Karma

I used to LOVE this place. My roommate and I always drove all the way across town from West Portal and endured parking-​spot-​hunting just to feast upon momos, noodles, soup, and a snapple. It’s too bad that it closed. Long live Karma!

I live right across the street and this place has CLOSED!
There seems to be a new breakfast/​sandwich operation in its place.
Unilocalers, beware! Karma is gone!!!

So, you know how when you’re preparing food and you accidentally drop something on the floor and you figure, if I just rinse it off it will be fine, won’t it? I mean, what’s the worst that could happen – maybe someone will see me do it and get a little squeemish… but what are the odds?
I saw the guy drop a piece of avacado on the floor, pick it up, rinse it off, and use it in someone else’s dish.
With that out of the way, I enjoyed the food here. But the service is slow. Very slow. It sure looks like he moves quite a bit slower than other cooks I’ve seen. How does he make any money with the very limited volume he can produce at that speed?!
Very limited menu.

It is a very small restaurant with just one table but a great place to go and eat or take out. If it a vegan/​vegetarian restaurant with a small irresistible list of items on the menu. I ordered salad noodle and momo vegetable dumpling both of which were spicily yummy. Everything is freshly prepared in front of your eyes. I am going to try other items on the menu, which all sound good. Very well recommended!

He’s got all vegan stuff now and it’s super tasty — no bland boring stuff! A salad, momos (dumplings), lentil soup, noodle soup, and noodle salad — simple easy, no nonsense menu. Tiny charming place, wonderful owner who does everything there.
Mostly a take away place but a couple of tables inside and a bench outside too. Tons of (non-​alcoholic) drinks.
Takes a little bit for the food to be prepared but really it’s because it’s so fresh and made in such a totally caring way (no, I’m not a total hippy, really haha)… but hey, if you really needed it on the go you could pre-​order.
This guy deserves business, he’s a good one.

It’s good homemade vegetarian food. Menu options aren’t numerous and most of the food seems very fusion-​like, but it does have quite a bit of flavor and fullness which is rare in many vegetarian restaurants. It’s also very filling and I’m recommending all the menu options. Prices are reasonable too (around $ 6.00 a dish).
One word of warning: Although the food is nice, don’t expect to get your food without a bit of a wait. However, the owner is a nice fellow and as said before — Homemade.

There’s a lot of charm in this storefront eatery with approximately six items on the menu.
There are the hearty momos and equally satisfying lentil soup. The noodle salad had great variety in both vegetable flavors and textures. Everything was prepared by the owner while we waited.
While the food we ate was prepared right when we ordered it, there were a lot of pre-​packaged items going into the meal — including frozen Trader Joe’s veggies. Not to disparage the flavors (they were still great) but a lot of the other reviews refer to «fresh» preparation and this probably warrants some clarification.
We spent some time talking to the owner after we ate and he seems committed to focusing on doing a few items well and giving the customers what they want (this is how he went from vegetarian to vegan on the menu).
Worth a trip.

I love this place! I’ve been there twice now. I got the momos the first time and the noodle salad tonight. This place using the freshest ingredients and the care that Rye puts into his food is unmatched! He’s also great to talk to while you’re waiting. The menu is small and simple, and everything is just $ 5.95.
This is the kind of place that leaves you feeling content, not only from a healthy, tasty meal, but by knowing you’re supporting a chef that really puts his heart into his work.

I can’t fully describe how good this place is, and how nice the owner is. The Momos are really quite delicious — I can perfectly understand why they seem slightly overpriced compared to most of the other small, flavorless little pockets of steamed goo out there. Mainly because they’re freaking huge, and have a wonderfully savory, almost tapenade/​pesto type of condensed flavor to the filling (which also happens to be vegetarian). As for the lentil soup, there is just the right amount of creaminess and velvety texture to make it a very filling soup, while the seasoning and fresh herbs and green onion on top add just the right amount of flavor.
I will definitely be coming back to try the noodle salad and soup; also to stuff my face with more Momos, of course. Call the order in ahead to avoid the long wait, or just chat with the very friendly and kind young man, Ry, who is happy to take his time to serve up the very best quality of vegetarian Himalayan around.
Note: Cash only.

My husband and I walked by this place when we were taking the bus to visit CPMC. A few things:
Owner/​Chef: very friendly
Location: very convenient, 44 or 1 bus line can get you there within half a block, but there’s only a table for 2 inside.
Food: very healthy YUMMY vegeterian dishes. It’s a limited menu of 5 things, but all very good. I love the lentil soup and momos! He makes it right away which makes it super fresh, but beware, it’s take a lot longer than I thought. Just don’t go there hungry, go there when you need a light fare! or a medium size meal.
Price: $ 5.95 each items
It’s not just for vegans or vegetarians, it’s healthy and satisfying meal for anyone any age. Go and give it a try! The Momo’s specially! you gotta try it out, very very good!

I picked up my family deep in the Richmond District. Racking our brains for a place to eat, I remembered Nobu’s recommendation of MoMos from months and months ago! My husband gave me such an odd look when I told him that I wanted MoMo, but I explained that they are Himalayan dumplings.
When we dropped by at 6.30 pm on a Wednesday evening, we realized that this shop isn’t really a sit down restaurant (plus it is hard to find parking in this area around dinner time!). I hopped out to pick up an order of MoMos to go. The proprietor was wrapping up a batch of these mysterious MoMos, so I was able to get a glimpse of the stuffing before it goes into the MoMos, which are filled with much veggie goodness — bean thread, hard tofu, carrots, mushrooms, many spices AND jackfruit. I have never heard of jackfruit before, so I googled it at home; apparently, jackfruit are the world’s largest fruit. Who knew?
In about five minutes, a freshly steamed batch of MoMos was in my hands. They were good, served with a savory carrot dipping sauce; we devoured them (sort of in Progressive Dinner fashion — appetizers in the car, anyone?), and I have to say — they seem so healthy that there isn’t the slightest bit of guilt in devouring these MoMos. I’m not vegetarian, and I am not considering becoming one; still, a non-​vegetarian can and will enjoy the MoMos (I haven’t yet tried anything else on the menu so I cannot vouch for anything else).
I agree with Lolia — as Mom and Pop as it gets. Though really, there was only the one guy there, so it’s more like — as one nice Uncle as it gets.

I discovered this place when I walked down 6 Ave from California st. Done with an interview, hungery and relaxed, I saw this tiny place. The owner /​cook /​server /​cashier was warm and friendly.
What can I say, all I needed was warm food and warm company.
Simple as Karma’s menue is, all the food were prepared with great care and love. I tried really hard to save the last momo for my bf (they were so tasty that it was hard to control).
Cannot say more about it. It was just perfect for me: watching him chopping parsely and adding to the soup while chatting randomly.
If you are in the on-​the-​go mood, this is especially for you to slow down and cherish the beautiful moment in life– good food, good company.
I am considering thaking that job close by so I can drop by Karma for momos more often.

This is my go-​to spot for healthy, fresh take out. The food is 5-​star quality.
I love the noodle soup with fresh vegetables, chopped with great care by the one guy who works there as chef/​waiter/​clerk. It always needs 1 minute on the stove to warm it up by the time you get home.
The green salad is also seriously fresh, and the dressing can only be described a De-​Lish. The dumplings are good, but amazing when paired with the sauce. The noodle salad is also a favorite yummy and packed with fresh veggies.
To re-​cap, everything on Karma’s (very short) menu is my favorite, except the Lentil soup which I have not tried.
I would give karma 5 stars, but it always takes a while for the food to be prepared. We call ahead and the guy tells us to come pick up the food in 15 minutes, but we inevitably wait at the restaurant for an additional 15 minutes. We think he waits for us to arrive before he starts preparing, because he wants it to be super fresh… so our new strategy is just going to be to call, order, and go directly to Karma.

So I returned to see how business was going. Nothing much has changed since my last visit, so my previous review still applies.
Their website is now working:
I did get to follow up on my email regarding a free directory website popular with vegetarians. I don’t know if he’ll take my suggestion to list his business on it. While I waited for my order we also spoke about ways to promote their business around the neighborhood.
Here’s a pic of the momos (6 pieces) I ordered this week:

About as mom and pop as it gets, Karma is a tiny Himalayan vegetarian fusion takeout place (there is one table that can seat two people) run by one guy who takes your order, cooks your food and rings you up. There are five items on the menu (not counting the drinks) and each costs $ 5.95:
* Green salad with nuts & feta
* Momo — steamed Himalayan dumplings with homemade dipping sauce
* Lentil soup with Himalayan spices
* Noodle soup
* Noodle salad
The open kitchen is teeeeny. Though the set up is very simple and the selection is limited, there’s a nice Zen like, earnest quality about the place. The food looks very healthy. The noodle salad looked Japanese from the picture but the momo, chai, and lentil soup feel more Indian influenced. The fusion refers to combining Himalayan and Western cuisine, as can clearly be seen in the green salad option.
I had an order of the momo (7 pieces). The homemade dumplings are steamed to order, so expect to wait a few minutes. We talked about Nobu K. while I waited for my order and he gave me a flyer about animal cruelty. He mentioned that momo means peach in Japanese — wonder if he learned that from Nobu?
It’s been years since I last had some momo so I don’t have much by way of comparison, other than vegetarian boiled dumplings (potsticker style). The momos larger than your usual potstickers with a filling of finely diced savory yellow curry filling with tofu, glass noodles, carrots, mushrooms, ginger, and herbs and thicker skins. The filling had a nice complexity. You can dunk your momos in the homemade, chunky, tangy non-​spicy tomato based chutney like dipping sauce.
The menu says «more coming soon». I’d like to see other types of momo (e.g., spinach, sweet potato, cabbage). There’s so much you can do with good dumplings — momo would be good in noodle soup or pan-​fried like potstickers. I’d love to see other types of dipping sauces, maybe a spicy peanut based one and a cilantro chutney. Since it’s a fusion place, they could go all out with new momo flavors. I hope that this place will become known as the House of Momo.
Cash only.

Warm service and food prepared from scratch before your eyes wins me over.
I have now tried everything on the menu that is vegan. This includes the vegetarian noodle soup, the lentil soup, and the momos. Both soups are spectacular & have a wonderful combination of subtle flavors (parsley, chives, etc etc). The momos are also quite good, but I’ve taken a larger liking to the soups (especially the vegetarian noodle soup). All the food is literally prepared for you from scratch in front of your eyes. The kitchen, the one eat-​in table, and the countertop all share the same small space. All the ingredients are chosen with care, as I learned by having a nice discussion with the chef. And apparently they are still working to make their recipes perfect before they expand their menu.
I’ve met both the head chef and the owner now, and both are very warm and conversational. They’re genuinely interested in their customers and they expressed interest in hearing my thoughts on the quality of their food.
This is the only restaurant in the Richmond area that I am certain prepares their food from scratch and to-​order. Pretty much every other place I’ve been to seems to use some combination of fresh & premade etc etc. And when it comes to vegetarian in the Richmond, this place definitely has the best options. A few blocks down is Golden Buddha Vegetarian, which I was pretty disappointed with. The food is surely not fresh (they bring it out 3 minutes after you order it) and everything is highly processed and greasy. And of the other restaurants in the neighborhood with veg options, the only one that comes close to quality with Karma is Burma Superstar.
I look forward to seeing Karma’s new menu items.

I love their Momos but I hate the price. For a restaurant that’s just opening and finding their niche against the established and popular restaurants on Clement, they need to lower the price to attract customers.
I notice everytime I walk past, no one’s there. It’s because of the limited menu and high prices for a small hole in the wall restaurant with limited décor that just opened. Tip to Karma and Tye: lower your prices or make the portions bigger. Or give out more coupons. Also, the size of your place and location doesn’t justify the prices. The Inner Richmond talks to each other and there’s about 10 people that I heard this from.

Lisa W. said,
«„large size vege MoMos“ I don’t know what this cracks me up, but it does. It sounds like a grandma-​outfit or something…»
BuhaHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Karma is finally Officially Opened!
6 large size vege MoMos= $ 6, Home-​made.
it’s not a GranMa’s Outfit. OK?
Btw, Kate V. said,
«I actually tried the momos one day for lunch… they were good, but i really couldn’t get over the price! over 6 bucks for 6 momos, came out to more than a dollar each. do you know if they still cost that much?»
I gotto agree with Kate.
Hey Karma, how about 8 MoMos for 6 bucks? is it too hard?
Large noodle salad=$ 6
Great for lunch or early dinner take out.
Tiny place right by bus stop.
Nepalian Vegetarian MoMo.
6^th Avenue and California.
Please Give Karma Chance!
I’ll be honest about the place, it’s true they don’t have much to offer, but the MoMo is great, Noodle salad was a bit over cooked but it was good too, I want the noodle salad more spicy though.
I told them to create a Soba Salad. Buckwheat noodle salad would be great. they should do it.
it does sound like I am a friend of the place but I have nothing to do with them. I’ve never known the people working here before.
I just like a small local place like this.
So, please stop by if you are near by.
6^th Avenue and California.
Please Give Karma Chance!
Btw, Patty W said,
«Momo? I’ll check it out next time I’m out to the Green Apple; we’ll eat here first and then check out the books next (or vice versa).»
Good Call Patty!
People, Stop by Karma after Green Apple!
Only a block down to California St.

Karma is currently having a soft opening, and doesn’t expect to be fully open with a menu until next week. In the meantime, they’re offering up samples of their food, vegetarian (not vegan) momo (think, dumpling) and lentil soup. Nepalese cuisine was something I’ve always wanted to try, but never got around to. So far, I like what I’ve tasted.
The inside is all bare at the moment. But they should be up and running, open late night, seven days a week, in no time. Aside from samples, they also have a glass casing with salads and beverages for purchase, including coffee. A real hole-​in-​the-​wall, there’s no real seating – large enough only to wait at the counter and take your food, to-​go.
The owners seem like great people. I hesitantly mentioned Unilocal when they asked how I had heard about them, but they gave me a puzzled look. Either that, or they feigned surprise; I have a hard time believing any business owner in this town has yet to hear of this review site, given all the press they’ve received lately.
Away from bustling Clement Street off 6^th Ave, walking by, you’d assume it was just any old house. They would highly benefit from the word of mouth advertising. Doe-​eyed, but understandably enthusiastic about their new endeavor, the co-​owner had mentioned it was her first foray into the restaurant business. Seeing that they’ll be the sole vegetarian Nepalese restaurant in this city, I think they’ll do quite well.

Karma is just opening,
their speciality is nepalese food.
As we walked by, we both looked inside, interested in what was going on in the new place, and this guy popps his head out and says,
«hello, this place has nepolese food»
dad thought he said nepolian like the dynamite
so we went inside, tried the momo’s and talked story for about an hour. Karma will have healthy veggie food and make home made chai tea on saturdays.
Im going back on saturday to have some tea.
I am all for a veggie spot in the richmond