Tofoo Cơm Chay

tofoo com chay is a family owned vegan spot that is definitely worth trying, especially if you are vegan food skeptic who “needs” meat. my go-to is the lunch combo plate with noodles, satay skewer, and 1-2 sides such as teriyaki tofu, peanut string tofu, etc. they have so many options to choose from and can take out larger portions to last the week. overall reasonably priced. the only reason i reduced one star for atmosphere is because the space is small and would be difficult to dine-in with a large group, but i know if they had the space and proper venue it would be amazing as well. they do an amazing job with the space they have. definitely recommend. cant wait for the colder season so i can try some of their soup dishes.

The pho chay was delicious! First time here today visiting San Jose Downtown, and I had a great experience dining-in. Had the pleasure to meet the owner who was very friendly and quick with service. I would recommend this place and looking forward to coming back for some authentic Vietnamese vegetarian food! 😊

I like getting their rice plate combo. The food is flavorful and I enjoy the variety of choices. But sometimes it doesn't taste as fresh as I would like.

Tiny place in San Jose with excellent vegan food and wonderful service!

Tiny place with some of the best food I’ve ever eaten! And the small tables outside are the perfect place to people watch. Have never had a meal here that was less than absolutely delicious

If I could give this 10 stars I would. I had the pho which was absolutely amazing and full of flavor. Low key ambiance and felt like I nice hole in the wall. One of the best vegan pho I've ever had, full of delicious vegetarian meat. My only negative was that I didn't have more!!

Small Mom and pop. Got the Veggie Nochicken sandwich aka sub. Quality cuisine, light and stacked with veggies. Pleasantly surprised how well it was crafted. Made me think proper food combining. Space is very tight and with tables. Good customer service and timely takeout.

The best vegan "fast-meal" close to SJSU! The menu ranges from Vietnamese sandwiches, soup noddles, to rice places; the prices are very affordable and the food is always so delicious. Ive been going there for over 7 years and the food never disappoints! The seating is limited but it is worth it 100%.

Extreme mom and pop vibes. I paid $9 with a 50, and she used a calculator to check the change. Just pretend it's your grandparents cooking for you, and be thankful.

My favorite vegetarian place in San José. It's tiny and there's nothing flashy about it but the food is delicious. They've got a wide range of dishes available and I've enjoyed everything I've tried. The rice plates are great but the only thing I eat there anymore is the soup. To my understanding, it's fully vegan but the broth is on par with the best beef-based broths I've tried elsewhere (depth of flavor wise, not that it tastes like beef). The service is always quick as well- a great place to stop if you're in a hurry.

No-nonsense vegan spot keeps their prices low and packs in the flavor I always tell myself to try something different but as soon as I walk in the door it's "spicy noodle soup for here" Bring cash, come hungry, leave happy 🖖🏽

You'll just want more! Go to this place, you won't regret it. While visiting San Jose I made sure to stop by this gem. I had the bamboo soup and it was just amazing. The textures, aroma and flavors show that a lot of care and knowledge was put into it. My boyfriend and friend both had combos with rice, protein and veggies and they couldn't stop saying how delicious their food was. I also got myself some spring rolls and a "pork" banh mi (sandwich) for the road.

Oh my godddd!!! Discovered a jewel in Bay Area! Food is so so good. Also the portion size for the price is amazing (and cruelty free). I can’t recommended this enough to all folks to try it out . Lots of blessings to the couple for vegan Vietnamese restaurant. Wish they open more locations !

Inexpensive vegetarian food, generally crowded because it’s tiny, and they make you wait for your food at the table, I love it! I can’t count how many times I’ve eaten here, but I’m addicted to the braised bean curd. Their Pho is good too, the purple/brown rice sides they included with the order is perfect and the vegan fish sauce they give for the salad topping is tasty.

Excellent vegan food that is honestly as good as non-vegan versions. I have no idea how they make such good meat replacements - it's like magic. My girlfriend and I really enjoy their bun hue chay, which is just the right spiciness and has great flavor, all for around $10! One order plus an appetizer usually is enough food for us both.

Rare find in SJ downtown! Cheers to the couple who run this place. Great flavors, everything vegetarian/vegan. Noodles were perfect, soup/broth was delicious. Definitely going back here again.

It’s always exciting to have a full vegan menu and be able to order anything I want! I travel for work and struggle to find a place I can eat sometimes.This small, quaint, and charming mom and pop restaurant checked ALL my boxes! My noodle salad with broth was full of flavor, sweet, hot, spicy, warm, crisp, and fresh. My third picture is of the giant bag of food I got “to go” for later this night and tomorrow!

Tofoo Com Chay is a delectable vegan hole in the wall in downtown SJ. It's not a huge place (seating for around 12 people total inside and out) but the food is top notch. I highly recommend their lunch combos - I got fried rice with a couple sides (eggplant tofu and a vegan "chicken" dish) and it was absolutely wonderful. I recommend the skewers and spring rolls as well. The total for all the food in the picture was $22, an incredible deal considering the portion sizes and of course the food itself. When I came on a weekday for lunch with a friend it wasn't crowded at all, I suppose most people take out. Highly recommend this spot, I'll be coming again for sure!

Fantastic vegan Vietnamese food at a place that is a bit run down, but you won’t be disappointed by the flavors and textures. I had the fried rice with 2 main dish choices for $9 and an even $10 with a Soda. Cash only. Staff are friendly and its fun to listen to them speaking Vietnamese amongst themselves and with some local regulars. The owner said he opened this shop more than 35 years ago after coming from Vietnam. The vegan ‘meats’ were originally made using bananas, but they now use soy base or jackfruit. The vegan kebabs and chicken were really tasty and filling. I’d been frustrated by the lack of vegetarian options when I visited Vietnam in the 90’s, but the owners assured me I would find a lot of great options now. Such friendly people. For sustainability, eat-in diners on reusable plates and utensils but to-go in plastic packaging in plastic bags it seems (so bring your own to save in take-out waste if you can).

Located right in Downtown San Jose, this place is a hidden gem for all the vegans. From the kebabs to the fried rice, everything is fantastic! The staff is very friendly and the prices are reasonable as well.

The staff here is super friendly and they have tons of amazing vegan options. This is the perfect place to grab a quick bite if you're in a pinch and the prices are pretty affordable!

Friendly staff serving large tasty portions at budget price. Only downside is limited space inside for seating and feels a little dark. But nice to have a place that serves many vegan options!

I got the spicy noodle soup here and it did not disappoint. The broth was incredibly flavorful and there was a variety of different plant based proteins and veggies to really make it hearty. Friendly and quick service. I'll definitely be back next time I'm in town.

BEST VEGETARIAN PHO EVER. I have had multiple vegetarian phos in my life and was always left disappointed. This broth is the real deal, so deep in flavour, well balanced and so heart warming. Oh and its huge!! I had as well the spicy noodle soup which was amazing, but I think the main highlight for me and my partner was the teriyaki kebob. It brought us right back to the street corner stalls of South East Asia (even if vegan version is way better). The people running the restaurant were so lovely, they even gave peanut butter to our dog ! Dont miss out on this incredible place

So good!! Some of the best vegan food around, especially the spicy noodle soup. And the service was great, the owners are very nice!

My new go to for Vietnamese Vegan eats. It's cash only and holds a few tables inside and outside. I had the bamboo soup for $9.50 and it was packed with flavor. Hard to believe it's all animal free!

Do yourself a favor and eat here! I just discovered this place and I’m hooked. Seriously. The spicy pho is sooo good & you won’t need to add any seasoning or sauce, it’s perfect the way they make it. Also, the owners are very friendly and pleasant. Just make sure you have cash as they don’t take card.

I lived in Vietnam as an English teacher for 4 years and this place brings me right back. Delicious tofu dishes and loved the eggplant. Wish I lived in San Jose and I’d be a regular.

Jenny Gowen

It’s always exciting to have a full vegan menu and be able to order anything I want! I travel for work and struggle to find a place I can eat sometimes.This small, quaint, and charming mom and pop restaurant checked ALL my boxes! My noodle salad with broth was full of flavor, sweet, hot, spicy, warm, crisp, and fresh. My third picture is of the giant bag of food I got “to go” for later this night and tomorrow!

Nim Sivapalan

Tofoo Com Chay is a delectable vegan hole in the wall in downtown SJ. It's not a huge place (seating for around 12 people total inside and out) but the food is top notch. I highly recommend their lunch combos - I got fried rice with a couple sides (eggplant tofu and a vegan "chicken" dish) and it was absolutely wonderful. I recommend the skewers and spring rolls as well. The total for all the food in the picture was $22, an incredible deal considering the portion sizes and of course the food itself. When I came on a weekday for lunch with a friend it wasn't crowded at all, I suppose most people take out. Highly recommend this spot, I'll be coming again for sure!

jj walsh

Fantastic vegan Vietnamese food at a place that is a bit run down, but you won’t be disappointed by the flavors and textures. I had the fried rice with 2 main dish choices for $9 and an even $10 with a Soda. Cash only. Staff are friendly and its fun to listen to them speaking Vietnamese amongst themselves and with some local regulars. The owner said he opened this shop more than 35 years ago after coming from Vietnam. The vegan ‘meats’ were originally made using bananas, but they now use soy base or jackfruit. The vegan kebabs and chicken were really tasty and filling. I’d been frustrated by the lack of vegetarian options when I visited Vietnam in the 90’s, but the owners assured me I would find a lot of great options now. Such friendly people. For sustainability, eat-in diners on reusable plates and utensils but to-go in plastic packaging in plastic bags it seems (so bring your own to save in take-out waste if you can).

Jade Allen Cook

Located right in Downtown San Jose, this place is a hidden gem for all the vegans. From the kebabs to the fried rice, everything is fantastic! The staff is very friendly and the prices are reasonable as well.

Rickie W.

The staff here is super friendly and they have tons of amazing vegan options. This is the perfect place to grab a quick bite if you're in a pinch and the prices are pretty affordable!

Paul Martin

Friendly staff serving large tasty portions at budget price. Only downside is limited space inside for seating and feels a little dark. But nice to have a place that serves many vegan options!

Akshay Shah

I got the spicy noodle soup here and it did not disappoint. The broth was incredibly flavorful and there was a variety of different plant based proteins and veggies to really make it hearty. Friendly and quick service. I'll definitely be back next time I'm in town.

Alejandrina Guido

BEST VEGETARIAN PHO EVER. I have had multiple vegetarian phos in my life and was always left disappointed. This broth is the real deal, so deep in flavour, well balanced and so heart warming. Oh and its huge!! I had as well the spicy noodle soup which was amazing, but I think the main highlight for me and my partner was the teriyaki kebob. It brought us right back to the street corner stalls of South East Asia (even if vegan version is way better). The people running the restaurant were so lovely, they even gave peanut butter to our dog ! Dont miss out on this incredible place

Ishita Shah

So good!! Some of the best vegan food around, especially the spicy noodle soup. And the service was great, the owners are very nice!

Stacy Tran

My new go to for Vietnamese Vegan eats. It's cash only and holds a few tables inside and outside. I had the bamboo soup for $9.50 and it was packed with flavor. Hard to believe it's all animal free!

This place is incredible. The food is so flavorful and there's so much to choose from. I've only ever been delighted by what I ate. The lemongrass mock meats are incredible and 'kebabs' are delicious. The owners are super nice and helpful. I found this place years ago and was delighted to see it's still just as delicious and wonderful as I remember. That's really special.

We absolutely loved this small little hole in the wall vegan restaurant! The man at the counter was so kind and friendly. He provided suggestions on what to order when I wasn't sure. The portions were big and everything we had was super tasty!! Highly recommend!!

I love this place! Everything is super reasonably priced, which is especially rare near campus. The food is so good that many of my non-vegan friends eat here, too. The owners are also the sweetest people you'll ever meet. I'd reccomend the pho—I get it any time I'm having a bad day because I know it'll always make me feel better.

Everything there is vegan and delicious! Their pho is sublime! I got pho, ban mi sandwich and a lunch special with lemon grass chicken and eggplant tofu - all dishes were tasty! The staff: Benjamin, Kim and Han are all friendly and polite! Although the place is small, my overall experience was great! Definitely recommended!

Emily Feldkamp

We absolutely loved this small little hole in the wall vegan restaurant! The man at the counter was so kind and friendly. He provided suggestions on what to order when I wasn't sure. The portions were big and everything we had was super tasty!! Highly recommend!!

Raf Jaffarove

Everything there is vegan and delicious! Their pho is sublime! I got pho, ban mi sandwich and a lunch special with lemon grass chicken and eggplant tofu - all dishes were tasty! The staff: Benjamin, Kim and Han are all friendly and polite! Although the place is small, my overall experience was great! Definitely recommended!

Raghu Chandrasekaran

Great vegan food here. Love the soup noodles and the pad Thai, and spring rolls. Will definitely be coming back more often.

Leslie Do

I've been patronizing Toofoo Com Chay for almost a couple of years. The food here is delicious. My favorite side dishes are the lemongrass chicken and Chinese sausage. The owners are so friendly. I appreciate them.

Kate Oxley

I love this place! Everything is super reasonably priced, which is especially rare near campus. The food is so good that many of my non-vegan friends eat here, too. The owners are also the sweetest people you'll ever meet. I'd reccomend the pho—I get it any time I'm having a bad day because I know it'll always make me feel better.

Ella C.

This place is incredible. The food is so flavorful and there's so much to choose from. I've only ever been delighted by what I ate. The lemongrass mock meats are incredible and 'kebabs' are delicious. The owners are super nice and helpful. I found this place years ago and was delighted to see it's still just as delicious and wonderful as I remember. That's really special.

- Eggplant curry - 9/10 great - Lemon chicken - 8.8/10 great - Kung pao soy curls - 8.6/10 great - Layered bean curd steaks(?) with chopped spring onion - 5/10 okay, but had kind of a funky cheesy taste that didn't quite taste right Great value, but all tables were sticky. Made me wonder how clean the place is in the back. Would be nice to see more veggies mixed in with the various plant based meats too.

As far as restaurants go, this is a very basic family restaurant with a single goal: make food people want, get it to the people, with everything else coming secondary. The menu on the wall is only part of the offerings, there is also a display case with items which are not shown on the menu hanging overhead. Some reviewers mentioned that this is a cash-only business, but when I visited I was able to make a purchase with card through their Square payment system. The food I received was unfortunately or the food I ordered, even after double checking with them that the numbers I picked were in the bag. I would recommend ordering items by name rather than by number in order to avoid misinterpretations. As far as flavor goes, the food does its job. These aren't flavors you would rave about, but they do a great job at being fast, vegan, and fair-priced.

Pretty good food, 4.5stars sandwich, 4stars lunch combo with sesame chicken and fried rice. TL;DR: I've had better for just as cheap, but this place is fine by itself. It's pretty cheap, but for credit cards it's $20 minimum. Picking lunch was confusing: I figured since they have lunch combos with 1 or two items I'll get sandwich as one "item" But it doesn't work this way - menu options and combos are completely separate things. It feels like this restaurant is really great with menu items, but not great with combos. After all my sandwich was really good, but combo - not so much.

An absolute hole in the wall gem. I had meetings at SJSU and went here for a quick casual lunch and it did not disappoint. To be clear this is a vegan restaurant..so even though they have meat skewers, shrimp, etc it's all soy and tofu.

This is a tiny hole in the wall place. It was a cold and windy day so I was craving for something hot (noodle soup) and spicy is even better. Decided to try this place out since it was a late lunch (around 2pm). This is in downtown San Jose so no parking. Paid street parking only so take that into consideration your time of arrival. The shop has about 2-3 tiny tables (seat 1 each side but you're pushing it for 2) as it's extremely cramp. Originally, I wanted to order just the spring rolls and spicy Hue noodle soup. I ended up ordering probably a week's worth of take-out. In addition to the 2 items above, instead of the steam rice + entrée combo from the hot bar, I bought the entrée individually. Small round container is $6.00, large is $8.50 (I think)?.I got the braised lemongrass tofu, braised pickled Chinese mustard & tofu (this can be very spicy level) for the average person and lastly fried wonton (but they look and tasted more like goyza. This is a no frill, no thrill, tasty yet homey take-out vegetarian Vietnamese cuisine restaurant. Another vegetarian/vegan option for plant based dinners.

Artem Makeev

Pretty good food, 4.5stars sandwich, 4stars lunch combo with sesame chicken and fried rice. TL;DR: I've had better for just as cheap, but this place is fine by itself. It's pretty cheap, but for credit cards it's $20 minimum. Picking lunch was confusing: I figured since they have lunch combos with 1 or two items I'll get sandwich as one "item" But it doesn't work this way - menu options and combos are completely separate things. It feels like this restaurant is really great with menu items, but not great with combos. After all my sandwich was really good, but combo - not so much.

LB

An absolute hole in the wall gem. I had meetings at SJSU and went here for a quick casual lunch and it did not disappoint. To be clear this is a vegan restaurant..so even though they have meat skewers, shrimp, etc it's all soy and tofu.

Natalie Vo

This is a tiny hole in the wall place. It was a cold and windy day so I was craving for something hot (noodle soup) and spicy is even better. Decided to try this place out since it was a late lunch (around 2pm). This is in downtown San Jose so no parking. Paid street parking only so take that into consideration your time of arrival. The shop has about 2-3 tiny tables (seat 1 each side but you're pushing it for 2) as it's extremely cramp. Originally, I wanted to order just the spring rolls and spicy Hue noodle soup. I ended up ordering probably a week's worth of take-out. In addition to the 2 items above, instead of the steam rice + entrée combo from the hot bar, I bought the entrée individually. Small round container is $6.00, large is $8.50 (I think)?.I got the braised lemongrass tofu, braised pickled Chinese mustard & tofu (this can be very spicy level) for the average person and lastly fried wonton (but they look and tasted more like goyza. This is a no frill, no thrill, tasty yet homey take-out vegetarian Vietnamese cuisine restaurant. Another vegetarian/vegan option for plant based dinners.

Small Vegan Restaurant with express meals. Food: The dishes were good, but was a bit oily for me. They have decent servings for 2 item meals. It was warmed in the microwave for dine-in meals. Ambiance: Not fancy. A bit dark and cold inside. Best for take out meals. Value: Prices were reasonable for the quality of food and service.

Daryl Marcelo

Small Vegan Restaurant with express meals. Food: The dishes were good, but was a bit oily for me. They have decent servings for 2 item meals. It was warmed in the microwave for dine-in meals. Ambiance: Not fancy. A bit dark and cold inside. Best for take out meals. Value: Prices were reasonable for the quality of food and service.

First off, it's great to know that this small hole in the wall is trying to do veggie/vegan vietnamese. It came recommended by a friend and unfortunately it did not meet the hype and expectations. I was disappointed to experience difficulty navigating and understanding their menu. While the food is "cheap" it lacked in flavor and freshness. I visited around the lunch hour and it was evident that the food had been sitting around from the AM. I chose to try their Sesame Veggie Chicken Sandwich. I was pleasantly surprised when a fresh roll of bread was placed in the oven to crisp up. That's where the glam of the sandwich ended. Next the "meat" was pre-made and microwaved to serve. The "meat" lacked flavor and quickly became cold. Additionally, I ordered their Summer Rolls. I was happy that a range of "meats" where inside the rolls. The sauce that accompanied the rolls was the one thing that saved both my rolls and sandwich. I do not plan to return. I think the idea is great and as a vegetarian, I am always looking for new and creative ways to enjoy food. Tofoo; however, did not live up to its hype and at best, I didn't even "get what I paid for."

My first time there today.I got there at about 10:00am . I bought three items. One item was smell and that item was not much left right there and the lady give me a lot of it. I was thinking oh she's nice. When I got home ready to eat open the box it was smelly. It must be the left overs from other days. That's why she gave alot. This is first time I wrote the review. I am very upset.