194 William St
Perth Western Australia 6000
(08) 9227 1684
http://www.iskconperth.com
Hours:
Mon-Fri 11:30 - 14:30
Mon-Fri 16:00 - 19:00
I hadn't been to Govinda's for about three years or so, before the general overhaul of that part of the street and the restaurant moving a few doors down from its primitive location on William. I had very fond memories of Govindas, so I was looking forward to returning to the place, to enjoy their food and hospitality.
The food hasn't changed much, except for the pricing, but it is still very cheap and very tasty. Indian people say it is real Indian, so Amen! It is certainly not refined Indian vegetarian but still very good. You can have an all-you-can-eat buffet for 10 bucks, or 8 if you have any concession card. The menu consists of a dish with rice, a side (curry or bean dish), salad and one piece of pappadam, plus a mini-bowl of dahl (so good!) and a mini-bowl of their famous custard & halva dessert (yummy, but very sweet). They have yummy samosas, pakoras and other Indian dumplings (always my fav) for which you pay an extra, between 3-1$. If you are hungrier, you can bring your plate back for refilling. You can also buy your food out of a meal.
I am a bit disappointed with the refurbishment. The place looks now bigger, cleaner, wider and also as any other average eatery. Something is missing - that indescribable charm that the former place had, part of it because of the cosy layout and angled counter that created a contained space that was much warmer and more welcoming.
The joy of the place has somewhat gone, too, and the service is more matter of fact, go down to business, so to speak, than anything else. There was a joy in the people serving the food at Govindas in the past. They were really welcoming and hospitable, and you felt that they were there more than serving food. I don't know if anybody who has been going there for a few years has the same feeling. I didn't feel the same while eating at Govinda's this time. I felt more like having food at a cheap quiet eatery than anything else, despite Brahmanic texts, Krishna bibliography and other religious things being on display for sale.
Despite everything, Govinda's is still a local institution on William St and in Perth, a quiet place to eat, a place with cheap good vegetarian food that serves a good cause. You will leave happy with you belly full and a smile of satisfaction written all over your face.
TIP
Budget take-away from 04:00 to 7:00PM
120 Beaufort St
Perth Western Australia 6000
(08) 9228 2435
Website
Facebook
Hours:
Mon-Sun 8:30 - 21:00
Upon entering PAWS, you will get a feeling of entering a comfy backpacker hostel's lounge that is also a bit chaotic, as the shop, eating, serving and cash out areas are all mixed without any sort of harmonious spatial amalgamation - harmonious in its dysfunction, perhaps.
The seating area is very luminous, colourful and comfy, with a few nice ethnic details, office-like furniture, and wonderful world music. It would be great having some sort separation from the other areas by, for example, using cute ethnic screens/curtains so eaters have more intimacy and enjoy their meal without asking themselves "Where am I?".
THE FOOD - The selection of dishes is small, with six varieties of hot dishes and six cold ones, and a cake corner, but everything I tried (two salads and two hot dishes) tasted very good. This is unsophisticated cooking, more home-made vegan cooking than anything else, but the food was very tasty, and had an interesting mix of flavours and textures. I liked it a lot!
THE COFFEE - The coffee tastes a bit like mocha and is bland in general. A Lavazza machine with coffee pods produces great coffee and would not be out of place in PAWS. :O
THE PRICING - The pricing is fantastic. You can have a decent big vegan dish, mixing salads and hot dishes, for 12 dollars. Besides, you know the money serves a good cause and that what you eat is fresh. Not enough for you? Students get a 10% discount and takeaway is just 5 bucks!
THE SERVICE - Regarding the service, the lady behind the food counter was super-friendly, you go girl!, so much so that instead of charging me for two small dishes, charged me for just a big one, even though two small dishes are bigger than a big one. Lucky me! It was very cool. The cashier lady was completely plugged into her cashing machine and Ipod, and was a bit detached from the world.
TIP
Servings are a bit small, so go for the large dish. I had two small dishes and I left feeling that there was plenty of room for more.
Meow!
UPDATE 24/8/2012
I returned to Paws for lunch today, after Laura's photo showing a meal of humongous proportions. Humongous meals that taste good are my type of meal, you know. Last time I was there, my meal were very good but a bit small in size, and I had to have two small dishes to leave full. Today, I have ordered the big dish, which allow you to have three of the hot curries and three of the salads, plus the rice, for 12 dollars. The serving was indeed humongous. Most importantly everything was tasty and even yummy. The zucchini salad, and the parsley and parsnip one salad were terrific. The curries were also very tasty, and consistent in texture, not fluffy stuff.
I was really tempted by one of the sweets, a sort of vegan tiramisu made with custard, vegan jelly and carrot, and it was yummy and looked so very pretty.
Their coffee is still the same, not bad, but a bit weak for me.
The service is still very good, and the lady behind the kitchen counter a pleasure to deal with.
The place really is very quiet and will suit people who like quiet lunches, surrounded by people who also love quiet lunches in a luminous place. There was this grandma with her grandchild both sleeping on the sofa, as per the photo, and I thought that it was such a great sweet moment, in a restaurant, that I had to take a photo. Only at Paws.
I will be back.
