June, 1999

Ayurveda Cafe
706 Amsterdam Avenue (at 94th Street)
Tel.: (212) 932-2400
11:30am-11:30pm daily
Prix-fixe lunch ($5.95) and dinner ($9.95)
All credit cards
Two small steps at entrance

It used to be that apart from stumbling upon Ozu—the Japanese macrobiotic restaurant at 86th Street—a diner in search of a vegetarian meal would be pushed to find a restaurant to eat in on the 20 blocks above Amsterdam and 80th. Now, however, there’s a new point of light in this once dreary but now rapidly brightening section of the Upper West Side. The place is Ayurveda Cafe and, although it’s only a few months old, this vegetarian Indian restaurant already has a diverse and loyal clientele who appreciate its simplicity, affordability and message. Co-owner, Tirlok Malik, is an Indian filmmaker who wanted to create a place where healthy food met spiritual wellbeing in a welcoming setting. By and large, I would say he’s succeeded.

Ayurveda (which is a Sanskrit word meaning "knowledge of life") is a 5,000-year old ancient Indian system of health and healing that’s become very popular recently through the popular writings of, among others, Deepak Chopra and Vasant Lad. The science stipulates a vegetarian diet with no eggs (dairy and honey is allowed and are, vegans beware, used liberally) and has to incorporate six tastes: sweet, sour, salty, astringent, bitter and pungent. The aim is to achieve balance for your body type—whether that’s tall and skinny, short and fat, medium build and fiery, or an elaborate combination of the three.

One of the pleasures of Ayuveda Cafe is its simplicity. The lunch and dinner menus are both set for the day (they are different from each other). (For vegans, all entrées are cooked with vegetable oils, one need only steer clear of the raita.) There are two entrées (which can be okra- or lentil-based), a salad, chutneys, and rice (brown or basmati), raita (a yogurt), and nan bread. This is usually more than enough to eat, but if you need something more (and sweet) the desserts—including payasam and a sweet melon concoction—are delicious. You can also drink Indian spiced tea ($1.95), mango lassi ($2.50), and/or regular and decaffeinated coffee ($1.50).

While the furniture is fairly nondescript, the restaurant’s overall atmosphere is made soothing through the orange-and-cream pastel walls and a blue-and-white cloud ceiling. There is the burble of a watercourse and gentle fusion Indo-pop music in the background. The service is excellent and the staff attentive without being intrusive. While the men’s bathroom could have done with a lick of paint, it was at least functional and clean.

One nice touch is that in the afternoon from 4pm to 5:30pm, Ayurveda Cafe serves—for a buck—tea and conversation (how very civilized!). Thus, while you sip, you can have listen to others read poetry or share thoughts, and do the same yourself. While I haven’t attended these salon gatherings, I’m sure that every now and then a bubble of life’s knowledge rises to the surface—and what better place for it to do so than Ayurveda Cafe.

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