house of dosas

i don't usually write reviews about restaurants, but i was so upset with this restaurant that i felt the need to tell other wishing to dine in there. my friend and i had went to enjoy a good dinner from thisplacesince we've heard many good things about thisplacebut our experience turned out the complete opposite to what expected. we got seated in a long table setting (with little tables connected to eachother), so we had one of the little tables to ourselves. others that were sat next to us were literally so close we were touching elbow to elbow. it was so awkward. we had ordered two appetizers (the masala dosa and idly) and then 2 lassi (mango lassi and sweet lassi) as well as our main dishes to come after the appetizers. we were seated before the other two couples sitting next to us and they had gotten their drinks and utensils before we had. we obviously understood it was a rush and kindly let them know we were waiting on our drinks as well. later, both the tables got their appetizers and we were just here patiently waiting for our own, because we aren't the type to bug the waiters while they're working. i myself work in a restaurant and was more patient because of how i've experienced busy days. it was a busy day, but they were plopping people anywhere they could find aplaceso they could give them cold food and shitty service and then expect tips in the end. going back to our dinner, we finally received 1 out of the 2 appetizers and i had also asked the waiter if the other one was one its way as it had already been 25 minutes for us just waiting on our appetizers. she had assured me it was coming soon so we decided to wait for its arrival before we start eating, since i didn't want to be rude and start eating before the person i had came with had gotten their appetizer. it was 10 minutes already waiting for the second appetizer so we ended up sharing the one that we had in front of us. at this point we've been waiting 35 minutes for the second appetizer and we were quite annoyed that it hadn't come and neither did our lassi drinks that we had ordered. the waiters came by with our main dishes and we were confused as to why the second appetizer hadn't come. one of the waiters told me that they could "leave the food in the kitchen until our appetizer comes" and this is where they were exceeding my tolerance. i told the waiter that we've been waiting 35 minutes for our drinks and an appetizer and we'd just take the food for now. they gave us our drinks in the middle of us almost having finished dinner and then the manager came with the dosa and said it would be on the house. we were not looking for free food, just getting our food on time would've been nicer than watching the people next to us eat and leave already. the manager tried putting it on our table but there was no room for the dosa whatsoever and he slid it on to the table next to us, who were very upset themselves as they had no room for their dishes either. when the table had left, the waiter came to clean the table and took our utensils along with theirs and had mixed our water glasses so we had to get new glasses(which took 5 mins to reach us). we had asked for two more roti which came to us in 15 minutes. this was absolutely the worst service i have ever had. when it came time to leave, we asked for the bill and the waiter (who was rather rude and impatient) told us to go to the front, and i had said that i would just like to see it and he said go to the front. no manners and no etiquette. we went the front and when we got the bill, the dosa that was supposed to be on the house was still on the bill, and then i had to verbally explain to the cashier that their manager had put it on the house. when he heard it, he was giving so much attitude towards my friend and i. i did not feel the need to tip as the service was terrible, very terrible. i do not recommend thisplaceto anyone.

i've bookmarked thisplacefor years now and i finally got to check it out on dosa mondays! hooray for $5.99 dosas! after reading many reviews, i decided on the palak paneer dosa (spinach and paneer) and chicken 65, and i'm so glad i did! the dosa crepe was nice and crispy. the spinach filling was delicious when topped with the spicy, red sauce provided on the side. service was attentive even though there was only one person working in the front of the house and theplacewas packed! kudos to that guy! highly recommended!

best dosa. thisplacehas some of the best south indian food around!

don't worry bout the decor or the service the food is great!

monday's all dosa's are 5.99!

we ordered gunpowder dosa and madras dosa (both chef’s special). both were accompanied by tomato chutney, coconut chutney, sambhar, vada and idli. the portion size were large and food was fresh and served hot. the good thing about theplaceis it’s open late nights. in terms of taste the food was average as i have had better dosa’s in past. but i would like to go back and try something else.

this is an amazingplacewhenever you crave for great dravadian delights! i simply loved the “gobhi 65” its a must try! great starter, very crispy, a very good options for all the vegetarians! it was served with chilly dip and had a fusion flavour of indo chinese food.
uttapam was equally good, sambar was just perfect with the blend of spices, sourness, and that signature aroma..
at a very low price u can get amazing dosas(crepes with potato filling) served with great sambar and delicious coconut chutney!
mondays are the best time to go there for dinner as they have special deals on this day.

stumbled upon thisplaceby accident and were surprisingly pleased with what was on offer. the variety in their menu struck us and their daily specials looked enticing as well.

we started with the basic idli, vada and plain dosa. the food was excellent and quite tasty, relative to the standards back in india. it was nostalgic to experience the limca soft drink experience here.

for the main course, we decided to go with the crab curry special that day. it was served along with rice, a special type of bread (malabari paratha) and the gravy was damn delicious.

service was fast. staff were courteous and willing to help. ambience was minimalistic and the focus was firmly on making it a memorable experience for their guests through their food. highly recommended for authentic south i dian and sri lankan cuisine without burning a hole in your pocket.

food: 5/5
service: 4.5/5
ambience: 3.5/5
value: 5/5

i think this is a greatplacefor indian food and it has become a spot for indians to hangout .. and most importantly it is open till 3 in the morning.

what a fantasticplacefor dosas, they’re also open later than most restaurants and they have the most yummiest south indian food i have tried! so much to choose from and each dish, each preparation tastier than the last. love it, can’t wait to go back!

it's seems like a small family run place. we ordered chicken 65, a lamb dosa and a fish vindaloo dosa. they asked us how spicy we wanted and we told them very spicy. the chicken 65 was well fried and the chicken was tender but it was not really chicken 65, the chicken 65 is always tossed in ginger garlic- curry leaf based- masala which this one was not. 
anyways the biggest disappointment turned out to be the dosas. the dosas were really below average. we used to get better dosa at our college mess compared to this. first everything was missing salt, two other people asked for salt so it was not just us. the sambar, if you could call it that, was just flavored water. the chutneys were just meh. the lamb dosa had tons and tons of potatoes with few small bits of tough lamb mixed in. you could feed that seafood dosa to a vegetarian and he would never guess that they had fish cuz the fish was blended in with the potatoes if we didn't know that we ordered seafood vindaloo dosa we would have never guessed cuz you couldn't tell fish apart from all the potatoes. also vindaloo is a very spicy vinegar based curry which this was not. the potatoes mix for both the dosas tasted same (just like mashed potatoes) . we asked for spicy but everything was just plain bland.

i guess thisplaceis more for non indian people who have never had a good dosa before, but as an indian this is a average dosa at best. having said that it is cheap and affordable and tastes ok so if you like cheap filling food then you can try this.

i've been to this restaurant many times over the last few years and i've only had great experiences. everything i've ordered has been hot, fresh tasting, and well seasoned, both when dining in, and when taking out. a must-order dish is the fish pakora; lightly coated white fish accompanied with the most delicious spicy, slightly vinegary sauce to dip. the staff are always very friendly, courteous, and you can really tell that they're trying to make your meal as enjoyable as possible. the dining space itself is very clean and feels warm and homey. i can't say enough good things about house of dosas. it's the perfectplaceto enjoy an affordable (but awesome) meal!

we ordered chicken dosa, medu vadai and chicken biryani here on our visit today. it was very crowded, and there was a long queue of people waiting. luckily a table for two was there and we got it. the food was served pretty quickly despite being so crowded.

the food was decent, the chicken dosa could have been crisper on the outside, and the chicken masala inside wasn't up to the mark. it had a bland taste, no salt or no spice. medu vadai was decent, it was not at all crispy on the outside as it should be. the sambar and the chutney was okayish too, can be improved a lot i felt.

only saving grace was the spicy chicken biryani, which was yummy, the chicken pieces were succulent, tender and moist. the rice was beautifully mixed with the spices, and the chicken. the additional curry and the raita that was served with biryani age adds flavor to the dish.

overall 2 for the efforts / service and the ambience + 0.5 for the chicken biryani


edit: i found it’s good to visit theseplacewhen it’s less crowded.i ordered rava dosa and veg pakora this time which was quite good to what i ate last time. so i am changing the rating to 4.

update:
after a pretty rough experience at the restaurant earlier this week, where issues in the kitchen resulted in some extreme delays (scroll below to my original review for details), i received a message from the owner apologizing for the bad experience and inviting me back to the restaurant for a complimentary meal. i took him up on that offer, and returned to the restaurant for lunch on wednesday. since i've already had their famous dosas during my previous visit, i wanted to try something else off of their menu, and ordered the chicken biryani (details on the dish below). the dish was delicious (and they are serious when it comes to heat), as was the dosa that i had tried earlier in the week. the staff was incredibly friendly and attentive. what really got me though was the owner's graciousness and dedication to his customers. following this visit, my perception of this restaurant has completely done a 180. i would highly recommend thisplaceto anyone looking for good indian food, especially if you enjoy heat.

chicken biryani ($13.99):
4.5/5
this is the first time that i've actually had biryani before, and i've got to say, if all restaurants had biryani like this, then i really should order this dish more often. i really liked the basmati rice, which was a bit firmer and had more texture than the type of rice that i'm accustomed to. it was filled with various herbs and spices, and was very flavourful and fragrant. there was a generous amount of juicy, boneless chicken (i'm delighted by the fact that they use dark meat) that was well-seasoned and very flavourful, and also a small whole egg. now, you get to choose the spice level for your dish. i initially requested the dish to be as spicy as possible, but chickened out (no pun intended) and asked for the 2nd highest level of spice instead. i had seriously dodged a bullet: the dish at the 2nd highest level of spice was already seriously hot. in most restaurants when i ask for my food to be spicy, i usually get something that's just mildly tingly; here, i was actually tearing up and had to drink a lot of water and also use the raitha that they served the dish with to numb the pain (i wouldn't have been able to handle the highest level). they seriously don't pull any punches here, and i'm impressed.

original review:
i really don't like writing negative reviews, but i've honestly had the worst dining experience in recent memory at this restaurant. i visited theplaceon a monday, which is when they have a special where all of their dosas and uthappams were priced at only $5.99. unable to resist such a great deal, i decided to order two dosas: their meat & mixed vegetable dosa (with chicken) and their cheese garlic uthappam. the food took over one hour to arrive. i'm not exaggerating: i ordered before 1:30 pm, and it was well past 2:30 by the time my dosas arrived. i've never walked out of a restaurant before, but i seriously came close. i have no idea what happened, whether this was just a rare, unfortunate misshap or something common to this restaurant, but i was seriously ticked off.

the food, when it did finally arrive, did taste pretty good (details below), but honestly at that point anything probably would taste good to me. although the staff members at the front of the house were relatively friendly and kept my water glass filled, and the prices are an absolute steal on mondays, i'm seriously quite put off by my experience and will not be returning any time soon.

meat & mixed vegetables dosa (chicken, $5.99 on mondays):
4/5
this consisted of a long, thin crepe enclosing a filling of potatoes, peas, carrots (and some other vegetables) and chicken, and was served with three separate chutneys. the crepe was soft, slightly chewy, and quite tasty on its own when dipped into chutney (my favourite is the red one). there was a generous amount of filling, which was also very tasty: the food was well seasoned, with a slight bit of heat, and the pieces of chicken were very tender and moist.

cheese garlic uthappam ($5.99 on mondays):
3/5
this is an indian-style pizza that's topped with garlic and cheese. unlike western pizzas, the crust was more fluffy and tender than doughy. i was quite surprised by the amount of garlic that was present; there were large pieces covering the entire top of the pizza, and the flavour did become a bit overpowering. i would have preferred more cheese (you can never have enough cheese) and a bit less garlic.

service time: 40 minutes for just plain dosa & 50 minutes for other dosas

taste: tasteless - no salt or spice.
i had the paneer masala dosa. it was literally the potato filling with pieces of paneer and raw onions. the raw onions might actually have been the better part.

the paneer 65 was also bland and red - i am saying fluorescent. (see picture)

ps. this was during a rather busy day.

rather save yourself some time and walk a little further to someplaceelse.

no doubts, the food is really good and a decentplacewhere we can go eat midnight. but the last few incidents which happened in the past, i would like to share one of them.
so what happened we called the restaurant at around 11pm and asked if they're open , which they replied they were open till 2am. we went there at 12:45 and they were like we're closed. either don't give your words or manage how to run a business. we specially drove for 40kms to have it but they turned it down. and plus they never apologized for this and again when it comes to customer satisfaction, staff is pathetic. they need to improve on it. total waste of time.

i've been to thisplacetwice, first time without incident. after visiting india this year, i've been spoiled by 40 rupee dosas. however, the portions here are north-american huge. the food is tasty, and authentic. however, what was also authentic, was my stomach pain after my most recent visit.

the shrimp dosa turned my stomach into a house of sadness for three days. it wasn't violent, but instead rather beckoning and mildly crippling. i was riddled with the kind of sadness that leads one to abandon teammates in dota mid-game. i might visit again if i gather the courage.