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    Chennai Cafe

    4.4 (78 reviews)
    ModerateIndian, Cafes
    Closed 11:00 am - 3:00 pm, 5:00 PM - 8:30 PM
    Updated 3 months ago

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    CHENNAI CAFE ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Dogs allowed

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    Recommended Reviews - Chennai Cafe

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    Christina M.

    Chennai Cafe was a gem of a find. As we got to mile 20 of our marathon bike ride we pulled into the nondescript plaza off of Washington St. I knew of the sbux here and the burger spot but didn't know an awesome Indian restaurant was hiding in there. The food was delicious and staff very friendly. It was busy inside on a Sunday evening and many people coming and going to pick up take out. The chicken tikka masala was perfectly spiced. And I see they have a buffet set up inside. Oh man I haven't been to Indian buffet in SO long. I'd like to come back and check that out.

    Bisi Bele Bath
    Akshay H.

    Chennai Cafe has nice decor & ambiance in a clean, welcoming space. I was happy to see attention to detail in the "vibes" component of the restaurant. They also serve their food in traditional dishes / cups / etc. which is a super nice touch and makes you feel like you're eating a home-cooked meal. That said, I wish the food was better. The chai was nice, but the bisi bele bath was basically tasteless. It was spicy, but that was the only flavor component in the dish. Bisi bele bath is one of my favorite South Indian rice dishes, and I was disappointed by their preparation. All that said, I would probably return at least one more time to give them another chance.

    Front

    Food was yummy. Service was good and the servers were always around when needed. Both veg snd non-veg items tasted good. Dosa, coffee and mango kulfi were a cherry on top. Hope they continue to serve and maintain the quality.

    Lunch buffet
    Amanda C.

    Great spot for a casual lunch buffet! Kind service and happy to answer any questions you might have. It was $17.99/pp and I loved that they have unlimited dosas (you won't get naan here but there was paratha in the buffet). Everything was delicious and there was a mix of vegetarian and meat dishes. There was chicken and lamb available. There was also mango lassi and chai latte available! For dessert there was gulab jamun and a nutty cookie that was tasty. I think there could be a larger variety of foods available compared to other Indian buffets but I liked what was available here and it was very clean (some buffets I see children's hands everywhere lol). We were really satisfied after!

    Inside
    Kelly B.

    I was so excited to try this place. It has been a while since I've had a dosa! It has a very nice ambiance inside; very modern and clean. I noticed that nearly everyone else dining there was Indian - a sign of an authentic restaurant! The lunch buffet is set up off to the side. When you sit down, you can order dosas, which are included in the cost of the buffet. There is a "welcome drink" of a sweet milk with rose water, then in the buffet there is a good selection of curry dishes, rice dishes, and soups like dal. The food is spicy (which I anticipated from south Indian food). I was a little disappointed to find a hair in one of the rice dishes! I ordered a masala dosa, which was basically a dosa with a mashed potato with spices on the inside. It was good and similar to other dosas I have had in the past. The service was very good.

    Plain dosa, and potato dosa
    Kat V.

    We went there on the weekend, and they served buffet with dosa. I am so happy to get a plain dosa. The food here is so delicious, and they are generous with the spices. I love mutton briyani. It is spicy good. The paneer cheese curry here is surprised me with the heat. I felt like other places generally made paneer curry not spicy (to cool off other dishes?) but now I like spicy paneer curry. The gulab jamun dessert is deliciously sweet. The masala chai is so tasty that I wanted to know how they made it. There are good varieties of food, veg and non-veg. They are busy on the weekend.

    Combo platter
    Dan A.

    I give 5 stars because of the food and the service. The staff were really helpful with the menu. I had accidently driven to this Indian restaurant instead and I'm so glad I did. When things like that happen. It's usually for the better. The food was amazing, good quality. Very appetizing. The servers were very nice and super attentive. There is a TV that was playing indian music videos which was actually very nice, not loud or annoying. The tables were white cloth and the silverware is actually goldware. One thing that's different is the Naan is a little different than what I'm used to, but still good. I had a platter. That allows you to pick an appetizer and two non-veggie currys. It also came with soup and dessert all for $20. I left so full and so happy. When I'm in the area again, I will stop by and try the pepper shrimp that they were out of this night.

    Gobi Manchurian
    Keke K.

    Went here while vacationing in Phoenix. This place was pretty packed on a Tuesday evening. We had gobi manchurian. I could tell the ketchup or the can tomato paste used to marinate the cauliflower but still it was quite edible. Very tangy and had a spicy kick to it. Next up was what we went here for!!! The dosa!!! We ordered 3 masala dosa and a Muttai dosai. The masala dosa were crispy, hot and came with sambar, coconut or peanut chutney (sauce) and red spicy sauce. It was also the first time I tried Muttai dosai as I wanted something without potatoes filing and that too was surprisingly good. They brought all the food in matter of minutes! After all this, I also wanted to try the spicy mysore dosa and I guess it was a special order as they had to layer spices inside the crepe so it took really long time compared to the other dosa. Next time I visit, will try something else tho. And the masala dosa is much better than the spicy mysore masala.

    Kadai Bhendi Masala
    Sahitya M.

    Coming from Seattle area, this place felt like heaven. Woah all those South Indian tiffins, we were just excited to see those many vegetarians options. Not to mention the price ! It was totally reasonable compared to Seattle and the taste is absolutely great. The starters were amazing and I would say the bhendi curry was decent. But given how amazing the starters were everything felt great. The staff were very friendly and accommodating too Totally recommend this place !

    Idli

    Everything tasted amazing! I just wish they brought both entrees out at the same time. My father was done eating by the time mine came out

    Lunch buffet. I have not idea what anything is
    Jessica C.

    This is a new place. Very new. Super duper new. I LOVE Indian cuisine! I love the vegetarian options often available, as well as the nostalgic feeling that ignites reminding me of my earliest memories of "back home" (Scarborough/Toronto Canada). I decided to swing by and give it a try on my lunch hour. My expectation was to drop in, place an order and be on my way. As I mentioned, they're new. I am trying to consider that and not review based solely on them likely still figuring it all out. Next time, I will dine in. Although I am curious if at this time the buffet is all they're offering, or whether they have menus for seated patrons. I am not clear on the answer to that, based on this visit. Upon asking if they offer to-go and being informed that I can load up a buffet box to-go, I nearly left. However, I mentioned, I truly love Indian cuisine and I accepted. Unfortunately for me, I'm not going to "load up" as I failed to ask what the cost would be. So, I took a little of this and a little of that and am unsure if I took a $13.99 meal. However, I've paid over that for smaller meals recently. So, whatever. Ok. Now, to the food. I wish I added all of the chutneys to taste but I got the green one and the orange one, I liked the green one on my fritter type thing which is mostly eaten in my picture. It's spicy but warm, not burn your taste buds off, but still spicy. I have no name for any of it. A veggie curry another veggie something and some more veggie things. The balls are honey coated honey balls lol (I'm trying here). The flavor is on point. I just hope folks are willing to give it a try and be patient as the restaurant figures out whatever they're still figuring out. A really big piece of star anise which I was going to eat because it had softened (I actually couldn't eat the whole star lol) Although, I could see whole spices throwing some people off, I happen to understand the depth of flavor they add and the challenge in removing every whole spice prior to serving. The aromatics of all that was in front of me. A cardamom pod, again soft enough to eat but bursting with cardamom which maybe "too much" for some but it is perfect for me. I remember now, one was lentil Dahl and one veggie curry (maybe not, maybe it was an eggplant curry in front and whatever I got wasnt curry at all?). The Dahl was not my favorite, note made. But if I added some of that green chutney atop, it wouldn't even matter. I could have ordered online and picked up. There seem to be several options available had I done it that way. Although I wonder if it is what they intend to offer, or don't offer for lunch? I'm not sure. It's yummy. A bit confusing but I am glad I decided to try it nonetheless. The lady who assisted was gentle and kind. Future patrons, be conscious it's a new business who may still be figuring things out. Be aware that the aromatics come from whole spices they're using in their cooking ie: whole cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods and star anise all made their presence known in my dish and it comes through in the flavor, again if you bite into it, if you're not familiar with whole spices, it may be overpowering or unpalatable for you to eat. All in all, the flavor was good, the food was good and yes, I may wander in to eat there more frequently. I'm glad I had a chance to try it and it hit my taste spots for me! Yum!

    Pratham D.

    A great place for authentic South Indian food. Pricing is fantastic and there is a wide variety of options. The portions are large and very filling. The sambars are jain which makes it a great option. This place also appears to have a buffet, but we did not use that option.

    2 Piece Rasmalai 2 Piece Gulab Jamun
    Abhishek S.

    This is one of the best South Indian buffet in the area. The staff is super nice, kind and welcoming. Food is freshly prepared and everything tasted amazing, very close to the authentic flavors you will find in India. The masala chai and filter coffee are also terrific. The inside is not fancy, but very clean and functional. I would recommend to start with buffet if you are new to trying South Indian food, so you can get a feel for many things. When you get the buffet, please ask your server for the Masala dosa / dosa, since, it is prepared fresh, made to order. I will definitely be coming back and will spread the word!

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    2 years ago

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    6 months ago

    Very good food. Great service. My first time there. I'd go back and try other stuff on their menu.

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    9 months ago

    10/10 one of my and my boyfriends favorite restaurant. Always amazing! Not overpriced and huge portions.

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    1 year ago

    Great food, great service, and friendly staff. I ordered traditional style idly and dosa and it was perfect! Highly recommend this place

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    2 years ago

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    1 year ago

    Very good South Indian food, highly recommend. Good location, can get crowded on the weekends

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    2 years ago

    Awesome food. So many bread types and wonderful use of spices. Purata here is soft, flaky, scrumptious!.

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    2 years ago

    The food is amazing! Authentic and delicious. The dosa are out of this world and HUGE. We are now regulars.

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    India's Flame - Wonderful (plain) naan! You can get garlic naan as well

    India's Flame

    (556 reviews)

    $$

    I came Wednesday night and asked did they have buffet. Tempe is my home city and their food…read morerestaurants are amazing. Various ethnic groups in Tempe provide a foodies dream. Tempe housed my go to Indian buffet on Rural and university for over 20 years and it closed. The other night picking up a marketplace find I passed this restaurant. I live in central Phoenix and pulled up my favorite app on the way home Yelp popped the restaurant in the app great reviews. Long work day Wednesday so stopped for dinner mind blown. Yup I'll be back for lunch. Saturday head for Lunch buffet the place is packed and the food was amazing. Nothing from the buffet was bad. Again if you see the ethnic culture eating there usually a good sign your taste buds are about to get very happy with your choice. My new Indian food spot & yes I drive 20 minutes to get here. Fluffy Grandma Recommends. Get the mango drink it tastes like a liquid creamsicle it's addictive.

    We ended up at India's Flame during a girls' trip this past weekend, and honestly, it was such a…read morerelief after the start we had! We'd actually sought out a different Indian restaurant first, but it looked kind of shady--really dark on the inside and just didn't feel right. I was already feeling perplexed because I'd tried calling them to see if they could do a vegan and gluten-free meal, but their answering machine said they wouldn't even answer over the weekend! I wasn't feeling confident at all. So, we headed over to India's Flame in Tempe instead after seeing they had really good reviews. It wasn't far from our original pick, and I'm so glad we got in the car and went. The atmosphere was night and day--nice, bright, and welcoming. The staff was incredibly helpful and super polite; we didn't even have to worry about running out of water. Our meals arrived right on time and everything was amazing. The Food: * I had the Daal and my friend ordered the Chana Masala. * We were both so happy that we could customize the spice level. My friend likes her food super spicy (it's usually hard for her to find a place that actually makes it hot enough), but they totally hit the spot for her. * Her spice level is way higher than mine so I couldn't even taste hers, but she was delighted! It turned out to be a great experience. We will definitely go back again when we're back in Tempe!

    Hilal Grill - Swai fish curry

    Hilal Grill

    (385 reviews)

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    This was genuinely one of the best experiences I have had at a restaurant. I came in with a group…read moreof friends and the staff was incredibly hospitable. When we went up to get our food one of the staff members took the time to explain what everything was too us. They were always coming to our table to check on us and bring us anything we needed. The food tasted amazing too!!

    We have been here four separate times now, and it has become our go-to spot for Indian food. We…read morereally love Indian food and have tried other places, but none of them do it like this location. Every time we come, we end up ordering the same thing because it is just that good. We even joked about trying something new, but of course we ordered our usual again but we recently found out they have a buffet on Sundays, which is really nice if you want to try different dishes or expand your palate! The garlic naan is always a favorite, super savory and hard to stop eating. You can also choose the spice level for the masala. We finally tried the spiciest level, and I would say to be careful with that one. We would recommend medium instead. We are Hispanic and even for us the spiciest level was a little intense on our gastrointestinal system, but we still ate everything. If you want authentic Indian food with great spices, this is the place to go. It is usually pretty empty when we visit, which surprises us because the food is so good. We hope this place gets longer waits and we will definitely be eating here many more times.

    Indian Delhi Palace - Daal maharani

    Indian Delhi Palace

    (495 reviews)

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    I told myself I wasn't going to give out five stars anymore unless I absolutely loved everything…read moreservice, food, and ambiance, a true 10/10. But this place earned it. The food was delicious. The garlic naan was exactly what I'd been craving, the rice was cooked to perfection, and the chicken tikka masala was incredible. I ordered it medium spice, and it was just right rich, flavorful, and nicely thick. The spices were on point. Definitely coming back to the lunch special I came for dinner so it was a little bit more expensive than I thought.

    Awful. Horrible. Terrible. Slop!…read more We invited friends to our house. Since we liked Indian food we decided to try this place for take-out. One of our friends is from India and when my husband and I lived in NYC, we ate Indian food frequently. We wasted over $100 on the worst Indian food we ever tried. We threw it out and went to Uncle Sal's, our go-to emergency spot. It was Saturday night so there was no excuse for serving such horrible food. Everything looked and tasted the same. We couldn't tell the difference between cauliflower, potatoes, eggplant or chicken. Mysterious, overcooked chunks were swimming in oil. Tomato based sauce tasted the same as butter sauce and tandoori flavors. BaganBartha looked like green vomit. Other dishes looked like diarrhea that had sat on a steam table since their lunch buffet. There were no discernable nuts or raisins in the Biyrani. We asked for Mango chutney but they couldn't find it. We asked for mild to medium heat level but it was as hot as the hottest Vindaloo we've ever eaten. To top things off, they asked us to call back in 5 minutes to order because the cash register was broken. Seriously? On a Saturday night? We should not have called back and we won't be back. ICK. We're glad we went elsewhere or we might have gotten ill. Spare yourselves.

    Jewel of the Crown

    Jewel of the Crown

    (232 reviews)

    $$

    This place is my favorite Indian restaurant in Phoenix. They have delicious white meat chicken…read moreTikka Masala, I really like their sauce. They do tend to run on the spicier side so I always get mild. Their portion sizes are on the small size but its a decent meal for one and I prefer quality over quantity. I have learned to always get my food to go. This is because the in person service is so slow, expect to be there for two hours even if there are only three other parties in the restaurant. The garlic gnann is good and the vegetable korma curry is a nice supplementation to the Tikka masala main dish.

    I used to come here all the time but lately it's turned into a dive. Last night my boyfriend took…read moreme there to celebrate a special day. The language barrier with our server made it impossible to communicate. He was a kind man, but he was extremely slow with service. He rang us up for an expensive shrimp dinner that we didn't order and when my boyfriend pointed out that we didn't order it and our bill should be adjusted, he took the bill and then proceeded to bring it back unchanged. Then my boyfriend just gave him the card to check us out while I visited the ladies room. The stalls were so filthy, I've seen cleaner gas station restrooms. Repulsed, I just went back to the table while we waited an additional 30 minutes for our waiter to run the card, for the meal we were overpaying for. Never again. I will not ever return. What a nightmare.

    Chennai Cafe - indpak - Updated May 2026

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