Govinda Italian Restaurant is located off Sukkhumvit Road Soi 22 in Bangkok. It is an all-vegetarian Italian restaurant that prides itself on "healthfulness". We visited this restaurant on a surprisingly quiet Saturday night.
After the sun has gone down, the outdoor tables are a pleasant place to sit surrounded by potted plants, and the wait staff will set up a fan or two for you. Inside, the first floor is nicely air-conditioned but the second floor is still a little too warm.
We tried just one item from the starter menu: the Bruschetta Pomodoro. Though both the tomatoes and the bread were pleasantly fresh, the dish was overall lacking in the bold flavors that I usually expect from a bruschetta.
Many of the salads are startlingly overpriced, as is the house wine. We splurged on a carafe of red anyway, and were very pleased to have done so. Robert enjoyed his "chicken" caesar (all of bruschetta's "meat" dishes are made with soy) even though the dressing was, in our opinion, not remotely resembling a true caesar dressing. My Rucola salad was much better, made with fresh arugula, pine nuts, and boldly flavoured shaved Parmesan.
The rest of the menu is more affordable. The list of pastas and main dishes was almost too long -- we took 20 minutes to make a selection! Sadly, the vegetarian lasagna is made with a white sauce instead of a red, so we skipped it. I opted instead for the whole wheat rigatoni, which satisfied all of my Minnesota-homestyle-Italian food desires -- thick with three cheeses, plenty of fresh tomato sauce, all baked in a substantial platter. Robert's ravioli was exquisitely garlicky; its one drawback was its small size -- not nearly enough to fill a grown man. Fortunately, my meal was more than ample enough to fill us both. We had to pass on the desserts, which was probably best for our budget anyway.
On the whole, Govinda is strongly recommended for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike! Take sky train Phrom Pong and walk a short ways past Emporium and the park.
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