Their special dosas are really good. This place have definitely improved over time. Would recommend

Good and quiet place to get the Indian vegetarian food. Good taste food. Good service as well read more

Kovai Cafe - Love the Masala Dosai - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

4 star for food 1 star for misleading customers: they should disable their Google and Yelp waitlist when they don't honor it. Once you arrive they have their own QR scan code to join waitlist. read more

I love their food. In particular the uttapam and the rava dosa are terrific. Not a huge wait to get in either.

This plce is excellent for its thattu idly and the podi! The aroma and the videos of the food preparation sets my heart racing and creates food coma! I highly recommend this place! read more

I would give it 4 star. We ordered few items and they were good but very spicy. Roadside Kalan was the best dish, cauliflower panchmilagai was spicy and kovai kothu idli was also very spicy. Sambhar was very good and service was good and fast as well. Parking is ample but seating is limited. read more

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We got here for weekday dinner at 8:35. They close at 9 pm, so weren't seating any new guests. I requested and they agreed to serve us. It was very easy to find parking. Ambience was functional and clean. I had heard great things about their food but was a bit disappointed. Coconut payasam was very sweet. Ghee dosa was delicious. Wasn't a fan of mushroom dosa. Pepper kovai special idlies have an extra dose of black pepper for what I can handle. I would say it's pricier for the quantity of food served compared to other Indian restaurants in the area. Anyway, we just blame it to arriving too late, around closing time. Will give it another shot some other day read more

Used them for a large catering order. Both the food and the service were awesome. Special care was taken to make sure that the food was hot and tasty. read more

They had great options/choices Lived the dosas they made I would recommend them They serve entire Bay Area read more

We went with our family- parents, toddler - the staff was welcoming ensured food is appropriately ordered for the child. It was Saturday at noon and there was no wait time, we easily seated. We ordered dosas, Mysore masala dosa, payasam, sapadu thali, medu vada etc. everything was served hot and fresh, it was all delicious and homely. Staff was very friendly as well. Thali, sambar was better than Mylapore too. So glad to have such good restaurants in the Bay Area. read more

This is a new tamil restaurant that is creating buzz in the town. It's partly owned by the now famous Madhampatty Rangaraj from Coimbatore. Their dosas and chutneys are very good. Pongal was yummy. Gobi 65 is top notch. I don't recommend the pepper mini idly that I tried. Would love to go back and explore more items on their menu, definitely the Thali for lunch someday. read more

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The lunch thali is really good. Rest of the items are okish. We are regulars at this place for the take out meals.

My partner and I go there at least once a month and share a Thali. It is the best South Indian full veg in the Bay Area. Service is fast, ambiance is like a typical family style restaurant. It can get loud, but high quality food drowns out the noise. read more

Loved their Rava Masala Dosa, Pongal and Gobi 65. Fantastic taste and high quality. The chutneys are basic but they have four varieties. We also tried the idly and Vadai. Its was basic. The batter needs more fermentation. The chappati & kurma, kurma was amazing but the chappati was too oily. The kuttu idly could have been more flavorful. read more

It was a bad experience today. They just jack up the prices for any festival and serve the same food. One of The chutneys has gone bad and they still served it with all the items. Vada didn't cook at all and it's upsetting the tummy! read more

Another South Indian restaurant in the South Bay and a welcome one. I was there on day 3. The owners, chef, and style of food are from the city of Coimbatore. The food was a tab spicy but delicious. Service was really friendly and attentive and I hope it stays that way and it is not just a "new" thing. I wish them the very best. read more

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Ordered "Namma Ooru Saapadu" for lunch today. Wonderful unlimited lunch. Loved the sambar , moor kulambu and kaara kulambu. Tried panneer poriyal for the first time. Try elanir payasam for desert . Wonderful restaurant and will visit again read more

Kovai Cafe - Namma ooru sappadu unlimited lunch - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

Awesome food! We have been on the look out for a nice South Indian restaurant and Kovai Cafe is perfect. Delicious food and humble management. Everything in the menu is well thought through. We tried a variety of dishes and all dishes were perfect! My kid is a picky eater and he finished the chappathi all by himself. That speaks volumes!! We will definitely visit this place on a regular basis! read more

Kovai Cafe - Filter coffee, Gobi 65 and Kesari - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

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Excellent South Indian food. Some of the items I wasn't aware their availability beyond particular province or village in India My personal fav are salan idly, and their authentic South Indian thali. Went there multiple times and so far not yet disappointed read more

What we had on 03/09/2024 Sapadu: Classic south Indian Meals. I heard they have a rotating menu. The menu for the day as shown on the photo was: Paruppu payasam, white pumpkin kootu, Chow chow Mornkuzhambu, Vendakai Kara kuzhambu, Shallot Sambhar, Garlic Rasam, Potato onion poriyal, White rice, curd, pickle and appalam. The food was sumptuous, authentic and very flavorful. Very highly recommend the south indian meals. In one word: Pramaadham Filter coffee: The flavor was good but slightly bitter. I think after having the meals i had a very high expectation for the coffee but its was decent not the best. Went for a Saturday lunch and wait time was about 5-10 mins(which is mot bad for 12:00pm peak time) Very courteous staff. Its a small place and distance between the tables is a bit less. But given the space they have done their best. Note to the restaurant: if you guys take feedback, please please do not reduce the spice level on feedback. It was very tasty and perfect. It is very very hard to find restaurants that serve such flavorful and delicious meals with the perfect spice level. read more

Kovai Cafe - South Indian Meals - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

Came here last weekend with my kid and left disappointed. Desperately wanted them to succeed as it is close to home and I am from Kovai. They are located next to India cash and carry and share the same crowded parking lot. Ordered Ghee masala dosa and a idli, Vada, Pongal combo. In a South Indian restaurant, both these are staples. Dosa came in 5 minutes and seemed fine. The idli combo took 27 mins to come after 4 reminders to ensure they don't forget. I wasn't the only one, there were many others waiting like this where a few members finished their breakfast while others were waiting for their food to arrive. Hangry, I just gulped down the food and left off quickly. In addition, the medu Vada was extremely small in size and the Idli were mini idlis. The mismatch in their prices compared to the food portions was stark. There is only so many Kovai stories I can tell my kid from the pictures on the wall of famous landmarks from the city. Coffee and lassi were fine. I may return on a weekday to give them another chance to see if things have improved. Otherwise, you are in a area with plenty of South Indian restaurants to choose from and may go elsewhere read more

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This place has been getting rave reviews and I was so excited for this one.. walking into it.. you feel like you have landed in a restaurant in India.. something about the vibe here is so nostalgic! Getting to the food, we got the mushroom 65, curd Vada, dosa and kovai kothu idli.. there is a unique taste, very close to what you get back home, iykyk! Everything was good except the filter coffee and not greasy good spice, very authentic and good se I missed having the Thali, will be back soon ! read more

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We went after a hike so the food tastes quite good to the hangry crowd . Gobi 65 is very crispy. Pepper mini idly was too good that we didn't even take a picture. Mysore masala dosa was just okay. Vada was too oily for my taste. Coffee is good but more watery than expected. Pudeena chutney and sambhar was very good as well. read more

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We had ordered on site Dosa for a kids party The service was on time under budget Food quality was excellent Courteous and affordable This place is in top 5 for on site catering read more

If you are in Cupertino and craving some south indian food, i would recommend hitting up Kovai Cafe.We had to wait 20-30 minutes, but trust me, it was worth the wait.we ordered their signature dish : Kovai Kalan but we were not familiar with as a dish. It was a mushroom and cabbage combo dish which is very unexpected but was delicious. we loved the masala dosa and chilli onion uttapam both of which were crispy and flavorful. The kiddo loved soft and buttery ghee idlis. Their sambhar and chutneys were soo flavorful and pair that with mango lassi, and we were in food heaven. Bonus points for quick and friendly service.. we will be definitely back when we are in the area. read more

New South Indian veg Tiffin place in Bay Area, went there on a weekend before the lunch crowd and by the time we left there was a line outside. Of all the Bay Area filter coffee's this one was the best. I would come back just for that. The rava dosa and masala dosa both were very good I liked the variety of chutneys and sambar as well. Appreciated that nothing was too spicy and enjoyable for kids to eat. read more

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I found the place to be too loud for a restaurant. Also, the chutney were not that great. I would give the food a 6/10. Service was good 8/10. I think they should work on their flavoring a little more. read more

The mushroom masala was fantastic--packed with plenty of mushrooms and full of rich, savory flavor. The dish came out quickly, which was a nice surprise, and the price was very reasonable for the quality and portion size. I thought I could finish it, but I only made it halfway through. read more

在我家走路範圍內開了一家新的印度 Cafe。在觀望了一陣子後，我們在一個星期日晚上進去這家店，即使已經七點多了，裡面還是人山人海。由於我們只有兩個人+小孩，所以等待了約15分鐘後就有位子。我望眼放去我們是唯一的一桌非印度人。 由於上個月我們吃了一家印度 buffet，我太太對 Dosa 流連忘返，所以我們倆都決定點了 Dosa。我們另外點了一份芒果奶昔 Mango Lassi 跟一份炸起司 Paneer。首先是 Mango Lassi 很好喝，就是有點小份，以4.49 的價錢來說我覺得挺貴的。再來是前菜 Paneer，它是炸過的起司，在剛來還熱的時候很不錯，沒有過重的調味，有種鹽酥雞跟鹽酥豆腐之間的的口感。可是冷了之後就不太行，建議趁熱吃掉。再來就是主菜們，我太太點的 Mushroom Dosa 非常好吃，並且有種在吃肉的口感。我剛剛可能忘了說，這是一家素菜館。這道菜的調味我們都非常滿意，唯一我太太比較希望的是 Dosa 可以有些 mochi 的口感，因為上次在 Mountain View 吃到的 Dosa 讓她的期盼值偏高。至於我的 Masala Dosa 就還好，這道是服務員推薦的。 整體來說，我們都沒想到這些食物可以讓我們這麼飽，而且價位屬於便宜的。我住在矽谷25 年來總在想，雖然這地區的印度人很多，可是在餐館裡看到的較少。後來仔細想想，有非常大佔比的印度人是吃素的，這也大大了局限了他們去的餐廳跟我一般常去的餐廳的重疊。但是既然這裡的人口比例高，那自然而然的印度餐館也應該不會差到哪裡。這家店我給它四星，價格實惠非常適合想淺嚐的朋友。 read more

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Ordered thali for 40 people from Kovai Cafe for a pooja at our place -- and I must say, it was a total hit! Everyone loved the food, and so many guests were asking where we ordered from. The veg biryani was super tasty, full of nice flavour and not too oily. Sweets were just awesome -- proper homely taste, especially the payasam. And that vada, yaar... crispy, fresh, and so yummy! Veg Kurma with Rotis are really delicious Definitely one of the best items. Service was also spot on -- food came on time, hot and well packed. No complaints at all. If you're planning any function or gathering, just go for Kovai Cafe. They won't disappoint. Full satisfaction! THANK YOU KOVAI CAFE YOU MADE MY DAY read more

Good food and good services. Place is neat & clean. Highly recommend for vegetables folks.

Love this place. Food, service, ambiance all are A1. Definitely worth trying and also repeatedly visiting. Please please do visit and do not think at all. You cannot go wrong with this place. Amazing staff and their welcoming vibes is icing on the cake. read more

Amazing food, they've accommodated special requests for the food and was very uniform and very well packed. I loved the packing boxes which were enviro mentioned friendly and compostable. Tha k you for caring so much not only about your customers , but also about the environment. Wishing nothing but the best!!! read more

Had lunch at Kovai Cafe and went for the veg thali . Honestly, every bite reminded me of home. The curries were rich in flavor, the sambar and rasam were spot on, and the payasam was just heavenly. The place had such a warm Indian vibe, it felt like I was back in India for a while. Easy 5 stars from me! Highly recommend my friends to try it -- thank you, Kovai, for keeping the taste so authentic . read more

1. Food is good. That is the saving grace. 2. Service not so much. Even for large families they do not take reservations. Several family members opted OUT of eating there when they said they could not provide continuous seating for us. 3. They serve very little sambar with their dishes. Often it is inadequate. read more

If you go there early, you will get a place and parking. The service was very fast and the food was good. We loved the paruppu vada. Yet to try their specials. Overall it's a good experience if you reach early. After 7:30 pm, I saw people waiting out for tables. read more

Food was great! Service was quite good. Everyone was warm and nice. Get on the virtual waitlist ahead of arriving. read more

Kovai Cafe - Namma Ooru Saapadu - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

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Excellent food and service. I would rather go to this place compared to Mylapore nearby where one has to wait for an hour to just get in. The food is great, service is wonderful and the place is clean. read more

We tried this place on Sunday evening long weekend So once u get to the place u need to scan the QR code and then wait to be called What we saw was lot of them have taken a picture of the QR code print out and booking at home and coming only when they are 3rd in there turn So you really can't predict how much more time it would take as when we went there was only 3 group of people waiting outside but then saw people who wer jus parking and entering Food - Food was ok not bad we had to wait too long for Dosa , but while other items like pongal and idli came sooner Service - Service is ok felt like we are sitting in an restaurant in India where while ur still eating the person rushes u and wants to take the plate of to accommodate others Ambiance - ok small place if your going with bigger party be prepared to sit separate read more

amazing chocolate dosa and payasam -simba awesome service and beautiful scenery and entertaining background music read more

Kovai Cafe - Kara Podi Babycorn - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California