Restaurants

By the early 1980s, members of the Hare Krsna movement had opened restaurants in places such as Paris, London, Bombay, Melbourne, Sydney, New York, San Francisco, San Diego, Toronto, Montreal, and at Prabhupada's Palace of Gold in West Virginia. Each restaurant had built up a steady, satisfied clientele, and restaurant reviewers had given unqualified praise in leading magazines and newspapers. Liz Logan of the Dallas News says of the movement's Dallas restaurant: "Pleasant surprises are so much nicer than the other kind. And Kalachandji's is a pleasant-no, make that wonderful-surprise. Located in far East Dallas, the Hare Krsna-operated restaurant serves a $5.50 price per Vedic dinner five nights a week. (Vedic cuisine translates to vegetarian, Indian fare.) For the price and the food, this may be the best bargain in town.... As if this generally astonishing food were not enough, Kalachandji's setting also astonishes. The indoor seating is pleasant enough, but the outdoor courtyard is the real attraction."

Of Govinda's Natural Foods Restaurant in Los Angeles, a reviewer for Los Angeles magazine said, "They cook very well and have an enthusiastic following of customers." Marveling at the stunning decor of the restaurant at the Hare Krsna movement's Detroit cultural center, originally built by Cadillac founder Lawrence P. ("Body by") Fisher, People magazine said, "Tourists dine at Govinda's, a gourmet vegetarian restaurant whose opulent marble-and-onyx decor makes Manhattan's legendary Russian Tea Room look like an interstate truck stop." The food served there lives up to the surroundings. The devotee cooks in the restaurants of the Hare Krsna movement follow the Vedic tradition of preparing an endless variety of exotic dishes fit for kings and queens.

Suzanne Moore of Diet Times wrote, "A feast of food, a feast of culture, and a feast of happiness. They lovingly prepare and serve an amazing array of Indian vegetarian dishes. And what a spread-it makes the Taj Mahal look plain."

Although all ISKCON restaurants strive to offer their clientele a sublime atmosphere for dining, their main business is to provide high quality, healthful, delicious prasadam at a cost everyone can afford. The Cleveland city council passed this resolution in praise of the Hare Krsna movement's restaurant there: "Whereas Govinda's is a benefit for the poor, for the elderly, men and women, black and white; and whereas Govinda's presence is greatly appreciated by the masses of this community... this council wishes to express its most heartfelt appreciation for the selfless effort of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness for their many services to the community."