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    Shayona cafe - BAPS

    4.0 (55 reviews)
    Open 11:00 am - 8:00 pm

    Shayona cafe - BAPS Photos

    SHAYONA CAFE - BAPS ATMOSPHERE

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    Reviews With Photos - Shayona cafe - BAPS

    Pri W.

    Visited this cafe after spending some time in the BAPS mandir! The ordering process is a little interesting-- you have to go to a kiosk to place your order, get a ticket and then use that ticket to go to different stations to pick up your food. At the end, you scan your ticket and pay for your meal. There are ample tables to sit at after! The food is 100% vegetarian and is made with no onions or garlic. I was surprised to see so many fusion things on the menu, including items like pesto dosa bites. We got a few things to share, including the pav bhaji (it's just ok, the pav wasn't great), gobi manchurian (more on the sweet side, but good), tandoori panini (this was the best item, the sauce and cheese was great), agni fries (delicious), dosa, uthappa and a thali.

    Menu

    Very good and affordable. Order at the kiosks (vs looking at the menu board) so you can see pictures of the food.

    Raj S.

    Shayana Café at BAPS Temple is a very good cafeteria that almost feels like a proper restaurant. There's plenty of seating inside, but it does get extremely crowded and quite slow during peak hours. They offer full meals as well as ready-made items like dhokla, samosas, papdi, and other snacks. They also serve juices, tea, coffee, and mango lassi, all at reasonable prices--not too expensive. We only went for the ready-made food because of the long queues for billing. The dhokla was awesome--fresh and flavorful! The samosa was good too, though the mango lassi wasn't sweet enough for my taste. Overall, the food quality and taste are very good, but be prepared for crowds if you visit during busy times.

    Ellen L.

    The flat bread was very very hard. You order the food, grab the ticket and visit each station to pick up your food with that receipt. The line can come pretty long, don't come hungry! I'd recommend have lunch and only stop by the cafe for water and mango lassi. You can refill your water everywhere. We didn't know we can bring water in

    Emma G.

    I imagine most expectations for a food court inside a tourist attraction/pilgrimage destination are pretty low. In my experience, these types of places don't have particularly good food, and are just another way to gouge tourists who've already spent a pretty decent chunk of change on the day. A pleasant surprise - that's not the case here. Yes, the menu is definitely Americanized to an extent (there's an entire section dedicated to pizza), but there's a lot of legit Indian dishes available at a really reasonable price. After walking around the BAPS Hindu temple complex for a bit with the Millennial Chum and the Millennial Chum's sister in very toasty conditions (probably low 90s with oodles of humidity, and a chaste dress code to boot), everyone was hankering for some calories. We'd spied the general location of the cafe when we initially came in through the main entrance, and it wasn't hard to find later on - the signage is pretty decent in that regard. Compared to the rest of the campus, this area looked stunningly normal - no intricately carved ducks to be seen. There were DIY kiosks right by the entrance, and quite a few of them so despite there being a lot of people on the premises we were able to order our items almost immediately, and you were then directed to specific stations based off of what you'd ordered. I of course decided to get a ton of stuff and ended up having to visit three separate stations. I got the Khichu - Papdi Lot, a Cheese Dosa and some bread that started with a P (I just know it wasn't Naan). All of it was really tasty, and as you can see from the accompanying picture, it's a very decent portion - I was pretty stuffed for the remainder of the day. The Cheese Dosa came with a side of mint chutney, I believe, which paired perfectly. The Khichu was the more exotic item, but I think it had a pretty mainstream taste - the Millennial Chum sampled it and we both thought it tasted like a very ethnic mashed potatoes. The texture was slightly off-putting for me, a bit too gelatinous, but overall really good and I didn't come close to finishing it. Given that there are so many moving parts to the cafe, I was pretty impressed by its efficiency and level of service. Everyone behind the counter was understandably busy, but I was given direct, personal attention at each spot promptly. I was a little apprehensive when I saw the line at the checkout, but despite only having two cashiers over there (are they even called that now with the vast majority of purchases being card transactions? Unclear) it went by very quickly. We were on a bit of a schedule during this portion of the day, so the speed of the cafe service was very welcome. And the cherry on top? Sticker shock, but in a good way. My mountain of food cost me a little over $20, and it likely would have been 2 or 3 times that somewhere else. I haven't been to the Museum of Natural History since Jurassic Park came out (they had a special exhibit that weekend which was AWESOME; I miss 1993), but I'm guessing that a meal at their food court would have required me to apply for a loan or at least speak briefly with an underwriter. This area of NJ is an absolute gastro wasteland, so even if you're a little tepid on the food genre, I'd give it a shot for that reason alone. The fact that it's actually decent is a bonus.

    Khaman Chaat
    Ric T.

    I am pretty surprised that this café is presented in a cafeteria style with the food so good. Usually they're mediocre, not here, the food was excellent. Surprise to me. I had the Khaman Chaat , (sp??) wow, with the sponge-like cake and the topping of chutney, yogurt and cilantro, made for one great meal. Why I say cafeteria is because you get a tray with plastic knives, forks & spoons. You pay for your meal online and you go to the different stations and pick up your food. Simple and plain yet efficient. The tomato soup was outstanding and chai tea, which is called here Masala tasted wonderful. This café is located on the grounds of BAPS.

    Joanne H.

    All vegetarian options meals. Everything was very flavorful. You pick and choose what you want to order at the machine. Then bring your receipt to the corresponding food stall to pick up your food. Pay at the end. MST.Very easy process. Description change. Food was fresh and yummy. Ample seating and spacious.

    Khaman dhokla and chaas
    Neha G.

    Sept 12, 2025 review: ----- We visited this cafe after seeing the BAPS akshardham temple and on your way out, it walks you through the cafe and souvenir store. This cafe has plenty of variety from quick snacks to full meal, all pure vegeterian options. Quality of the food is top class and you will find the best taste as well. They have variety from different north Indian food to South Indian meals. We had lunch plan at different places so grabbed quick snacks here which are all made fresh.At the Grab and go Island, they had samosa, Dabeli, Khaman, Khandavi, Lilva Kachori and chilli paneer. They also have green and red chutney to take along with it in packets. Drinks options had bunch of soda, water, mango lasssi, chaas (buttermilk). The buttermilk was VERY good, we got the masala one. Khaman was melting in mouth. There are people to assist you at the checkout counter. The sitting area is also very quiet, they have a tree at the center of all seating area, which make it very natural and calm place. Really enjoyed this place and I would want to try more items next time.

    Bhagyashree B.

    This cafe is located inside BAPS Akshardham and serves pure vegetarian cuisine with a variety of North and South Indian dishes. You add the food items to the ticket on one of the kisoks, fetch food from different counters and then pay at the checkout line. We tried the cheese pav bhaji, idli sambhar, samosa chaat, pizza, utthapam and shrikhand. Everything was fresh and tasty. The chaat is made to order right in front of you. There's ample seating in the cafe and it's very clean.

    Uttapam
    Akriti M.

    Yes the temple was amazing as we expected it to be BUT the food here stole the show for our foodie family! We were initially not very hungry so ordered a couple of items only to try out and we were so happy with the mild ( not spicy not bland) flavours. Obviously ordered more stuff after the first round. The papdi chaat and khaman chaat were the clear winners. Even the thali was great, the best part was that everything felt so light on Tummy, no extra oil whatsoever. Parents absolutely love the masala tea and we got some saffron sweets as well. Oh the pizza was thin crust and even though there was less paneer but still the flavour was delicious. I wish it wasn't too far from our house, it's a long drive but I hope we will be back soon. P.s. it was crowded but they planned the self order placing counter, pickups and payments counter in a very crowd friendly way. We were in and out in no time, hygienic and hassle free experience. Oh also, the food was super affordable!! There is nothing to complain about :)

    Papdi Chaat, chili paneer, uttapam
    Irene L.

    If you like authentic Indian food, especially for a good bargain you will love this place! It is a little chaotic/overwhelming at first when learning the system, but the employees guide you as you stand in line to order at the kiosks. Then you bring your ticket to the station where your food ordered is and present your ticket for pick up. It is a cafeteria style establishment and there is first come first serve seating on the first and second floors with cozy booths and large tables. We enjoyed a variety of dishes. Our favorites were the papdi chaat, chili paneer and thaali. Each dish was so deeply flavorful. The mango lassi was also delicious. They have so many dishes I want to try and even an ice cream station as well. I will definitely come back to explore more of the menu items!

    Emmanuel D.

    If you're craving and looking for authentic vegetarian dishes,this is the place to go . There's a lot of choices and their BAPS coffee tastes good. Friendly, hospitable and courteous staffs. Place is inside a Hindu temple which is of great marvelous Hindu architecture which makes the ambiance so serene and appealing.

    Medu vada I was told this "red soup" wasn't too spicy-not true. What looks like donuts taste like gritty sand.  Friends samosas were ok.

    I was told the medu vada ($6.49)red soup wasn't spicy -not true. The "donuts" tasted like gritty sand & tasteless. Had to throw it away. Friends Samosas were ok.

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    Great vegetarian food! We love stocking on lots of authentic Indian Gujarati snacks. They have a wider variety over the weekends.

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    Shayona cafe - BAPS - indpak - Updated July 2026

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