As the 2-star system suggests, this definitely could have been better. First, the positives. The price is decent for a lunch buffet as was the service. As someone suggested, everything felt no nonsense. The biggest standout was the fresh naan they bought to the table, but that was it. The buffet itself didn't do much for me. Everything felt watered down and lukewarm. It wasn't the worst I've ever had, but it was far from great. I didn't get a ton of flavor in anything and felt like a lot of the items tasted the same. Where's the Saag Paneer or the Aloo Gobi? I felt like there were two kinds of rice, tofu stir fry (the only thing that felt like it had substance to me) and several soupy items. read more

Went for the dinner buffet and I was not disappointed. Sooooo many options and all of them were delicious. Our waitress was amazing with my food questions and the service was fast. Place gets kinda busy and I'm glad I went. read more

Malgudi Garden - Indian Near Me - Plano, Texas

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Overall: Would not recommend. As a Texas local since 2014, and a second generation Indian immigrant, this restaurant used to be a good spot to get good food. Now, the quality is very bad, and it is not worth the price. --Food-- The food is bad. Today was tiffin day., with assorted food. The grain based food like rice, pulav , and curry's are all bland and sad. The dosa is too crispy and ingredients not good. Way too much oil throughout the food, everything had too much oil Almost everything was bland and inedible, with the samosa chat and everything in the salad bar being the saving grace. The water is warm and they use foam cups. Also the watermelon is bland and not good either. The coffee is good though. --Cleanliness-- I find the table to be clean. Considering buffets as a whole, cleanliness is up there. They have real cleaning spray *looking at you Indian restaurants that use windex*, and fast table turnaround. The buffet area is clean and standard, and the salad bar area is clean too. The live dosa and uttapam station wipe with a cloth. However, the dosa station is not using any handwashing, nor is the uttapam station at all: the dosa station is touching the batter with a metal cup to scoop it: no hairnets or any aprons. The kitchen has people in sweaty T-shirts that I see when the door opens. The buffet has pizza that seems lukewarm, and the salad bar has chickpeas and other veggies that have...dubious quality. Clean plates and utensils, although the live station serves food on paper plates. --Service-- The service is okay, with no uniform so it's hard to tell workers apart, but many staff and helpful people. In general I have no complaints. --Noise-- We walked in, and immediately Indian karaoke is booming. The singing was good but too loud for such a small space...sit in the side space to avoid the noise. We choose a table that is in the main area. Otherwise, not much else to say. --MISC-- It is complicated to find info about the restaurant online, with the nights being confusing. read more

So this is a cozy spot for vegetarian Indian food. I liked fhe ambience, very no nonsense setting. The service could be better as we were confused who would attend the table . May be because it was a buffet no one attended us. Coming to the food: What I like - the live chaat, dosa and appam station. Definitely a hit. The buffet is nothing to rave about. It is decent yet nothing special. What I disliked - the buffet food was cold. Wish they had a way to keep it warm throughout. Overall I still recommend it if you are looking for a simple vegetarian Indian option. read more

We tried the buffet, but I didn't think that it was worth it at all as I'm vegan and there weren't enough options. I'll definitely never do the buffet again. The buffet has the following vegan option: 1. Dosa counter (unlimited). Can ask for idly / vada with a few vegan options and chutneys. (Loved this) 2. Healthy sides like cooked chana, sprouted moong daal etc. (loved this) 3. Chaat counter: samosa chaat, pani puri (nope, just not tasty) 4. Starters: Gobi Manchurian (nope, way too oily) 5. Main: Aalo gobi, Sambar, Pulav (nope, not the greatest stuff to try out) 6. Dessert: Vegan payasam (Loved this) If you're vegan, I highly recommend that you to just do ala carte and try vegan palak tofu or vegan tofu butter masala type of dishes with roti, or other varieties you usually don't get to try elsewhere. read more

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I don't know how the food taste like!! Because They sold me lunch through an app but at the time of pickup I realized they have been closed for days to do some construction work. Lack of professionalism makes me never go back. read more

Very nice ambiance, service, and food. everything is clearly labeled to show wherever vegan or not, and there are plentiful vegan options. Food was high quality, and there are live dosa, uttapam, and roti stations. Great for plant-based eaters looking for a nice Indian buffet. read more

Malgudi Garden - samosa chaat, niligiri curry, corn, baby corn manchurian, Sambar Vadai - Indian Near Me - Plano, Texas

Staff is friendly and food was good. Be aware, this is vegetarian only I believe. I'm limited in my experience eating Indian dishes but I thought the food was mostly good. They offer buffet so there was one dish I tried that I wasn't as fond of. I don't think it had anything to do with quality of dish, just something I'm unfamiliar eating. Check buffet hours if interested - I don't think it is every meal every day. read more

The concept is great, a buffet spread with live dosa, appam and chaat counters but the food is just okay. So many items but lacks quality and taste. Their idli Vada and sambar is really good. The dosa and appam (with the sweet coconut milk) is really good. Also love that they have beetroot and carrot appam which my kid enjoyed. The service is good. But the whole affair takes a long time (especially on weekends), there's usually a queue for live dosa and appam stations which is self service and the space is not big enough to accommodate a lot of people waiting and moving around to get their food. I would probably try their food on a weekday, menu looks interesting but did not enjoy the buffet very much! read more

Malgudi Garden - Beetroot and carrot appam with sweet coconut milk - Indian Near Me - Plano, Texas

Total hidden jem. We arrived 5 minutes before 7 on a Saturday night and thought it was closed. Turns out they open at 7. The dinner buffet had something for everyone. Don't forget the side salad bar. You also get choice of dosa or naan with your buffet. I chose butter naan and it was brought out to our table hot and toasty! The hubs got a dosa and that was the only thing I got a photo of!! I loved the tikka masala sauce, dal, and in the center biriyani. I wish my stomach was larger, I could really only eat 1.5 plates. There is also a pasta dish for kiddos and my kids loved that. My daughter and I loved the custard with fresh fruit in the side salad bar. A great refreshing ending to a great evening. read more

Malgudi Garden - Dosa! - Indian Near Me - Plano, Texas

South Indian restaurants typically serve only vegetarian food and this was no exception. Malgudi serves all the south Indian delicacies; from the coveted Dosa to paneer dishes to vegetable curries. This restaurant is ideal for vegetarian eaters. My love for buffets is unwavering, so naturally we visited this place during a weekend afternoon. The waiting was about 15 minutes and the sheer number of people waiting outside to get a table was astounding. Judging by the crowd, which, by the way, was a mix bag of family oriented and casual groups, I guessed the restaurant was pretty famous among the locals and hoped the food would be fantastic. Food is scattered throughout and starts with chaat, a live Dosa and Appam counter (more on this later) and then the main course with curries and rice followed by deserts and drinks. Talking about the food, the pav bhaji was sweet and none of us liked it. The appetizers were decent but cold. The main course also was on the sweeter side. The only food we enjoyed to our fullest was the dosa and appam which were hot and fresh. Although, the paneer dosa tasted like a desert and we all regretted it. The mysore masala dosa was the star of this show. They also had idlis and medu vadas along with Sambhar and chutney which tasted good and were upto the mark. Since this is a south Indian restaurant, it should come as no surprise that all the southern dishes were delectable whereas the others were a big miss. The chaat section, especially Pav Bhaji, completely missed the mark and the curries were on the sweeter side which took out all the fun. The deserts were actually fantastic and I'd recommend everyone to try them out. The mysore pak tasted like it was hand delivered from India. Malgudi is a south Indian restaurant with a speciality in southern foods. The Dosa and Idli's were tasty and a must try if you visit this restaurant during their buffet time. The deserts were yum and an easy recommendation. The seating area might be cramped so manage your expectations. Given the price, I felt this particular buffet lacked that edge which would want me coming back again. I'm sure the a-la-carte menu would paint a different picture, but the buffet, strictly speaking, was lackluster. read more

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I'm so glad we came to this place for a buffet. Granted we came closer to opening time, we didn't have to wait. Majority of the buffet was South Indian food, which I definitely loved. Most importantly, the non-vegan labels have my heart! I love it when Indian places incorporate these labels. It made it easier for me to choose items instead of asking. They had so many food options to eat from street food, salad, main course 15+ items, live dosa & appam station as well as coconut milk! read more

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This place has been our go to Indian buffet place for dinner. Stopped by Wednesday night dinner. Wednesday night was Dosa Night with 15 Dosas. Dosas were bit oily but were good! Chaat and Pani puri was good as well! Butter naan was served to table, bottom was bit burnt. All other buffet items were good as well! This place is a must try! read more

Added an another star for the courteous staff and their service. Otherwise just 2 stars for the food. We had the special North-South Indian thali. I didn't like it much. If you are a picky eater and looking to have a good meal, then you might not enjoy it like I didn't BUT my friends liked it better. read more

Malgudi Garden - Malgudi Garden Special Lunch Thali - Indian Near Me - Plano, Texas

AMAZING!!!!!! Everything at the ($17!!) dinner buffet is vegetarian, and there are PLENTY of vegan options - all of which are clearly labeled! I tried a little bit of everything and it was all fantastic! So incredibly flavorful! They had a bunch of my favorites like samosas chaat and curry with paneer as well as new favorites like unsweeted hot masala tea and panipuri! The staff really made the experience, though - everyone was SO kind and willing to answer my questions about the food! Very chill vibes with good music! HIGHLY RECOMMEND! WILL BE BACK SOON!!! read more

Malgudi Garden - Indian Near Me - Plano, Texas

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It was an awful experience. The food quality was below average, not served even warm, there was a lot of wait time even to get the plates for eating in spite of repeated reminders, some food items were not refilled in spite of several reminders, refills took lot of time even after multiple reminders , etc. etc. Money we paid is not worth it. One good thing was the staff were polite though they did not actually respond to the requests. I feel the restaurant is badly organized and managed. Our family and relatives family who went there for lunch won't go there again and will not recommend to anyone. read more

So today not even 5 or 10 minutes ago my boyfriend who is MEXICAN yes I'm informing about RACISM because as soon as my boyfriend enter the building for a ORDER a doordash order immediately they told HIM to wait outside knowing there was 3 DIFFERENT dasher then himself ( 4 with him ) but ONLY told him to again wait outside but not the others which in my mind was not okay because if that was the case everyone should be treated EQUALLY and FAIR but unfortunately it wasn't the case ! He obliged with them but it just made matter worst in his gut feeling he knew his order ( for the customer) was already there but didn't choose to bother them cuz he wanted to respect what they have told him . He waited 20 minutes which was already pass the time he need to PICK UP the order ! I had mentioned about racism because the 3 people who where ALLOW to stay ( 3 doordash ) where India , I felt my boyfriend was excluded from this place and it's very sad and unfortunate to experience this type of service! I hope they understand sharing is caring ! Moral of the story don't exclude other just because we are not the same .by heart we all are ! read more

Came after a long time. Somethings stand out * clean pristine no frills pure Veg setup * gentle friendly and courteous staff * mild melodious background music * food -simple pure balanced not raw or overly spicy like those Punjabi places. If u miss the fresh dosas included in buffet, or the chutneys curd rice homemade lime pickle or lastly their fruit crem custard, then u hav yrself to blame. Ended with a nice tea to go... wah ji wah Happy feeling happy stomach... happy Days 4.9/5 stars, will come again read more

For Delicious Vegan Indian food, this is the Best place in Plano City!! All their Different Buffets are worth trying. Once you try, you will keep going back again and again!! read more

Malgudi Garden - Malgudi Garden Buffet items - Indian Near Me - Plano, Texas

Excellent vegetarian buffet. Weekdays are good but weekends are off the chain. My weekday dosa was kinda soggy and the only choice. On weekends they have a chaat bar and appam and dosa stations. Lots of good choices of food. Melt in your mouth eggplant curry. Really really good rasam and sambas. I love their sprouted mung bean salad. And their chutneys!! It's not classy to drink the chutney, but they're so good that I finished them off. Perfect coconut, coriander, and tomato chutneys. Good service. Except for that soggy dosa that one time. Their paneer was not great and they did have some weird tofu dish that didn't have much flavor. read more

An excellent spot for that brunch/ lunch for the weekend plans. They have a buffet which is off course vegetarian only and also vegan friendly. The spread has so many options and also has a separate salad bar. Since we wanted a gluten free option, the buffet wasn't a good idea only because we had limited options. So we dived into the menu and ordered some south flare. We go pongal, onion chili uttapam and spring dosa. Orders came out in no time. Everything tasted delicious and I personally loved their sambar. Also a good selection of chutney's. The staff was warm and helpful throughout our dinning. Definitely wanna come back and try their specials sometime. read more

Malgudi Garden - Spring Dosa - Indian Near Me - Plano, Texas

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Great Customer service, Quality food and a nice ambiance. We went for the first time on a Wednesday and we went back again on Friday. Fresh Dosas, Appam & Naan made to order for the buffet. Highly recommend it. read more

Malgudi Garden - Quality biriyani from the buffet - Indian Near Me - Plano, Texas

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Went yesterday for dinner buffet, food is good according to the price. Appam was ok not very fluffy , dosas were good, pongal vada idli sambar was good, desserts were nice gulab jamun and fruit custard both were delicious . read more

Been coming here almost every Thursday after my classes I teach at a local gym. They will usually have the buffet but for some reason things changed they are only serving Thali's now durning lunch time. I wanted to leave but The host convinced me to stay. I am still waiting over 30 minutes for my food. I came because of the fast in and out experience. I did not have to wait for my food. I expressed my concern with the hosts and they were very sweet and it is not their fault. They offered me a free drink which I turned down but again they Insisted I choose a drink. Lol. So I did; mango Lassi. Im still giving a 4 star because the food is amazing and the ladies were very kind about the delay in service. But not giving 5 star because I do not agree with this change as it is no longer convenient as it was for those who like to eat and go and on a tight schedule. I don't think this Thali service will last. They will lose business because of how long it takes to get the food. Unless they figure out a way to speed it up. chop chop Malgudi Oh and one last thing I really really wish that you would carry some raw sugar or some other alternative healthy sweeteners for the chai instead of refined white sugar, that stuff is absolute poison to the body, and you are a vegetarian what seems to be healthy restaurant and then you serve this very unhealthy sugar to people to put in their tea Come on you guys get with the program! read more

Here for dinner on a weekday with a friend who was visiting Dallas and Thought it would be a good experience for my buddy to try these Indian Snack stuff. Order: ---------- Mango Lassi-- Average Dosa-- Good Poori with Potato Curry -- Above Average Vada ( Indian Falafel) -- Good Pros: -------- Service is Amazing Lot of Options Good Food Free parking Patio Cons: ------ Food still can get better read more

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Rating strictly on customer service and wait time. Timing is completely off. Server would tell me it's going to take ten minutes and here I am already here for 20. "Two more minutes, they're packing it right now." Is a total lie, I worked at restaurants, you're just stalling for time. Those two minutes has been another 10 as I'm writing this. read more

I was very excited to try this vegetarian & vegan Indian restaurant. They have numerous buffet options, so I went for the weekend lunch special buffet ($17.31 including tax). Communication was super easy; I just asked to try all the vegan items at the buffet. The manager was waiting the tables and brought out the food on a large wooden board (extra points for style!). The food was very flavorful; some dishes like the tofu curry, lentil daal, and cauliflower curry were amazing while others were too spicy for my taste. The dessert was also delicious, and I got to take out leftovers and my favorites dishes. There were just too many small plastic containers, plastic bags, and styrofoam. Overall though, I walked out the restaurant bloated and satisfied! read more

Malgudi Garden - Weekend special buffet (everything vegan) $17.31 including tax - Indian Near Me - Plano, Texas

Food was excellent, okra was a little woody but probably just bought a bad batch. Well worth the approx 15 price for vegetarian lunch buffet. read more

I have since been in for their buffet, I HIGHLY recommend!! Great price and even better food!

The food was excellent and fresh. I loved the people and atmosphere. My husband does not eat vegetarian, but enjoyed everything he tried. We'll be back. Along with everyone who was waiting for a table! Isn't that a review all on its own? read more

Malgudi Garden - Indian Near Me - Plano, Texas

Malgudi Garden is always one of my go-to lunch spots when i'm in Plano/Frisco. This is an all veg indian restaurant and I usually come here to get stuffed to the gills with their lunch buffet. They do have the buffet other evenings of the week and daily food specials (see my pictures). As far as the buffet is concerned there is always a soup, pizza, a few rice options, and about 4-5 dishes. Idly and sambar area always available and note this is more of a south indian style restaurant. I usually go for the tofu dish along with a veg sabzi since I'm also keto I now avoid dals etc. When you sit down you have an option of naans (plain or garlic) along with dosas (masala, rava etc). Don't forget your salads and chutney's along the side hallway. Service is good and they clean your plates pretty quickly, when you are done just walk up to the entrance counter and pay, don't wait for a check, you won't get one. ALSO, don't forget to get your chai to go! good food and at a good price around $10 for weekday buffet. read more

Wow this place is amazing!!! If you are a vegetarian/vegan this is a must try. I love Indian food and have been looking for a new restaurant and am so happy I found this restaurant. read more

Quality of food in the buffet absolutely sucked. Only the live dosa counter was okay nothing great. Food had no spices at all and the quality of food was just below average. For a dinner buffet of 17$ I hope they can provide better quality. If they have to remove some items from the menu it's fine but I wish they would improve the quality of food. Paneer was so rubbery I couldn't eat even one cube. read more

This was my favorite restaurant for many years. It was so good, I recommended Malgudi to many, many people. I am updating my previous glowing review. Based on my last visit for a lunch buffet, I will NEVER return. Gone are all the good tofu dishes. Or any good dish. Most of the choices were some watery substances. There were a few tasteless rice dishes. And previously frozen french fries. The only flavor in any of the dishes was coconut. I personally hate coconut. Even the naan was thin, dried out and tasteless. I asked and was told the chef is the same and they don't do tofu dishes anymore. My take-away is they are cutting corners to prevent going out of business. Even the previously good service was bad. They should take my advice-get it over with and go out of business now. read more

Really good Indian buffet for vegans - most items are vegan and non-vegan items are marked as such They are pretty accommodating of vegans and will consider custom orders in addition to the buffet for no extra charge. read more

Labels were confusing at first but very good vegetarian/ vegan Indian place. All the pictures are vegan so lots of items to choose from definitely!! This is my new favorite spot for buffets. Very vegan friendly. Place is clean staff is very informative and nice enough to make vegan tikka masala. Love all the flavors here, nice place to go for lunch read more

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A work friend from India recommended Malgundi Garden, so Hubby and I tried the Saturday lunch buffet, and it did not disappoint. The food was wonderful and we did not miss the meat. The fresh dosa station was the best. We ordered naan when we sat down, it it took a while to get... after our first plate. We arrived right at noon on Saturday, and minutes later, there was a line waiting to get a table. Only critique is that there was not some type of drink (chai or lassi) offered. Reasonable price ($36 for two weekend lunch buffets) with fantastic food. read more

It's been another few years and nothing has changed. Buffet is the same all the time. Lots of options for vegetarian and vegans as it is a veggie restaurant. I would rather them have fewer options and be taster. The one thing i really enjoyed was the fresh buttered naan. read more

Malgudi Garden - Indian Near Me - Plano, Texas

We went malgudi garden for dhaba style dinner buffet on Thursday. I would not say i was very disappointed but little. They have offered many north indian cuisines but every cuisine has south indian flavours which honestly disappointed us. We were expecting to get authentic north indian food but it was nit there. But still the dishes they offered were delicious and especially kadhi pakora though fritters were little hard. One thing we liked the most was Jalebi, jalebi was out of the world. So thin, delicious and everything you ask for. They also offer dosa, rumali roti on ask. Service was okay but nit great as we need to wait 14-20 mins for butter naan. In the end it was worth for your money and especially a heaven for pure vegetarians. read more

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Went here for their buffet lunch today. Quality of food hd considerably deprecated. Also it seems like they have started adding baking soda to buffet food to mAke people get full in smaller quantities. This used to be a good spot. I can't say the same anymore. Place looks really shabby and hygiene seems to be non existent. read more