courtesy of Guru's Cafe

On Saturday night, my husband and I were looking for a fun place to eat. We didn’t want anything too expensive or too far away. So I looked up Provo’s top restaurants and found Guru’s Cafe. It was just down the street at 45 East Center Street and looked like it offered a variety of food for a fair price (between $6 and $10), so we went.

Walking in, it looks like an old factory decked out in various retro art — very fitting for the college scene. One side of the wall is painted like a sunset while the other one is adorned in clouds. The tables are gold, and there are lots of things to look at while waiting in line to order.

There was a bit of a crowd on Saturday night. It took us about 20 minutes to order our food and then about 20 more to get it. There was a group of people dressed up like geeks in front of us, all with huge glasses with only the frames and pants up way too high for anyone’s good. I thought, ‘hey, it’s Provo, what do you expect?’ But then I saw about 20 other “geek people” walk in, and I just had to ask. I found out that one of the high schools had a geek-themed Sadie Hawkins dance that night. So if you saw any geeks walking around Provo, that was probably why.

The restaurant seemed a little low on staff, but I think they just weren’t ready for the surge of people from the dance. I decided on the Cilantro Lime Pesto Bowl while my husband got the Thai Peanut Bowl. We both got the half version for $5.99, and it was plenty of food.

courtesy of Guru's Cafe

My dish was delectable and seemed pretty healthy. It had carrots, green beans, zucchini, squash, chicken and fresh Parmesan on top. I had never tasted a cilantro lime pesto flavor, but it was delicious and unique. I wasn’t a big fan of the Thai Peanut Bowl but that’s probably because I am not a big fan of peanut-tasting pasta, but my husband liked it a lot and said it was pretty good Americanized Thai food.

Besides pasta and rice bowls, the restaurant also has sandwich wraps, salads, burritos, tacos, soup and a vegetarian section. There is also a breakfast menu that looked rather delicious. (I will have to go back and try it soon). I ran into a friend there who had been quite a bit, and she said everything she has tried has been really good. Someone sitting a table over had the sweet potato fries, which I think I will have to go back and also get some time.

So overall, the experience at Guru’s was a great one. The staff seemed friendly, the atmosphere was great, the food was tasty, oh and the ice was that crunchy sonic-type ice (definitely a plus). I will most certainly go back again.

And one last thing: Did you know Guru means “one who is regarded as having great knowledge, wisdom and authority in a certain area, and who uses it to guide others”?

Guru’s Cafe
45 East Center Street
Provo, UT 84606
$5 - $10
Mon. - Wed. 7:30 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Thu. - Sat. 7:30 a.m. - 10 p.m.