Annapurna's Cafe

The cuisine at Anna Purna and its adjoining Green Light Bistro vary drastically in quality and taste. One of the major attractions and issues with the kitchen is that they have a menu that offers gluten and gluten-free(GF) vegetarian and vegan food. However, they use the same fryer to fry both gluten and GF foods, which then negates the GF item. Another issue Anna Purna has is that the majority (over 95%) of the dishes use almost all the same five spices, so while texture varies, and color varies a little less, all the entrees have a very monotonous taste. A positive to this restaurant is that they use only the freshest all natural and organic ingredients on all their food. As a former cook there, I'd estimate that 98% of the ingredients in any dish are organic or all natural.

The cuisine at Green Light Bistro was a lot different however. Chefs with entirely different styles of cooking than the Indian and Ayurveda cuisine at Anna Purna built the menu from the ground up by popular Santa Fe chef. Its focus was not to try to design the food to fit the diets of Ayurveda followers, but instead to offer food made from only the finest quality organic and natural ingredients. The menu infused together these healthy ways of eating (gluten-free, vegetarian, or vegan) with traditional delicious dishes of many ethnic backgrounds. Gluten-free vegan Stromboli that's better than any found in Albuquerque is just one example. They also offered a great salad and sandwich selection that was a high step above the ordinary, but upon first bite you realize the care that the cooks put into cooking. Each individual meal order is started from scratch ingredients and is cooked per plate, nothing is done in big batches to be individually reheated, in fact there isn't a single microwave in the restaurant.

Unfortunately, Green Light closed its doors and moved into Anna Purna, and because of this many aspects that made the Green Light food so delicious, unique, and popular have been scratched. No more specials are offered, and the regular items that had ingredients that had been specifically paired with the dish found ingredients changed or even removed, which completely destroyed what made those meals so enjoyable and popular.

I recommend that anyone who enjoys either Ayurveda or just healthy cuisine try out both sections of the restaurant. While Green Light used to be 100X better, it's still worth checking out

There's a different restaurant here now, its Mediterranian. I don't know what this new place is like, I've never been in it.

Both my husband and I like vegetarian food. We eat at Annapurna a few times a month. We have noticed that the service can be quite slow. We like to have our drinks before our meal, and every time we go my hubby orders a young coconut, they never bring it to him. He has had to ask more then once for them to bring it and a few times they still didn't bother. Some of the dishes are really spicy, so just avoid them if you don't like that sort of thing. I do like a lot of what they serve and they are a bit $$. I recommend this place if you're not in any hurry to get anywhere. I wish there were more restaurants like this but with more staff and less of a wait.

WORST FOOD AND SERVICE EVER!!! My fiancé and I travel all around the country looking for the best veg places to eat. We were so excited when we first arrived – the atmosphere is fun and kitschy. However, DO NOT be deceived. We started with a mocha latte and hot chocolate. Both were very bland and mediocre at best. We got an order of Masala Fries because they sounded unique but really they are just a fancy word for potatoes soaked in grease mixed with a little Indian spice – Yuk! As any vegan knows – breakfast (especially pancakes) are a rare find and definitely a treat. We got 2 orders of them which were 2 too many. They were like a very dry mix of clay and dirt. The mango sauce tasted like orange flavored cough syrup. When we asked for some maple syrup they were very rude and said they would have to charge us an additional ridiculous amount, on top of the $40 we had already spent. We passed on the syrup knowing it would have never improved the awful pancakes anyway. Unfortunately we also made the mistake of ordering the Tofu Scramble. I didn’t even know it was possible to screw up tofu to this degree – even the broccoli was bad. We also tried a couple of their vegan deserts which were dry and not even worth mentioning. All in all this was by far the worst food either of us has ever eaten. We left with all of our barely touched food on the table because it was so terrible we weren’t able to choke any of it down – such a disappointment especially after all of our initial excitement. I have never written a bad review for any vegetarian restaurant but in this case there is absolutely nothing positive that can be said and anyone who is thinking of trying this place needs to be forewarned. Trust us when we say – don’t waste your time or money. It’s mystifying this place is still in business.

Annapurna serves Ayurvedic/Indian cuisine. Food ifsvegetarian, good quality, a little spicey for this Pita type, but excellent nonetheless. Prices are high for what you are buying, but hopefully produce is organic and this accounts for the price on items.



Keb Mo, the bluesman, was in town recently and said that Annapurna is where he eats when he is in ABQ. He also said "It gives you a better s-x drive and we know you all want great s-x!" Now, this just reinforces what I said above - that , for a Pita (Fire) type , the food is too spicy - which results in increased "Heat" in the body and a high libido.



These results are not in keeping with the Ayurvedic goal,which would be to create a "sattvic" (calm, meditative) result in people.



For me, though, the biggest problem is attitude. The service is slow (even though it is counter service) and the staff have a sense of "noblesse oblige" (look it up - it means "holier than thou" from as class perspective). I have had many experiences there which , unfortunately, bear this out. As someone who is sometimes on a schedule, sometimes getting take-out, etc., I find that the attitude of "if you are in a hurry, we don't want you here" seems to apply. When I brought a coupon from a service that they participated in, they refused to take it, stating that it was not good on the day of the week I arrived. I checked back with the vendor and found out that this was not so.



Someone forgot that service is what makes restaurants successful..



So - buyer beware! Come with a good deal of time, patience, and don't take it personally when service is not great.