Lacto
Indian
Take-out

Opened April 2017. A very large vegetarian Indian restaurant in the city center. Menu is a mix of vegetarian and vegan food. Staff will easily identify vegan options, as they are not clearly labeled. Reported closed January 2023.


Venue map for Steam
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33 Reviews

First Review by AimeeS

wasabipea

Points +966

Vegan
11 Oct 2022

Options on options on options

When will I learn you can’t just order everything that is vegan at places with so many options like this?…accidentally became broke again and am still out the back washing dishes, wave hi if you come in!

BlakeQuartly

Points +163

Vegan
22 May 2021

Delicious

Had the vegan Kaju curry which was bomb. Hope to be back one day.

Rowbot

Points +24

Vegan
05 Apr 2021

Very very yummy

Food is tip top. We can not fault it. Ordered through Uber eats.
Vegan . Delicious. And very well made.
This was excellent.
:)

Pros: Brilliant well made food, Vegan options

Cons: Plastic container for take out

soyantonio

Points +41

Vegan
28 Feb 2021

Delicious food and great price

What a treat in Rotorua. The owners are super friendly and are helpful guiding what dishes can be vegan. So good!

nicole_m

Points +3158

Vegan
18 Jun 2020

Great variety of dishes

We had this massive restaurant to ourselves on a recent Monday night visit. The menu is extensive and vegan items were labelled (they were usually the paper takeaway menus for extra hygiene/Covid reasons) though I don’t think it was all correct as a cheese dish was marked vegan.

We tried the salt and pepper baby corn and mushrooms (amazing), then the masala dosa (which came with sambar and a tamarind-style sauce, not the usual coconut chutney), a plain roti and the sev tamater sabji - a sweet and sour dish with tomatoes. It tasted like a very garlicky tomato soup to put it very basically, which was delicious - but I should have had it as more of a dish to share rather than a main.

Pros: Lots of vegan options, Decent prices, Options you can’t find at many other places

Cons: Menu not labelled vegan correctly, Some dishes more suitable to sharing than mains, Need server to give advice re above point

MarikaFleur

Points +18

Vegan
13 Jun 2020

Great service and food

Staff knew what was vegan,the food was really good best vegan curry I have had eating out really friendly staff too

Cnstnza

Points +36

Vegan
07 Jun 2020

Regular food

We went to dinner last night, we were around 1 hour waiting for the food, we ordered hot spicy but it was mild spicy which is disappointing because we love spicy. the price is ok for the quantity of food.

Cons: Only Roti bread for vegans

jacquelinchen

Points +82

Vegan
30 May 2020

My favourite restaurant in town so far!

I love it here. The food is delicious and the portions are big. the staff is super friendly and the restaurant has a nice atmosphere. I love Indian food and the food here is just amazing! I'm planning to eat here regularly :)

koneko

Points +1614

Vegan
26 Mar 2020

4.5 stars for being reliable

We came here pretty much for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday/ night during our stay in Rotorua.
It was the only restaurant that we could rely on since they are a vegetarian business and being vegan in this area was hard (lack of vegan food!).

So the experience was pretty interesting....they played the only song (which used to be one of my favourite song) over and over again - Aankhon Mein Teri Ajab Si (not the original version though).
They have a really run down pool table near the entrance and we had a little play on it whilst waiting for our take away order - it took quite a long time even though it was just us in the restaurant.....actually, it was either only us or us and another table that was occupied during our several visits here.
The servers were nice and pleasant, they double and sometimes triple checked on the ingredients of the food that we wanted to have. Do let them know that you are vegan!

We had several items every time and I remember their roti, kachumbar salad, Dahl curry, a spinach dish (maybe sag aloo or aloo gobi?), samosas, a fried rice dish and their burgers.
The food was fine, the burger which we had for breakfast was interesting....a bit mushy but it was fine.

I'd say 3.5 stars would be fair for the overall food, ambiance, decor and service, but because we actually relied on this place for a full belly, they are deserving of 4.5 stars.

Updated from previous review on 2020-03-26

Pros: Friendly staff, Vegan options

Cons: That song bro, maybe play a second song? :)

PhoKingClassic

Points +122

Vegan
22 Jan 2020

Really good, reasonably-priced food

Had a great meal here. Lots of food for the money, and it was delicious. As others mentioned, and I forgot, make sure to order dishes as vegan, even if they are labeled as vegan. The manager came over because he heard me mention vegan, and explained that to me in time, so there was no problem. Would definitely return.

Pros: Tons of options, Quick service , Great food

Cons: Need to say “make it vegan” for dishes with the V

LizMurphy

Points +187

Vegan
12 Nov 2019

Disappointing

Huge menu, all vegetarian, authentic dishes. However items labelled clearly as vegan on the menu included cheese in the description below. Also, ordered a curry of the menu, clarifying that it was vegan. It arrived with paneer in it.
Also overheard a guy at another table being told that the ‘veganised’ side he had ordered (naan/chapati) actually had butter on top.

Usivi

Points +18

Vegan
13 Jul 2019

Delightful food

Everything is delicious. There are so many options

Djmarsh89

Points +238

Vegan
26 Mar 2019

Best Indian in town

This place is amazing good! My wife and I have become Indian food snobs after travelling in India but this place is great with very authentic dishes and taste. If you love Indian go here!

Pros: Lots of vegan choice , Friendly staff, Not too expensive

Sgaylie

Points +98

Vegan
19 Mar 2019

Delicious!

Lots of vegan choices but you have to tell them that you are vegan!! The "V" just means that the item can be made vegan but it won't be made vegan by default. They should really change their menu to make that very clear.
The food is very delicious

Pros: Lots of vegan options, Great quality, Fast

Cons: "V for vegan" really means "can be made vegan", No chana masala on the menu

vegan_queen

Points +22

Vegan
28 Jan 2019

Not bad.

They are very accomodating for vegans, service is welcoming and very polite. They did not take too long with our meals, it was a standard waiting time. We ordered the Aloo Ghobi (Cauliflower potato) and a Chickpea Curry. I have certainly had a lot better but they were both alright. Note: I ordered mild for the curry but it was quite spicy. I dont mind that too much but for someone who doesnt like spice that would have been quite intense. We only paid $35 which is quite cheap imo.

Pros: Lots of vegan options, Cheap

Cons: Not the best flavour (but acceptable)

nico.stubler

Points +485

Vegan
23 Jan 2019

LOADS OF OPTIONS

Great spot. HUGE menu. All veg, with many vegan options clearly labeled. Menu begins by explaining the importance of eating veg // pretty cool. Food came a bit slow,,, but every dish was super delish. High quality and authentic.

LeahBenbow

Points +78

Vegan
15 Jan 2019

It did the job.

We tried Steam for dinner a couple of nights ago. It's a huge restaurant with lots of long tables set up so not sure if they frequently get tour groups in?
All vegetarian and a lot is accidently vegan but you need to ask your waitress as nothing is listed vegan on the menu.
I can't remember exactly what our meals were called to be honest. The menu is very big. I got the plain roti (only bread that was vegan) and it certainly was plain. Tasted like a dry multigrain. Hubby got garlic naan (vegetarian) which smelt delicious. We shared a cashew nut curry (literally only cashew nuts) which had a taste of coriander but not much else. Also shared a spinach dal but was so disappointed. It had no taste whatsoever. Literally like a watery broth. Perhaps my fault as we order everything mild but in my experience all Indian food is flavorsome regardless of the heat intensity. The highlight of the meal was the simple salad so that speaks volumes.
The food took quite a while to serve. They seemed very laid back and not phased by the 4-5 tables of people waiting for their meals.
Definitely not a great meal but hey, it filled us up and we didn't get sick so you win some you lose some!

Pros: All vegetarian, A lot is accidentally vegan

Cons: You have to ask what is vegan as it's not listed, Slow service. , Bland food.

Stephaneen

Points +1247

Vegan
21 Dec 2018

Chana Masala

We came after lunch hours were over so we order some take out. The Chana masala was delicious.

EllyseChristou

Points +18

Vegan
17 Dec 2018

The food is incredible!!!

You must go here when in Rotorua. Staff were super attentive and helpful when ordering vegan food. It was delicious! My husband and I ate like kings for $50!!!

kaedde

Points +132

Vegan
21 Jun 2018

Delicious food!

I went here for dinner and had starter and a main dish - and really liked them both! The menu is large and varied, and does have quite many vegan options, but you do have to ask for them as they are not marked especially.

Pros: good food

CharlotteS

Points +13

Vegetarian
22 Apr 2018

Amazing Indian food

My fiancé and I had dinner at Steam last night. He’s a gluten free vegan and I’m a vegetarian. The food was amazing and the staff incredibly helpful. The service was fast and the place immaculate. I would definitely go there again and cannot recommend it highly enough.

Pros: Excellent food, Value for money , Friendly staff and nice vibe

RyanKP

Points +155

Vegan
10 Apr 2018

Descent Indian Takeout

Had take away order. Arrived in about 1hr 20 min but had EFTPOS reader with food. Overall food tasted a little flat. Not the best Indian food but very convenient and great menu for Rotorua. I could take a bath in the green chutney. Ordered "hot" makhani. So mild, I gave some to the 2 year-old

Updated from previous review on 2017-10-21

Pros: Huge vegetarian menu, EFTPOS at delivery

Cons: Food "okay", Subjective spiciness levels

sousuneautrelentille

Points +327

Vegan
09 Mar 2018

Good experience

Went here for dinner tonight and had a positive experience. The staff were very nice and helped us navigate which menu items to avoid due to containing dairy. The food was all delicious. We got the aloo gobi, a dosa, a samosa chaat, and some rice/bread. All tasty. Overall, good price for the amount of food we got. My only issue is that a lot of the menu items contain dairy, so there were a few things I wanted to order that I ended up having to take in a different direction. Also, it would be nice if the menu clearly indicated which items were vegan/dairy-free, since a good chunk of our time was spent discussing this with the staff.

SimoneC

Points +81

Vegetarian
23 Feb 2018

Loved the food!

The food was just amazing and the menu is all vegetarian. Lots of options and great Indian food!

emmagrace

Points +68

Vegan
15 Feb 2018

excellent food

Lovely restaurant, great staff and the vegan food we had was delicious and very prompt with the service. Was reasonably priced.

Pros: staff very happy to explain what can be vegan. lot

mamba

Points +1269

Vegan
01 Jan 2018

Indian restaurant

This is a typical Indian restaurant (as opposed to Indian fast-food places), very large and with lots of choices. Everything is at least vegetarian and staff can tell you what is vegan. Tried the samosas, which were very hard and therefore difficult to eat and some dal, which was very good. Good value.

myszaku92

Points +19

Vegetarian
12 Dec 2017

Delicious

Lots to choose from and the food I ordered was really good. They could work a bit on the interior though, make it look more cosy and oriental.




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