Bodhi Greens - Where Food is Medicine by Chef Varun — Restaurant in Himachal Pradesh

Let me start by sharing that the food was absolutely amazing, the Thai curry was the best one I'd had in over 5 years when I used to live in Vancouver which is known for its south East Asian influence.

Around 20-25 minutes after I ordered, and before my order had arrived,I was asked to move tables as apparently the table had been "reserved" for Chef Varun and his retreat guests. Now I do not understand why that waitress did not tell me this before I got seated, or why Chef Varun's retreat guests should be given preference over other paying customers in the first place. But hey, things happen and I'd have switched seats without any issues had there been another empty seats present. Instead , I was asked to: Switch seats, Share seats with someone With no remorse, an apparent rudeness, and a sense of entitlement - after I'd ordered a 400 rupee dish, and it was raining like cats and dogs outside so there was no option of leaving. Thankfully, when Varun came he was understanding and I did not have to move tables.

Next, I'd ordered a hot cacao at the beginning of my meal, to be brought in a little later. When my meal was over and the waiter came to clear the dish, I asked for the cacao again. He said it's being prepared. 20 minutes and still no sign of it. I ask again, he says it's being prepared and we'll bring it shortly. Almost 30 minutes passed and there was no sign of it, and I decided to leave the place. While paying, I asked the waiter you didn't bring my order, and I could literally not believe the words that came out of his mouth - sir I didn't take that order. Are you freaking kidding me?! And when I said what, he smilingly said "sir wo kisi aur ko de diya"(translation:sir I gave it to someone else) This takes the cake, and if two different waiters and waitresses behave this way, that too in the presence of Varun, it is definitely a red flag.

It was an absolute harrowing experience, what with the apparent shoving off, the careless attitude of the waiters, with stool and farts being discussed on the next table by Varun and his retreat guests(which, I understand are an important part of gut health and thus the discussion, but the lack of sensitivity displayed by Varun to discuss these things while someone is having their food on the next table is appalling and speaks to me about the tone of the place and I'm sure that I'm not the only one on whom this was inflicted upon). The only good thing was the food and for that I'm giving it 2 stars, but chef Varun should understand that when people come to cafes like this, they don't come to just have good food, but also a good experience, and sadly even though the food was good - I will not be returning or recommending this...

I decided to give Bodhi Greens a try, not knowing it was a vegan restaurant. But I wasn’t disappointed, I enjoy trying new foods. I ordered the Sabich, a wrap with tofu filling, and pancakes I had been craving for a while. The flavors were unique to my taste buds, but overall, I can say the food was enjoyable. However, I must warn you about the service.

The food took so long to arrive that by the time I finished my first dish—the wrap—there was still no sign of the pancakes. I had other plans for the day, and the delay clearly messed up my schedule. What frustrated me even more was that there was no communication from the staff. After finishing our first meal and waiting for 20-25 minutes later we asked if the pancakes were forgotten, and they assured us it was coming, but I could see it wasn’t. After another 15 minutes, we checked again, and this time the person went to check and never came back. Eventually, the pancakes arrived without any cutlery, so we had to ask for that too.

When we finished and were paying the bill, I asked about the delay. They casually mentioned they were short of flour. I left knowing I wouldn’t be coming back. It’s understandable if there was an issue with ingredients, but why not communicate that to the customers? Do you think we have all the time in the world to sit and wait?

What made it even worse was seeing staff on another table, introducing staple daal to some important guests, explaining local ingredients and the culture, while we were being ignored. I don’t understand how this café runs with such casual service from both the staff and owners. As a food blogger, I’ve visited nearly every café around, and most, whether new or established, big or small, at least get the service right. Bodhi Greens needs to understand the impression it’s leaving on customers if they...

My friend and I ate here twice. I want to be very clear that the food was good and clean, and they also have a wonderful mission to provide healthy homemade, organic, and macrobiotic food to benefit the mind and gut. And the people that work here are nice folks and somewhat courteous.

The first time, I ordered the pad Thai and it was pretty good. It was not an amazing flavor, but it was a large portion, beautifully plated with fixings, healthy and nourishing.

The second time (today) my friend found a rock in her food. A ROCK. Luckily she didn’t break a tooth. I ordered soba noodles. While I appreciate the generous array of vegetables and the soba being 100% buckwheat, the broth did not taste at all like Japanese soba. But again, it was still pretty good. I ordered some add-ons (side dishes) to accompany my meal, and was warned that the kitchen was short staffed. But really, the side dishes were things that were already made, and they didn’t come out until we were all finished eating, my friend had received her additional to-go order that she was taking home for dinner later, and we were paying the bill. Additionally, one of the side dishes wasn’t what I asked for. However the most annoying thing is that I still had to pay for them. Staff was nice to box these items up for me, but since one of them wasn’t gluten free as I ordered, and after the rock in my friend’s food, I decided it was not worth...