Govinda I

I think we were so excited that we could find vegan food in Budapest that at the time we ate here we thought it was better than it was. We had a local tour guide tell us that Hungarians were very meat-centric and some even consider chicken 'vegetarian' so we were happy to find places that served vegan food. The food was Indian cuisine, buffet style, though you do not help yourself. You tell the server behind the counter what you want and they will plate it for you. It was hit or miss. Some dishes were good (we had a curry soup that was tasty) and some were just ok. Still, if you're vegan it's worth checking out.

I'd hoped to have a different experience to other reviewers but I was disappointed as well. It was cheap and the person serving us spoke English well. We went for lunch not long before 1pm and yet the veggies I ordered were cold, not even lukewarm. The pakora was tasty though, but also cold. My friend ordered the meal for 990 HUF but I wasn't impressed by any if it. I wouldn't rush back. I eat at the Hare Krishna restaurants in Melbourne and they are all so much better.
Updated from previous review on Tuesday October 28, 2014

Hare Krishna cafeteria-style North Indian inspired (much less heavy/greasy) vegetarian food; very tasty, very inexpensive, and very vegan friendly, with mountains of wholesome traditional cooking at your disposal. Ultra-enthusiastic service (in English as well as Hungarian) And a very Hare Krishna environment await you (get ready for some mantras with your meal... ). Super inexpensive and super satisfying.

We went there for lunch and took the daily menu wich was described with a vegetable dish, a soup, bread and a glass of homemade lemonade for 990 HUF

What we've got was a bowl of green slime something stuff, which was horrible sweet and not eatable at all. It looked and tasted just disgusting.
The soup and the bread was ok, but nothing special.
The lemonade was way to sweet, so I ended up even more thirsty than before.

Maybe the other food ist better, but the daily menu is not recommended.

Nice And tasty food
A bit moré expensive compared to other venggie restaurants in the City
Recommended

I have to admit that i had not thought this eatery would be that yummy when i first saw the entrance. It is very simple and you won't have the best impression first.
But then you just overcome yourself and try the food...and then...YOU CAN'T BELIEVE HOW YUMMY IT IS ACTUALLY!
You will get a huge portion of whatever you like (you can mix it together) and i only can repeat myself; it is that delicious!!
They also have great beverages and healthy ginger tea.
And on top, it ist very very inexpensive! Fantastic eatery!

Delicious menu for two persons (Govinda menu). Cheap and great food: we had nice puri's with aloo gobi and paneer. The salad was also good. The three chutneys (tamarind, tomato and apple) and eggplant pakoras made this meal complete.

I went to Budapest after 6 hrs by car from Romania. I was starving! Goinda was the closest veg restaurant to my hostel. I was 40 minutes before opening. Doors were open so I went there. Someone from the staff a girl (propably seller) behind the bar was talking by phone. After 10 min. she ended her conversation. She looked at me and without "good mornig" or "hi" she announced: "We're closed!". There was a lot of food in the heaters so I asked if I can take anything "to go"? Lady scream at me "NO! WE'RE CLOSED!" and show me the way out...

Good value, particularly their set meal deals and is a nice chilled out place to sit for a while. Had a set vegan dinner - soup, couscous dish, salad and fresh lemonade for about 1500 HUFs. The food isn't the most refined I've ever eaten but for a cheap filling fill up it was great. They have free wifi too.

Wonderful place!

Very nice and helpful staff.
Feelt a lot better than the other Govinda branch in the center of Budapest.

Came here for dinner in an early evening. Nice setting in a cellar, there's a little shop too selling Hare Krishna stuff. Food tasted pretty good, just bit stale, maybe it was too early and they had not made a new batch yet; but it was so cheap, so no complaint! Well worth the price overall.

We had lunch at Govinda's. I asked what was vegan and was given vegetable rice and a curry which turned out to be very nice, quite spicy. Apparently, that was all they had for vegans so quite disappointing since there were so many other things I would have liked to try - why is it that other Govindas have so many more vegan options? Anyway, the food tasted nice though the portion was quite small.
The staff spoke English which was helpful and I particularly liked the small shop which even had vegan chocolate spread among other things I couldn't find anywhere else in Budapest.

Hare Krishna food. The food was pretty spicy even sometimes a bit too spicy for my taste buds. The menu plates give you nice big portions for a very decent price. It is located in a cellar but it can be very hot inside.

If you want to find bad mood in Budapest, here's the place! I just asked the attendant "what dishes didn't carry pepper" and she didn't know. Then, she began to treat me like if i was asking here to borrow me 10.000 euros. I ended eating a small portion of rice and a poori, which was tasteless. Later, i asked her a knife (they just gave me a fork!), and the bad mood showed up again. Also, i went there on a sunny 36C day, and the place was hot as a branch of hell.

This restaurant is fantastic and the food is great. You can choose between a thali (small or big) where the food is chosen for you or you can choose individual item. Price is very reasonable too and the staff are friendly, only one person spoke English though.

We had the "big plate", which I enjoyed, my partner didnt like it much though. It seemed a mix of Hungarian and Indian, In hindsight I would rather have stuck to the Indian . I would have liked to try other dishes, I certainly felt the Indian ones looked better than ours. The staff were friendly.

We arrived late in the evening to be told quite sharply they were just closing. We said we would be back as we had only just arrived in Budapest and asked what vegan food they served as my partner is vegan. We were told in a very unfriendly manner 'no vegan - we use ghee'. This is the worst branch of Govindas we have ever encountered in our many holidays in Europe and it is definitely not recommended - particularly for vegans.

I have eaten in many branches of Govinda but I must say that as a vegan vegetarian I found this place a massive disappointment. I asked what they could do for me as a vegan vegetarian and I was given the choice of rice and salad. Everything else is cooked in butter ghee.

My friend had more than I did and said that he found the food pleasantly palatable. The girl who served me spoke English (my Hungarian is abysmal so this was a help).

Veggie Express is just around the corner and is infintely better if you are a vegan veggie like me.

I visited this restaurant in January 2008, and enjoyed the food. The restaurant does not use egg, onion, or garlic in any of its foods. For this reason, the food may taste bland in comparison to foods served at other Indian restaurants. However, if this fits your diet, then you will enjoy the food. The beet root salad is very good. They also have desserts, but I did not try them. In the back of the restuarant are a yoga studio and a small shop, which sells some clothing, incense, natural soaps, and spiritual books (in Hungarian).

Govinda's is in a really nice part of the city, easy to find (don't bump your head as you descend the stairs!!) and has a great atmosphere. It's also pretty cheap and has good food. The only drawback we found was it seemed to have cheese in all the main meals offered (pizza, cheese and vegetable pasta etc). Shame as everything else was so good but we didn't starve!!

Clean, tasty, affordable food in the heart of the city of Pest. It is all vegetarian deli style - no meat or eggs. Dairy is used in some products. Mix of Indian and Hungarian style food. Clean and happy service.

By far the best food, price, location, character, and atmosphere of any place I've gone so far. I want to go back again for dinner, even though I just went for lunch!