Cold water being priced at 15 rmb/ person/glass without notice ! 120 RMB for a juice from god-knows-where the fruit come from, 3000 RMB+ for tea, averaging 500RMB for the cheapest ones, harder to get a seat and need to queue.

This place is becoming worse and worse. Food much worse than 3-4 years ago. Not sure I'll keep coming back.

I used to like eating here for special occasions, but this was my last visit. Invited my girl-friend for her birthday, made a reservation and they had me wait half an hour despite my reservation. After having waited for an extra half an hour they wanted us to sit at a huge table with eight chairs. I refused so I had to wait again until they had a table for two ready. We were then promptly ignored for a couple of minutes until someone came over. In the meantime I was able to take a look at the menu, their beverage prices exploded! Their cheapest juice costs 120 RMB and there aren't any softdrinks other than coffee to chose from. Their teas now range from 148 up to several thousand RMB. I noticed that most people eating their asked for free water. Some of their dishes are still quite affordable but a lot of dishes were not available that night. Anyway, I ended up ordering a medium priced tea and had a few dishes, the whole thing set me back 700 RMB. Which would have been fine for an amazing experience which it wasn't, the food was average. Anyway, their food presentation seems the only thing that matters now and since the place was packed as usual I guess they must be doing ok.

If I could eat here every day I could easily be a vegetarian.

The menu is extensive, the food is really delicious, and the service is excellent. Very nice ambience in the restaurant too.

Be aware they don't serve alcohol.

I rate Pure Lotus as one of the Best Vegetarian restaurants I have been to anywhere in the world. Go to the Chaoyang Park location - it is a more awe-inspiring setting than the Lido, and I think the quality of food may be a bit better as well. Great raw food selection as well as more traditonal Chinese vegetarian dishes. I particularly like ordering the vegetarian Peking Duck when entertaining out-of-town visitors (it has a different, more poetic name in the menu, which I forget but just ask the waitress for it) - a nice twist on the city's most famous dish. The dining area at Chaoyang Park is simply stunning - I don't know of another restaurant that matches it. Combined with the delectable food, it makes for a very special dining experience.

To people concerned about price, yes it is easy to spend a lot of money here, but it is also easy not to. Dishes range from about 40 rmb to up around 600 rmb or so - which is a pretty massive range. If you order carefully, you can eat well for around 100 rmb per person, and the cheap dishes are no less tasty than the expensive ones. The waiters do tend to try to steer you towards more expensive dishes, but you don't have to take their suggestions, and usually they are still quite helpful if you just tell them you don't want to spend more than x amount of money.

To people who don't like the idea of fake meat, get over yourselves. Stop being so narrow-minded. Fake meat is an ancient and integral part of Chinese cuisine, developed over a thousand years ago by Buddhist missionaries looking for a way to ween novice monks from their desire to eat meat. So set aside those silly Western prejudices for an evening and just enjoy the delicious, guilt-free taste of a big hunk of tender beef. Think of it as a mushroom, wheat gluten, or tofu patty (cause it actually is usually one of those three things), if that helps. Just relax and enjoy!

Yesterday we visited the new location near the Holiday in. We enjoyed the atmosphere and friendly crew.
The food was awesome. Being a raw food lover I enjoyed the meat-free Chinese recipes. My friend even ordered a sweet dessert that she saw once before in some raw food books and totally enjoyed it.
It was a great evening!

I was skeptical about this place at first because of 1. mixed reviews and 2. do expats really know Buddhist food, but the Lido location blew us away! When we entered they rubbed rose oil on our hands, and then seated us at plush ruffled tables. They payed attention to every detail!!!! From the food being presented in large white vessels of art to the amazing dofu and various dishes, they knew how to pamper you. we spent 338 kwai on 6 different dishes, and for a hotel it was way below average price. they made you feel special, and if you are going to go out don't you want to be treated like a special guest??? the food was equally amazing, and our favorite was the complex and sweet pumpkin soup, the spare rib style tofu, and the various seaweed wraps and organic rice. the tomato dumplings were incredibly light and flavorful, and only the tomato noodles were adequate tasting like spaghetti. this was a fun fantastic restaurant, and well worth a visit if not two or three, this we will always remember. at the end they gave us lotus flowers

I am a little surprised that there are two star reviews of this place, especially by people who either "don't understand" vegetarian food or who proclaim to have no expertise on the subject. I never hear any other type of cuisine described this way -- "I just don't UNDERSTAND Taco Bell! It's not REALLY from Mexico!", "I'm not an expert on Italian cuisine but I guess that's what lasagna looks like". Whether you are a vegetarian or not, mock meats are something that Pure Lotus does well and it's something that should be expected of a restaurant that has vegetarian in the name. I understand being new to a type of food and therefore not won over on your first bite but the "purpose" of mock meats is not to cheat in your vegetarianism and they certainly aren't supposed to taste like Kobe beef. Mock meats try to demonstrate that there are more sustainable and healthier versions of our favorite meat dishes and any veteran vegetarian will explain to you mock meats are rare treats and by no means a replacement for your daily protein intake.

THAT being said, Pure Lotus is one of those rare treats. The restaurant is all about 1) experience and 2) flexing its skills in creating unique, vegetarian versions of traditional Chinese "mingcais". If you order any individual items, they serve it to you on a statue of a monk kneeling in prayer. Your meal is ended with mandarin oranges served over dry ice. For goodness sake, they sprinkle you with rosewater when you enter! It's certainly not for everyday dining but I guarantee you will impress anyone you take here. The rabbit and roast duck were particularly convincing (a little too convincing) when I had them but if mock meats aren't your thing, the vegetable based dishes offer interesting and refreshing combinations (try the Silk Road curry).

Being vegetarian, I was told that I should try this restaurant. It was an interesting experience, but I wouldn't be returning anytime soon.

I don't like mock meats, something Pure Lotus does quite well. The quality of its dishes is just so-so and I feel that some non-vegetarian restaurants have a more enticing and appetizing selection of vegetarian options compared to Pure Lotus.

It's a good place for entertaining clients or visitors with their over-the-top food presentation and atmosphere. Go for the experience, but if you're looking for the same type of dishes minus the frills and high prices, I'd recommend Xu Xiang Cai by Yong He Gong.

to start with, I'm not a vegetarian in the pure sense, actually not in any sense. Anyway, please allow the question why someone tries to copy the meaty stuff - to do what ?
It stays a 95% copy, artistic and skillful, with interesting flavours and indeed a creative appearance, but neither texture nor taste brings you anywhere close.
Staff is very friendly, the chef is a buddhist monk with quite some aura.

Try the tuna, leave out the sushi, sausage is interesting, drinks are good (non alcohol!).