Hands down the best South Indian Vegetarian food I've had in the United States! I have an affinity to this temple, as I've been coming here since I was a child. We've had many family functions here as well. Now, onto the canteen. My wife literally plans the time of our temple visits based on which meal she plans on having at the canteen! lol I haven't had anything bad here, and in fact everything I've ever tried has been absolutely phenomenal! Our standard order is a Combo (Vada & Idli with Sambar & Chutney), one Besibelebath, one Ghee Masala (for me and my daughter), one Paper Masala Dosa (for my wife), Madras Coffee, and Masala Tea. My parents are fans of the Rava Dosa as well. Also, make sure you grab a ladoo to go (so awesome!) Recommended Dishes (broken out): Starters: Combo Idli Jumbo Vada Jumbo Dosas: Ghee Roast Ghee Masala Dosa Green Chili Masala Dosa (ridiculously spicy) Hyderabadi Masala Dosa (very spicy) Masala Dosa Mysore Masala Dosa (kinda spicy) Paper Dosa Paper Masala Dosa Rava Dosa Rava Masala Dosa Rices: Besibelebath Yogurt Rice (make sure to get the lemon pickle to the side of the yogurt rice) Tamarind Rice Drinks: Maaza Mango Juice Madras Coffee Masala Tea read more

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Delicious South Indian food. Sambar was among the best I've had. Classical temple canteen experience. read more

Place is great, food is well priced. We had a few dosas and the tamarind rice. If you love dosas you'll love it here Canteen is clean but musty. Definitely what you'd expect. read more

Ganesh Temple Canteen - Indian Near Me - Flushing, New York

I came here because I saw it featured on Somebody Feed Phil and was curious. All-vegetarian, South Indian, pretty simple place located underneath the Hindu temple. It took fifteen minutes for them to bring out my food. There's a fee for takeout. It's mainly local Indians eating here, so that was nice to see. It was cool to explore a different type of Indian food off the beaten path, but I just wasn't a fan. I got the Mysore Dosa and the Rava Masala. The actual bread was decent, but all the things it came with weren't very good. I took a few bites and threw them out. They tasted very oily and kind of gross. The pea and potato mixture was okay, but that is not worth $6. The others, the veggie mix and the thick white chutney, were just awful. On top of that, the guy told me my two items cost $20 but then I asked to see his register because that didn't sound right, and he corrected the price to $12.50. Not cool, man. read more

Me and family have been coming to Ganesh Temple and the canteen here for many years, but I'm sad to say that the last time I was there which was a day ago, the food quality has 100% deteriorated. The most troublesome was the fact that their hygiene has been compromised. I always thought Ganesh temple canteen really loved serving good food to their beloved customers but this time around food was sub par at most, their Sambar which I'm truly fond of lacked flavor and salt, vada has old oil smell to it, one of them was undercooked, I have been going there for so many years that I was able to notice the significant difference in their cooking and quality. Customer service at the cash register while taking our Oder was also sort of rude. The girl taking our order did not seem to be in a good mood, and that's the thing about service industry, Customers will expect good behavior and that covers a lot of ground for a restaurant, food comes after, it's the behavior of the people at a restaurant that creates the ambiance and good impression for customers to keep coming back. Anyway they need to fix a few things: 1) quality of the food cooked 2) monitor hygiene in the back kitchen 3) customer service needs to be a little better. I hope to go back there soon and have a taste of the good food they used to serve before. read more

Ganesh Temple Canteen - Small hair cooked into my dosa. This honestly killed my appetite. - Indian Near Me - Flushing, New York

This place is true five star quality. Although Sapthagiri (the other beacon of South Indian food in the NYC area) is a little easier to reach from my house, sometimes I will make the trek to Ganesh Temple, as the food has a certain richness which I normally have trouble finding outside of India. You know the ambiance is right from the moment you walk down the back stairways behind the Ganesh Temple, and the temple gift shop greets you. I usually go for a Madras filter coffee and the Hyderabadi dosa or chili dosa, both of which pack a serious punch. A South Indian restaurant's merits can usually be gauged fairly accurately by tasting the sambar, and the spices of their rendition took me back to some of the best South Indian outposts I visited in India. If you're looking for some side dishes to share, I recommend the curd rice, which is appropriately aromatic with the flavor of cumin. The vada are good and are a great vessel for soaking up the excellent sambar. Be warned: the onion dosa is extraordinarily heavy on the onion filling. read more

This is a no frills, South Indian restaurant that simply serves authentic and good Indian food. The restaurant entrance is on the side of the temple (facing Holly Avenue) and there are a bunch of signs pointing to it. Due to COVID, their hours are shortened to 8:30am to 8:30pm. They do offer takeout and limited curbside seating. Everything in the restaurant is vegetarian. I got the Spicy Paneer Butter Masala Dosa ($7.50) and a Mango Lassi ($2). The Dosa was delicious and filled with cottage cheese and a potato masala. It does have a kick to it though, but I'd highly recommend it if you love spicy food like I do. All the dosas come with condiments: Coconut Chutney and Vegetable Sambar. TLDR: A hidden gem of Queens! Temple Canteen serves authentic and delicious South Indian food at very budget friendly prices. read more

Ganesh Temple Canteen - Spicy Paneer Butter Masala Dosa - Indian Near Me - Flushing, New York

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I ate at the canteen for the first time and it was amazing! I was looking for vegan options and they were very helpful with that. My friend and I shared the paper dosa masala and the onion chili uttapam. Both were delicious and so filling. It's a very relaxed environment with great prices. I can't wait to go back and try more. read more

Ganesh Temple Canteen - Paper Masala - Indian Near Me - Flushing, New York

Saravanna's, move over. Ganesh Temple Canteen -- located in the basement of the beautiful, well maintained Ganesh Temple, where there are shrines for all major Hindu deities as well as minor deities local to south India -- is the clear leader of the pack when it comes to south Indian food in NYC. There is a little bit more ghee / oil in the food than what our Indian relatives typically use in home cooking, but otherwise flavors are exactly spot on. I could wax poetic about the sambar, rich with a huge variety of good, fresh vegetables. It is, to me, the most important part of meal, and I personally have not had better sambar in NYC or NJ. I usually skip the chutneys at Saravanna's and other south Indian restaurants, especially now that Saravanna's has discontinued their only decent one (tomato). They're inevitably bland and clearly industrially produced. Ganesh Temple Canteen may or may not start from the same base, but the presence of fresh herbs absolutely transforms and enlivens the coconut chutneys on offer. Dosas are of course wonderful, regular dosas a plaint crispy-soft, paper dosas appropriately thin. The masala filling is a basic, everyday, homemade version, without the cashews one might find in fancier restaurant, but it was balanced, not too spicy or salty. They did not include the cilantro / coriander leaves we personally like to use in our version. Well fried vada and soft, delicious idli. The only weak dish in my opinion was the upma. Although other members of our party loved it and I liked that it included a good variety of vegetables, it was a bit too oily and moist for my tastes, probably made with raw, not roasted, rava. Other notable facts: - I believe all food served in the canteen is onion and garlic free to accommodate Brahmin dietary restrictions. - Food is on the mild end of the spectrum, which makes it pretty child friendly. - Staff (both in the temple and restaurant) do a fantastic job of enforcing COVID policies, checking for proof of vaccination, routing visitors, ensuring mask-wearing, etc... The prices are unbeatable, 1/3 to 1/2 less than our local Saravanna's on the UWS. In honor of Sri Saraswati (Hindu analogue to Greek Athena), we spent all the money we saved on food, at the adjoining gift shop on books. read more

Their dosa taste great, which is accompanied by a delicious lentil soup. Their vadas are good,however, I would skip on the snacks, drinks and anything else. It is a canteen so don't go their for ambiance or service. It's more of a quick bite when you are in the neighborhood. But, I wouldn't go specially to them. There are better Indian places to go. read more

The Ganesh Temple Canteen is one of the best places to get a dosa! I love going on weekends when they have specials like the paneer butter masala. I got the butter masala dosa and an order of vada. Both were amazing! The canteen reminds me a lot of the Indian restaurants I would go to growing up. Very casual, fast, delicious, and fresh. The temple canteen is a little bit far from where I live but the commute there is always worth it! Prices are much more affordable than many other dosa restaurants around the city. read more

Ganesh Temple Canteen - Vada - Indian Near Me - Flushing, New York

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Hands down the best dosa I have ever eaten in the US. The hype is totally worth it! My favorite combo here is the plain mysore dosa and filter coffee. I would come here everyday if I could. read more

Great South Indian food , reasonable prices , excellent fast service (you need to pick up from the counter)

Best dosa I've ever had! It was hot, fresh, and crispy! We got the pondicherry masala dosa, upon the servers recommendation, and it didn't disappoint. Loved the crispy rice and peanuts inside. We also got the onion chili uttapam (my second favorite) and the idli/vada combo. Everything was good but the dosa was my favorite. It's a no frills cafeteria but it was clean, with many tables. The food did come out at different times, if that bothers you. read more

A little hidden, but this is just a fantastic restaurant (part of the temple complex). Delicious and authentically South Indian.

The canteen at Ganesh Temple has long been mentioned in the same breath as one of the must see (and eat) destinations of Queens for as long as I can remember. Every food publication and food based show that even matters has been here to cover the canteen's extensive foray into South Indian cuisine. It is easily one of the most famous vegetarian spots in all the borough and thankfully, it is one of the least pretentious places to catch a good meal. To enjoy the food, one must get to the temple first. For people who aren't driving, it's a nice walk along Kissena Blvd from the Main Street 7 train station. For people who don't mind walking up 20 minutes from downtown Flushing, this isn't a terrible way to go about it. The only thing is that much of the latter half is mainly residential. The canteen is located inside the Community Center next to the Hindu Temple Society of America. Enter from Holly Ave street side near where it says "Entrance to Temple" but follow the signs for the canteen (which is in the basement). The initial impression for most probably isn't going to be mind blowing, but given the nature of any cafeteria in the basement of a community center, it's merited. Plus, the mind blowing part is where the food comes in. For those not in the know, the food is all vegetarian. It is also cash only and despite this place having attracted a lot of tourists, the prices have remained steady. Thankfully, the variety of their South Indian cuisine has ranged from dosas to very tasty curries. I think their uttapam has been consistently one of my favorite things to eat. The same goes for anything that has paneer in it. If they are featuring rasmalai as a dessert, then be sure to order all of it before others do. My best way of enjoying this place? Come in a large group. Order a variety of dishes. Bonus points for anyone who would be a potential repeat visitor to the temple. Food coma for everyone would be an incredible accomplishment to end the evening. read more

Indian cuisine can be divided via broad generalization in roughly the same way as its Italian counterpart - meaty north, veggie south, richer butter based sauces up north, lighter veggie oil based sauces down south. Northerners prefer toasted spices and less firepower. Southerners prefer fresh herbs and heat. Of course, certain traits are not the same as their Italian counterparts. Northerners prefer bread (nan), Southerners prefer pancakes (dosas, idlis), both are okay with basmati rice. There are those who claims to "hate" Indian food despite that they were only exposed to a very small subset of the cuisine. Most Indian restaurants as traditionally seen in America have been Bengali (northern Indian) joints, with their rich, relatively mild sauces and meat/dairy toss-ups. I started out with Pakistani/Bengali (my fave remains Chicken Jalfrezi with fresh tandoori nan), but branched out to Southern Indian styles due to friends who hail from Madras and Chennai who introduced me to both the Ganesh temple and its Southern cuisine about 10 years ago. India has 33 states, and each place tries to solve the important question of what to eat and how in different ways. Now add the cultural ramifications of social striation and religion (Jains are vegans, Muslims and Sikhs won't eat pork) and you got some serious culinary landmines to dance around. Hindu temples and Sikh Gudhwaras do not serve meat as a rule, and while the Sikhs will serve all visitors for free (visit the kitchen of any Gudhwara in Richmond Hill, and a turbaned Sikh gentleman will come by with a plate, a cup of water, some pancakes and a bucket of lentils, no questions asked...please be a good sport and donate a few bucks in return), the Hindu temple canteens (like this one) will serve you a fresh decent meal with a myriad of choices at a reasonable price. You are next door to one of the oldest Hindu temple in North America, and the congregation hails back to Southern India. Visit the canteen and you will see decent southern vegetarian fare meant to nourish its parishioners. So, what to expect? A little bit of Indian bureaucracy - terms specific to Indian English that you might not understand (Is there lavender inside of the Besibele Bath? Should you fear the power of Dahi Vada? Clue: read the menu on their website). There are plenty of people shouting/lining up in absurd ways, and a bit of an organizational charlie foxtro. Get your order in (you might or might not get your drinks right there on the spot), get your number, and wait for the oddly robotic annunciator to read off. "Please, number 31, get food" You run off to the pickup area, which might or might not have everything ready, so you might have to listen to the announcement again for the owed items. Seating area is like a high school cafeteria with a gift shop to the side, water is self-service and so are most of the utensils. Finding seating during peak hours used to be an issue, but the canteen added extra tables to accommodate the crowds. How's the fare? Well, if you are here expecting something northern and vegetarian like sag paneer (spiced veggies cooked with chunks of Indian cheese...in a thick sauce) or a aloo mutter paneer (potatoes peas with cheese...in a thick sauce)...no. Most dishes comes with sambar (a tamarind based vegetable soup) and coconut-green chile chutney (if you are allergic to coconut, Southern Indian is definitely not for you). In terms of starches - it's rice, lentils, various flours, and flavored with parsley, chiles, onions and vegetables with a definite tomato and tamarind hit. You won't find old ground spices here. It could be something simple and nourishing like yogurt rice, something like a vegetarian stew served with little steamed pancakes (idlis), or it could be something masterful like Dosas (a large crispy light crepe-like pancake anointed with butter and served with spiced potatoes and/or cheese, and the fixins'. Was it worth it? Sometimes. Sometimes the crowd (no doubt drawn in by all the shows on Netflix or whatever) and the wait for seating is so bad that I would rather hit the dosa place around the corner (Dosa Hut) for faster service and similar fares. Other times I get fed up and hit the Shanghaiese place on Kissena and Bowne instead - it really depends on the missus (she loves Sri Lankan, likes Southern Indian but barely tolerates Pakistani/Bangladeshi cuisine). I have no doubt that if I want a no-meat day for the sake of my health, this will be a good place to go. It's not my Southern Indian restaurant of choice (that'll be Tiffin Wallah on 28th), but it's decent and worth a visit now and again. read more

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This place is absolutely amazing. I tried the Mysore Masala dosa (the best thing IMO), the Rava Masala dosa, the Pondicherry masala dosa (which had cashews, mixture, and the potato masala inside) and the idly/vada combo. The sambar was insane, and the chutney wasn't too bad either. The prices are crazy cheap, and this is some of the best south indian food I've had outside of my own home in a while. Will definitely be back for more. Pros: South Indian Food Price Madras Coffee Cons: Somewhat out of the way, but worth it. read more

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This place serves one of the best dosa in NY . The best dish that I liked was Rava dosa which was full of flavors. It was on point. Also, I tried bisibele for a very first time . And, I'm impressed. It was just my type of taste; spicy and delicious. Food that we ordered were all amazing. I would rate 9/10 for all the items. People who love dosa should give it a try. This place serves food fast as well if you're super hungry. Which means no need to wait for a long time . Overall experience was great. read more

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We come here when we go to the temple. My partner is Indian and he loves this place, as do I. Cheap and delicious food. Everything is good. No frills setting. Fast as well. Lots of variety. It's in the basement of the temple, communal seating. Enjoy! read more

Nutritious and fresh food that is affordable and delicious. The standout was the bhature which was a weekend special, piping hot, and the chole was delicious. Dosas were crispy and fresh and the chutneys were a perfect complement. The casual atmosphere is very family friendly read more

This place is found at the basement of the Ganesh Temple in Queens. It is predominantly South Indian fare and as close and authentic to home cooked meals back in India. We got the ghee roast dosa which was well made and crispy, ghee masala dosa, the idli vada jumbo, the vada in red onion sambar and tamarind rice. The chutneys were perfectly spiced, and the vegetable sambar was really flavorful. One of our favorite places in NYC for the dosas. read more

Ganesh Temple Canteen - Idli Jumbo Masala Vada Tamarind Rice - Indian Near Me - Flushing, New York

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We ordered Paper Masala Dosa , Ven pongal+ vada combo , Rava Masala Dosa and Yogurt rice. Paper Masala Dosa is good but Dosas are cold and coconut chutney and Sambar are average. Rava Masala dosa did't impact us and yogurt rice doesn't look fresh. Usually temple foods will be good and compared to Ganesh temple ..food is much fresh and good at Chicago Aurora temple. This place is not worth the hype. Ofcourse the temple is good and worth the visit. Snacks are so expensive ..it's 9$ for 1 normal size packet read more

This. It has been on my radar since forever. But I guess Queens is full of so many delicious distractions that someplace else always took precedence. Recently, however, I finally saw my chance. Only glitch was that it would involve stopping in when this place opens. At 8:30 am. I wasn't sure how I felt about eating a Dosa first thing in the morning, but quickly realized we are household of wacky breakfast eaters. Indeed. Hubby grew up eating salad, hummus and feta to start his day and we raised our kid to do the same. In fact, we did too good of a job since he refuses to eat cereal. Ever. And sometimes a Mama wants to be able to be able to simply pour a box of cereal for her kid and get on with it. But I digress. Point is, eating a Dosa at the ungodly hour of 8:30am wasn't too far of a leap: Now to back up briefly, I am a longtime fan of South Indian cuisine. Way back when, I used to get my Dosa fix at Chennai Garden on Lexington Avenue, aka 'Curry Hill,' in the city. I think it's changed hands now, but I sure did love their Dosa... Flash forward to the Chili Masala Dosa hubby and I shared here. Happily, it was delicious! But was it any better than Chennai Garden's? Am not too sure about that. I feel like I need to try some of the other Dosa options this spot offers to totally fall in love. On a whim, hubby and I also ordered Dahi Vada, a 'Sunday Special' consisting of Lentil Doughnuts with Spiced Yogurt Sauce. I expected these to be served warm and to be fritter-like. But they were cold, dense and bathed in a pool of yogurt sauce that didn't taste especially spiced at all. I thought the whole combination was bland and while you could say it grew on me, am in no hurry to order it again. The clean, spartan basement dining space summons up a cross between a school cafeteria and a suburban rec room. Only the decorative focal point is a colorful statue of Dancing Ganesh, in all his elephant-faced glory. Bottom line: Am glad I finally got to cross this off my bucket list. Even if it meant eating Dosa just a wee bit earlier than I would have liked. I enjoyed the experience overall, though I can't say I was besotted. But that just means I'll have to return and try more of the menu; something I look forward to doing a whole lot sooner than it took me to get here in the first place.:) read more

Ganesh Temple Canteen NY QN Flushing 1pm Saturday 8th September 2018 Four Stars My younger brother watched Episode 1: New York of "Somebody Feed Phil" and wanted to try the Ganesh Temple Canteen in Queens. We came on the Hindu Holiday of Ganesh Chaturthi which celebrates the birth of its namesake. We didn't go inside out of respect for their celebration. We went downstairs and were transported to a completely different world. I have not felt out of place in New York in a long time. The menu was completely different than the usual incompressible menu so we asked what was good and the high school teenager who was only volunteering for day didn't provide us with any help. We decided on: Madras Coffee ($1.5) is a traditional South Indian drip coffee with hot milk. Mango Lassi ($2) is a yogurt and mango shake. Masala Dosa ($5) is a crepe like pancake made with a fermented batter of rice and black gram and then potato, onion, and spices. It had flavors of mustard, coconut, coriander and citrus. Paper Masala ($7) is a longer crisper dosa. The best item on the day. Onion Chili Uttapam ($6.5) is a thicker version of the Indian Pancake made from the same lentil, rice, black bean batter. It had plenty of onion & chilis. All the dishes came with a Vegetable Sambar which was a curry gravy of lentil and vegetables. It also came with Coconut Chutney seasoned with ginger and green chillies. The food was very unlike the usual tikka, vindaloo, and aggressive curries of what we think of as Indian Food. Just like all Japanese Food is not Sushi and Chinese Food isn't General Tsao Chicken. It was real food for real people which made the experience better than the actual taste of the food. read more

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We were looking for possibly THE most authentic Indian restaurant/eatery in NYC. I am sure there were a few of those, but I wanted the place to also be super interesting. We hit the jack pot when we found this place, situated underneath an actual temple. Around the back, there was a beautiful walkway to the right, with statues on the columns. They had sign for Temple Canteen, telling us to go through this walkway. At the end of the walkway, there was another sign with arrow pointing to the left. There, we found a nice big signs for the restaurant, with a security staff station. We told him we are there for the restaurant and he told us to go down to the basement. The inside was really large, but since it is located in the basement, there is no window. They have enough lights there to keep the room well lit. The room was set up like a cafeteria, with plenty of tables and chairs. And with so many people coming into eat, it was almost full. People shared the table with strangers if there was no other empty table available. It seems like that was normal things to do, so everyone was used to it. There was an ordering counter at the end of the room, and even though there were many people on the line, they were very efficient and moved pretty fast. They offer authentic South Indian food, and are all pure vegetarian. We visited Temple Canteen on Sunday, and with our luck, they offer a special lunch special, ONLY on Sunday!!! Of course that is what we ordered. The Sunday Lunch Special, Thali Lunch comes with plain rice, vegetables, sambar, rasam, chapathi, papad, yogurt, pickle and sweet. It was a really good experience, we were very pleased with the food and the ambiance. The staffs were friendly and helpful, and other patrons were nice also. I am not sure if I will go back, as it is a bit far and not so easy to get to. But it was worth the time and effort to get there. I heard that their dosa is really amazing, so if we do go back in the future, I would like to try one of their dosa for sure. read more

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After watching "Somebody feed Phil" on Netflix, it was bit of a shame that I never tried 'South Indian cuisine' in my life, and therefore I made my step forward to Ganesh Temple right next day. It was much more adventurous trip than I was expecting. First of all, I never been to Hindu temple. You may laugh, but it was not easy for me to go in deeper as I love the beef, and had the roast beef sandwich in the morning. So I gave up going inside, not because you need to take off your shoes, no. Anyway - it was awesome that you don't need to take off your shoes at Canteen. Canteen had a separate entrance from side. You need to go through basement and open the door which has a no sign at all. Just felt like finding some secret hidden places. Inside Canteen was pretty large area, having around 10 tables. There was one gift shop and kitchen on the right side. What we got from there were a Paper Dosa and Rava Masala Dosa. There were lots of choices but we wanted to stick to Dosa. The Paper Dosa was literally humongous. I meant almost same size as my arm. One of old lady showed me warmful smile when she saw me taking picture on Paper Dosa with face expression of frightened by its size. Huge fried pan cake with crispy texture. Obviously it's very crunchy - but oily too. Your hands gets oil all over. There's much more oil on its surface compared to french fries. There's not much flavor itself so you need to dig to sauce. Somehow I tasted little bitterness from plain Dosa in the end and felt it is good match with coconut dipping. Sweetness of coconut dipping was well balanced with plain Dosa's bitterness. Our favorite was Rava Masala Dosa. We were considering so long if we should order one more or not. It is simply very very delicious. Onion and chilly and Masala potatoes were really perfect match. You should never order plain again. Rava Masala was winnnnner. I think this place might be my favorite place - I want to try another foods & will make sure not run away from temple next time. read more

The best Dosa I've ever had by a mile, and yet this place is not about the food itself. It's about the ganesh. You know, ganesh. Like, when you make some meat & potatoes, and you ganesh it with a little cilantro. Or when you make a salad, and ganesh it with Parsley. The reason it's known as Ganesh "Temple" is because dosas are really good for your head. Specifically to strengthen your temple. And the reason it's a "Canteen" is because they have yet to decide whether under 20-year-olds are allowed on the premises. The question: "Canteens eat here" is still up in the air. Hence, Canteen. What to get: Chili Masala Dosa Why: *The* best Dosa and *the* best South Indian food in North America. Expensive?: Are you kidding me. It's LESS THAN FIVE DOLLARS. Is it tiny?: It's freaking huge actually. It fed two freaking people. Why is it so good: I'll tell you in a second. Tell me something fun: Hmm... well I wrote this review while at Fawn & Fox Salon getting my hair cut. Do you want to make out: Yes, but let me tell you about the Dosa first. The dosa is so crispy yet fluffy. It tastes so dreamy, like a lightly spiced Indian crepe. It's wonderful by itself, but the pools of sensational sauces that come with the Chili Masala Dosa take it through the roof. Each one is flavoured perfectly with herbs and spices that are some of the best things I've ever put in my mouth, including *all* my ex-boyfriends. I came here looking for Cannoli. But they only sell Cannoli made with scary devilish invisible baby frogs. Hence the name "Ghoulish Tadpole Cannoli." I'm not interested in that, so I ordered Dosas instead. I'm not even a fan of Dosas. South Indian food has never done it for me the way, for example, Punjabi and Pakistani food does. And British Indian rules my world. What I discovered at Ganesh Temple Canteen is that I actually *am* a fan of Dosas. I *do* love South Indian food. I just hadn't gone to the right place yet. Well, Ganesh is the right place. I sometimes cover Elton John songs, but I never thought to speed them up. My friend Garland was the first to show me how to do that. In fact this restaurant is even named after the super-fast "Garland Tempo Candleinthewind." This Dosa isn't just good. It isn't just delicious. It's the ultimate. It's the gold standard dosa. It's the dosa to end all dosas, and until I had this dosa, I wouldn't have shed many tears if they did end all dosas. But now, it's actually one of my very favourite places in the whole country, not just for Indian food, but period. I know a 10 year old who smashes his Timpani (it's an instrument) in the most annoying way. I call him the "Garish Timpani Preteen". This restaurant is actually named after him. And it's not just the magnificent Chili Masala Dosa which means you *must* come here. It's also the incredible Decor. The canteen is inside the Ganesh Temple, so you can walk around and experience and enjoy an amazing, fascinating, awe-inspiring Hindu temple in the middle of Queens, before and after your meal. Make sure you take off your shoes in the places where it tells you to! Don't worry, you don't have to take off shoes to eat in the canteen. As an aside, this place is actually named after the commercial for that French shampoo, the one with the Lord Of The Rings guy and "Refugee" "Freefallin'" pie-chart guy in the commercial. Hence the name "Gandalf Tompetty Pantene." Anyway, at the canteen, service isn't great, but with these prices, and with this unbelievably good food, you won't care. Get yourself to Queens for some of the best Indian food you'll ever eat. North America's best Dosa. The best South Indian food you'll find anywhere. And apparently the most famous peaceful man in Indian (and perhaps world) history, thought that girls tasted like deep fried Japanese food. He was an expert at giving pleasure (as well as making peace), and this restaurant is named after his famous "Gandhi Tempura C***-eating." read more

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This hidden gem was on my list for a long time. The dosa was so authentic. Very crispy and thin. Like the one we get in India. Highly recommend the Onion Masala Dosa. The masala doesn't come inside the dosa. Its given on the sideZ read more

Ganesh Temple Canteen - Paper Dosa - Indian Near Me - Flushing, New York

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My review is going to be more like a Dictionary, since I'm not so familiar with Southern Indian food (besides dosas), and I noticed that not many people had descriptions or recommendations of what to order. I went there for lunch with 2 other people. FYI- Dosas and Uttuppams are only available after 4pm on the weekdays apparently! (at least not on a Tuesday). And they only had a partial menu for lunch (the left menu). :( I will have to go back for dinner. Enter at the Holly Ave. entrance, there is a door and stairs that lead directly to the Canteen. We paid $22 total ($7 each) and ordered: 2 mango lassi's, 1 chai, 2 combo Appetizers (Idli & Vada), Upma (good, had a cous cous-like texture, mild spice), Ven Pongal (a little bland and too mushy, flecks of cumin? seeds), Bisibelebath (very good, flavorful w/ some spice, crunchy rice crisp topping). And had enough leftover for 1 more person. They had a lunch special for $8, which we should have just ordered. It was a little of everything & extra condiments. I also want to try the "grasshoppers" vermicelli dish next time(after 5pm), that Anthony Bourdain ate. A Dictionary: Dosa: (crispy crepe-like)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dosa Uttappam: (pizza-like)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uttappam Idli: (white bread-like? but black lentil flour)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idli Vada: (donut-like)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vada_%28food%29 Upma: (mixed tamale-like?)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upma Pongal: (mixed rice)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pongal_%28dish%29 Bisibelebath: (mixed lentils)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bisibelebath Yogurt Rice: (rice cooked in unsweetened yogurt)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yogurt_rice Madras Coffee:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_filter_coffee Mango Lassi: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lassi Mango Kulfi: (ice cream w/ cardamom):http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kulfi read more

Ganesh Temple Canteen - Plate, Clockwise: Mango Lassi, Sambar tomato, Coco chutney, Bisibelebath, Upma, Ven Pongal, Vada, & 1/2 of an Idli - Indian Near Me - Flushing, New York

I'm from New Zealand, & this my first time visiting the temple, which I had heard many positive things about. So after prayers, I made my way down. I was blown away by the rich variety of South Indian. And the food was THE BEST I have tasted anywhere in my travels in the world !!! I'll be back next week to try other dishes on the menu for sure !!! As Frank Sinatra sang: "Start Spreading the News !!! read more

Cool place , a must try. Loved the mango lassi and assorted vegaterian dishes. I will come back again

I really really used to love this place when I visited with my friends 6 years back. The food here was very authentic and flavorful. After almost 6 years I decided to pay this place a visit especially during an ongoing Indian festival (Ganesh chaturthi). There was a long line , however the service was quick. The food on the other side was not great as I remember from 6 years back. We ordered medu vada, upma, tamarind rice, Mysore dosa and butter dosa. While they have limited outdoor seating available in the temple backyard but they don't tell you that and on a crowded day it can get really painful to get a table especially when some ppl are blocking the table for hours. We did not know that so went upstairs for the outdoor dine in to find ourselves waiting for table. A nice temple staff person actually told us that he will arrange table for us and he did after we waited for 10 mins. Once the table came a group of ppl kinda jumped and put their stuff on it to block it and it was a chaos. It felt like we were living in this pre covid times wherein ppl did not have any sense for social distancing. Barring all of that the food was ok so not coming back again. Mostly we will just visit the temple and leave next time. read more

Ganesh Temple Canteen - Menu - Indian Near Me - Flushing, New York

Anthony Bourdain featured Temple Canteen on one of his episodes from No Reservations. I was skeptic at first, since Indian food to me is typically spicy and I do not eat spicy (but little by little, my tolerance has grew) Temple Canteen is located underground, under a temple. You walk into a cafeteria like setting, and its busy busy busy. Its not the best decor but we all lots of places that serve the best food at places that are not fancy schmancy. I like the ghee dosa, mainly because its not spicy, but the sides that come with it can be. So becareful to not take huge bits of them. Eat in moderation. I think presentation alone is a winner. read more

Incredible South Indian food. We had the pondicherry dosa (star of the show) and masala vada, which were amazing! You get such a delicious meal, great portions, and such a decent price. The workers were very friendly and service was quick. Would definitely recommend making the effort to come visit. read more

Order Madras Coffee! Omg so so good!!!!!!! I also loved their suji halwa and puri with chana. read more

Excellent dosas and mango lassi. We came on a Tuesday night and got a paper dosa, chili masala dosa, vada, mixed uttapam, and a mango lassi to drink. I liked the uttapam and the vada but could take or leave them. The dosas and the lassi were excellent though, and I'd love to try other dosa varieties as well. If I have any regrets, it's that we didn't come on a weekend, when the menu seems to be more expansive. read more

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Food is great BUT PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN CUTLERY. They give you flimsy plastic spoons that makes it challenging to eat vada and some "harder to cut through" dishes . But otherwise value for money and authentic taste read more

Can't believe I never reviewed this place. I went here years ago and was blown away with the craftsmanship of the temple. It is just stunning and beautiful and the best part is cheap great food in the basement. This is a must try if you are in the neighborhood for great home cooked style Indian food. read more

Best indian food in Queens, without question. Incredible vadas and dosas, quick counter service, and relaxing food court-like environment within the temple complex. read more