Govinda’s Vegetarian Restaurant

Been here twice and loved it both times! The feast plate of $ 12 was so filling — rice, mixed vegetable curry, daal, papadums, halva in custard, green salad with mint chutney + drink! Loved every bite of the karma-​free meal. As I was struggling to find the right bus to get to West End from the city, I quickly called the restaurant up — 10 mins before their closing time to say that I would be there for a late lunch! Guess what — they kept the place opened just for me to come and get my meal. I loved them just for doing that!

For what it is, it’s really good. Cheap, vegetarian /​vegan Indian buffet. We came for dinner one night. It was something like $ 12 for the buffet option, but you can order smaller amounts for cheaper. Food is tasty, though not incredible. Service is very friendly. Interior is simple, but clean. If you’re starving and are craving this type of thing, I’d recommend giving this place a try.

This all-​vegetarian restaurant is (somewhat characteristically) above the street level. It’s not fancy; you’re getting various curries ladled out for you onto a thali, sitting by yourself, and there’s not much in the way of ambiance. I was attracted on a day when I hadn’t had nearly enough to eat by the fact that they offer an all you can eat plate.
Mind you, you probably don’t need a ton of refills on that plate. They call it a feast for a reason. The plate is filled with some koftas (fried balls of something or other), lentils over rice, a basic vegetable curry of the day, some papadums (lentil crackers) for dipping, a bit of salad, and dessert. A light lemonade is also included. You can expect a reliably rounded and satisfying meal, with simple flavors (touch up with a spicy chutney if you like).
I’ve still yet to find a really high-​brow vegetarian restaurant with as diverse and exciting of a menu as I’d like, but you’ll not likely find a better deal in West End than this right here.

Delicious. I get Govindas usually once a week for lunch (sometimes more) and I look forward to it every time. The food is delicious, the kofta balls and pappadams are the best. The staff are really nice and the price is great. Very simple inside but I think it’s part of the charm.

This restaurant was not at all what I had expected. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE VEGETARIAN BUFFETS, but I was not at all even remotely impressed with this establishment. The metal trays, unkempt appearances and food of questionable origin and freshness was not my cup of tea. The koftas everyone speaks so highly of, were soggy and chewy masses of dough, the salad was pallid, and the vegetable and bean stew tasted of canned tomatoes. Guys, I know this place is cheap, but for what you’re paying there are a lot better options in the neighbourhood. Keep Unilocaling.

As far as healthy, tasty and cheap eats go, you don’t get much better than Govindas. The Hare Krishna food joint is somewhat of an institution among students and the generally ‘povvo’ about town for its low prices and all-​you-​can eat style (though seconds are rarely necessary).
The service is nice, what you’d expect from spiritually enlightened staff, and the portions come packed to the edges on large metal compartmentalised plates. There’s rice, various vege curries, salad with this nice yoghurt dressing, halva and custard for dessert and best of all — the ultra delicious kofta balls. Not being a huge fan of the halva (it’s a bit stodgy for me) I usually ask for extra koftas instead. They are crispy on the outside, soft in the middle and come with this sweet tomato chutney. They are quite literally, to use the idiotic parlance of our times, «AMAZE-​BALLS».

Are you hungry? Are you poor? Are you Hare Krishna? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you’d best hurry in the little door and up the worn stairwell to Govinda’s.
Emerging from the damp, dark stairwell and hallway into the huge hall-​like room that is Govinda’s is a pleasant experience in itself. The walls in here are painted with bright colours and murals and big windows looking down onto Elizabeth street light the whole room all the way up to it’s high ceilings. The creaky wooden floorboards and echoing hubbub reminds me of an old boarding school cafeteria, but the food is so much better.
The atmosphere at Govinda’s is very welcoming and communal and you will see all kinds of people getting their lentil fix up here. Business men, gaggles of teenagers, Hare Krishna’s and the homeless are all fixtures here, and so am I because for a exploitatively low price you receive an all-​you-​can-​eat portion of dhal, curries, rice, salad, and the AMAZING kofte balls. It’s all vegetarian of course, since it’s run by Hare Krishnas, and the curries change daily. When you’ve filled up on curry, it’s time for desert and there’s halva and other sweet treats ready for your plate. One of my favourite things at Govinda’s is the big keg of homemade ginger and mint drink that you can refill your glass from as many times as you want. It’s so refreshing and thirst-​quenching that on a hot day you’ll never want to leave.
Thank you, Govinda’s, for your generosity and kofte balls!

There is a sad time in every student’s life,
when its another inconsequential day, their stomachs have caved in, and broke as a joke
they are left to figure out what kind of nutrition they can get at the overpriced fare offered at their educational institution.
Whenever I am stuck in this kind of existential dilemma
I round up 6 – 10 of my closest companions and offer them one magic word,
the word that unknots the stomachs and smooths the brow.
GO-​VIN-​DAHS!
For those not in the know (you poor poor human’s)
Govinda’s offers the best cheap and amazing vegetarian fare in all of Brisbane,
Student meals AND all you can eat for just $ 12!
Grab a plate and pile on those Koftas!
(Also, please please please try the Halava with Custard, you will become a better person for it.)