Best fast casual south indian vegetarian restaurant in the Bay area imo super consistent and…read moreauthentic! The paper roast and paratha does not miss, really love the kesari and filter coffee as well. Really good spot for lunch as it is way less crowded than the usual dinner rush

Always a delight! Giant, crisp dosas, flavorful chutneys, great prices! I never leave disappointed…read more My current favorite dosa is the tomato dosa, but love the podi dosa when I want something a little spicy. Idly vada combo is another favorite, as is the channa batura. All pair great with a lassi!

My second time here. We came around 5.30 and ordered a mega tiffin. I came with two kids ages 9 and…read more3. At first I thought that tiffin will be enough for us but then my kids quickly gobbled the idli and mini dosa and wanted more. So I ordered another plate of only idlis( has 3 big soft fluffy ones) and also took advantage of the happy hour to order a masala dosa for me. I am not the kind of mom who eats kids leftovers all the time. So I wanted my own dosa. For drinks, I did a medium strong filter coffee ( they make it to your customization and I was surprised to see they even had jaggery). My 9 year old took a mango lassi. Food was incredibly satisfying. Servers are very attentive and they came three times to our table offering more chutney and sambhar. We already had enough but if you like more sambhar and chutney with your food, this is heaven. One server even came with ghee for my little ones for idlis. I was so grateful. He was genuinely sweet to my kid. Felt a connection than just a business! Ambiance is classy and relaxed at the same time. Nobody gave me the side eye when my three year old was a little noisy. Have a corner for takeout containers for leftover food, very generous. I would highly recommend this place for its delicious food, relaxed atmosphere and friendly service. Prices are reasonable. They have happy hour daily from 3-6 pm and when we went at 5.30, the restaurant was more than 70% full on a Thursday. Eat early and save money too. We really had a very good time! PS- when you pay the bill ( you have to order and pay the bill before you eat at a room next to the dining area), do enter your phone number at the end and enroll in the loyalty program. I already redeemed an award today!

TL;DR Average ambience and food, great service, great marketing and excellent coffee…read more Average food- idli, medu wada, uttapam, dosas, chutneys, tried several times here, Saratoga and San Antonio locations. Saratoga by far has the better ambience. Also cannot do take out for dosas. Excellent filter coffee and good paratha/kurma (though very oily so ask for no oil on paratha if health conscious). Service overall is very good, nice people. Have stopped coming here for the food. Our go to South Indian place is Ullavacharu tiffins, by far all excellent flavorful items.

Good service! Haven't had the food but the vibes were great (there was no one inside)!read more

Satkar has brought back their non-vegetarian dishes, and they are as fantastic as we remember them…read morefrom years ago! We ordered palak paneer, chicken makhani, and bengin bhartha. All the dishes were absolutely delicious, and they still include a plain naan or order of rice with each entree order. I highly recommend you call your order in ahead of time. It's conveniently ready at the time you'd like, and you can just pay when you pick it up. I'm not sure how walk up orders are these days, but back in the day, you would have to wait quite a long time for your order due to how busy they are.

This place is a hidden gem! We loved everything we ordered. The jackfruit cutlets were crunchy with…read morea soft filling which melted in the mouth. The paneer lababdar was the best we've eaten in a while. Overall the food had a very Indian dhaba vibe. Even the garlic naan was well made - soft in the middle and crunchy on the edges. Must try! Will come back for sure. The gentleman serving our table was also super sweet!

The best Indian food I've ever had. The vegetarian dishes were so flavorful I forgot they were…read moremeat-free--every bite was incredible. The space is clean and spacious, perfect for a business lunch, and the owner's personal attention to service made the whole experience stand out.

The BEST onion pakora in the bays area - hands down! It's a cloud kitchen place - just come in and…read morepick up your order. I have got it for 2 parties and it's a hit! My only request would be to have them provide a chutney / sauce with it. The pakoras are gone before I can photograph them

Flavors: 10/10 Portions: 10/10…read moreCustomer experience 10/10 Drive from Hayward to Sunnyvale to pick this up: totally worth it. Tonight I was craving a home style chicken and rice dish similar to what my mom makes . Now I know it's not possible to get that from a restaurant, but the closest to that is the Donne biryani preparation that a few places offer in the Bay Area. So I looked up Yelp and found this spot. The fact that it already had 4.9 stars was reassuring but I didn't put too many expectations on it. But what I did was call the place and make sure they'd be open by the time I made that 28 mile drive. I spoke to a person named Sagar who took my order and told me to take my time getting there and drive carefully! Husband and I got there around 9:30pm and it's a cloud kitchen setup with kitchens in the back and a point of sale kiosk and counter at the front. As instructed I called Sagar and he came up to the counter with my food, and also let me know he had added a free dessert since I drove all the way from Hayward . Husband and I got home and immediately dug in and what can I say, the flavors totally took me back to my mom's kitchen. The Donne biryani was bursting with taste, and what made it superb was that the flavors were in balance, with neither the spices nor the aromatics being overpowering in any way. The other dish, the pepper chicken was epic by itself, and should have been enjoyed with a bread of some sort, because the biryani didn't need any accompaniment. As if this meal wasn't divine enough the cherry on top was the pineapple kesari dessert that Sagar kindly added to our takeout bag. Thanks Nalapaka, for a taste of home, away from home !

There's nothing more disappointing than consuming tasteless carbs and calories!!…read moreThat's exactly what the thali at Southindies was on this past Sunday. An overloaded plate with a bunch of unconnected foods cannot make it a south indian thali!! Bland, boring and not worth going back to. Service was decent though, no complaints. Bay Area, especially south bay has a ton of competition with a new restaurant opening every few months. It's only a matter of time before this place is gone!! With this quality of food, I'm not recommending to any of my friends

If you are looking for that elusive combination of home-cooked taste and simple, soul-warming food,…read morethis place takes the cake. It has officially become our family's go-to dinner spot, and for good reason--they truly never miss a beat. The Standout Dishes The menu is a celebration of authentic flavors. Some of our absolute favorites include: Millet Dosa: Perfectly crisp and a great healthy alternative. Mini Idli Podi: Bite-sized bursts of flavor with the perfect spice blend. Pesarattu: Authentically prepared and incredibly satisfying. The Pro Tip: The real star of the show is the ginger chutney served with the Dosae. It is the perfect zesty accompaniment that ties the whole meal together. Service & Atmosphere Beyond the food, the service is exceptionally efficient. Even during busy dinner rushes, the staff is attentive and ensures that nothing is overlooked. It's rare to find a place that feels this consistent and welcoming. Highly recommended for anyone craving a nutritious, delicious, and soulful South Indian meal!

Solid curries and naan! Really nice service and even better dishes! I think they also do buffets,…read morebut we just came for dinner. There are many tables for parties of 4 and a bar area for the buffet. The mango chicken tikka was a little more on the sweet side, but we really enjoyed the lamb skewers and paneer saag. Their naan was also came out fresh and hot.

Found this total hole-in-the-wall on UberEats and thought, "okay, let's roll the dice." Ended up…read morehitting the jackpot. The samosas? Crispy perfection with the exact right potato-pea ratio. The butter chicken was smoky, not cloyingly sweet like everyone else makes it -- the sauce didn't overpower the chicken, it actually let it shine (imagine that). Then came the kheema naan -- mind blown. Soft, flavorful, stuffed like they actually care. The malai kofta was creamy, smooth, and made me question every other version I've had before. If you're hunting for real, comforting Indian food that doesn't taste mass-produced, Delhi Dhaba is the place for you - it's like a warm hug from your punjabi aunty :-) Run. Don't walk

Some of the best restaurant discoveries happen by complete accident…read more We were actually on our way to AnnachiKarahi when gps informed us it had moved and been replaced by Charminar. While my husband drove, I quickly pulled up the Yelp page. The menu immediately caught my attention, but I'll admit I was hesitant. There were only a handful of reviews, and the ratings didn't quite match the ambition of the menu. Still, Hyderabadi cuisine is one of India's great culinary traditions, and it's surprisingly underrepresented in the Bay Area. Curiosity won. I'm so glad it did. Having visited Hyderabad, I know it as a city obsessed with food, a place where recipes reflect centuries of Nizami, Mughlai, Persian, and Telugu influences. While many restaurants here advertise themselves as Hyderabadi, they often stop at biryani. Charminar embraces the breadth of the cuisine, with everything from mandi and gongura specialties to chicken sukka, Mughlai curries, and, on weekends, freshly made rumali rotis. That alone made me stop and take notice. The restaurant itself is warm and inviting, with tasteful artwork celebrating the Hyderabad cityscape and the iconic Charminar. The staff matched the atmosphere: genuinely welcoming, knowledgeable, and eager to guide us through the menu without ever rushing us. The meal began with refreshing drinks before quickly moving into what became one of the highlights of the evening: the kebabs. The Lasooni Kebab and the Malai Kebab were exceptional. Both were astonishingly tender the kind of tenderness that only comes from patient marination and careful cooking. The Malai Kebab, in particular, was outstanding. Delicate notes of ginger and garlic layered into a creamy marinade, finished with the unmistakable whisper of charcoal smoke, created a kebab that was elegant rather than heavy. It was one of the finest versions I've had in the Bay Area. For the mains, we ordered the Chicken Sukka and Lal Chicken alongside the weekend rumali rotis. Paper-thin, almost like silk, they arrived impossibly soft and stayed that way throughout the meal. Anyone who has searched for authentic rumali roti in the Bay Area knows how rare that is. Too often they become rubbery within minutes. And it's rare to find it on menus so get your hands on it (weekends only!) The Chicken Sukka was my favorite curry of the evening. Layers of roasted coconut, deeply caramelized onions, warming spices, and beautifully cooked chicken came together in a dish that was both rustic and deeply satisfying. The Lal Chicken surprised me. Given the name, I expected assertive heat, but instead found a curry that leaned sweeter and tangier than anticipated. Not a flaw, just a different interpretation than I had expected. And then came the dish that reminded me why Hyderabad occupies such a revered place in India's culinary landscape. The Gosht Dum Biryani. If you visit on a weekend, don't overthink your order. Get it. Anyone can pile onions and masala onto rice and call it biryani. True dum biryani is a lesson in restraint. Every grain of rice should carry the perfume of saffron, whole spices, stock, and meat, without relying on excess seasoning. The rice itself should be compelling enough to eat on its own. Charminar gets this exactly right. Every spoonful was fragrant and beautifully balanced. The lamb was meltingly tender, yielding effortlessly from the bone, while the mirchi ka salan added earthy warmth and the raita brought just enough freshness to complete the experience. It was, without question, the standout dish of the evening and among the better Hyderabadi biryanis I've had in the Bay Area. The most exciting part is that we barely scratched the surface of the menu. Finding a restaurant that doesn't simply borrow Hyderabad's famous name but genuinely celebrates the diversity of its cuisine is rare. Charminar feels like it was built by people who understand what makes the city's food so beloved. What a wonderful addition to Sunnyvale. I sincerely hope the community gives this restaurant the attention it deserves. We'll certainly be back Congratulations to the Charminar team.

Unlimited pani puri is a joke here. They donot want u to breath or sit while they serve so u eat…read moreless. They use chat curry as stuffing and only one type of pani. Very rude service Adding samosa chat is another joke. Please do not waste time and just enjoy pani puri at apni Mandi

Chaat Bhavan Mountain View provided catering for my wedding dinner. They came in time and only one…read moreperson managed all the drinks and food- thank you Harry for all your help! We ordered the tandoor package for about 30 guests. These are all medium trays - there was a lot of food leftover (tip to order less than no of guests)- but we were able to give it to our guests and neighbors. And the food- we got so many compliments from our guests! The drinks were mango lassi and mint and lime mojito and the appetizers samosas and paneer tikka were great! Also the three entrees, dal and rice and gulab jamun were great. We also got complimentary milk sweet at the end. Harry also helped us with setting a small garbage to throw our disposable plates and silverware, which was really helpful. Thank you Chaat Bhavan for a memorable and delicious dinner!

We were invited to dine at this restaurant in Mountain View. I thought it was far from home…read more The restaurant was big, our waiter was hospitable and accommodating. My favorites were the Pakoras, Cauliflower Manchurian and the Noodles. First time trying the noodles at an Indian restaurant and reminded me of a spicy chow mein. The Saag Paneer was good. I didn't try the garbanzos because I just had too many of those at recent parties. Overall, it was okay but still I wouldn't come back due to the far location. 45 minute drive is just too far from home for me.

Best Bombay street food!!! Dadar Vada pav 10/10…read moreDabheli 10/10 Pav bhaji 10/10 This is a food truck and I can go any day when I crave Vada Pav and pav bhaji! The service is very quick and you don't have to wait long. They have a nice setup next to the truck and very clean and comfortable!! Definitely a KEEPER!

First time trying vada pav, solid vegetarian creation for my omnivore…read more Dadar Vada Pav: slid out of the bag smelling like Indian McDonalds, straightforward savory fried potato patty sandwiched into a fluffy bun. Simple good. Dilkhush Dabeli (Toasted in Amul Butter): I don't have any idea what these words mean aside from "toasted in" and "butter" so I was easily lured. Sweet and spicy mystery potato patty, tastes like your typical thanksgiving sweet mashed potato's jazzed up cousin who just got back from ayahuasca. Buttery chaotic good. Instagram: TianTianEats