Au Lac ❤ My goodness this is probably my favorite restaurant ever thus far in my lifetime!

The restaurant serves Humanese food. In 2001, when Chef Ito arrived, living vegan foods were added to the menu. On the menu you will see a (V) or (R) next to each item, the “V” is for cooked vegan and the “R” is for raw/living vegan.

On Au Lac’s site they have their mission statement beautifully written, if you have the time please check it out. It explains how and why the food here is so amazing. The menu varies from cooked vegan food to living vegan foods. Au Lac has tonics, elixirs, juices, teas, smoothies, living desserts, appetizers, soups, salads and a large variety of main entrees. Chef Ito also makes his own essential oils that are completely out of this world ❤ I personally own the Love Potion 😉 This oil has a relaxing effect for me personally but there is a long list of benefits from using this mixture of oils.

Au Lac is located at

16563 Brookhurst Street Fountain Valley California 92708

The outside of the building may not appear to be so magnificent, but once you get inside Au Lac right away there is an energy that will lure you in. I personally can’t help but feel completely happy once entering the restaurant.

There are lots of dark reds and black used to decorate the restaurant. To me it has this wonderful night life vibe, and even though I have never personally been able to attend an open mic event at Au Lac, I can see it being a complete hit! I believe open mics are held Wednesday nights, so please check Au Lac’s site or give them a call when planning to have a dinner there.

Depending what time of day you arrive at Au Lac the lighting will different. At night they do dim down the lights a bit and it feels relaxing. I always seem to linger around the restaurant for a while after eating, the energy and atmosphere is so inviting, warming, loving and growing!

There is a parking lot that gets fairly packed at night since the restaurant is in a shopping plaza. If you plan on going with a group of people I would strongly consider making a reservation ahead of time. Au Lac has a separate room for large events and this is also where the open mic nights are held 🙂

Chef Ito has been under a vow of silence for years now but if you have the opportunity to meet him you will be so grateful. There is a language he has with food that is completely different. I have never eaten somewhere where I have felt complete love and gratitude while eating as well as after eating ❤

Let me share with you several of the foods I have tried from here and some photographs my friend Julian took ❤ Like I mentioned before the restaurant can get a bit dim at night, my little old Andriod phone could not get a single shot. Everything came out completely black.

So let me start with a Starter! I HIGHLY recommend trying the living vegan Chimichurri. This is a warmed garlic bread that is moist, and breads, smells and feels like bread. There are two slices that are rather filling, and they are served with a fresh tasty herbed olive oil dip.

It tastes like there are lots of different types of seeds in the “bread” like sesame seeds & flax seeds. The texture may be possibly achieved with zucchini, almond pulp, and psyllium flax. I love how this bread has a proper crust too! Both times I went to this restaurant I split the bread with someone. It really does expand in the belly 😀

The other living vegan starter I have tried before is the Cream Cheese which consists of a flax cracker with a dollop of avocado, a little bit of mushrooms, slice of bell pepper and an onion ring on top. If I remember correctly I believe there was a basil leaf between the veggies and flax cracker.

The mushrooms had been marinating so they are a little easier to eat and have some flavors infused in them. I wasn’t a huge fan of this starter because it was difficult to eat, the avocado took over in flavor and I couldn’t get a balance of all of the flavors in each bite. The mushrooms were all on one side 😦 So this starter was okay, I wouldn’t be completely opposed to eating it again. But it wouldn’t be my idea, I would totally go for the chimichurri bread! ❤ I would go as far as saying Au Lac’s Living Bread is THE BEST raw vegan bread I have ever had.

Sadly, I do not have any photos from the dishes I have tried off of the Greens menu. However, I have tried the salad called The Sea which is another raw plate. It has greens, wakame, dulse, arame (these three are all seaweeds), kelp, kimchi, and ranch truffle. The seaweed tastes amazingly fresh! Every dish I have gotten here with seaweed in it smells like seaweed, just a little heads up for those of you who can not stand it 😉 This salad is very creamy, lots of amazing flavors from the seaweed and truffles. I guess if I had to pick my favorite thing about this dish it would be the kimchi. It’s the bomb dot com ❤ A bit on the spicy side, but it has the traditional taste, smell and look to it. Au Lac does serve the kimchi as a side dish if that is more of your thing!

Now a drum roll please *dum duh dum tshhhh*! Living Vegan Entrée time ❤

THE BEST kelp noodle dish I have had so far in my life is Au Lac’s Kelp Noodle Chow Mein. The kelp noodles are so soft and have been properly marinated. They are served with marinated ginger sesame vegetables like mushrooms, bok choy, onion, scallions, mung beans, carrots, and peppers. On top of the dish sesame seeds. This is a fairly large entrée and could most likely be shared depending on your appetite 😀

The flavors here are completely out of this world. There is a chili sauce like oil in here or something that I taste that completely lures me in and keeps me diving in for more. I would not consider this entrée to be very spicy or anything like that.

Here is Au Lac’s BBQ Pizza (raw) consisting of red onion, cilantro, macadamia “goat cheese.” I was not very pleased with this dish for the price I was expecting something more filling, with more flavor and overall MORE haha. It was a little difficult to taste the BBQ sauce and like with the Cream Cheese starter, with the pizza I could not get a bite with a balance of flavors of textures.

I am sorry but I really do not have much more to say about this dish :-X I think the thing is I personally am not a huge living vegan pizza fan in the first place but have always been a lover of BBQ sauce.

Another Living Vegan entrée I was diggin’ were the Winter Rolls. The wrap is made out of sliced and peeled zucchini, inside the roll is mixed greens, coconut meat, and lime leaf sauce. On the website’s menu it states that these rolls come with sprouts, I did not have any in mine so this might be something in the rolls when available or they have changed the recipe.

The serving sauce is sweet, nutty and a bit on the spicy side. The only photographs I have of the Winter Roll are when I took some leftovers home. So I am sorry if this gets confusing…and it looks terribly ugly compared to Julian’s beautiful photos…but here is a look at the Winter Roll and serving sauce. One of these photos has it featured with the Kelp Noodle Chow Mein. I find this combo to be absolutely amazing, especially if you have a friend to split the dishes with ❤

This dish consists of four rolls and the sauce ❤ I really enjoyed the different textures and flavors these wraps had to offer. Sometimes the most simple dishes are the way to go 😀

If I had to choose three things to get at Au Lac that I would love to share with friends and family it would be the Chimichurri, The Sea (salad) and the Kelp Noodle Chow Mein. The Winter Rolls would be in there too but I feel like these three dishes are dressed to impress 😉

Here are some images of the living vegan desserts I have tried before at Au Lac. The plating is absolutely stunning, yet I can not say that any of them really knocked me off of my feet. I thought the doughnut holes were a great concept but I was still not a huge fan. Out of the three desserts I have tried at the restaurant however, this is probably my favorite because it is such a unique concept with endless flavors & textures.

Donut Holes, these warm gooey centered donuts are made with; a spirulina-macadamia blend with a liquid coconut palm sugar center and are coated with coconut powder.

Rainbow In The Sky Ice Cream, chilled layers of blueberry, raspberry, coconut, and Spirulina, above a moist crust of pecan and dates. I think the thing that REALLY confused me with this dessert is the grapes, it didn’t go well flavor-wise and with the idea of food combining/digestion in mind this felt very off.

Chocolate Candies, this is simply made of cacao and coconut oil. They are nothing to
“write home about” but the cacao and coconut oil in these have been mixed well. Sometimes chilled raw chocolates end up tasting like a big ole bite of coconut oil thus feel like a big glob of fat.

When all is said and done, nothing compares to the endless love, joy, energy and gratitude the food at Au Lac provides. The service is amazing, each waiter & waitress has a well seasoned flavor of the menu and can answer the questions you may have. Please stop by Au Lac in Fountain Valley, California if you ever have the chance. There is a unique energy and concept flowing here that will leave you feeling like you have been surrounded by bliss ❤

I hear there is an Au Lac eventually opening in the Los Angeles area!!! Wooo, thank goodness 😀 Fountain Valley can be a whiles away for most people and L.A is the growing hot spot for vegan & living foods.

Thank you all for stopping by my site and taking the time to read my experience at one of the most amazing restaurants I have ever been to. Much love ❤ and raw power 😉

BIIIIIIG HUG, Jess :D!

P.S: For a quick & dry version of this review check out the little bits I posted on Yelp!