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Pongal
Category: Restaurants Indian Indian [Edit]
110 Lexington Ave(between 27th St & 28th St)
New York, NY 10016
Neighborhood: Flatiron
(212) 696-9458
- Nearest Transit:
-
28 St (4, 6, 6X)
33 St (4, 6, 6X)
23 St (4, 6, 6X)
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- Paid
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
About This Business:
Amma,that's the sweet little restaurant that opened recently on East 51st Street.The pale mustard walls and salmon-coral banquettes are inviting, an… read more »
97 reviews for Pongal
Review Highlights
"And while the dosas are good, the chutneys are amazing."
(in 22 reviews)
"I had the Mysore Rava Masala, which I can fully recommend."
(in 3 reviews)
"If you're in Curry Hill, I suggest you stop by."
(in 8 reviews)
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97 reviews in English
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Review from Sean C.
New York, NY
1/2/2012
Great vegetarian options! We left full for under $40 for a party of 2. (no alcohol of course)
We ended up trying Pongal after having a bad experience with a nearby restaurant. We walked in and got a table quickly, and had a lovely meal.
We had the steamed lentil appetizer, and 2 great entrees that were both vegetarian, as well as the bread stuffed with peas. All were very good, and I would recommend.
Service was generally good. No complaints. We eat in this neighborhood often, and would likely return to try Pongal again. -
Review from Neha K.
New Rochelle, NY
12/28/2011
Went there with some friends and it turned out to be a total disaster. I would only say that the food is edible- its no where close to the authentic Indian food by any standards and lacks taste. There are many other places around the corner that are far better than Pongal.
The service is bad, in fact rude. The manager could not care less. And yes, watch out for the 15% gratuity for 3 or more (that's very rare). It will be sneaked in to your cheque and you will be very curtly informed that 'gratuity has been included'. Paying this definitely pinches given the slow, rude and pathetic service we got.
The place did not look clean and well kept. The bathrooms were stinking and filthy. Considering that the same bathroom was used by their staff, I would never want to go to this place again.
Sadly, this was the worst Indian food experience I've had in New York. -
Review from Stacy H.
Boston, MA
12/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
entirely vegetarian indian restaurant? awesome. two of my favorite vegetables - chick peas and spinach -- in one dish (chana sag)? only "a-ok." their dishes come a la carte along with a bowl of basmati rice. it was just filling enough for me, the small-appetite vegetarian, but i'm pretty sure my male friends could've gone with more food. it wasn't spicy at all, which was pretty surprising to me considering that it was indian food.
i also deducted a few points from pongal because their service left much to be desired. we sat in the corner, so they left the water jug for us (plus). but at the same time, no one came to check on us and everyone came to push us for drinks and money.
bottom line: i was full, but i don't really remember my meal. -
Review from S S.
New York, NY
2/6/2012
Solid vegetarian. Don't understand all the negative reviews. Unless the place has declined over the past few years when I ate last.
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Review from Micah A.
8/17/2011 1 Check-in Here
I believe I speak for everyone when I say that when I think of New York, I think of public bathrooms. That's why I've been integrating bathroom information into each review, because the public bathrooms in New York attract men and women from all over the world. Public bathrooms are such a huge tourist attraction, that companies have decided to sell food, goods, and services as payment for using their lavatories.
This bathroom was surrounded by an Indian restaurant, and so as payment for using the facilities I decided to order Palak Paneer. It was very tasty. There was a rich flavor, and the paneer was the perfect consistency - something that is definitely a rarity at most Indian restaurants.
The portions were small though. Most bathroom payment eaters had 4 or 5 of these little bowls on their plate, which would have cost upwards of $40, and it didn't look like they were sharing. I couldn't imagine either spending that much or eating that much Indian food without paying ample money for use of another public bathroom.
Once again, the tap water was atrocious. At this very moment I'm sitting in a buddy's basement waiting for the city of New York to dump pesticides all over the streets of Staten Island, and I'm starting to believe that they must rush into the tap water, because wow the water in New York is gross.
This place is also vegetarian, which rocks, and they have Hebrew over the bathroom door, which rocks further. Not a bad place at all.Listed in: Cataloging New York
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Review from Bin H.
Manhattan, NY
8/10/2011
I ordered the masala and a friend ordered the paper masala. Both were HUGE and I have no idea how we managed to finish our plates. The prices were very affordable for a sit-down restaurant with great ambiance. The servers are friendly and nice enough to explain the entire menu to you, but check up on you a tad bit too much. I guess that's better than no service at all, so I'm not complaining, but give us some space to engage in our conversation!
We got there for an early dinner, so the restaurant was empty when we walked in, but was packed by the time we left. I'd prefer to return when the place isn't so packed, because the servers looked swamped and flustered. -
Review from J B.
Manhattan, NY
8/10/2011
My friends and I got the lunch thali special yesterday. Bring all brown, we've come to a level of expectation when ordering indian food, and sadly Pongal did not deliver.
So the biggest gripe was the potato "filling" that used in their dosas had no taste AT ALL. We all thought that there wasnt even salt in it. I mean I could kind of understand if the place was swamped and super busy. But no... not terribly busy that we would be getting food of that low quality. PLUS to make matters worse, it came out a little cold.
However, looking around the place we noticed that most of the customers were of the lighter skinned variety, so Pongal could be catering to their tastes versus the browner folk. Needless to say, there are many other places to try in Curry Hill. -
Review from Bill M.
Huntington Beach, CA
10/31/2011
Great place to eat if you enjoy marginal food and horrible service. Server was argumentative and had a listening problem when spoken to in English. Manager was not much better. Manager conversed as though he was riding on a pendulum. He walked away more than once mid-sentence to do something clearly more important. If you have dignity and would prefer to be treated like more than a wallet-toting stooge, please try a different restaurant. Oh yeah, they're vegetarian.
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Review from Matt L.
3/26/2011
How can I not give this place 5 stars? It managed to remain the delicious, South Indian, vegetarian (note: I'm not vegetarian), popular restaurant it's been even before it got written up in review books like NFT.
The average rating of this restaurant on Yelp is lower, but I'm dismissing that completely because this is one of my personal favorites. This is the type of place that I've hooked skeptical people to South Indian food.
What's South Indian food, you ask? It's completely different from anything you've eaten if you haven't eaten it.
"Dosas": flat, crunchy, butter-and-spice-flavored 'pancakes' (not sweet, but there's no equivalent word for it) with spicy potato deliciousness in the middle; "thalis": metal trays with about 6 small bowls of various curries, a very spicy soup as an appetizer, a dessert for later, mango pickle, and non-sweet yogurt to cool things down, rice in the middle of the tray and a chapati rolled up on top .. oh my god I'm dying to abort this review and head there right now. "Uttapam" - a plainer, non-crispy, thicker breadier type of 'pancake' with spices and vegetables in it, served with 'sambar", a vegetable broth full of spices used more like a sauce but drinkable as a soup ... I can go on, but it'll make no sense until you consume it.
Because you have no idea what I'm talking about unless you've had the pleasure of exploring South Indian food. And by those standards this place is pretty reasonable.
I've been eating South Indian food since I lived in Central New Jersey, which has pretty much some of the best Indian restaurants of anywhere (in Iselin and Edison), and Pongal measures up.
How others gave it less stars in their reviews, I don't even want to know. I'd like to give it 8 stars to balance things out, if that's okay with you. So just mentally add one or two stars to the average review.
I do know that every time I come here, it's often full of European tourists with their backpacks next to the table, so it was certainly written up in places tourists are reading about New York.
All I ask is that you don't mob it -- I still DO come here from time to time. We have a deal. -
Review from T j.
Manhattan, NY
9/29/2011
A bit frustrating and slow, food portions are meager. Quality of the food isn't bad, but clueless staff. I asked the waiter for some small green peppers (a pretty common item in Indian restaurants) to have with my meal and he could not grasp the concept of what I was talking about - he wanted to bring me black pepper. I ordered a lunch special and it took nearly an hour to get my food. What was served differed from what was listed in the menu too. As you can probably tell, I wasn't thrilled with this place.
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Review from Arun S.
Monroe Township, NJ
10/10/2011
Food is good. But be prepared to wait for it...atleast 45 minutes. They must be short on cooks and boy the server(s) attention short. Don't expect them to check up to see if you need anything else once you have been serviced. Don't think I'll be going back.
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Review from Grace A.
Brooklyn, NY
3/4/2011
I'm a little confused by all the negative reviews on here. I'm not an Indian food expert by any means, but both times I've been here, the food was delicious and not at all expensive considering how much you get. My friends and I split the mysore masala dosa, gobi masala (cauliflower in tomato sauce) and palak paneer with some chappathi and yogurt on the side. It was PLENTY of food for the three of us, and we left feeling full but not disgusting after polishing it all off.
So many reviewers commented on the service, but they've been fine when I come here. They are a little awkward, with three different men taking your order and serving the food and refilling your water (they were very good about the water which was great), but we got everything quickly and were left alone to gleefully stuff our faces. When we got the bill, we asked them to put two different amounts on two cards, and even after confirming the amounts and pointing to two different colored cards, he still messed it up. Not the worst thing ever, but come on, man.
Anyway, I'm sure there are better restaurants in the area, but Pongal suits my Caucasianness just fine. -
Review from Jason G.
11/13/2010
Ordered delivery on SeamlessWeb. Got Rasam (spicy soup), Bindhi (okra) Masala, and Rasa Malai (dessert).
Rasam was incredibly spicy. Bindhi Masla was delicious, but a way too oily. The Rasa Malai was delicious.
Not bad but doesn't stand out. Prices were reasonable. Not enough rice came with the food. Would order again. -
Review from Samantha S.
New York, NY
8/6/2010
Came with friends and kids for dinner and left satisfied. The service, as others have noted, can be aloof and slow; I would describe the older servers as gruff but helpful (tough-love-ish) and the younger servers as very nearly pleasant. The interior is cozy and attractive, bustling but not loud.
Since there were a bunch of us, we tried the hot appetizer combination: the pakoda and alu tikki were the best, but it was fun to sample the whole platter. Nothing was overly spicy, just rich and flavorful.
Not in love with the utthapam, as the seasoning seemed overwrought, but the paper masala dosa was so good I could've eaten the whole thing. The chana masala was delicious. I recommend all the breads; we had pulka and poori.
The adults drank Taj Mahal and Kingfisher. The kids had mango lassi. All worked perfectly with the food. -
Review from Minto S.
Richmond Hill, NY
3/6/2011
I think I've been to most of the Indian spots in Curry hill and Pongal is my favorite, it's the only one i come back to the neighborhood for. Indian Vegetarian is my comfort food and I'm salivating thinking of the dishes at Pongol. The service here is not that great and the restaurant seating is very tight, you'll probably be rubbing shoulders with the next table so it's better to go with just one other person. I usually forget any minor inconveniences once the food arrives.
I love flavorful and spicy vegetarian food and Pongol can serve it. -
Review from Asma m.
New York, NY
7/27/2011
Good idli ,dosa& sambar!!!!!!
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Review from Sumit D.
6/14/2011
This place was pretty decent, but I can only give it 3 stars
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Review from Vishal D.
New York, NY
5/26/2008
Pongal is yet another South Indian focused, vegetarian establishment in Curry Hill, with a menu that specializes in dosas, will throw in a smattering of Gujarati dishes and also offer $15 thali specials that get you quite a bit of food. The menu is a little behind on innovations compared to Tiffin Wallah and Chennai Garden (which will now offer cheese and several other toppings and fillings for your dosas and uttapams), but still priced about a dollar or two more than its competitors, perhaps based on its reptuation. As my parents are vegetarian, I am slowly going down the list of establishments in the area for every time they visit.
While Pongal generally screams out "more of the same" with the quality of its vegetarian curries (above average palak paneer with a lot of cream and tomato mixed in), as well as its appetizers (generally dependable medu vada and bhel puri, but no "out of the box" starters), it shines with its dosas. The mysore rava masala dosa is probably the best of its kind that I've tried. Rava generally means that semolina is used in the batter and the dosa served to you is generally squared off, has more holes in and is thicker (but some will prefer this flavor). The rendition here is amazingly crispy and stays crispy even in the center which is a rarity among dosas. The flavor is terrific, the masala filling is superb and the sambar is spicy and delicious.
A tip to the wise- when ordering the bread, opt for the deep fried pooris, which are massive, fat breads that are quite tasty and soft. And better yet, order the poori masala, which for 50 cents more, gets you a generous bowl of the potato masala filling you'll generally find in the dosa.
The service here is typical Curry Hill, rushed, somewhat aloof, though generally quick to get you in and out. If you want ice in your water, or a little salt and pepper to season your food, you'll have to ask. Oh and, do notice that if you're a party of 3 or more they will charge 15% gratuity, so add to your bill accordingly.Listed in: Indian Food, Tonight we dine in in hell!!!
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Review from Srini V.
4/7/2006
You might scream injustice at my depriving Pongal of two more stars. Well, for star-ters, Pongal consistently doles out a balanced combination of delicious south Indian fare matched only by its ersatz and obviously arrogant service.
The idli-vada combo appetizer combines a fluffy idli with a "crisp on the outside" vada--yum yum. And the dosas are as good as any from Bombay.
Watch out for the 15% gratuity that makes its way into your check for groups of three or more. And the servers do not point that out lest some sucker not notice and double-tip. Oh, and expect waiting times to be in tens of minutes in the evenings if there are more than two of you who pass through the portals of Pongal.
All in all, the taste buds crave for more while my self-esteem would suggest otherwise.Listed in: Injun choices
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Review from Kelly B.
Culver City, CA
11/14/2009 3 photos
Failing to get a table next door, we wondered into Pongal because there was a copious amount of open seats. Normally this is a reason not to go into a restaurant, but we were starving and willing to take the gamble. Presented with the menus we sat in silence scanning the confusingly capacious list of vegetarian selections, and just as slowly everyone's eyes settled on me (being the best versed in Indian food of the group).
Me: "Ummm... yeah... I really can't help you."
Them: "We should just order the lunch specials... what does this mean."
Me: "I don't know... are we supposed to pick from these options?"
Them: "Here comes the waiter."
Us: "We don't know what anything is"
Waiter: "It's all good"
Us: "Yeah but..."
Waiter: "What would you like?"
Us: (panicked) "Ummmmm..."
We took turns blindly pointing to one of the three "Business Lunch Specials $8.45" - I picked the Pongal one because I love dosas. We were quickly presented with our lunches, assorted goodies and sauces composted in silver trays, and I could see my dish was the clear winner of the set. The big beautiful dosa lopped over the side of my dish accompanied by a crispy medu vada and a less exciting iddly http://www.yelp.com/bi... The dosa was delicately crisp on the outside but softly enveloping warm masala potatoes. Everything on my plate was excellent - everyone else's food was perfectly acceptable too.Listed in: I Eat: Murry Hill
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Review from Joan H.
12/7/2007
Fairly inexpensive South Indian fare - meaning dosas doasa dosas! Very similar to Chennai Garden, which was my first mega dosa experience. Like CG, they have a 14.95 pre-fixe that is a steal (on the back of the menu -- three variants). I had the Mysore Meal -- soup, spicy coriander chutney the way I like it, a fantastic dosa (I actually thought the crepe was better than at CG, and the filling was perfect in flavor), the donut (nice and crispy), a pancake like thing (kind of eggy, but very nice too), the sweet carroty dessert. SO GOOD. I was stuffed!
This is a great place to check out, especially if you have not had the pleasure to enjoy South Indian food. Not very expensive (entrees are typically around $8). Service is fair, atmosphere lively - plenty of people here on a cold Wed. night. -
Review from Mandeep B.
New York, NY
7/29/2007
Authentic Indian vegetarian fare at its best.
The service was so-so, so one star was deducted.
Try the dosas. And the samosas.
Nice mix of north and south indian food! -
Review from Akshay A.
Brooklyn, NY
12/15/2006
Kosher, Vegetarian. Now, onto the stuff that matters. Their food is good. I won't often "like" an Indian restaurant...well, because my mom cooks better than most of them. South Indian dishes is definitely their specialty and I recommend sticking to Dosa's and the related dishes. Their wait service isn't always the best, but it's not that bad. They seem to just forget sometimes...but the food....it's good!
If you've not had South Indian before, go with the common Masala Dosa and get some Sambar Vadaa for appetizers.
It's one of the few Indian places I'd recommend to anyone. -
Review from Marc M.
New York, NY
10/16/2006
My favorite South Asian restaurant in the hood, although this place is kind of like the hot girl in school who knows that she's hot. Don't expect any special treatment; just be thankful that you're getting a piece.
If you're a banker, the prices won't put you off. For everyone else, the prices might put you off. Especially the $3+ breads that contains about 30 cents worth of ingredients. My recommendations: try the okra dishes and the black chickpeas. Great flavor combo, especially if you complement with one of the more expensive breads. -
Review from Ben C.
New York, NY
1/1/2007 2 photos
Vegetarian Indian food so authentic that Indians actually go here! I'm a major carnivore and this was actually my first Indian food - but Pongal has won me over. There are only 3 kosher Indian places to my knowledge and they are all on this same block.
I had the Mysore Rava Masala, which I can fully recommend. No need to get a soup - many of the entrees come with one anyway and they are not very good as stand alone soups, more useful instead as dipping sauces. Get a Coke also; it's goes very well with all the spices.
The veggie ingredients make Pongal a great bargain as well. All the dishes are under $10, unheard of for a kosher sit-down in Manhattan. The dining area is mostly stone walls with decorations reinforcing the Indian theme - good attention to detail for the consumer experience. The tables are sufficiently spaced apart, so it doesn't get overcrowded or too noisy while you're eating. The seats along the walls are just cushions on a stone bench - not comfortable - so if you're ergonomically sensitive, make sure to call dibs on one of the real chairs.
You may have to wait for a table, and there is no room to do that, just a curtain separating the door from the dining area when you enter. Also, if you're a newbie like me, you have no idea what anything on the menu means. I knew I liked spicy food, so I went straight for the hot stuff. -
Review from Rohit J.
6/20/2010
Just went here earlier today for lunch with my pops, I was going to take him to Saravana Bhavan but he's was there recently so we decided to try this place out and overall I had heard good things about this place.
My dad got the Gujarati thali, we both shared the assortment of pakoras, bhajias, and batata vadas and I got the rasam an paper sada dosa. We had also gotten mango lassi.
The dad thought his thali was just ok, we both thought the assortment was sub par and that I have made better on many occasions. The rasam I did not like but I have never had rasam before so I have nothing to compare it to but it was not at all how I imagined it to be. My paper dosa was good could of been crispier but that could just be because I like my dosas crunchy. Their coconut chutney was delicious but the sambar was just a little better than ok. We both enjoyed the mango lassi, o I had a madras coffee which was good not great.
Overall I give it 3 stars because it was good and i've had so many that were plenty worse but i was not WOW-ed. -
Review from Jen L.
New York, NY
4/23/2008
For someone who doesn't love Indian food and especially doesn't love vegetarian only places, I am amazed how much I liked this place.
The food is very good. It's flavorful and good portions and at a very affordable price. I had the Pongal lunch and it was delicious. The service is so friendly and adorable and the place is casual and small.
I normally don't like Indian food either. But, the flavors and spices were good, but not overpowering, which I liked.
Not bad at all! -
Review from V J.
New York, NY
12/16/2008
This one is a good South Indian restaurant. Come here between 12-3pm on weekdays to enjoy the special "Thali". Thali is usually the lunch menu, but I'd call this a breakfast menu. This Thali comes on a banana leaf in a steel plate. Even water is served in a small brushed metal glass, with gives you a rustic feel. I tried out the Pongal Thali for a flat 10 bucks. It consists of a Medu Vada (Indian gram flour donut), a white Idly (rice cake) and choice of Dosa (Indian Crepe) or Uttapam (Indianised pizza with tomatoes, peas, onion as toppings). With all this you get 3 sides - Coconut chutney, some orange chutney and Sambhar (spicy hot curry of pumpkin, lentils, drumstick and tomatoes). I wished the quantity of these sides should have been a little more.
The place has a decent quiet peaceful ambience having maroon colored seating, good warm lights. The service was pretty quick with around 10-15 minutes serving time. Regarding the cheques, I think the minimum for a CC payment was 20 bucks. So come with cash if you intend to spend less. Overall a satisfactory experience. Will come back to try the Mumbai Thali and other dishes next time. -
Review from Sean S.
3/10/2010
I had the Vegetable Korma. This one is south indian, so a lot less ghee (if any) compared to the usual Indian places. Lighter, and tastier if you ask me. Very nice.
The bread is a bit different though, I want to say it's naan, but it's much thinner. They call it pulka. Gujarati food is great! I guess that's where a vegetarian needs to travel to in India! -
Review from Brendan M.
New York, NY
1/7/2007
I could kill for Dosa, and this is the only place in Manhattan that I know of that makes them properly.
Only been here for lunch, and we had no problems getting a table. Can't say I noticed that service was particularly bad, although it wasn't outstanding either. -
Review from Roxy C.
Los Angeles, CA
7/15/2010
This was one of the first Indian restaurants on the block, before the influx of trendy ones came in to attack from every corner. And so for that reason, I want to give it 5 stars...but I can't
They've upgraded their ambiance like the rest of the restaurants in the area as of late. But their food has become blander and portions noticeably smaller. It seems majority of people who come here are regulars from the early years, paying their dues to another time. And though I find the service the sweetest of any other restaurant on the strip, I've no desire to go back. -
Review from Noel R.
Brooklyn, NY
4/26/2007
I thought the food here was mixed. I had one of the sample entrees and some dishes were delicious but others were just ok. I can make a pretty decent dhal and so I was expecting something better than my own.
Still it's worth a visit. The service is only ok at best. I suspect it's popularity is no incentive to improve it. -
Review from Namrata T.
New York, NY
11/4/2007
Pongal is a South Indian harvest festival. During celebrations, you cook rice, let it boil over and should out, what else, "Pongal!"
This tidbit should tell you a few things:
1. Eating at Pongal is a celebration, uhm, for your taste buds.
2. Why would you order North Indian food here? It's run by South Indians and it's a good thing too because you can get very good dosas (I like regular masala dosa), utthapum (onion and peas being my favorite), vadas etc.
Other very tasty dishes include the bengan bharta (roasted eggplant dish with onions all mixed up into a delicious mush) and bhindi masala (okra). I don't know why most Americans aren't into okra, but it's awesome. Try this and change you mind about this oft berated veggie (OK--technically a fruit).
The best strategy for Pongal is to go with a group of 4-5, order a bunch of dishes (a dosa, an utthapum, 3 veggie dishes and some kind of roti) and knock yourself out.
After you polish all this off with your Kingfisher beer or sweet lassi, loosen your dhoti and feel good about what you've done. -
Review from Jenna R.
Playa del Rey, CA
8/12/2008
I'm a little confused. When last I left NYC, it was the most curry-licious city in North America. But upon my return this summer I'm finding it disappointing compared to my sub-continental haunts in LA.
Pongal was fine -- every spice in its place, every bread warm and doughy -- but it wasn't anything over the top. Perhaps I should have gone for the Southern Indian specialties rather than the curries, since Southern is more of a rarity in the restaurant world. I'll try that next time.
The whole moong was fine -- nothing to write home to Mumbai about, but fine. Malai kofta could have used a little oomph, as it was among the blander versions I've had. Normally I can just dip some naan in the sauce and call it a meal.
None of the dishes were bad, but I've had better versions of each elsewhere. If you're craving Indian, you won't be disappointed, but you won't be overwhelmed either. -
Review from Barbara C.
8/6/2006
My friends and I enjoyed the food here, but it was really nothing outstanding. Again, as the reviewers have noted, the waitstaff is peculiarly arrogant and rather weird. The waiter *told* my friend what kind of beer and what size he wanted it; my friend had to practically scream at the waiter that we did NOT want a large beer. Later on, when another friend was asked if she was done, the waiter immediately then said, "Of course you're not, eat more. I'll come back later." She *was* done, and we were eager to get going. So the wait staff was pretty damn annoying.
The food was good, but very typical of the Lex Little Delhi food. We had the samosas (yummy and typical) and the spicy cashews (very yummy!). Three of us ordered the dosai--I ordered the spicy wheat Madras Rava Masala. It was definitely spicy, but I wish I had ordered the regular non-wheat dosai; they just looked better. My other friend had the curry, but it was really nothing better than the $5 Indian down the block from my apartment. Overall, average food and bizarre service. -
Review from Jennifer S.
Huntington Station, NY
9/3/2008
Like others have said, its nothing special and a bit over-priced. $9 onion masala dosa? I guess its manhattan. Im used to Queens dosa that is never a cent over $7 at the most so i'm spoiled.
That said. I left full and happy. I tried Utthapam (not sure if i spelled that right) for the first time and it was pretty good. Very greasy, though.
The atmosphere was much nicer than other places I poked my head into which is actually why i picked pongal to begin with.
I think next time we head to this area we'll try one of the many other south indian options. -
Review from Neha M.
New York, NY
3/28/2008
If you like tasteless, fake indian food, go here. We ordered a dosa which was soggy, and a north indian dish matter paneer that was bland with hard uncooked peas and no salt or spices in it. Add slow service on top of that. No thanks!
I do have to say the restaurant itself is pretty nice though hence the 2 stars.Listed in: Avoid these places like you…
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Review from Jenny F.
Brooklyn, NY
2/20/2008
I went here with a friend expecting something great thanks to NFT Guide.
The waiter seemed incapable of looking at our table as he walked by. When we finally ordered, he couldn't answer my questions about the menu (which is really hard to understand if you are an average jenny who doesn't know Southern Indian food like the back of your hand), and in the end we practically had to stand up and ask someone for the bill.
The food we ordered by winging it (didn't have dosas as I didn't know they were known for that) was actually quite good, so perhaps if you know your SOUTHERN Indian food terms then you'll be a happy camper. (I'm familiar with Northern Indian I guess.)
Anyway, I don't like to be treated like an idiot because I have questions about the menu or to be ignored by the staff. This was one of the worst experiences I've had so far in NYC and I've been out practically every night for the last month!
When my temper cools, maybe I'll give it another chance and have a dosa. Wish me luck! -
Review from Ankita I.
New York, NY
2/20/2010
I was soo in the mood for south indian food when I came here for dinner and I did not leave disappointed! I got the mysore masala dosa and it was amazing!! I also tried the rasam (as a soup) which wasn't aas good...maybe because it was really thin and not the consistency I'm used to. Also, I was surprised with the classy decor...it made the place look really nice and worth coming to for a night out.
Overall, this place really hit the spot for my south indian food craving and I will definitely be back!Listed in: Good for Friends
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Review from Toby Toberson T.
Wayne, NJ
5/29/2011 3 photos
Good to Average food. Service not so friendly. They are cocky.
Overall OK.
