Padharo - Proving that Vegetarian Indian Food Isn’t Missing a Thing
I first went to Padharo not long after they opened back in August 2023, and I remember coming away thinking the same thing a lot of people probably do when they hear the words vegetarian Indian restaurant: would it feel like something was missing? It didn’t. If anything, it felt more certain of itself than a lot of places do. It wasn’t trying to imitate anything or make excuses for what it was. It just felt confident, full of flavour and completely comfortable in its own identity.
So when I was invited back to try their new menu, I was genuinely interested to see how things had changed. This was a gifted visit, so that’s worth saying upfront, but if you’ve followed Southampton Food for any amount of time you’ll already know how this works. Gifted or not, if I don’t rate it, it doesn’t make the cut.
Padharo sits right at the bottom of East Street on the corner, we went on a day when there was football on at St Mary’s and the city had that slightly hectic matchday feel to it, but the restaurant itself felt calm. Warm lighting, colourful interiors, floral touches and traditional details throughout, it all feels thoughtful.
“Padharo” means "welcome" in Gujarati, and that sense of hospitality comes through pretty much straight away. The founders are from Bhavnagar, a coastal city in Gujarat, and the menu reflects that heritage. Everything is vegetarian and almost everything can be made vegan. Since my first visit they’ve also picked up Indian Restaurant of the Year 2025 for the South of England at the Nation’s Curry Awards, as well as Best of Southampton at the English Curry Awards 2025, so clearly plenty of other people have been noticing what they’re doing too.
We started simply with papadums, served with mango chutney and a spicy mint chutney. Nothing groundbreaking, but exactly the kind of opening dish you want while deciding whether you’re about to order sensibly or get completely carried away. The mint chutney in particular had a proper kick to it and set the tone nicely.
After that we largely followed recommendations, which turned out to be a very good decision. The prawn koliwada were made with plant-based prawns and served with vegan mayo. These were decent, though not the standout dish of the night for me. I could absolutely see the appeal, especially for someone vegan who misses that sort of seafood-style texture, but compared to some of the other dishes they didn’t quite steal the show.
The plant-based chicken bites, on the other hand, absolutely did. These were great. They reminded me of the takeaway-style chicken balls you'd get in a Chinese takeaway.
The Padharo House Chaat ended up being the standout dish of the evening for both of us. It had so much going on at once, crunchy, tangy, sweet, spicy, layered with different textures, and all of it worked. It reminded us so much of nachos that we just kept referring to it as “Indian nachos” for the rest of the evening. Even on the drive home, when we asked each other what the best dish had been, the answer came back immediately: the 'nachos'.
We also had the pani puri, crisp little puris filled with spiced potato and chickpeas, then hit with tamarind water so you get that crunch followed by softness and then this burst of tangy, spiced liquid. Just don't overfill and spill it like I did!
Another highlight was the palak patta chaat, crispy battered spinach leaves that were brilliant when fresh and hot. That would be my only note with them really: eat them quickly. Straight out they’re excellent, but they’re definitely at their best when they’ve still got that just-fried crispness.
For mains, my partner went for the mushroom kadai, which came with chunky mushrooms and peppers in a fragrant kadai masala. It was well balanced, nicely spiced and had plenty of depth without being too heavy.
I was very tempted to repeat what I’d had on my first visit, the butter masala, because I remember that being one of their house staples and a really strong dish. But when the waiter asked whether I was comfortable with spice and I said yes, he suggested the angara instead, which I opted to have with paneer.
The paneer itself was excellent. If you’ve never had paneer before, I usually describe it as a softer halloumi, the kind of firmness you get with it but none of the squeak. The dish had heat, but sensible heat. Not the sort that blows your head off and ruins the rest of your evening, more the kind that builds gradually and brings smokiness and depth with it. It felt layered rather than aggressive, which is always a better kind of spicy.
We had saffron pilau rice and a garlic naan alongside, and even that naan was worth mentioning. Garlic naan can sometimes be a bit too much, to the point where it feels like its own separate event rather than something meant to go with the curry. This was balanced. Enough garlic to be noticeable, but not so much that it overpowered everything else. A small detail maybe, but those details do matter.
To finish, they brought over gulab jamun, which I’m always happy to see. Soft milk dumplings soaked in rose and cardamom syrup, sweet, sticky, comforting, exactly the sort of dessert I want after a curry. I bloody love gulab jamun anyway, so this was always going to go down well with me.
What stands out about Padharo, even a few years on, is that it never feels like it’s trying to justify being vegetarian. It just is, and it does it well. The food is confident, full of flavour and clearly thought through. Nothing feels like a substitute for something else. It just feels like the menu they want to serve, and that confidence carries through the whole experience.
There’s also something genuinely refreshing about the story behind it. A female-led kitchen turning out food like this, rooted in heritage but still feeling modern and distinctive, is exactly the sort of thing worth shouting about.
Coming back two years later didn’t feel like checking whether they were still good. It felt more like seeing how much they’d grown. The warmth is still there, the atmosphere is still there, and on this new menu there were dishes that genuinely stood out.
If you’re someone who still thinks vegetarian food can’t hit as hard as a traditional curry house, Padharo is probably one of the places in Southampton most likely to change your mind.
This post covers a PR/invite event, but in line with our ethos, all reviews are honest. If a visit doesn’t meet our standards, we either provide constructive feedback to the venue or don’t post at all.
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