CLOSED: Shanti Cafe

First and most important is that vegan or not, this is one of the best restaurants we have ever eaten! (and we don't even define ourselves as vegan!

The restaurant located next to the Old Town of Coimbra, in a shopping center. We booked a table via email and got a very kind and useful information and direction.

Second, the restaurant employs an English-speaking very nice and kind woman named Natasha. We arrived at 19:00 right at opening hour.

The furniture and decor of the restaurant was very simple and minimalistic.

The prices were very reasonable; it was possible to order business deal meals at great prices (6-8 euro).

Natasha, as we discovered later, was also the chef of the restaurant.

We all ordered different meals and were bit surprised that all the dishes we received were just delicious and perfect!!! Everything! No exceptions! It was so delicious and fancy. They thought about every item on the plate up to the smallest detail.

We have visited this restaurant in early October 2015 (over two months ago), but still recall that wonderful meal we ate there.

Many of us will not believe that vegan food could be so tasty, varied, wide-ranging and fine!
One don't need to be a vegan in order to enjoy the wonderful cooking of Natasha.

DO NOT MISS IT!!!
Updated from previous review on Wednesday December 23, 2015

Updated from previous review on Wednesday December 23, 2015

Great cheap restaurant serving vegan food. We took the menu with juice, tea, soup, salad, bread, main course and dessert for 7.5€.

The food was great (ao. Risotto, stew and spinache soup). The staff was extremely friendly.

Great value for money...

Nr he owner don't speak english but all was good and tasty!!!

If you will find the place, and if you will resist the natural pulse to run away from that decadent, mostly abandoned, shopping mall... and if you will stand the shocking forniture...

Then, you will enjoy VERY GOOD FOOD (not pre-cooked), friendly atmosphere, nice retro' music...

Nearby an old shopping centre called Galerias. Then you walk to the 2. floor (or 3. if you count the ground floor) and there you have the restaurant.

This is a hilarious place. The location and deco combined with fancy music and the service, this place has to be experienced. It was totally empty when we arrived for dinner, only one small group arrived later on. English was not spoken until the chef arrived, but they tried their best to communicate. The place is pretty Portuguese anyways with traditional starter soup and very basic salad. Portions were quite small. We had 3 different dishes, one of them I really found very much like school food, two were good. Dessert was great. Everything was vegan.
[edit by staff]

The restaurant is hard to find. It is in a nearly abandoned shopping centre on the second story (if you take the elevator, if you take the stairs, you have to walk up two flights). It is well worth looking for! We had the set meal which was very generous and tasty. For Portugal, this is very good food.

Serves veg / vegan meals options available. There is only one or two dishes but quite complete (soup, main dish, salad, desert, bread, tea, ...) with good quality and tasteful. The price is very moderated. Also offers fresh juices.