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Idly Express - Mountain View

4.4 (124 reviews)
ModerateIndian
Open 8:00 am - 9:30 pm

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Reshma A.

Consistently fresh and delicious food for the soul. You come back from a trip and want to eat comfort food, this is the place to go. Morning breakfast along with strong filter coffee? Go here. For a hearty lunch with a full tiffin, go here. Casual dinner with friends where you know you will get good food and don't have to worry about splitting the check? Go here. Fluffy soft idly, buttery savory dosa with the perfect soft/crisp textures, perfectly spiced sambhar and chutneys. The coffee is strong. The service is polite and quick, the food is just plain great, every. single. time. There is not one thing I can fault here...

Sambar Idly-Dipped - 2 pcs
Ram S.

This is the only Idly express with a sit down option. Ambience is great, service is polite. Food is outstanding and has the best South Indian vegetarian options in this area. Love their Idlies, Butter dosa (Benne dosa), Thali meals, Uttappam, Poori. The filter coffee is outstanding and simply the best anywhere in the world. Would definitely return when I am in the area. My favorite go to place for South Indian vegetarian food anytime.

Menu
Carine B.

Walked in on a whim - was craving lentils and this was nearby. I'm not Indian, so I was a little overwhelmed, but I was glad to see that the ordering pad had photos. You can order on the pad or with a cashier. The cashier was very friendly willing to explain the menu to me as I pointed out pictures of dishes that looked delicious. I ended up ordering the Mini Tiffin (Vip+rava Kesari). This came with the lentil mini donuts, the lentil/rice fluffy cake, two cold chutney, and one warm lentil soup (I think), and a chunky lentil rice dish. This also came with a separate sweet semolina and ghee dish. As I was dining, I noticed the venue was very busy and a lot of folks appeared to be Indian which was a good sign! The restaurant was kept really clean and well lit. One of the restaurant workers walked by and offered me extra sides of chutney, which was nice. Personally, I didn't care for the red chutney. It tasted like sweet canned pasta sauce. Everything else was very good and I really enjoyed the hot soup. I will say that I was prepared for more spices and was kind of shocked that the dishes did not really use a ton of pungent spices. I actually think I was expecting a little bit more flavor wise... the flavors were mild. I would go back and try more dishes, and I would also recommend for a quick vegetarian bite.

Mylapore special thali
Srujan N.

This Idly Express location is amazing and has a dine-in option unlike their other locations. The Mylapore Special Thali (available only for lunch until 3:00 PM) is fresh, well-balanced, and features a rotating menu. The ambience is nice, the restaurant is well-maintained, and the service is both friendly and quick.

Rice with vegan coffee
Shweta S.

I have tried Idly Express multiple times (it's sister brand of Mylapore) and different locations too. This one is definitely my favorite location. The service is very consistent, food is excellent- they have daily specials for $5. Lots of vegan food options- and they have vegan filter coffee and recently added vegan chai! My favorites are idiyappam with kurma, daily specials, idly and their rice. Some things that make this place outstanding apart from great good and service are they give additional chutneys, sambar, and sometimes hand out special dishes - like sweet, vadai etc. It's quick to order, get your table number and get seated. Parking is relatively easy to find. On weekends though it may get busy. For non vegans, they have benne dosa (Mylapore special). Definitely check it out for great south Indian food!

Thatte idly
Farhana M.

A filter coffee on any morning really hits the spot. I tried the Onion Tomato Uthappam, and this was really good! And surprisingly made with gluten free ingredients. It was crispy on the outside and pillowy soft on the inside. My partner liked the Bisibele Bath more though, which is a rice dish.

Uthapam
Misha M.

Ordered uhampum and bene masala dosa. Food was tasty and spicy. I found the dosa a lil too oily and not crispy for my taste. But overall great food.

Mega tiffin
Sho R.

I stopped by for a dinner. The place was almost full. But I got a seat right away after ordring the food. Prices were on the reasonable side. Idly, dosa, medhu vada and pongal were all good. Mega tiffin is good value. It has all these items. Poori masala was good too. They had fresh sugarcane juice, which was very good.

Menu
Karan L.

This place definitely caught me on guard. We stopped by here on my way to SFO to catch a flight and we had about 45 minutes to sit down, order, eat and head back to the airport. I had no clue the service was going to be this fast. You enter and order at the counter. They also have a few items, sambar, and bhaghi in the fridge for you to take home and eat if or later that aren't too expensive. We informed the staff about our timing predicament and they told us not to worry. The food was prepared and ready within 10 minutes. I was quite surprised. There are also ordering kiosk on the side. They have a few booths for you to sit down at and tables off to the side. As for the food, it was great. I wish there was more aloo bhaji in my dosa but the quantity was sold for the price. The dosa was nice and crispy, not at all soggy which was great to see. The vada sambar was also quite solid. Definitely not the best sambar that I have tasted but it was worth the price. Big fan of the coconut chutney. If you run out of chutney you can flag down a waiter for more. I saw the servers letting someone sample a portion of their chai as we were leaving so that is also an option available. Overall, solid food, worth the price, quickly brought out, and great service. I will be back if i am in the area again. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit.

Filter Coffee
Chinmay S.

I've already reviewed Mylapore Westgate, which is kind of the mothership, but this branch is a great option if you're in a rush, want to avoid wait times, and are okay with a limited menu. The usual star items are still there - at least for me and my family's needs. We tried it today and had the Benne Masala Dosa, Thatte Idli, and Medu Vada. Of course, I had to finish with a filter coffee. The dosa is just LOVE! Crunchy, crispy, and buttery on the outside, yet soft inside. The idli and medu vada were fresh and delicious. The place is definitely smaller, but it has enough room for a spot that's meant for on-the-go express dining. Service was quick - shoutout to Maajid, who was friendly throughout our meal. Definitely recommend! These guys were already big, but now they're making a huge difference here in the South Bay with their homely, authentic South Indian fare!

Entrance
Pooja V.

Outstanding Onam Sadhya. Took the take out option for ~$40 and was worth every penny. I haven't had this good a sadhya in the longest time. The neypayasam was exceptional, just like how we get in Guruvayur temple. So grateful to have this experience in the Bay Area. Well delivered, Jay and team.

Our mega tiffin! Delicious and came with a bit of everything
Ben J.

Counter ordering, nice clean seating area, lots of options for delicious South Indian food, and friendly service! Liked the chai, our mega tiffin, and the uttapam. Quite a pleasant spot!

benne dosa
Anu P.

We dined in on valentine's day and the food was very good! I've never been to any of this chains locations but the ambiance/inside was very nice - I was expecting more of a fast food style place bc it's called idly express but it was more of a nice sit down place. You order at the front and they give you a number and bring the food to you. The seating area was nice - Note that it was all booths so this would be bad for a big group since you would not be able to sit in the same table or move tables/chairs around. We got the benne dosa($13). Very good classic benne dosa, coconut chutney was very good, sambar was hot and spicy. My only qualm is that it's a bit on the smaller side and is probably not big enough for the whole meal if you came in very hungry. Also got valentine's day thali ($17), great thali!! In order of favorite to least favorite they had paneer tikka, dal makhani, punjabi khadi curry, aloo gobi, raita and a small salad. Also came with 2 pooris, papad, pulao and gulab jamun. Everything in this was good and great value would recommend this thali if they bring it back on the menu. I also got chai, they only had vegan chai with oatmilk left (ran out of reg chai and ran out of hot badam milk) it was really good! I would get it again , better than most chais I've had not sure if it's bc of the oatmilk or in general. Also tried the mango lassi.. a bit too thick for my taste but it was good if you like a very yogurt heavy lassi. We were able to get a table immediately on a friday night, I think not too many ppl know about this place yet so I would def recommend it before it starts getting crowded!

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Idly Express - Mountain View Reviews in Other Languages

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Sakoon

Sakoon

(1.7k reviews)

$$

Dropped in last night at Sakoon and wow! Not sure if they've changed chefs or what, but four of us…read morehad a really excellent meal. Same cranky waiter we always have, but we all overate because the food was so good. The achari tikka was spicy and delicious as was the tikka masala and the vindaloo. Totally delicious meal. Very few people eating there on a Saturday night.

Had the AYCE weekday lunch. Great price for a wide variety of yummy dishes, both non-veg and…read morevegetarian. Aside from main entrees, they have chaat dishes and at least 4 types of desserts. Especially liked the chicken curry. Best I've had from Indian buffet. I liked that the mild curry was not overwhelming the other spices. Also had slight sweet taste. Chicken was dark meat. Butter chicken was good too but not as good as the curry. Slightly spicy and more on the tomato side and less cream flavor. Not as spicy as they used to make it. Tandoori chicken was not dry at all. Had some charred spots which added to the flavor. The chaats (appetizer/snack type food) were also pretty good. The Samosa Chaat was the best. Samosas were wrapper filled with curry flavored coarsely mashed potatoes then deep fried. Then topped with onions, yogurt sauce, crispy noodles and chickpeas. Even better drizzled with tamarind chutney. The Papdi Chaat had cubed potatoes topped with yogurt sauce, spices, and chickpeas. Sweet and spicy. First time trying the avocado Jhalmuri which was also good. It's a healthier version of the Papdi Chaat with avocado layer instead of potatoes. They had the regular basmati rice and also tomato rice. They also serve naan which were fresh, hot, slightly crispy on the outside and brushed with oil or maybe ghee. For dessert, loved the Kheer (like rice pudding but thinner consistency). Milky flavor. Gulab jamun (sponge cake balls soaked in syrup) just had enough cardamom to complement the sugar syrup. The Halwa had lychee flavor and bits of lychee. The Halwa itself was good, buttery and not too sweet. But I prefer it plain over lychee flavor. The Jalebi was slightly crispy outside and soft as you sink your teeth into it. Sweetest of the desserts. And to complete the meal, was the hot masala chai tea. You can still taste the tea and milk along with the mixture of spices. Didn't have the chance to try the other dishes. The staff were friendly and attentive. Elegantly decorated dining room. Relaxed atmosphere. Consistently great experience every time.

Annachikadai - Thokku Biryani Annachikadai Special

Annachikadai

(592 reviews)

$$

I wouldn't lie - the place definitely feels homely. Very simple place with lot of authenticity and…read morelocal 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.

Probably the most authentic South Tamil Nadu cuisine in the Bay Area. The Parotta and curries are…read moreawesome. 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.

Idly Express - Mountain View - indpak - Updated May 2026

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