Om Vegetarian, Melbourne CBD by Snooze

I’m lucky enough to work with a great bunch of guys and on the recommendation of one team member we set off for a team lunch at the all you can eat Om Vegetarian on Elizabeth Street.



Om Vegetarian offers a set menu for $6.50 of two curries (one lentil based and the other vegetable), pilao rice, butter naan and a side order of pickles, and ours came with a very small serve of carrot and sunflower seed halava for afters.


The pilao rice was Basmati rice cooked with peas, saffron and cumin. For me, it was so so and I found it bland and didn’t really eat much of it.

The stand out of the meal for me was the butter naan. It was hot and crisp with a sheen of oil and was perfect for sopping up the curries.

I didn’t much care for the eggplant/potato curry. The potato was soft in a pre-heated sort of way, which leaves potato inedible for me. But I really enjoyed the lentil curry. It was described as a chickpea curry but the lentil looked far more like yellow split peas. Either way, it was spicy without being over overpowering or too hot and if I hadn’t been overfull from eating two large pieces of naan I would have gone back for more.

I can’t say I tried the pickles. They were described as really salty which makes me glad I didn’t as over salted food is something I prefer to stay away from.

I was also happy with the halava, and having it with sunflower seeds was a new and welcome difference. It was beautifully dense without being stodgy and my only complaint is I would have preferred a bowlful dripping with custard. (And you can get a bowlful as dessert if you pay extra).

Overall
All you can eat tends to be serve yourself, which generally turns out to be wasteful. Om Vegetarian manages this well by bringing out the food on metal thali plates, and topping up as you require. I think everybody on our table opted for extra naan, and we left satisfied after our meal. Om Vegetarian touts itself on its website as believing in “serving our customers with delightful Indian cuisine cooked with love and affection by our experienced Chefs”. What we received was a filling meal served in a clean and bright room, and I’m putting it on my list of places to revisit.

Verdict
Food – 5
Service – 7
Ambience – 7
Price – 8

Address
Level 1, 28 Elizabeth Street
MELBOURNE VIC 3000
Tel: (03) 9663 0062