Joy-Discovery Vegetarian Cafe

I’ve been here a few times before and I don’t have anything bad to say about it at all. In fact, I found it to be a nice and relaxing place to visit after a busy day of shopping in Rundle Mall. The reason I’m giving it ³⁄₅ is because the food just doesn’t interest me as much as other places around the area do. It’s still nice and the food tastes fresh, but I’ve had much better. I also feel that because it’s so quiet and peaceful, I have to stay super quiet and that’s uncomfortable when you’re a chatterbox like me. If you’re wanting a drink, do try the fresh juices though! So refreshing.

Prepare to Om, gather your prayer beads and begin to let yourself zen amongst the abundant, warming, heartily healthy food at Joy Discovery at lunch.
Breathe in the smell of their famous CRD (Curry, Rice, Dahl) dish of the day and breathe out smells of garlic, ginger and wholesome food goodness onto your friends after enjoying their freshly made Three Dips Plate (hoummus, coriander & carrot and 3 bean). But don’t worry, if you take your friends you’ll all end up walking out smelling breathing out the same smells anyway!
Some say «you don’t make friends with salad» but those people probably are out abusing baby piglets and lambs anyway so don’t listen to them! The fact that this place is vegetarian doesn’t limit the variety of curries, burgers, salads, pies, soups and even «not dogs» that are on the menu.
And if the huge servings don’t leave you stuffed at this place then make sure you finish off your meal with a Bliss Ball and begin to transcend into… caroby, datey, coconuty… well…bliss?
Also, don’t be deterred if you hear any of the following «zen» sounds while peacing out to the background music:
— vikings sounding their horns
— water dripping
— windpipes
It is all part of the joyful vegetarian experience that you are about to discover (see what I did there?) at this hidden little lunch spot.

Synonymous with the sixties is the idea of spiritual and social revolution. People really thought something was wrong with the world — and there was plenty wrong. Just as there is now. In their efforts to change the world, the baby-​boomers did a whole lot of weird stuff. Some of which was awesome. They did The Beatles. They did LSD. They did activism. But inevitably there was a murky undercurrent, which included weird cults like that of Sri Chimnoy’s.
Joy-​Discovery is a vegetarian café run by the disciples of the now deceased Sri Chimnoy. The airy-​fairy music, cute paintings of birds and the mushy aphorisms that adorn the walls come off as fairly harmless, and I’m sure no one is gonna die if you stop here for a vego burger. But the whole she-​bang still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. While his disciples sell him as a spiritual leader who stood for peace, love and joy, there are more than enough critics out there to debunk him. The guy claimed to have reached total enlightment when he was fourteen, and has been accused of a variety of crimes — fraudulent weight-​lighting claims, sexual abuse and just being a general charlatan.
Anyway, the food is the most boring vegetarian fare I’ve ever had. I mean seriously, ‘not-​dogs’? Go to Vego N’ Lovin’ It.

Mindfulness on a plate!
I love the philosophy of this place: it’s all about food being prepared and served with love and joy, using fresh healthy ingredients. It’s all served up in a casual, chilled out environment by pleasant staff. It’s about the outside as well as the inside. It’s the opposite of fast food.
You’re all like «yeah yeah but we can’t EAT philosophy can we? What’s the food like?»
It’s pretty good! I can’t go past a veggie burger personally, and they do a top notch ‘Oriental’ with sweet chilli sauce and coriander, yum! The juices and lassis are fresh and healthy and taste it, and the chai is also really delish.
The specials board is always changing, so keep an eye out for it when you visit!

This is a very spiritual place. I’m not a spiritual person but I do like good, healthy food.
This is the only place in Adelaide where I don’t feel guilty after eating a burger.
My favourite is the Mexicana, a red kidney bean burger with Tuscan bean pâté, cucumber and green salad with sweet chilli sauce. I usually opt to have it in a rye bun, but you can have your burger in Turkish bread or wrap instead, and there are gluten free wraps available.
DIETARY REQUIREMENTS
This is one place vegans won’t struggle to find something for them, there are many gluten free options and all of the food is vegetarian. There’s even food suitable for people on more unusual diets beloved of Hollywood stars, such as the macrobiotic diet.

Joy Discovery is owned and run by students of a spiritual master, hence it has a very Buddhist feel. Meditative music is playing, there are advertisements for meditation classes and photos of meditation masters on the walls. At the counter there are also lifting quotes to improve your day. This all makes for a very relaxing and calm mealtime.
The food is all vegetarian. I really didn’t expect too much when going to the very basic looking restaurant, however, I was pleasantly surprised. I chose the lentil pie with salad. It was delicious and set me back less than $ 10. The same goes for all of the meals, including amazing veggie burgers. Everything is extremely healthy, which along with the music, makes you feel very cleansed. The drinks offer a range of health benefits, such as energy and detox, just in case you wanted another health boost.
The service is very pleasant, but not extremely fast, so I wouldn’t suggest going if it looks busy and you’re in a rush.