The Vegetarian
$$ - average
Indian (Northern), Indian (Southern)
All-veg North and South Indian
The Vegetarian offers both North and South Indian cuisine, with many vegan options. All of the vegan items are clearly marked on the menu, and the breads, though not marked vegan, can be made vegan on request.
As of April 25, 2008, they have re-opened after a fire earlier in the year.
About twenty blocks south of 694 on Central Ave.
- Large Group-Friendly
Added by Dave Rolsky on Nov 5 06 (updated Apr 27)
Reviews
Note sure why everyone is rating this so highly. I found it to be reasonably good Indian fare, perhaps not as good as Nala Pak a few blocks to the north. Smallish inside, didn't seem as "clean" as Nala Pak, India Palace, and others. We had the lunch buffet. It lacked malai kofta, and other Indian dishes we like to compare. Buffet included naan and dosais, which were good.
The Vegetarian has extremely friendly service and a simple menu of basic, honest Indian food. Its specialty is South Indian cooking, but they also have some North Indian standards. Everything that is vegan is clearly marked on the menu and the kitchen is more than willing to modify some dishes to make them vegan, should you wish. The prices are reasonable, too. Overall, a recommended restaurant.
The owners are so nice, the food is good and not your usual Indian fare, and it's completely vegetarian, so I love it.
I love the food here! I have been to India three times and the food reminds me of my journeys. Great food.
this is by far the best Indian food i have had the pleasure of eating & I'm not even a vegan or vegetarian......the herbs & spices are mixed with an experts touch to make the best tasting vegan or vegetarian food......i eat there often & have brought many different family & friends, they all say the same, EXCELLENT !!!!
I went to The Vegetarian on a weekday & had the lunch special (dal & palak paneer). The food was amazing, especially the dal & naan. It was certainly the best Indian food I've had outside of India. Made me nostalgic. I'm going again tonight for dinner. Hope it's just as good.
OK, I went back for dinner & am now convinced this is the best Indian restaurant in the twin cities. My husband & I had the somosas, naan, dal makhani & shahi paneer. The food was so rich & delicious, just like the food in Northern India. The family that runs the place is very sweet. I can't wait to go back.
Stopped in for lunch on a recent visit. The food was fantastic and the owner was great. He can do many vegan options, including the breads. I will definitely go back on my next visit! Keep supporting this place - it was pretty dead when I was in on a Wednesday lunch.
I came here with a group of 15 people and the service and food was excellent! The waitstaff was very conscientious and had everything set up before we arrived since we had made reservations. This is my new favorite Indian restaurant!
Bowing Down To Greatness! :)
This is my favorite place to come and eat. The service has always been outstanding. The food is awesome and the owner takes personal care with what he serves. Seriously I have a love affair with their mango Lassi. I think my husband may be a little jealous.
I can't think of one thing that I have tried that I don't enjoy eating. This place is a total gem and I highly recommend it. mmmm.... Kheer, lassi, garlic naan goodness... need I even go into his dinner entrees. LOL
He is also awesome for first timers if you let him know you don't want things to spicy. This place is totally great for going out with your friends or a nice dinner for two ;)
Enjoy
I'm verifying the positive reviews about The Vegetarian, which thankfully lives up to its name with all veggie cuisine.
The menu indicates vegan items with a special symbol for ease of use.
I enjoyed my dinner, especially the vada rasa soup, which consists of chickpea dumplings in a thick, herbal tomato (rasam) base. The main entree, a vegetable curry, wasn't nearly as good, but was still very enjoyable.
Next time, I'll have to try the very impressive dosas, appetizing both in sheer size and in the quantity of the potato filling throughout, which all three in our group (who had ordered this) raved about.
Service was fun and excellent, and our server handled our big group of 20 (and our potentially obnoxious joking) in stride. She was awesome!
With the passing of the former Udupi restaurant, The Vegetarian fills the impressive void easily for excellent vegan and vegetarian cuisine from both Southern and Northern India in a fun setting. I'd go back in a heartbeat.
I have never been much of a fan of vegetarian food until I had the lunch buffet at The Vegetarian. The food was extremely flavorful and it had substance. Even though the dishes have names that are unpronounceable by a middle age white guy,they are wonderful. What the chef/owner does with beans,rice,vegetables and his sauces makes this food a very unique meal. For non-vegetarian and vegetarian alike this place will change your view on how good food can be.
I am a big fan of Indian food and have tried many places around the Twin Cities but this place just blew me away. My only hope is that it gets enough business to stay afloat, but not so crowded that walking in at 7:00 on a Saturday night like we did would become impossible. We were one of four tables dining on a Saturday, and one of the tables knew the owner.
The service was wonderful and attentive but not overwhelming. Our meal was perfectly cooked and seasoned and my husband's sampler plate was clearly explained. Every dish on it was delicious and well done. Perfectly cooked Palak Paneer with delightful and perfect cheese, lentils still firm and smooth, rice was toothsome and vegetables in the biryani were still recognizable. Even the Indian spice tea was divine, delicately flavored and a wonderful drinking temperature.
I would go back in a heartbeat and keep going until I tried everything on the menu and then probably start over again. This place is not to be missed!!
Anyone who doesn't give this place a 10 doesn't know what they're talking about. If there was ever a place in the Twin Cities to support, this is it! The short of it: the best Indian food I've ever had (I've probably been to about 20 different places). The service was fantastic with the owner and his daughter (I believe) going out of their way to make it a fantastic dining experience. As others have said, the whole place is vegetarian with vegan items (at least half the menu) marked. If you're eating Indian elsewhere, you're wasting your time and money.
I had the Masala Dosa (#33 on the menu - vegan) on the recommendation of our server. She was so right! The thing was gigantic and about the tastiest thing I've ever eaten. It came with a lentil soup and a coconut curry dip. All of this was only $7! A welcome change from overpriced Twin Cities dining. For dessert I had Jalebi (vegan) -- golden sweet pretzel -- which was delicious and like nothing I've ever had. Plus, I got it on the house (told you the service was good)! To drink I had the Indian Tea which was the best tea I've ever had.
My wife ate vegetarian and had the Punjabi Thali (#30) -- which is basically a sampling of different dishes including appetizer and dessert. She loved her dinner just as much as I did. The Samosa with my wife's dinner was the most unique, delicious Samosa I've ever tasted.
I know I'm gushing, but this place is that good! We went for dinner and can't wait to try the lunch buffet. Apparently if you come for the Sunday lunch buffet, the owners told us you get some food item free (can't remember what).
Seriously folks, let's support this place (and ask them to start carrying beer and wine)!
I love the gluten-free yummy pancake style "Uthappam" which comes with "sambar", (a -- different than anything I've had before -- pidgeon pea soup with veggies in it) and a coconut chutney. It's so good to find things like this that are gluten free and very good. The batter is made from rice and beans and comes out white and yummy. I got it with onions and peas on it.
I also love their "thali" lunch platters because you get to choose two entrees, and get a lot of other things too, but yet don't overeat like I tend to at his delicious buffet.
This is a must-try restaurant for any Indian food lover! The buffet was delicious. It was spicy, as Indian food should be, but delicate enough for sensitive tongues. Everything on the buffet remains covered, so it remained as hot as if we had ordered it off the menu. The vegan items were in the majority, with only 2 entrees being vegetarian, but not vegan. They even had a vegan dessert, which is hard to find at a buffet. The service was wonderful as well. When we asked about the vegan fare, we were told it was almost all vegan, and if we didn't find enough, they would make us some more! The owner was extremely caring and wanted us to enjoy every minute of our meal. Even better, after 11 years of serving meat dishes, the owner and his family converted to an all-veg menu after converting to vegetarianism themselves! How can we not support this wonderful restaurant?
I've had Indian food in different countries in Asia, from Japan to Singapore. Each has its own "my favorite Indian restaurant." I've been here in the Twin Cities for nearly 5 years now but I have to admit, "The Vegetarian" is by far the best. You can't go wrong. The food is so flavorful, not to mention the MIND BLOWING service. Ashok, the owner is really such a nice gentleman. He really knows how to treat his customers.
The owner is very friendly and genuinely goes out of his way to please customers. He made me something that wasn't on the buffet that I asked about and then he didn't charge me for it. I paid for it anyway because it was delicious. The buffet plus the additional item he made especially for me left me feeling satisfied and full. Nearly all the menu items can be made vegan and most already are by nature. I've been to almost every Indian restaurant in the Twin Cities and this one has by far the best flavor and wide variety of both northern AND southern Indian food. TOTALLY DELICIOUS!
Loved it. My new favorite Indian restaurant. The Masala Dosas are better than the ones I had in India! Good service, good buffet and impressive menu.
The food I've had here was all pretty fantastic, and the service was quite good as well. The onion bhaji, which is basically Indian onion rings, was excellent. This is one of my favorite Indian dishes, though I've mostly seen it on the east coast. The samosas were also excellent, as was the pindi chana and aloo dum.
The service is pretty amazing. On my last visit I suggested that they get soy milk so they could make soy mango lassis. The waiter walked across the street to the Chinese restaurant, bought a few cans of soy milk, and made us lassis! And it was really cold that night too.
Excellent food. I tried the onion bhaji, which had a good flavor, but were too soggy. I also tried the samosas and pakoora, which were both quite tasty. The samosas had an excellent flaky crust.
I had a spicy okra dish, which was really tasty. My fiance had a lentil dish, which again had some great flavors. Another companion had this amzingly gigantic "crepe" with potatoes and veggies in it. Excellent. The garlic nan was probably one of my favorite parts of the meal. It was so fresh and fluffy and lots of garlic.
Everything on the menu was clearly marked whether or not it could be vegan, and the service was wonderful. I definitely want to go back and try some more dishes and also to support an all vegetarian restaurant.
Our first visit here confirmed they really are closed on Tuesdays :-). We tried again and the food here is great and very Vegan Friendly. We drive past Nalapak (ex-Udupi) to get to this place. Well worth the extra short drive.
Food was excellent, and the service was really good. The menu had vegan items marked. The serving size was small.
Great food. I rarely eat inside, mostly get to-go food which is always quickly accommodated. Nothing is ever plain here. The rice will actually have whole cinnamon sticks and whole cardamon in it, unlike other Indian restaurants where you just get white rice. Could be cleaner inside or more inviting.
They recently had a fire and have not yet re-opened. Went to a different Indian Restauraunt up on central and had a terrible experience, making me miss this place all the more. Try it if you haven't, if you have, go back once they re-open and support them. Good Indian food needs to thrive in this city. I've never had bad food here.
Haven't had the buffet, not a buffet person.