After hours of toiling on yelp and google deciding what to eat, we landed on picking something from yelp. After another day or two, we decided maybe we'd give this chain Indian place with only 3.5 stars a try, as it was only 8 minutes away, to try to offset the time we will never get back trying to decide where to eat. We were not disappointed. I walked in to find a sea of brown people, always a good sign at an Indian restaurant. The decor wasn't impressive, but I do not give a hoot. Owl I cared about was how my tongue was about to feel. We ordered way too much so we could have leftovers, another attempt at curtailing the sands in the hourglass which fell in our search for dinner. I had Methi Paneer, Desi special Biryani, and Bharuri Chat, all of which were excellent. I ordered as spicy as I could, which turned out to be unnecessary. I hope to see Indian food further permeate the zeitgeist, as it is my favorite. McTandoori Chicken when? 5 stars. read more

To order you go to the well that has the ordering platform. Very impersonal. But the place is crowded with people. Most families, national from India. All seemed happy with the food. A bit spicy for my taste. But I am not Indian and didn't grow up with spicy food. We love the masala dosa. The one filed with potatoes. And the dessert. Ras Mali It is welled packed for take out. But I had to open and take a bite of the maslas dosa they pack it well. The dosa is folded and in the take out container and the potatoes are in a plastic container to keep separate. I broke off a small portion and put some of the potatoes on the wrap. Excellent. A bit spicy but delicious. The picked up dosa is pictured here. read more

Desi Bites - Masala Dosa - Indian Near Me - Henrico, Virginia

Only here to judge the food as we had it delivered so I can't really speak on the service outside of it being delivered as promised or the ambiance! The food was a solid 4/5 only missing the mark as the garlic naan was soggy (not from travel because we live super close to the location) seemed too oily/greasy which was a bummer as the taste was spot on so garlicky! Entree's: butter chicken 5/5 spicy and well seasoned probably some of the best we've had. Shrimp biryani 4/5 same very well seasoned and spicy (medium spice is spicy but loved it) and a great portion size with ample small shrimp and ginger chicken 4/5 smaller in portions but super tender and well seasoned. The rice and all the sauces were good also. The veggie samosas 5/5 which were huge and they give you 5! Yes 5 for $7 (via UberEats). A good mix of items to try and we were very pleased and will definitely return! Yum! read more

Desi Bites - Butter Chicken - Indian Near Me - Henrico, Virginia

Good variety for Telugu foodies. Good portion sizes. Spice level is to the point. Order gets ready timely.

Good place to get authentic Irani chai. Cut Mirchi is a great accompaniment for this tea. The portion size is generous for the price. I haven't tried any other items on their menu, but their Irani chai alone is worth a visit. The place is clean and hygienic, with kiosks for ordering and a screen that lets you know when to pick up your order from the counter. The service was also quick. read more

The food is SO good! I'm an Indian food freak. I'm also a vegetarian which makes Indian food perfect. I have been to every Indian restaurant in Richmond; Im addicted to this place! read more

The Biryani was a little oily and the portions are a little smaller than expected. Will give it another try sometime read more

Desi Bites - people eating in a restaurant - Indian Near Me - Henrico, Virginia

Beware of take out ordering! We ordered several Dosas with potato filling, Chaat and Samosas ... .. over $70 order . When I came to pick up the order, one brown bag was overstuffed with my order, with a couple of boxes hanging outside the brown bag . That made it difficult to carry to car . When I got home, the dosas were missing the potato filling, chaat was very soggy and disintegrating . Samosas were very oily and chutney was missing . When I called them, they refused to refund, refused to deliver the missing items . And they did not even apologize . Had to order from a different restaurant . Will never order from there again! And will tell all my friends about this too . read more

Looks like take out has been the issue with Desibites and still continuing. We picked up family pack mutton biryani on 11th Aug based on the description it should have egg included but it was missing and we thought it was a mistake. Today we picked up Natukodi and Desi Bites special Biryani's but again they were missing eggs. Either they should be true to their description that they have mentioned on their app and website and include eggs or modify the description to remove the mention on egg. Not sure if anyone else had a similar experience. read more

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While it lacks in ambiance, their food, is incredible! The best I've had in Richmond and we've been trying for 6 years. I wish their location was closer to the city, I'd eat here multiple times a week! Looking forward to going back and ordering takeout or delivery! read more

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Amazing service and food! Very accommodating to our needs. Will visit again on my next trip to Richmond! read more

Here's the tips for newcomers: 1. Horrible Falooda 2. If you are North Indian or Pakistani, don't try their chaat!! Not recommend 3. Dahi Ballay is must try read more

So glad I finally got a chance to try Desi Bites! The cheese dosa was so delicious as was the butter naan.Its more of a fast food type place.You place your order either online or at the kiosk or register and wait for your name to be called.O want to go back and try the paneer masala which is my go- to meal whenever I eat Indian food.Give them a try! read more

Not really good food and everything cold like shambaar so cold and inside dosa staffing also cold not live dosa I like honest Indian restaurant so nice and good food but I don't like this place and I ask about more shambaar and guy said you Finnish this one first that's not good treat people not really good don't go this places no more read more

Please keep your place clean if you are running a restaurant/ fast food place! Chairs tables floors are always always always dirty! Been here over 5 times and I always see this place dirty never cleaned they only clean in the morning when they open. The key pads where you place the order is dirty. read more

Desi Bites - Dirty order here keypads - Indian Near Me - Henrico, Virginia

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We got a few dishes for take out for the first time and my 8 year old son got his usual butter chicken that we get at most Indian places. Apparently they had garnished it with peanuts which is NOT listed on the menu. He has a severe allergy to nuts and we suffered for days because of this. Luckily he is ok now but we will never come here and he now refuses to eat any Indian food because of the trauma. In this day when so many children are allergic to peanuts, it is distasteful and dangerous to garnish anything with nuts before informing the customer. I hope they learn from our unfortunate circumstance and will avoid or be careful with certain ingredients. read more

Two months ago I had seen significant improvement in taste and quality of everything I got from here and have been ordering pretty regularly. However lately ( last3-4 orders) have not been as great. Both quality and taste seems off. Disappointed and not encouraged to go back. read more

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I have been in Richmond VA since 2005 for a long time, in and out some times. Always craving for the Best Indian Food. Checked almost all the Restaurants many times in the past 17 years. I got to know through a common friend that my great Friend KC opened a new place, DESI BITES, on Cox Road. I dined at that place 3 times during my Birthday Weekend in May . Fantastic Experience. It was worth every penny and every second I spent there during that weekend. Food is Delicious, Service is Excellent, Technology is Top of the Line, Quality is super. People there are Passionate. Actually, I am short of words to describe my both experiences. I am not paid or not complimenting because they are my friends. I have been in the Restaurant and Hotels Industry for 35 years, owned/operated more than 4 restaurants, and I do know what I am saying. Please dine there once and you will know First Hand. Thanks read more

They could improve on their customer service skills counter girl was RUDE!!!!! She snatched a bag and said this is not your order when picking up a delivery. read more

My son loves this place...the Hakka noodles are amazing and the staff is very kind...Many vegan/vegetarian options and the owner let me know that they do not cook the veggie foods with the meat foods read more

Good chai and snacks Indian place. Huge menu for choice. Irani chai is the best in town. Chat is good too. Reasonable prices. Both dine in and take out available. Ambience is social. Parking lot is big. read more

Desi Bites - Irani Masala Chai - Indian Near Me - Henrico, Virginia

Amazing food! The dosa is delicious! The service is very fast. It's a street food place so the cutlery and plates are plastic but the food is high quality and it's very affordable! They save where it matters and make the best food! read more

Tried at least 10-12 different items between 4 of us, not a single item tested average, Nothing literally nothing was good, Had to go to other restaurant to eat Not worth your time and money. read more

$15 for a small tandoori chicken and it was undercooked and raw in the middle..

My friends circle have become big fans of DESI bites, it's like eating Restaurant food in India. My wife loves the Irani Chai, I love the naans, daughter likes the Hakka noodles. read more

The masala dosa was good but the paneer in the spicy Hakka noodles was hard as a rock.

Great value, very good food. So many options! Chicken kadahi is amazing! As well as the chicken biryani

Been to this place many times now! Nice Indian food, the biryanis are no too good as we are used to but it's okay. The other stuff is very good here. Try out the Garuda drink they have. The mango lassi and stuff all in delicious , we also tried the chicken tandoori which is while grilled. It's was well made over all. read more

I know there are many contenders for bad indian restaurants in Richmond, but I think we have a winner - Desi Bites, I think has the gold in this category. I was so happy that there was this new joint and Richmond desperately needs a good restaurant. The menu was flashy, the kiosk system was good, the ambience was alright, but the food - ugh!!! Why don't they pay attention to the food, i don't understand. It's unfortunate - opportunity lost. read more

chai is best and briyani not HyderabadI.However from 8pm to 10pm this place is not safe for womens. I went to resturant with my wife to have food at 8:45. Food was serve at 9:05 pm while having food I see from right, left, east, west group of people drinking beer screaming, laughing loudly including owner. read more

Extremely disorganized , food takes a long time to be ready , and even after a very long wait the quality of the food is very very low . We went there on a Saturday evening around 7:30 and the place was pretty full . They have a kiosk to place the order . Most of the appetizers were out of stock . But I had just checked a few minutes ago on their website and everything was available. I am pretty sure they are saving all that for take out orders only and cheating people who come there to eat by forcing them to order whatever shows up . Now coming to the food - we had ordered Dahi puri , pav bhaji , masala dosa , idli vada . Pav bhaji is too oily and extreme spicy . Idli is the worst idli I have every tasted . Even frozen idlis from Indian store taste better than these idlis. If you can't make them edible please don't have it in the menu . Dosa and dahi puri was average . They are so disorganized , nobody knows whose order is ready and who it belongs to . They first gave us dosa saying it is masala dosa but then it was chicken 65 dosa . We had to wait for our dahi puri for 40 mins , it was the last dish to come out even thought it was a appetizer. Worst place , will never return again . Also the amount of plastic and paper that is getting wasted in the name of plates and spoons is absurd . Let us not pollute the earth more . Please avoid this place . read more