Indian food restaurant, became all-vegan in summer 2013. Has sugar-free vegan desserts and drinks and sometimes raw vegan cheesecake; uses organic tofu sweeteners, agave syrup, and coconut sweetener. Weekdays is a la carte menu. Raw food night on Monday. Vegan buffet on Saturday. Open Mon 6:30pm-9:30pm, Wed-Thu 5:00pm-9:00pm, Fri 5:00pm-9:30pm, Sat-Sun 12:00pm-9:30pm.
Category: Vegan, American, Indian, Organic, Raw, Buffet, Beer/Wine, Delivery, Take-out
Reviews (16)
First Review by Laurie24Sutra
Contributions +31
Best Indian food I have ever had. PERIOD. - Edit
Indian cuisine is my favorite. Since going vegan I haven't been able to have a lot of it aside from what I cook myself, and I am never able to recreate those bold Indian flavors like the restaurants do. Well now I have Arya Bhavan that I can go to when i want to fill up on some of the best Indian cuisine around. They are able to do a remarkable job at cooking up the most flavorful dishes, all while staying true to the vegan life. The owners are also some of the nicest people I have met, and they will deliver to quite a far distance. Do yourself a favor if you're into Indian cuisine, vegan or not, you won't regret it.
Contributions +42
Excellent - Edit
I have been here a few times now and I absolutely love it. The food is tasty and bursting with flavor. Many of the foods uses low or no oil.
The owners are great people. My husband and I went one day and ordered take out and the owner's husband talked with us and brought us something he was making back in the kitchen and wanted us to try.
Contributions +16
fabulous!!!! - Edit
The lovely owner puts lots of love into her wide variety of non-oily vegan buffet dishes!!! It's heavenly place if you love Indian food and seek optimal health.
You can buy meals for 3 days in a row to get started if you want weight loss/clean eating.
Pros: delicious, variety, fun neighborhood to walk around
Cons: street parking is there but not always right in fr
Contributions +22
A really nice anniversary dinner - Edit
My wife and I went to Arya Bhavan at the end of March to celebrate our 34th anniversary. We got there relatively late and so we were definitely past their rush and we were their last customers for the night, but what wonderful service (very welcoming). We ordered an extensive sampler of appetizers and two entrees (one was a curry and I can't remember the other), but we were too stuffed for desert. The food was wonderful and very well prepared and well presented. The place itself was very nice inside. Loved the candle on the table. With food as good as that they should have been filled. We lucked out with street parking that night
Pros: well prepared and very tasty, very friendly and attentive staff, nice place, quiet and softly pretty
Cons: none (except for finding parking)
Contributions +27
Not so much - Edit
I really wanted to like this restaurant, but no longer do. There was much to intrigue me because I am vegan, I love Indian food, and I live only a few blocks away. I also appreciate the effort to cook with reduced oil. But now, I plan to go elsewhere on Devon.
The buffet used to be pretty good or at least novel (though expensive). But now it is rarely on offer.
The menu items are overpriced and very uneven in quality. Service is spotty. And the last straw was that they packed a liquid-y entree for take out in a dry food container. It spilled everywhere, and when I called to complain, the restauranteur argued that her packing was just fine.
In short, I will accept fewer vegan options at the many Indian restaurants on Devon where the food and the service are better, and prices are lower.
Contributions +107
Love the selection! - Edit
We have dined in once and gotten carry-out a few times. I really enjoy their food, and as a vegan I love being able to chose from endless options!
Their samosas are great, especially the baked ones. The matar paneer and malai kofta are also very good. We did notice that when we dined in and had the buffet, many of the dishes were barely warm, so it seems that they could use a better warming setup. We also happened to go when there was a veg meetup, so it is possible that they were just over-extended.
Overall, really great place!
Pros: yummy vegan indian food!
Cons: temperature issues with food
Contributions +237
Fresh and Spicy Vegan Indian Buffet - Edit
A friend and I visited Arya Bhavan a few weeks ago for the Saturday buffet. My friend is mostly vegetarian and gluten-free, and I'm vegan, so this restaurant was perfect for us! We visited between meals (around 3pm) so the place wasn't too full, making for a nice relaxing meal.
Overall I think Arya Bhavan may have picked up their game over the past six months or so (based on previous reviews). I love spicy food, and while none of this food left my mouth burning, a lot of the dishes had some healthy kick to them. I thought the fresh salads were good as well, even between mealtimes. Maybe it just varies day to day, but this was a good visit!
Contributions +305
All Vegan Indian Food - Edit
It's Indian, AND it's healthy. It's not only all vegan, but the owner is very conscious of health problems with gluten and soy as well. My only issue is that I like very spicy food, and this food is for most Americans - mild.
Contributions +31
Delicious food and friendly owner - Edit
The food here was great! Very authentic Indian food in an interesting neighborhood. The owner was very friendly too, she came up and spoke to us for a while and personally delivered some of our dishes. The staff was a bit too friendly though, we sat around and waited for our food when we knew it was ready, but the staff was too caught up talking to another table... Oh well, it was worth the wait, they still get 5 stars.
Pros: great food, friendly people, interesting neighborhood in Chi
Cons: slow service
Contributions +656
Good food - Edit
I like Arya Bhavan. I can't say that I have ever had a bad meal here, but, with any buffet, it can depend on WHEN you are there. If you are there at the start of the buffet, you are eating great, fresh, tasty Indian food. If you show up while they are trying to replenish, items can be missing and that can be a little frustrating. If you show up at the end of the buffet, as things have baked for a while or as they are trying to keep from having to cook up more food before they shut down, you may get some slim pickings and/or overcooked mush. It's a buffet. That's the way they are. When I order off of the menu, it is always fresh and always tasty. The owner is very active in the restaurant and she is very keen to veganism and will advise you about the items that are not vegan and will watch her wait staff to ensure that they do not accidentally give you something non vegan. Last night, for instance, the waitress asked if I wanted plain naan or garlic naan, since I never get naan, as it usually has milk in it, I thought it would be a great treat to have garlic naan and ordered that. When it came out, it was slathered in either oil or butter, which I would prefer neither, and the owner asked the waitress if she was sure that it was not buttered. The waitress didn't know and went back and checked. It turns out, in this case, it had coconut butter on it. I would prefer not to eat coconut butter, but I also didn't want to waste it.
This place is 99% vegan, but that can be problematic, as you can easily get lulled into just assuming things are vegan and not asking. When you get there, ask up front to be shown which items are not vegan. She'll show you before you are seated.
Pros: Good Food, Very Vegan Friendly, Good Value
Cons: Buffets can sometimes be overcooked , Not 100% vegan, ask
Contributions +18
Absolutely delicious food! - Edit
I got delivery from this place purely by accident, and the food was AMAZING! I found it just by searching for Indian restaurants and went with them because I liked that they clearly label their vegan items on their website's menu. Since then I've discovered that they have all kinds of other vegan-friendly things like a raw buffet Monday nights--I can't wait to go there.
The food was seriously top-notch. Really flavorful. I woke up today actually wanting more of their food for breakfast, but I ate it all last night!
Pros: excellent food, very vegan-friendly
Contributions +79
Delicious Vegan Buffet - Edit
I finally got to eat at Arya Bhavan after trying several attempts. It was terrific! I usually eat down the street at another "semi" vegetarian restaurant but since I'm vegan, thought my money would be better spent supporting this restaurant. Buffet is Friday dinner, all day Saturday & Sunday. Many items to choose from. The samosas are the best I've ever had! Their staff is friendly and helpful. I can't wait to go back.
Pros: Delicious food, Friendly staff, Buffet
Cons: No mid-week buffet
Contributions +13
My favorite Indian restaurant in Chicago - Edit
I love this place! The food is now all vegan. The buffet was fantastic -- absolutely delicious with many healthy dishes. They use a lot of organic vegetables, use very little oil in the cooking, and offer brown rice (only one other Indian restaurant in Chicago offers brown rice - Bombay Spice Grill). Making such tasty, yet healthy, food without use of a lot of oil, butter, and cream, as most Indian restaurants do, shows how truly talented the chef is. This is now my favorite Indian restaurant in Chicago!
Pros: healthy cuisine, excellent food, good value
Cons: tables are a bit dark
Contributions +2276
Great Buffet - Lots of Vegan Options! :) - Edit
I came here on a Saturday night and had the choice of buffet or to order off the menu. I chose the buffet because as soon as I walked in I was immediately greeted by Kirti, an amazingly pleasant employee of this establishment, who asked if I was Vegetarian or Vegan right off of the bat. She went through the entire buffet telling me what I (as a Vegan) was able to eat. To my surprise a majority of the things were Vegan. She even told me she'd bring Vegan naan to the table as well as Vegan Indian pancakes. Overall I found the food to be very good. I've been to several Indian buffets in my lifetime and I will say this one at least made their buffet items spicy; although she did say they make the dishes off of the menu even spicier.
I still can't get over how nice everyone was here and how knowledgeable Kirti was regarding the Vegan diet. She even came over later and asked me if I knew of the Vegetarian meet-up group that Vadim runs here (I did know ;)) and mentioned future meet-ups that will occur in the area - how nice! ;)
Overall I thought this place was good all the way around and I will certainly be back!
Vegetarian-friendly, but mediocre as Indian food - Edit
I went here while visiting Chicago and thought the owners were very nice. The service is very good and the food is vegetarian- and most vegan-friendly.
However, the food is so-so. If you really like Indian flavors, this is probably not the place to go. There isn't much flavor at all, in fact. I have had quite a bit of Indian food and I had trouble identifying a lot of it because it just didn't taste right. Mind you, it's not bad food. It just isn't great food. If Indian food is generally too spicy for you, you might like this place a lot. But, I like my Indian food to taste like Indian food and this didn't.
I was really hoping this place would be better, but it was just okay, in my opinion.
Pros: Decent variety, Prices are not bad, Friendly service
Cons: The food is mediocre, Lack of flavor
Contributions +16
Great Vegan Indian Buffetf! - Edit
The owner...whose real name I do not know but who lets you call her Kathy..is great! She always remembers my fiance' & I when we come in and truly makes us feel welcome. She remembers that we are Vegan when we walk in the door, so she always comes directly to the buffet and points out which food items are vegan vs. vegetarian. This restaurant serves no meat whatsoever which is great! Also, Kathy (I'll call her) knows what Vegan means. She knows that we can't have the Naan if it's made with Ghee; she knows we can't have yogurt, etc.. The last time when I ordered coffee she made it with soy milk for me.
If this doesn't convince you..the Chicago Vegan Meetup group had its January 2008 vegan meetup here.
Kathy has told my fiance' and I on more than one occassion that the restaurant is moving in the Vegan direction because it has so many vegan customers.
If I remember correctly, the restaurant has all you can eat buffet on Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday night..for around...$10-$12 or so. What a deal!
I have always loved Indian food, but when you're a strict Vegan it can sometimes be difficult to eat at certain restaurants because of the language barrier..it can be difficult to communicate what it means to be a strict Vegan and what you can and cannot eat. It's so relaxing eating here because Kathy knows what Vegan means and is really cool about pointing out which items in the buffet are Vegan-safe.
Oh...and out of the total buffet I would say that about 80% or more of it is Vegan. :-) Laurie
Pros: Great Vegan Buffet, Great Value, Friendly, personable staff
Cons: Parking not always easy around restauant
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