Govinda’s Restaurant

Govinda’s is as good as it gets because:
1. You have this little cute café/​restaurant right in the middle of the zoo area of Soho with reasonable prices
2. Great vegetarian Indian dishes
3. No one bothers you! You pick your food, pay, grab a fork and sit down to do whatever you want to do (read, stare into the space, lick your plate. sky is the limit)
Will I be back? You bet!

Every time I come to London (and this is my 26^th) I stop by Govinda. It offers a relaxing getaway from the hurly-​burly of Oxford Street compulsive shoppers providing a vegetarian meal with a nice home-​feel to it. My personal favourite is their vegetarian lasagna, which I generally couple with a piece of poppadom bread. Of course many more options are available, but I’m a creature of habits. It goes without saying that Govinda is a religiously connotated restaurant, but, in line with Hare Krishna values, people from all creeds and lifestyles are welcome to enjoy their lovingly prepared dishes.

I’ve been here twice now. It brings back fond memories of a guy who used to serve free Hare Krishna food on the campus of my uni. The food is cheap, fast and reasonably good. Restaurant is a bit of a generous term. In terms of ambiance, think cafeteria instead. I was here on a Monday afternoon and it was fairly quiet and I had a table to myself. The second time I was in was a Saturday night. It must have been dinner time for the people in the temple next door because there were lots of them eating inside and singing together which was neat. It was really crowded, almost uncomfortably so. But for a quick, vegetarian bite to eat just off Oxford Street, it can’t be beat.

This is my third time at a Govinda’s and like always, it has always been delicious food that’s great for your body and soul. I thought the food here was a bit pricey for the portion size — maybe I was just too hungry or maybe it’s because I live across the pond in Dublin where I’m used to paying a bit lesser? You’ll never know.
Bottomline: if you’re looking for a vegetarian option or simply some food that’s good for you in the neighbourhood, look no further and step in here.

To sum it up, great vegetarian food that is extremely affordable. The restaurant within the name is a bit over egging it, as its more of a banqueting café. You go up to the counter order what sized thali you like, pay at the table and if you are lucky find a spare table and seat.
Seeming that the restaurant is linked to the temple and run in conjunction with on another, you would hope that you would have a warm welcome. But the interaction with the staff was slightly cold. Maybe it was because they had a few difficult customers before me in the queue.
However, if you want some cheap, tasty, vegetarian or vegan food come here straight away. (Visit — 18/​07/​2015 Dinner)

Really good, no frills, fast Indian food: You order at the counter, no time to dilly dally. You need to know what you want before getting in line. Seating is pretty much cafeteria style since you just have to grab a chair wherever you can. Hello, stranger, may I sit next to you? Don’t go there if you are looking to have a leisurely meal, unless you’re the kind of person who doesn’t care there’s a poor person standing next to you with his tray of food, waiting for you to finish and get the hell out. Like I said food is top notch. Ambiance? None.

Bin zufällig drauf gestoßen da ich im British Museum in der Nähe gewesen war. Bedienung war sehr nett hat mir alles erklärt. Es gibt eine Zusammenstellung aus Suppe, Reis, Curry, Salat und Brot wobei man jeweils meist zwischen zwei Varianten wählen kann. Nannte sich dann Thali und war in verschiedenen Größen erhältlich. Das kleine schon für 6,50 Pfund, was für London sehr günstig ist. War auch gut ausreichnend fürs Mittag.

Vegetarian thali and many many lassis. Great filling and inexpensive meal. And Hare Krishna music /​vibe makes it an even more positive vibe.

The food is good (only vegetarian). Cost per person could be in the range of £6-£10 (depending on which mean you go for).

Delightful vegetarian food at a cafeteria-​style restaurant.

Delicious food and great value. I got a small take away thali meal to eat in soho square. Great for an expensive, tasty meal

A good place if you are vegetarian, vegan and gluten free! Saw it on Unilocal and didn’t consider, but glad i wandered in!

Very good food– the first two options on the menu– Small Thali and Large Thali are all you can eat! Yes please. When you go back and ask for a second portion of everything they might say «you are hungry». To which I said «yes». Hahahahha.
To be honest I have no idea what the dishes were called– but I loved the variety. A spicy red bean stew, a spinach potato curry option, another cauliflower curry something or other. All very good. Not a fan of the small soup they offered but you get a large variety of food for a very good price. It’s in a great location as well.

Personnel agréable et plusieurs formules plutôt sympas !
J’ai choisi un plateau à emporter avec du riz brun, un dal de lentilles, un chapati (pain indien), de la salade, un mix avec de la sauce, du tofu et des petits pois.
Il y a aussi pas mal d’autres choses à manger (pizza, salade…) et des desserts vegan.
S’il fait beau, vous pouvez manger dans le parc juste à côté: Soho Square !

A cozy & friendly spot where you can take an authentic rest in a small corner of SOHO.
Tried thali (some dishes you can choose on your plate) and left there so satisfied without realising i just had vegetarian dishes!
An ideal place if you’re dying for something comfy and heart (&body)-warming. At least for me, worked in that way perfectly :)

Love it, tasty and fulfilling. Feeling healthy!

En cherchant des restaurants végétariens dans le centre de Londres, on tombe vite sur celui-​là.
Pas étonnant: un super rapport qualité/​quantité/​prix avec un service très agréable. Le thali est au top et bien copieux — rien que d’écrire cet avis, j’en re-​bave –et à un prix défiant toute concurrence pour Londres. Super bon plan entre Oxford St et Soho.
Seul point négatif, ils ferment à 21h: faut pas tarder.

+ Very affordable Indian vegetarian restaurant in central London
+ Buffet option also available
Govinda’s is a very affordable vegetarian restaurant in Soho, just off Oxford Street. The building belongs to some kind of religious organisation, and sometimes you see people in ethnic costume playing music and stuff outside. But do not worry. The restaurant is safe. They won’t try to sell you stuff or something (other than food, of course).
The prices are quite reasonable for its central location. The menu is not very easy to work out. But it looks like the main thing they are pushing for is set menu called «thali». Large thali plate is basically a buffet option for under 9 quid.
Quality of the food is not mind blowing. But this place is still worth a visit when you are in a need of quick and decent hot food in central London within certain budget.

I came across this place while trying to find an alternative place to grab something to eat around Oxford Street. I absolutely loved their vegetarian dishes and will definitely come back here every week before my Spanish class. The small thali I went for was really filling and the curry probably the best I’ve ever had (and I’ve tried quite a few). Hearty, home-​cooked food. Nothing pretencious about it. Definitely worth a visit when visiting Soho.

I have definitely found my veggie spot in London! So cheap (for London), great and simple food and setup make me happy. I got the filling spinach roll, burger, small salad (filled with crunchy sprouts, minced veggies and a light vinaigrette) and a DELICIOUS carob ball studied with carob chips for dessert. I even had food leftover, all for £8.25!!! There are delicious– looking lassis in a side fridge when you walk in and I almost got one to go.

There’s nothing special in still place but I love going there! I got to admit that, at first, the look of the food didn’t attracted me at all, also I got a little scared but soon as I had my first bite it all changed, so many flavors and spices! The banana sauce that they have is really good, a combination of chili and sweet. It’s great for vegetarians too since this little place is Hare Kristna.
Don’t forget to try the juices/​smoothies that they have and the mango yogurt with pistachio is definitely a to go desert !

Cet endroit n’est pas fermé !!! J’y étais jeudi 15÷05÷14 !!! Endroit très hare Krishna mais le personnel est très sympa et on y mange très bien pour pas cher !

Govinda has REOPENED as of late March 2014 — after a temporary closing in February.
So if Unilocal tells you the restaurant has closed — Unilocal is WRONG.
Here is the original review I wrote in January of 2014:
AMAZING INDIAN FOOD FOR PRACTICALLY FREE!
London is not known for cheap food — although it exists.
Some of the cheap food is of the stomach pump variety.
Also — a lot of Indian food is quite mediocre — although amazing places exist.
(Try going for a place that has the cuisine of one region — or to a heavy Indian neighborhood– to avoid Anglo-​Indian meh.)
Govinda is neither regional nor in an Indian neighborhood but it is an 11 on a scale from 1 to 10.
It is run by the Hare Krishna.
(who would have thought Hare Krishna are good cooks?)
I am going to guess that Hare Krishna owns the building (i.e. the restaurant does not have to pay rent) and that the restaurant is supposed to provide refection for the believers who travel some distance to worship at the temple upstairs.) Which would make the institution non-​profit.
Soho rents are expensive as you-​know-​what — so having free rent, goodwill and a very charitable orientation does AMAZING things for food prices.
(Always useful in London where it practically costs two pounds a minute just to breathe air.)
How is the food?
a) This is a vegetarian place.
b) There are a very limited number of items on the menu.
c) These items will rock your socks off.
Of especial note are paneer (cheese) dishes which are of absolute distinction. Fire-​y hot, with great complex taste in the sauce, and cheese with a rich fantastic comforting taste.
(Mediocre commercial paneer tastes like cardboard tofu with worse texture. Good paneer is very hard to find.)
A terrific thick mango yogurt dessert that is like mango lassi that found godhead just before being put onto your tray.
Pappadam with a warm resonant grain-​like flavor from the cooked flour itself and not artificially spiked with the spice that was dumped into the batter. Most lesser pappadams are tasteless crackers with spice camouflage. I could have eaten the pappadams alone all night and been happy.
Tremendous dals and vegetable curries and an interesting peppered vegetable rice.
Six zillion desserts — most Western (but homemade and vegetarian — but some Indian as well.
Note that their food is unbelievably filling. I ordered the 13 pound extravaganza because I was hungry.
Plus — as the Brazilians say — I am really good with a fork.
Taking the standard platter that was half of the size of what I ordered would have filled me up for hours.
But the food is not at all heavy — and god, is it tasty.
Note that I have not seen this place reviewed in any of the Cheap Eats or published tourist restaurant ratings books — and yet to my mind, this is one of the best cheap food deals in London — and certainly one of the better Indian meals in London.
This food is so good, you might even be tempted to join their religion!

Standard vegetarian fare for a moderate price. Could be spicier but there is a good flavour intensity across the curries.
Large thali is all you can eat, just go back up when you are ready to the counter and they will reload your dish with whatever you like. Although I went back for seconds I didn’t see many others doing the same — so the initial portion sizes are quite generous.
Not sure if this is the healthiest vegetarian you can get but good if you are really hungry, just don’t expect it to rock your spicy socks off. Go in for a feed then sit it off in the nearby Soho square.

das essen hier ist sehr lecker! und gesund! und kalorienreich! :-) wenn ich in london bin, esse ich nur hier, es ist nicht nur sehr lecker, sondern auch sehr sauber