Iconic spot and I hope they stick around forever. One of my essential spots when planning a food crawl in Jackson Heights for authentic Indian desserts by the pound. Bring cash, and don't forget they have kulfi outside which if you haven't had before is like a frozen yogurt sweet popsicle (not too sweet) and kind of dense. Definitely come here for jalebi, gulab jamun, ladoo and anything else that catches your eye. This is your chance to be adventurous and try anything that sticks out to you! You can always just get one piece. They have barfi as well. I'm not sure if they have chai too, but will check next time I'm back. The staff are quick and attentive, and the space has a few tables inside if you were to stick around, but not many. You may have to wait in line inside but it is never more than a few minutes. read more

I've come for sweets before but came back to try their cafe in the back. I'm floored, these dishes changed my life actually. I'm so glad this is my first experience eating dosa. I also loved the fried idli. I think my American-tastebuds may be bias, but it is such a fun take on the traditional breakfast food. Couldn't leave without their sweets either, so it's an encompassing experience. read more

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Omgosh! Had Ras Malai and it was the right amount of dessert and the sweetness was perfect! It balanced well with the spiciness of the Tibetan cuisine. Wish I could have it everyday! I can't wait to try their other sweets & snacks! Maharaja Sweets & Snacks definitely deserves my Yummylicious Stamp of Approval! Two thumbs up from me! read more

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Rani on the sweets counter is fantastic. She is always smiling, courteous and kind. her customer service is absolutely next level. The owners should use her as a role model to train there other staff on how to treat customers. All the sweets and snacks are really delicious. read more

Refreshing my review of Maharaja after all these years. We no longer live in NY but each time we visit NY we continue to do our best to come to Queens just before our flight home so we can get a box of sweets from Maharaja. Not only is the quality of their sweets consistent over the years, theirs are also the best ones I've had in the US thus far. So until we find an alternative, we will continue to come here. Note, however, that aside from the sweets I wouldn't recommend the food here that much. There are other Indian restaurants both in the neighborhood and in NY at large that are superior. read more

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Maharaja Sweets sells a lot of mithai (sweetmeats) and it also doubles as a cafe. Most customers come for the dosa. Chaat is very popular in India and people eat it before dinner usually outside. I like Dahi Papri Chaat which has both taste and color appeal. When my order was placed before me my face fell. Brown upon brown. It had no flavor and after three bites I left it. It should have had thin wheat wafers, yogurt, tamarind and spicy mint chutney and sometimes pomegranate for color. Even the server agreed with me as we discussed this sad rendition. Here there is a clean restroom which is one reason I come here as it's hard to shop and where does one go to powder one's nose? read more

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The two things I world change is replacing the soap dispenser with a manual one, and to clean the tables more often. The food is fantastic. And well priced. Usually busy, but the food comes out quick. read more

We loved the wide variety of sweets and found the ladies to be very friendly. Having never tried Indian sweets before, we chose several of their popular ones based on their recommendations - milk cake, badam peda, Cham Cham and burfi. It was a great experience and the tastes were very different. Highly recommend the badam peda and milk cake. read more

Maharaja Sweets & Snacks - Desserts Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

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Maharaja has some amazing ladoos and is definitely a shop worthy of visiting. I haven't tried any of their savory items but I'm sure that they're great too. Grab Indian sweets from here and then Bengali sweets next door at Abdullah's- it's what I always do when I'm in JH :). read more

A sweet shop with a decent selection of Indian mithais -- we stopped by in the afternoon and the line moved decently fast. We got Chum Chum and Kaju Katli to share -- you have to get at least quarter-pound of each, but the price isn't bad. They tasted decent, not super fresh though. The Rasmalai was my absolute favorite -- comes with four patties, highly recommend this! read more

Maharaja Sweets & Snacks - Sweets - Desserts Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

Stale sweets and bad customer service Rude people DO NOT GO HERE They also cheated me by charging double Lot of them here do not speak or understand English. Seriously doubt their legal status in this country read more

I love their sweet treats and their food items off the menu. For me, personally, their medium is my spicy. Everywhere else I have to ask for spicy to get a kick. The service is good, and the food is made fresh. If your order takes a bit of time, that is why. Water service could be improved a bit. The ambiance is casual. Great for dates or groups or a solo meal to enjoy. Everything is vegetarian, and every time I go I try something new. Never had a bad or unpleasant taste! Happy eats! read more

My new spot for Indian mithai(sweets). For sweets, I tried their shahi laddoo, kesar laddoo, kaju katli, kesar peda, original peda, Bengali kalakand, rasgulla, rasmalai, and sooji halwa. Everything tasted fresh and delicious. Also had their channa poori which was savory. Fresh, deep-fried bread always makes life better read more

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Used to like this place for its sweets, but the service sucks! Will not be going anymore. I asked for a little extra dal over my rice, and the tall, skinny man told me 'the boss is watching,' which felt ridiculous. When I asked to speak to the boss, he gave me a tiny portion of dal in a samosa chutney cup instead. The whole situation felt awkward and frustrating. The staff do not know to handle simple requests. read more

Maharaja has become our go-to dessert place with their wide selection and fresh products. Indian dessert joint in Queens with a very extensive selection. They are pretty close to the subway stop so easy to get here from midtown. Maharaja has always been pretty busy when we've come by, even when some of the neighboring stores have been less trafficked. Staff is brusque but efficient and gets everyone through quickly. Orders are by weight although you can also order many of the desserts by piece. There are non-sweet options as well including savory snacks that are also sold by weight. They take credit card with a minimum. read more

Maharaja Sweets & Snacks - Desserts Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

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This is my favorite place to grab some indian sweets and indian breakfast. The service is quick and ambiance is good. If you want to grab just sweets or order takeouts then they have a line for it otherwise for eat-in you can just ask the server to be seated. read more

Maharaja Sweets & Snacks - moti choor laddu - Desserts Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

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This chaat house Was in the heart of Jackson Heights and we were hungry after a busy day of shopping and walking thru the streets of NYC. We ordered the chaat papri and David puri. Wee didn't really go here for service, but just to enjoy the chaat and mithai ( sweets/dessert). Both items were good, Although I've had better chaats elsewhere. These ones needed more spice to them. The Dahi puri needed more flavor and seasoning and perhaps a bigger quantity. The chaat papri definitely needed more spice. Initially the server actually brought us pani puri, to which we told him they this wasn't what we ordered. Anyhow, this error was corrected and we received the correct items in a few minutes. There are definitely better options available. read more

Maharaja Sweets & Snacks - Chat Papri - Desserts Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

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Just checking in to say that Maharaja Sweets is doing strong, and just as delicious as ever! This was my first pilgrimage back since moving out of state, and I made sure to stop in Jackson Heights in order to visit Maharaja. FYI: Make sure you head ALL the way towards the back when you get in line. It's a small space so it's not always immediately apparent if someone is standing in front of the sign, but being prepared will guarantee you a much smoother experience. P.S. Do not be rude to the women that work here just because you're grumpy about where you are in the line!! They are doing their job, and honestly are so friendly and helpful as long as you're not being a pain in the butt. read more

My absolute favorite sweet shop in Jackson heights that also serves amazing Indian meals. A must visit if you are in the Jackson heights area! Come in for good food, family style service, and delicious sweets Food: come in for lunch or dinner or afternoon tea- this place has some amazing Indian appetizers and mains! The masala dosa is delicious, very flavorful, and very filling. All of the chaats are so delicious and you can even customize them if you don't want a certain item included. The bhatures are fluffy, not super oily and just melts in your mouth! They also offer a thali, where you get to choose what type of vegetable curries you want, and some sweets, and rice, and naan! Sweets: the main attraction- the sweets! They have some of the best sweets in my opinion, everything tastes really good! My favorite is the jalebis. For any holiday, this is my go to sweet shop Price: the meals are very cheap (you can get by with $15 per person and be very full). The sweets average around $10 per pound Ambience: the store front has a dine in area- but it's a no frill place. It's a small store front, and small area for you to eat! The sweets are a lovely site to walk into Service: service is very friendly and quick (even given their popularity and business). read more

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My friend and I were out for our monthly dinner. I had seen Maharaja Sweets and Snacks on Taste the Nation and figured if it's good enough for Padma, its good enough for us. We've had Indian food a decent amount of times but hadn't been to an Indian dessert place. When you enter, you're greeted by gleaming cases of delicacies. We were able to get a table outside and I asked the waiter to bring us a plate of desserts and some ras malai. (I knew I liked ras malai from a prior Indian restaurant experience) We received a number of different items. Each presented a new flavor and texture that our palates weren't accustomed to. We had our favorites and a good time trying all of them. Ras malai was my favorite. The waiter was really nice. Maharaja Sweets was a nice way to wrap up a night out in Jackson Heights! read more

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Kind of like a magical fairy land of beautiful and colorful Indian sweets, with a small restaurant (and lunch buffet) in the back We started with a delicious cup of milk chai tea, then moved on to share some Bagara Baingan Chaat and ended with a grated carrot dessert pudding that was so good, we went in and bought a bunch to bring home. There is a BIG and long case inside of every imaginable sweet you can imagine. There seem to be more than seven different types of sweets, and they are all prepared so beautifully, it is sincerely hard to know what to pick! We ended up getting a mixed box of 10, with several pieces of fresh jalebi placed over everything and happily packed it to take home and share later in the day. read more

Stopped in for a few sweets - reasonably priced and delicious! Also super friendly service as well. read more

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Very bad service lady works there is really rude no manners to talk to customers she even charged more than price never go again

Two visits to Maharaja Sweets in Jackson Heights, two letdowns. First, shortchanged on quantity (paid for 1LB, got 0.5LB). Second, stale sweets that tasted old (usually a fresh favorite). Expecting quality and quantity for my money. Hope they step up their game! Double-check quantity and freshness before leaving! read more

If you're looking for a spot for South Indian sweets, this is your one-stop shop. They have a wide variety of sweets to pick from. The concept is similar to See's candy where you order candy by the pound, and you can mix and match to fill your boxes. One note is that for certain sweets, you can only order by .5 pound increments. A little bit pricey. Given that these are mostly dairy-based, you can expect the prices to be a bit higher. They range between $10-20/lb. The one thing I will say is that it's a bit difficult to order in English so either be prepared for that, or come with a friend. We struggled to place our order, and ultimately did not get everything we were asking for - probably due to a language barrier. read more

Maharaja Sweets & Snacks - Kaju katli, Special Kalakand, special burfi - Desserts Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

You MUST go here!! This has been my go to Indian sweet shop for the past 15 years. The sweets are absolutely fresh and delicious. Small interior to sit and grab a bite, but I would recommend to grab and go because seating is very limited. Owners are always pleasant to speak with, however customer service may not always be the best. I will highly recommend their malai sandwiches, gulab jamuns, chum chums, and ladoos. I will have to say this might be the best mithai shop in all of New York City! read more

Maharaja Sweets & Snacks - Desserts Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

Updated review: We went today to pick up some sweets and snacks and their customer service is just AWFUL. The cashier overcharged us and when we pointed it out to her she refused to listen. I have been coming here for years and sadly the staff is downright disrespectful. Worst customer service I have ever experienced, will not be returning. Would give 0 stars if I could. read more

First off this is a sweet shop! It's got amazing sweets just like a sweet shop in India. The other thing that I love about this place is their daily vegetarian thali for $11-$12. You get the following: Daal 2 subjees Raita Salad Rice Dessert And freshly made naan and roti. Also papardam! The service is also nice. They are very kind and genuinely want you to enjoy your food :) read more

Maharaja Sweets & Snacks - Vegetarian Thali - Desserts Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

Menu - Nice place to get sweets or eat in.You can get Jalebi, rasgollla. Gulab jamun, read more

Maharaja Sweets & Snacks - Desserts Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

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No frills takeout spot. I had an Excellent Paneer Marsala Curry and naan here. The lines are a bit chaotic and I had to wait 20 minutes before realizing I could have just placed my order in the back and not stand in a snail paced line. They forgot my veggie samosa in the take out order. I'll come back to try the sweets and other interesting items. read more

If you find yourself in Jackson Heights and craving for an inexpensive vegetarian buffet at a simple South Indian restaurant and on a budget...then please visit Maharaja Sweets and Snack restaurant. Don't get discourage, Maharaja serves both Indian sweets in the front section of the restaurant and then there is a sit down for dinning towards the back. I'd taken advantage of the Shahi Vegetarian Thali combo for only $8.99 which includes.... - 2 Vegetables of your choice (I'd ordered their aloo curry and creamed spinach) - Dhal (lentil soup) - 1 Roti or a basket of naan - Bowl of basmati rice - Small portion of fresh salad (tomato, cucumber and fresh lettuce) - Pappadam - Dessert (I'd ordered their gulab jamun - must have) - Mug of water It's definitely a treat to experience the South Indian way of eating here. I was very impressed with the simplicity of how the food was served in the South Indian stainless steel silverware such as... - Thali is the plate - Katori's are the bowls - A cup Overall the food was super tasty, not too spicy and filling. Our waiter's mannerism was amazing. FYI, the restaurant is walking distance from the train station. read more

Maharaja Sweets & Snacks - Desserts Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

Good food. Nice service.I ate mirchi pakora and it was good. I am a regular customer.

This place is very clean. I got the samosa which was filled with potatoes and corn. It was not my favorite samosa because the filling was mushy and while it was spicy, not hot, the flavors were overpowering making the samosa unenjoyable. The crust of the samosa was good though. I ordered some sweets, the milk cake, landoo and Ras Malai. I enjoyed the Ras Malai. It is a spongy like dessert that is sweetened with milk. If you are into that texture this dessert was good. The desserts are really sweet which is typical of Desi. desserts but I did not enjoy the landoo or the milk cake because the sugar was not blended into the desserts. It was just like biting into sugar balls and a sugar stick. I also ordered their chai which was decent but I prefer a stronger concentration of tea in my cup. read more

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I've been here twice. Each time I've gotten an assortment of sweets, but this time I came in with a game plan they some Indian coworkers provided me after knowing I love gulab jamun and not ladoo. I ended up getting a few varieties of burfi, kaju katli, kala jamun, malai and pink sandwiches, malai chamcham, rasgulla, and chandrakala. In the past I had varieties of ladoo and jamun. In any case everything I've had here was super fresh and the staff are nice. This place definitely can get busy, so come with a game plan if you can. They do have other food that you can sit down and eat, but I have yet to try that. If you like gulab jamun, which is a standard dessert at a Indian buffet, then you will love everything I listed above. read more

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Maharaja is the best place to stop for the best vegetable samosas or Indian sweets. The restaurant and sweet shop are also entirely vegetarian. Their vegetable samosas are my favorite samosas and I love pairing it with their green sauce. The sweets are also very tasty, well made and pretty. During holiday seasons such as Diwali Maharaja is always packed (probably because they are the best) and they implement a ticket system to order sweets. On a normal day the line is a bit long and takes a while since people get to individually pick out an assortment of sweets and they charge by the pound or 1/2 pound. There is also a dine-in component which is very casual and walk in and the servers are very quick and attentive. Everything at Maharaja is really well priced and you can easily get a meal for under 10$. If you are a naan fan you are in the right place as they freshly cook the naan to order and it is delicious. I also like getting the Puri Cholay. The dining area does look kind of run down as well as the restroom but the price and food can't be beat. read more

Maharaja has an impressive assortment of Indian sweets. I am a huge fan of gulab jamun (fried dough soaked in syrup). I recommend it to anyone new to Indian dessert. It is sweet- but not saccharine- with syrup that gushes with each bite of soaked dough. I also tried rasmalai (cheese curds soaked in sugar and milk) and rasgula (cheese curds soaked in syrup). The textures of both were more crumbly, and both were super sweet from the syrups they soaked in. This is a great stop for those that want to try authentic Indian treats. I will be back for more! read more

Maharaja Sweets & Snacks - Desserts Near Me - Jackson Heights, New York

Good tea but the lady owner is selective with who she will help on the line. Apparently I'm not the only one that she has slighted, according to other customers happens all the time. After I confronted her about it she refused my order and said there is no more tea. read more

This place has the WORST people working there. SLOW, RUDE and no concern for customers. Waited 30 mins. for 2 simple items, only for the lady behind the counter to tell me to go wait in the back and tell the waiter, and then that waiter dismisses me, and I'm walking back and forth between these two idiots. WORST PEOPLE and No common sense. I did speak to the manager, Sanjay, and he was sorry, but he needs to fix the service because obviously his workers aren't there to work! read more

My knowledge of Indian sweets was limited to gulab jamun and other desserts like ras malai or rice kheer, so Maharaja Sweets & Snacks has been on my go-to list for a while. I was amazed (and slightly overwhelmed) by all the options. The desserts are all colorful, coming in a variety of small, bite-sized shapes. I didn't know so many came decked out in silver foil, but it felt so fairytale-like. An older gentleman noticed me struggling to figure out what sweets to try and laughed, only adding that he too felt like that on his visits to this place. All in all, I paid around $20 for 18 different sweets. I figured I would get some sweets from one section of the store and work my way around in subsequent visits to the area. =) Although they're quite small, each of them pack quite a lot of flavor and sweetness, so I imagine one is more than enough for dessert after a meal. Personal favorites: **kheer mohan (brown oval--creamy and decadent), anarkali (small white mountain with red on top), khadam kheer (silver foil ball with almond on top with a surprise filling), and gajar pak (brown square--tastes like smoky carrot cake) Photo below of the Indian sweets I got: 1st row, from left to right: gajar pak (brown square), shari ladoo (light orange ball), kesar pista sandesh (white cylinder with yellow in middle), khadam kheer (silver foil ball with almond on top), badam peda (silver foil rectangle), cream roll (white oval with orange x-marks on top) 2nd row: coconut burfi (green square), rose bahaar (silver foil square with pink in middle), kesar ladoo (orange ball), malai sandesh (white square with faded orange dot in middle), kheer mohan (brown oval), anarkali (small white mountain with red on top) 3rd row: moti pak (orange square), anjeer burfi (looked and tasted like traditional fruitcake), kaju kamal (green ball with silver foil), special sandesh (white ball), bengali champ (yellow oval with silver foil), pakiza (white oval with foil around the middle) read more

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I went with a friend I hadn't seen in a long time, and we stayed for hours without any pressure to move along. The food and service were both excellent though it was fairly busy. We got our orders within minutes. Nothing at all fancy in the ambiance -- just a nice, pleasant neighborhood spot. read more