Vegan-friendly
Lacto
American
Indian
Salad bar
Take-out
Catering
Very casual veggie restaurant adjacent to a Hare Krishna temple. Upstairs is a gift shop selling imported Indian clothes, jewelry, and gifts. Serves prasadam (holy food) prepared by monks. Dairy is used in some hot dishes. Desserts, including vegan cake), samosas, and beverages also available as extra. Lunch available every day. Open Mon-Sun 11:30am-3:00pm.
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3764 Watseka Ave (at Venice Blvd, by Culver City), Los Angeles, California, USA, 90034
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- Outdoor seating
- Wheelchair accessible
- Accepts credit cards
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Last update on 06 Apr 2024 by Guest
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18 Reviews
First Review by The Veggie Cook
chumon
Points +22
great diner - Edit
Food is simple but good. I like to get a Mango lassi as a treat.
Read moreGuest
JakeFuller
Points +1562
Taste the Love - Edit
Every time I am near an ISKCON temple I make it a priority to get some food. This diet is why I started eating vegetarian. This restaurant is awesome and it’s extremely tasty. This ancient sattvic/yogic diet is one of the ancient origins of modern vegetarianism/veganism.
Read moreGuest
gutoi
Points +968
The original Mother of all Vegetarians in Los Angeles!! - Edit
This is the place that started the way to veganism. My first time was in 1986, that's right; not many places in LA to get a vegetarian meal back then. And this is a singular everyday meal place type. Everything else followed its ways. Everywhere I travel, it's the first place I truly try for.
Read moreHare Krishna!!
Updated from previous review on 2020-12-22
Pros: They fit vegetarians and vegans everyday.
Cons: None whatsoever!
Guest
mayuribhandari
Points +66
food for the SOUL - Edit
MY FAVORITE PLACE IN LA WITHOUT THINKING TWICE.
Read moreThis place is conducted by ISKCON (International Society of Krishna Consciousness) and is fresh (daily), simple, wholesome, temple food. All the workers are volunteers of the association and make the food as a method of love and service. Their purpose is to serve the community and at least once a week the community offers food with no charge to those who come.
The Best value and quality of food in LA. Their objective is to have good food affordable to all. It's a steal - and a peaceful place.
The food is completely vegetarian with vegan options. (A lot of their dairy if not all)comes from their own farm in South LA. The have a fresh Salad bar, pasta station, and have Indian temple fusion cuisine at the end. Their fruit fusion halwas (Indian sweet) are phenomenal- the best fusions I've ever had.
I bring EVERYONE to this place, and come here about once a week. It is my place that is like food close to home. Coming from me, that's a big deal. ISKCON has food centers all over the world and has been my saving grace in travel- never disappointing, always amazing.
Don't expect fancy, the feeling is wholesome. Food for the soul.
They have been closed during all of COVID, I'm just waiting for them to open again.
Pros: EXCELLENT FOOD / fresh, AMAZING VALUE, MONEY GOES TO HELPING THE COMMUNITY
Cons: NOTHING
LloydXie
This. Soul food that makes you weep tears of pure love for life itself :)
Read moreI moved to the Bay Area last year, and I visit Govinda every time I travel down to LA.
Guest
laurenashleigh
Points +60
Great food, great people! - Edit
The buffet was filled with yummy veg food, plenty of options for vegans. Very reasonably priced for all you can eat or take home box. The devotees are very nice!
Read moreGuest
MatthewVBogusz
Points +774
can't beat the buffet deal - Edit
what a spectacular restaurant. all you can eat buffet. I try to come here as much as I can to eat their offererings
Read moreGuest
JamesMantraSchultz
Points +18
Great Food - Edit
Ate here for the first time the other day. Terrific food (prasadam) and very welcoming staff.
Read moreGuest
Hungwy
Points +265
all heart - Edit
Simple fare. Relaxed atmosphere. And all heart.
Read moreGuest
Chia
Points +3631
Inexpensive and Plentiful - Edit
Govinda's is a popular lunch place amongst temple goers, devotees, local vegheads, and vegetarians who happen to be in the Culver City / Palms area. I've eaten here a few times, was just here June 2013. Here's my review update.
Read moreIf offers a good size buffet spread that features both cold salads and hot foods, and the food is refilled regularly. Guests could choose to pay for all-you-can-eat (presently $8.50), or pay per pound ($4.50). Very cheap prices.
Baked samosas, cookies, and cake slices (some vegan) are also available for purchase separately by the register.
Upstairs is a Indian things gift shop. I bought some shirts for my daughter, not cheap but pretty.
Pros: friendly, outside seating, simple
Guest
jollypig
Points +3086
I could live in this restaurant - Edit
Wow, this was awesome. The best salad bar I have ever seen. So much stuff, so much variety, never saw anything empty. Incredibly cheap. Go.
Read morePros: Salad Bar, Cheap
Guest
Zinnia N
Points +90
Good in a pinch - Edit
It's sort of like the cheap, vegetarian version of Souplantation. It's very convenient because all of the vegan options are clearly marked. The salad bar is good, but they don't have any nice, juicy beets, sadly. Sometimes the hot food here can be good. However, it can definitely vary since the selection is rather limited. If you don't like the vegan special of the day, that is just too bad. Personally, I tend to not be crazy about the curries because they seem to use tomatoes heavily, and I am not a big fan of tomatoes. They do always serve brown rice, though, and the vegan dal is reliable. Also, refills are allowed and the prices are very cheap.
Read morePros: good food, cheap, cool shop upstairs
Cons: disposable plates, not all vegan
Guest
VeggiePinkoKat
Points +142
holy cow this place is good - Edit
Govinda's is one of my fave places to go for a cheap veggie lunch. Visit their website for the daily menu. Go when they have the dill pasta--carb overload heaven. All of their halvas rock, especially the blueberry. Cakes and cookies are delish. The salad bar is super fresh with wonderful dressing choices. Their Sunday prasadam meal is always to die for. Hopefully one day they will ditch the dairy and go all vegan.
Read morePros: Good value, friendly staff, great desserts
Cons: Tough to park
Guest
procrastinasian
Points +273
Good value! - Edit
This is a great salad bar. Some days are much better than others, but I've had a lot of good meals there. The entree choices are a little more limited for vegans, depending what the daily selection is. My favorite is their vegan pesto pasta. What's great is that they mark vegan dishes clearly with a V, and there's always a delicious vegan dal with brown rice. The ambiance isn't anything to write home about, but I definitely recommend checking it out. Their vegan cakes are great, too! There are also some nice things in their store upstairs.
Read morePros: Value, Tasty, Healthful
Cons: Cafeteria atmosphere, Wish they had more vegan options, If lot is full, parking can be tricky
Guest
ShantiDass
Points +24
Excellent food - Edit
I love this place. They mark on a board above the food which things are vegan. At dinner they serve an entree that has a vegan option. Just ask for it and they will bring it out of the warmer. It's usually something like enchildas. They have great vegan deserts and the salad bar is great. On Sunday and all of their holidays, all food is made with ghee so nothing is vegan.
Read morePros: great prices, tasty food, vegan choices clearly marked
Cons: parking can be a bummer sometimes
Guest
celestialstar2004
Points +107
Great - Edit
I eat at Govinda's every chance I am in the Los Angeles area. The food is always good. After eating, visit the store upstairs.
Read moreGuest
heatherveganmom
Points +55
good food, great price - Edit
the food here is good. it is a bit hard to get info on what is vegan sometimes though. it depends on who is working. have to carry your own food so a bit difficult with kids. great price though and great store upstairs.
Read morePros: good food, great price
Cons: have to carry own food
Guest
maliciouskami
Points +188
An awesome find! - Edit
We had no idea we were stepping into a temple when we came here for lunch. What an awesome suprise. We got the all you can eat lunch buffet for $7 a piece. They also sell organic drinks. We picked up some gingerales. There is a great salad bar and hot item bar. There were at least 2 cold salads that were vegan (including potato salad) and I think all the dressings were vegan and certainly homemade. They had brown rice and 2 main dishes that were vegan. So, about 50% of the buffet is vegan and worth the money. My boyfriend is Indian, and he attested that the dal was "perfect." Soothing religious music played in the background and each table is fitted with small books on prayer and Hindu teachings to peruse as you eat. It was really neat.
Read moreAfter eating, we wandered upstairs to their store. Be wary. On impulse, we bought a ring, which corroded and bent within a day! Supposedly the stone is real, if that's any consolation! Also, all of the clothing is outrageously priced (but that may be because my Indian sidekick constantly vocalizes his disgust at the markup of a $2 kurta in India to $40 in the US). Our best discovery was the large art prints that ran from $5-12. Great deal. They also sold some postcards and stickers that were within reason.
There was also a museum, but we were out of time on the meter outside, so we had to move on. It was about $3 entry, so I'm sure it was worth it.
A great dining experience overall!
Pros: Half vegan and homemade, Had other things to do after eating, Near other attractions
Cons: Parking meter runs only for an hour, Buffet wasn't as vegan as it could be, Store is buyer beware
Guest
The Veggie Cook
Points +1201
Easy and No Frills - Edit
The set up is pretty simple at Govinda's - like cafeteria style. You get in line, help yourself to the salad bar and hot foods bar, and you pay for what you get by weight, or by all-you-can-eat.
Read moreThe dishes are often similiar, usually consisting of greens and salads and maybe 4 hot lacto-veg dishes. Sometimes there is pizza.
Seating is outside in the patio. Very casual, inexpensive, and no frills.
Guest
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