Indian Vegan Cafe - Irvine

This place is not fully vegan! They only offer a limited selection of vegan options, and it's not even named “Indian Vegan Café”; the actual name is “Southern Spice.” We had to call to find out their location, and they mentioned they are “inside Southern Spice.” However, when we went in, we realized it's essentially the same business, which is not entirely vegan and only accepts online orders. Overall, it felt quite sketchy and scam-like.

I order from them almost every weekend. Their tofu curries and parotta are fantastic. I definitely recommend them!

I placed an order through Grubhub and provided all my information, including my card details, over the phone after they assured me that my information would be safe with them. They informed me that I couldn’t pay in person. Despite several red flags, I ignored them because I was really hungry. However, I couldn’t find the restaurant at all. I frequently called the restaurant's phone number for more information, but I was put on hold for a very long time with no results. Each time I called, I spoke to a different person who had no clue where the restaurant was located. During my last call, the person I spoke to interrupted me mid-question and put me on hold again. It became clear to me that something was off. I eventually had to contact Grubhub customer service to request a refund, but they were unable to reach the restaurant either.

Update: we gave this place another attempt and the tofu tikka masala and aloo gobi are very good! so are the samosas and kulcha. I'd just stay away from the corma because it's weird. but everything else was really good! the veg corma was white like cocos milk. they forgot to add the spiced ones that I appreciate what is really strange. I will say the samosa and the brote we got were good, but our main meal that was the corma I couldn't eat, just like cocos milk cost. we also have a potato and flower cabbage bowl that was good. updated by the previous review on 2021-03-19

I ordered pickup after receiving a warning about a GrubHub order, and it seemed to take longer than the non-vegan orders. It wasn’t completely ready when the app said it would be. It's not really a ghost kitchen; it’s essentially Southern Spice’s vegan menu under a different name for ordering. In summary, I highly recommend this place, especially if you’re craving creamy (and vegan!) Indian curries! This review was updated from a previous rating on June 8, 2023.