Candle Cafe West

The space is both elegant and delightfully simple. I could say the same about the food: every dish was beautifully crafted from simple ingredients. Life’s short, so I’m starting with dessert first. The ice cream sampler comes with three flavors from a rotating set. The vanilla was good, though it did taste like your run-of-the-mill vegan vanilla ice cream. The passion fruit was excellent, with bright colors and flavors; it was just a bit tart and not too sweet. The strawberry vanilla was outstanding. It was oh-so creamy with strawberry pieces throughout, giving it a strawberries and cream vibe (in contrast to most strawberry ice cream flavors where the primary flavor is “artificial strawberry”). Each spoonful was followed by a lovely floral aftertaste; it's possible they added just a hint of rosewater to the mix. In terms of savory dishes, I loved the roasted cauliflower tacos (roasted cauliflower with pumpkin seeds on homemade corn tortillas with guac, chipotle salsa, grilled tomatillo salsa, and pico de gallo). The sharp acidity of the toppings tempered the sweetness of the roasted cauliflower and pumpkin seeds to make a perfectly balanced bite. While I didn't have a chance to sample it myself, another diner shared how much he enjoyed the market platter, a choose-your-own-adventure combo of four sides. He chose to top his plate of proteins and veggies with a tahini dressing that he said was quite delicious. I'm excited to welcome back a new version of what used to be one of my favorite restaurants. And, like the previous iterations of Candle (79, Cafe, and Cafe West), this one is also certified kosher by IKC.

The food was delicious, made with fresh ingredients and served in a visually appetizing manner. Martin was a gracious host who provided very helpful suggestions in light of my dietary restrictions.

Great place, friendly staff, and delicious food. Even though I'm definitely a meat lover, you will find that the menu offers interesting items as vegan options, and you will love the food! Recommending!

Amazing experience!! We had 6 dishes in total and the cauliflower is a MUST! Dumplings are also pretty incredible. The only dish we wouldn’t repeat is the butternut squash risotto - it’s not as flavorful as the other ones.

You don't have to be vegan to understand how incredible the food is here. I am not surprised though, Candle 79 was over the top incredible, Candle Cafe delicious and casual and now Candle is the best of both. My friend just got off the airplane and she wanted to eat something special and I said I have just the spot. It was pouring rain but we went all the way to the city, paid for the tunnel,paid the commuter tax, and the meter but let me tell you, we were blown away by the food!!! We got a whole bunch of appetizers because we just wanted to try everything we started out with the fried polenta. Not something I would have picked but my friend insisted and I'm so glad she did. It was buttery. It was so good. The chickpeas to die for, what chickpeas? Cauliflower zatar, excellent! Oh yeah both were that good, and the brussel sprouts Yum!!!, They had cheese on them, decadent. I love that they have really great options for virgin drinks, fancy non-alcoholic cocktails as well. But you must, must, save room for dessert. It was layers of chocolate goodness. Everything is fresh, the chef is truly incredible. Is it something I could do everyday? No, but when I want something special, Candle is my go to.

This was our 4th or even 5th visit to candle! It's consistently delicious. I don't think we've ever had something we didn't like. First time at the brunch but we didn't opt to get any brunch food although they all sounded yummy!! Enjoyed the mocktails as well!

Super delicious food and fantastic service. Tatiana is such a nice person and very kind! Awesome experience. Wish I could come back every day!

Wonderful place! Delicious food and great atmosphere :)

ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC!! From the creators of the infamous Candle 79, Candle Cafe and Candle Cafe West, Candle brings back old favorites and exciting new bites. Chef and owner Jorge and staff go above and beyond to accommodate their guests to make your dining experience top tier. Everything is made in-house with exquisite care and finesse. So happy they’re back!!

Best quality vegetarian options I've had for the price. Very tasty, and the menu is varied, with Options that change a bit. Wish they'd change a bit more, actually. The tables are small, but they do the best they can with the space.

Candle Cafe is fantastic by any measure, and vegan to boot! We LOVE the chimichurris - a must have! That is worth a trip alone. Seitan Piccatta is delicious comfort food, and don't miss the chocolate peanutbutter bliss. Can't wait to come back.

The food was amazing here! I really enjoyed the French toast, seitan dumplings and tropical cheesecake. Definitely plan to come again to try other things on the menu.

The food is 1000/10 !! This place is amazing! And the service too, I totally recommend the Seitan Picatta , the Cauliflower crust pizza and the Tacos 🤤🔥

Having been to previous versions of Candle restaurants, we are glad they reopened. Their menu is slightly different, but still plant-based. We love this restaurant

Such delicious vegan food and the service was fantastic!

Everything here is incredible and fresh! So many delicious flavors and you feel so great after your meal!

Very nice vegan restaurant with amazing atmosphere, their staff are very friendly and their food is amazing I recommend you all visit this place!

Amazing experience. Friendly staff, QUICK service (not too busy on a Tuesday night), and delicious food. Scratch vegan salmon special was crazy good. Subtle flavors, great texture, filling. The artichoke appetizer was similarly straightforward and delicious. Highly recommended as an alternative to vegan places that serve a lot of factory-made, ultra processed vegan proteins.

My new favorite vegan spot in NYC. Great options and such friendly service. The entire energy, from the ambiance to the staff, was really nice. I can't wait to go back.

Brunch was so delicious and fresh! Mimosas were strong and not just juice like every other place! Service was amazing, our waiter Cesar was attentive and super nice. We can’t wait to come back for dinner. 10/10!!

Delicious healthy food. Got the kale salad and soup of the day (butternut) - felt so good after eating it and perfectly sized portions.

One of the best (if not the best) vegan restaurants in NYC. Inspired cuisine in a friendly, laid back atmosphere.

I rarely leave reviews but had to make an exception. While being very familiar with plant based restaurants in other cities (Portland, OR), Candle was amazing. The menu was extraordinary. The food was some of the best I've ever had. The wait staff was attentive without being smothering. It was overall a perfect meal. Wish I could stay in the city longer to try more dishes here!

Glad that Candle Cafe is back around. Delicious and healthy food (recommend the seitan piccata) and friendly staff. Would recommend for non-vegans (like us) and vegans alike.

Love this place! I have dined here multiple times for dinner and the food is always delicious. It can be hard to find good vegan food, and Candle offers so many great options. Highly recommend, especially if you’ve never had vegan food before!

Great vegan spot, with an atmosphere intimate enough for a date night. I had the chickpea cake and my partner had the cauliflower dish. Both were delicious. And the chocolate peanut butter cake was rich and so delicious!

Had an absolutely amazing dinner and experience here last night! I've been a huge fan of the Candle restaurants in the city for many many years now and was so excited to try this location. I'm not sure of our server's name (I should have asked), but I believe it must have been Tatianna, as others have mentioned. She elevated the experience to a whole other level. The food was even more delicious than I remember it being. I can't wait to go back!

party of 9 included several carnivores, pescatarians and vegetarians. we were celebrating a vegan birthday so chose Candle (thrilled that Jorge has brought back some old Candle 79 and Candle Cafe faves) . everyone LOVED their appetizers and entrees and deserts. there was not a single complaint among 9 very diverse eaters. everyone was full and happy. server was cheerful and unobtrusive. highly recommend for anyone that loves good and interesting food!

My vegan friend and I dine here whenever we are in New York. I am not vegan and I love the food at Candle. Today we shared the crispy artichoke app, seitan picatta on mashed potatoes/spinach/mushroom, chickpea burger on winter squash with a curry chutney, and we both had dessert (chocolate mousse and peanut butter/chocolate something). Sooo delicious. I'm never disappointed and neither is my friend. We will be back.

I'm so glad CANDLE IS STILL HERE!! I remember this restaurant years ago - and it's still just as good! I had the tacos - the seitan is a must! The food was fresh and flavorful. Shout out to MARTIN who provided excellent service and recommendations. He made my experience worthwhile to come back!

From the food to the service, the music and ambiance, everything was excellent! They know how to make vegan food taste amazing without needing to fry everything and without saturating the food with vegan alternative ingredients. Most of their dishes are made from scratch (unlike most places); they learned how to make delicious vegan dishes before all the vegan alternative ingredients came out. So they've been around for much longer than most vegan restaurants and were located in Uptown Manhattan. I usually eat vegan and non-vegan food and I'm looking forward to going back!

I stopped for lunch and absolutely loved both items I got: tomato basil soup (comes with a side of grilled cheese!) and mushroom crepe. The veggies were fresh and everything tasted great. It was somewhat busy and there was only one server but I still had decent service. I can’t wait to come back and try more items!

Absolutely delicious meals for all four of us - not a bad dish in the house. The polenta fries were amazing, the lemon risotto was stellar, and vegan chicken parm was stupendous!! Plus the owner walked around chatting with folks - super sweet and a really nice guy. We loved it and will be back!!

Solid food, but nothing outstanding. The flavors in every dish blended together, making it pretty hard to know what exactly I was eating.

Long-time customer from when they were on the UES. Inventive and flavorful vegan cuisine. It would be nice if they also kept the lunch items available at night like they used to do.

Incredibly cozy ambiance, intimate atmosphere. Great food too. I absolutely loved the risotto.

I would love it to be like the food in the old candle cafe! My grilled kale salad I would have loved warm. The kale was cooked and then put in fridge and served cold so it has the sensation of tasting frozen.

The seitan piccata was a giant disappointment. It was basically a pile of slop that tasted like mayo and mustard had been mixed in with some capers. Definitely not even close to the seitan piccata I remember from the now shuttered Candle 79. Service was friendly and attentive but I was never asked how the food was.

Skip. Nothing like the original Candle 79. Low quality food prepared by an amateur cook. The hostess who was also the bartender and waitress did her best to provide good service and was the only positive about the dining experience. Unfortunately the cocktails were not good, the whole place smelled like frying from cooking oil, and the ambiance was depressing.

I ordered the pad Thai and it was way too sweet. I didn’t know I was getting a desert for lunch. The noodles were also overcooked. It was awful. If I wasn’t at work I would’ve returned it. I sent a picture to door dash of the trash I was sent. The picture they use on door dash is misleading because I thought I was getting what was posted. I regret not taking a picture for google to post the pictures side by side. I’m so disappointed and surprised!