Veg Harvest Café

It is no secret that I am a meatetarian and it takes a lot for anything else to impress me. Veg Harvest Café could be the place that would make me go vegetarian… almost. They probably won’t, but I would return here happily and fully intend to bring my vegetarian friend and use her as an excuse for abandoning my beloved beef.
They are the yin to Indian Harvest’s yang. Veg Harvest is 100% vegetarian friendly. There isn’t an ounce of meat in the entire restaurant. It shocked me at first, because their sign for the strip mall still calls them Indian Harvest and I was in the mood for chicken makhani. I almost left to go to their sister restaurant, but I was lazy and hungry.
There was only one guy working and he was very helpful. He explained the type of food they serve and asked me if I was familiar with Indian food and what dishes I normally eat. I decided on the pakora, spicy Indian soup and a mango lassi to go. It was ready in no time and smelled amazing.
Their spicy Indian soup is quite spicy; however, it is the type of spicy that warms the soul and doesn’t burn your tongue. It was a light broth with a ton of cilantro and various spices. I’m sick and it cleared my sinuses right up. I wish there had been more.
Pakora was pretty good. I wasn’t a huge fan of the fried cauliflower, but the red sauce made it much better. Their cilantro sauce is hot, hot, hot. But the spinach balls were amazing! Same can be said for the ginormous mango lassi that I lapped up in no time.

Veg heads: You should probably sit on your hands for this because Veg Harvest is gonna be like food porn and I don’t want anyone going blind on my account.
The soup nazi has nothing on Veg Harvest Café. To put it simply, I had the two best soups I’ve ever had in my life here and I’m not even exaggerating… it was like I’d never lived before. Today, feels like the first day of the rest of my life.
Some things you should know about veg harvest before going:
— It’s all vegetarian (some vegan)
— It’s tucked back in a crappy little strip mall behind a 7 – 11 and a Lovers Lane.
— Its sign says «The Indian Harvest», not Veg Harvest.
— There is ANOTHER larger restaurant in the strip mall across the street also called «Indian Harvest». They have the same owner, but the one across the street is larger, serves meat, and has a much more stylish interior,
— The service on our visit was very lacking. We were sat at our table and our server didn’t come back or even acknowledge us for 15 minutes while he went to the 3 other tables next to us. Once he took our drink and food order the drinks took 15 more minutes. but I think they made them fresh.
— From the looks of things at our table and at other tables, your food comes out whenever it’s ready. So if you go with a group of 4 people, there’s a good chance that someone at your table will be done eating before someone else even gets theirs.
Now, I’ve been wavering between 4 and 5 stars but based off those soups and the prices, I’m landing on a fiver. If it weren’t for the soups, 4 stars would be my rating.
Here are some things we ate… remember, sit on those hands before you go blind.
— Veggie Mulligawtawny Soup = Spicy, lentil-​y, heaven.
— Rasam Soup — a traditional South Indian spicy sweet and sour soup that was so good, it melted my face off.
— Mysore Masala Dosa — the thin crispy buttery rice crêpe filled with potatoes and onion are huge and fun to eat.
— Avial — a dish with seasonal veggies cooked in a special blend of spices and fresh coconut. This dish was okay while at Veg Harvest, but tasted better the next day as left overs.
— Navratan Burger — is a veg burger made with onion, mint, and tamarind sauce and while the burger was good, it was overshadowed by the enormous bun.
— Pav Bhaji — an Indian street food that consists of a blend of veggies, spices, and sauce with buttered buns. Our server told us that this was his favorite, and it was one of ours as well. I would defo get this again.
— Fresh Mango Juice — so refreshing
— Rose Milk — a delicious pink drink, almost like a shake, but thinner. So good.
Blown your wad, yet? Well, how’s bout if I tell you that all that (2 soups, 2 specialty drinks, and four entrees were just over $ 40. Now that’s a deal!
On my next visit (this week), I’m going to get a mulligatawny soup, rasam soup, pav bahji, and mango juice all to myself. If you make it out here, I’d recommend that you do the same.

Everything from the first review still holds true — add to that they have yummy indian-​chinese food!
N.B. They have stopped making a lot of their authentically south indian dishes (they do still have idly/​dosa/​vada) because of low demand on those.
Loved the warm service once again!

Veg Harvest is a bright and friendly vegetarian Indian restaurant. Their sign still says «Indian Harvest» but there’s also a non-​vegetarian Indian Harvest across the street in a more modern brick strip mall. Veg Harvest is in a two-​story 1970s strip mall next to a convenience store.
Their Avial ($ 9) was great, and you don’t see Keralite dishes often; the execution was smooth and spicy, without being overpowering. Basically it’s a cashew-​coconut curry with a variety of vegetables. I also thought their masala dosa ($ 8) was fresh and crispy, and therefore competently done, establishing their credentials with South Indian classics.
The menu has some unusual dishes, such as Indo-​Chinese options, though I wasn’t so impressed with the «Chinatown Tofu» ($ 9) which was basically tofu and onions in a thick, spicy, ketchup-​based sauce. I didn’t like the sweetish tones of the ketchup (I don’t like ketchup in general), which I felt confused what was supposed to have been a savory dish.
I wish they served brown rice and I also wish they labeled their vegan options, but this is otherwise a pretty decent vegetarian place in the suburbs, which there aren’t enough of. The service was also friendly, attentive and accommodating of my questions about the vegan-​ness of various dishes.