I wouldn't lie - the place definitely feels homely. Very simple place with lot of authenticity and local home vibes - I felt that too even though I am not from Chennai or south india. The ambience is average and service is average too. We had to ask for glasses for water, also needed to ask to refill the water. When we had finished with appetizer, in general the server will remove from table what you are done with - but here it just felt like plates are accumulating. No one to take away that. If the restaurant is busy I can understand that but when we ate - we were practically the only one there. So it wasn't the manpower problem - it is just a service problem. Coming to food. Pomfret was super good. Really well done. Briyani was a meh - I don't feel Bay Area has best briyani's anyways. I have had better Briyani in places like Seattle, Raleigh and Phoenix. The chicken 65 in Briyani though was pretty good - the typical Chennai style chicken 65 dyed with food colors . It was super nice of them to prepare filter coffee for us although it wasn't in the menu. Coffee was decent. The veg thali was also about okay. I didn't tried it but my friend did and that was his review. Their special goat briyani was decent at best - I was hyped up about it but to me.it didn't live up to the expectations. read more

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Probably the most authentic South Tamil Nadu cuisine in the Bay Area. The Parotta and curries are awesome. The biryani tasted very authentic. The portion size was also very generous. I got the Non Veg Meals - It was great. A bit understaffed but very friendly service. The ambiance could be improved but i guess that's part of the fun. It reminded me of a typical mess in Madurai. read more

Annachikadai - Deluxe Meals/ Thali, Non Veg Budget Thali - Indian Near Me - Mountain View, California

Good south indian and chetinad food Ordered chicken and mutton curries which were good Chicken Biryani can be improved read more

In the middle of a plethora of Indian restaurants in this area, Annachikadai stands out for their delicious food and unique menu. The chefs and owners are fantastic. Don't go there for the decor, go there for your taste buds. read more

Annachikadai - Indian Near Me - Mountain View, California

We ordered their non-veg thali. Everything was really good except for the rasam. The cilantro was a bit too slimy (not sure if it went bad). I came here last week during a weekday evening. So not sure if it was a change in chef during the weekday. Service was good and there were seats to dine inside. read more

Annachikadai - Non Veg Budget Thali - Indian Near Me - Mountain View, California

The best non veg thaali ever! Home style cooking , generous portion and great host. Little unassuming place with some great food. I tried deluxe thaali and it was outstanding! read more

Visited today. Unhygienic restaurant! Avoid at all costs till they fix the place, unclean plates, and the food itself. found a hair in chicken kothu paratha. Even after reporting, the person at the checkout had the audacity on asking us about the quality of the food and didn't offer a refund of the dish which is common across restaurants. The server accepted that it was a hair in the food. Sorry but not returning and spreading a word of caution read more

A cozy spot serving South Indian Chettinadu cuisine in Mountain View since ages. We've frequented this establishment several times over the years and after a recent visit, I thought I'd finally leave a review. The food and service are great here. I usually go for the Non-vegetarian Thali. Their dosas are fresh and flavorful. Pro tip: ask for the ghee dosa - extra crispy - thank me later. Their Madurai Kari Chicken Dosa and Chicken 65 are my favorite. Their Mutton Chettinadu gravy recently was a disappointment though. If you are craving spicy Chettinadu cuisine - give this place a try read more

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The price and quality - way off. For 22$ biryani it better be good snd you get served stale flavorless platter of shit. Do not waste your money. Ridiculous how granted they take their clientele. read more

This restaurant needs to take the time to shut down for a day to do a deep clean. There were crumbs from previous diners in the menu, on the table, on the floor, in the cracks. There were dirty napkins on the floor. Even peering into the kitchen you could see that it needed a deep clean. This isn't that it's old. It needs cleaning. Chutneys were too thin. Dosa was fine. read more

I was so sad ordered 6 items, only ate the FRIES even though we were hungry the food was so bad I threw it. The cut mirch looked like pakora and the MIRCH WASNT IN THE CHAT. I love lamb also threw that away although I tried to like it. I'm just so disappointed. read more

Annachikadai - Lame food - Indian Near Me - Mountain View, California

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This place sucks. Such a disappointment. Came here for lunch. Had the veg thali which was tasty but the curries were cold, my table was dirty with the placemats soiled by previous diners, the thali used all disposable containers, mostly plastic, which is terribly wasteful and awful for the environment. The waitstaff seemed like they didn't want to be here. My meal was dropped on my table by a waiter who then disappeared back into the kitchen without asking me how anything was, even though I was the only diner in the restaurant. I won't be returning. read more

Little hole in the wall South Indian spot. Nothing fancy. Clean enough. Has 4-5 tables. Your order at the counter. We got a veg thali and a non-veg thali. They both have a good variety of curries and each thali has a lot of food overall. All served on a tray with a banana leaf. Feels a little like being in India when you eat here. read more

Chicken curry and parotta are terrific non-veg meals is very good staffs and chef are friendly read more

We ordered takeout from here. We got Idly with fish curry, Fish 65, and egg kothu paratha. The food is extremely spicy here, so if you can't handle the heat, then stay away from this place. I had to dilute the curry with yogurt to make it palatable, but that's just me; I can't handle the spice. My husband, on the other hand, does appreciate spicy food and enjoyed it. Good selection of items on the menu, and food is usually ready quickly. read more

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Best Idicha chicken in Bay Area. Parotta can be better - needs to be softer. Haven't tried other items

Food was above average and price was ok. Owner actually turned off the AC on a 90* day lol. Pure Indian nonsense. My guess is other short cut at customer expense happen here. Considering how many places there are to eat should maybe try another spot. read more

I normally don't factor in ambiance unless it's at one of the extremes. We dined in and got one of the tables next to the window. The bottom of the window had a thick layer of dirt. One might say how does it matter as long as it's not on the food. Well, the cutlery they put for self service was dirty as well. I had to dip all the spoons and forks in fresh water and wipe them out before we used them. The restaurant is not large, they barely had about six tables so I couldn't see why they had difficulty maintaining it. By this point I was skeptical of the cleanliness of the kitchen as the dining area was in such a pathetic state. We got some veg and non veg thalis and a plate of chicken 65. As advertised, the thalis came out on steel trays lined with banana leaf. But the rest of the dishes on the leaf were served on plastic and paper cups. The thali came with a South Indian style flaky paratha, rice, Kurma, chole, some vegetable curries, rasam, sambar, yoghurt and a dessert which had food coloring. I could see why the place was popular inspite of the cleanliness of the restaurant, the food was really good. The paratha and Kurma combination was on point, absolutely delectable. I enjoyed the rasam and rice combo as well. read more

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Heard great things about Annachikadai from my Indian coworker so we were super excited to check it out. In addition to our own entrees, we shared a cheese dosa and a chapathi. I got myself an Annachi Chicken Salina. The Annachi Chicken Salina was overly salty and oily. The chicken was floating on top of oil (see attached photo). Even with chapathi, the chicken was too salty for me to take more than two bites. Can't imagine how much seasoning they put in there. Only thing I appreciate was how spicy it was - probably the spiciest Indian food I've had in a while. Both the cheese dosa and the chapathi received good reviews. The surface of the dosa was slightly more greasy than I preferred, but it was still tasty. We also ordered lentil soup for entrees. The lentil soup was apparently tasty but much lighter than expected (clear instead of thick broth). read more

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I ordered the parotta meal with chicken curry. Both the parottas and chicken curry were really good. The chicken curry is a small portion but it is only $12.99 for the meal combo. read more

10/26/2022 Annachikadai 80 W El Camino Real Mountain View, CA 94040 Went for dinner with wifey on a Wednesday evening. It is in a small ECR strip mall close to Grant Rd./237. There is indoor seating for about 30 people, paper and plastic setups and the menu is via scanning a QR code. There was a lot of take out business while we were there. We ordered the Veg Pakora, Parotta bread, Boneless Chicken Curry (medium) and Boneless Mutton Curry (spicy). Although we were dining in, the curries came take out ready in plastic tubs. The Pakora consisted of julienned vegetables battered and crisply deep fried. It was lightly salted and excellent. Both curries were very tasty with satisfying amounts of protein, lots of sauce and strongly spiced. The heat level was okay for me unless you eat one of the chili peppers. The accompanying bread was nicely flaky. Prices are very reasonable, consistent with the minimalist operation experience. If you are wearing polyester or wool, your clothing (and hair) will acquire the Indian spices odor. Bothered wifey a little but not me. It's a new neighborhood favorite, definite repeat. read more

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I tried this little spot this last weekend. My second try at Southern Indian food, I keep reading about how spicy it is compared to other regions. I ordered a samosa chaat and a chicken thokku biryani. I didn't mention spice levels, I just ordered it. My goodness it was spicy! It could have been twice as spicy as it was and it would have been perfect. But yeah, it was spicier than most any other places will give you. It was very good and very flavorful. It was mostly rice, like biryani's tend to be. There was however a solid layer of big fat tender chicken chunks right in the middle of the rice. I was surprised, they did right by me on that aspect of the dish! Thank You guys!!! Oh yeah, the samosa chaat was good too! Good healthy food, but the flavor just had a slight sweetness that annoyed me. I still ate and enjoyed it, but those last few bites I had to force down as the sweetness had overwhelmed my desire to finish the meal. I never had samosa with all that stuff on top of it before then. read more

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Perhaps the best Indian food I've ever had. Amazing rich/deep flavors. The Parotta was the right thickness. Flavorfully, and serves fresh. The Mango Lassi was waaaay too thick to drink with a straw, but it helped cut the heat of the curry nicely. Not the nicest place to look at, but the food more than made up for it. I'll be back if I'm ever in town again. read more

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We ordered mini idli , ghee roast masala dosa and masala fries. Food was really good and tasted fresh. Not to mention the customer service was also good. We had forgotten our backpack right outside the restaurant and the guy at the reception was kind enough to look for it and pick it for us. Place was neat and clean. read more

It was our first time trying authentic Indian food, we asked the person who works here their recommendation. The food is delicious and the service was very fast. They were very welcoming. Would come back for sure. Recommend! read more

Annachikadai - Fish curry, idicha chicken kuzhambu and rice - Indian Near Me - Mountain View, California

We had a huge dosa craving on a Sunday evening and found this place thanks to our fellow Yelpers! Parking is a bit limited as it's a small lot with designated spots for the restaurant. We came during a non-rush time so had no issue. When we got there ordering is online and service is self serve. We opted for the cheese dosa, onion masala dosa, 2 idli dishes, and a fish appetizer. After ordering online, we sat outside as our order was being prepared. As dishes were ready, our server was kind enough to bring the food outside. My favorite was easily the onion masala dosa, the outside was thin and crispy and stuffing had great flavor! A close second was idli as it came out freshly made and was delicious to have on a cold evening. We will definitely be back! read more

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The unlimited meals are back. The food was great and the service cordial. The non-veg dishes were authentic. Not to mention the veg items were good too. read more

Ordered Annachi mutton biryani on a weekday. and the taste was very good. One of the best in Bay Area.

Oh if you're looking for some authentic Malabar porotta. It doesn't get any better than Annachikadai. As a Keralite, I can attest that this is the best place you can find in the Bay Area for the almost authentic porottas. The chicken curry that came with the combo was also not disappointing, slightly overcooked but the flavors overcompensated. If you're looking for boneless options, you might need to order the curry separately. FWIW this place is budget friendly and really does a fine job of meeting expectations when you dine in. The filter coffee was a pleasant surprise. You can customize your coffee the way you want (sugar and decoction) and they'll happily comply (unlike Madras Cafe!). This place gets my 5 stars for doing a great job overall. read more

Annachikadai - Filter coffee - Indian Near Me - Mountain View, California

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Food is authentic & delicious. Quite a variety of dishes. Service is friendly & efficient. Chef Rajesh's multiple years of experience is evident in his dishes. Highly recommend this restaurant. read more

Authentic dosa! Must try in South Bay! The sambar was lacking in flavor, but dosa itself was crispy and fresh! It's very small. The place is sort of self serve so you have to pay and order before you seat yourself. All different types of appam are served here! That's a must try for a unique South Indian flavor. read more

The restaurant doesn't follow instructions of preferred spice level. No matter what, they always put tons of spice! In last few orders of following were noticeable in item "Mutton Piratal Kuzhambu" - extremely spicy (dry spices) despite instructions for mild spice!! - curry doesn't have potato or anything in it - goat meat quality is degraded - compared to the price this item is just not worth it at this restaurant! read more

The unlimited non-veg thali is a joke .. each item came in a little plastic container with no meats and only curry .. we had to ask them numerous times for meat/chicken ... fish curry is only curry and they do not serve any fish in it .. highlight was the chicken 65 which was under flavored .. there are many other places for a a great andhra experience . read more

Annachikadai - Non veg thali - Indian Near Me - Mountain View, California

Slop. This is the only word I can think of to describe the food here. Other Yelpers are right - don't know how this place used to be, but right now the food quality is very bad so stay away. Highlights: *Food tastes rancid. You know that old smell when you cook food over and over again because you don't want to throw it away? Food here tastes like that. *Food ridiculously liquidy - guessing because they cook it over and over again. *Oily as hell. I'm no stranger to Indian food, and the level of grease here shocked me. *Not good value. Even for dishes that are $9, it's inedible and I have to compost it, that is still $9 wasted. read more

We came to California to visit. My husband has been here few years ago and loved the food. It was actually quite disappointing. We ordered idli which was very dry, the kothuparota had a weird smell to it and I lost my appetite. The place was small but can be kept neat and the whole vibe was I wanted to get out of there. My piece of advice is save yourself from going there if possible. read more

Great food. There are tons of south India places in the area but I like this place the best when it comes to sambhar. During pandemic, we picked a lot of food from here. Menu has tons of variety. The guy on the counter is very friendly, ever smiling and super polite. However they need to work on cleaning up their indoor seating as their storage shelf is right next to tables. All this looks a bit disorganized but seems they are still getting back from pandemic mode, so I didn't take off any stars. My review is based solely on the food. There is ample of parking in front of the restaurant. read more

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Maybe we met this place in the wrong time. We arrived and we waited, and waited and waited for the waiter who never showed up. I think the problem was there were only 2 workers to attend the all Bussines. I mean, it's Friday,, do restaurants know they will have a lot of customers? Sorry for this place, we won't come back. There are many Indian restaurants who will be glad to have customers. read more

Took my friends and family from out of state to this place for impressing South Indian food with authentic taste .. all the dishes we ordered was tasty and reminded me of having street food in Madurai .. favorite was idicha chicken with parotta, appam with mutton curry n coconut milk, chicken fried rice!! Mutton Biryani was nice too but the meat should be cooked even softer, was little chewy for me.. :) dessert - wheat halwa was great ! read more

Not bad not bad! The service was nice they have indoor and outdoor seating, we went with a friend who is our insider on Indian food :) the dosa was so fun here. They also have a large menu with non vegetarian and vegetarian options. Recommend the chai and their buttermilk! Will be back to try more read more

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I'm writing this review for my non-Indian friends, since I feel like Indians already have a pretty good read on it, and know what to do. This place does brisk take-out, which might be the right approach here. For anyone inexperienced wandering in, it's a bit bewildering. See if you can bring a guide and do better than I did. The menu (online only) has fair descriptions, but it's hard to imagine what you're getting until it shows up. It's a lot of wet sauce in a plastic pint container, so you need a mountain of rice or some strategy for what to do with it. The one I got was somewhere between a broth soup and a curry -- very thin, not many pieces of chicken you could eat with a fork. Nice and spicy, very hot and fresh, but faced with this and a plastic teaspoon, it didn't feel correct. The bread was interesting.. crispy, flakey, oily.. like a croissant crossed with a pita? Not nearly enough for all that sauce. The dine-in tables really need a little ventilation. It's a small space, with plasticware and supplies piled around -- you don't dine-in for the ambiance. The spices are strong in the air, and will get into your clothes something fierce, as a reminder the next day. The handwashing sink had no soap. I hesitate to give few stars, since I'm sure a smarter more-savvy person would have ordered better, and most likely to-go. I just didn't know what do with all those sauces, and the whole meal was just heavy and wet. They need some kind of "beginner combo" or something. It's across the street from Hotel Strata, so an easy stop if you're staying there. read more