Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro
The Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro is a vegetarian restaurant serving Thai cuisine in Portland, Maine that opened in 2007 in the city's Arts District. A second Green Elephant restaurant located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire opened in 2015. It has received critical attention for its vegetarian dishes from non-vegetarians. History. The restaurant was opened by chef Danai “Dan” Sriprasert and business partner Bob Wongsaichua at 608 Congress Street across from the State Theatre building. Sriprasert and Wongsaichua also own Boda, a Thai restaurant that serves some meat dishes. The restaurant is named as green represents  vegetarian cooking and elephants are considered lucky. A 2011 The Maine Magazine review by Joe Ricchio reported: "Sriprasert’s mother, who owned a restaurant in Thailand, taught him how to cook from a very early age. Each morning, he would wake up and be put to task peeling garlic, chopping onions, making curry paste, and executing other tedious preparations. His mother never used written recipes, and by cooking alongside her he began to develop his own personal style." During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the Portland restaurant closed for a month and a half before reopening and gave all 40 of  its employees a free box of produce every week while closed. Menu. The menu is appetizers, stir fries, curries, noodle dishes and desserts. All the food is vegetarian and most is vegan. The crispy duck, the char guay teow and the chocolate orange mousse pie have been mentioned by food reviewers. Reception. The restaurant doesn't take reservations and people sometimes wait outside for tables. In 2012, "The Boston Globe" travel writer Hilary Nangle said the restaurant "has persuaded many carnivores that going veggie does not mean sacrificing flavor." In 2013, "Travel + Leisure" named the restaurant to its list  of the "Best Vegetarian Restaurants in the U.S." In 2016, the "Maine Sunday Telegram"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s restaurant reviewer James H. Schwartz gave the restaurant three stars and wrote: "It’s fun, congenial and healthful, an easy place for vegetarians, dedicated carnivores – and the rest of us – to enjoy." In 2016, Guy Fieri ate at the Portsmouth location and called the food "one of the best vegetarian meals I've had in a long time." In 2016, the Green Elephant in Portsmouth was named Best Vegan Restaurant in the state by "New Hampshire Magazine". In 2019, "The Daily Meal" named the  restaurant to its list of "The Most Vegan-Friendly Restaurant in Every State." In 2020, the "Portland Press Herald"<nowiki>'</nowiki>s vegan food writer Avery Yale Kamila called the restaurant Maine's "reigning vegetarian restaurant queen." In 2021, Yelp released a list naming the best vegetarian restaurant in each state and Green Elephant Vegetarian Bistro was listed as the best vegetarian restaurant in Maine.