Indian food is way beyond the regular butter chicken and naan variety. Mallu cafe has Malyalee food. From the state of "Kerala"- gods own country. They have an unpretentious interior but great food. Btw. When you talk of indian spices. 90% of those spices come from Kerala. So have your taste buds on a roller coaster journey thru the culinary delights of Mallu food. This place never disappoints. Althow it is mainly catering to catering. The food is amazing. Try the Kerala chicken curry or the chicken Varutharacha curry. Loved the Kerala Porotta. The Kerala bread/ or the Appam. read more

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It's hit or miss with this place. If you're local and are familiar with South Indian cuisine, you'll know what I mean. They're typically there for you when you're in a pinch and don't need a lot. read more

Mallu's latest health inspection report shows multiple violations, including for insects and rodents (click the photo or look up Mallu at Philadelphia's Office of Food Protection, Safety Inspection Reports). This report proves that Mallu's hygiene leaves a lot to be desired. Mallu's food itself was obviously previously cooked and then reheated, including the rice, beef, chicken, and mutton. The food tasted terrible as a result. My family and I were very disappointed. The restaurant was bare bones, tiny, dark, unclean, and smelly. The employees were very polite and prices reasonable for the amount of food received. But the positives did not come close to offsetting the awful tasting food. There is no private parking, so you will need to park on busy, crowded Veree Road. There are several excellent Indian restaurants in Philadelphia but Mallu ain't one of them. I am a REAL consumer trying to help other real consumers. This is a 100% truthful review, so please do not delete it! read more

Mallu Cafe & Catering - Insect and rodent violations found by city health inspectors - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Lousy food. Do not go there. Not worth it at all. I paid for a Onam meal for 5 people - that includes about 21 side dishes; came home to find only 13, a few were doubles. Even after I drove back 30 min to get the remaining stuff, they only gave me 4 of the missing dishes. They said they were out of 2. And the portions were pathetic (picture included). All this when I reserved this 3 days in advance. Horrible food and customer service, do not go there. There are better places to eat better Indian food. read more

Mallu Cafe & Catering - This is the Quantity for a side dish 5 adults. - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

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Mallu Cafe on Verree just off Bustleton in far Northeast Philly is really a take out Indian joint, with a few tables for those who don't mind the run down decor or aren't aware of the business model employed (like me). Their website was interesting, and showed nice photos of many of their Kerala dishes. Perhaps, I should have been deterred by the sketchy dudes hanging by the front door (even more of them when we left), but they smiled when we approached and invited us in. Strange, but no big deal. We ordered Chicken 65 (spicy chili fried), Avial (mixed veggie coconut curry) and Appam (rice flour fry bread). They arrived in take out containers with plastic forks (?!). The chicken had been deep fried to a very dark brown and delivered without any sauce. Obviously, overcooked by someone who didn't know their own recipe, or hadn't looked at their website, as I had. I returned it to the kitchen. I wanted it done the right way, but that wasn't offered. Rather, they wanted to give us Kerala Chicken Curry. Okay. Whatever. While we waited we sampled the veggie dish. It was cool on top and hot at the base. Microwaved, and no one bothered to see if it was fully recooked. Nope. Further, it didn't look like the pics on the website, either. Rather than having distinct veggies, it was all mashed together. Didn't change the decent taste, but the presentation was lacking. When the replacement curry arrived we quickly saw that it was bone in small pieces. Hard to deal with only a plastic fork. The flavor was fine, but with the morsels to contend with it was not worth the effort. It was hard to understand why they would give us the bones, when boneless was only a buck more. Besides, they never asked which we would prefer. No. My sense was they were annoyed about their earlier mistake with the 65, knew they could not charge us for that, and decided to throw some shade at us by literally boning us. We surrendered, asked for the check, and definitely did not want to take anything home. When we left there were more dudes just hanging around outside. Maybe they were waiting for us to leave so they could start their pinochle game. Mallu Cafe just didn't seem to be a restaurant anymore. There are plenty of good Indian houses in this part of the city. This place just isn't one of them. 1 Star - Avoid read more

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My only regret with this place is that it's so far from center city. I keep going back whenever I go to Philadelphia Mills for shopping. While this is a long overdue review, I'll talk about my most recent order. Did takeout from here because that's what we always do. Ordered the vegetable biryani, beef ulathiyathu and chicken 65. Portions are HUGE. 4 of us ate from the biryani and we still had leftovers. Beef Ulathiyathu is my most favorite dish so far. The coconut and curry leaves just make it so delicious. Chicken 65 was a bit dry and chewy but again good. There's a lot of stuff that I still want to try so I will keep going back. read more

Mallu Cafe & Catering - This is where they store takeout orders to keep food fresh. Pretty interesting in my opinion. - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

It is beyond rare for me to one-star an establishment but in my opinion and for good reasons, I don't feel Mallu Café deserves any more. I was taking a friend who had just traveled to India out to lunch and I suggested an Indian restaurant serving the food from Kerala as a change of pace. That restaurant would be Mallu Café. It is located in a totally non-descript small shopping center in northeast Philly. We walked in to no greeting and when I asked about a table was just given a hand signal to take a seat. The table top in this no-frills eatery could have used a nice wipe down as there were def a couple large grease spots. And the restaurant was really cold so we kept out coats on. We ordered and the food came out quickly - def just heated up or micro-waved. We were given a plastic plate and a plastic fork. When I asked for a knife and a serving spoon, I was told "only forks." I asked what did they have to drink and was told only bottled water. So water it was. Now unfortunately the food was nothing extra - indeed my friend didn't care for it at all. The beef patties were very dry, the Varutharacha chicken curry had more bones than meat, the beef Ulathiyathu had a little too much gristle and where were the peppers and onions? Only the Kappa (yucca) seemed in line with past Keralite meals. We kinda just wanted to leave and I asked for the check, glanced at it, and then just paid ... including a tip. (Why?) At the car my friend said you seemed to have paid a lot for our meals - did you get overcharged? I said, I think I did and got the menu I took along with me. I added everything up (including the bottled water), then factored in tax, and realized we were charged too much for the food we didn't even like and service, heat, amenities which were bare minimum. I remembered seeing my friend's dish cost 12 dollars, yet there was nothing for 12 dollars on the whole menu. My dish I realized after looking at the menu was also charged a couple of dollars more. Now if the prices have changed and the menus we were given to order from are not correct, that's terrible business practice. I hate being overcharged and this seemed deliberate as it was a hand-written bill and occurred with both entrees. Anyway, I said "Let's just forget it. I don't ever want to go back to that place again" ....and I won't!!! read more

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This place really is the tsar bomba of all Indian restaurants in town. It really is authentic indian RESTAURANT food. Just the way you go to a good old time pub here and order finger food; you can go to this place and expect them to cook food that woul be served to you in a popular restaurant in India. As an aside this is run by a south Indian person - so the things to order are the coconut gravy based dishes and the dosas. But I've heard he is pretty good with the north Indian/Mughal-ai dishes as well - the tikka masala, the biryani, the palak paneer etc. The south Indian food will be a revalation to you. coconutty gravies that you might like or not like - I like some of them not some of them. I'm an Indian, I've been a foodie all my life - this is spicy good Indian restaurant food. I'm not a snob - if you like your whitish creamy Indian gravies then by all means ENJOY - but you owe it to yourself to try this food. Ps - the dosas are awesome. EDIT: Cannot really recommend this place any more. On a recent visit, the food was uneatable - The chicken was not really fresh, so much so that I left the large piece of chicken after taking a few bites. Maybe it was a strange day, maybe it was a mistake, a lunar eclipse, the solar equinox.... but.... really.... I wont be going here again. I loved you Mallu cafe... then you kicked me where it really, really hurt... :( read more

Somerton, NE Philly The food is good so u need to order two hours in advance becus everyone is also ordering. Authentic South Indian- KERALA food is my favorite Indian food. Don't take me to center city or u will make me cry. Take me to Northeast Philly or Edison NJ when it comes to Indian food...I only want my favorite. I know my Indian food...no need to be Indian. Lol Side dear diary note: So I was thinking about favorite foods. What do we need? I know I need my Kerala food place weekly. I know I need a breakfast joint that opens early and easy to get to. I know I don't want any chain food but it's hard becus they are unhealthily ubiquitous!!! Then I need a fast Red meat or iron place, which I have access to two. But I need a better one which I haven't found yet. I need my pho place, but u can't rely on one becus they have this problem of not being reliable to be open. I need my hot soup place. I need my hipster weirdo food place. Im still looking for an easy to reach salad place. I need my chicken banh mi place but it kind of having to go thru all the traffic opposite of the highway sux. My wings and nonalcoholic chill bar place. My chill with the girls place. Why do you think shows have this one favorite joint they always film at? convenience. You are always on the go, so you gotta get pickier than ever about food, foodie. read more

Mallu Cafe & Catering - Malayam or Kerala is my food when it comes to Indian food. WHO KNEW? - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

The customer service is really bad,the man was making customers angry really bad I don't recommend to my friends and relatives

They have really good food and I enjoy getting takeout here on a regular basis. They did get my order wrong once, but I took it back in and they gave me the right order and let me keep the stuff that was wrong that they gave me. read more

Warning: you will eat a lot, and you will go into a food coma after eating here. Everything I tried was rich and delicious. Fish fry, lamb, chicken, goat, turmeric-yogurt, paratha, YUM. Wish this place were easier to get to from the city without a car! read more

The food is actually pretty good, but the service is not. They are very unorganized. I had to wait over an hour after they told me the food would be ready to get my order. Also, they run out of food, and don't always tell you until your get there. The people that work there are nice, but they really need help with getting organized. read more

Tiny takeout places do have the best food occasionally. I first tried Mallu Cafe at a friend's house warming party. They had ordered a catered affair and I really liked the Chiken Tikka Biryani. I loved the aroma, the plentiful chicken in the biryani and the interplay of flavors. Recently on the way back from JFK, I called and ordered two chicken biryani, a mango and fish curry and some naan. There was so much food that we had leftovers for two more meals. The mango and fish curry was really unique to me since I had never had it before. Pieces of cooked green mango interspersed with morsels of fish in a coconut gravy definitely hit the spot. When we got there, our food wasn't ready so we stopped at the grocery store next door. The owner came looking for us with all our food packed and it was still pretty warm when we had it 30 mins later. Loved the fact that they are concerned about providing the freshest food possible. I will definitely be back After having the biryani a couple of times - this might be my favorite biryani place on the east coast. Go there now and thank me later. read more

We used to live around this place, and used to order from here all the time. It is maybe the biggest thing that we miss about our old neighborhood. The name is appropriate: "Mallu" is the word used for people from the southern coastal state of Kerala, and this cuisine is very well done here. It is not your typical chicken tikka garbage, but unique to the region and true in authenticity. The fact that it is a great value is also a plus. I have never eaten in, only taken out, as there dining room is minimal to say the least. Service can be slow, but it is worth the wait. Just call an hour ahead of time. If you want a truly UNIQUE Indian takeout experience, this is it. read more

Everything here is authentically Kerala (South-west India) delicious. All their biriyanis are exceptionally good, but if you're looking for something a little different, try the Chicken Tikka Biriyani. All their food is great. I've never dined in. The multiple times I've gone there to pick-up my order, the atmosphere/ambiance is acceptable for a hole-in-the-wall place (think corner chinese take-out spot). Eating there would guarantee straight-off-the-stove delciousness. This will continue to be a staple to my take-out locations. read more

I'm relatively new to Indian food, but I'm hooked! Not having had a 5 star Indian meal, or even some good, home-made Indian cuisine, I certainly don't know if I'm qualified to write a great review of the spice and seasoning, the presentation, or the authenticity. I do, however, know what I like! The short of it is : Food was good. We had Chicken Tikka Masala and Saag Paneer, the two dishes I always order to 'test the water'. Good portion, plenty of chicken and good flavor in the Tikka. Saag was also tasty. Also had some Naan and lots of rice, both very good. Not a place I would want to sit and eat, but for takeout it was good. If you have a craving, live close by, and aren't looking for 'awesome', Mallu Cafe will fill the bill. FYI, we went on a snowy, icy night...so other reviews say order ahead of time. We got our food quickly, but it was a slow Sunday night and that may not always be the case. I had been ordering from Rasavaat in Krewstown Center, but they closed. This food was cheaper and almost as good. I've done takeout from Zaika a few times, but Mallu is better, both in portion size and flavor (for me). About a week ago We ordered from Spice Garden at Bustleton and Lott, and again, Mallu was better, but priced comparatively. I think it's a given that from now on Mallu will be my Go-To takeout Indian joint, but it won't stop me from trying out other spots in the area as opportunity presents itself. read more

Best beef dish in Philly. Beef Ulathiyathu is FANTASTIC. I got a second one to go, put it in the fridge, and the next day when I ate it cold, it was just as tasty. And a MASSIVE PORTION. Also the Chicken Varutharacha Curry and the Fish Mango Curry are good, but be careful of the bones. Their unique, non-oily sauces make up for the fact that you have to look out for the bones. (I drank their sauces afterwards because there were so good.) Our waiter said that most customers prefer the meat being cooking with the bone (more tender). No bones on the Beef Ulath. above. For veggies, I had the Sambar dish. And it was great. Mind you, I left there on a full stomach with some extra entrees that I had gotten to go, including the Sambar. When I got home, with a full stomach, I tasted the Sambar and promptly ate the whole thing right there. It's like a veggie stew. My only problem with the Sambar - a mild one considering its taste - was that I wasn't sure if that long green been in it was digestible or if it was meant for seasoning only (like a bay leaf that also might have been there). I was under the impression beforehand that the green bean would be a normal green bean, but it tasted too rigid for a veggie that you actually swallow. (But nonetheless, the Sambar was GREAT.) I also order the Kerala Fish Curry. Too oily for non-Kerala people, I think. It was practically submerged in a pool of oil. But 4 out of 5 on dishes is a pretty good batting average. The porotta is also tasty if you like bread. read more

First I am a malayalee. I have eaten at this place for atleast 5+ years. They made a name for themselves by serving food in the Malayalee churches. They were known for serving good food, very good quantity food without any extra fringes. That brought down their cost per unit. Whenever we go to Phly we buy food from here. We ordered a number of take out. The beef was not cooked well. Masala was there. and size had become half. As for us we are done with this place and we will definetely tell our Mar Thoma church people to stop ordering from here. I think the 2 older uncles have got in their children who maybe trying to show modern cost cutting. Best of luck. read more

I got Chicken Varutharacha Curry and Appam bread, and would highly recommend that combination because the bread (really like a pancake) can be used to eat the plentiiful delicious gravy. The chicken was fresh and good and went great in the sauce, but there wasn't a ton of chicken either. You are looking at maybe 7 pieces of chicken with bones that can fit in the palm of a woman's hand. With tax it came to $12, so the price was "OK". I came at 8:30 and it's supposed to close at 9, so they wouldn't let me dine in, since they said that they were closing "before 9". That doesn't bother me that much, it basically means that they don't get a tip and I don't fill myself before biking back home with the food. So I would say that the quality is great, the pancakes (namely, Appam) is great, the gravy is great. I have heard mixed reviews about the meat, but mine was good but on the small side for what I want. Two doors down is a South Indian grocery where you can get Masala Chai imported from India. It is good with milk, but it seems less herbal and more regular tea-like than STASH brand chai. read more

Awesome food, had been here for the first time. I'm a big fan of Kerala food. Don't miss Kerala parotta (flaky wheat bread), also kerala fish curry. Food is not expensive and quantity is great :) read more

Yummy food I highly recommend. Been there for the first time a few weeks ago with a person from NJ. The place was small and we thought it was closed. The owner misunderstood us (language barrier) but I think that it even added a fun element to the overall experience. They didn't have the Mango dish so I will try it next time. Definitely recommend. The best part is that it is conveniently located in the multi ethnic Somerton section of Northeast Philadelphia. Stay tuned for some photos... read more

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Chicken briyani from this place is outstanding...very very close to what it taste like in the briyani back home. One of the very very few restaurants in US that has such a quality briyani. Must try for every desi.... Dont go to Edison....try this once then you would stop going to Edison for Briyanis!!! I'm serious!!! Pro: Great FOOD (specially BRIYANI) and Price Cons: average ambiance and service. read more

We ate in, ordering the varutharan chicken. The dish itself was not bad, but it came out by itself. Rice is not included in the price. We asked for some rice and he brought us a small container, charging us $4 for it, not mentioning that there was any cost to a tiny container of rice. As we are eating, the waiter placed two bottles of water on the table. I assumed they were complimentary since he did not ask if we wanted them. I later found out that he charged us for those as well. We were brought styrofoam plates and plastic forks and the food came out in styrofoam to go containers, which I thought was bizzare given that they have a restaurant setup. I don't like the hidden charges and I do not plan to return. read more

I have ordered from them before....but never thought i would find a roach in my food. Will never go back there. Found it in Kappa Biriyani that i ordered. read more

Mallu Cafe & Catering - Roach in my food - Indian Near Me - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Great food !! The new cooks under the new management are great. Had beef biryani , chicken curry and parotta , amazing taste - thank you!

We were passing by North-East Philly and seen this spot. We have tried butter chicken here. It was so tasty we forgot to get photos. But anyways, I can assure you that's one of the most authentic spots for North and South Indian kitchen. The price is cheap as well. I am going to come again, definitely. read more

It was a #1 kerala restaurant in Philly area few years ago. Now they have lot of money. So they don't care about customers or quality of food. Dirty kitchen. Food not tasty as before. Often chef changes. If you eat from here food poison is a sure thing. read more

Food mediocre, very difficult ordering due to language barrier. Indian food normally has flavor, not this case with them. Food did NOT come with rice, wtf!!! read more

The best and only restaurant that offers Kerala cuisine. The ambiance is very average and one of the owners who often answers the phone is not polite or accommodative by any stretch of imagination. Their biriyani, fish and beef dishes are top notch.. Wish they had an outlet in Jersey as well. read more

Eaten for the second time at Mallu. I have tried the chicken tika masala and the tandoori chicken. So far, the food is very good. I have eaten at many Indian restaurants in Philly and this place is winning so far. Can't wait for my next meal there. read more

I have mix experience at this place so giving 3 stars. If you call and the kid pickup then you are in luck if the old man pickup who speak crypted english then you are out of luck. I called in for fish biryani and got response no one hour so I asked it will be ready one hour you mean he said what do you want I was like fish biryani so I again asked for fish biryani and he said yes yes one hour anc he hung up. I knew something was wrong so after 45mins I called back to check on my order and old man picked up again. So I asked is my fish biryani ready he said no fish biryani I am like I want to check on my biryani order he okok let me check he comes back and tell me no biryani I was like you said it will be ready in one hr. After a pause he says no fish biryani he hung up. I guess he was busy and did not care read more

Authentic Kerala (one of the states in India) cuisine. We tried three dishes- chili chicken, goat curry, and chicken biryani. All were very good. Portion size was generous. Prices were moderate compared to other Indian restaurants. Goat was a bit on the tough side but that is the style. Mostly a takeout/catering business, restaurant is very spartan. read more

Great place for take out and they pay attention to special requests and don't disappoint. Highly recommend the biryani both goat and chicken are delicious. For those who appreciate Kerala style of cooking biryani won't be disappointed. Very different from the mughlai style. read more

So this is not a place to sit down and eat. They have sitting, but a poor atmosphere. However, its excellent for takeout! We ordered Chicken Varatharcha Curry, which is a coconut curry. I asked for them to make it extra spicy. And it was both spicy and absolutely delicious -- tastes exactly like the way my mom makes it at home. We also ordered the Shrimp biriyani, which was very moist and spicy as well, and had nice plump shrimp. I will definitely be coming back here again. read more

Delicious food! The meen curry was amazeballs! I have liked every item I've ordered from here. Food is also ready pretty quickly, for me anyway. read more

I had been to Philly on a business trip and after having stayed here for 2 weeks, my wife and I really wanted to have some authentic kerala food. Yelp and other sites suggested this malayalee restaurant. The great reviews fueled our desire to have food from here. I called them and they said they close only late. It was a 30 min drive from downtown; we got there on a Saturday evening at about 530pm or so. We didn't find any street parking, but found parking space in front of the restaurant. Parked the car and walked in and the owner with big attitude said that is not the parking place and they want the space to load their catered order in their truck. I was okay with that at the time. However. we told that we came to dine-in and wanted to order food. He had a lot of attitude and he didn't care that we came to eat and said that we have to wait for 30-45 minutes. We were okay to wait. Soon, some young guy came out of the kitchen and the owner turned to him and tells him about having to seat us. He said its not possible today. They just did not want to seat us that evening and said that they have a big church order and cant do anything at this time. The food may be great; but they just don't know how to treat and take care of customers. For them, catering was more important and hence refused to seat us. They did not even apologize for not able to seat us. They probably could have handled us better. I mentioned these to some of my Philly friends and they suggested that its better to get to-go orders rather than sitting there and they agreed that he does have attitude, but the food is tasty (according to them) read more

The good reviews are totally fake! They were probably posted by the owner or his affiliates. Mallu Cafe serves leftovers but represents them as being freshly made. They have the worst tasting Indian food on Earth, even the rare times that it is fresh. It really is that bad. Their nasty attitude and dark, dreary store does not help matters. Please search the many other negative reviews about Mallu posted at other websites. However, do not be fooled by Mallu's online marketing scam of bogus rave reviews! They are lying! read more

This is the best Indian food we have ever had!!! We have searched up and down the East coast to try to find a spot to top Mallu and no luck! We have been ordering consistently a few times a month for the past year and have never had a bad experience. Our usual order consists of Samosas, Parrotta, garlic naan, boneless chicken biryani and chicken vindaloo. The vindaloo is to die for with a complex spice profile that will haunt your dreams, we have tried to replicate the recipe but it is never as good. The parrotta .....i want to live in a parrotta bed...just covered in the flaky bread. The biryani is food fit for the gods, honestly...you will never have a better combination than the biryani and vindaloo. Crispy fried onions, soft cashews and juicy raisins mixed into this magical rice. The portions are huge but my boyfriend and I usually order 3 vindaloo because you are going to sleepwalk to the kitchen to eat some more after your food coma. If I died and this was the best food I have ever tasted I would be completely content. We will have Mallu cater our wedding...best Kerala food ever...you won't be disappointed! read more

Good food. The go to place for Kerala take out. Popular among Malayalees in NE Philly. Have catered for a couple of events and never disappointed read more