Vegan-friendly
Lacto
Indian
Fast food
Delivery
Take-out

Part of international chain of South Indian vegetarian cuisine restaurants. Serves dosas, idlis, and more. Uses dairy, so let the staff know if you are vegan and do not want yogurt, ghee, or cream, etc. Vegan options are labelled on the menu, either with a V (always vegan) or with a VO (vegan option, can be made vegan). Open Mon-Thu 10:30-15:00, 18:00-22:30, Fri-Sun 10:30-22:30.


Venue map for Saravana Bhavan
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23 Reviews

First Review by raelo

Lauraleec

Points +12306

Vegan
20 Jan 2024

Good food but hectic atmosphere

Was really excited to try here, the menu is massive. At first the server didn't understand what I was asking when requesting the dish to be vegan (dishes indicate which can be made vegan). I was glad I asked a few times as it became clear he wasn't understanding me but then his colleague came to take our order, however we weren't sure someone else was coming as the first waiter wandered off. The food arrives when it is ready which suits me but something others might not like so good to be aware of it.
The place itself is chaotic with people lining up to split their bill and pay and others trying to be seated. The staff were nice but felt they could have used more hands. I would probably go back again if nearnea

Been back a few times since because the food is amazing. Recommended to go at a quieter time for a better experience.

Updated from previous review on 2024-01-20

Pros: Huge menu selection

Cons: Slow service

Picy

Points +1391

Vegan
23 Sep 2023

Delicious

Vegetarian indian food, so delicious. Really liked their dosas.

Pros: Delicious food

GijsJazz

Points +482

Vegan
07 Sep 2023

An authentic taste of South India!

This is a very authentic South Indian restaurant, one of the few you will find in Europe. You step in here and it's like you took a portal to Tamil Nadu. Everything looks and tastes exactly the same. They have the same menu items, and even the same interior and cutlery. The staff is Indian and a lot of the costumers are too. (It's a simple good quality restaurant, not a fine dining experience.)

South Indian vegetarian cuisine is very vegan friendly. Most menu items will be vegan, just watch out for ghee, curd or milk, but you can have all the South Indian classics: dosa, idli, uthappam, boonda, vada... The taste is very decent. You get your dosa fresh and crunchy straight from the stove.

Pros: Authentic South Indian dining experience, Affordable, Dosa!

SaraHosseini

Points +66

Vegan
02 Jan 2023

Just excellent

It was insanely good and I had never seen this many Indians in Brussels in the same spot‌, so authenticity we had leftovers for two days, generous portions. Can't wait to go back

Pros: Very clean , Massive portions , Cheap

RobertaCalce

Points +3444

Vegan
07 Dec 2022

Authentic south Indian food

Recommended by my south Indian friend, soo good indian food! Plenty of vegan options, clearly marked on the menu. You can choose from many different dishes, spicy or not.

henriquecarv

Points +110

Vegan
28 Jul 2022

Very tasty masala dosa

Very good menu, with many vegan options.

I don’t think they were having a very busy day when I was there, but I had to remind the waiter about my order, after waiting for quite awhile.

Pros: Indian food

Cons: Staff Organization

veganhat

Points +1236

Vegan
14 May 2022

Convenient opening hours

Chain restaurant with massive menu (more than 400 dishes). Long service though.

Vanessa43

Points +2839

Vegan
27 Apr 2022

❤️ for Saravanaa Bhavan everywhere!

I've been to Saravanaa Bhavan in 4 different locations now, and their food is equally amazing everywhere! It's just so flavourful and tasty! Can always recommend their dosas, especially the Masala Dosa (crispy pancake filled with spiced potatoes).

They have many vegan options. Vegan by default is labelled with a V, and vegan upon request is labelled with a VO. For Brussels, they are also very affordable with no more than €10 for a dish.

Pros: Amazing taste, Many vegan options , Good prices

J.P.

Points +552

Vegan
08 Feb 2020

A Gem!!!

This restaurant has a huge selection of Vegan options. Absolutely fantastic! I had the Plantain Bjaji and V Thali. So good! Thank You

OliviaLally

Points +304

Vegan
11 Dec 2019

Food is good, but staff are often rude

The food is good by Brussels standards (since it is tricky to find authentic Indian food here compared to other cities) and they have many vegan options. However, the staff are very cold and often outright rude. Last time I brought family here, I paid for the meal and left a tip. On the way out another waiter shouted at us that we hadn't paid. When I explained we had, the waiter we paid didn't intervene and they were rude about their mistake. We ordered delivery next time, to avoid the bad service but the food arrived very late and very cold - we had to reheat everything. I'd like to go here more often and enjoy the food, but the service has put me off.

Pros: Lots of vegan options

Cons: Rude staff, Poor atmosphere, Bathrooms not clean

Essdubz

Points +124

Vegan
22 Aug 2019

Good Food. Worst Service

The food was delicious however the service was painfully inadequate. We had to try and order 4 times before a staff member came over. After which we waited 30 minutes only for one of our two meals to come out. It then took 1 hour further and numerous attempts to gain the staffs attention before our second meal arrived. Food however was pretty delicious however nothing special. Few good vegan options.

Pros: Decent food

Cons: Worst service I have encountered

ElaineHey

Points +641

Vegan
08 Aug 2019

Veggie curry place

Excellent amount of choice for vegans with everything clearly marked on the very huge menu. It did not disappoint. Great location in a street full of eateries with outdoor seating ideal for a summer evening.

cyrilvs

Points +47

Vegan
07 Aug 2019

Disappointed

Some friends from Amsterdam (where they have a branch as well) had been raving about this vegetarian restaurant (with lots of vegan options) part of a huge Indian chain. So I went for a lunch, with high expectations. Tried their supposedly famous Dosa Masala (kind of a ultra-thin pancake filled with spiced potatoes), an Idly (savory donut) and something I didn't even bother myself to remember its name. It all failed to impress me in any way. What also didn't help, everything came with the same 3 chutneys and 1 other type of sauce. Maybe I should try the Amsterdam branch on my next visit to Amsterdam to see whether I really can rely on my friends jugement. Otherwise this restaurant isn't just for me. Mind you, I really LOVE vegan Indian food while at the same time I don't consider myself a connaisseur at all. So I don't think I am that hard to please. Needless to say I left disappointed

JRespi

Points +69

Vegan
20 May 2019

Also for Vegans

Great place!
If you like traditional, veggies and spicy dishes it's the place to be.
There's a lot of vegan dishes on the menu.

kandimba

Points +430

Vegan
18 Mar 2019

Nice Indian food

I cannot attest the authenticity of the food but it's nice. Not excellent but adequate for the price.
The place is always packed with Indians, which has to be a good sign. I'd like the food to be a bit more spicy but maybe I'm the only one.
Prices are below average for Brussels and the quality is above average.
The menu can be confusing, as there are 300 entries (yes, 300), but it gets easier when you realize that there are only a few dishes with minor variations. All dishes, including entrees, are served with several sauces and chutneys. Beware that if you order several dishes to share they will come more or less with the same sauces, which can be repetitive. Also beware that one dish per person is enough.
Vegan options are clearly marked but unfortunately there are no vegan desserts or drinks (only juices). Drinks are also overpriced.

Updated from previous review on 2018-12-28

Pros: Vegan options well marked, Reasonable prices, Nice food

Cons: No vegan desserts, Overpriced drinks, Confusing menu

Muuuuu

Points +3112

Vegan
01 Feb 2019

Finally south indian food in Brussels

Idlis, paper dosai... OMG I'm so happy :)

Pros: genuine south indian food, reasonable price, vegan menu

Cons: not 100% vegan

simonpwd

Points +404

Vegan
31 Jan 2019

Okay Indian food

Went there for lunch. Plenty of vegan options on the menu, marked as "V". We took a South Indian Thali and a North Indian Thali. Good but the food got cold quite soon. It was a bit cold in the restaurant too.

Pros: Plenty of vegan options

Cons: Got cold quick

symbiosis

Points +433

Vegan
06 Jan 2019

Not a winner on service but nice food

I don't understand their menu very well, it's hard to guess the portion size, but it's nice food
Feels like on the borderline between fast food and family restaurant.
Staff don't seem to under stand vegan. Service can be slow or disorganised ( dishes and drinks arriving at random times ) I will keep on coming

Qtea

Points +236

Vegan
24 Nov 2018

Great South Indian food

It is hard to find South Indian food. The menu at Saravanaa Bhavan in Brussels is very long and there are a lot of clearly labelled vegan items. I had a spinach dosa and another time a vegetable dosa, both really good and served with 4 different sauces (they for sure have special names that I don't know). I liked the metal trays and cups.

Maybe would be nice to have more wine options and also the possibility to order per glass.

Pros: great South Indian Food, a lot of vegan options, metal trays and cups

Cons: Animal products served, Only one wine option, no vegan lassi options

joubarc

Points +85

Vegan
20 Nov 2018

Very authentic feeling

I found the place quite welcoming and extremely authentic (there were quite a lot of Indian customers which I take as a good sign).
The food was very good and quite different from the usual Indian place you find in Brussels (India is big after all so it's nice to be able to get food from a different part of it). The service was fast but could be timed better - I did get my starter way before my sister; and she pretty much got both starter and main course at the same time.
The overall price felt very reasonable for what we got (I'm usually a big eater but felt starters + main course to be quite fulfilling).
The metal plates tend to slide a bit on the tables and don't keep warm (which to be honest I don't care much about myself).

Pros: Authentic, Reasonable prices for the food

Cons: Metal plates don't keep warm and can slide

mrferret

Points +304

Vegan
07 Oct 2018

Poor service, tepid food

On the two occasions I have been to this recently opened place it was buzzing with Indian families of all ages, so it must be doing something right.
However, by my standards the service is chaotic and incompetent. Some of the staff, including the surly manager, do not appear to know what vegan means. One of our group ordered a vegan version of a dish and was brought the vegetarian version which he had to send back.
Though the menu is long (and strangely includes a section with Chinese dishes), people used to 'westernised' Indian restaurants serving standard dishes like curry, tandoori and biryani may struggle to find something they recognise (or want).
Many dishes appear to consist of some form of bread plus a selection of cold dips. Those dips I tried were unremarkable, but perhaps I chose wrong.
All dishes are served on metal plates which are not heated, so the warm dishes we ordered were already tepid when they reached the table. They were soon completely cold.
Drinks are considerably overpriced. The wine list offers 'Bordeaux' but having ordered this we were actually served Indian shiraz (we didn't realise until it was too late). When I pointed out to the manager that the menu is misleading about the type and quality of wine offered, he neither apologised nor seemed to care. The wine was also served chilled instead of at room temperature.
In short: It's good to have an exclusively vegetarian/vegan restaurant and good that it seems popular with the Indian community, but non-Indians might find the service and the food a bit of a culture shock.

Pros: Exclusively vegetarian and vegan, Lively, popular with Indian families of all ages

Cons: Incompetent service, staff don't understand vegan, Warm dishes soon get cold, Drinks overpriced

arostganomo

Points +68

Vegetarian
16 Sep 2018

A taste of South India

Since we had been to the Amsterdam location twice before, we were very excited to see a Saravanaa Bhavan in Brussels as well! We ate here the second night it was open and the staff, while friendly and eager, were clearly still learning the ropes. Our naan was slightly burned but the rest of the food was lovely. I'd recommend the aloo pepper and of course the tea.

Pros: Authentic South Indian

Cons: Somewhat pricey

raelo

Points +693

Vegan
15 Sep 2018

Indian vegetarian

Well some things i didnt like and other things i did so i'm rating 3 stars. What i like the most is that is like real indian food, not so easy to find in continental Europe. What i really appreciate beacuse i was living in India for longtime and is one of my favourite foods. So be ready for real spicy indian food. What i didnt like is that it is a vegetarian restaurant and i am vegan, most of vegetarian indian food contain ghee, butter or milk. And even if some food is labelled as vegan i am not so sure it really is. I asked for vegan thali, and got it served like in 5 minutes. So everything was already cooked. They didnt cook any special vegan item for me. And it was labelled a vegetarian, vegan option, so normally it is vegetarian. The restaurant it is new and waiters looked like newbies too. I paid 5 euro for a bottle of water and asked for extra plain rice with my thali and had to pay for it, when in India it is included. So i dont think i will be back even if its kind of authentic indian food.




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