Willow Vegan Bistro And Cocktail Bar Reviews

Willow Bistro is located close to the High Line and is a Kosher certified vegan restaurant. We popped in for lunch after our walk - no reservation required. Varied menu - the food we ordered was great and no delay with it arriving at our table. Mrs particularly enjoyed the Philly Cheesesteak sandwich. Bright, clean, modern interior. Highly recommended.

This was one of the best vegan meals I’ve ever had. Everything was just perfect. The staff was friendly and the service was fast, and everything we tried was spectacular. As a vegan, one of the foods I’ve missed the most is a good French onion soup. I was thrilled but skeptical when we saw it on the menu. After trying it, my husband ( who is a carnivore!) said it was one of the best he’s ever had. I agree! I had the Nashville hot “chicken” which had absolutely perfect crunch , texture and flavor, and from the home baked bread to to the pickles, hot sauce and slaw, it was phenomenal ( note to self- order the side salad instead of the fries- I was just far to full!) My husband had the smash burger with vegan runny egg. He devoured it and thoroughly enjoyed every bite . He too commented on the texture ( vegan burgers are often just very mushy and strange) being perfect and he couldn’t believe that a vegan egg ran when he cut it. He said it was just as good as any real egg!

Fantastic food and service at affordable prices. Highly recommend the Cobb Salad and Cauliflower Buffalo Wings. We were so pleased to find this Vegan place in Chelsea, probably the best food we had during our entire NY stay over 5 days.

Defiantly worth a visit, great service, tasty food and casual ambiance. The macaroni cheese was delicious and the ice cream peanut butter sauce dessert was a true indulgence. Highly recommend.

The food was out of this world. I had the pepper steak and mashed potato and it was delicious. The Chianti was also one of the best I’ve had. After exploring the Whitney museum head to the High line and get off at 20th street and make the short walk to Willow.

I'm giving 5 stars because I don't think the fact that I'm not vegan should impact the rating. The restaurant is large with a nice simple, calm design. The service was great and attentive. The drinks were tasty. The food was good but tbh not really my cup of tea. My lamb burger was fine bc the tzatziki sauce was good but the burger tasted like nothing. The calamari was nicely battered but was like rubber bands. I'm sure this would be delicious for a vegan, but I'm a true carnivore and know what that's supposed to taste like. My friend enjoyed his cobb salad. I'd recommend to all vegans and I'm happy I tried something new.

I sometimes consider vegan restaurants to be a bit ‘worthy’ with virtuously healthy food choices. Willow has the same vegan food, but the menu is made up of all the naughty choices, like pizza (flatbreads) and burgers. The vegan cheese, which is key to making these dishes work, was just like melted mozzarella. Superbly naughty but also vegan. Good job Willow.

Excellent vegan food. Service was efficient and friendly. I had the French onion soup (based on another review and wish to pass on the recommendation) and the lobster rolls - both so full of flavour and simply delicious. The cheesecake dessert was also fantastic. The bistro itself is lovely with a cosy and intimate feel. I highly recommend a visit and will definitely return if I am ever in town again!

My first visit to this establishment was quite an experience! It was a first date, so the company was splendid. Our server had just started working there and his presentation and delivery was seasoned. The meal was fantastic! I enjoyed the New England Clam Chowder; the mushrooms were decadent and perfectly cooked. The Zalmon Tartare was beautifully presented. It was rich tasty! And my Cobb Salad was delicious; it was abundant and vibrantly colored! It was the best vegan and gluten-free meal I have had in years! The space was thoughtfully put together. And it was clear the staff all enjoyed working together. I can't wait to visit again!

Amazing food! I’ve tried a ton of vegan food, as I’ve been a vegetarian all my life—Willow is by far the best. Gabrielle was wonderful, she was so nice and funny and extremely timely when it came to checking in on us or seating us!

We had a reservation here on Friday June 17th. Arrived and stood at the door for 10 minutes while the staff casually walked around and even looked at us many times but no one came. Finally a guy sauntered over and we mentioned our reservation. He pointed to a table and we went over and sat ourselves. Then we sat there for 15 minutes with zero service, no water, no acknowledgement. There were 5 waiters and 5 tables. Absolutely no reason to be ignored like this. We left and had to find a restaurant on a friday night. Thankfully we did. We will never come back or recommend this place.

Amazing food, great service, well priced. We had the calamari and salmon to start and then the steak and BBQ burger for a main and shared the chef’s cookie skillet for dessert; all washed down with excellent wines. Decent portion sizes meant we left very full! My brother is very much not a vegan but he loved the food nonetheless which is always a good sign for a vegan restaurant. Well done! Just sad that I was only in NYC for one night, otherwise I would have to return to try other menu options!

Was here for dinner tonight. Just wonderful vegan food. We started with the cauliflower starter, recommended by Chrisian our handsome waiter and it was divine. We followed with 2 dishes the "chicken" burger and a calamari pasta dish. Both entres were outstanding . Again christian gave us his personal views on desserts and we opted for the cheesecake and the banana fosters. Just delicious!!! He recommended a beautiful wine to accompany the food too. We had a really fab meal, its a cute little restaurant and the staff are attentive but not intrusive. This is a gem for vegan food. Do not pass this restaurant !!!!!!

I had dinner with some vegan friends after they enjoyed lunch at Willow. Sadly, the restaurant didn’t live up to expectations. First, the spicy mango margarita was sickly sweet, as was the Pinot Grigio. The cheeseburger sliders were delicious…tasted like real meat and cheese. But, the entrees were a disappointment. My “chicken” piccata was rubbery, the polenta was hard and the dish was barely warm. My friends had the cacio e pepe…which tasted like neither, but more like mushroom soup over pasta. In terms of service, I don’t remember it being particularly attentive or friendly. In any case, given the many food options in NYC, I probably won’t go back.

Hands down this delicious and well prepared menu was a 5 star affair. We ordered two starters and two entrees: Willow Crab Cakes, Truffle Mac and Cheese, “Steak” Frites, and Eggplant Lasagna. Vegan as comfort food for the soul! The flavors were unique and satisfying. The crab cakes were jackfruit and melt in your mouth amazing. I had the Lasagna and every bite perfection. I can’t imagine a better tasting Mac and Cheese. My friend who is not a Vegan, had the “Steak,” and found it delightful. The portions are generous and even as “take-out” and delivered by bicycle carrier - our meals arrived as a nice presentation, just a tad chilled. The communication is where the one star comes off - from the prep side, no problem - about twenty minutes, and we received emails and texts to tell us the meal was prepared by 7:22 and on it’s way - should be there in 5 minutes (we had ordered for that 7:30 pm window); however, whoever calculates the distance and delivery time dropped the ball - it was a full 30 minutes from Chelsea to the East Village and the delivery guy was doing his level best! It only looks like 2.1 miles on the map - this is Manhattan! And on a Friday night. Despite that bit of anxiety, I would definitely order out again; and we do plan on dining in to try out the other menu selections. Anyone who loves Vegan food or wants to experience how delicious Vegan food can be - will become a big fan of Willow NYC.

Went there for a casual business lunch. The food is excellent, especially the zalmon tartar. Could not taste that it was not real salmon! Also the 'chicken' is recommended for non-vegan. Only reason I don't give them a 5-star rating is that they don't serve any kind of coffee.

Recommend? Yes. This is an all vegan establisment. I got the calamari, chik'n Caesar salad, scallop cacio e pepe, and the cucumber mint. The calarmari had a thick crust and crunch with a nice chew at the center. The chik'n Caesar salad was good. I found the croutons a bit on the sweet side. The dressing could've been a bit creamier. It had the right hint of "fishy" similar to the anchovy in a traditional Caesar, but lacking the creaminess. The chik'n was tender and went really well with the salad. The scallop cacio e pepe pasta was just simply delicious. I wanted dessert, but alas I was so satisfied with my meal I couldn't take another bite.

We really enjoyed everything we ordered. Appetizers are huge. French onion soup is excellent. Fried chicken sandwich is very tasty. Service was very good too. We really enjoyed food and we would come back.

Visiting, I hadn't eaten all day and decided to check out Willow. The decor was great, upscale-ish but I didn't feel out of place in jeans and a parka. The food is good, I had the "buttermilk fried chicken" and cajun fries. The portion sizes were generous but not cartoonish, so it definitely seemed well thought out and executed (which isn't always the case with comfort food, vegan or not), and the prices were reasonable for the style of restaurant (particularly for vegan food in general and also for a place in NYC). But even though I did enjoy the food, I can't stress enough how fantastic my server Charles was (though to be clear I would come back based upon the food even if I were to have had average service, though the thanks to Charles the service was stellar, nowhere near average). Charles was cognizant and thoughtful of the fact I hadn't eaten and never kept me waiting. Honestly, even if you aren't vegan but just like comfort food and GREAT service, definitely checkout Willow and ask for Charles (though every staff member I interacted with was very nice too).

Fantastic vegan food. I just love love love the food served at this restaurant. You don’t even have to be vegan to enjoy the amazing flavors served. Thank you

Absolutely delicious “calamari” appetizer and seitan steak, beautifully presented and service was exceptional as well.

Excellent and very tasty food with great service. We’re not a vegan family and the girls of 10 and 13 years old can be quite picky when is comes to food, but they loved it too. We definitely recommend going there.

First off let me tell you I am NOT Vegan but am trying to eat more cleaner foods. We were visiting New York and stumbled across this restaurant and figured let's give it a try. Let me tell you THIS is the best tasting vegan food I have ever tasted. We are testing different kinds of vegan foods to eat healthier and this restaurant just bump up our confidence in eating more cleaner and vegan foods. The buffalo wings are a MUST. The sauce was AMAZING. I have not found real buffalo wing sauce this good. I also had the crab cakes which were a huge plus but the best thing in my book was the clam chowder. I had no idea oyster mushrooms would taste sooooo good. I am really funny about my clam chowders and this restaurant put a new twist to vegan clam chowder. Service was really really nice. The atmosphere was very inviting. We were attended to very nicely. Kudos to management. This is a little secret eatery in Chelsea.