‘Tomatina’ Vegetarian Multi-cuisine Restaurant, Bangalore and Mysore

It was a cool, lazy evening in November last year when we had walked into the six-day old, all vegetarian, extremely vegan-friendly restaurant, Tomatina in Bangalore. The Master Chef and the Manager had greeted us warmly and approached us to inquire what we may like to order. We took the opportunity to share with them that we are vegan; what would they have for us? We were delighted that our request was instantly understood by the Master Chef who had a stint in a hotel in The Maldives serving vegan food to European guests. He offered to make us a customized vegan platter that evening. Despite feeling very satisfied with the food, we felt we hadn’t quite had enough of Tomatina… but why?

The Tomatina menu is quite vast actually and frankly, we felt quite overwhelmed by the possibilities. We returned to Tomatina a couple of times more and the last trip was made with a Bangalore-based vegan friend, Isabel. We were very lucky to have Isabel this time for she helped us decide what to order including the possible permutations and combinations that we can make, with her exemplary understanding of world cuisine! What came off it was an extremely enjoyable and fulfilling dining experience. Below is a firsthand account of the lunch by Isabel accompanied by photographs; we hope it will help you get some useful pointers on how one can do a little tweaking in the menu to get vegan food almost anywhere.
“What I liked about Tomatina was the extensive menu. Diners are spoiled for choice – there are the usual Indian dishes (mostly North Indian and there’s even a Jain section), a great selection of Pan-Asian dishes (many with tofu!), and Mediterranean dishes including fresh salads. The Master Chef is familiar with vegan and was happy to make suggestions and veganize the dishes for us.

Veganized Tomato Basil Soup

We started with a Tomato Basil Soup that was too sweet for my taste but I find that soups served in India are usually on the sweet side. We were excited to try the Tomatina Special Salad because of its unique ingredients – cherry tomatoes with tri-color melon balls, basil leaves, and rocket (also known by its Italian name, arugula). Few restaurants have rocket on their menus so whenever I come across it, I always order it without fail. But we were out of luck, rocket was not available so we settled for the Greek Salad that was veganized for us by omitting the feta cheese. The salad of cucumber, red-yellow-and-green peppers (capsicum), red onions, and black and green olives was fresh and delicious.

Veganized Greek Salad

Veganized Sizzler

Phad Taohu Med Mamuang and MethiRoti

The Master Chef encouraged us to try a Sizzler that he customized especially for us. The zucchini, carrots, and tomatoes were grilled to perfection. This was served with a vegetable cutlet, baked potatoes, and French fries. We also tried the Methi Roti sprinkled with sesame seeds. It was crisp and delicious.

For the main course, we ordered the Phad Taohu Med Mamuang – a Thai dish with cashew nuts in a spicy gravy and some rice. The tofu was tender and the vegetables were not overcooked, but just right.”

Thank you, Isabel! And for more information on Tomatina, you can click here for the link to the restaurant website.

How to reach Tomatina

Tomatina currently has two operational restaurants, one each in Bangalore and Mysore. For the complete address and telephone numbers of the two restaurants, you can click this link on the Tomatina website. Tomatina is open from 11am till 11pm, all seven days of the week.

Menu and offers from Tomatina

You can click here on the Zomato website for the online version of the Tomatina a la carte menu. The restaurant also offers a buffet lunch from Monday to Friday available between 12noon and 3:30pm. The buffet costs Rs.225/- per person. Besides, Tomatina also offers an all-vegetarian banquet hall that provides food and other services for personal events and corporate gatherings. 

USP of Tomatina

Multi-cuisine vegetarian restaurant, extremely vegan-friendly with a vast range of dishes to choose from! Many dishes are already vegan while most are willingly veganized by the very courteous, knowledgeable, and helpful staff. The Master Chef is familiar with vegan cooking. The quality of the vegetables is very high; most of it is procured fresh from the Namdhari’s farms. What is even better is that if you’re throwing a vegan party for your friends, you could call Tomatina one day in advance and they can whip up some amazing vegan dishes for you. Being Vegan has never been easier.