ELife Restaurant

This is one of my favorite vegan restaurants. The food is never but I don't mind since I tend to reheat all takeout food. The drumsticks are always tasty whether it's Teriyaki, Buffalo or Jerk. The cashew mac-n-cheese is creamy although not a substitute for the real thing it's pretty good. I like the collard greens, too. They usually have the same entrees. The desserts are also good. The cakes could be a bit more moist.

Well, I'm still a fan of the buffet hot bar.  But I still think that the sanitation and food handling practices here leave much to be desired.  The staff are clearly not trained in how to handle food safely and stop the spread of infectious disease.  Every single time I've come, I've witnessed a worker (1) doing something else--like cleaning, writing, or waiting tables--in another part of the restaurant but then come over and grab gloves with their dirty unwashed hands so they can assist you at the hot bar, after which they want to take your money with those same gloves and (2) there's a young skinny guy who worked the counter visibly sick one day -- I mean, sniffling and runny nose and all.  His food handling skills are THE worst.  I can't bring myself to order when I see that he's the one working.

So bottom line -- I would come to this place a lot more if they fixed these issues.  I haven't been post-COVID, so maybe they're doing better.  But for years they've been on notice of this problem and didn't bother to fix it.  So I don't hold out too much hope.

I really love the food here, everything is very unique and flavorful. As a "primarily" raw vegan for the past few months who eats some cooked food once or twice a week, cooked food is now a shock to my body. The effect it has is similar to having 1-2 glasses of wine- everything becomes dull and slow and heavy, and eventually puts me to sleep. If you want to awaken physically, mentally, and spiritually, phase out the cooked food. Eventually I'll stop eating this stuff, because I don't think my body can tolerate it much longer (my bucket list includes the jerk chicken over rice, and then I'm done!).

My order was sitting out for a long time so the maple curry drumsticks were stale and hard (the lady said it would be out in the warmer but it was sitting out), but other than that, I love the drummies, especially the jerk chicken flavor. The Mac and cheese is incredible, but like I said, it puts me to sleep and I could barely drive back home, Under the influence of Mac and cheese.

Something I thought was odd- the lady at the cashier appeared shocked and visibly stepped back as if she was shielding or guarding herself when I entered the restaurant. I wonder why that was. Oh well, guess I'll never know! Since everyone wears masks these days, it's interesting to see expressions through people's eyes.

So I had to update my review and take away a star (wish it could be given a zero) because I got EXTREMELY SICK for days from the food - definitely food poisoning. I wish I would've noticed the years of serious health violations and taken heed to them. No matter how good the food tastes, it's not worth my health being negatively impacted. All of the signs (listed in my original review) should've made me run away from this restaurant.

But most importantly, why hasn't the owner made serious changes to this establishment? There has been ample notice of the serious issues with the food, staff, and building from the inspection violations for years. Shame on you! Food poisoning causes harm to one's body especially if they're already in compromised health conditions such as pregnancy. You never know who may eat your food and you, the owner, will be responsible for the harm you cause. Once again, shame on you!

My friend did call to inform the restaurant of our experience and spoke with a woman who did listen to her. It would be great if this experience would result in changes to staff hiring and training AND food/drink preparation and storage BUT I don't get the feeling it will.

I will follow my doctor's orders and hopefully you follow mine: STAY AWAY, STAY AWAY, STAY AWAY!!!

We got takeout after having a hankering for chicken wings. Elise restaurant did not disappoint! We ordered both kinds of Mac and cheese, one is definitely smokier in flavor than the other but both are absolutely delicious. Service was quick and pricing as well as portion sizing in comparison to competition. We will definitely be back and try their other items soon!!

We're truly impressed with the food and the customer service. Dr. Baruch is helpful, humble & considerate and the staff are lovely. Thank you for offering delicious cruelty-free and healthy food!

Our recommendations are the drumettes (Drummies), mac'n cheese, kale salad, black eyed peas, collard greens and daily specials. The maple drumettes are exceptionally good. For delivery, wouldn't recommend the fried chicken as it arrives a bit soggy but still tasty with a good texture.

All said, this will be a Go-To for us! Highly recommended!

Delicious! Best vegan restaurant In MD! I had the BBQ tofu, baked Mac & cheese and Collard greens! All vegan options throughout the establishment. Very delicious, great quality, and nice portions. Will definitely return before I return home.

Found this vegan spot when I was looking for more black owned restaurants and I'm so glad! The cashew Mac is bomb and I do like it better than the original Mac but it's great to have two options. The drumsticks are super bomb and I was so suprised because the sauce and texture were literally like chicken wings. Hands down you gotta try the Mac and cheese and one of their chicken options. Also the desserts are really good and very rich and taste even better if you heat it up (your welcome lol). I've been here a couple times since finding it and I'm so happy I decided to check them out!

I took my friend here for his bday. He's vegetarian and I'm an avid meat eater and we both enjoyed the meal thoroughly. My only complaint on the food was the kale greens. They were bland and no hot sauce was available. I tasted my friend's collards and they were tasty. The jerk chik'n didn't taste like jerk anything but it was really good! It tasted like brown stew chicken actually.

The bartender seemed confused. He didn't know how to pour a beer. The 1st drink was 80% foam. My friend even got up to tell him how to pour a drink. I got a rum&coke and it was very weak. He was nice though and so was the woman who served our food. I would definitely return for the food but not for the drinks.

This place has become my new go to takeout. Their cashew max&cheese is jazzed up with some spices to make it interesting but still has everything I love about mac & cheese. The maple drumsticks are so flavorful and putting them on a little wooden dowel is a nice touch. Definitely important to eat it piping hot though. Always get those with some collard greens and it lasts me two whole meals. Had a piece of their cheesecake once too -- highly recommend.