt light from the food and yet, it’s still filling.
I will come back here another time to try the next entrée!

Yes, yes, yes. Very tranquil ambiance. Light Chinese music playing. Meditation room across the hall. Friendly, patient servers. I went back to work feeling incredibly peaceful.
Only one entrée is available, which changes periodically (not sure how often). I got a vegetable plate with two types of tofu, broccoli, and a cabbage mix. Also comes with fresh rice. Every single item was delicious.
The milk tea here with boba might be the best I’ve ever had. It’s grassy, frothy, and perfectly sweetened. They also have various flavors like pomegranate, green tea, and mango.
I can’t recommend this place enough. Grab a book or a friend and go here.

A truly unique restaurant, and one of the best places for a cheap lunch in Cambridge (and for that matter, in the whole Boston area).
The GBBCC is a small, simple restaurant collocated with a Buddhist temple, and the atmosphere spills over: the restaurant is an oasis of serenity in bustling Cambridge. When things were getting nutty at work, I’d wander over here for lunch and always feel serene after.
For $ 10 (including tip) you get some seasoned tofu, leafy greens, and a couple of different flavorful vegetable dishes, and a nice little mound of brown rice. What this place lacks in choice (the daily special is the only option) it makes up for in quality. For $ 2 more you can get a cup of green tea.
I can’t emphasize enough how different the ambience here is from most of the other lunch spots nearby. You won’t find people barking on their cell phones while waiting in line here; in fact, there are no lines here. It’s very quiet and peaceful; low conversation is fine, but there are always lots of folks eating by themselves too. Good for reading or just quiet contemplation.

The milk teas are amazing. Sweet and grassy. Delicious.
Lunch is a full plate of great vegetarian fare. The veggie pancakes are fantastic too.
As a price performer, it’s tough to beat this quiet spot.

If you had asked me a year ago or even two weeks ago if I would ever consider going vegetarian I would have probably either A. laughed out loud (real laugh, not LOL laugh) or B. gone off on some rant about the validity of meat-​eating. Alas, two-​weeks have passed and after having a series of A. awesome vegetarian meals and B. conversations with vegetarians, I am strongly considering a 4 – 5 day a week vegetarian diet. At this news, the angels wept and the cows threw a block party…
The GBBCC (Greater Boston Buddhist Cultural Center) offers a simple, fixed entrée option, lunch that is open to the general public. This is held in a simple, clean, dining room at their campus location on Mass Ave. between Central and Harvard Square. This place is a little urban gem that offers a very inexpensive and delicious, vegetarian lunch. A typical plate will include steamed broccoli, mushrooms, stir fried tofu, rice, greens, carrots and whatever other goodness might be on hand. It’s very simple, very fresh and very good. You can add simple appetizers or teas to your lunch but the buck stops there.
You will however, get a fortune cookie with your check. Lucky number 26, try to be a tree today.

On a tight schedule, I arrived outside @ 11:25 to find a line of 1, a particularly disgruntled young woman I greeted with no response. Awkward silence ensued until they opened the door @ 11:30 and we were led into the Tea House, a peaceful area behind a divider of sorts; she sat down while I perused the menu for takeout. (Folks clearly got wind of the aforementioned bargain lunch special so the combo was raised to $ 9.95+, pre-​tax. I opted against since it involved tea and I had somewhere across town to be, stat. They took an unsettling while to charge me the $ 8.02 Vegetarian Express [the language barrier left me curious but not nervous given that Buddhist cuisine aligns with my self-​imposed dietary restrictions] — a tough total given it’s cash only, but it’s difficult not to support the endeavor, wherever the funds do indeed go.) As I waited and listened to the sounds of the kitchen just past the entryway, the culinary symphony was interrupted by said girl who didn’t return my salutation earlier, who coughed up assorted lungs, some not even her own, in the nearby restroom. This auditory assault was followed by her refusal of rice, though she was healthy enough to help herself to quite a quantity of water from the cooler near the counter.
Twenty or so minutes later, I was handed my expertly packed (plastic Whole Foods) to-​go bag, darting off across the bridge to Boston proper. I must b getting old since this meal was a welcome respite from the pastry-​laden, pizza-​filled regimen I’d been on for quite some time. This makes it the kinda joint that I ought to frequent if O lived near, but ultimately wouldn’t. Nothing hit me over the head with flavor, but that’s the point — clean flavors and no mistakes — the sort of meal that renews your sense of wholesomeness by affirming your ability to eat simultaneously healthfully and enjoyably. Four stars since they jumped the shark for that price.

It’s so hard to find healthy food for lunch. Here, it’s not only healthy but delicious. Plus, you get a soup and a large full plate of food for $ 8.
Usually, the plate includes two vegetable sides and two vegan-​carb sides — brown rice in the middle. When I order takeout, it’s ready as soon as I get there (under 10 minutes). And when I choose to eat at a table there, it’s wonderfully peaceful, and the service is fast.
Everybody I’ve taken here has loved it.

I went here for the first time today to check it out. The ambiance is really nice… it’s very serene at GBBCC. I also thought the owners/​people that work there were especially friendly. We ordered two veggie express meals to go as well as taro and thai ice tea boba. Unfortunately they were out of boba at the time but it wasn’t a big deal since my husband and I can just make boba at home really quickly.
The veggie express came with brown rice, tofu, broccoli, shredded cabbage, and spicy mixed vegetables with tofu, edamame, mushrooms, carrots, and celery. Their portions are quite large for the price. I couldn’t even finish mine! The veggie express also included some soup that had carrots, celery, and corn. My only complaint is that the vegetables were slightly overcooked. Perhaps the soup was made earlier in the day and the vegetables were sitting too long which made them mushy. I prefer my vegetables to have a little bite left in them in soups.
I disagree with Stephen T that they use a lot of oil to cook their food. Compared to most Asian restaurants they use very little oil. You can eat the entire veggie express meal without feeling weighed down. I’m excited to go back and try some of their appetizers and teas. It’s a shame we didn’t visit GBBCC sooner!

Incredible vegetarian cuisine prepared and served by the members of the temple. Peaceful, tranquil and happy vibe all the time.
Some of the most interesting teas served in a clear glass pot with bits in them example: fruit tea has cut-​up assorted fruit and berries.
I like to stop by for lunch sometimes. I put in my order, and then pop into the temple (really just a room), take off my shoes, which is required, and meditate while my food is being prepared – deep breath! I always feel good when I leave. Try it!

It’s so serene. You walk in and you’re transported into a sea of calm. And delicious food.
Go ahead and mozy into the seating area on the right and you’ll be promptly asked to choose a seat. Pretty simple.
Choosing from the menu options is also very simple: A vegetarian plate with a mound of brown rice and 4 portions of different vegetarian options ($ 8) or a small selection of «dim sum» type dishes, including the daikon (radish) cakes that I ordered ($ 4) which come with a dollop of sririracha-​like sauce on the side.
After my first bite of food, I was instantly transported back to a childhood filled with memories of the Taiwanese style, home-​cooked vegetarian fare that I ate with my Grandfather (vegetarian) and on our occasional trips to the local (by local I mean 1 hour drive away) Buddhist temple. There’s nothing complicated or fancy about the food. If anything, it’s near as simple of a cooking style as one will encounter (notice a theme?). But it’s well seasoned, well concocted as a dish with a variety of flavors and vegetables and proteins, and a substantial enough portion that you will certainly leave satisfied (if not overstuffed).
If you’re looking for a simple, healthy, filling meal, you can’t go wrong by coming here.

The Greater Boston Buddhist Cultural Center proves that food doesn’t need to be fancy to be good.
The one entrée here, the veggie express, is deceptively simple: brown rice served with a variety of vegetables and tofu. The veggies, like cabbage and carrots and a Chinese green, are stir-​fried and seasoned very lightly. The tofu comes in two equally delicious ways: one as a spicy fried tofu, and the other as tofu skin with edamame.
Of the appetizers, I’ve tried the turnip cake and the steamed buns (which are filled with a cabbage-​like mixture). The veggie express is substantial enough that you don’t really need appetizers, but it’s not every day that I can get my hands on vegetarian dim sum-​type appetizers.
I’m very charmed by the space here. On my first visit, we could hear chanting going on in the worship room across the hall. I’m also a sucker for the children I’ve seen running around, who often lend a hand in the tea room. And when I leave, I’m in a good state: full, but feeling very serene.

I think the first thing you notice when walking into this place is how genuinely kind the staff are. Every single one of them was happy to assist me in any way possible, with smiles all around. It just makes you feel like you’ve been wrapped in a cloud of Eastern philosophical love.
There’s exactly one thing on the menu here for lunch, and it’s a lot of food, and it’s really good. AND it appears really healthy and nutritious too. I have to agree that the brown rice here is probably some of the best I’ve had at a restaurant, though I don’t know why (it’s just plain brown rice).
I had read reviews stating this was a cheap $ 5 lunch, but it’s not. It’s $ 8. Silly, Unilocal.Plus, it is cash only, so be prepared.
It is a good amount of food. Definitely worth it over places like Life Alive.

I think the prices have been raised now. $ 8.50, $ 9.02 with tax or something like that.
Nonetheless, this place is awesome. It’s kind of like playing the lottery, except you always win. They have a different lunch special every day. It’s always a tofu with some veggies and brown rice, though. It’s a great, clean lunch to eat that won’t have you falling asleep at your desk at 2pm.
For some reason, the brown rice tastes amazing even though I make it every day for dinner. They add these mysterious fishy flakes to the top that makes it awesome. My favorite tofu is the fried tofu with the red pepper flakes — they pair it with another steamed tofu dish with veggies. Amazing. So filling. And the people who run the center are so sweet!
* CASH ONLY!
* Closed Monday. Which sucks because I always want it on Mondays.
* Call ahead for pick-​up! It takes around 5 – 10 precious lunch hour minutes for them to get the food out. Sometimes they don’t answer their phone, though.

It took about 5mins for the Australian friend and I to totally ditch anything I had planned. The day we went out to the GBBCC her only requirements were that she wanted to go to Cambridge and do things I had always meant to do, but never actually did. She asked if there were any places I wanted to eat lunch and couldn’t compliments of my job in the burbs. Immediately I thought of GBBCC.
We took the T to Harvard and decided to go for lunch immediately even though we weren’t that hungry. As we strolled down Mass Ave we became increasingly skeptical that we were never going to find the place. That was when we realized we were about half a block away (Central might be a little bit closer, but either way it really isn’t a bad walk; realization number two was that we were, in fact, hungry).
I walked in not knowing what to expect. The tables and décor fall somewhere between «eh, really?» and «meh» but I was still anxious for the ever-​so-​popular lunch special.
We sat down and were immediately given water. This is a huge +1 in my book, but they get a +3 because I was so thirsty and there was lemon in the water. We didn’t even want menus, but when they were brought over to us by a waddling toddler no older than 3 (seriously) there was no way I was saying «no» between my «awwwwwwwwws». The thoughts of «is this ethical and/​or legal» didn’t even enter my mind until now. Either way, she was damn cute.
Within minutes we had ordered two lunch specials and two small starter bowls of soup came out. It was incredibly simple and incredibly delicious. I don’t even know how else to describe it. The fact that we both finished soup on an 80 degree day should also say something.
And then… the moment I have been waiting for happened… our lunch specials arrived! A mound of brown rice with some little crunchies (don’t worry, my vocabulary amazes me sometimes too) was surrounded by four vegetarian dishes. There was spicy mixed vegetables, broccoli, cabbage stir-​fry, and tofu. The tofu and the spicy vegetables were my two favorites, but I would not have been disappointed with any of them if they were served singularly. I mowed down with my chopsticks and was grateful for my company or I may have just shoved my face in the pile of delicious-​ness in front of me. Each dish was different, yet they all worked together with a resounding freshness and flavors that bounced off each other.
As we drank our tea, talked about how we were way too full, and noticed that our fortunes weren’t really fortunes the bill came out. My friend laughed at the $ 15 total (with tax). For the quantity and quality, neither of us would have had a problem paying double that.
Now that I have gone once, there is no way I won’t be making the trek again. I might just have a new Saturday lunch spot…
Note: the bathrooms aren’t particularly impressive but they are clean and well maintained. I think they also have the softest toilet paper EVER.

This has got to be the best lunch deal in all of Boston /​Cambridge. The food is fresh and delicious and healthy and balanced. The ginger tea is brewed to perfection and I think I could subsist on the turnip cakes alone, forever. Cash only, parking is limited, still 5 stars.
Clean, efficient, no frills. Large selection of hot and iced teas. Coming here feels like going home for a hot lunch prepared by an Asian version of my mom.
The best part about the experience? No matter how I feel when I walk in the door, I am always calm and tranquil when I leave. The Buddhist temple is next to the restaurant and I cannot be in its presence without the feeling that all is well.

This place is amazing, and it’s about two minutes from my apartment– BONUS! We have lunch here probably two-​three times per month.
As mentioned, the $ 6.95 lunch special is available until quite late in the afternoon, and rarely disappoints. Occasionally there will be one veggie out of four that is just not to my taste, but I always come away satisfied and very full.
On a chilly day, I love to order the Japanese Macha Milk tea or the Thai Milk tea (both available iced as well).
The worst part? They close down from December 20– March 20. :(

Serenity may help with stress but it doesn’t always savor your palate.
I had super high hopes about this place because of the Unilocal reviews. However, I was sorrowfully disappointed. Please don’t hurt me in my next life, Siddhartha.
First, who charges $ 3.00 for tea at ANY Asian establishment? I don’t care if its gao shan, mountain tea from the depths of the Taiwan countryside. THAT IS NO BUENO.
Second, SALT SALT SALTY!!! The veggie soup was beyond saltiicious. I love my salt, heck, I probably ate enough salt for the rest of my life while living with my Grandma whose taste buds went to heaven before she did.
The plate is blah. Steamed veggies were wilted and the tofu was overly sweet. The brown rice was undercooked. Harder than raw steel cut oatmeal. And who can forget the brown sauce. Someone snuck in a bit too much pseudo oyster sauce…
Lastly, the ambiance was off. Maybe because I understood the cook complaining about the heat in the kitchen, the waitress was running around with a baby strapped to her front with a towel over the baby’s head (prepping for nap time) and the monks ceasing their meditation to miff about their overly spicy lunch.
Unfortunate.
Alternatively, I suggest buying a steamer from Bed Bath with a 20% or $ 5 coupon and hit up youtube for meditative music …
Trust me folks, (American) Chinese vegetarian food ain’t ike this…

At the Buddhist Tea House of the Greater Boston Buddhist Cultural Center, 950 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 2 139, we enjoyed 2 inexpensive but truly delicious Dinner Specials (or was it the 5-​vegetable lunch special for only $ 6.95 — even after 4 pm?) with our five-​a-​day of meticulously prepared vegetables, brown rice, tofu, and more, a Pot of Ginger Tea, 2 bowls of daikon and tofu cube soup, 2 glasses water with lemon slices in the pitcher, a bowl of mixed nuts, and 2 turnip cakes.
The waiter and the nun who waited on us at our table at a nice window and an original painting were gracious, efficient, and very nice and clean.
Whenever I’m in the area, I’m likely to diner here if I’m at all hungry OR have suitable friends to ‘catch up’ with. I have SO much respect for the Buddhist Tea House that I’d only take those who are most likely to appreciate it and who would be of a quiet, even temperament.
I go there AT LEAST twice each month, usually (almost always) for the bimonthly Dinner with Dharma ($ 10/​each but $ 5 for current FT students with IDs) — 2^nd and 4^th Friday evenings. Then I take groups there at other times, when I can — or go alone or with a friend or two.

I’m going to be sad when I move and can no longer go across the street for the $ 7 lunch here. *Note to self to go back before I move*
I have a personal connection to GBBCC because the home chapter of it is one of the largest in North America and and it came from Taiwan. Pretty much all the staff here are Taiwanese and it’s lovely to converse with them about food, religion, the motherland, etc. Plus, it’s such a serene, peaceful, tranquil environment.
The food is delicious. Exactly the kind of tasty, simple home-​cooking I enjoy when I’m back home or in Taiwan. Love the spicy veggies best – crunch, crunch, SPICE, crunch, crunch, SPICE! Yummmmmmy! The soup can sometimes be a little watery, but the broth is light and delicate. Do try some of their teas to supplement your meal. And be prepared to stay for hours.