Great spot. Family owned, good food, great vegitarian food too. Go and see Charles he's a good guy and a hell of a cook. Most other "chinese" in china town isn't so good. Go here unless you are looking for Dim Sum, Peking Duck, or seriously spicey dishes. For those, I'd head to Dim Sum Garden, Peking Duck House, or Han Dynesty.Great spot. Ignore the negative reviews. Those people are idiots. :)

This place has decent vegan Chinese food at insanely cheap prices. It's good for lunch. I haven't been here in a while, but I plan to go back again soon!

Clean restaurant with fresh ingredients. Mixed vegetables were steamed as requested an crisp, not soggy. Love.

The overall positive reviews led us to try this place last night. We arrived around 7:30pm and there was only one couple there before us, making the restaurant sort of eerily quiet. Service was prompt and friendly, though, and we were seated promptly. We were both a bit sketched out by the reused wooden chopsticks; those suckers can't be sterilized, ok? But we've eaten in some pretty... rustic locations, so we shrugged that off and went with it."Healthy" means they offer chicken, seafood, and vegetarian options (no beef/pork/lamb/etc), and we figured it'd also mean lighter sauces and more veggies. (Pro tip: nope.)Cold sesame noodles were bizarre. The noodles themselves tasted raw--as in uncooked raw, not zucchini and cashew sauce raw--and spongy. Maybe they were made of tofu, instead of wheat? I couldn't figure it out. I've eaten a lot of noodles in my life and I have never encountered that texture before. Bizarre.Steamed chicken dumplings were good, though not exceptional, and a little dense.It took well over half an hour for our mains to come, even though only one other table was seated (and had already eaten). We got shrimp and scallops in a taro basket as well as walnut sweet and sour "pork" (because out of all their meat substitutes, that sounded the best--and we've had some amazing mushroom-based "meat" at Ray's Cafe, so it seemed hopeful).The "pork" was literally just breaded, fried walnuts (maybe 1/2 cup total) in a very heavy (think take-out) sweet and sour sauce. For $15, the portion was ridiculously small.The seafood basket looked good, but contained only three shrimp.Three.There were also two scallops (what looked like one half of a scallop sliced in half again, about 1/8" thick) but when I tried a bite of one, the taste was heavy with iodine, and I told my partner not to risk them. At best, the scallops were frozen and re-frozen; at worst, they were old as hell. The one and a half shrimp I had was ok. The freezer-bag veggies were freezer-bag veggies. The sauce was thick and gloopy and very, very salty. Again, for the price, we wondered what was going on.Rice was charged separately, and was not very fresh, on the dry side.Our total came to $45.As other diners trickled in, it definitely seemed that Charles had a rapport with them--but they were all white (disclaimer: so are we), and almost all past middle age. I think this place is basically the local "exotic" restaurant that local adventurous white middle-class Caucasians venture to so that they're guaranteed to have a waiter who speaks fluent English and so they don't have to worry about "scary" flavors on their plate. You'll find more adventurous eats in your local delivery pages. A young Thai-American couple came in and, while the rest of the restaurant was chowing down, they seemed to be just as horrified about what was on their plates as we were.This is not a Chinese restaurant. This is a Chinese-inspired American diner. And not a good one.So to recap: not fresh, skimpy portions of the main ingredients, heavy, nasty sauces. Overpriced, especially considering you can get better and more "authentic" (whatever that means, anyway) Chinese dishes at your local $10 buffet. Skip this place. For now, we're still on the look-out for a solid Chinese place in Chinatown (but see my reviews if you're into Taiwanese or Vietnamese eats).

Wow! KMSO (Knocking My Socks Off!!!) The food is delicious and vegetarian. What else can I tell you without giving you a free sample? And that's impossible because I'm not Charles! Share the vegetarian hot & sour soup (great idea Mimi) and then get some seitan with sizzling black bean sauce or something and pair it with freshly steamed broccoli. THERE ARE NON-VEGETARIAN OPTIONS. but eat vegetables too so you dont turn into freddy kreugerDo they keep your water glass filled? YES

If you like Kingdom of Vegetarians or New Harmony, you'll be right at home at Charles Plaza. They have a large section of the menu that is vegetarian. However if you have a meat eater in your life, they also serve the real stuff. (The best of both worlds!)We came here for an early dinner a couple Sundays ago. Charles greeted us and checked on us throughout the meal. Service was great. Their vegetarian won ton soup really hit the spot on a cold day. Won ton soup is one of those things you can't find in a vegetarian version unless you're in Chinatown. Us suburbanites don't get to enjoy it that often.The food was tasty, on par with other places in Chinatown. Prices were very good as well. I would return.

This is probably the best Chinese food in the country. The quality is so high, and the people are so, so nice and wonderful. I've been eating here for many, many years...and it's always a treat!

China Town's best secret!!! We've been going here since Charles left "The other place!!" He is the absolute best restaurant host that there is. Steamed veggie dumplings rock!! Seafood tofu soup-MMMMMM!!! Excellent food all around. ...?

Charles is the most amazing host around. I gave him a list of my allergies and culinary preferences and he had his head chef specially prepare a delicious sesame seeded tofu dumpling platter. delicious! ...?

There are a lot of Chinese and vegetarian Chinese places to go in town, but Charles Plaza is easily the best. I've never had better vegetarian mock-meat anywhere else, and non-veggie friends have always been impressed as well. ...?

Came into Philly ChinaTown for Chinese fare. As usual, Checked out reviews on the internet and then after honing down on top three overall reviews for best vegetarian Chinese, we parked our car and went over each one to check the ambiance. ...?

I never thought I'd write that in seriousness. But Charles Plaza has shown me the light--such wonderful veggie options that there's no need for meat. The General's "Chicken" is really excellent, too--great, crispy crust and incredible sauce. ...?

This is now my favorite Chinese resturant. It is in China town, so parking there is somewhat difficult, but if you are willing to park a little father away, and walk, you will be fine. The staff there is extremely friendly and accomadating. ...?

We visit Chinatown about 4 times a year and although there are other restaurants i am tempted to try, we always return to Charles Plaza. The staff is very friendly and warm. This is a vegetarian restaurant, however, a very delicious ...?

After reading the reviews I decided that I had to pay a visit here. It was a very good restaurant, but I wouldn't rate it 5 stars. I have the veggie General's Chicken and while it was good, I have had the same dish at other restaurants that ...?

of China Town has been our favorite for years. Charles Chen, the owner and host, is warm, friendly, treats you as family, and serves up some of the best and freshest food in the area. The steamed chicken dumplings are sublime. The soups are all outstanding; a personal favorite is the ...?

Charles is warm and welcoming. The veggie food is some of the best I've tasted and I've been a vegetarian for over twenty years. Worth the trip to the end of the street. ...?

The best Chinese...and among the best vegetarian.... food I have ever had. Don't miss the asparagus and mushroom soup. Bring a nice bottle of wine and you have a great (and healthy) meal on the cheap. ...?

I'm very picky about my Chinese food (lived in China for a year and nothing quite measures up to that), but I must admit I was very pleasantly surprised by Charles Plaza. I'm not a vegetarian, but a few of my friends who were coming out ...?

I went here with a few friends for dinner after seeing great reviews on citysearch - the food was overall good but nothing spectacular. I enjoy eating meat but also like to try vegetarian alternatives. I got the vegetarian general tso's ...?

vegetarian food. Really??? Because even though we placed our order with the owner and requested steamed and special dishes everything came out greasy and crispy; furthermore, everything kind of looked the same with similiar ingredients. Huh... We were convinced to ...?

A friend of mine introduced me to this place after trying it and pronouncing it her favorite restaurant in Philadelphia; one lunch there and I knew what she meant! Since we've both lived here for a long time, we've sampled plenty of restaurants, so this is truly an endorsement. The menu is diverse, the food is fresh, the house special won ton soup is out of sight. As for the ambiance, it's attractive and relaxing; as for the owner and staff, they're always welcoming. You might pay a little more here than at some other places, but this one is a fantastic buy.?

to report on. With as many selections in Chinatown as I have seen, this one fell really short. Maybe the head chef had the day off. I knew is was wrong when two out of three fortunes were the same. ...?

The food is pretty healthy and you can request additions or subtractions in the preparation of your order. The staff is very accommodating. Fresh ingredients and inventive specials are on offer at Charles Plaza. Byo is the wine policy, ...?

I have been a regular since Charles opened his restaurant.! AM RUINED FOR LIFE!!! Why? Because of the high quality, delicious, and healthy menu items, I can no longer eat at any other Chinese restaurants...I compare them all to Charles...and ...?

My husband and I are vegetarians, and this is our "go-to" restaurant whenever we visit Philadelphia, most recently on July 8. It's on the outskirts of Chinatown. Just pass under the arch and walk for several blocks. It will be on your left. ...?