"Not very vegan"   My Rating
3 BruceWayne	Posted on: Sunday, August 02, 2009
	Review: The pepper steak is not vegan. They claimed the steak was vegan for a long time, and when one of the workers who actually cares about veganism read the ingredients of the package of "chicken" for the pepper steak, the ingredients contained non-vegan ingredients. The pepper steak is NOT vegan. When they get shipments of vegan "steak" for the pepper steak, they never continue the same product. They frequently receive shipments of non-vegan "steak" products and serve them in sandwiches, not stating that they are in fact, not vegan. The workers could care less about veganism, which is a problem only because they won't try to separate the vegan from non-vegan food. They're always out of bread. They charge too much for a dinky sandwich. It isn't even vegan!   Pros: kind of tasty * * Cons: expensive * small portions * not vegan
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"Vegan not-so friendly."   My Rating
2 shingfunge r	Posted on: Monday, March 23, 2009
	Review: For 8ish years Govindas has been serving "Pepper Steak" sandwiches and claiming them to be vegan. About 5 months ago they were caught and it turns out that in fact the steak used (NOT the same as the chicken cheese steak) is not vegan. The owner claimed he had no idea. If he doesn't know enough about veganism to read the ingridients of his own food, he shouldn't be serving it. For a month after that the cafe got another steak substance and when a customer would ask for vegan cheese, they would give them the vegan alternative. after that ran out, they went straight back to using the non vegan steak and not saying anything to their customers. one of very few workers there who actually cares about veganism finally put up on the sign that the pepper steak is in fact not vegan. Govindas is overrated and really expensive, and it sucks being lied to about your food.   Pros: * * Cons: * *
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"NOT entirely vegan, and not the best"   My Rating
8 lfusfeld	Posted on: Friday, January 09, 2009
	Review: At the restaurant, there are definitely dairy dishes. A couple of them are excellent, others are mediocre. Go to Mi Lah or Horizons instead. Muuuch better. At Govinda's To Go (next door), the employees don't wash their hands - touch hair, touch food, touch money, touch food. Gross. Also, $3.25 for a vegan donut?? I only ate their once, but with no a/c in the summer, it looked like the cook was sweating into my food. I feel more comfortable eating from Gianna's.   Pros: vegan options * * Cons: cleanliness * value for price *
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"c'mon"   My Rating
1 veganvalen tine	Posted on: Sunday, August 17, 2008
	Review: Vegan Philly Cheese steaks...what else could you want?! How about a selection of sandwiches, salads, soups, vegan cakes, desserts and ice cream? 'Chicken' Salsa Soup is a must try. Every time I go here I want to try something new, but in the end the cheese steak is #1. The staff is so friendly and inviting. Seating is limited, but it the food tastes just as good as take out (you can call ahead, and they deliver too!). AND across the street from the Lombard/South stop on the Broad St. line, SO easy to get to!   Pros: * * Cons: * *
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"Great Vegan Food, but Not Worth the Price..."   My Rating
12 bengarland	Posted on: Monday, July 21, 2008
	Review: Went to Govinda's last night with high expectations. It was definitely not a total bust, but if you're thinking about going there, you might want to check out Horizons instead. Everyone in our party agreed that Govinda's was nowhere near the quality of Horizons, even though the prices were about the same. [For what it's worth, I have been vegetarian for 14 years and have experience as a cook in an Asian restaurant, so I have worked with tofu, seitan, and other mock meats in a professional environment.] At Govinda's... 1) It was $17-19 per entree and $6-9 per appetizer. Almost all of these had some sort of mock meat (chicken, shrimp, beef, duck). These all obviously come from Asian mock meat manufacturers because I've seen the exact same thing in other restaurants and in the frozen section at Asian food stores. Not exactly original. 2) The sauces and side dishes were fairly bland. My mock duck was supposed to have some sort of peanut ginger sauce, but I could taste neither of those two ingredients. A friend also ordered the same dish and she thought it had a weird aftertaste and too much of a smoky flavor (I agree). The sweet potato and chard that came with the duck was also bland and had a very bizarre flavor. 3) If you're going here for upscale vegetarian food, and you don't like mock meat, find somewhere else. One vegan in our group got a shrimp dish and thought that it tasted too much like real shrimp (it did), and he couldn't finish it. Of course, if you're trying to impress some meat eaters, this might be the place. The verdict? I can't highly recommend Govinda's because A) For the same price, I can find much better food elsewhere (see Horizons) and B) I can find similar quality food for a cheaper price elsewhere (see Kingdom of Vegetarians).   Pros: nice atmosphere * decent food * good portions Cons: expensive * low value * slow-ish service
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"Delicious and satisfying"   My Rating
1 KaylaDawn	Posted on: Wednesday, February 27, 2008
	Review: Everything that was served to us was beautifully presented and delicious. I took three non-vegetarian friends and we were all more than happy with what we were served. The entrees had nice, large portions and exquisite tastes and textures. The appetizers were flavorful and a wonderful build up to our meals. The cakes at the end of our meals were delicious, especially the vegan cheesecake! The restaurant was comfortable and not crowded. Our waiter was nice and charming. The food was out in a reasonably timely manner. We were all pleased with the experience! I'll definitely go again, and recommend it to others. The cafe is right next to Gourmet to Go. I think a lot of the reviews here are for Gourmet to go. Govinda's Cafe is just a little bit up the street. Ask the people in Gourmet to Go, they were very helpful in finding it.   Pros: excellent food * friendly staff * intimate atmosphere Cons: a little confusing to find * *
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"Nice Place"   My Rating
2 meganrasca l	Posted on: Sunday, February 10, 2008
	Review: It was practically empty when I went which makes me think that maybe other people were as confused as I had previously been about where exactly the Govinda's cafe dining room was. You have to go UPSTAIRS for Govinda's cafe. It's a little confusing because there's another seated table area to the right on the South street side of Govinda's fast-food restaurant "Gourmet to go" that looks completely different than the Gourmet to go area but that's NOT the dining room for Govinda's cafe. If you do manage to get to the actual restaurant, it's really nice--warm lighting, nice decor, etc. The appetizers we ordered were excellent. The entrees were good too, it's just that they're mostly all mock meat and I'm not really into fake meat; I prefer my veggies and lentil type dishes.   Pros: Great food * Friendly service * Cons: Difficult to find * too much mock meat *
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"Okay for mock-meats, but pricey + slow"   My Rating
54 will-trave l-for-food	Posted on: Tuesday, June 26, 2007
	Review: If you are into the mock-meat thing, this place would be alright. Almost all of the dishes are centered on some mock meat (fake shrimp, fake chicken, etc.), so it's not the healthiest food in the world. Also, when we went, getting our meal took FOREVER. They did bring us free pappadums to hold us over, but it didn't help much after 30 minutes of more waiting. Also, the prices are higher than they should be for this type of food.   Pros: Central location * Pretty inside * Cons: Too much mock meat * Too expensive * Very slow service
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