Boy - this place is really hit or miss. I think it may depend on who is cooking. I have had marvelous food here and I have had mediocre food. It's kind of a crap shoot. As an example, I have had the chicken biryanis where it is full of chicken and all of the vegetables, including bitter Mellon, have been chopped very fine - in these moments the dish sings. Other times the vegetables are bigger pieces and very mushy. Still other times there were almost no vegetables and maybe one piece of chicken- in other words essentially all rice. At those times the dish is barely mediocre. One thing is consistent- the service is singularly terrible. There is no regular bussing of the tables, food comes out unevenly and not coursed and the waiters are not service oriented. Ordering from a very unhelpful and unfriendly person also does not help to set any atmosphere. And still one is encouraged to leave a tip while ordering- even with the service so abhorrent. The disappointment is that this place could be great. It has tremendous potential and is sitting in an area populated with individuals who love Indian cuisine- including me. I'd love to see this restaurant succeed. But improvements and consistency are needed. It ranges from 4 stars to 2 1/2 stars. Id say generally it's 3 1/2 stars. read more

The place is on the higher end for price. While the flavour spectrum was well explored, (unlike the usual buffet places), the quantity was disappointing for the price I paid. A $16 Biriyani should be overfilling a grown adult, which it didn't. Uniqulely good things: 1) They did have a live Dosa counter and some dosas came out fine, while some dosas needed more expertise. I suspect more than one person tries to make Dosa there. 2) They had a section in the menu called pairings: I like that idea, where they suggested the carb and main dish pair. 3) The Biriyani rice had layers of colour: not many places had the skills to pull it off. Improvable things: 1) The layered paratha (technically parotta) was weak in flavour as it neither had adequate layers, not was it fried correct. I suspect the specimen I received was previously frozen and not constructed on the day of. 2) The staple goat curry was funnily very non-descriptive. It lacked the kick of any distinct flavour, including the slight gameyness naturally present in goat meat. Things that need to go: 1) There are too many things in the menu. If all of these were to be made correctly each day, it would require a work force of 15 experienced chefs (which I doubt that place has). This would mean some dishes get less attention than it deserves. Let those items go, and the menu automatically gets delicious. 2) Service was bad, if I want to put it politely. One cannot bring someone else's food to us twice! It might be better to have self service. 3) Music: If the restaurant is trying to compete with other buffet places, then its choice of music was fine. However, it has potential of being more classy, and can be reflected in the choice of music. Overall: I congratulate the restaurant to finally bring something in Irvine that challenges the notion of an average Indian food around here. A must-try, especially for open-minded people about new food. read more

Decent food but their rudeness and lack of good customer service and not following instructions makes me not come here often anymore like I used to. I'm just fed up read more

Beautiful interior. Absolutely loved their swings. But unfortunately their food quality was subpar. The proteins we ordered were all overcooked and drenched in curry sauce. Service needs to be improved as well; we waited for our food for a long time and the server gave me the wrong dish. read more

Ordered the biryani, tandoori, dry shrimp curry and chicken curry. The biryani was too salty to be edible. The dry shrimp curry and the chicken curry was way too spicy. Indian food is supposed to be spicy but all I can taste is the burning sensation in my mouth, on my lips and my tongue. The yogurt dip was way too salty as well. The tandoori was the most edible but was also too spicy. read more

This was my go to restaurant in Orange County for Indian food but the food doesn't taste good these days. I ordered garlic naan which was too shaggy, Mutton Biryani doesn't taste that good but the fish fry was good. read more

Have been a regular to this place from past few years and was quite fond of it but recently had a very negative experience hence wanted to share so that everyone is aware. A week back i ordered a takeout and the restaurant bill was $17 but $23 were charged on my card. When i called postmates they asked me to check with Southern Spice. Hence i called them and explained the issue but so far no one has got back to me. Also i emailed them with a scanned copy of the bill but again no response. Though the amount overcharged might only be $7 but the main issue here is to do the right thing and run a honest establishment, not one which robs its customers. Extremely disappointed and never returning again to this place. read more

Chicken ulvacharu biryani and dosas are my favorite. Great ambiance and awesome service. read more

Very bad service We were 3 and ordered 3 foods and 1 bread. They brought 1 by 1 with between 5-10 min between each. The Morgan Tikeh was cold and very dry, look like they took it from refrigerator. When I told the them, nothing happened! I gave it to them and told we can't eat. He got it and return to kitchen without any apologies or even offer to replace or credit. read more

This was our favorite restaurant in Irvine. We usually got masala dosas, which were delicately spiced. Because I have been to Southern Spice, I know what other dosas should taste like. The okra curry, first on the menu under "Southern", is also delightful and will make you suddenly crave okra randomly throughout the day. I didn't think that was possible with okra, but there you go. read more

Order 2 Chicken Tikka and only got one! Other one had wings, legs, all had bone in meat not what I ordered. Called right away never got a call back and never got Chicken Tikka very disappointed with customer service and response read more

Southern Spice - Ordered 2 Chicken Tikka and only received 1. The other has wings legs all bone in meat. Called and they never picked up. - Indian Near Me - Irvine, California

VERY BAD FOOD AND VERY BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE. We ordered thali and chicken dum biryani. All the items in the thali was so bad, we regretted going to this new restaurant. The biryani was just ok, no spice or no flavor. Only good thing about this restaurant is the ambience. Good luck guys! read more

The service sucks and this is the 3rd time they Shorted me food. They are supposed to have 8 pieces on this chicken dish I ordered and they only put 5 pieces and they did this 3 times. They always try to cheat you and they will tell you it takes 25 minutes to pick up when you order but they take atleast an hour. They don't care and they won't even apologize they short you food, they steal your money and they won't even apologize. Before my review mint months ago I reached out to them to fix there problem and they said they don't care. Never ever eating in this shit hole again. They are overpriced and they don't care if they steal your money. Save your money because they don't care about your business. read more

People working here don't know what they are doing. I ordered a simple dish for which i had to follow up 2 times and still took an hour to deliver. food is just ok but service is awful. I would not recommend this place. read more

Dined there On a Saturday Night ,It was busy but very easy to get a seat ,Food came out in a timely matter .Food was great we had the chicken tika masala&another chicken dish can't remember the name ,But both were tasty!We had the best Service from UdAy,He def has great customer service skills and kept checking on us to make sure we were enjoying our meals:)Will be going back more often! read more

Southern Spice - Tika Masala - Indian Near Me - Irvine, California

Excited to have found decent Indian food in the area! We were introduced to this place by our housemate, who is Indian and says the dishes remind her of her mother's home cooked meals. The food is on the pricey side, but each dish was filling and enough to last 2 meals. Rice is included! South India Fish Curry- 3.5 stars Lots of spices and great flavor, though I wish it had more fish. Butter Chicken- 4 stars I expected this dish to spicier (which I would've preferred). However, it is by far the most buttery Butter Chicken I've had. Tasty and will order it again! Decor- Love everything from the beautiful swings, to the patterned wall dividers and unique pendant light. read more

No chutneys/sambar provided for dosa and vada in the thail, my friend dipped dosa in rasam to eat. Service is bad, got thail in hand and searching for a place to sit. i ate vijayawada chicken biryani, some chicken pieces were not fully cooked. waste of money and time. read more

These ass hats don't know how to do anything. when we asked for our drinks they said they didn't have any but they were giving it out to other people. I asked for my food to be mild and it came really spicy, the worker said "Indian food is spicy" like what? i know that i'm Indian myself, but that doesn't mean i have to eat the spiciest thing they have. read more

This was some of the best Indian food I've had in some time. We ordered some very basic things and they were all fantastic. With two entrees (the each come with a thing of rice) we needed a bit more rice for the leftovers. But now we just now that for the next time we order. Also, the samosa was fantastic! read more

Worst service I've ever seen, doesn't matter if you do all the fancy decorations , make it colorful but if you're not fully committed to the service, all is in vain. No comments about the food because I never got the chance to taste any. Pathetic service , I'd rather spend an hour at home cooking by myself rather than waiting for an hour even for a coffee. read more

This is my FAVORITE! Everyone makes it well but I absolutely LOVE IT when Ashmaa makes it for me. She has just the right touch & it's a perfect blend of all the flavors! Honestly, a lot of the food is great but this alone is good enough to keep me coming back time and time again. read more

Southern Spice - Dahi Sev Batata Puri - Indian Near Me - Irvine, California

I've been touring through OC Indian restaurants recommended by my coworkers. Southern Spice is by far my favorite! Everything from the decor to the presentation and most importantly the food is authentic, impeccable, and full of taste. I particularly like their saag paneer. Perhaps the best, if you like tender, flavorful nuggets of wonder, is their Apollo fish. It's a side, but the size of a main course, and, like appetizers in only the most exemplary restaurants, very creative and, well, very appetizing! Finally, I'm a fan of their garlic naan--it comes gently crispy, buttered with the right amount of garlic baked on. A couple environmental notes, dress warmly and bring ear plugs if loud music bothers you, especially loud bansuri flute. read more

Their Hyderabadi biryani is better and spicier then Mint. Potato samosa was really good too. I'll go again for Biryani.

The good & the bad: 1) A fantastic menu however most of the items are not available when you want them. 2) Many tasty items on the lunch buffet however the setup is very unorganized. Many a times the hot item from the grill (dosa / chapati .. etc) gets missed and they don't bother to ensure that you get it delivered at your table. 3) Vegetarian dishes and tiffen are good however the non veg food falls flat in terms of spice. Many dishes don't have any salt at all ! 4) lastly the location is awesome , the concept is good .. I hope they will figure out a way to execute this better. Will check this place again in a month or so. Hopefully it will be better. read more

On the pricier side but it's delicious. Very spicy but very flavorful. I've only tried the dosa so can't comment on other stuff. Think anyone who loves flavorful Indian food should definitely try it. It's one of the best in the area. read more

The food is great. Honestly the best Indian restaurant I have ever tried and it is very authentic as well. All of the food I have tried here has been great! The first time I came, the food was so good, I felt compelled to come back the next day for more! I'll definitely be back. Hopefully they will have the street food soon. Really looking forwards to trying their street food. Word of advice: plan to dine in here anytime before 7pm or after 8:30pm on a Saturday night because it is very crowded and hard to find a table. read more

After returning back to Irvine for a short business trip from Dallas, I decided to have a brunch here today. Having eaten here several times in the past when I stayed in Irvine, I was looking forward to the same great taste, quality of authentic South Indian flavor. I was however disappointed. They took the sambar vada ( vada dipped in sambar) off the menu. The sambar was not the same authentic flavor. Their ordering system was clunky too. Coolidge not search for tea or coffee. It sure if the management changes or the cooks were changed. Big disappointment. Sigh. read more

As I am from south India, I expected customized spicy food. Firstly, ambience reminded me of my days at my grand mom's home where we used play with all the old stuff which is now displayed as antique interior. Second, I love to eat in a stainless steel dishes so that I can feel home. This came true. Food is tasty. The moment I looked at the quantity and said " so expensive-less quantity". Curry served with rice,raitha,dessert. I was so impressed. None of the food is wasted. Though expensive, they serve with benefits, so didn't find it expensive after having food. read more

Southern Spice - Garlic naan, chettinaad chicken served along rice, gravy, rasam, raitha and desert. So impressive. - Indian Near Me - Irvine, California

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I keep making tikka masala at home with seitan. Decided to go have the real thing and was not disappointed! We'll definitely come back.

I've been ordering food from them for about 3 years now. They have a pretty good selection. But yesterday, when I ordered take out, the biryani was way salty and so was the raitha. Excess salt totally makes the food inedible. I've been ordering the same vijaywada biryani every week so I know exactly how it tastes. I don't know if it's because they are understaffed right now but maintaining uniformity and quality of food is definitely important. Thanks read more

Good Food(almost) but poor service (rude). I ordered 4 items - Somosa(good), Butter Chicken (good), Manglore Ghee Roast(good but spicy) and Mysore Masala Dosa(not good). Pictures attached. My reduction of 3 stars to 2 stars is because of service. I thought the restaurant attendant were not only rude to me but to each other. Here is the brief history. I ordered my food on New Year's Eve and I understand restaurant was busy as they had multiple party orders. I had noticed there were around 6-7 attendants all scrambling around the cash register or getting orders ready for pickup. One of the attendants tells the other attendant (rudely in English) that he needs to attend the register. It leaves a bad impression on the customers. When I ordered, I was told by the restaurant attendant that it may take up to 30 minutes. He was nice polite guy. He is of short stature. I came back after 30 minutes and enquired if my order was ready, I was told in a non friendly tone "NO" by another attendant(of average height). I asked the attendant to check if he can find out how much time it would take for my order. He could have explained the situation and politely asked me to wait. I would have more than understood the situation. Instead he told me told he does not know and there is no way to find out. When I said I would like to cancel since I could not wait, again the attendant asked me to go ahead and cancel. He did not care about losing a customer when a polite explanation of situation would have helped. The restaurant owners should train their staff to be polite to their customers. People come to restaurants not just for good food but for good service too read more

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Very disappointed by the food and the service was nothing great either. The manager is great and really helped with understanding the menu etc. but the people behind the counter don't know the dishes well. We ordered 1 dosa to give it a try and it took about 25 minutes to come to our table. The place wasn't even crowded! The dosa was SOGGY and rubbery, the filling (masala) inside seemed like it didn't even belonged in another dish. Not sure why we were given yogurt (Raita) with the dosa. Very disappointing. I had high expectations because the vibe and the decor of the place is incredible and so authentic. The biryani and other dishes looked good so maybe we will have to try something else if we go back again. It is with great apprehension that I write this review. Being Indian and taking into consideration the fact that we have so many Indians in Irvine, the Indian restaurant scene should be popping here! read more

I happened to pass through this mall and found this gem of a restaurant. I decided to stop by and was pleasantly surprised. This restaurant has a variety of dishes from all regions of India, which is rare to find out here. The decor is quite authentic and well done, has a good vibe and doesn't feel too forced. The food tasted wonderful - strong flavors, and well-organized dishes. Good portion sizes and a great place to go if you're trying out Indian food. One warning, the service is a bit chaotic, dishes will come out at different times, so if you're waiting to eat as a table together, that might not happen - I'd just recommend for you to eat as the dishes come and share. To-go service seems a bit more coordinated, so you can order a large set for the family and bring it home to enjoy. It is very well packed and kept warm. As for the mall it is located in, it is a busy mall, so during the normal rush hours, you may have to park a bit away and walk up to it; however, it is worth the walk (and the wait, if you come during a heavy time). Great place to try something new, and a wonderful place to catch up with friends and family, new and old. read more

Great Food! Lots of variety! Love the idea they have early breakfast timings on Saturday and Sunday, definitely will try again for sure. read more

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We order from Southern Spice take-out regularly. Two nan breads with Tikka Masala Chicken and Butter Chicken for lunch can last a whole day. They're so satisfying and filling! read more

Very bad service and worst Indian food. They just ignore me . My experience was very bad . Very poor quality food as well. read more

The food is great but the service is super slow. They seem to be kind of out of co trol, not knowing when to make food or completely forget. Still go here. But, don't leave a tip. read more

Our family just went today , restaurant opened yesterday, staff very helpful, dosas were great , kids like the lassi , we had masala omelette, paneer sliders , the filter coffee hit the spot ! Finally Irvine has a good dosa restaurant! Will come back and try the chaat selections soon .. read more

Worse food and worst service ever I had. good for people who don't know how to cook food - ever Indian Dhaba have good food and good service then this place. total money - time wasted. read more

Really good flavors. Nice selection of vegetarian options. Went recently and everyone eating there was Indian--sign the food is good!