Southern California-based vegan-food-chain Veggie Grill has finally landed in Seattle's South Lake Union neighborhood, bringing a warm, West Coast vibe to a corner of the ever-expanding Amazon campus.

Drenched in giddy tones of red, yellow and lime, with a chipper, attentive staff to match, the restaurant offers a good sit-down alternative to the area's booming daytime food-truck scene.

Heavy on sandwiches but with a selection of hearty, colorful salads and homestyle plates featuring veggie "chickin" and tempeh comfort food, the restaurant aims more for crowd- pleasing flavors than culinary adventurism.

The menu: All of the tempeh, chickin and "steak" dishes at Veggie Grill are prepared with soy-based products in well-spiced marinades. The thing to go for here is one of the burgers or sandwiches, like the Santa Fe fried- chickin sandwich with avocado and spicy-vegan mayo ($8.95), the Indonesia- inspired Bali Bliss ($7.95) and the Chipotle BBQ with shredded-veggie steak ($8.95). I opted for the All-American Stack ($8.95), which comes with a small bowl of red-cabbage slaw or chili.

What to write home about: The tender, sweetly marinated strips of veggie steak on my All-American Stack had the uncanny texture of real beef and came topped with crispy onion rings. Sadly, it makes quite a mess. The deliciously creamy chocolate parfait with walnuts and cookie crumbles on top ($3.50) made up for it.

What to skip: Substitute the underseasoned slaw with chili or upgrade to steamed kale, quinoa, veggie mac-and-cheese or cauliflower mashed potatoes for $1.50-$2.25 extra.

The setting: A riot of color with lots of light.

Summing up: The Stack burger with red-cabbage slaw ($8.95) and parfait ($3.50) and a soft drink ($2.25) came to $14.70, plus tax and tip.

Tyrone Beason: tbeason@seattletimes.com