Although they're The VoV Coffee Lounge, there actually isn't a special menu for coffee. Rather, their main focus happens to be burgers. They've got a range of burgers, sandwiches and the like and they also happen to serve lunch. We stuck to the burgers.
Note: The reason for the lack of coffee based beverages in this place is because they're still very new and figuring out the whole barista thing. We were told that they'll be introducing all manner of coffee related items in the near future.
The Food
The place used to be The Vegan Kitchen, but is now run by Shash and his friends. They source their own ingredients both locally and internationally and stick to a strict, 100% vegan ethic.
The 'Degeneres' (Rs. 400) is a mock-fish burger that comes with a side of hand cut fries and a small dish of sauce.
The burger itself is stacked with three 'fish' steaks, tomatoes, onions, lettuce and slices of avocado. It tasted so strongly of fish that Kavindu (vegetarian) got confused for a second and actually felt uncomfortable eating it.
Upon further tasting, the fishy essence subsides a bit and you can actually taste a distinct soy flavour, so rest assured there's nothing fishy (heh) about this burger.
On the day we visited, they had a special meal offer for The Dinklage burger (Rs. 599) where you get the burger + fries, dessert and a drink.
The burger comes with a hefty, 'meaty' patty that's supposed to be a substitute for chicken. They told us that the patty is made from pure wheat gluten which they make themselves. Shash also told us that since acquiring gluten flour here is a bit difficult, so he spends a few painstaking hours making gluten from scratch using normal wheat flour.
The patty itself didn't give off a strong meat taste and we couldn't quite distinguish if it was supposed to be chicken or beef. This didn't matter because it was still delicious. It's nice and grilled and comes coated in a delicious barbecue sauce, and the usual onions, tomatoes and lettuce.
We also found the play on their dish names (Dinklage, Degeneres etc) to be a hilarious quirk because coincidentally they all happen to be famous vegan celebrities.
The drink we got was a full glass of iced tea that retails for Rs. 100 (but is free with the meal). As opposed to horrific, syrupy synthetic concoctions that most cafes dish up, this is actual, strong tea with real lemon slices infused into it.
We know this because although it isn't visible in the picture, there was a fat slice of lemon chilling at the bottom.
Dessert
- They've got a Nescafe machine that dispenses coffee that Shash improvises with his own recipe. He brings down the Nescafe instant mix from Canada which has a slightly different flavour as opposed to our local stuff, and uses soymilk because it's dairy free (obviously). It didn't blow us away, but it wasn't bad either. It's just Nescafe.
- For our dessert, we opted for a Chocolate Muffin. The muffin was a light, soft, crumbly thing with a small goop of molten chocolate in the middle. It was really good, very homemade and we liked it.
- They also offered two homemade chocolates on the house. Each chocolate goes for Rs. 50 and these are also 100% vegan. They tasted almost exactly like Lindt dark chocolate and we find it cool how they managed to replicate the same thing on their own.
Service & Ambience
Everyone who works here does so voluntarily. They're all devoted to a good cause and spend their free time helping out at the café. The staff are friendly and very engaging so don't hesitate to strike up a convo if you're bored.
The place is pretty small, with ample seating for about 10 people. The furniture is pretty simple and they've kept their decor to a minimum with a few pictures of animals (of course) all over the walls.
Conclusion
I'd actually skip the ridiculous meal prices at a fast food place here and opt for VoV's burgers instead. The portion sizes are huge and filling. Plus, according to common knowledge, vegan food is hella expensive but VoV's prices are fair.
