We were there for the weekend evening Buffet recently. We went in just after 08:00 pm . I have been waiting to eat in a Indian Vegetarian/Vegan buffet for a long time. We were asked to sit down. When we started with the appetizers, we realized that the food was almost over and she was not going to replenish any of the food that evening. We ate what we could from the left overs and paid the full price for the food. It could be a great experience and lot more people will love this food if the Owner decides to keep the serving pots full so that customers can help themselves. Or else, Owner should inform customers that the food is OVER and we could have joined another day. It is all about the experience :( now a days. I will give them another TRY and I sincerely hope they improve. read more

Hands down most vegan friendly Indian joint in the city of Chicago. A few of the the dishes use dairy but most do not. The restaurant is 100% egg free. The owner, Kirti, is incredibly kind, takes pride in being a vegan friendly business and is always available for questions. Try it! read more

Devon has a lot of restaurants that appear similar when you look at their offerings. Arya Bhavan is a class above the rest, especially for vegetarians. The Saturday buffet has everything you could want! The owner is incredibly talented and is invested in serving the best culinary experience. I've had the mango and strawberry desserts and for those alone you have to eat here! The textures she achieves with coconut and whatever magic she's using is transcendent. read more

Food is absolutely delicious, flavorful, and fresh! The owners are very friendly, and I had a great overall experience. I highly recommend this place, and will definitely be back. read more

Food is absolutely delicious and the owner is very nice. One of the best places you'll find on Devon, especially if you're vegetarian or vegan. They also now offer cooking classes, which is a lot of fun and a great way to learn about new spices, cooking techniques, etc. read more

Great food with a lot of flavor and specifically very "light . As after typical Indian buffet I feel quite full for 6-8 hours, I ate a lot but was not overfill and was able to eat again later:) Nice selection of dishes I never had before and nice spice level. Recommended! read more

Pros: Food is excellent consistently Food is vegan They serve real Indian food, not americanized garbage. The Dosa is outstanding Cons: Service was a bit slow when I went A bit pricy. To the person complaining about the delivery drivers saying their address was too far: delivery drivers survive on tips; they aren't well paid. Chances are that they figured an average tip amount wasn't going to make the trip economically viable. These guys have families to feed, they don't exist to serve you, so don't take it personally. The restaurant is great, and refusing to visit because you couldn't get delivery is petulant and childish. read more

THE BUFFET!!!!! Oh my. Magical samosas with every sauce and chutney you could dream up (our vote goes to the tomato chutney), the most wonderfully spiced, slightly sweet pea and eggplant dishes, fresh kale salad and watermelon, to give you a break from the heat, delicious cabbage, so many perfect, saucy dishes to choose from...mmmh, there was so much, I couldn't even get seconds (my second plate was firsts from the other half of the huge buffet). I guess we'll just have to come back soon. All kinds of whole-grain, gluten-free, vegan options (more like 'almost everything is vegan anyway' - our server pointed out the two things that WEREN'T vegan). I've been to several buffets within a block from here and I usually leave feeling rather nauseous (and annoyed about the sizzling chicken placed in front of me during buffet time, when I'd rather eat vegetarian at an Indian restaurant), but here I came out feeling healthy and energized. This place keeps getting better, and I'm definitely going back more often. read more

This is a review for the weekend dinner buffet - I love being able to sample different dishes, but most restaurants only have buffets at lunch. Arya Bhavan has their buffet on the weekend, including dinner. And this was a huge buffet - I think I counted at least a dozen dishes, plus salads and a really extensive condiment bar with multiple chutneys and even bhel. The food was excellent, and there were several dishes that deserve 5 stars - samosas, sambar, dal tadka, all with perfectly balanced spices. And I loved the carrot halwa - especially since it was made with soymilk, so it wasn't as heavy as traditional milk based Indian desserts. The naan was delicious too. The emphasis of this restaurant is "healthy eating", so it was a treat to have naan that was just bread, not brushed with ghee, and that all the dishes focused on the vegetables, instead of swimming in an oily gravy. So why only 3 stars? As good as the food tasted, the buffet wasn't well set up. Plates stacked between the condiments and the main dishes, so you have to go backwards in the line, you have to carry your silverware back to the table, and the sambar was in between other dishes, so once you realize it's there, you have to go back to the beginning to get a (tiny) bowl. And much of the food was cold, which was such a shame, since it was such good food. Maybe it's because the buffet is right in front of the door, maybe it's because most of the dishes seemed to be warmed by heat lamps instead of by a steam table (which also made it hard to serve yourself), but most of the food wasn't even warm, much less hot. So next time I'll order off the menu, hopefully that food will get to the table at the right temperature. read more

I wish I could give 3-1/2 stars; I'm teetering between a 3 and a 4... Arya Bhavan has good, solid food, and I eat it often, since it's one of the few Indian places available for delivery through GrubHub, however, if I had my choice of any Indian restaurant, I would probably not choose them. Overall, the portion sizes are good and the prices reasonable. The dishes are pretty flavorful, but they sometimes lack some depth of flavor and are never that spicy (even if you order them "extra spicy"). read more

I'll start with the positive. The food is really good probably some of the best Indian food we've tasted on devon. The negative The service is slooooooow, my gf and I have been here multiple times. Its gotten so bad that we would get up before our order is taken after waiting about 10 minutes or so. This has happened a few times. Then when you do order the food takes a long time to come out. Every time we have come here we are the only people there and the owner is busy talking on the phone. There is no reason that this place shouldn't get 5 stars. The service issues and delays in front of the house make the experience less than palatable. They need to fix these problems. read more

Absolutely delish!!! The flavors dance on your tongue, sweet, spicy, tangy, you won't miss the meat. And I love how the owner greets all the customers. Thank you for a fabulous experience!!! read more

We had a very disappointed experience yesterday. I was checking menu online and I was very excited to eat at restaurant. Very bad taste and bad smell was coming from samosa and sambhar. It seems like a stale food. I never go again. read more

Hands down the best Indian food on Devon. The owner, Kurti, is seriously one of the nicest people I've ever met and her love for what she does is evident in the delicious food. She always serving up new and inventive dishes and they're always great. At atmosphere is friendly and the service is always personalized. I've brought many of my friends her and they've always been recommended something they loved. The thing I like best is that you don't need to know Indian food to order. Just tell Kutri if you like it spicy, mild, sweet, or whatever and she'll prepare you something you'll love or direct you to the right food on the buffet. She'll explain how to eat it, what to dip it in, or what to pour on it. Oh yeah, the buffet is AMAZING. Most things on the buffet are vegan and they'll tell you what's not, so there's no guessing. You can order the buffet to go as well and you'll get hooked up. I also had Arya Bhavan cater an event for my union and they gave us a really good price and tons of food. This place is all around excellent. Friendly service, great tasting food. read more

12 Apr'14. Very tasty food is what brought me back the second time. But a third? Probably not. It's easy to make tasty food and Arya Bhavan does it well. The samosas are baked and everything sits well with me the next day where as most other Indian restaurants I've tried cheapen the ingredients e.g. use hydrogenated oils. This part of Devon Ave is filled with Indian restaurants, so to make it I suspect uniqueness is a must. But I doubt the claims of 'Organic, Vegan, Gluten Free & Raw'. A few organic items and about 10% of the items being not cooked IMO does not warrant the claim 'Raw'. Never the less, I would have looked the other way and not penned this review as I do enjoy this place above all other Indian restaurants, but it's now two weeks that the 'Free Wifi' is broken. So, what else is broken? The organic? The Gluten free? The raw? There is a market for quality food. A buffet for $12.99 for the quality of food it claims is low. Being truthful to its claims will bring in clients. This is a good start, but it can't have it both ways. read more

The food is fresh and tasty and the entire menu is low-fat or low-oil so it fits all diets! The owners are extremely friendly and welcoming. I would highly recommend Arya Bhavan to anyone who is looking for fresh and healthy Indian food. The samosas are among the best I've ever had! read more

One star is generous...Really, really bad Indian food. I understand that it's all Vegan, and that's really cool... but you can cook vegan and not lose all the flavor. Each of the sauces were like water, in fact the paneer makhani had absolutely ZERO flavor. I used so much salt just to make it somewhat tolerable. I would not recommend. read more

What a nice vegetarian dining experience. We strolled in from the blizzard last night to an empty restaurant. The owner was attentive from the start, turning the heat up for our arrival. We had a platter of appetizers including samosas, vegetable cutlets, and other pasty treats- all vegan. The naan was superb. We shared five different North Indian dishes with chickpeas, eggplant, spinach, potatoes and cheese. They have shakes (vanilla, mango and more) that balance the spicy entres perfectly (though the owner claims nothing is truly spicy as he tones it down for his American customers.) I would definitely come back for their lunch buffet so I could try the dosa and basically, everything else. The ambiance is pretty naan-existent. Certainly, the food makes a better impression! read more

Satisying vegetarian Indian fare. Some of the other Indian places along Devon tend to ignore the needs of vegetarians, and this place caters to those of us who want our food meatless. I especially enjoy their mattar paneer. The buffet is a really good value, but they lose points for small portions when ordering off the menu. The owner is very friendly and helpful, and likes to come chat if she has time. The staff is very good at explaining what is in each dish, which is a huge help for those who are new to Indian food. read more

Friendly Service, nice healthy option on Devon. The place was super clean. Everything seemed well prepared and fresh. read more

So glad they're still offering delivery and pick up. Food is just as delicious as ever. All vegan -all fresh -all good!

One of the better buffets. Definitely like the slant towards vegan stuff. Had a few things you don't typically see on buffets, as well as standards. There's some sort of shop for clothes and bangles in the back, not sure what's going on there. read more

I have been recommended by quite a few people to go to Arya Bhavan. I've found a lot of the selections to be very bland and not to my liking unfortunately. This is disappointing because the staff is very friendly and you can tell really put effort into their buffets and atmosphere. If you like Mysore Woodlands, you'll probably like Arya Bhavan. read more

I enjoyed the food very much, but the atmosphere and service were so disappointing that I'm going with three stars. We came in for Sunday night buffet and although there was only one other table, it took several minutes for the naan to arrive, and water and naan refills throughout the meal had to be requested. The owner was very friendly, as everyone has mentioned, but her waiter was just not on the ball. (She also mentioned having just got back from India the day before, so maybe she was too jetlagged to keep at him.) And then the atmosphere was forbidding--there was no music playing and like I said, just one other table of people, so it was like we were having a buffet meal at the library. Still, tasty food and some of my favorite dishes, and my vegetarian friends appreciated being able to eat everything offered. I'd probably come back for a weekend lunch buffet. read more

You know the type of meal that just leaves you happy? The one where the conversation is dominated by how great the food is? Where when you're finally done all you can do is sigh happily? That was Arya Bhavan. I have to say good things about the service, which is usually not something you spend much time on when you order a buffet. However, our waters were always full, our Kingfishers came out quick, and when we asked for menus because, as Indian food amateurs, my friend and I had no idea what to get, we were helped promptly. Now, the food. Well, the only major problem is that the buffet isn't the best labeled thing, so since we are, as mentioned, not the most familiar with Indian food my friend and I just started eating things and tried to use the online menu later to figure out what we had. The highlights of my meal: the chana masala, a chickpea, was delicious and is sopped up excellently with naan. Vada were crispy and delicious, and, as a spinach fan, I was very happy with the palak paneer. I also loved a dish that, though I cannot identify it, was similar to couscous or perhaps shredded wheat. Finally, desert was ex-ce-lent. Other than carrot cake, I don't think of carrots as desert food, but the carrot halwa rocked my tastebuds, as did the ras malai dumplings. I wish I had brought a bigger stomach. read more

The food here is delicious. What's noticeably different than most other Indian restaurants is a reserved use of oil and salt. The naan bread is light and flavorful while not dripping in oil. The dishes do not have an oily layer floating on top. And you can taste the intricate and exotic spices (which are used very well) instead of just salt. But the differences go beyond the oil and salt. The food here is authentically spiced. The seasoning tastes more like food I've had in desi auntie's homes over the years, not like it was just whipped together to serve at a restaurant. Here you're tasting food prepared by a meticulous owner who truly cares that her guests have a good experience and enjoy high quality food that is prepared well. There is no substitute for an owner who cares, and this one does. It's true what people say: the samosas here are delicious. If you're a fan of samosas, once you taste them here you'll probably crave them and it will bring you back. Recently the owner let met try a samosa made with a whole wheat shell and it was so good. Finally, if you're looking for true vegetarian or vegan Indian food, this is the place to go. It's truly vegan - that means no cream or ghee snuck in for flavor as happens so often when I order vegan at other Indian restaurants. Arya Bhavan's owner has been preparing vegan food for 15 years and she gets the lifestyle choice. Monday nights you can find a raw buffet. Truly a little gem of a place. read more

Have been here a couple of times for the buffet and loved it. This place is all vegetarian and the majority of items are vegan. Staff was very friendly and helpful in pointing out to me which items had dairy. The samosas here are the best I've ever tried! read more

A friend and I had the loveliest dinner at this vegetarian Indian restaurant in our beloved Rogers Park tonight. The owner chose an array of delectable savory offerings with rice and incredible Naan, which she followed up with some sort of delicious pudding-like dessert, the caloric content of which we chose not to investigate. On Mondays, she has a vegan raw buffet, which I fully intend to check out soon. Friendly, homey and delicious. read more

I went to Arya Bhavan for a raw vegan meetup group tonight and I was blown away by the quality of food and service. The raw Indian Pizza was by far, the best substitute for conventional pizza. It was made with rolled oats, sundried tomatoes, carrot shavings, spinach, and other delicious and vegan ingredients. I am a huge dessert person so I was kind of disappointed once I saw the one dessert sign in front of the raw lemon bars. The raw lemon bars had a nice light crust and a mousse like filling. The lemon wasn't overpowering but it also had the taste of real lemons and not some crappy flavoring. I plan on coming here a lot for the Monday raw vegan nights! read more

Jesus Christ. I ordered and got my food an hour and 40 minutes later. First strike. The food across the board is so spicy I can't eat it. Strike two. My samosas were COLD. What a waste of money and time. Do not recommend. Also the tofu has no flavor they just throw it in after the fact you can tell. read more

I have experienced Arya Bhavan both as delivery and in the restaurant. I enjoyed myself greatly both times! Today [Sunday] we walked in at about 4 pm, so they were still doing their lunch buffet (not really interested). Happily, they were serving off their regular menu, so we took advantage of that. I ordered the South Indian Thali - a huge platter containing vada, idli, sambar, chutney, and a few different palyas (spicy cauliflower, well-seasoned chickpea, etc). It was delicious and quite filling - the only complaint I have is that it wasn't nearly as heavily seasoned and/or spicy as I would expect of authentic South Indian cuisine. The idlis were also a bit tough (but my partner ordered a butter masala dosa, and it was a delightful crispy soft texture). The auntie who seems to own the place is exceedingly kind. She checked up on us multiple times (Indian male, white female here) and seemed very genuine. The other guy who's there (her husband?) is also really invested in helping people. The only problem I saw was the cleanliness of the place; like many restaurants along Devon, the tabletops can be filmy, the seats crumby, the water glasses suspect, etc. But it's all right, I'm eating upinkai spicy enough to cancel that out... right? (When I did delivery, there was actually gooseberry/amla pickle! I've never had a restaurant serve that. Awesome.) They also have a large variety of vegan and raw options for those "people" who are into that. Ugh. read more

I went for the lunch buffet and the food was really good not amazing though. The owner is so nice and friendly. read more

Arya Bhavan - Vegetarian Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Whoa! I used to like the buffet cause it was different. I guess that they don't have it often now, though. Big issue was other patrons. Only one other 4 top with 4 loud wine people. Loud. Lots of bragging about how long they have been gluten free with their purposefully undiagnosed celiac disease and what symptoms they had. Yes, I heard all of this without trying. This is sometimes an issue with health food places. People want to testify. This was super intolerable. We moved to the staff/work area. Food was not much to write home about. Feel sorry for the owner/cook/waitress. She looked a bit shook when we moved, but we actually couldn't have a conversation at our table. While paying the bill, the loud mouth walked through and apologized for "running us out". How about you modulate and then you don't have to pretend that you are sorry. Never. Again. read more

I was really hoping that Arya Bhavan would be great. I was craving Indian food like mad, and they're the only place I could find that delivers. And it was a big plus that they're vegan-friendly, because my roommate can order from them too! The real experience was not at all what I'd hoped for. While the staff was very friendly on the phone, they informed me it would take 1 hour 15 minutes for my food to be delivered. In reality, it was 1 hour 45 minutes! A ridiculous amount of time. I might as well have cooked my own dinner. When the food finally arrived, most of it was cold. And it was nothing special as far as Indian food goes. It had some spices, but the flavor was just not there. The Tadka Dal was ok, but it was one of 4 menu items I ordered. The sauce in the Chana Masala was really watery. This was a very frustrating experience. Nice people, but I won't be ordering again. read more

Arya Bhavan 2508 Devon , Chicago IL. Mediocre Gujarati Indian food last night Sept 28 , 2010. Vegan cuisine but that's not the reason for mediocrity . Owner chef Kirti spent a lot of time chatting with a couple of customers at their table and even talked about how to increase business. Later, I waited for them to move from the buffet table for about 5 minutes and they only moved & apologized when I decided to get my 2nd plate . Yes, I always have 2 plates minimum at a buffet . The 2 women were the only other customers. Kirti apparently wanted us to eat the buffet ONLY. She did NOT present a menu ; though the potential customers who looked in were offered it ; but they left after perusing the buffet. She made a duplicate appetizer instead of offering a variation . I didn't even order 2 appetizers. Yes we paid for two. Each plate contained 2 identical round crispy shells with green & red peppers, etc , and she even scooped some of the items from the salad on the buffet ! Appetizer was nothing special. Yasir & I both found the food lacking variety and we have eaten in several Indian/ Pakistani restaurants. The beans and greens were hot & spicy in the typical method. The buffet appetizers were actually the best part of the meal , 1 hot spicy & 1 medium spiced - a potato based fried samosa & of course the naan ( bread) was very tasty. Finally the icing on the cake : she & a friend sat down in the restaurant and dined on sushi carry-out ! - Lee read more

My husband and I live right off of Devon and this is our favorite Indian restaurant on the strip! We are both vegan and enjoy the generous accommodations we are given every time we dine in or carry-out. Depending on the day, they provide raw vegan food too- that's cool! The samosas are to die for! (I could probably eat about 5.. I think they taste like pizza!) One of my favorite food is the cauliflower dish... It is called 'aloo gobi' and it is mixed with potatoes and spices! So obviously we really love Arya Bhavan's food but we also appreciate the owner who has come across as super dedicated and down-to-earth every time our paths have crossed. :) HINT: Go to the buffet when it is available- not only will you be able to try more of a variety of foods but you will also get more bang for your buck. read more

Stopped into this place on a rainy Sunday night after intending to go for years. I don't have loads of experience with Indian food but compared to what I've had in the past, this place was delicious. I loved absolutely everything I tried and would have probably kept going if I wasn't stuffed. The food tasted remarkably fresh for being on a buffet and so flavorful. Our server was extremely courteous and friendly, encouraging us to come back again for their Monday raw buffet and answering any questions we had about what was in some of the dishes. We didn't realize the place had a beer/wine license, so we brought some beer in from a liquor store down the road. She was kind enough to reduce the BYOB fee for us. We will definitely be back. read more

GREAT INDIAN RAW VEGAN FOOD! Don't miss any meetup! Their buffet is super tasty! Always have my traditional Indian tea. Kirti knows to take care of ALL! read more

We live close to the Little India section of Devon, and have been to many Indian restaurants there. We tried Arya Bhavan for the first time recently, and I must say it was a bad experience. Firstly the service was exceptionally bad, right from receiving us, and all the way to the end. We felt as if the restaurant lady was not happy to have us at her place. And the other lady who helps her with service can hardly understand English. Coming to the food, this is easily the worst Indian food we had on Devon. There is nothing to write home about. Dosa was BAD. The Thali was so-so. Malai Kofta was okay. I thought the place was pretty "arrogant". Is it because it is vegan and gluten free? read more

This is one of our new favorite spots! My mom and I are vegan and wanted to try an Indian restaurant around us ... and the only all-vegan Indian restaurant in Chicago is Arya Bhavan. Other Indian restaurants have vegan options, but come on, who can pass up vegan naan bread! When we came to Arya Bhavan, we met Kirti, the owner and chef, right away, and she spent time with us, having great conversation, and also helping us decide what dishes to order. We ordered the starter platter to try a few different starters, including their delicious samosas! We ate everything on the platter, yum! Then we ordered chana masala and dal bunzara, both with brown rice, and both SO good! Their garlic naan is amazing, and I think my favorite part was the masala chai tea with almond milk! Do not pass that up! We also splurged and got a raw lemon tart to go which was very yummy :-) Kirti was so friendly and sweet, and the service was quick and great. We will definitely be back and recommend it to anyone who likes Indian cuisine and/or healthy, clean eating! read more