Govinda's
Profile
$$ - average
Indian, Eclectic (Varied)
Hare Krishna restaurant
An Indian/eclectic restaurant in Tucson's Hare Krishna center. Thursday night is vegan night, but there are vegan options every night.
North side of Blacklidge, just a few yards east of 1st Avenue.
- Outdoor Seating
- Quiet
Added by Gerry Morgan on Jun 29 04 (updated Jun 11 07)
Reviews
I really love going here on Thursdays (vegan day).. my favorite thing is the mock fish sticks! From my experience the food actually tastes best on vegan day. Not sure why that is.. If you like homestyle cooking with not much processed food, it's great. The atmosphere looks nice but is not the most friendly, certain people seem to hold smiles hostage. But the food is worth it!
I have mixed feelings and a little confusion with Govinda's.
Before my first visit I called ahead to make sure that the Eggplant Parmesan (buffet entree of the day) was vegan which I was so excited to find listed as "dairy free" on their website. I was told it was and that there was a few dairy items but those were marked. When we arrived I asked again if it was Vegan just to be sure and to let the cashier know that 2 of their newest visitors were vegan.
We loved the eggplant Parmesan but the "dairy free" mock mozzarella and cheddar cheese on it was very suspicious of casein. It was supposed to be vegan and it tasted better than any vegan cheese I've had. The dish was excellent. I decided to email a polite letter explaining my concern using the address on their site and did not hear back. A few weeks ago I emailed again and still no reply.
I imagine the dairy free lasagna I see listed on their site might use the same cheese. I'd love to go back if it was guaranteed casein free and not just "dairy free".
I think it would be awesome on so many levels if Govinda's made the shift to completely vegan.
I visited Govinda's on "vegan day," but not everything was vegan (though dairy items were at least clearly marked). It was supposed to be a buffet, but they'd charge you extra for certain items. I ended up paying a lot of money but not being able to eat very much of what was offered.
I wish I could talk about the food, but it was pretty forgettable. I wish I liked it since it's one of Tucson's few all-vegetarian establishments, but it was just kind of ... boring.
Govinda's has a small buffet of diverse and wholesome vegetarian food, most of which is vegan. They also have a salad bar with soy-based dressings. The buffet is not really cheap, but the food is good and the setting is unique.
I'm not a fan of Govinda's. They're not very vegan-friendly; they use a lot of dairy products (though no eggs). There is one vegan day (Thursday), but the last time I was there on Thursday, not everything was vegan. (The samosas had cheese in them.) I'm also not too impressed by the prices. At lunch, you can easily spend $10 (buffet plus drink), and I don't think that the small buffet's offerings are worth the money. Finally, I just don't like the food very much.
I must say, though, that I used to work near Govinda's and my non-vegetarian co-workers went to Govinda's all the time and liked it a lot. I'm not sure what they saw in it though...
If you're in the Ft. Lowell/1st Ave area (near Govinda's), check out Taco Bron, which is right on the corner of First and Ft. Lowell. Their burritos are fantastic. I prefer getting my food to-go, though, as the chairs and tables (yes, tables) are covered in leather.
Not very impressed with the vegan fare, though my vegetarian friends rave about it.