1 Filtered Review of Saravana Bhavan

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Liesoe

Points +16

Vegan
05 Sep 2017

Not vegan

My expectations of this restaurant were pretty high, but it disappointed me. When I asked which dishes on the menu were vegan, the waitress clearly didn't know the meaning of the word "vegan" and showed me the options without garlic and onion. After I explained the concept (no eggs, no milk, no cheese, no animal products at all), she gave me one option: the vegetable curry. Her colleague confirmed that it contained no dairy products. Even though I'd have liked to have a few more options to choose from, I was happy to have found something vegan and ordered.

The food that was served a few minutes later was super tasty. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure the dish wasn't entirely vegan after all. It contained some pieces that looked and tasted a lot like paneer (Indian cheese). I remember the taste from my pre-vegan days, and can't think of any other ingredient with that kind of structure. When I asked the waitress, she told me it was an Indian rice noodle (?) without looking at it.

To make matters worse, I'm not just vegan for ethical reasons: lactose causes pretty bad stomach pains. I'm not 100% sure if it really was paneer, but the hurting of my stomach seems to confirm it.

I suppose it would be possible to have a good vegan meal here, but make sure the staff really understands what you're asking for. I won't come back though, I prefer a place that I don't have any doubts about.

Pros: Free tap water, Not too expensive, Tasty food

Cons: Not really vegan, Staff didn't know what "vegan" means, Small portions