Pongala - Osaka

The staff was extremely accommodating in helping me navigate the menu and confirming which vegetable curries were vegan and dairy-free. They offer three delicious vegan curry options: lentil dahl (which is fantastic), coconut vegetable, and spicy rassam soup curry. I am now a regular customer as the service is consistently fast and excellent.

The menu lists vegan curries, but when I inquired about dairy in the vegetable curries, the employees informed me that all the curries contain milk. Additionally, the restaurant only offers a limited selection of curry plates with no side dishes available, only drinks.

By following the instructions given by the contributor above, you will be able to easily locate the restaurant. Simply take Exit 5 out of the mall and it will be directly opposite. Thanks to the helpful directions provided by the contributor, I was able to find the restaurant even though I was in a rush.

Osaka is not Tokyo. While Tokyo has vegan and vegetarian restaurants in every neighbourhood, Osaka requires a little more planning and travelling. So when I was at Osaka Station I had very little choice but Pongala Indian restaurant. It's a small place with just a few tables and some seating around the counter. You don't go here to have a good time, you go here for food and then you leave quickly. On request an English menu is available. It offers two vegetarian options: the vegetable curry plate and the plate with a free choice of two curries. I chose the vegetable plate and as far as I could tell it was even vegan. It came with five little bowls of curry, rice in the middle and some garnishing (chick peas, green beans and more). The taste was good: spicy and lots of variety in the several curries. Even the presentation was decent. In short: while Pongala may be your only choice in Osaka Station, it is pretty decent. PS: I agree it's not easy to find, but the hint to search for the big Nesprosso sign really helped for me. The person who did not see the sign may have approached the restaurant from another direction.

I chose Sri Lankan Vegetable Curry and Bean(Lentil? Curry in a set menu. It was delicious. I especially loved the basmati rice with toppings. Although I found it rather difficult to find, I'll definitely go again if I'm in the area.