ELife Restaurant

I was on my way to sonic when the sign for Elife happened to catch my eye and I decided to try it. Upon walking in I notice they had vendors on the right and the food in the door to the left. When I walked in the aroma was amazing. I ordered the jambalaya, Mac and cheese, and BBQ drummies. The employee who took my order was patient while I figured out my order. There were so many option to choose from and they helped me understand the menu. The jambalaya wasn't very spicy but it was flavorful and the veggie sausage were good! The Mac and cheese was creamy and comforting to eat on a cold day but I do prefer oven bake style so it wasn't my favorite. The star of the show for me was the BBQ drummies, the sauce was sweet and tangy. The drummies also had a nice meaty flavor and texture that satisfied my pallet. I washed it all down with their delicious strawberry lemonade and that's when the itis hit me lol. All in all a great experience

Vegan food???? The food is delicious. I sampled so much, I cannot remember all that I ate. I will say that I felt full and healthy after eating. The vegan Mac and cheese was delicious. The vegan pasta tasted like a million bucks.

I was also able to partake in the lecture that took place on the dinning side which contained a wealth of information. This new location is more spacious while still being intimate. I was able to pick up some essentials from the vendors such as authentic shea butter, jewelry and books.

Customer service is just not impressive. I've been here twice as of the most recent renovations and at different times of day. Unfortunately I have yet to come and the raw food bar has all options available. You look at the menu online and see so many options...that they don't have. Not to mention this spot is soy-dominant when it comes to vegan options. Most of the cold bar options are not soy-free. Same is true for the hot bar. This is not health food. It's non-animal product meal options.

Anyhow...When I walked in today, I spoke to the gent working the hot bar closest to the register. He said nothing nor gestured to acknowledge my greeting. I went to the cold bar which appears to be the start of the line to get your food choice(s). Well I stood there while the entire staff only acknowledged the hot bar. I eventually had to ask how to get service at the cold bar and they said people normally come to the hot bar to tell them they want cold bar cause they have no way of knowing who got in line first. Smh. Well how about a sign that states where the orders start? How about numbers? Better yet, I was initially one of three people in your establishment -- pay attention and don't be dismissive and rude.

I put the poor service aside and got two small sides and a "large" side, all from the cold bar for $17.01. That includes the $.10 bag offered by the female who seemed exhausted to be there. Heck...I just spent $17 for three leftover selections of sides. Yes i want a bag to put my three containers, utensils and napkins. Please don't spare my pockets now....

I can't confidently recommend this restaurant unfortunately. Try at your own ability to overlook good customer service.

There were some good and OK take aways. As an Executive Vegetarian Chef, I wanted to see what good food was in the area I was visiting. I ordered the Seiten chicken wings w maple glaze, chickpeas & rice, and cashew Mac n cheese. It was the end of the day, so the food wasn't as fresh as I would have hoped unlike a fresh cooked beyond burger (that wasn't available). The wings need a little more flavor and crisp, the chickpeas over rice were OK, the cashew Mac n cheese was on the dry side after sitting for a length of time. In this area alot of restaurant do a buffet Cafeteria style hot plate. It saves on overhead cutting waste. But the food quality and integrity is a challenge to control. So I wish this establishment well in its concept. There were some highlights that I haven't experienced. The strawberry lemonade, ginger juice was good but think.

So here were my corrections when I got home. Added garlic powder, onion powder, coconut amino acid to chicken wings let the glaze reduce and crisp up the wings, reworked the cashew cheese Mac n cheese by adding little more nutrients yeast, bechamel sauce, & red pepper flake, hint of celtic salt, and truffle oil. Add water to thin out the strawberry juice. But the star player was the peach oat milk base Gelato was great. With a few tweaks on the recipes I could envision this restaurant being very prosperous

I love the food. I love what they have done to the place. The new location is really nice plus there's live music in the other part of the building.
My only issue is sometimes the customer service is off. Like they are nice but not if that makes sense. Again the restaurant is my favorite place to go when I want good vegan food that's not too too high so I'm really not complaining.

Tacoma Park location 4/23/23
Terrible DRY OLD food!
Spent $30 here, what a waste
So disappointed

I love visiting ELife so much! This black owned business is such a treasure in Takoma Park.

When you walk inside Elife you can see there are plenty of tables available for indoor dining, and the interior is very clean and tidy.

Then you bask in the glory of an endless buffet of vegan food. From meatless chicken drummies, to fried "fish", to casseroles, Mac and cheese, and plenty of greens you are in awe of the variety of plant based dishes. In addition to the hot and ready food, you can also order sandwiches from them. I have not yet tried a sandwich because the Mac and cheese and faux meats are so hard to pass up.

They have two different Mac and cheeses. I prefer the cashew based one since it is smoky, however their other Mac and cheese is reminiscent of your favorite childhood Mac and cheese. I am a sucker for those chicken drummies too. They offer them in a few different sauces, and Buffalo is my favorite because it is spicy. This meat is perfect for those that want to replace chicken in their diet as it is chewy and stringy like the real thing.

ELife also has shelves of vegan dessert! They have many different cake slices to pick from. I have only tried the carrot cake which was definitely worth the calories. For those opting for a healthier sweet option, they also have a fridge full of juices.

I hope you will show this black owned business some love. If you are ever to try a vegan meal, you cannot go wrong with anything on their menu. You will wish the chef lived with you so being vegan could always be this easy.

Food is out of this world, great!!! I don't know how they create such great tasting food without animal products, but they do it, and they do it well.

Service is "good," but would be so much better if the servers would pep-up, smile, and get excited about the fact that they are providing what so many people in the county have been looking for. Healthy food choices.

Many restaurants come and go in the county, and I believe that the ones that don't make it are those that have not stressed the importance of the "customer experience" to their staff. I LOVE the food at this establishment, but if I continually feel like the staff is only tolerating me, for a check; or they're not invested in the owner's success, I know that I won't continue making the trip.

The first time I came, there was a young lady who took me through all the food and offered samples. She's the kind of person that belongs out front.

But in more recent experiences, some staff barely look you in the eyes, and they're speaking so low that when you ask a question, you hardly hear the answer.

I STILL rate this restaurant HIGHLY!!!! Getting the staff onboard to be as excited about the customer's experience as the customer is about the food would make this establishment #1 in the Prince George's County vegan restaurant space. And possibly #1 in the DMV and beyond.

The food here is absolutely disgusting. The hot bar reminds me of cafeteria food back in high school. Although my food was hot, everything tasted like I could taste the container it was sitting in or something. Just gross. I took 2 small bites of the orange chicken and couldn't eat anymore. I then took small bites of the collard greens and cooked carrots and both tasted disgusting. I honestly smelled the maple curry wings and decided I wasn't even going to waste my time trying them because I already felt queasy from the other bites. I threw it all away...the only good thing was the oatmeal raisin cookie. It was soft and delicious. However, I would NEVER try this food again. GROSS.

Still willing to drive 75 mi for this food!! I been coming for the past 2 yrs but I'll admit since my last trip I felt like there were sooo many new items added. I ordered online & picked it up.
My favorite is usually the maple curry drummies, with cashew mac n cheeze & collard greens but to my surprise they also now offered "bowls" so I got both to go!! Food for the entire weekend!
I ordered the vegan steak bowl & my mouth was watering! I couldn't resist desert so I added that too, lol.