Annapurna’s World Vegetarian Cafe

I used to LOVE Annapurna’s. I was a vegetarian for several years and was happy to find such a flavorful, creative kitchen. Their veggie burger with veganaise was on THE best gluten-​free bun ever — I preferred it over traditional buns. Soups and salads were fresh. Desserts were unique. Sadly, though, the quality has not stood the test of time. The last few visits have been quite disappointing. The cook obviously lacks attention to the details. Items that should be cold or hot are usually just lukewarm — not appetizing. The owner obviously had some great ideas and recipes but she needs to regularly check her staff and policies for quality assurance. My hope is that things will return to their former «glory days» because it was the bomb!

Being a south Indian I expect all my Indian food to be spicy, salty and delicious. This is one of those places that transcends taste and the reminds you of the purpose of food, which is to nourish you with the best possible ingredients available. I tried their South Indian, North Indian samplers along with the tofu fried rice. Although some of the food appeased my tongue, I cherished the values with which the owner set up this place in every dish. Their chai was amazing and I will definitely revisit the place to try more of their dishes

Update: The manager of this location contacted me for feedback and sent a nice gift card after my original review, which I wasn’t expecting. Kudos to her for trying to improve Annapurna and restore it back to the place I know and loved.

I’m sad to write this review, because as a college student back in the day, I loved going to Annapurna on Silver Street.
I’ve checked out the 4^th Street location on several occasions, and I was never quite as impressed. The portions seemed smaller and less inspired.
My latest visit will be my last. I brought a relative with me who was visiting from out of town. It was a Tuesday afternoon and not very busy. We waited at the counter for about 15 minutes while the girl taking orders was on the phone with a catering customer. She never acknowledged us or the group of people waiting in line in front of us. Finally, she got off the phone and let the cook know he had a catering order for 20+ people that needed to be done in an hour. He yelled out and was obviously pissed. The tension was awkward and obvious.
Then, the counter girl began taking the order of the group in front of us. She offered each of them tea samples, and engaged in long, drawn-​out conversation. At this point, we had been waiting to order for close to 30 minutes. We walked out without once being acknowledged.

Had the soup of the day which was like a squash creamy type and very delicious. This along with a grilled cheese with green chile. The bread almost tasted like cornmeal. This too was very delicious. The atmosphere is calm and welcoming. You order at the counter and take a number, then they bring the food to your table. I would recommend this vegetarian restaurant to my family and friends. I will return. Yum!

The tension between the cook and the girl at the counter is a little weird. The cook refused to serve what we wanted after 8pm because he’s prepping for close. I know, it’s Saturday night. But damn I just want the stir fry and you put the broccoli away too soon. But we settled for fried rice and veggies. Alrighty then.

As someone who has been vegan, vegetarian, dairy free (I now eat meat) and a foodie, I love that I can eat just about anything on the menu here. The chai makes me feel like life is going to be OK. This week I was able to get a vegan chocolate cupcake! Totally made my day :) The only thing Id say that no totally positive is that at this location on 4^th, the service can be a little slow. Not so at the Nob Hill location.

I was excited to finally go to this restaurant, as a lover of Indian cuisine and a vegetarian. Not only was it the worst Indian food I have ever had, but possibly the worst food in general. The 4^th street location was out of ²⁄₃ vegetable combinations offered, yet a grocery store was half a block away. Since we were there very early for dinner, one would think that the chef would have had plenty of time to go buy the groceries needed to fulfill all needed items on his dinner menu. Even the chutney was pureed– the food was inedible, and it cost me $ 20. Awful, awful, awful.

I am partial to delicious, vegetarian food. But they also serve up some scrumptious cheese quesadillas using their house made Indian flatbread! If you’re not a huge carnivore and u appreciate organic food prepared from scratch, this is your stop in Albuquerque. It’s also a nice comfortable place (either location) to pony up on the wi fi and get some work done.

Favorite place to hang out on a busy day in Albuquerque. The food and atmosphere are relaxing, and the food is always good. Faves: Veggie burger, veggies of the day, grilled cheese with green chili, dal. Interesting and tasty soups.

The veggie burger has a good flavor, but it’s very mushy and the bread is delicious but crumbly. The ABLT is my favorite sandwich choice. Nothing beats the vadai tacos they had as chefs special once, wish they would add them as a permanent entrée item!

4^th Great Place! Super Food! Nice atmosphere. Got addicted to the cardamon and sesam coconut cookies! Annapurna should, would make a wonderful worldwide Veggie rest. chain! ! Been there in Summer and Fall several times. Everybody friendly. Tasty soup!
First place to go when i get to ABQ!

ATTN ALL CARNIVORES: do NOT pass on dining at Annapurna. You will not be disappointed!
Amazingly tasty food. And very healthy food at that. This combo can be done here. All my gluten free dreams come true in one little happy establishment.
I recommend the veg burg and veg of the day (get a bowl on that!). I’ve had lunch specials that were very good & filled me up for the day.
For desserts — the gingerella in on par with Flying Star’s ginger cookie. It’s better actually but without the icing… meh I sometimes need that. Pass on the coconut-​sesame cookie but DO NOT pass on the almond anything in the case! Cookies, burfi, whatever. If it’s got almonds, it’s bound to be good.

I have reviewed the other location in Albuquerque a couple of years ago.
This time around, I decided to try this location. I don’t understand the comment about «weird melancholy vibe» by the other reviewers. I found it just fine. In fact, compared to the location on Silver Ave, this one is less busy, less rushed and appeared both cleaner and better organized. There is also free parking (being kind of in the ‘burbs rather than in the midst of businesses) which is a huge plus. So overall, I actually preferred this location over the Silver Ave one.
Regarding the food… not much different than the other location. The concept is great, but freshness is sometimes lacking. Even though they claim everything is prepared the same day, I think keeping cooked vegetables around for several hours can cause them to start tasting funny. I tried several things here over the couple of days, all of them were decent. Not out of this world, but very good. And when you add that it is all organic and good quality ingredients, overall it’s a great package. I had no desire to eat anywhere else while I was in Albuquerque.

My first meal in town. I got the Southern sampler (I think, whichever was vegan) and it was delish! I was with my veg husband and a non-​veg and they both enjoyed their meals as well.
Service was fast and friendly, even though we were there pretty close to closing. This place would fit well in Berkeley. :)

Decided to give this vegan cuisine a try my wife being a vegetarian. To be frank, we both didn’t like the food with the dishes we ordered containing too much cinnamon in them. The masala dosa ordered by my wife was with too much masala in it and again that cinnamon flavor. No close resemblance with the original south Indian dish.
The poori I ordered was stuffed and tasted good but again the ‘bhaji’ had too much of tomato and cinnamon in it.
Ambience is kind of okay, but not appealing.

I agree with Howard T. about the «weird melancholy vibe» of this restaurant & with other reviewers re. the poor service. I had the same experience as Addyline L.: we walked up to the counter and waited several minutes while the employee stood at the register taking a takeout order over the phone. He finally took our order. The time was printed on the receipt so I can report accurately, we got our food exactly 43 MINUTES later.
Fortunately it was a Friday night and there was a great middle eastern band playing, which kept us distracted. We did enjoy & appreciate the band which is why I gave this place 2 stars instead of 1.
By the time our food arrived we were so hungry we would’ve eaten sticks, rocks, anything. And actually sticks and rocks might’ve been a good complement to the Sag Paneer we ordered, which smelled /​tasted like cooked lawn clippings.
Keyword for the other items we tried: Potatoes. Everything seemed to contain lots of mushy potatoes.

They have chai tea similar to the tea you get in India. Love the no bacon BLTA, chai, lemon ginger drink, quinoa (breakfast) and the salad with lemongrass dressing.

Weird melancholy vibe to this place. Cardamom pancakes had absolutely no cardamom flavor. Mango sauce was fine, but really just seemed like I was pouring mango juice on my pancake… maybe needed more sugar or to be thickened?
Strawberry muffin was pretty tasty, especially for being gluten free.

The vegan pecan pie is absolutely hands down incredible!

I think you either like Annapurna or you don’t like it. There’s no in between. My husband hates the place. I really like it, even though I’m not vegetarian. I’ve been several times and they have consistently impressed me with the combination of flavors in their food. That being said, you really have to be in the mood to go there. I only go a few times a year. Their carrot cake is out of this world, combining salty, sweet, nutty, and spicy flavors. The chai tea is also really good. They have a chai tea happy hour from 3−5pm where you get ½ price. You have to try the french fries with the chipotle dip they serve… it kind of reminds me of a chipotle ranch. The veggie burger is delicious. Those are just a few of the menu items I like, although I’ve tried plenty.
Try the place out! They really have some delicious and different options on their menu.

The restaurant is clean and lovely.
I waited a long time for my order to be taken while one employee was being trained in front of me. I’ve been in both positions before, the trainee and the trainer and in food service, you really HAVE to take care of the customer IN FRONT OF YOU with the MONEY immediately.
I was already hungry when I came in so it didn’t help that I had to wait five minutes just watching them talk to a to-​go order on the phone.
I got what sounded amazing, a thai stir fry with brown rice. $ 9.50. Ow.
Since I’m sort of a terrible person who expects to be treated terribly, I went ahead and set the timer on my phone to see how long it would take. There was one customer in front of me.
It took twelve minutes. for a STIR FRY.
What I got tasted bland, was more rice than veggies and was delivered to me by a guy from the back who I hadn’t met before.
I was glad I didn’t tip the people at the front because they sure as shit weren’t going to help me out as a customer.
Maybe they have good chai. It’d be hard to mess that up. mango lassi price seemed steep at $ 4.50. I stuck with water from a jug in a corner with no ice.

When I first starting going to Annapurna a few years ago, I wasn’t sure about it. Now I frequent the 4^th St. location which I prefer over the Nob Hill location.
The setting is great, food is pretty consistent, and I can get vegan food, which is the best part. I like the Chapati roll with their vegetables of the day which are always interesting with nice flavor. I also go there by myself during the day because it is quiet enough to read. I tend to stay away from the more americanized veggie foods, like the ABC wrap, but I do like the Lebanese wrap.
All in all, great place to go!