Savoy’s Health Café is a diner style restaurant tucked away in an Edmonton strip mall located across from Southgate mall at 11010 – 51 avenue. The hours are a little different from most restaurants as this café opens at 11:30 am and closes at 7:00 pm, Monday to Saturday. I recommend calling (780-437-7718) before visiting for dinner, as sometimes the café seems to close early.

Although not completely Vegetarian Savoy’s does have more Vegetarian options than most restaurants and they easily accommodate Vegans. Recently we held the Vegetarians of Alberta Diners Club at Savoy’s and many new people were excited to have been introduced to this small family owned business.

One of Savoy’s main attractions is their fresh squeezed juices. The "Energizer" which contains beet, apple, carrot and orange juice feels like a good tasting vitamin and it is nicely priced at $2.99 for a big 12 ounce glass. I always have a juice as an appetizer and that way I feel like I can eat all the deep fried foods I want.

The highlights of the menu for the Vegan/Vegetarian are the Masala Dosa and Sambar. Masala Dosa’s are large crepes made from rice flour and stuffed with a mixture of potatoes and vegetables. The Vegan soup called Sambar is a thick, spicy, lentil, coconut concoction. Both are very filling and you may need to take some home with you depending on how many different items you order. I want to sample everything all the time, and since the prices are reasonable, I always end up with another complete meal to eat at midnight. Savoy’s also has a few Vegan deep fried appetizers including the Samosa. The Samosa’s here are always crisp and hot not precooked and left sitting around to get soggy as I find in many places.

The green chutney that is served with every meal is quite hot and I don’t mean that in the temperature sense. If you aren’t partial to hot sauces there is a less spicy version that won’t make your eyes water. If you aren’t partial to spicy food in general be sure to let the server know as most menu items can be prepared with less heat.

Savoy’s Health Café is a small place, seating about 30 people. It can get quite busy at lunch time, but many people just pop in for take way, so I’ve always gotten a table. The atmosphere is a bit cafeteria like but the prices clearly reflect that. Once you discover Savoy’s, I bet you go back. Pop us an e-mail at events@vofa.ca and let us know what YOU thought.