Chen Vegetarian House

Don’t let the dark exterior fool you, this place IS open.
I’m from out of town, yet very familiar with the Reading area. Just out of curiosity (it had been a year since I was in the area) I searched «vegan in Reading» and discovered Chens. At first inthought, «Oh a Chinese restaurant, so they have tofu, better than nothing I guess». Then I saw the word Vegetarian in the restaurant name. Done deal.
I remember seeing the storefront about a year ago and thinking the restaurant was no longer in business (the windows are SUPER tinted), so I approached with caution. To my surprise, the interior was bright, and incredibly clean. The woman at the counter was very friendly and explained that nothing is made with meat, dairy, or eggs. Music to my ears. I opted for black pepper seitan (I’m a lover of gluten) with white rice. The food was delicious!
I lived in Florida this past summer and would frequent an Asian style vegan take out restaurant. This restaurant reminded me of my old favorite, but much closer to home!
Very impressed with this restaurant. I will be going again.

Amazing find. Vegetarian haven. The sesame chicken was better than the buffet at a regular rest. I’m highly impressed.

Awesome veggie food! Great selection of dishes. Staff is friendly. I have not eaten wonton soup since I became vegetarian several years ago. So thrilled to see a restaurant offering only vegetarian foods.

Excellent. Very clean, hospitable, and delicious.
The exterior looks as if it isn’t open but when you go in its a nice little establishment. The owners cook and serve. It was just a husband and wife when we were there. Beef tips taste just like I remember beef tasting. The chicken nuggets came with sauce and they were delicious as was the chicken Mai pad I think it was called. I would go back.

Only all vegan restaurant in the area, so that alone makes it 5 stars in my book. It’s mainly Chinese w a few American dishes. I almost always get general Tsos chicken, which is by far my favorite dish. The sauce is amazing and better than any I’ve had before I turned vegetarian. Although the food is vegan, I wouldn’t consider it healthy, it’s more what I crave when I’m hungover and want something greasy. The owner is always very nice and helpful. Hoping it sticks around for a long time!

I love mock meat! I am a carnivore by culture and will rarely not try to eat anything new. I am also not averse to mock meat, and so it is so delightful to have a place that will make these dishes for me.
Hubbykins ordered the Orange Flavored Beef which he thoroughly enjoyed. A tad too sweet for me, but still yummy.
And my search is over for my favorite Eggplant in Garlic Sauce no mock meats on my dish.
The flavors are your typical Chinese and Thai flavors, except that you don’t eat it with meat. So it works with groups who are vegetarian and carnivores. Carnivores will enjoy it too.
The place was clean and the owners are delightfully friendly.
Will definitely go back to try other dishes.

Lots of inviting menu choices, friendly staff, excellent value, and best of all, delicious food. Not a vegetarian? Come here anyway, you will be pleasantly surprised. The food is not fake anything, it’s just really tasty food. Our party had the ‘beef’ with broccoli, General Tso’s ‘chicken, and eggplant/‘chicken.’ We ate every scrap. Brown rice available.

Wonderful service, lots of choices on the menu. I got a hot and sour soup (spicy and tasty!) and the sesame «chicken» lunch special. All for $ 6.50. I will definitely come back when I’m in West Reading again.

My daughter and I were passing through Reading and were surprised and delighted to find this vegetarian establishment! The space was very clean and the service was excellent. We loved the fresh juices (I had beet/​apple/​ginger) and were so happy to be eating food with NO MSG! The edamame appetizer was hot, fresh, and delicious. The seaweed salad was cool and refreshing — if served with just a bit more dressing/​sauce than I would prefer. The steamed vegetable dumplings were soooo good, and my daughter loved the General Tso chicken (although that was swimming in an almost-​too sweet sauce, but she could eat around that). Prices were reasonable, and we left very satisfied. I would add a fifth star if they used more fresh organic produce and less processed foods. Delicious meal and would go back!

If you like vegan chinese food, this is in the top 5 that I’ve had. My only complaint is that some things are way too oily.
Juices are pretty good, main chinese food is good, but the appetizers aren’t my favorite.

We have loved everything we have ordered. It is fresh and delicious. So far my favorites are the wonton soup (love the broth!) and the eggplant entrée.
So happy to have this restaurant in our neighborhood.

A vegan option in Reading, this is great news. I am being a bit generous on my rating. I really would give it more of a 3 star because of what I had, I thought it was just good, not great or awesome. I went with 3 friends and we all ordered something different and shared. This is all veg, but nothing we ordered I would consider healthy. Most was processed mock meat with a few veggies and a sugar laden sauce over it.
The eggplant was my favorite. The other dishes were mock meat and none of them really stood out. The pineapple chicken fried rice that everyone raved about was my least favorite dish. It seemed too sugary.
I’d go again, but probably try some of their non mock items. I think they can do something wonderful here, I think I just missed the right things.

Delicious freshly made food. Tons of options good prices and staff was super friendly and helpful. Will go here again!

A very welcome edition to the Berks/​Reading area.
My then girlfriend (now fiancée) and I went there on a lark right after it opened and were impressed with the food, juice bar and prices and have been going back regularly.
What I like most about Chen is that it appears to be any regular Chinese food take out place. The food even tastes like meat/​chicken. Plus: NO MSG!
The staff are extremely friendly and make you feel very comfortable.
I recommend the dumplings or cane sugar drumsticks, black pepper seitan or General Tsao’s and any of the juices from their juice bar.
You can’t beat a place like this!

Let me first say I am an omnivore and I love meat. That being said the stuff that use to make their sesame chicken tastes better than most Chinese restaurants real chicken. The steamed dumplings were incredible. I have no ideas what was in them but it doesn’t matter they were great. The juice was very good too. I will be back even thought I prefer meat to tofu its that good. The added bonus is that the owner is a kind soul and seems to take great pride in his magic.

I eat here at least twice per week, no exaggeration. I think it is excellent, however, there are some dishes on the menu which I have not enjoyed which probably explains the bad reviews. Rather than focusing on the negative, I’ll point out the dishes that I have really enjoyed. I highly recommend the following: Pad Kee Mai with chicken, steamed dumplings, Beef curry, pad Thai, and chicken pineapple fried rice. It’s also great to be able to order a fresh vegetable juice. As I make new discoveries on the menu, I will be sure to update this review.

I have eaten here many many times and am currently obsessed with the pineapple fried rice and the chocolate cappuccino ice cream. Other favorite dishes: Triple Green (broccoli, green beans, and pea pods), the chicken nuggets (imagine if McDonald’s sold these), and the beet/​cucumber/​apple juice.
Some have commented to me they they don’t like *fake* food — but then why do we use words such as poultry or veal? Of course, you can skip the meat alternatives here and enjoy an all veggie or all noodle dish. And their noodles are fantastic as well as very cheap, most around $ 7 for a large portion.
Chen is thriving, hallelujah!

You think you might think a vegetarian has options at your average Asian restaurant but that simply isn’t true. I miss general tsos chicken, sweet and sour chicken, curry and soup that isn’t prepared in just beef broth — enter Chen. They have been opened for five short months since my review. Sure, vegans and vegetarians alike (and impressed omnivores) can rejoice and relive the taste of dumplings and general tsos again but unique additions like a fresh juice bar and frozen yogurt (with real fruit instead of sugar that overpowers the recipe creating ADHD in a child) seems that Chen is making it a mission to be much more than your average takeaway.
Berks County is fortunate to have it. You will be tempted to deviate away from your Asian standby as the menu is expansive and reasonable. I only wish I were closer just so I can visit more.

Super food & service! I went w/​my Vegan son… a little afraid… but everything we had was GREAT!!! NO MEAT… but somehow tasted like chicken! & beef… don’t know how they do it but really everything was great!
Cleaner than my kitchen… too!
Will be back!

Hallelujah. It’s finally open. Berks County’s first all-​vegetarian restaurant is here. And it didn’t disappoint.
We had a well-​rounded lunch with soups, appetizers and main courses. (There are very affordable lunch specials which I will sample at some future time. But the temptations of this large and diverse menu were too much to resist limiting us to the lunch specials.)
Both the hot and sour and tom yum soups were phenomenal. Perfect for a crisp fall day. The scallion pancakes were good and crunchy and the King Oyster mushroom appetizers with a nice lemon sauce were irresistible. These mushrooms with a just right salt and pepper flavoring are a novel idea that would be perfect cocktail party snacky food.
The teriyaki seitan main course was on a bed of snow peas and zucchini. The seitan had nice texture and flavoring and it’s something different from the usual Chinese veggie menu. The curry with fake shrimp was also outstanding.
We also tried two of the healthy juice options (there are smoothies too that we didn’t try). Some of the juices are from vegetables, some are from fruit. The two we had were a pleasant alternative to soda and bottled juice. Chen must really be commended for having these tasty and healthy drinks. Such a nice complement to a meal.
It’s the best of both worlds here. As I said there are affordable lunch specials. And there’s take out if you want to eat at home or at work instead. But there are also tables to sit down and savor the food from the very large menu — that offers mostly Chinese veggie food, but also some Thai selections, sandwiches and even soy milk shakes and ice cream. It’s going to take some time to work through this menu!
They’ve really made some effort to make the best of the space here. The chairs are comfortable and there are two more private tables in front near the storefront window that would be perfect for a date night.
I don’t know who these people are that opened this place. But we who live here ought to be on our knees thanking them for coming to this desert of options for vegetarians and vegans. It was so encouraging to see many people coming in to both eat there and take food out. We are more than ready for this place!
This is more than a restaurant, it’s a game-​changer to improve the culture of this area. I don’t have any connection to the people who own or work at this restaurant. So I’m saying this without any agenda: This restaurant must be visited and visited often.
And Chen will satisfy carnivores looking for a break. So Berks County vegetarians and vegans, listen up: no more settling for substandard local places with depressing and unimaginative veggie options. Because you can bring the meat eaters to Chen. They’ll like it.
Everything has changed now. No more brew pubs with a veggie burger flung at you or Italian restaurants with overpriced overboiled pasta that you can make much better at home. Tell your carnivore friends to go with you to Chen. They owe it to you. How many times have you settled for french fries or a salad at local restaurants because there isn’t anything else vegetarian or vegan? It’s time to turn the tables and bring the meat eaters here.
So meat eaters: give this a try. It’s like eating another ethnic food. Or it’s like any other Chinese place but healthier. You’ll be surprised at how much faux meat tastes like real meat.
Veggie and vegan people: this means no more road trips to Su Tao in Malvern or to Chinatown in Philadelphia to hunt down this kind of food. We can now have this food on a everyday basis in our own county. Wow.
And to add to the list of good things about this place — there are no televisions.
Live long and prosper here Chen!