Outstanding vegetarian/vegan South-Indian food. It's clear they spend all their money on the ingredients and nothing on ambience. If you ask me, that's a good sign. I'm tempted to take off a star because they use styrofoam (please, Earth), but I'd also travel an hour to eat here, so the 5-star review stands. read more

A word scramble progressed on the CRT screen overhead, ceasing periodically to make way for classic Bollywood tunes. The walls were adorned as much by art as by a microwave, toaster oven, and other kitchen appliances, adding to the high-school-cafeteria-like ambiance. We had arrived at Middletown, Connecticut's Indian gem: Udupi Bhavan (translation: "Udupi Palace"...perhaps founded by members of the Berkeley dynasty who had moved East in search of lower rents?). While our early dinnertime prevented us from confirming the claims that all of UB's patrons are of South Asian descent, we did note that all of the staff and cooks were indeed Indian. We also saw what may have been hints of the East Coast Indian mafia's influence in the distinct dearth of knives (violence prevention) and the use of Styrofoam plates and plastic utensils (limiting worldly possessions presumably facilitates easy escape from the premises in the event of mafia warfare). While the plastic forks were utterly inadequate for eating some of the many dishes we ordered, we nonetheless found that UB delivered. We began with (free!) papad that was pleasantly crisp and nicely salted; excellently tart, highly viscous mango lassis ($3.5); and raita with an impressive tang. The sambar may even have been homemade; while it wasn't quite savory enough, it had impressively large chunks of vegetables. Neither did the mains disappoint: the bise bele bhath ($7) was a solid dish, and the veggie korma ($10) had a very flavorful sauce and was actually spicy! Well done. The cheese masala dosa ($9), while not quite crispy enough, had filling with nice consistency. And finally, the aloo gobi eigendish ($10) had appropriate cookitude; however, we were very surprised to find broccoli contained therein (?!). While we appreciate that broccoli and gobi may be the same species, we nonetheless found the addition mysterious. As you know, loyal readers, while we here at Masala Chaat may incessantly make fun of restaurants' ambiance, it's really the food that matters. And at UB, the food was quite good, worthy of four samosas, with decidedly reasonable two-rupee prices. One may wonder why such a gem resides in Middletown, CT. We later learned that a Hindu temple--at the time the lone temple in the state--resides a gulab jamun's throw away. Is divine intervention the source of UB's stellar performance, or is it perhaps the result of a more organized institution? read more

Honestly, I don't know why you would eat anywhere else in central CT. (OK, I'm sure there are a few other places worth eating at...but really, it doesn't get any better than Udupi!) I feel like it's fair to say, without any hint of hyperbole, that this is the best Indian food on the East Coast. Do yourself a favor: look past the styrofoam plates and plastic utensils because the food is unbelievably delicious!! I have ordered most of the curries, many of the dosas, several of the appetizers...it's all lick-the-plate-clean good. read more

Absolutely AMAZING FOOD! Wonderful staff, wonderful food and definitely not overpriced. There are so many places where it's 16-20$ a meal of paneer masala and it's mediocre. This place has it for 8 or 10$ and it's absolutely delicious. Everything here is fabulous and I'm so good I heard about this fantastic restaurant! read more

Normally I enjoy small authentic restaurants like this. I don't need all the fanfare and fancy decorations or service, but for me there was something missing here. I think it might have been the extent that you do everything for yourself, including serving your own water from a communal pitcher. Could have been also how the waiter was TELLING to me to do all of these things, just made for an awkward experience. They didn't do much to make me feel comfortable. The food was good, it had a little more depth of flavor than other Indian restaurants in the area. I think I would have liked it better as a whole if I had gotten it as takeout. Skip the restaurant and take it home. read more

Bhutura is amazing! I have been looking for a place with good bhutura chole and this is it! Also their dosas and chutney for dosas are really good I love their masala dosa as well! read more

I was so glad to find somewhere so close to Middletown that I could get good quality Dosa. After visiting three times I can say that their Chaat, dosa, Idly and other south Indian dishes are fantastic. I was not as impressed with some of their standard Indian dishes like Chana Masala. I always try to order at least one thing off of their specials board. For desert, order the beat halwa if they have it. The owner uses beats instead of carrots making it a very unique experience. It's big enough to split between 2-3 people. read more

My friends and I constantly talk about wanting to come back here. Pure vegetarian (yay!) food and it's all soooo good. Mango lassis are, oddly enough, very dense and filling, so don't drink before eating! Anything on the menu is good, but the eggplant curry - baigan bharta - is delicious. And the samosa chaat. And dosas. Oh the dosas! read more

Sometime you award stars just because you stumbled on tastes where you were not expecting. In this quaint town, this was quite a find for someone whose soul food is Indian vegeterian. We greatly enjoyed the different uttapams, dosa, batura but the best I liked was Poori. I would admit the same dishes elsewhere would have gotten a 3 star as the channa masala was not authentic, sambar did not have the sweetness of Karnataka and neither the sourness of TN, chutney was fresh. Overall a place of comfort food, atleast for mua! read more

This place is my new favorite vegetarian place!! Delicious food with gluten free, dairy free options. The staff was very friendly and just as excited for me to enjoy their food as I was to eat it. I can't wait to go back and eat more. :) read more

Amazing food! Will definitely come back and grab some Indian grub on my way home from work. Looking forward to our next meal. Ill take some pics next visit. Staff was very efficient and helpful. read more

What a huge and pleasant surprise! Headed to another place when I saw that this was South Indian food, so we made a U turn and found ourselves in a small strip mall SE of Middletown. Certainly not trying to influence you with the setting! We walk in and the place is packed! Packed! And everyone is Indian and everyone is dressed...I thought i stumbled into an Indian wedding party. First star for passing the authenticity test. No pretenses here. small, cafeteria style tables; you walk up and order from a chalkboard menu, take a number, retrieve your tray and eat. But the food! And the warm, helpful counterservice! Just great. Over the top. We were instructed on what to order and had a dhosa, a paneer dish, dahl and rice...and more. All good, all seemed fresh and very reasonably priced. And the lassi was excellent! One minor disappointment was that I expected the food, being from South India, to be much hotter, spicier. I asked for one dish "spicy" but they just threw some half-rounds of chilis on top as a garnish. Not a knock on the food though. I'll just try for something spicier next time. All in all, a really unexpectedly good meal. Highly Recommend. read more

This is fantastic Southern Indian food which is all vegetarian a relaxed atmosphere. The spices, herbs, curry, vegetables, and all other ingredients are a perfect combination of deliciousness! The restaurant is rather busy always on the weekends and rather hard to find as it is located in a strip mall. The restaurant itself is adequately clean but the tables and chairs are iffy. You have to experience this restaurant for the food and put aside your desire for an eloquent dining atmosphere. They don't have table service. They also don't serve alcohol but you can byob and thereis a package store inthe plaza close by. Best Indian around by far and a must try! I loved the dosas! read more

I'm addicted to some of the food here. There's no ambiance, and you order and pick up from the counter and eat with disposable utensils, so you really only come for the food. It's cheap and so delicious. It's a major bummer they stopped doing the Sunday buffet - he said they weren't making enough money with the cost of ingredients. Samosas, iddly, vadas, dosas, the sambar SO SO yummy. read more

Good South Indian food, humble reminders of food from home! Been here a few times now and tried a whole bunch of food. Never disappoints

This place is delicious but most importantly they were so helpful when I dropped my phone behind the seats. Thank you!!

As someone who loves ethnic food, there seems to be a difference between authentic ethnic restaurants and ones geared towards white people with money. I prefer the first. That doesn't mean that the latter can't have good food or can't even be a great place to eat. But usually, it's pricier. It's fancier. There are a lot of decorations. You can get 'white people' Indian food in Middletown. It's generally very good. But I love Udupi Bhavan. First off, you should know that they only take cash. Secondly, there's no atmosphere. It's a bare room. It's not fancy AT ALL. There are paper plates and plastic utensils and you have to get them yourself. You're not royalty here. Thirdly, it's well out of the way of the rest of Middletown. This is not a downtown place. It's way down Main St when it becomes Saybrook Rd hidden away in a strip mall. So, why should you go to a small dumpy place with plastic utensils? Because the food is authentic and it's awesome. This is the place where the local Indian community eats. It's located very close to the area's Hindu temple. It's not real cheap but it's not real expensive either. It's exclusively vegetarian. Don't look for chicken or lamb like you would in "white people" restaurants. This is a place for the Indian community. You may very well be the only 'white' who is in the place. The hot chai masala is delicious. The food is spicy, made fresh, and nourishing. I'd highly recommend that any one who loves Indian food check out this place. Vegetarians, too. This is one of the gems of Middletown. read more

Wow, what an amazingly delicious place. Don't be fooled by its lack-luster decor, this place is the best. I am always looking for excuses to go to the best South Indian food I've ever had. Would highly recommend the masala dosa, chana masala, and definitely don't leave without trying the mango lassi! read more

Incredible food, affordable pricing, and get-it-yourself pitchers of water so you never run out. You pick up your food from the counter so there are no waiters and the vibe isn't especially romantic, but if you want authentic Indian food and a great meal this is the best in the area. read more

Best dosa in CT. Every dish we ordered was fantastic. Great place for lunch. Look forward to going back.

We always eat at Udupi Bhavan when we visit the nearby Hindu temple in Middletown, Connecticut. This is a basic simple self-service family restaurant with amazing Indian vegetarian food. We had the weekend lunch buffet and it had lots of variety and was very good. A masala dosa (crepe with potato) was included in the wonderful buffet. We also ordered several items for take-out like malai kofta, saag paneer, dahi vada, tamarind rice, and vegetable pullao. All the food was fantastic and very reasonable priced too. The menu is full of several South Indian delicacies. The restaurant does get very crowded during hindu holidays and major hindu temple events. There is also an Indian grocery store next door and a Sai Baba Center next to the store. I highly recommend Udupi Bhavan for an excellent lunch. read more

I was there for the Sunday buffet and it was CRAZY packed. Tons of families and children. Don't let that turn you off! And yeah, I was the only Caucasian... which I think is definitely a testament to the fantastic food. I tried a variety of dishes from the buffet, and every one was better than the last. The owners were sweet and welcoming. I have tried Indian food from all over, and this was really the best I'd had -- and the Sunday buffet is a great deal if you're just starting to experiment with Indian food because they have a great spread and you get to try it all (and you get to try it over and over if it's good!) read more

On our way to Washington, DC, (from Boston) we stopped here. All vegetarian, YES!! Very good food and service was great. The dough of the samosa seemed a little thicker than I am used, but nonetheless good. Their vegetable Pullav has cheese, which isn't listed in the description. The lady, which I believe might be the owner was very apologetic and friendly! Their Batura (puffy fried bread) is just amazing, you have to try. We liked it so much that we ended up having 3! The Batura and friendly service earned a 5 stars! EDIT: This is the rare place where we have been able to find Batura which is not made with yogurt!! (We are heading today, August 3/13, to Philadelphia and we will stop there)! read more

I'm a big fan of Udupi Bhavan. I don't have a lot of money for eating out as a college student, but I love going to Udupi for a cheap and tasty dinner. It isn't a swanky restaurant or anything, which is fine! I've been here on Saturday and Friday evenings, and there is always a table for me and my friends. For about 10 dollars, you can get a hearty vegetarian meal with a mango drink. I'm a fan of the chana bhatura and the poori. The owner knows me by face and smiles whenever I bring a group of friends (I love introducing different people to this restaurant), and knows I'm going to order the chana bhatura and gulab jamun. The dosas (kinda like savory crepes) are also great and a treat to get because they're huge! Like others have commented, Udupi isn't big or upscale or anything. It's homey and a small hole in the wall that shouldn't be missed. You get your meals on styrofoam plates and cups and is like a cafeteria. If you're looking for a good meal (vegetarian or not) for cheap, definitely go to Udupi! read more

We used to go to this restaurant so many times. Past couple of visits were not fun,the guy at the counter was very rude to the customers and my son who was in high chair and it broke all of sudden,none of the person from the front desk came forward to help or said Sorry! I would never ever return to this place again! Sorry but very disappointed! read more

The manager over there is Horrible. I gave Amex card instead of saying politely no madam, we dont take Amex card, he throwed on table and said only Visa or Master. He treated Indians very badly. Thier service is horrible with rude manager. Owner is really good and my 4 year old daughter was very hungry and we had to eat food. I will never go that horrible place again. read more

A religious experience! Staff is really really friendly, and food is overall good for someone who doesn't know much about indian food, at least. read more

this is only my second time having Indian food and again the dosa comes out my favorite. i got their special since it sounded so unique and it was good, but the lentils were terrible. the samosa chaat was also very unique and tasty for sure. the side of plain rice was subpar, it tastedlike it came from the Chinese restaurant next door. read more

We have tried various kinds of dosas, uttappams, channa bathura. They were really good. We tried Indian chaats panipuri and bhelpuri. It was worst. My favorite food is Indian chats. I have had all kinds. But never ever try to take chats here. South Indian thali was Ok. read more

I understand American reviewers giving 4 or 5 star, but i am shocked to see Indian Reviews giving anything more than 2 stars... Ambiance is zero.... But thats not my major concern... Food, if you call this authentic south indian, then I am sorry to say but you have not had anything even close to authentic south indian ever....Plus rates are sky high... Paper dosa was ok, but never had paper Dosa which costs $11. Cheese dosa was soggy and is $10.Onion Dosa is nothing but standard dosa with raw cut onion in it and is $9...Dahi Vada is worst I even had. Sambar is simply hot water with some curry powder in it. The typical sambhar aroma is completely missing. And FYI you pay extra dollar for extra sambar .. Rates on yelp or their official site are all deflated. You go there and get ready for the shock of your life.... I am sure most of the reviews on yelp are fake. This cant be more than 2 star. I would never ever recommend this to anybody... read more

If your an Indian and looking for an udipi food then definitely this is not the one. The horrible udipi food ever ate.

Still delicious. Tried the palak paneer tonight and the paratha. Samosa chaat is still my fave, next time I'll get some additional yogurt because it was pretty spicy. One of my favorite spots lately :) read more

Good vegetarian food. Try chana batura , Spring Dosa. Not very spicy. It is basically a good place to try Indian snacks like idli,dosa(rice crepes), vada(spicy donor made up of lentil batter) read more

The best vegetarian/vegan Indian food I've ever had. EVERYTHING is vegetarian! Everything tastes amazing! They'll remember you if you come in often, they'll ask you how you are and stuff, and if you get a bunch of stuff (for example, if you get a few trays of stuff for a party) they'll give you a discount if you ask for it, and won't be mean about it. The staff is amazingly nice, and the food is SO GOOD. I cannot overstate that - the food is INCREDIBLE. The best Indian food, vegetarian or not, in the area. read more

I checked this place out on recommendation from my fellow yelpers. I am south indian and grew up near Edison, NJ. I had the misfortune of having the buffet on a Sunday, which tasted OK but one could not tell the difference between sambar and rasam, as both look and taste the same. Also, south indians eat with their right hand and I was always taught to handle serving spoons with my left, to not contaminate the serving spoons. Some of my compatriates were not taught this as they touched the serving spoon handles with the fingers they were eating with - totally disgusting. This is a major turnoff for me and I will never go back here again. The guy working the register seemed like that it was privilege for the patrons to dine here and he was doing them a favor. read more

Delicious food inside it look clean all food is good and tasty .The front person always greet with smile .

Food is OK.. service really sucks. Wait times to get your order is horrible - you will loose your appetite waiting !!

Just adding my voice to the chorus of praise for the awesome food at Udupi Bhavan. This was purely a Yelp find for me as I was just passing through the central CT area looking for a lunch spot. It was my first time eating somewhere where almost all of the other diners did not look like me (white), but I felt very welcome. I got the weekend buffet ($10-$11) and had no idea what I was eating, but loved every dish. They ask for a $15 minimum on charge cards. read more

Really good vegetarian Indian food at decent prices. More of a take out place, they do have a seating area inside but its nothing fancy. Everything is served on trays out of Styrofoam and plastic. I was recommend for a take meal. read more

Love their Chana Batura and mango lassis! Nice service!