Normally I am skeptical of anything with 5 stars, but less so when they have over a thousand…read morereviews or so. The Dhaba does not disappoint either, and deserve every five star review they get. Mental note to self, go down a level in heat to a 2 when ordering because they do it spicy! Their garlic naan was awesome, and the Chicken Tikka Masala was wonderful. The portion size was just right. The true winner however was the Tandoori chicken. We did a half order of it, and decided next time we would do a full order and an order of the Butter chicken to split. The waiters and owners were very attentive, and it was a pleasant atmosphere on the inside. Parking is a bit tight out front but there is plenty of parking out back.

I have given multiple 5 star reviews to the Dhaba, but our experience on Easter was not good. We…read morearrived at opening time and were seated immediately. We were the only ones there. Our server was probably one of the worst servers I have ever had. Zero personality and literally never said one word to us. Several to go orders and Uber Eats people came in and out while we waited about 10 minutes. We finally told the man at the front desk that we needed to order and get some drinks. Server came over with his notepad and looked at us to take orders, didn't say a word. When he brought the dishes, a few minutes later, he literally plopped all of them in one spot in the table without making any attempt to remember which dish went to which person. Very odd behavior The dishes on the menu are clearly marked vegetarian, vegan or contains meat. We had two dishes that were supposed to be vegan, one was a saag dish which they had placed butter over the top of. It looked delicious to everyone, but the vegans who could not eat it. When we pointed it out, they made no attempt to offer us another dish and just said oh yes, that's ghee (clarified butter) we said the menu indicated it was vegan, but again no response. The two vegans at our table just decided rather than argue, they will share the rice dish, which was also indicated as vegan. As they started to eat it, they realized there were several pieces of paneer in it. I really hope this was a one off because this was one of my favorite places to eat Indian food. Very very disappointing and no accommodation for the inedible dishes.

For $19.99 on weekends and about $15 on weekends Chennai offers a wonderful all-you-can-eat Indian…read morebuffet. There is quite a selection including several types of indian drinks on the buffet. During our meal we were each asked if we wanted a dosa and we replied "heck ya!" There were two choices and I got the one with potato inside. Sorry, I wasn't sure what the other choice was. The only thing that wasn't as appetizing was that we had to use paper plates on the buffet. We saw some of the other diners had real plates so I am not sure if they either ordered from the menu (which is an option) or if the restaurant just ran out of clean plates. This is definitely not something that affected my review and desire to return. We will definitely be back!

When you search for a place, far from home, half way between you and a friend ... rely on Yelp…read morereviews and pics and they dont disappoint! Got there promptly at 12pm for the midweek buffet. I also wanted to order some take out to take home too, so the server said he will ask the kitchen as they dont generally open the kitchen at lunch. By 1215 the place was packed! Great sign. We were quickly brought water jug and copper cups and left alone to feast on the great buffet. Now buffets in the last few years have slowly come back and Chennai Cafe came back with a bang! Salad and lemon Veggie Pakora Daal curry Veggie curry Veggie Biryani Chicken curry, huge pieces of meat Mutton Biryani Paneer veggie Pakora Plenty of dips to load up on for Dosa and Papadoms Doses brought fresh to the table Absolutely beautiful and well kept up buffet. About 40 mins in we went for seconds and plenty stocked food in the packed lunch time rush. Little desert and Chai tea at the ready. Also ordered Chicken Biryani, Chennai veggie and veggie vindaloo for home... loads of food for the cost. Staff was great, restrooms and buffet kept very clean. Food so good... I missed the pics!

Great food, incredible service, and excellent value for money. We tried several different curries,…read moreand I really liked that you can choose your spice level from 1-10. Just be careful -- the heat builds up slowly, so if you're not used to spicy food, go lower on the scale! The portions were generous, everything was very flavorful, and we all ended up taking leftovers home. What stood out the most was the service. Our server was funny, knowledgeable, and gave fantastic recommendations. There's also plenty of free parking, which is always a plus. The only thing missing for me was that the décor doesn't quite match the authenticity and quality of the food, which deserves a bit more character in the atmosphere.

We did the lunch buffet on Saturday. There was 8 in our group, so we tried to make it easy on the…read morestaff. We got there just as the doors opened. Obviously plenty of Indian music. I couldn't tell if it was much contemporary or not, but it was good. The restaurant filled out pretty quickly, with a lot of local regulars that conversed in the buffet line and remarked about how there wasn't as much in the trace as they would expect.I guess cause we had already had it through. The buffet was a bit limited. I hoped Butter Chicken would be there, but no. The choices were of a good variety, not as flavorful as I would like and not as spicy, which is what I would expect. Once we hit the buffet line service picked up for us to get us drinks and service, which was well managed. Our group plans to be back at some point in time.I'll look to order from the regular menu.

but IT WAS DELICIOUS…read more I had a party of 6 and we ordered: 6 Mango Lassis, 1 Mild Butter Chicken, 1 Lamb Tikka Supreme 16" Large Pizza, 3 Garlic Naans, 1 Masala Fries with Tamarind Chutney, 1 Naan Taco with Tamarind Chutney and Lamb Tikka, 1 order of Samosas with Tamarind Chutney, 1 Samosa Chaat with Tamarind Chutney, and 1 Large Rice. Yes, that was a lot of food. Yes, I know what you're thinking. And no... we didn't take anything home. Why? BECAUSE WE ATE EVERY. LAST. BITE. Typically my family eats, then takes leftovers home for later, but we genuinely could not stop eating. The first thing that came out was the Lamb Tikka Supreme Pizza and OH MY HEAVENS... that combination was insane in the BEST way possible. We got the 16" large, so our party of six got about two slices each, and honestly? Who knew curry on pizza would work THIS well? So creative and SO flavorful. Then we tried the naan taco and Masala fries because... well... IT'S A NAAN TACO. I HAD TO. And let me just say: both somehow exceeded every expectation I already had. Usually when restaurants try fusion combinations like this, one part falls behind -- maybe the texture is off or the flavors don't fully come together -- but they absolutely perfected it here. Every bite had crunch, crispiness, flavor, and balance. And being able to wash it all down with a creamy mango lassi??? Ughhhh somebody pinch me, I'm in paradise. (The mango lassis were in the fridge by the ice cream, by the way.) Of course I also had to try the classic butter chicken because I judge places by how well they execute the classics... and WOW. God dammit, it was magnificent. Don't even get me started on the perfectly buttery, crispy naan. Or the samosa chaat, which was super filling but somehow still had this refreshing sauce that kept making me go back for another bite. For dessert we ordered Gajar Halwa, Matka Kulfi, and Kesar Pista. Honestly? I had NO idea what any of those were when I ordered them. But now that I've tried all three (and they were ALL amazing), here's how I'd describe them: Gajar Halwa tastes like carrot cake filling had a relationship with rice pudding and caramelized milk flavors... and then BOOM Gajar Halwa was born. Matka Kulfi is served in a clay pot and has a creamier, denser texture than regular ice cream. It has a frozen condensed milk cheesecake type of energy. Kesar Pista (saffron and pistachio) tasted like pistachio gelato with floral vanilla-honey notes. Overall: 10/10. The food came out with perfect timing despite us ordering enough food to feed a mini army. At the time there only seemed to be two workers and I genuinely have NO idea how they were doing it all. They were preparing our huge order, handling takeout orders, answering phone calls, working the register, AND making fresh naan nonstop. Also... this place is open until 12 AM??? Yeahhhh this is officially being added to my late-night eats list. I approve!!!! 10/10 recommend.

Man years ago, there was a restaurant in Houston that I used to love. It was a unique concept:…read moreIndian-inspired pizza. I love that restaurant. So I was excited to hear there's a similar concept in Tempe. I stopped by on a Monday for an early dinner. Parking wasn't an issue in the free lot they share with several other businesses including Wingstop. Ambiance (3.5/5): This is a casual eatery. And a relatively small one at that. There are 10 tables or so. The type of place you go for the food, and not the ambiance. Service (2/5): You order at the counter and they bring your food to you. The guy working the cash register seemed to be out of it. I pretty much had to guide him to do his job. A little frustrating, but not a big deal because service isn't a big part of the experience here anyways. Drinks (4.5/5): They have Indian beer, they have mango lassi, so that alone makes it an interesting assortment. I ended up going with a cheaper option: a bottled Mexican Coke. They have a decent selection of bottled beverages as well as fountain drinks. Food (4/5): While they have some items on the menu outside of this, I recommend you try one of their Indian pizzas. That means you should add Indian ingredients to your pizza. That's what makes the establishment unique. I created my own pizza. You choose from two sizes and you can select up to three toppings, your sauce base, and cheese. I went with the masala sauce, chicken tikka, lamb tikka, and paneer. The pizzas are made to order and came out nice and hot. First off, beyond the uniqueness of the offering, the pizza is quite good. Two different types of meats and a special cheese made it a delicious pizza. The crust is buttered, and while it's not thin crust, the pizza is on the thinner side. There were some red peppers on my pizza. I didn't order any. I'm not sure if it was a mistake or it's part of the masala sauce. Either way, I'm not a fan of peppers so I had to pick them out of my pizza which was a bit annoying. Still worth it given how good the pizza is. If you've never had Indian-inspired pizza, and you're looking for an affordable meal, check them out!

This restaurant is around the corner from our place and had changed hands in the previous months…read more We never used to see anyone in the old place so decided to try the 'new management'.. We were very surprised we were the only ones dining but we were extremely well looked after and welcomed. This is a family run business and you can tell. The owners are very proud of the heritage and their cuisine. We let our server (Mrs Owner) choose our dishes and we loved every one of them. The restaurant is a large space which is tiled and glass, so could get noisy if the room was full of people but somehow I don't think that will be too much of an issue. This review is 2months after we are there so I can't remember exactly what we had, but it WAS good. We always support local family restaurants in Tempe. If you're looking good northern Indian cuisine, you can't go wrong.

Stopped in for a quick lunch and was surprised to find they had a buffet. I was happily greeted by…read moretwo people who explained their liquor license had expired, which was disappointing on a hot day, but no biggie. The sign was torn off of the exterior (rebranding I think) so I thought they were closed at first. Clean interior but nothing about the decor really catches your eye. The food, while abundant, was bland at best except For the garlic naan which was super thin and highly fragrant. Meh

Everything was great! The service was amazing and she walked us through the menu since it was our…read morefirst time there. We sat outside which was nice and she served us, coming back to check in on us and how we were doing. The cheese naan was delicious along with the Chicken Tikka Masala. The side salad could use some more of the dressing but besides that everything was cooked well. We also decided to substitute one of the side naans with garlic naan which was okay. I like the decor inside and the vibe of the place.

This place is super cool! I absolutely LOVE the ambiance here, the neon lights and wall art were so…read moremuch fun to look at! The colorful seating was also nice. Parking is on the street or in lots. There was outdoor and indoor seating, which included bar area seating. When I arrived around 430pm on Saturday, it was not busy at all, but it did pick up over the next few hours that I was there. The menu includes Mediterranean and Indian dishes. I decided to order the chicken tikka masala which comes with naan and rice! I think the portion size was good, not too much or too little.

I'm really bummed out writing this because I genuinely love the food at Udupi Café. I've always…read moreenjoyed their dishes, and that's the only reason this isn't a one-star review. But I wish I actually got the food I ordered. This is now the third time I've tried to get their carrot halwa. The first time was through delivery, the second time I even tried in-store, and now this third attempt was another delivery order. Each time, no luck. Fine, things run out, but it's a pattern, you don't have it. I ordered directly from their website, so I hoped the menu would be up to date. The third-party driver called to offer substitutions, which I appreciate, but it's still disappointing. And to top it off, they forgot the vegetables in my masala padpam. That was the part of the meal I was most excited about! So here I am, having spent around $80 total, with two items unavailable and a key part of another dish missing. The only reason this isn't a lower rating is because I do still really like the food. I just wish I actually got to enjoy what I ordered and yes, this could be resolved by going in so they could tell me before I order that they're out of items.

If you're into vegetarian cuisine heat and flavor this is the place to go…read more It is very modest inside. Nothing fancy. Staff is friendly and knowledgeable. Food was fresh and tasty

This place is off the main drag in old town and easy to miss…read more Went in at 11:30 on a Wednesday. There was no one dining. The interior is inviting and warm. We were greeted right away and offered our choice of table, we sat by the window. We ordered the saag paneer, rice and garlic naan to share. The food came out quickly, but not too fast. Everything was wonderful. That naan...oh my! They have many varieties and I can't wait to try more. They have a lunch special and happy hour all day until 6pm (1/2 off all drinks). I will be back for a glass of wine and a couple orders of the different naan choices. Our server Jennifer was so friendly. With Bollywood videos playing in the background and the wonderful food, this is a great place to escape the bustle of old town and relax.

Rating: 2.5/5 The…read moreplace was cute and the drink was ok, but the food was honestly mediocre. I expected more flavor, especially from an Indian restaurant. I asked for extra spice, but it still wasn't spicy or very flavorful. The portions were also small for the price. Overall, not terrible, but definitely not something I'd go back for. . . The service was great friendly and attentive.