Annapurna’s World Vegetarian Cafe

The tofu was rubber and the stir fry was a pile of mush. We ordered the stir fry Thai style and there was no sign of Thai spice. We will not be back.

Finally an awesome healthy food alternative! I’m from Texas, here for a seminar at the Ayurvedic Institute, so to find good healthy food was Fabulous!

The staff was very helpful and polite, took the time to explain to my boys some dishes that were new to them.
The food was so good. We had the scrambled tofu, and my teens loved it. We also had the breakfast quinoa, that happily vanished too.

Amazing little Ayurvedic eatery. I had the Lebanese wrap with fries. It was delicious! The hummus spread was the best I’ve ever tasted. The fries were amazing. I choose the garlic dipping sauce, which complemented the fries perfectly. I also had a cup of house chai with soy milk. It was the freshest and most delicious chai tea I’ve ever had, hands down! I recommend this place to vegans and meat eaters alike.

Waste of money and time if you are looking for authentic Indian food. We ordered masala dosa, the filling was so bad and dosa was not completely cooked. Very bland food. Definitely will not recommend this place for Indian cuisine.

It’s so healthy and good when it’s good — but half the time it sucks — quality of dishes is very inconsistent so you’re never sure what you’re going to get — we will come back though in hopes for the best

I love the food, but the reviews are spot on. staff is unprofessional, i must say the staff is consistent with this behavior. If you expect good service, and attention in the most basic form do not come here. I ordered a bowl of quinoa with milk, no milk asked the person who brought it out– he ignored me, had to ask staff behind counter. Loved my plate.

Very interesting food.
5 for chai (excellent!), idea, execution
4 for choice of dishes, décor, taste of food
3 for some dishes being really weird from their usual state (dosa etc), and location (bit shady)

This is a great spot. Great vegan food, great service, and great atmosphere. I came here and had the quinoa and roasted veggies salad and it was amazing!

I always enjoy fusion cuisines and this place I should say got the perfect mix! Great to see a place with a large vegetarian menu. The food was great and service was good as well. They had a very cool hipsterish look.
After over 6 months in the city, this remains one of our most frequently visited places to eat — love their food and everything else about the place too!!!

I love eating here for a change of pace. Nice peaceful atmosphere and delicious food.

Deliciously bland, delightfully terrible service, and a warm and cozy side of hipster «I don’t give a sh*t» attitude from the staff. The breakfast burrito I had today was about as bland as Styrofoam and quite pricy for what you get. When we tried to return the most bland food I’ve ever expected and the staff agreed, but when we were given much cheaper food they (staff and owner) refused to reimburse the cost difference. Not only that, but the owner became openly hostile and aggressive with my mother-​in-​law. Bad karma is due to follow.
I’ve worked in restaurants for a collective 10 years, any time a customer was unhappy they were definitely compensated, if not given their meal for free. Good business and good word of mouth advertising is priceless. The food was awful, service worse, ownership still worse.
Oh well, I last ate here ten years ago, and choose to give it another chance, underwhelming as expected. So if you’d like a chai with extra snooty, and a nice flavorless, gluten free, soulless pretentious cookie then this is the place for you. I love supporting local, I love vegetarian, but this place is an epic fail.

Great food plus amazing atmosphere=YES. Nestled in a cozy little corner at the intersection of Yale and Silver is a great joint with a beautiful courtyard and great food. Specifically I discovered a new food to love in the Indian category – VADAI. It’s a deep fried lentil cake with cabbage and cilantro and the vadai here is sublime. I had it with Sambahr soup and added kichari to my order to round out the perfect vegan lunch for a meatless Monday. And as great as the food is the GORGEOUS tree-​canopied patio, complete with an enormous and beautiful Ganesha mural watching over diners.
An all vegetarian restaurant, Annapurna’s also has a full array of vegan and gluten free desserts, including vegan AND gluten free muffins as soft and delicious as their milk, egg, and gluten-​laden counterparts. They are also VERY attentive to diners with food allergies as well. Anyone who is vegetarian, vegan, has gluten sensitivity, likes unique and delicious Indian foods, and anyone who just likes good food enjoyed in a beautiful atmosphere will enjoy this place!

The breakfast burrito was amazing. I could have stayed all day drinking the soy chai. Looking forward to coming back for more. The ginger cookie was a nice treat too. Interesting fusion of southwest and infian. Large portion sizes. Friendly.

Was recommended by a fellow vegan to try this place. They have soooo many options. Wish I came to ABQ more often to try more of the menu. We had lunch here and loved the vegan take on this indian inspired food! We found this place to be reeeally affordable. Really full off of $ 24.00 and no need to tip because there is no waitress! We had the chai tea with soy milk (yummy), the masala fries with chipotle mayo & garlic mayo dipping sauce (these were my fave!), the samosa with daily soup of sweet potato and lemongrass (delicious & spicy), and the kitchari (really filling and comforting like pot pie filling but lacked salt). I would definitely get the samosa and masala fries again! Maybe tomorrow! ;) On our way out, we couldn’t help but get some vegan friendly dessert! They had lots of options! I got the coconut cream pie & he got the chocolate cupcake… both of which we haven’t tried. Too damn full to fit another bite in! We also didnt know that we could’ve sat outside and will probably do that next time as its kinda dimmer inside. Not horrible though. I just really like to SEE my food in all its glory! –lost a star due to employee not being very welcoming and just assuming that we knew how the place was ran. You get your menus and find a seat and when you’re ready, you order at the counter. She just assumed that we were supposed to magically know this I guess and wasn’t too nice about it. When paying at the register, she was much more helpful.

This is THE place for Vegans to eat healthy and drink Chai in Albuquerque. If you are looking for super healthy food or just need a breakfast burrito to get you through the day it’s here.

Really loved this cute little adorable spot. There was a little bit of a wait, but worth it.
I will be back as this was incredibly close to the base.

I recently became vegan and although it can be hard at times its places like this that remind me it’s not! A full menu of a vegetarians dream! All will enjoy the food whether your a omnivore or herbivore! So delicious I’m still dreaming of the veggie burger I had! Prices were so reasonable too. Must check it out.

Great vegetarian, Ayruvedic resturant in a friendly casual atmosphere. The food is tasty and the staff friendly and the menu is quite varied. There are also lots of gluten free goodies but they are made with rice flower so people who are Kapha dosha and do not eat rice or gluten are out of luck.
I strongly recommend this place if you are vegetarian or vegan and if you eat meat but want a great Indian dinner. Just don’t have many cold drinks as they are not included in Ayruvedic diets, I would make an exception given this is the desert.

The year is 2007. A 17 year old girl decides to become a vegetarian. Her mother cries. Her life has changed forever. Meat becomes a dirty word that people whisper in ashamed tones around her…
And then, after being invited to a pig roasting (pretty disgusting, right?), she was told to try Annapurna. And everything changed.
Okay, so maybe I’m being a tad dramatic. But my love for Annapurna is dramatic! I love it soo soo much! The only reason I didn’t give five stars was because I’m not a huge fan of the Indian food. It’s pretty good, but if I’m really craving Indian, I’ll probably go somewhere else… like Taj Mahal (a glowing review for another day :))
HOWEVER, the sandwiches and burritos are absolutely divine. The ABLT (avacado, ‘bacon,’ lettuce, and tomato) sandwich, the portobello sandwich, and the breakfast burrito are my absolute favorites! The fries that come with the sandwiches are seriously the best fries I have ever had! In my life. I love them with the chipotle sauce. yummm…
I have recently been told by a friend that the reason I haven’t tried many restaurants is because of my Annapurna obsession. It is my go to restaurant. And I think I’m alright leaving it that way :)
I’m not sure why there are so many not so great reviews for Annapurna… I have always been happy with the food, service, and thought everything was clean.

I’m always willing to give a vegan or vegetarian place a chance, even if the reviews are bad– why? Because I want to support the few people that work hard to keep me healthy! ;)
That being said, the reviews are right. The service is lackluster. Rude might be overstating it, but brusque is juuuuuust about the right definition here.
Food:
Pancakes: super awesome, perfect!
Breakfast quinoa: good, but with a weird soapy taste.
Mediterranean salad w. Lemongrass dressing: super extra yummy.
World chai latte, hot cocoa, and coffee latte all lukewarm. I sent mine back to get it hotter, and she obliged, grudgingly. Hope that’s not spit on the top, lol.
All in all, when the service is bad, it makes the food less enjoyable. I won’t be back, and neither will my compadres.

Annapurna’s proves that vegan, gluten-​free food can be good.
What I ordered:
South Indian Sampler (tri-​doshic) — A medium msala dosa filled with a spicy potato and vegetable mixture, a vadai, two idlis in a bowl of sambhar, served with a side of coconut chutney
I really enjoyed this dish. The spicy potato and vegetable mix in what looks like a spongy tortilla was good dipped in the sambhar which is like a spicy stew. I didn’t enjoy the idlis inside the sambhar but I did like the vadai which again, I dipped in the sambhar. Now that sambhar was the star. I could have eaten three bowls of it.
I really appreciate their wide variety of gluten-​free dishes. Usually there’s only two or three items to choose from so picking is easy, but it took me almost 10 minutes to decide. So many delicious options.

When I first moved to Albuquerque, I really wanted to like this place, and I gave it a very fair try. Since few Indians eat at home what most north Indian restaurants serve, I was looking forward to food that tasted home-​cooked. Unfortunately, I have over the years come to understand why I never see another Indian soul eating food at Annapurna.
I appreciate the value of ayurvedic food and lifestyle. Most indian hosueholds incorporate ayurvedic principles in their diet while cooking or eating at home. However, Annapurna has in some ways co-​opted the term «ayurvedic» as a gimmick to serve overpriced and inconsistently preapared food served with a holier than thou attitude.
I will keep waiting for that Indian restaurant that serves tasty, healthy and reasonably priced Indian food!

I love my SFe Anna P’s but these guys are cool too.
ABLT, yum!
Breakfast Burrito… triple yum!
Eat through the whole menu like I have… Burp, Fart, and Enjoy!
Here’s to your Health!!!

This place is great. Though I’m not a vegan or a vegetarian, I love coming here, because I know I can get great vegetarian dishes which aren’t adulterated … too much. Most of their dishes are pretty basic. They use the freshest ingredients.
Not only do they have some Indian staples like dal and domas, some of their dishes have a New Mexican flourish, all which fit in the Ayurvedic dietary philosophy.
Their baked goods are great, and many are gluten-​free. They tend to sweeten these with agave nectar. I’m not necessarily a fan of agave nectar, because it has been proven to have about as much sugar content as cane sugar. Don’t get me wrong, I love my sugar, but it’s something I try to keep to a minimum. But don’t let my whining over the agave nectar keep you from trying their desserts. They are worth every bite.
Their house chai is incredibly tasty, and it seems to be about as authentic as you can get. However, being conscientious about my sugar intake, It would be nice if their house chai didn’t automatically come sweetened. They sweeten it with raw cane sugar. Like many restaurants which taut themselves as healthy alternatives, Annapurna feels compelled to pre-​sweeten their homemade chai. I say, let the customer sweeten their own. A lot of us who frequent healthy restaurants are working hard to avoid any type of sweetener, including agave nectar, no matter how yummy it is.
But with all that said, if you want authentic, wonderful chai, come here. I haven’t found chai this great anywhere else in the city. Plus they give one free refill.
Annapurna gets so busy and the lines are quite long. The waitstaff is fast, but many customers are new to the place and not sure what to get, so waiting can take longer than at most restaurants. It would be great if Annapurna had a separate queue for people who only want something to drink, whether it’s for dining in or take-​out.
They recently put in a second cash register, which helps.
So make sure you arrive early during those peak times.
Annapurna is one of the healthiest restaurants in the area. Thankfully they have more than one location. They also offer classes about Ayurvedic cooking and philosophy.