Still an excellent choice. Still a waitlist at usual mealtimes. Clean space with tight seating so focus on eating. Kid friendly for weekends. Wife and I had the special thali. read more

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Matches or maybe even beats many top restaurants in South India too. Tamil vegetarian heaven. We ate the main thali and the healthy thali. Both were top notch. They have some top talent in the kitchen. Ambience is super clean Service is excellent too. The items in the thali can be more of a aquired taste though unless you love south indian vegetarian. Extensive menu. I wonder how long they will be able to pull off such a huge menu with consistency. read more

This is a spot we discovered by accident. But I absolutely loved the food! I was so engrossed in eating that couldn't even capture food pics. We ordered plenty appetizers and out of that the ghee podi idly was fantastic! Their filter coffee ice cream topped the dinner ending! read more

Kovai Cafe - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

We come here tooo often now. 1) The mini Ghee idlis are a fav for the kids: so soft, airy and piping hot (wish they gave 10-12 idlis per order) 2) The Rava Dosas are awesome. 3) coffee soft serve good but very sweet (a nice treat if you order something too spicy The flavors of the chutneys and sambhar are more flavoring and clean tasting than the place "near Westgate" that everyone flocks to. We'll always keep coming here, it's fast food style service ... AC on high, food comes pretty quickly and majority of the time Mahendra helps us and he is so kind and personable to the kids and us. The only thing I noticed today, was constant throwing of dishes after people are done, this place gets noisy and chaotic on weekends and rush hour which takes away from the joy of sitting here. (-1 Star) read more

Kovai Cafe - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

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Kovai is a nice change for South Indian food in Bay, given Mylapore and Idly Express. (All are good in my opinion). Kovai has a Bangalore/ Bengaluru touch to it, with chow chow bath and other options in the menu. My boyfriend and I ordered open butter podi masala dosa, masala dosa and chow chow bath. The dosas are yummy, but their selection of chutneys is unique- beet, coconut, peanut/dal chutneys and sambhar. Chow chow bath was good too. Friday evenings are good, weekends do have waiting. Food is served quickly and good small space. The one in Milpitas is bigger. Their to go boxes are cute too, esp for dosas. We got free filter coffee icecream since it was their 2 bday. Yumm! read more

Kovai Cafe - Open Butter Podi Masala Dosa , Masala Dosa - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

I tried this place as I had heard so many good things about this place and it is true. I tried idli and banana bhajjis here on a Saturday evening. The complex is very crowded so if you find a parking spot just take it. The idlis were soft and fluffy and the chutneys and sambar were just the right accompaniments . The Banana bhajjis were delicious The covering had a good combo of the powdered and whole spices and came very close to what we have in India I am definitely gonna be back to try the rest of the menu ! read more

Kovai Cafe - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

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One of my favorite South Indian spots. I've tried a handful of different dishes here and liked them all. Rlly flavorful & loved how crispy the dosas are read more

Kovai Cafe - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

Stopped in to get some tea as we were waiting for my bird to get some medical attention. We were greeted right away and asked if we were dining in or taking it to go? " Dining Inn please " we were given menus that had items on it that honestly I had no clue what they were so I started google searching each item. The person working there saw me looking things up so he came to our table and went through the whole menu with us and explained the differences between the the menu items. I thought that was very nice of him to spend the time explaining everything to us, 10 stars for him!! I now have a better understanding of what's what :-) The tea came piping hot and was fantastic! I noted a nice Bergamont and cardamom flavor, so good. Bottom line: the place is clean, the service is fantastic and I can tell you for sure that the tea is wonderful. read more

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Super food Everything tasted very authentic Unlike a lot of South Indian places, kovai's food tastes very fresh read more

This time we tried the Benne Masala Dosa. Not authentic, dosa itself is bigger, but not thicker or taste like the Bangalore style where it is famous for. Masala was like baby food, a bland potato mash. Lot of butter was there , but it doesn't taste that great. Thali was decent, not bad but not great either. Paruppu vada was too thin and spoiled by trying to improve this by adding masaa ingredients. Idly vada combo was suppose to serve first but came later after dosa, which mad it difficult. Idly itself was very soft even though it was not hot. Idly is not the regular type either it is kusboo idly or something like that. Vada was hot but not good though. Millet combo was different, dosa itself was little sour, may be not many takers? Pongal was ok and the sweet was not great. We do make the dosa and pongal at home. Also mixing up millets may not be beneficial as you think. Not all millets work together. Service was lacking, order if the food delivery and lost our coffee to a different table. Kovai cafe needs to decide to go authentic or appease local customers, I think they are struggling with a direction. read more

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Kovai Cafe was my first experience with South Indian food. My husband's friend was in town for work, and she requested Indian. Kovai came highly recommended by my husband's coworkers. It was suggested we add ourselves to the waitlist, but on a Tusday night for dinner it appeared to not be necessary as there were several open tables. We had a couple different idly selections as well as the Roadside Kalan and the Kovai Healthy Meal. I liked the spice in the Kalan and one of the chutneys. Our friend, who makes a lot of these dishes at home, said it was all very good. The acoustics were a challenge as voices were echoey and loud. I'd imagine with a full house it'd be near impossible to have a conversation. Service was good. Food came out fast and the staff was professional. Parking is plentiful although it's a bit tricky to get out with the traffic. read more

I had come to Kovai cafe when it had just opened - I would not have recommended them at that time. I came for a breakfast this morning - wow! What a change - for $9.99 (8am to 10am) the tiffin is very good value for money. The filter coffee with jaggery (ask for it) and the millet kesari was super yummy. The chutneys were unique - the sambhar was more like daal. It used to be very oily - it has improved quite a bit! The staff was very polite and explained all the options to us. Kovai is another name for Coimbatore - city in India. It's a very simple canteen style ambiance :) read more

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Recently we had the contracted with Kovai Cafe Catering for live dosa stations for a family get together. All through the planning phase, our interactions with the staff and the management were very professional, courteous and friendly. They assisted us in proper menu selection that would suit most of our guests. As an example, we overlooked that the function was held during Paryushan (Jain religious days) but on their own they ensured that the sambhar and some chutneys were without onion and garlic which suited many of our guests who follow Jainism. The food was excellent, plenty (with some leftovers) and our guests relished it. The large selection of different varieties of dosas was a bonus feature as it catered not only to the adults but also to many young adults and children. They were there on time to start serving the food at the designated hour and when the event completed, they left the place clean in the same condition as they started. We will definitely consider them again for any future events and many of our guests are considering them too for their upcoming occassions. On a side note, Kovai Cafe is probably the only one in the Bay area that serves millet dosas. This is especially suited for those with diabetes and those who prefer a low carbohydrate diet. read more

Stumbled into this place since place I usually go to had a long wait time. This place satisfy my dosa craving! The dosa was nice and crisp and lots of potato masala filling! Coffee was nice too. Need to come back and try more. read more

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Had a chance to try Kovai Cafe and the snacks here which were nice. If you are looking for good veggie food this is a nice option. I tried this as takeout and this was my review of what i tried: * Paruppa vada - these were crispy and went well with the sauce it came with * Paneer 65 - I like that these had a lighter coating and you could really taste the paneer. The coating was flavorful and these are best enjoyed fresh! * Veggie pakora - this was pretty good and crispy. Again the batter was fairly light which I really liked and overall everyone enjoyed this * Plantain pakora - these were interesting to try but pretty nice as well. It went well with the chutneys Overall, good experience trying a variety of appetizers! read more

Sai at the front was super helpful and made the whole experience! Stopped here on a rainy morning drive down 280 and SO glad I did. Rainy day + this mini combo breakfast = perfect pairing . Crispy dosa, vada, pongal + like 6 chutneys all on one tray -- colorful, flavorful, every one of them different . Sambar was legit, and filter coffee in the steel tumbler on a rainy day? That's a whole different experience . Very old school Tamil Nadu vibes. Mention this review to Sai for extra smiles! ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ read more

Kovai Cafe - Mini-tiffin Breakfast Combo special - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

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Awesome food and great service. Nice ambiance as well. The staff is good too. Coming again. read more

Kovai Cafe - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

I have to rate this 5 stars and it totally deserves it for the efforts put into the menu and making every dish so fresh with the best ingredients. I could tell so because I did not feel like I had a heavy lunch after eating a good meal here. This is a pure vegetarian south indian restaurant (tamil style food). I tried kothu idly (loved it), mini podi idly (LOVED IT), sundal (tasted good but could be steamed for a little bit more), and vada (fresh and crispy)! The ambiance of the restaurant is nice and clean, the service was super quick (although they are pretty busy on weekend evenings), food tastes great and they offer eco friendly to-go food containers. I am definitely going here again to try rest of the things on their menu. read more

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Pretty average overall. Table had baby corn fry and multiple type of dosas and vada. Nothing stood out and the sambar and chutney were particularly underwhelming. Filter coffee was also a little bit on the lighter side. Normal ambiance and good service though. read more

Still one of our favorite South Indian spots. Their kothu soya dosa is a standout--it gives me a solid protein boost, which is hard to find at most South Indian restaurants. The combination of dosa with podi and soya is truly legit. Their sambar and chutneys are always fresh and delicious, and I'm a big fan of their filter coffee as well. What we really appreciate is that the food is both healthy and flavorful. They offer healthier options like millet dosa that actually taste great. Service is quick, and Nitin and Praveen always takes excellent care of us. read more

We ordered paper masala dosa , rava masala dosa and coffee . They both came with the perfect amount of sambar . The staff was friendly and would come by the table to check on us every few minutes to see if we needed anything . The ambiance is indoor informal . read more

Kovai Cafe - Filter Coffee - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

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Delicious South Indian thali. I especially liked that the special meal had one chapati in it. For a Bombaya, I grew up eating South Indian thali with roti. The portion size is perfect for the variety of sabjis. The rice quantity is plentiful. Very well priced as well. read more

Kovai Cafe did the catering at hubs milestone bday party.They came prepared with everything so I didn't have to worry about anything! Arrived at the given time were setup and ready before my guests arrived... I must say exceptional service and finger licking dosas.... All in all a 11/10! read more

Kovai Cafe - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

Good food and great service. We had dinner here on Saturday night, and it was quite busy with a 30-minute wait. The staff we interacted with were very polite and welcoming. Regarding the food, the Curd Vada and Elaneer Payasam were delicious and stood out as the best dishes among what we tried. The Kal Dosa and Mysore Kara Masala Dosa, along with their accompanying chutneys, were good and had very little oil. We also tried the Kovai Roadside Kalan, which was a little underwhelming. read more

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I was looking for a good thali and tried out the one that they have to go. It was a family size and had lots of food, but honestly, it wasn't very good. Everything tasted pretty much the same and it really had no interesting dishes on it at all. Very disappointed, I'm still looking for a good takeout thali. read more

This place is not for you if you have an infant in stroller who cannot sit in high chair. They do not allow strollers. I visited with a friend and a 6 month old baby, even though we mentioned we can adjust it ourselves and put the stroller in a corner seat, they didn't allow it. Additionally the music and crowd is too loud for infants to overstimulate and makes them fuzzy. The coffee was pretty good. Very strong, stronger than any other filter coffee I had in Bay Area. The paneer 65 was nice, hot, crispy, flavorful. It wasn't oily or dirty spicy at all, we all really liked it. My friends got onion uthapam, and millet Mysore masala dosa, and I got the Guntur masala dosa. The guntur masala dosa was really spicy but like flaming hot Cheetos- good spicy. I really liked their sambar too. I'd give 4/5 for food. But only 2/5 for the service. The staff seemed overly sensitive to things and rather than explaining why it is being done a certain way, would just say the guidelines and walk away. I think they could have handled the situation better read more

Kovai Cafe - Filter Coffee - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

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SERVICE - located in a busy shopping complex next to India cash and carry - parking can be hard to get especially during the weekends or weekday evenings - tables for 2-4 diners - very short wait on weekday evenings and weekend afternoon - service is fast and wants you to order within a few minutes of seating - food served as it is prepared and comes out relatively quickly - restrooms and hand wash available - ambiance good for a casual meal MENU - wide selection of South Indian dishes - all vegetarian with vegan options - well priced FOOD - sambar vada (10/10): three pieces of fried vada soaked in thick vegetable sambar. This has to be my favorite dish I ate here. The sambar is thick and spicy while the Vada is fresh and soaks up all the flavors from the sambar. I would go back just to eat this. It does have to be eaten fresh otherwise the Vada gets soggy, so I would not recommend getting this as takeout. - mysore kaaram masala dosa (8/10): dosa filled with spicy chutney and potato masala and served with four chutneys and sambar. This was also very tasty. I liked how the mysore chutney was spicy but not overwhelming. It is one of the few places to give four chutneys as most only give one or two. - kara podi babycorn (5/10): deep fried baby corn tossed in spicy podi. In theory this sounded really good. And it was for maybe a few bites. If you were going in a larger group then I would get this to split as a side or appetizer. Between 1-3 people, it lost its flavor after the first few bites. - kovai kothu idli (9/10): idli sautéed and mixed with a vegetable curry. This was a unique way to eat idli. I was not exactly sure what to expect in terms of taste or texture. The texture felt like eating upma but the taste was like eating a coconut korma. I would get this again. WOULD I GO BACK? Yes! Very comforting and flavorful food that is served quick and has lots of options for every palate. read more

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Authentic dosas with super fresh and delicious chutneys. Service, ambiance, and cleanliness were spot on. Try the filter coffee as an aperitif or a digestif :) read more

Kovai Cafe - Filter coffee - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

Love the food, service and pricing have been here at least 15 times and I love their china vengaaya uthapm read more

Kovai Cafe - Menu - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

If you want actual authentic South Indian food in the Bay Area, Kovai Café is the real deal. Everyone throws around the word "authentic," but this place truly lives up to it -- easily one of the top South Indian spots in the Bay. Every dish hit perfectly. The lemon rice, benne kara dosa (a must-try for spice lovers), rose halwa/seera, rose milk, and masala chaas were all unique and tasted just like they do in India. The mango lassi, desserts, and masala dosa were spot on, and the sambar was incredibly flavorful. Even my 3-year-old loves their mini ghee idly! The filter coffee is outstanding -- exactly how it should be. What made the experience even better was the service from Praveen. It was a very busy day, yet he still made sure everything arrived on time, brought extra sambar and chutney without hesitation, and genuinely cared about how we were enjoying the meal. Most Indian restaurants in the Bay Area don't prioritize service, but Kovai Café really does. I'll be coming back here often. Give it a try -- you won't be disappointed. read more

Kovai Cafe - Mini Ghee Idlies - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

Maugnbra is an amazing server he made so many amazing suggestions and was super helpful!! Everything he told us to get was fantastic we had an amazing time!!! I can't wait to go back!! read more

Very good food. Traditional Indian Dosa! I bring my brother here to enjoy some Indian taste, and we love it. Mahendra provided very good service for us. Recommended! read more

Kovai Cafe - Dosa - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

Went to Kovai Cafe with my family to try some authentic Tamil food! We went around 1pm and the waitlist was 45-55 minutes long so I recommend either going at an odd time or joining the waitlist and running some errands in the meantime. Once you are off the waitlist, you have to respond within one minute to confirm your spot and then your table will hold for 3 minutes so make sure to keep an eye on your waitlist status. My parents got the Namma Ooru Saapadu meal and then I got Poori Masala. Poori Masala (4/5): I really liked the poori! It was crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, with a good nutty flavor. I thought the masala (potato) could have had more seasoning and been spicier. Big portion size Namma Ooru Saapadu (3/5): Comes with a lot of different curries and rice/roti. The roti was not very soft and some of the side dishes like the sambhar, kurma, and rasam could have been spicier. They enjoyed the desert - the payasam was hot and sweet. Overall, my parents thought the meal was average. Overall, I would give this place a 3.5/5. Authentic food, however, food could be spicier and the wait is long, which makes it less likely we would return. read more

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A friend recommended this place for good South Indian food in the South Bay. We reached here about half an hour before closing time on the weekend and there was 10-15 mins wait. They have scan code at the door to get added to their wait-list. Good and quick service. We were looking forward to having Sukku Paal on the cold night but unfortunately they didn't have it. We ordered Coffee, and it was good. We liked mini sambar idlis. Butter Masala Dosa was okay, so were the chutneys. Onion Podi Uttapam was good. We loved their Sambar. read more

Kovai Cafe - Coffee - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

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Great food and great service; hard to not recommend Kovai for that casual vegetarian-carby itch. Excellent service! They went above and beyond for us novices in this kind of Indian cuisine. Our server went to great detail in recommending items that work for our party (a young toddler included). They made sure throughout the meal we were doing well and checked in more regularly as we weren't very familiar with things. Dosa was great! Fantastic texture and seasoning. Really gets that addictive aroma with a light crispiness that gives way to a soft chew. Never had the rice pancake (name??) but it's quite tasty! Generously seasoned. The thali is a nice combination meal. Comes with a mixture of all their carbs to keep you tasting all their good stuff in one platter. Sweet in this case is a remarkably sweet stew that is added on so that's differentiating it from the regular version. read more

The Onam sadhya was amazing. We had to wait for almost 2 hours but the food was worth the wait. The best I have eaten in the Bay Area. It was a little crowded, but once you see the food, the compliants will disappear read more

Kovai Cafe - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

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Overall Food - 4/5 We tried Idli - soft Medu Vada - good and never oily Rasa vada Ghee dosa Mysore masala dosa Filter coffee - too bitter for my taste Sulemani chai - really good Service - 5/5 very prompt and professional service in terms of taking the order and serving the dishes. Ambiance 4/5 pretty decent, although the space is on the small side it is used really well Great new addition to South Indian restaurants in Bay Area. read more

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Another shout out for my Kovai peeps ! Each time we visit - we appreciate their continued high quality food -- we don't go to any other South Indian place. Hands down the best of the best ! read more

Kovai Cafe - Consistently the best !!!! - Indian Near Me - San Jose, California

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TLDR : Small but good South Indian food joint in the bay area offers good food but long wait times especially on weekends. They offer a nice variety of food options including Thali. The dosas are flavorful and crisp. Loved the Guntur Chilly dosa with its spicy and powerful flavors. Overall a good experience read more

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I ordered their healthy thali. The biryani was good, and the curd rice was fine, though it would be much better with a Bangalore-style touch like pomegranate seeds, tempered green chilies, and mustard seeds. However, the sprouts were too raw, not soft, completely lacked flavor and taste (little on bad side); sautéing them would be a huge improvement. Note: Service was excellent! read more