Restaurant Treasures and Reviews by Members

The opinions stated here are only those of the reviewers, and are not necessarily endorsed by the Tampa Bay Vegetarians.

Have you enjoyed a good vegan or vegetarian dinner at a local restaurant lately? Send us your review (via the contacts page) and tell the world about it.

Villa Roma, in Holiday, FL

The Villa Roma at 1818 U.S. Highway 19 North in Holiday, Florida, is a very reasonable, vegetarian-friendly casual Italian restaurant. We had angel hair pasta with marinara sauce, which was very tasty. It came with a fresh salad and garlic bread, all for a total of $4.95 - dinner prices! For dessert, we split a large piece of delicious chocolate cake, which cost $2.75. This is not a gourmet restaurant, but the food is good, and the servers are very accommodating.

Sharon and Steve Dante

Bawarchi

I just wanted the TBV Club to learn about the Bawarchi, an Indian restaurant in the Fountains Plaza at 34832 U.S. 19 in Palm Harbor - 789-9672. Carl and I and our kids went their last Tuesday for a Vegetarian buffet for $7.99 including dessert. It was excellent, and we highly recommend it for a future dinner. Joan Knobelsdorf

India Garden

India Garden Restaurant, at 2950 Gulf to Bay, between Days Inn and Safar Inn, opened November 1. Paul and Mary Wilson review it here. Sadly, this restaurant has since closed.

The first thing that struck us was the smells coming from the restaurant. Unbelievable! We knew we were in for something special.

Inside was beautiful with large murals of Indian life that were well painted. They get an A plus for ambiance. Lighting was perfect, not being dark or too bright, but just right. Indian music was playing in the background, helping to authenticate the mood.

There were three main buffet tables with many delicious choices. There were eight items on the separate vegetarian buffet table. Only one, called Vegetables Bhaji, was not vegan. A large salad table held many vegetarian choices. Two out of three buffet tables were vegetarian! In talking with the owners we found out they are going to rotate 100 Indian dishes through the buffet tables each week.

We had two types of Naan bread, one a flat dry Naan and the other a soft bread that was warm and moist and brought to the table special.

The dessert buffet had 11 items; most were not vegan because of milk products.

We visited on opening night, but it ran as smoothly as any place I had ever been.

Best thing was the prices. $12.99 supper buffet, 6.99 lunch buffet, and Sunday Brunch is 14.99 because it is much larger. Beverages all cost extra.

Tampa Bay does not have a full vegetarian restaurant, but this is very close. The menu is so large and vegetarian dishes are always separated from the meat dishes. Best of all was the flavor. I have eaten at many Indian restaurants, and this is the most authentic taste I have found in our area.

Organic Produce

Hi Everyone: I was given some info about this service you might want to check it out. Shipping is free in Florida. www.absolutelyorganic.net. They deliver organic produce I think at lower prices than the stores. Carol Cannon

We hope to see you soon!

(information as of 05/02/08)