I'm a huge fan of thali, and we usually go to Shiv Sagar. However, I saw a social media promotion offering a free chaat with the purchase, who can say no to free chaat? The shopping center is fairly small with limited parking, and unfortunately there isn't much shade, so it can get extremely hot. One thing to note is that they're closed on Tuesdays. Ordering was simple. You grab a menu, place your order at the register, and our food arrived in about five minutes. Before ordering, I clearly requested no cilantro on everything because I have a cilantro allergy. Unfortunately, the complimentary papdi chaat came out covered in cilantro. I had to send it back to be remade, which was frustrating since food allergies should be taken seriously. The thali itself was good. It had a nice level of spice, came with three chapatis, rice, and a good variety of curries. At $11.99, I thought it was a good value. As for the papdi chaat, I still prefer Shiv Sagar's version. It has a more generous portion of potatoes and chickpeas, and if I remember correctly, it's also about a dollar cheaper. My only other disappointment was the loyalty program. I asked to join when paying, but was told that I should pay first. Once paid, the transaction had already been completed and it won't let me join. Perhaps they think we are a one time customer, so why join the program? Overall, I'm glad I gave this place a try and found another Indian restaurant in the Gandhi District. I'd definitely come back for the thali, but I hope they improve their attention to food allergies and make the loyalty program process more welcoming. read more

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We had a nice vegetarian dinner at Shri Balawi Bhavan. The onion masala dosai was great. The butter masala dosai was delicious and buttery as the name implies. We topped off our meal with a very strong Madras coffee. Overall the meal was great. If you want an authentic South Indian vegetarian meal then try Shri Balaji Bhavan. read more

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Came in for dinner a few days before New Years and were pleasantly surprised with our meal! We got the sev puri, mysore masala dosa, uttapam, bisibella bath, and madras thaali. We also got a madras coffee. The food was quite good overall. The only critique I have is that the bisibella bath had a touch too much cinnamon but it was still comforting. I'm quite critical when it comes to South Indian food but the chutneys and sambhar were actually decent! I do wish the dosa was crispier though. I'd come here again to try other things. read more

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I've been coming here since I was young, and the quality of the food has improved a lot from when I was just a kid. The samosa was actually really spicy, which surprised me (in a good way). The puff pastry of the samosa was super flaky, and the potato stuffing was so well-made. The dahi puri and sev puri were also 10/10. We got medium spice for those, and they were both so refreshing. The gobi was also really warm and juicy and flavorful with the sauce. The service was also super fast, and we got our food within 2 minutes of ordering. The ambiance is pretty basic, but that's expected for hillcroft where all the Indian restaurants are, and I don't really think much about it when the food is so good. read more

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They only serve vegetarian food It's cheap and good. My 1st time here and will come back in the future when I'm craving for Indian food read more

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I am in love with this place. The food is all very good, flavorful, and an experience. The portion size is like the boyfriend who goes beyond your expectation, showing you're capable of being love more than you ever thought. The price is shockingly affordable and unreal. Makes me want to come here more often to try out the different foods. Mixed pakora appetizer - it has paneer, mixed veggies, and pepper (seperate, not together), i liked the veggie pakora Dosa - idk which one i got, but it had potatoes in it, came side of sauce and they were all so good, the softness from the potatoes that warms the dosa, and the change in texture from the crispy outer dosa Samosa Chaat (friend got it) - beautiful blend of sweet and savory from the chutney and the curry with the soft chickpea and added crunch from the cut up samosa and the crispy topping Saag Paneer - the first time i had this dish was the HEB version, which is sad, flavorful, and wet(?) in comparison to the one I had at Shri Balaji Bhavan - the one here is rich in flavor, paneer is nice and soft (not rubbery like the one from the HEB frozen meal), spinach mix is perfectly mixed to a delicious texture I bought the dosa, cup of chai, and mixed pakora appetizer, which all came out to about $12. Service is good. Water and utensils are self serve. The place is more of place to have dinner alone, with family, or with friends. read more

Shri Balaji Bhavan - Dosa (idk which one) Mixed Pakoras (6 pcs) Chai 8 oz - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I had one day to spend eating in Houston so I had to pick wisely where to eat. I found this place serving filter coffee which I have had in India and the pani puri is recommended. Went ahead and ordered those and a dosa. The pani puri was the worst! No flavor just a straight shot of spice! The filter coffee tasted just like an American coffee with milk added to it. The dosa was ok. I was disappointed mainly that I don't have time to go hunt for a better place The service was not bad, you order at the counter, pick a table and they will bring you your food. The ambiance feels like you are actually in an Indian restaurant with all the aromas but nothing really stand out to make it an authentic experience. read more

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A good stop for Indian food. Less spicy except for corn bhel or if u request, big fan of the dosas here. Service is fast and staff is friendly. Its Navratri so we had special dietary requirements like no onion garlic and they had plenty options to cater to our restrictions. read more

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It's one of those places that I've been going to forever but never think about to review it because it's so basic.... nothing fancy, just good solid food. You order at the counter. They give you a number and then you sit down and wait for your food that you have to go pick up yourself. I have no clue why they give you the number but that's just what they do. The interior is dated, but clean and the food is flavorful and inexpensive. So what more can you ask for when you're in the mood for a quick bite. Honestly, it reminds me that I need to go more often read more

Shri Balaji Bhavan - Dahi Puri - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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We had stopped coming to this place cuz of their long lines and never working restrooms. The food never disappointed us but the ambience wasn't great to bring friends and family to. My in-laws were in town and wanted to try South Indian food and so we brought them here. We ordered their Mysore Masala Dosa, Masala Dosa, Idli, Masala Uttapam, and filtered coffee. Everything was excellent except the uttapam wasn't fully cooked inside and they were happy to remake it or replace it with another meal. We had them remake it and it came out great. It's a great choice is you're looking for good South Indian dish and don't much care for the ambiance. read more

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This is one of my favorite restaurants in Houston, I've been coming here since I was a kid. Their mysorre masala dosa is fire. when I was a kid, I would finish one by myself, it's still one of my favorite go-to as an adult. Their sambar is delicious! I also enjoy their samosa chaat and pao bhaji. Recently, I tried their pao bhaji dosa, and I think that's my new favorite and I can't wait to go back and order it again!! So good I highly recommend Shri Balaji Bhavan. It's a Houston, staple for delicious, affordable, and reliable South Indian food. This place is vegetarian so there are lots of flavorful options if you are vegan or vegetarian ! read more

Shri Balaji Bhavan - Mysore Masala Dosa - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

The BEST place to get ripped off your money and the WORST place to eat. Today I went with my family to the restaurant, the food came after a wait time of 25 minutes. Ordered "Thali" and two rave masala dosa. There was a competition between the individual dishes as to which can perform the worst. What a pity. I cannot even give a one star for this place. I would like to add that this is my fourth visit to this place and the food served during. earlier visits were reasonably good. It looks like this time, because of the high traffic of customers to the place, they decided to cut corners !!! read more

Some thing has changed about this place in the last 5 years. I used to like it previously but I definitely love it now. The food is so authentic and so light on your stomach. Reminds me of homemade. The ppl are nice, the restaurant is decent, some of f favorite things to try here are tamarind rice, upma and of course, the dosa. Highly recommend it, if you're missing Telangana / South Indian food read more

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One member on our table waited forever to get her food. People who arrived MUCH after us got served before we did, read more

Shri Balaji Bhavan - See our empty plates and after a lot of pleadings it FINALLY showed up, the restaurant was semi full so no excuses..... - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

The restaurant is located in a shopping complex and doesn't have a lot of parking out front. There is additional parking in the back though so don't worry. You have to order at the front, we got the paani puri, samosa chaat and masala dosa. They call you to grab your feed and water is self serve, which isn't bad but it would be nice to have the service. Everything tasted good but it was nothing special and it was definitely on the spicy side. read more

Shri Balaji Bhavan - Pani Puri (6 pc) and Samosa Chaat - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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I have to knock this up to a 5 star because man. Everything was just delicious. There no place like it that I have found. Their dosas are just perfect. read more

Shri Balaji Bhavan - Dosa Masala (8 oz) - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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10/10 so delicious - the spice is worth it every time! Sweet and helpful staff as always read more

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We returned in 3 days for another round of dosa and gobi Manchurian. The gobi this time is not crispy at all...possibly has been sitting for too long but the sauce is better than the first time when we went here. If only they can combine the crispy gobi from 1st visit with the sauce from today, that will be perfect. We both got the paper masala dosa as our entree since we had tried one other dosa and decided both of us like the masala dosa so much that we want our own. Everything was great! The sambar and chutney were not as salty as the ones on Wednesday. Possibly cos round 2 we came at noon whilst our first visit was at 7PM, closer to closing. So we got the bottom of the pot sambar and chutney, hence it was a lot saltier during our first visit. Dosa is good, price is right and the portion is awesome after a long run in the morning. Definitely a great place to refuel. read more

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This place is a gem. My go-to place for Dosas, and I love their spicy tomato rice. Love their sambhar, it is spicier than any other restaurant in Houston but love the taste. I can have rice and their sambhar 5 days a week. Don't forget to ask for their lime pickle. I only go to Sarvana Bhawan for their dipped vada in sambhar. Wish Balaji Bhawan could do the same. (Vada pre-soaked in sambhar and served in a bowl filled with sambhar) This place is the most affordable south indian restaurant in whole Houston. read more

Another great option for vegetarian food/ Indian snacks located in the Gandhi district of Houston. I would pass by Shri Balaji Bhavan so many times to their competitors, but this time decided to stop by here. I'm glad I did. We ordered Bhel puri, Papdi chaat, samosas, masala dosa, mango lassi and eventually Tea for post meal satisfaction. I did enjoy all the dishes. The samosas were flavorful with chunky curried potatoes inside. Masala dosa was good. Mango lassi gave an instant hydration. Bhel was good too. Nicely mixed up and seasoned. The only thing I couldn't figure out was their presentation of papdi chaat. They had individual 6 pieces rather than the chaat all mixed up. It didn't look like the accustomed chaat I'm used to, but perhaps their version is somewhat different. I still think they might have served me dahi puri by mistake. Social distancing was in place. The lady at the counter was very nice and friendly. The restaurant itself looked very clean and spaced out. While we were dining, they had the TV on, which was playing a classic/ epic Indian Bollywood movie 'LAMHE' (Moments). My lunch ended up being from 30 mins to an hour plus, as I had to relive a few moments. LOL read more

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The reason I am giving the two stars because the food was good. However very poor customer service at the cashier. First we order the plain poori and they gave us different poori which they did want to hear anything. We said whatever and placed another order. This time they gave us little different order and we accepted that one as well, but then later they came to us to pay again as they messed up the order and we took it.... So ridiculous on business aspect... read more

Soooo delicious, the people are patient when ordering, they make the food hot and delicious. Super good, would highly recommend their masala dosa. read more

Was craving for dosas so wanted to give this place a try and ordered takeout, based on food quality and taste wouldn't come back or recommend. Let's talk about food onion masala dosa was just plain dosa which was tasteless and doesn't taste anything close to a south indian version and onions is a joke which were basically cut very big and inconsistent and raw. The dosa itself was chewy and tough. Rava masala dosa was better thank the onion dosa,poori bhaji is a same masala you get with dosas which lacked seasoning and pooris were too thick and not so good tasting. Now comes the condiments chutney tasted good out of everything but you get the smallest 1 cup which you get for salad dressings for two dosas. Overall they are decent prized but taste and quality they get zero. read more

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Finally got my dosa fix in!! Very authentic and hella spicy but worth it. Dosa was very flavorful and amazing. Service is good and different. You order and pay at the front and they call you up when it is ready. Really good for covid as everyone is more socially distant. From what I have been told this is a chain from India. So your getting the real deal here!! EDIT: Manager reached out and confirmed they aren't an indian chain. So just a killer local business. read more

Shri Balaji Bhavan - Dosa - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Hands down one of my favorite place! It is homey and everything is cheap, especially with the portion they give. There is a picture menu for people like me who just point at stuff to order, but don't worry, even if you point at a questionable thing, it still comes out good in my experience To go orders taste as good because they have common sense when packing to go orders. Service is always super fast even when it's busy. I just wish I live closer to this place but it might also be a blessing I'm far away. I can't imagine how much weight I'd gain if I live by this place. read more

Food is great and service is fast! Lots of options to choose from-- all veg! The ambience is simple and clean which is nice. read more

We went here for brunch,This place doesn't serve authentic dosa that we love to eat even after mentioning dosa wasn't crispy any day will prefer sarvana Bhavan for dosa.Now coming to chaat we ordered combo chat and samosa chaat no idea what they served combo chat isn't worth ordering at all highly disappointed and coffee wasn't filter coffee either .... read more

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Whenever I'm feeling dosas and am willing to drive 15-20 minutes, this is the spot I go to. It's my favorite dosa place in town. The dosas are definitely 5/5 and my two favorites are the mysore masala dosa (if you're gonna one, get this one) and the rava masala dosa with onions. Mysore masala dosa (5/5): First a warning, this dosa is not for someone who cannot handle spicy. I can readily handle sichuanese food in America and other regularly spicy options, and this one is definitely up there. But that's what makes them so flavorful. The dosa is always crispy and the potato part is always warm and fluffy, like a really nice indian semi-mashed potato. The sambar is great as well, and the mint chutney cools everything down. Rava Masala dosa with onions (4.5/5): The batter on this dosa has a bit more holes in it and tastes slightly oilier, but with the onions, it works really well. It's like an indian version of the chinese scallion pancakes. If I get 2 dosas, I like getting this one to balance out the spiciness of the mysore masala dosa. And note: all these dosas are like $7-8 each which is as cheap as it gets for dosas that have the potato filling. Every time I branch out and make a decently long drive for a dosa, I always think to myself, "man I should really have just gone to shri balaji bhavan instead". read more

Shri Balaji Bhavan - Mysore Masala Dosa - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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When in Houston for me this is a must visit. Besides having the best dosas, their vegetarian South Indian fare is prepared authentically (spice too ). This time around I went two consecutive days even though I am literally on the opposite part of town. Idli, Dosa and Sambar one day, Papdi Chaat, Pani Puri, and of course another Dosa the next. read more

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The best South Indian restaurant in all of Houston. Hands down, couldn't find another spot that was so homely and served delicious food :) read more

Shri Balaji Bhavan - Gobi Manchurian - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Fantastic experience if you're looking for authentic Indian food. We wanted to check out for some South Indian food and were totally happy with the experience. The restaurant was visible from the street and had enough parking. The service was prompt and the ambience was nice. Pricing was appropriate. Will definitely be going back!! read more

Shri Balaji Bhavan - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

This spot has been a staple in my family's rotation of restaurants for a while. I never really thought much of it since I would come here so regularly, but geez - within the scope of Indian food in Houston, this place is among the best. This restaurant serves South Indian food, and I'm pretty sure is fully vegetarian. A small spot with great food for the price. It's a quaint little restaurant furnished with wooden furniture and paneling. In some ways, for me, it kind of recreates the experience of eating at a restaurant in India, which I thought was a neat touch. In terms of COVID-19 precautions, they do a great job of spacing tables out and all of the staff is wearing masks, etc. I've always been a fan of this spot's dosas, and this time we had 2 of the Sada dosas (which they will make extra crispy if you ask - I definitely recommend) and 1 of the masala dosas. They were great as usual, and my friend who has never had dosas thought they were absolutely amazing. The sambar is always the greatest part of this dish spot, which always comes out tasting very authentic. The dosas are also surprisingly filling. We also had one of the chole bhaturas which was absolutely amazing - the chole has the perfect amount of kick and was served with with warm and freshly prepared bhaturas. Also absolutely would recommend. Overall, would highly recommend for anyone looking for a smaller but more authentic South Indian eating experience in the Houston area. Woo - support local! read more

Shri Balaji Bhavan - Sada dosa with sambar and mint chutney - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Terrible! My kid walked in and the first thing he said was it smells like a restroom instead of a restaurant. We were in a rush and just ordered the dosas, poori and Kati rolls, tea and coffee. Not a single thing tasted good. The dosa batter did not have enough salt nor was it fermented right. The pooris were okay. The potato curry was okay. The halwa was bad. So was the kathi roll or whatever that lame thing was. And the worst thing was everything tasted of bad water/a bad aftertaste. Never coming back here. read more

The food was so yummy. We had a masala dollar that was delicious and full of flavor. The serving size was enough to share. The masala dipping sauce and chutney added to the complexity of flavors.. read more

Shri Balaji Bhavan - Yummy masala dolsa. The chutneys were tasty and the food was more than enough to share. We had to pack so e up for later. - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

The best South Indian veg food outside of India! When they say spicy they mean it! So good. read more

Shri Balaji is a classic Hillcroft spot for good, cheap chaat. Everything is vegetarian, and for the most part everything tastes really good. Their bhel puri is delicious, but their pani puri is a bit disappointing, which is something I would have expected to be exceptional here (but it's still decent). The restaurant is clean and cozy, and it's a great spot for a quick light meal in between some intense Hillcroft shopping! read more

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The food was amazing! Everything we tried was amazing. Service was also excellent. My daughter is vegan, so we both ate and were completely satiated. read more

I like their breakfast. Dosa is good. They are nice and light. I am not too keen on spicy food, I order something mild. They have good rose lassi too. read more

Tried the Samosa, a pastry filled with potato. Very good with the mint chutney. Also had the madras coffee. Very good tasting coffee that I enjoyed. Will come again. This was a special treat from the owner to us. I would recommend, stays busy. Very friendly staff there. Looked clean. read more

Great food. My favorite of this cuisine! Will be back soon. My favorite dahi puri and cholesterol bhatura.