My husband and I were in the city the other day and he took me to Om Vegetarian, an inconspicuous eatery tucked away on the first floor above Gurkhas Institute on Elizabeth St. It was recommended by one of his friends as being value-for-money and big on taste. And after having a meal there, I am a convert. It was a simple, home-cooked style Indian meal and the naan bread was to-die-for.
The place is not a tiny hole-in-the-wall type eatery but it’s not huge either. Just enough space to sit comfortably. And there are some nice views of the beautiful Melbourne architecture if you sit next to the windows.
We ordered two thali meals and a drink each. The cost was a measly $17, including drinks with unlimited servings of food. (It is $6.50 for a thali meal+drinks). Crossways on Swanston is similar in concept and their prices include drinks but I have to admit that Om’s meal was far better in taste than Crossways and more closer in appearance and taste to traditional home-cooked Indian meal although still not perfect. Trust me, having an Indian ethnic background, I am extremely familiar with the cuisine and cook it on a regular basis at home and so can vouch for it. However, Crossways serves dessert as well whereas I didn’t see any dessert here.
The menu changes everyday based on what’s in season. So we had naan, rice, aloo saag (potato and spinach) and sambhar (yellow lentils cooked with veggies-although couldn’t really see any veggies in there). Hubby had mango lassi and I had a Diet Coke. I just couldn’t get enough of the fluffy, soft, beautiful naan. Although had to queue at the bain-marie for additional serves of subzi and sambhar, the friendly waitress came with the naans to serve us. All in all, a pleasant experience and I would definitely return to this place just to sample what other new vegetarian meal combos they have and would definitely click some photos as well.
Note: Payment is cash only.
Rating: 3.5/5
The place is not a tiny hole-in-the-wall type eatery but it’s not huge either. Just enough space to sit comfortably. And there are some nice views of the beautiful Melbourne architecture if you sit next to the windows.
We ordered two thali meals and a drink each. The cost was a measly $17, including drinks with unlimited servings of food. (It is $6.50 for a thali meal+drinks). Crossways on Swanston is similar in concept and their prices include drinks but I have to admit that Om’s meal was far better in taste than Crossways and more closer in appearance and taste to traditional home-cooked Indian meal although still not perfect. Trust me, having an Indian ethnic background, I am extremely familiar with the cuisine and cook it on a regular basis at home and so can vouch for it. However, Crossways serves dessert as well whereas I didn’t see any dessert here.
The menu changes everyday based on what’s in season. So we had naan, rice, aloo saag (potato and spinach) and sambhar (yellow lentils cooked with veggies-although couldn’t really see any veggies in there). Hubby had mango lassi and I had a Diet Coke. I just couldn’t get enough of the fluffy, soft, beautiful naan. Although had to queue at the bain-marie for additional serves of subzi and sambhar, the friendly waitress came with the naans to serve us. All in all, a pleasant experience and I would definitely return to this place just to sample what other new vegetarian meal combos they have and would definitely click some photos as well.
Note: Payment is cash only.
Rating: 3.5/5
