Lotus Leaf Cafe has long been high on my list of restaurants to try. Fortunately I was able to drop by this past week to give them a try.
Here’s a basic synopsis about them as found on their website:
Our commitment to you includes a promise of clean, sustainable food, the use of fair trade products, healthy nutrition, and a wholesome approach to cooking that features natural and organic, handmade meals. We will never use GMO ingredients, hormone-treated meats, or endangered or threatened fish. We will never add artificial flavors, sweeteners, colors, preservatives or hydrogenated fats. We can’t promise perfection, but we will continuously work to reduce our carbon footprint, use less plastic, recycle, and adopt greener products.
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251 N Washington St.
Wichita, KS 67202
316-295-4133
Monday – Saturday: 11am – 9pm
Sunday: 11am – 4pm
Cash/Card accepted
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While I’m not vegan and certainly do not eat gluten free, I’m always open to eating food from anywhere. When people ask me what kind of food I like, I usually respond with “anything edible and delicious”. Those are really my only two rules so a restaurant that focuses on all that healthy stuff will not deter me.
The first thing I noticed about Lotus Leaf Cafe was it’s clean, bright and inviting interior.
They have a chalkboard as you enter in that lists their specials, soups and desserts of the day. The one item that caught my eye was the Chipotle sweet potato pumpkin soup. Well anything with pumpkin is an instant order for me. It was $4 and change for the bowl and let me tell you, it was worth every penny. It had a thicker texture to it but the flavor was everywhere. It was like a roller coaster of excitement between the Chipotle and the sweet potato and the pumpkin. I don’t want to hype this soup of the day up too much but I can’t help myself. Each time I took in a spoonful, there was a part of me that grew sad as I knew soon the bowl would be empty.
For lunch, I ordered the Belvedere (turkey burger stuffed with Chevre, spring mix, tomato, red onion, sriracha aioli, and a wheat bun) with a side salad.
I should have taken a picture of the meal from a different angle as it doesn’t do the side salad justice. There are many places where the side salads are cheap and tiny. That’s not the case at Lotus Leaf Cafe. It was fresh, vibrant looking and had a ginormous portion size; honestly just a really good side salad. As for the turkey burger, I was kind of back and forth on it. It was a little too crispy for my taste and slightly overcooked. Everything else with the burger was great. It’s just the turkey patty didn’t do it for me.
To cap off my lunch (sidenote: yes I know, I’m a pig), I had a slice of their vegan and gluten-free chocolate cake. My server gave me a complimentary slice as it was in the middle of the afternoon, I was the only diner in at the time and they were looking for honest opinions of it. At first bite, I was kind of iffy on it. It was certainly thick and more dense but then again I’m not used to gluten free foods so that could have very well been the reason why. It wasn’t too incredibly thick and dense though as some of my past experiences. But as I kept taking bite by bite, the cake started to really grow on me. There was a generous amount of delicious chocolate frosting on top that gave it more of that moist texture one would want. There was also a thin layer of frosting in the middle and I suggested they put a little more frosting there. By the time I was done eating the cake, I really enjoyed it. It just took me some time to get used to the texture as the flavor was certainly there.
I had zero issues with the service. My server was fantastic.
Was it perfection? Not with the turkey patty but true perfection is nearly impossible to achieve for any restaurant. Would I go again? One million percent. I’m sure I could find another entree I would highly enjoy.
Here was their menu that afternoon:
Happy Dining,
Eddy
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