I ♥ govindas, do you?

maameeo

been hogging another thread talking bout govindas and the like so i thought id start a thread on the ♥ of govindas.
Whats your fav foods from there? desserts?
which govindas do you like the best?
or just happy govindas moments

jape

I have been vegetarian a while now and never been there, usually just make my own food, where is it?

maameeo

oh you must go! its so good

theres one on abbey street beside easons/pennies, then theres the original one on hmm, i call it georges street but i know it changes when you go further up it (basicly keep walking up georges st)
then theres one around merrion square somewhere, was only there once, wasnt mad about the lay out, squishy!

abbey street is my fav though!

cosmic

Oh God yes!

Yum Yum Yum!

The one on Aungier Street is my favourite, me and my OH go there about once a week. My favourite is when they do the potatoes with red peppers and onion/mustard seeds(not sure which). And the paneer obviously!

Oh dear, it's only 10am and I'm already craving some now... it's gonna be a long old day!

maameeo

oh i love love love the paneer! my lil girl loves it too, she gets a huge plate everytime!
also love when they do veg lasagne!!! yummy!

seamus

Not too crazy about the one on abbey street, I dunno the food just doesn't seem to be as good quality as the other two, sometimes it's very watery and sometimes it seems like it's been sitting there all day.

The one on Merrion Row seems to be the best of the three, though I've only been in there twice.

I could eat paneer all day. That's not a good thing.

Oobie

I find it a bit too salty but I do like the paneer thingy.

sweet-rasmus

I'm not a fan of food with spices, which a lot of govindas food has. But I do love their vegan salads Filled me up well last time I was in there!

maameeo - you have yet to try the food from the Govinda's stand in the Galway city weekend market. He does food which you can't quite get in the rest of the stores and he is lovely to talk to. *all praise*

cosmic

sweet-rasmus wrote: »

maameeo - you have yet to try the food from the Govinda's stand in the Galway city weekend market. He does food which you can't quite get in the rest of the stores and he is lovely to talk to. *all praise*

This is true! Once we went to him near the end of the day and he gave us loads of left over samosas and pakoras for free! What a lovely man.

Also the lady who does Govindas type veggie food in the Saturday market in the Meeting House Square in Temple Bar is lovely too and the food there is awesome. The king kofta is my favourite

sweet-rasmus

Oh, I've never visited the stand at the Meeting House Square. It's on the "to-do" list now

maameeo

sweet-rasmus wrote: »

I'm not a fan of food with spices, which a lot of govindas food has. But I do love their vegan salads Filled me up well last time I was in there!

maameeo - you have yet to try the food from the Govinda's stand in the Galway city weekend market. He does food which you can't quite get in the rest of the stores and he is lovely to talk to. *all praise*

thats a great excuse to visit galway!!! i didnt know that. they used to have a stall in my college every wed, it was very light with chickpeas, you got a paper plate of food with rice and dal, an apple and a cup of water for 3euro.
then the canteen complained and got rid of them

didnt think govindas were very spicy, their food is quite bland in that department, but as u know, i know zilch about cooking! :P

sweet-rasmus

The queues at his stall are always really long at lunchtime It's quite popular indeed!

kraggy

Have been to Govinda's twice in my lifetime and will never set foot in the place again.

It's vile.

tricky D

Hmmmm, looking at the car keys right now. Very tempted to make the journey into to town and stock up.


Also, prefer Aungier St as it doesn't add peas to the paneer.

maameeo

kraggy wrote: »

Have been to Govinda's twice in my lifetime and will never set foot in the place again.

It's vile.

wow, what did u get?

Tar.Aldarion

I've eaten in 2 of the places in dublin, the market here(today) and the one in galway. Galway is by far the best. His matar paneer, mmmmmmmmmmmmm. That king koftka thing or w/e in temple bar looks interesting!

sweet-rasmus

Went the Meeting House Square stand today. Wasn't labelled as Govida's, but as "Pure Vegetarian Food". There was paneer in most dishes so they were off the menu for me! I also noticed a sign on the side, as in the restaurant on middle abbey street, about the cookery classes "Art of traditional indian cooking", 2-6pm Saturdays with Katyayani Ph:0861526502. I've mentioned her on the forum before as I went to the class last year and really enjoyed it. She also used oil in most dishes instead of clarified butter because I let her know that I was vegan before attending maameeo, I'd say this would be a great day out for you and a friend.

maameeo

oh really?? like is it easy enough to follow or did u come out saying, na i couldnt do that? did u get to eat what she made? lol
how much is it?
really have to do something, im actually sick here coz my stomach is so empty, havnt had decent meal in two days! i a twat, i know!

must try that meeting house square stand though!!

Amalgam

I have the Govinda rumbles now, damn thread.

I don't know the proper names, but the milky green bean mix they do, along with the pie\quiche which has a rather tart taste, almost like goats cheese.

[rumble] [rumble]

maameeo

oooh i forgot about that tart thing!!!
yummy!!!
i absolutely love their samosa! theyre so big and doughy. i usually get one with my plate of food and struggle so hard to eat it!!! *stuffed*!!!

jape

What are their prices like ?

sweet-rasmus

At the stand at the meeting house house, most muchies (samosas etc) were 2.50 and the mains were 4.50 / 5.00.

For the course, yes, we did take the time to have a great slap up meal after. I brought my mother along and we made a few of the dishes we learnt after. You get the recipes printed out, so there is no need to be making notes It wasn't rushed and it was great to learn about all the spices etc from someone who really knew. I think we paid 50 euro each, but that may have changed. We were there for like 5 hours, so it was indeed value for money!
Past posts about it: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055246276
and: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055288659

Tar.Aldarion

The stalls would have matar paneer in a tub for about a fiver. samosa/sprinng rolls etc 2.50. in the restaurant it's basically all you can eat for 9e. I want that, and that and that, keep going my good man! (just say you want some of evereything)

maameeo

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

I want that, and that and that, keep going my good man!

lol, brilliant! that is exactly what its like!

@sweet-rasmus, that does sound like value for money! ill look into that def, i wonder can you bring a child along, probably not ideal really! lol

entropi

I was brought there by a vegan friend once, she said it would be nice and true to her word, the food was nice:) It was the abbey st branch too.

Amalgam

Merrion Row branch is a bit cluttered, what I don't like about it though are the plates they use, the square ones with raised corners.

Having said that, I find that branch has different cooking from Abbey Street, more spices and a different selection of vegetables.

Deviate yourself from B

---

K---, S----M--- and M- D

---

just once.

Here's a link for the Dublin branch locations.

http://www.govindas.ie/restaurants/index.htm

---

maameeo

feel a bit silly saying this but someone told me once that govindas use herbs and spices that are known for their anti-aphrodesiac effect because of their religion.
anyone heard this before? anyone felt the opposite of aroused after govindas

Amalgam

A lot of herbs would have a settling effect, both on the stomach and your frame of mind, I don't know if they'd target the libido specifically though.

You're not the first person I've heard this from.

maameeo

phew, kinda thought id imagined the person telling me!
id always feel too stuffed after eating govindas, def wouldnt feel anyway aroused, but why would you after that much food! lol

-lala-

I've been to Govinda's on Aungier St twice, and tbh I didn't really like it. The food was edible, but I wouldn't voluntarily go back.

However I seem to be in the minority!

Tar.Aldarion

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

I've eaten in 2 of the places in dublin, the market here(today) and the one in galway. Galway is by far the best. His matar paneer, mmmmmmmmmmmmm. That king koftka thing or w/e in temple bar looks interesting!

Is there an actual Govinda restaurent in Galway these days?

I Paneer.

sweet-rasmus

maameeo wrote: »

@sweet-rasmus, that does sound like value for money! ill look into that def, i wonder can you bring a child along, probably not ideal really! lol

TBH I doubt it would be much of an issue. She held the class in her kitchen in her own home and her family in and out. Sure, you could ring/text her and ask would it be ok. Kayayani is a lovely woman and a mother. She's gonna understand But, it is about 4 hours, so it would be up to whether your daughter could put up with it!

maameeo

yea, im sure shed get pretty bored and probably eat the food before anyone got to see it!
il look into gettin a babysitter! lol

Tar.Aldarion

Moonbaby wrote: »

Is there an actual Govinda restaurent in Galway these days?

I Paneer.

No, just the stall, witht he best matar paneer ever. Yum yuymyuymy

AssaultedPeanut

Govindas is definitely my fave place to eat. I prefer the Abbey st one. I was there only yesterday, they've a new menu board up that specifies what's vegan now too so I'm a very happy camper.
Tempted to go back today....:P

The stand at Meeting House Square (saturdays)/Dun Laoghaire Market (sundays) is great too. I can only get samosa's and Kofta's myself but theres tonnes of Vegetarian stuff.

....God I'm starving now

maameeo

really wish i worked near town some days, sitting her eating some sort of pot noodle goop for lunch, i would kill for a govindas samosa! (very vegetarian of me! lol)

AssaultedPeanut

maameeo wrote: »

really wish i worked near town some days, sitting her eating some sort of pot noodle goop for lunch, i would kill for a govindas samosa! (very vegetarian of me! lol)

I went to college on Cathal Brugha St and loved heading to Govindas for lunch, when I finished I thought I'd hardly ever get to eat there again, but ended up getting a job 2minutes walk away from it I'm so jammy sometimes.

Then again I'm only in D5 (same as yourself I see) tis worth the short bus journey:)

maameeo

dementedsoul wrote: »

I went to college on Cathal Brugha St and loved heading to Govindas for lunch, when I finished I thought I'd hardly ever get to eat there again, but ended up getting a job 2minutes walk away from it I'm so jammy sometimes.

Then again I'm only in D5 (same as yourself I see) tis worth the short bus journey:)

lol thats gas! you cud be my neighbour!
i was in college on thomas street, there was many a trip down to govindas at lunch, and a very very slow walk back!!!

Camarague

kraggy wrote: »

Have been to Govinda's twice in my lifetime and will never set foot in the place again.

It's vile.

-lala- wrote: »

I've been to Govinda's on Aungier St twice, and tbh I didn't really like it. The food was edible, but I wouldn't voluntarily go back.

However I seem to be in the minority!

This would reflect my experience in Govindas. I went to Aungier Street. There was a greasy looking piece of condensation on the window as we walked in. They gave us big helpings, but the food had obviously been laying there (kept warm) for a long time and it was obvious from the taste. Vile is the word.

Last time I was there I was on the one on Abbey Street. Everytime I went up to the counter, the guy seemed to walk away which I thought was weird. So I didn't end up getting anything besides a ginger ale (this took some effort and patience).

I would try it again, on the basis that people rave about it, and that I may just have gone on bad days. But I think one more try and if it's still gross, I'm not going back

Amalgam

The condensation doesn't help, they have that problem in two branches, Abbey Street and Aungier Street.

I would agree with you Camarague, some days the Paneer looks the worse for wear. I tend to just give it a quick visual before commiting myself, if it's very dark, avoid..

I have no problems with the rest of the food mind. The spices take some getting used to, if it is a new experience.

I used to go to Cornucopia (Wicklow St.) a fair bit, food is excellent, but the prices are just a little on the wrong side of twelve euro for my liking. I found Govinda's as a result of wanting to change.

DublinWriter

Nope. I've been a few times and I wasn't impressed. I found the majority of their fayre both taste and texture free.

Their paneer was lovely, but that's about it. As for their veggie-burger? Yuck.

A lot of people are unaware that the restaurants are run/owned by the Hare Krishnas and all profits go back into the organisation. I personally wouldn't have a problem with this.

-lala-

Amalgam wrote: »

I used to go to Cornucopia (Wicklow St.) a fair bit, food is excellent, but the prices are just a little on the wrong side of twelve euro for my liking.

How on earth is €9 for a huge main course the wrong side of €12? To me that seems like very much the right side of €12!

biZrb

I think they do vegan cupcakes now...at least I seen a sign for them when I was in the Anguier Street one a few weeks back

The last time I was in I got a HUGE plate of food and it was only €7 its so filling and yummy I think its great value.

maameeo

biZrb wrote: »

I think they do vegan cupcakes now...at least I seen a sign for them when I was in the Anguier Street one a few weeks back

The last time I was in I got a HUGE plate of food and it was only €7 its so filling and yummy I think its great value.

mmm vegan cupcake sounds yummy! its strange, its the only restaurant that i over look the desserts in coz i love the food so much! lol
i must look out for these doh!

mrsdewinter

Hi I'm a non-vegetarian occasional lurker on the V&V thread but I LOVE Govindas, love it to the point where I've had to wean myself off trips to the Abbey St branch. Huge portions and excellent value. Dropped into the one on Aungier St and wasn't as impressed. The day I called in, staff seemed very slow clearing tables, ie customers had already started piling dirty plates onto one particular table and there was no sign of anybody coming to collect them. My one issue with Govindas is the loos. I now find myself eating there and plotting a toilet stop in Jervis... It kinda stops me arranging to meet people there, tbh... sorry...

Fajitas!

Also an omnivourious Govindas fan... The branch on Baggot St/Off Merrion Sq. is probably my favorite - I used to work up the road and pop in there near every day. They'd always throw a bit more in to my take-away (Not that I needed it!). Their paneer is fantastic.

The Abbey St branch'd be my second favorite, not a huge fan of the Aungier St one apart from how handy it is when I'm working in that area.

maameeo

mrsdewinter wrote: »

Hi I'm a non-vegetarian occasional lurker on the V&V thread but I LOVE Govindas, love it to the point where I've had to wean myself off trips to the Abbey St branch. Huge portions and excellent value. Dropped into the one on Aungier St and wasn't as impressed. The day I called in, staff seemed very slow clearing tables, ie customers had already started piling dirty plates onto one particular table and there was no sign of anybody coming to collect them. My one issue with Govindas is the loos. I now find myself eating there and plotting a toilet stop in Jervis... It kinda stops me arranging to meet people there, tbh... sorry...

hehe, i like that, 'occasional lurker'

not mad on the toilets myself, especially bringing a child down there!

-lala-

You've all made me curious now - what's wrong with their toilets?!

sweet-rasmus

I agree. I remember visiting the Aungier St store and I wasn't impressed with the toilets. I think there may have been no toilet paper also Thank goodness I had tissue on me!

maameeo

-lala- wrote: »

You've all made me curious now - what's wrong with their toilets?!

well in abbey street, they have skinny stair case down, womens is at the end, door usually wide open, its really tight and squishy, if someone else is in there u have to back up against a wall. then the toilets them selves arnt the prettiest.
man i sound like a snob!

there not great but i dont mind them if i get great food

ronano

I'm not sure if i posted in this thread before but if not!.......

I govindas,i've only tried the abbey street one during my break from work. It's a bit hit and miss.when it's good it's amazing but otherwise i feel unsatisfied. It's just either food not being hot enough or small portions

The staff overall seem nice but there's one small blonde lady who gives massive portions bless her