SERVICE - located in a small shopping complex off of El Camino Real - parking available in lot in front - good amount of indoor seating for groups of 4 or less people - service was okay nothing spectacular MENU - South Indian chettinad food - vegetarian options marked - well priced ($12 per entree) FOOD - idiyappam with vegetable korma (6/10): five steamed rice noodle cakes with a side of coconut vegetable curry. Visually this dish is not the most appealing as it looks very plain. The portion was generous and could feed one or two people. I would have wanted more of the korma to go with the idiyappam. WOULD I GO BACK? Unsure since there was nothing outstandingly amazing. read more

AappaKadai - Idiyappam with vegetable curry - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

One of the best South Indian restaurants where you can't go wrong in ordering any of the wide array of dishes. We had soft idlis, idiyappams, appams with egg curry. My nephew and my husband enjoyed the mutton soup, ambur biryani and chilli chicken. We topped it all off with delicious pan. read more

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On the last day of the year 2023, we wanted to eat some comfort food back from our hometown in Karaikudi, Chettinad in Tamil Nadu, India. We are visiting friends in the Bay Area California and we know we can find something that's authentic. We came back to our favourite joint AppaKadai in Santa Clara. Look at the extensive menu. Usually places that have a large menu have average food but these guys are excellent. The menu was authentic Chettinad style cooking. The fish curry took me back to my early days, when my grandmom used to cook it in the village, the idly was soft and fluffy . My daughter had a Keema Dosa while my wife had a spicy podi masala Dosa. The Chutney were flavourful, albiet they had a little less salt in them. But overall I would give this five star because of the proximity to authentic taste and how it took us back to our old memories while growing up. read more

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We ordered appam with vegetable kurma and curry leaf dosa here. Appam and veg kurma were good. The masala's in veg kurma had good flavours. But the curry leaf dosa was disappointing. Would not recommend it to folks read more

AappaKadai - AAPPAM WITH VEGITABLE KHURUMA KARUVEPILLAI DOSA - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Still love the place, my kiddo loves it too, gobbles their he ghee idlies, calls it the lollipop restaurant as they give lollipops when checking out.. Gopi takes great care of us every time, he makes us feel welcome and provides with excellent service! Thank you! read more

We had a craving for Masala dosa. Our go to place didn't open until 5:30 so we tried AappaKadai. Yum! These were big crepes with 3 sauces and sambar. The potato was thinly spread in the crepe. We also ordered one thin crepe which was crispy and the crepe is rolled with the potato in a small cup. Chicken 65 had just enough flavor for us. Mango lassi was good. Can of coke $1.99. Flavors were good to us. We got the crepes one by one. Servers were friendly. Tables and chairs were clean. We would come back. read more

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We as a family came here for lunch on a weekend afternoon. Not everything that's written on the menu is available so you want to make sure of that. We ordered appam and chicken curry as fish curry will take time as per the server. We ordered masala dosa and the potato sabji came in as a side dish. I ordered from their menu for falooda and the answer was that we don't have it. I am not sure why they put it on the menu if they can't serve it on a weekend! We ordered the goat biriyani, Rose milk, Kerala parotta with chicken curry and a fish fry as an appetizer. Overall, not a great experience as we had to go with what's available there than what they mentioned on the menu. The service was okay as we had to call the server each time , at one point they forgot to get the chocolate milk shake which we had to remind them. The ambience is so so not very appealing. I am not sure if I will go back here, when you have better options around. read more

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A yummy spot for South Indian eats -- my family comes here on occasion, and they have a few different locations in the Bay Area. They're a very no-frills place and the ambiance isn't anything crazy, but the food here is really good and they have some unique dishes (like the appam) which you can't find elsewhere. Their service tends to be a bit slower (depending on the location), so wouldn't recommend coming if you're looking to eat right away. A few of my personal favorites dishes and drinks include: Kothu Parata, Mysore Paper Dosa, Appam with Coconut Milk, Baby Corn Manchurian, Sweet Lemon Soda and Badham Milk. They prices and portions are decent and filling! read more

Mouth watering chicken curries - tried Naatukozhi chicken roast, chef's special chicken curry, Pallipalayam chicken. All curries were good but Pallipalayam chicken was the star. Tried chicken lollipop, parotha and appam - all great. Service is fast and lot of seating tables. Ambiance is good too. read more

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The food is good and genuine. The service is slow - not because the servers are bad but just not enough of them. It serves the purpose but don't expect the warmth or stand out cuisine. read more

We had a bunch of stuff from here The idiappams , and the sweetish dosa are on point. The rasam burns your throat so target achieved . read more

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I came to eat with my family here and it was the best experience we could've had. Everything was clean and the service was excellent. Especially chicken pallipalyam and appam was excellent. The most delicious meals we've had. We are definitely gonna come back. Thank you read more

I recently vist with my family... service was good food was awesome especially appam and chicken pallipalyam was my favorite food i forgot ask the chef name any way excellent experience keep it up and thank you Guys read more

We came here because we got our timing all messed up between weekend cleaning and shopping. We were in Santa Clara for a visit to some Korean and Japanese shops and wanted to eat first but our usual spots were all closed. We found this place and decided to give it a try. Although it was empty it took a while for someone to stroll over and seat us. There are non stop Indian music videos playing on the 1 TV. Service was slow and the already placed water container contained only enough water for 1/2 cup of water? Ambiance /vibe (which you know is a big deal for me) = 2.5* To eat we ordered chicken 65 to start. We normally get this at our local fav and it kicks a punch, but this one had no flavor. Actually, the flavor profile was oil. We ate it bcs we were starving but it was regrettable. My middle daughter and I split the dosa with chutney and tikka masala. It did not include rice which we had to order separately. Hubs ordered Keema dosa youngest daughter got butter chicken. The best item was definitely the keema dosa. The other items were meh. Food - 3* The service was lacking and it was hard to get the attention of the person helping us. The worst part was the water... it tasted like dishwater. Overall only if you have nowhere else to eat. Sorry. Go down the street to Tadka. read more

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Visited again after a long hiatus. Glad to see it is still there. Wife was craving a dosa and Sangeetha has closed. Sad emoji She had her dosa and I had the chicken pepper fry. Good steady background heat to the chicken with pleasant spicing in the foreground. Took home an order of the mutton keema. Yum! Update: Yes, it was yum! read more

We went there twice on our trip to CA. First day, due to shortage of staff we were asked to wait for 20-25 mins to get us seated. However on 2nd day we were able to find one. We were a party of 8 and probably tried most of the weekend specials out they had. Quail fry , fish fry, biryani's(natukozhi as well as Dindigal mutton biriyani), crab masala, mutton curry, chettinad chicken and even Dosa were great. Won't recommend taking porota. It wasn't upto the mark. A bit more focus on cleanliness would go a long way. Restrooms and dining area are bit too shabby. Driving down from Portland where we have few regional specific Indian restaurants(apart from Andhra style), this one definitely is a good one to be. read more

Excellent masala crab, green prawns curry, and appam. High end of spicy. But man is it good.

VEGETARIANS BEWARE!!!!! My family went to this place cause it's right next to Indian grocery . They were outta veg biryani so we decided to try something new. They took the order and delivered it too . As we started eating I found a stick kinda thing , ignored it thinking it was cinnamon but later found another one . Quite unusual ,when looked closely it was CHICKEN BONE IN A KOTHU PARATA!! I complained about it, the chef came to check on us . When asked about it he said " CHETINAD KOTHU PARATA IS MADE WITH CHICKEN CURRY UNLESS YOU ASK FOR VEG " . This wasn't mentioned neither in the menu nor by the person who our order And he made sure that we look like idiots who din google the dish recipe before placing the order. read more

AappaKadai - Found chicken bone in veg kothu parata - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

The restaurant Server was very Rude and We order our Food no Plates were on the Tableand the Food was not good ..Restroom was not Clean too Didn't Enjoy at All... read more

Food is okay but filter coffee is a scam, it's just hot milk with Nescafé. Be prepared to pay at least $5-6 per person as default gratuity even if you order something as low as $12 and have lunch in a group of 5-10 people. It's like you are paying an hourly cost for the chair you are sitting on. Adding to the disappointment when you share feedback on a food item that was terrible you get rude responses like that's how we make it. read more

Food 10/10 service is good but they were busy today they tried their best. I love the movies they play and music videos. Staff are friendly read more

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Good authentic food. Good service. Food was fresh and arrived on time. Appam was the star. Would love to visit again. read more

AappaKadai - Masala Dosa - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

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Tried their Chicken Lollipop and it was just about average. It was overcooked and had a burned taste to it. Also got their tea which was decent. read more

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Ordered pickup through Ubereats and the food was ready pretty fast. We ordered a plate of idli and sambar, 2 plates of idiyappam and 1 plate of chicken kothu porotta. The idli and sambar came with two different coconut chutneys and as everytime I just love this dish. Each plate has three idli and enough sambar and chutneys for the same. Chicken kothu porotta was really yummy. Its mixed and cooked so well that the porotta is soft and ingredients are incorporated well. It comes with onion raita and a gravy. The order for idiyappam did not come out right. We got only one plate instead of two. The size of the idiyappam was pretty small too. Due to the corona situation, we are unable to check the food at the restaurant and it would be great if the restaurant itself checks that all the order is not missing anything. read more

AappaKadai - Chicken kothu porotta ~ 4/5 - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Disappointing service experience, marked by a lack of attention and care for customers. However, the culinary side was impressive. The restaurant offers an authentic and delicious variety of Chettinad cuisine, that highlight the rich flavors of this culinary tradition. While the food is commendable, the poor service significantly undermines the overall dining experience. The Biriyani was not that great either. read more

4.5 stars! There's no holding back on the flavors at AappaKadai, where the menu focuses on Chettinad cuisine from Tamil Nadu in South India! The rustic location (a lone building off El Camino with a couple wooden tables outside) makes this place a bit of a hole-in-the-wall, but it's exactly at places like this where you can find great food! I started with the aappam (what a fun name to say and spell, by the way), a pancake made of rice batter and coconut milk, cooked in an aappachatti pan. The pancake was subtle in flavor but had a fascinatingly gooey, chewy texture! This is one thing you won't find in every Indian restaurant, and it's definitely worth trying! But my favorite bread from here was actually the paratha, a layered bread that was crispy on the outside with chewy, flaky layers on the inside! Both the aappam and the paratha were perfect for eating with the different curries we ordered. The deep brown/red fish curry came with small fillets of fish and was nicely spicy, while the yellow chicken curry was milder in flavor but still very tasty. But my favorite was the mutton roast, made of tender pieces of goat braised with chilies and a super spicy gravy! What a great restaurant--bold flavors, great value, and friendly service too! read more

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I visited this place for lunch on Sunday. Before even talking about the food , I would like to mention about the wait times being longer than usual on weekends. We ordered Naatu Kozhi Biriyani, Chicken Kottu Paratha, Mutton Biryani and Naatu Kozhi Rasam, lollipop chicken. 1. Biryani - if you are in your appetite, the quantity they offer per plate isn't sufficient. 2.Lollipop chicken- The worst chicken I ever had. It was dripping with oil and tasted soo dry. 3.Chicken Kothu paratha was okayish. Though you will hardly find chicken pieces in it. 4.Mutton Biryani and Naatu kozhi rasam was soo good and worth a try. The quantity of the food - especially the mutton was scarce. Some items on their menu were unavailable. I would advise they remove items which they don't plan to prepare or sell. But, for that price point the quantity was very much disappointing. I would have given better rating if the quantity was good. read more

AappaKadai - Chicken kothu parota - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

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with new year & holidays, they advertise on FB & other social media abt a b'fast deal (ref: Pic) to increase the footfall / business or whatever. I call them at 10.10 AM,31-Dec & check if the deal is open, the store guy on the phone says the offer is on until 11 AM. We (family of 3) drive frm Mountain View to reach by 10.45 AM sharp. StoreGuy1 says it's all sold out when there are only 3 table full,calls next one frm inside. StoreGuy2 says he can honor the deal but replace item X with item Y.calls next one frm inside. StoreGuy3 (seems to be like a boss here) acknowledges that he was the one who answered my phone, doesn't care abt what he committed on the phone & says the deal is over saying i can order from menu@standard price, also says kitchen is closed. Not apologetic at all & happy to lead us out of the restaurant. It's utterly disappointing to go through such experience, kitchen is closed for item on deal but same item is available if ur ordering at the standard price. you can't fathom with logic they give & why at the first place announce such deals. the kind of brand name they have built, I am not sure why they have to do such cheap gimmicks to get more footfall. with new wall in the hole places like 'Chennai Buhari' & other south indian restaurants, I wish people give opportunity to new places, make established brands realize that it's the customer/clientele that makes their brand what is it & if they mistreat customers they would lose business. read more

AappaKadai - Dummy Offer to misguide people! - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Don't miss it Good taste, masala coating and marination has well. Not over dominating masala and oil too. Must try recipe in this restaurant... read more

AappaKadai - Fried chicken - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

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When to get some appam with fish curry and a filter coffee. Looked OK when it came, but the fish curry was cold, did not taste fresh, had fish chunks with skin on and tons of fish bones. I'm not sure if this is a Chettinaad way of making fish curry with the bones and the skin but it was pretty disgusting. The appam was decent. The filter coffee - was not filter coffee!! It's really sad to see when restaurants don't even make an effort. I should have just ordered a dosa, at least it would have to made fresh. Have had that before and it was decent, but nothing great. read more

AappaKadai - Appam with fish curry - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Location: they are right next to Apna bazar indian grocery store and have ample parking outside Food: authentic flavor and spicy :) love their food and prep styles. My favorite dishes are : 1. Nandu masala - whole crab in spicy gravy - serves 4 in $32 - weekend only 2. Naatukozi kolumbu - chicken in spicy gravy - with bone - serves 2 - weekend only 3. Yennai kathrikai - eggplant in tamarind gravy - serves 2 4. Chicken chettinad 5. Masala dosa - love their sambhar 6. Appam fresh is yummy if u dine in Their service is slow so i prefer picking up food to -go. Usually very crowded so go at an off time if u are in a larger group. read more

I come only for the pratha. This stuff is MAGICAL! Seriously, f everything else, I don't even care. The other dishes are dece. But that pratha is straight heaven-sent. Dear god, I pray that I end up in a place after I die where I can eat this pratha every day for all of eternity. Thanks for listening. read more

Slow service, Sub-par food. I was expecting a lot from this place (and have been here before, also disappointed the last time). The menu looks so promising with a large variety of items. Thats where the excitement ends. - No one at the reception counter to receive guests or seat them. - many items on the menu are unavailable - no attention to guests. (noticed guests waving frantically to get some attention from servers) - long wait times even for things like idli (which ought to be pre-made and quickly served) - awfully small portion sizes. (small cup of goat curry is $14.99) - condiments/chutneys are sparse. (I know this may be too much to expect but I draw comparisons to the chutney selection of Madras Cafe, located just a few blocks away, which is awesome btw) Disappointed, yet again! read more

The outside of the Masala fish was flavorful. However, the meat itself was dry, bland, and the flavors (marinade? dry rub?) used to season the outside of the fish did not permeate through to the meat. The Masala tea was just okay -- standard black tea with milk. The butter milk has an interesting flavor profile. Gulab jamun tasted like substitutes were used in place of the more expensive, quality ingredients. The carrot halwa was sickeningly sweet with cheap corn syrup. Vegetable chettinadu flavor is just okay, but definitely not value for the money, as the portion size of 16 ounces is the same as the side of rice. Speaking of the side of rice, everything on the menu was a la cart, including chappati, rice, etc. read more

AappaKadai - $50.05 receipt - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Came here for breakfast.. They have a new buffet breakfast with a Chef making fresh Dosai. I tried 2 different ones (don't remember the names) both were super delicious. Everything in the buffet was so good, even the coffee (which is included). For $15, this is the best breakfast in the silicon valley ! read more

We found this place when looking for restaurants on a Saturday night when lots of other places were closed. Aapakadai came up on our search and we were excited to see that an Indian restaurant was open. Perhaps a little too excited. We got an order of their Kadai vegetables (~$10) and an order of their Chicken Chetinad ($11.49). Neither dishes came with rice or bread so we had to order that separately. The choices were Chapatti and rice, and we opted to get two rices. It took ten minutes for the food, and we took it to-go. However, they did have a few outdoor tables. The Chicken Chetinad had a nice spicy kick to it, but the overall taste was on the mediocre side. Besides the spice, it lacked flavour. Lucky for them, I love spicy food so I would order this if I was really hungry. As for the kadai vegetables, it was disastrous at most. It tasted extremely sweet and had a very odd consistency, and not something I'm used to, as I have had this dish before at other restaurants. You could tell they added sugar to the dish, for what reason I'm not too sure. Overall, this is one restaurant I am not returning to. Some people have told me that they love this place, others have said it's okay, and others absolutely despise it. Do you know what that says? It says that consistency is not Aapakadai's best friend, and consistency is one of the foundations of a successful business. read more

Absolutely delicious! We had doses and a few other things all fresh, delicious and somewhat unique to others restaurants. Perfectly reasonably priced first that's good quality and portions. Two of their sauces were especially amazing and I ended up eating them with a spoon, with no shame. read more

Ordered mutton biryani through doordash. Portion was good but barely any meat in there, mostly pieces of bones. Lot of black pepper spicyness but not of the other essential flavors. Very bland and tasteless over all. Please get better chef. read more

I've been here a couple of times now. I've seen folks come here and order the Butter Chicken, Chicken tikka masala or Indian Chinese. I do believe you will be quite disappointed if you come here with the expectation of good north Indian or Indo-Chinese food. This restaurant is primarily a south Indian restaurant and more specifically I would say their strength lies in their meat curries and meat roasts. I've tried their dosa and it wasn't great. The south Indian Parathas or Aappams are pretty good accompaniments to the meat curries. I tried the fish fry special and it was bland and super greasy. I suggest trying the Aappam with Fish Curry, Paratha with Chicken Curry, Naatukozhi Roast and Mutton Roast. Service is attentive. The place is not very clean. The seats usually have dropped food or grease stains from previous guests. Overall this place could do better, but for now I'll be back unless I find a better Mutton Roast. read more

AappaKadai - Nethili Fry - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California

Rating: 3.5 stars This is a regular lunch place for me every time I am craving hot and spicy Indian curries. The service is quick, the wait never exceeds over 10 mins. The food is delicious, my most favorites are the Lamb chops( served only on weekends), the lamb kheema appam on their south-indian menu. I tried the full fish fry, it was deep fried, and the fish didn't seem fresh. Won't be trying that again. The indo-chinese menu is pretty good too. Love the chicken lollipops and the chicken hakka noodles. I never leave this place without having their gulab jamun with vanilla icecream! Must try: Lamb chops(weekend only), lamb kheema appam read more

AappaKadai - Full Fish Fry - Indian Near Me - Santa Clara, California