Lacto
Indian
International
Hare Krishna
A very casual vegetarian restaurant in London Soho Street. Large menu, peaceful setting. Most items may contain dairy - vegans to ask. Reported open, Nov 2019. Open Mon-Sun 12:00-21:00.
101 Reviews
First Review by Sernicki
AirValen
Points +867
delicious but only 1 vegan option - Edit
A very nice place and lovely food! Very tasty, however only one vegan option, nice and will come back! I do recommend this place!
Read moreGuest
GaryCottrill
Points +40
GREAT vegan options - Edit
I LOVE this place! I always get the all you can eat thali and ask for only the vegan items. Always leave here stuffed :0)
Read moreGuest
barringtonmac
Points +92
Nice place to eat - Edit
You can have a thali here or a whole curry with lots of sides like spring rolls, pakoras, bhaghis, salads. Some home made juices and desserts as well.
Read moreIts always busy at lunch and you may wait a minute for a seat, always a good sign. The food is quite good and has lots of vegan options. The price is quite fair for oxford st. Its not the spiciest food, I would prefer a few hotter dishes.
Pros: lots of vegan options, good portions, simple
Guest
ZannaStar
Points +176
eat in peace - Edit
note: I haven't visited since 2013
Read moreI find strangely tranquil about this busy place; maybe it's the efficiency, the lack of pretentiousness (I like the metal dishes and cups) or the chilled out folks. Anyways, I've always found the food to be yummy and very affordable. I used to visit a lot before I went vegan, but now not so much as they use dairy in many dishes and their yogurt sauce is... well, a bit tempting. Easy to veganise this stuff so I wish they would = ) Some nice desserts too - one of my vegan friends says the marble cake is vegan and gorgeous.
Pros: value, location
Cons: dairy
Guest
Phil0s0sraptor
Points +34
Spiritually gratifying and delicious! - Edit
I enjoy visiting the Hare Krishna devotees and enjoying the food which they bless and serve with a smile. The food is delicious and satisfying, very reasonable price. This place is very often busy as it is in a very busy area, best not to visit at peak times if you want a table.
Read moreGuest
kool_kitchen
Points +875
Hare Krishna slops - Edit
Made to be inoffensive, but not to have any taste, this is sloppy daal and saag gobi made in bulk.
Read moreCons: Flavourless fare
Guest
Emisgoodeating
Points +126
Good food but ask if you're Vegan - Edit
This is the restaurant connected to the Hare Krisna movement - temple next door. I've been a few times and for vegans, you must ask and make sure. No trouble. The service is efficient for what it is. The prices are cheap. The quality of the food is good and the portions are huge. You could make this your one meal of the day. The ambiance is just ok, but the surrounding area makes up for it.
Read morePros: Great for vegetarians, Huge portions, Inexpensive
Cons: Vegans must ask
Guest
emelem
Points +131
they saved the day - Edit
i was about to pass out from hunger, being touristy but avoiding all the pub and chain food, when i came across govinda's. great food, better prices! will definitely be going again :)
Read moreGuest
ForestQeeper
Points +521
Big portions! - Edit
The restaurant is great if your hungry: big portions for resonable prices, especially for London (I remember particularly a big slice of cake), but the impression I had is of an unclean and a bit messy place...
Read moreNot "gourmet" anyway.
Pros: Big portions, little prices
Cons: A bit dirty and cahotic
Guest
frads
Points +262
Interesting Restaurant with Interesting Vibe - Edit
This restaurant through me a bit off guard during my visit. It was my first restaurant experience upon arriving in London and my like of it rapidly dropped upon visiting the competition.
Read moreI felt the staff was not outright rude, but not particularly helpful or sensitive to those looking for vegan options. A great deal of the menu items have milk/cheese but upon asking what certain options were, I was rushed to make a decision already with the staff having no desire to tell me what I was looking at.
The food itself was good and I very much enjoyed it. The restaurant is very practical, not cozy or particularly clean looking.
Because the restaurant and patrons were majority of the Hare Krishna movement I expected that the ambiance and staff would be very kind, gentle and soothing but I found them to be nothing of the sort. For that reason alone, I would probably not return.
Pros: Good food
Cons: Too much dairy/cheese, Unwelcoming staff, Ambiance is less than comfortable
Guest
necropalice
Points +131
Cheap and delicious - great restaurant. - Edit
Vegans need to ask what's safe to eat, but the well informed and smiling staff will only be too happy to talk you through the buffet-style menu. I recommend a thali to get a good taste of the range of flavours available, but it's possible to eat a filling and nutritious lunch of dhal, rice and a pakora for less than £5. I really liked it here.
Read morePros: friendly and informed staff, cheap, great flavour
Cons: not very atmospheric
Guest
gin_and_tonic
Points +92
Good food nice atmosphere - Edit
This place has been here for years. Its run by the Hari Krishnas, but don't let that put you off. They don't preach or try to convert you. The food is prepared as an act of worship, so it is fit for a god!
Read moreThey do a good value thali, where you can have several small curries. I always go for the paneer tikka, which is awesome. They do several other non curried foods, salads, drinks,juices and cakes. They are vegan friendly as well.
Another veggie restaurant that only takes cash. A meal will cost about £6-£7.50 ish.
Pros: Good food, Central location
Cons: Cash only
Guest
beitme
Points +149
healthy buffet - Edit
Staff are very friendly. Place delivers buffet style, with healthy food that tastes quite good. There's a decent selection to choose from, including meal deals for those who desire variety. Portions are moderate. Price is well marked for what you get. Student discount of %15 available. Nothing remarkable about the atmosphere, though it's nice to sit and enjoy your meal if you're willing to spend the extra 50 pence or so for it.
Read morePros: healthy food, friendly staff
Guest
Joloco
Points +311
Pretty good stuff! - Edit
In a good, central location with a fairly wide range on offer, plenty of drinks and reasonably priced. It's not posh - more cafeteria than restaurant. The food is very nice and the staff friendly.
Read moreIt's a Hare Krishna-run place, but there's no attempts to convert you or anything. Unfortunately it closes at 8pm! If you get there late they may have run out of some dishes.
Overall, very good.
Pros: Price, Location, Taste
Cons: 8pm closing
Joloco
Since this review was written the opening hours have changed. Govinda's is now open from 12 noon until 9pm, and also opens from 12pm until 4pm on Sundays.
Read moreGuest
amsy
Points +34
peaceful place - Edit
This is a nice peaceful retreat when in Soho. The food is yum and you don't have waiters bugging you, just nice smily Hare Krishna staff who don't preach or try to convert you. However, they do have literature available if you're interested with recipes and ideals of Hare Krishna.
Read moreGood range of food and drink for all.
Pros: peaceful, cheap, tasty
Guest
mirjam
Points +33
nice indian food - Edit
The food is good, but the vegan options are limited. We had the small thali, but because the other curry had cream in it, we had to go for the spicy option (which was a bit too spicy for us)
Read morePros: nice food, reasonable price
Cons: limited choice
Guest
edmt
Points +17
Delicious Food - Edit
I loved it. The food was great, the restaurant itself is very clean and kind of cosy. A 3-portion meal was about gbp 4.00.
Read moreI totally recommend it.
Pros: excellent food, good value, friendly staff
Guest
Jemima
Points +484
Decent place to grab smthng to eat - Edit
Central location.
Read moreBlonde wood, light coloured, pleasant cafeteria vibe. There is artwork on the walls - paintings of Indian scenes when I visited. The person with me said he liked it but not enough to pay 700 pounds for it.
Patrons are many and varied. Hippies, Subcontinental people, travelers, young, older, groups and pairs and singles. The queue at dinner time is constantly coming out of the door. You might have to sit next to someone else as it may be the only space you can find/ some tables are grouped in quite big groupings - you may have less people in your group. Dinner ends at around eight thirty pm at which time the Hare Krishna followers gather outside and sing the Hare Krishna mantra. They were led by someone playing an electric ukulele on when I went.
Amongst items on the menu, there is all you can eat thali, there is also quiche, pizza, calzone and lasagna. Deserts are mostly Western except for laddu. There is a drinks fridge with soft drinks and you can get lassi, tea and coffee. I had thali which was hearty and tasty. There are some choices you can make, depends on what is currently available at the counter. They bring in new things as others run out/ they are ready. I was full with just one serving. I had lassi which was strawberry! It was a bit thin and quite sweet. Had pieces of strawberry in it so maybe it was made from fresh strawberries. I had strawberry cheesecake for dessert. Fairly tasty and filling.
You need to order and pay at the counter, where Hare Krishna followers serve you.
At six pounds ninety-five for the all you can eat thali it is great value.
Pros: good location, pretty tasty and good value, casual, quick, suit all types
Cons: a few things tastier than others
Guest
JohnnySensible
Points +7566
Great Potential - Adjustments needed - Edit
Visit sometimes - eat lightly - drink herbal tea - relax & sing the "Hare Krishna Mantra" to yourself - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare_Krishna I used to enjoy working there. It could still be & really should be the best restaurant in London. Great location - Soho St. / Soho Sq. - just off Oxford St. The current managers insist on using dairy products which are cruelly produced on UK farms - their founder Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada protected cows & insisted that they die only from old age. There are plenty of vegan dishes in their Hare Krishna culture but they hardly ever cook / prepare them these days. Was a glorious place to eat & meet in the "Punk Years" - 78 / 79 / 80 - Poly Styrene, Chrissie Hynde, Laura Logic, Boy George were all regular visitors - then all menu items were the "prasadam" / temple offerings of Sri-Sri Radha London Isvara - the deities who live above the restaurant on the 1st floor - the temple entrance door is just to the right of the restaurant. Pop your shoes in your bag & bob upstairs to visit them if they are awake! - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radha_Krishna_Temple
Read morePros: "My Sweet Lord" memories, Great art / photo's, Lots of wood & greenery
Cons: Bad toilets, Cruelly produced milk, "Pretty Vacant" staff
Guest
Sernicki
Points +394
Fresh and wholesome - Edit
No gimmicks, no frills and no rush. A place to get real wholesome food at a nice price. The vegan options are good and the service is polite and friendly. I always feel relaxed in this place and not rushed to finish my food and get out. Also you are a few feet away from Soho Square which is a little bit of green space to sit and let the world go by as your food digests. A must place for all vegans.
Read morePros: Fresh, Clean, friendly
Guest
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