so sad to hear the laughing seed is closing for good. i have loved this restaurant since they opened downtown in 1993. đđđ
IHeartAnimals
There was a wonderful variety of items to choose from, it was difficult to decide. We would have gotten the jalapeño fries and cauliflower tacos but their main frier wasnât working so we got the chorizo tacos, coconut curry and sweet potato Ruben which came with crispy homemade fries (they have a small frier that was working). We donât enjoy vegan cheese that is made using Science so we opted for the cashew queso which was absolutely delicious. The tacos were our favorite item. The texture and taste were a solid 10 out of ten. Which made me miss trying the cauliflower tacos even more.
The Ruben was our 2nd favorite. I usually have tempeh meat on a Ruben so I couldnât imagine how they could make sweet potato taste âmeatyâ but they did. It was so delicious, I will be looking up how to make that âsweet potato meatâ at home.
The Thai Panang Curry was the only disappointment. It was fresh tasting and the tofu was fried to crispy perfection. It just needed more sauce.
I got the Blackberry Ginger Mint mocktail. It was just the right amount of sour and was a beautiful presentation. Our only regret was not leaving room for dessert. If we lived in Asheville we would be regulars at this establishment.
Our server was also Excellent! She was attentive without being intrusive. She pre-bussed the table and refilled our water glasses and asked if we needed another round and brought us our food perfectly timed!
We went back the next day and had the Tostada Enchilada salad (itâs the choriso taco grown up), the Supreme pizza with no cheese (nice crispy crust and a good amount of sauce), the Amaretto Cherry Cheesecake (absolutely worth going back just for that!) the peanut butter cookie (the only disappointment) and the Lime Aid (perfecly balanced and not too sweet). But I preferred the one yesterday. Another wonderful server. Love this place!
Updated from previous review on 2025-03-02
SaveTheLocals
Laughing Seed has great service, it's clean and beautiful inside. The menu seems to play it safe. As many food spots in Asheville, and maybe it is due to the Southern Palate; Laughing Seed doesn't really venture out of the basic offerings. When they do, it seems to dive only into limited Asian or Indian themes and the variety of vegan food goes so much further. The salads are huge, but something is missing at Laughing Seed. The "wow", clean, yum feeling that I get when I eat a good vegan meal out, its just not there. It's a great place to take non-vegans, meat eaters, etc and the plates are full. Just dont expect to be blown away.
sparechayng
Laughing Seed has great service, it's clean and beautiful inside. The menu seems to play it safe. As many food spots in Asheville, and maybe it is due to the Southern Palate; Laughing Seed doesn't really venture out of the basic offerings. When they do, it seems to dive only into limited Asian or Indian themes and the variety of vegan food goes so much further. The salads are huge, but something is missing at Laughing Seed. The "wow", clean, yum feeling that I get when I eat a good vegan meal out, its just not there. It's a great place to take non-vegans, meat eaters, etc and the plates are full. Just dont expect to be blown away.
Lily Peterson
Restaurant is very clean with a very relaxing ambiance. The food was absolutely delicious and the staff was very friendly and helpful.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Jalapeño Fries, Burger
Skott Peralta
The restaurant is a really nice exception. The service is super friendly, the menu is very varied and imaginative and the food is simply delicious. The location in downtown Asheville is also very cozy and idyllic, especially in the fall. We would love to come back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hannah Russell
Great place with lots of options and great food! I was there on vacation in the spring and was so happy with the food here :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Diana
After more than two decades of ignoring Laughing Seed due to their tasteless food and horrible, slow, rude service, I gave them another try only to experience the same bad food and entitled servers they've pumped out for the 25 years I've been in Asheville. Just because a restaurants is "vegetarian" doesn't make it good. Besides the tasteless food, owners Joan and Joe and their awful daughter impose a mandatory 15% plus other fees on take-out orders. Tipping is VOLUNTARY not mandatory in the United States and it is not my responsibility to pay their freaking waitstaff. Joan and Joe should pay them. Restaurants in Europe pay their waitstaff salaries with benefits and aren't constantly screaming how on the edge they are and demanding their customers pay even more to eat out. And while you're at it, you can direct your staff to be nice to customers and not make them wait more than an hour for orders; see other negative reviews for extremely similar comments. Seven dollars in mandatory tip and fees on a twenty-two dollar to-go order is obscene and absurd and despite the small print that Laughing Seed will remove the 15% if asked, TWICE they argued with me about it in a really nasty way forcing me to walk out the second time which will definitely be the last time I ever step foot in their overrated, nasty establishment. Joan and now her mini-me daughter have a well-earned reputation for cheapness and rudeness and, unfortunately, nothing has changed with them in decades. There are far better vegetarian options in Asheville with fast and friendly service and tasty food. Oh, and if they remember to put a to-go condiment in your hot order, the container will melt into your food and they'll tell you it's "bio-degradable" when you complain you just ingested plastic. Steer clear.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Diana Diana
After more than two decades of ignoring Laughing Seed due to their tasteless food and horrible, slow, rude service, I gave them another try only to experience the same bad food and entitled servers they've pumped out for the 25 years I've been in Asheville. Just because a restaurants is "vegetarian" doesn't make it good. Besides the tasteless food, owners Joan and Joe and their awful daughter impose a mandatory 15% plus other fees on take-out orders. Tipping is VOLUNTARY not mandatory in the United States and it is not my responsibility to pay their freaking waitstaff. Joan and Joe should pay them. Restaurants in Europe pay their waitstaff salaries with benefits and aren't constantly screaming how on the edge they are and demanding their customers pay even more to eat out. And while you're at it, you can direct your staff to be nice to customers and not make them wait more than an hour for orders; see other negative reviews for extremely similar comments. Seven dollars in mandatory tip and fees on a twenty-two dollar to-go order is obscene and absurd and despite the small print that Laughing Seed will remove the 15% if asked, TWICE they argued with me about it in a really nasty way forcing me to walk out the second time which will definitely be the last time I ever step foot in their overrated, nasty establishment. Joan and now her mini-me daughter have a well-earned reputation for cheapness and rudeness and, unfortunately, nothing has changed with them in decades. There are far better vegetarian options in Asheville with fast and friendly service and tasty food. Oh, and if they remember to put a to-go condiment in your hot order, the container will melt into your food and they'll tell you it's "bio-degradable" when you complain you just ingested plastic. Steer clear.
This place exceeded my expectations! The inside decor and plants provide a great atmosphere. The whole menu could be made vegan (substituting cheese), and the food was amazing. We shared southwest fries and two tacos, leaving room for dessert.the desserts were huge, so we were pretty full, and glad we didn't order more for the main meal.
Everything we ate was excellent and I would order any of it again, but I also want to try new things!
Beth Levy
The Laughing Seed was clearly understaffed the day we were there as the waiter was supporting many tables and our food took over an hour to arrive. We understand many places are understaffed now, but the food was not good. Our waiter was friendly but we wish he had been more forthcoming about some of the food when we asked. For example, when we asked about the Mushroom Bibimbap he said it was a really great choice. When it arrived it was overly salty and too spicy, to the point of being barely edible for any of us at the table (4 of us in our group). When the waiter asked, "How was your meal?" and we told him the Bibimbap was too salty he replied, "Yeah, that has been a complaint and we have been trying to work on it." When I ordered the pineapple tacos, I asked the waiter if they were spicy and he said, "no, not at all." However, they were way too spicy for me to eat AND the pineapple was not very tasty (maybe it was canned or just a not tasty pineapple) which was a disappointment given this was the bulk of the dish. We were overall very disappointed as we were very excited to eat at the Laughing Seed.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
Vegan Bee
Such a vibe. Loved grabbing a quick bite here. So many overwhelming options! 10/10 would recommend ??
Vegetarian options: So many delicious options! All vegetarian.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Soup
Tawniee Whitten
I have frequented the laughing seed many times over the years and it never disappointed me, the other day I went there and was surprised, I donât know if it was an off day for this place but the service was absolutely horrible, I sat at my table for over ten minutes before the waiter took my drink order, I then waited another ten minutes to receive it in a very small glass (tea). The waiter took my food order and by the time I received my food my tea was already finished. My waiter did not bring me my food so I couldnât ask for another one. I had rice in my dish the rice was undercooked and hard. I had not ate all day and was hungry so I continued to eat it while looking for my waiter to get more tea. I finished my meal by the time he finally came in from the table he was entertaining the entire time I was there. He was dismissive when I asked for another tea. I may give it another Chan because I do love this place itâs unfortunate that I didnât enjoy it as much this time.
The food portions are generous, yaâll!!! Location is perfect. The outdoor seating is right on the street and you can people watch while youâre munching on your plant goodies! I had the bibimbap and it was awesomeness and sooo flavorful! I recommend this place completely!
so sad to hear the laughing seed is closing for good. i have loved this restaurant since they opened downtown in 1993. đđđ
There was a wonderful variety of items to choose from, it was difficult to decide. We would have gotten the jalapeño fries and cauliflower tacos but their main frier wasnât working so we got the chorizo tacos, coconut curry and sweet potato Ruben which came with crispy homemade fries (they have a small frier that was working). We donât enjoy vegan cheese that is made using Science so we opted for the cashew queso which was absolutely delicious. The tacos were our favorite item. The texture and taste were a solid 10 out of ten. Which made me miss trying the cauliflower tacos even more. The Ruben was our 2nd favorite. I usually have tempeh meat on a Ruben so I couldnât imagine how they could make sweet potato taste âmeatyâ but they did. It was so delicious, I will be looking up how to make that âsweet potato meatâ at home. The Thai Panang Curry was the only disappointment. It was fresh tasting and the tofu was fried to crispy perfection. It just needed more sauce. I got the Blackberry Ginger Mint mocktail. It was just the right amount of sour and was a beautiful presentation. Our only regret was not leaving room for dessert. If we lived in Asheville we would be regulars at this establishment. Our server was also Excellent! She was attentive without being intrusive. She pre-bussed the table and refilled our water glasses and asked if we needed another round and brought us our food perfectly timed! We went back the next day and had the Tostada Enchilada salad (itâs the choriso taco grown up), the Supreme pizza with no cheese (nice crispy crust and a good amount of sauce), the Amaretto Cherry Cheesecake (absolutely worth going back just for that!) the peanut butter cookie (the only disappointment) and the Lime Aid (perfecly balanced and not too sweet). But I preferred the one yesterday. Another wonderful server. Love this place! Updated from previous review on 2025-03-02
Laughing Seed has great service, it's clean and beautiful inside. The menu seems to play it safe. As many food spots in Asheville, and maybe it is due to the Southern Palate; Laughing Seed doesn't really venture out of the basic offerings. When they do, it seems to dive only into limited Asian or Indian themes and the variety of vegan food goes so much further. The salads are huge, but something is missing at Laughing Seed. The "wow", clean, yum feeling that I get when I eat a good vegan meal out, its just not there. It's a great place to take non-vegans, meat eaters, etc and the plates are full. Just dont expect to be blown away.
Laughing Seed has great service, it's clean and beautiful inside. The menu seems to play it safe. As many food spots in Asheville, and maybe it is due to the Southern Palate; Laughing Seed doesn't really venture out of the basic offerings. When they do, it seems to dive only into limited Asian or Indian themes and the variety of vegan food goes so much further. The salads are huge, but something is missing at Laughing Seed. The "wow", clean, yum feeling that I get when I eat a good vegan meal out, its just not there. It's a great place to take non-vegans, meat eaters, etc and the plates are full. Just dont expect to be blown away.
Restaurant is very clean with a very relaxing ambiance. The food was absolutely delicious and the staff was very friendly and helpful.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Jalapeño Fries, Burger
The restaurant is a really nice exception. The service is super friendly, the menu is very varied and imaginative and the food is simply delicious. The location in downtown Asheville is also very cozy and idyllic, especially in the fall. We would love to come back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great place with lots of options and great food! I was there on vacation in the spring and was so happy with the food here :)
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
After more than two decades of ignoring Laughing Seed due to their tasteless food and horrible, slow, rude service, I gave them another try only to experience the same bad food and entitled servers they've pumped out for the 25 years I've been in Asheville. Just because a restaurants is "vegetarian" doesn't make it good. Besides the tasteless food, owners Joan and Joe and their awful daughter impose a mandatory 15% plus other fees on take-out orders. Tipping is VOLUNTARY not mandatory in the United States and it is not my responsibility to pay their freaking waitstaff. Joan and Joe should pay them. Restaurants in Europe pay their waitstaff salaries with benefits and aren't constantly screaming how on the edge they are and demanding their customers pay even more to eat out. And while you're at it, you can direct your staff to be nice to customers and not make them wait more than an hour for orders; see other negative reviews for extremely similar comments. Seven dollars in mandatory tip and fees on a twenty-two dollar to-go order is obscene and absurd and despite the small print that Laughing Seed will remove the 15% if asked, TWICE they argued with me about it in a really nasty way forcing me to walk out the second time which will definitely be the last time I ever step foot in their overrated, nasty establishment. Joan and now her mini-me daughter have a well-earned reputation for cheapness and rudeness and, unfortunately, nothing has changed with them in decades. There are far better vegetarian options in Asheville with fast and friendly service and tasty food. Oh, and if they remember to put a to-go condiment in your hot order, the container will melt into your food and they'll tell you it's "bio-degradable" when you complain you just ingested plastic. Steer clear.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
After more than two decades of ignoring Laughing Seed due to their tasteless food and horrible, slow, rude service, I gave them another try only to experience the same bad food and entitled servers they've pumped out for the 25 years I've been in Asheville. Just because a restaurants is "vegetarian" doesn't make it good. Besides the tasteless food, owners Joan and Joe and their awful daughter impose a mandatory 15% plus other fees on take-out orders. Tipping is VOLUNTARY not mandatory in the United States and it is not my responsibility to pay their freaking waitstaff. Joan and Joe should pay them. Restaurants in Europe pay their waitstaff salaries with benefits and aren't constantly screaming how on the edge they are and demanding their customers pay even more to eat out. And while you're at it, you can direct your staff to be nice to customers and not make them wait more than an hour for orders; see other negative reviews for extremely similar comments. Seven dollars in mandatory tip and fees on a twenty-two dollar to-go order is obscene and absurd and despite the small print that Laughing Seed will remove the 15% if asked, TWICE they argued with me about it in a really nasty way forcing me to walk out the second time which will definitely be the last time I ever step foot in their overrated, nasty establishment. Joan and now her mini-me daughter have a well-earned reputation for cheapness and rudeness and, unfortunately, nothing has changed with them in decades. There are far better vegetarian options in Asheville with fast and friendly service and tasty food. Oh, and if they remember to put a to-go condiment in your hot order, the container will melt into your food and they'll tell you it's "bio-degradable" when you complain you just ingested plastic. Steer clear.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Delicious every time!
Great mocktails too.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
This place exceeded my expectations! The inside decor and plants provide a great atmosphere. The whole menu could be made vegan (substituting cheese), and the food was amazing. We shared southwest fries and two tacos, leaving room for dessert.the desserts were huge, so we were pretty full, and glad we didn't order more for the main meal. Everything we ate was excellent and I would order any of it again, but I also want to try new things!
The Laughing Seed was clearly understaffed the day we were there as the waiter was supporting many tables and our food took over an hour to arrive. We understand many places are understaffed now, but the food was not good.
Our waiter was friendly but we wish he had been more forthcoming about some of the food when we asked. For example, when we asked about the Mushroom Bibimbap he said it was a really great choice. When it arrived it was overly salty and too spicy, to the point of being barely edible for any of us at the table (4 of us in our group). When the waiter asked, "How was your meal?" and we told him the Bibimbap was too salty he replied, "Yeah, that has been a complaint and we have been trying to work on it." When I ordered the pineapple tacos, I asked the waiter if they were spicy and he said, "no, not at all." However, they were way too spicy for me to eat AND the pineapple was not very tasty (maybe it was canned or just a not tasty pineapple) which was a disappointment given this was the bulk of the dish. We were overall very disappointed as we were very excited to eat at the Laughing Seed.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
Such a vibe. Loved grabbing a quick bite here. So many overwhelming options! 10/10 would recommend ??
Vegetarian options: So many delicious options! All vegetarian.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Soup
I have frequented the laughing seed many times over the years and it never disappointed me, the other day I went there and was surprised, I donât know if it was an off day for this place but the service was absolutely horrible, I sat at my table for over ten minutes before the waiter took my drink order, I then waited another ten minutes to receive it in a very small glass (tea).
The waiter took my food order and by the time I received my food my tea was already finished. My waiter did not bring me my food so I couldnât ask for another one. I had rice in my dish the rice was undercooked and hard. I had not ate all day and was hungry so I continued to eat it while looking for my waiter to get more tea. I finished my meal by the time he finally came in from the table he was entertaining the entire time I was there.
He was dismissive when I asked for another tea.
I may give it another Chan because I do love this place itâs unfortunate that I didnât enjoy it as much this time.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 2
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Key Lime Pie, Artichoke Dip, Buffalo Cauliflower Tacos
The food portions are generous, yaâll!!! Location is perfect. The outdoor seating is right on the street and you can people watch while youâre munching on your plant goodies! I had the bibimbap and it was awesomeness and sooo flavorful! I recommend this place completely!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
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