Okay, I have read a lot of the reviews. The ordering process is a nightmare, we are very clear about what is to be ordered, but every time something is left off, once an entire meal. Is it because we're white, maybe. Pretty consistent. The hostess at the cash register seems to get everyone else's order right. We go a lot, and have never gotten our order right, no matter how much we go over it. The servers are excellent. The cooks are to the moon! Excellent food! The food is excellent - vegetarian, traditional from Southern India. I mean, the food is really great. The drinks are small, so order two, or you will end up waiting again in line. Last time we went, my drinks were completely negated from the menu. After 7 is when most families with kids come in. So it's a good time to bring your family in. Everyone is so friendly and everyone has a great time there. Some background music would be great. Everything you order is really taste and mouth-watering. Look at the monitor in the back for ideas about what you will order next time. Take a photo. Seriously. So much food to explore. I have traveled a great deal in India and around the world. I used to write food reviews for Knight-Ridder a huge daily and travel magazines. The only thing ruining the experience at this place - pretty consistently - is the woman running the register. We've sat near the register on crowded nights and everyone else seems to get everything they order. If you are outside the Indian race, and have a low tolerance for this kind of behavior, move on to the next place. The food is always hot, always good and everyone else is always friendly. My daughter came with us one time and she said the item deletion was pretty blatant and she won't be going back. It makes me sad, but a lot of people will not put up with it. I mean how many times can she do this? Every time. We go over the order. And it's always something. Like I said - excellent food, so I put up with what seems to be racism, something I don't find at any other Indian restaurant locally. There's never a sorry, or anything. Just a blank look when we come up and have to order again. Bummer for us. But, at least the food is good - gets cold waiting to order again. Please help if you're management. read more

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Mediocre food and Horrible Customer Service! This was almost a ruined Mother's Day for me and my mom. Our 1st visit (about 2 yrs ago) left us with just-okay food. The thali dishes were pretty bland, the puri was drenched in oil, and only the dosa was decent. We decided to give it a 2nd chance (my mom is vegetarian and we were craving dosa), but it turned out to be our last visit. It's a grab-a-seat, order-and-pay-at-the-counter spot with no host or signage. I quickly took an open booth and asked my mom to wait while I ordered. The couple in front of us complained, and instead of handling it calmly, the cashier yelled at a waiter to give the table to them. Very disappointing. The food wasn't worth the hassle, so we left and went to our usual favorite, Sattvick, instead. I don't recommend this place unless you want cheap, mediocre food with zero customer service. read more

My friends suggested San Idli and at first I was a little apprehensive because I'm not super familiar with Southern Indian food. I did notice that they offered paneer tikka masala in addition to the dosas so I was able to fall back on something familiar while my husband and friends ventured into the other dishes. This is the type of place that I wish offered a buffet where I could try bites of things without fully committing to a dish. read more

By far the best idli I have had in US. Their idli was very soft, and made just like how they do in Indian homes. We also had dosa and poori. Everything was great. But I can't stop talking about idli. My elderly parents were also praising the idli. Must go if you are in town. Highly recommend. read more

No frills ambiance, but spacious inside and with one table outside if you prefer to eat outdoors. Huge menu with vegetarian choices, lots of idli, dosas, and other choices. They also have special options for Jains. They have different tiffin options, and a few different lunch specials. One is a thali and another is a pick-four (mini dosa, idli, etc) First time here after being in my bookmarks for a while. I stuck with the basics and got a masala dosa and mango lassi. Sambar portion was not huge or my very favorite, but it was tasty. Chutneys were a good coconut one and a nice tomato one that was a little spicy. Dosa was large and very fresh. The potatoes inside were scrumptious. And the lassi was good. I'm sure the other dishes on the menu were really solid. I was the only non-Indian customer during the lunch rush. Overall, a very good dosa even if not my very favorite in town. I love supporting totally vegetarian restaurants and look forward to trying something else next time. read more

SAN IDLI - 5. Masala Dosa. Plus a mango lassi. - Indian Near Me - San Diego, California

Delicious flavors and friendly service made my visit to San Idli a pleasant lunch experience. I haven't eaten enough Indian food in my life, so I carefully previewed the menu and made a list of my selections before heading over to the restaurant. Unfortunately, they were out of pani puri and veg puff, and a few other options weren't available until after 4 pm. Not to worry - the extra friendly guy at the register recommended some matching alternatives and I ended up with the dosa cone, paratha w/veg and chole, and the samosa chaat. This was a ton of food for one, but was so tasty that I finished most of it. My favorite was the dosa, which I'd never had in cone form before. I enjoyed how this shape kept it crisper for longer than the standard rolled version. The paratha was crispy yet soft in all the right places, though a tad greasy, and it paired well with the assertive sweet, sour and savory notes of the samosa chaat. read more

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Absolutely love this place! I am a huge fan of Dosa, loved it in India and this place is a great place to get a crispy lentil crepe. Service is great, food if freshly made, and my only complaint is that they could blast some A/C but then again would turn the crispiness of the crepe into sogginess. For sure will be back as I am a regular here. read more

This is a must every time I am in the 619. Their South Indian dishes are legit. The flavors, the smells, the variety, the experience all lends itself to an authentic meal without pomp and circumstance. When I can back here, their health grade is back to an A. Not sure what the issue was but I don't care. This place is a gem. People who rate this place less than four are crazy to me. You would have to fly to India to get something similar. My guess is they would give those restaurants even worse reviews. I don't know and I don't care. What I care about is real, simple, consistent, authentic food. San Idli has you covered. read more

SAN IDLI - Spicy Thali - Indian Near Me - San Diego, California

It's spacious inside with lots of tables. I think the ac must be broken since it was so hot. The cashier was very nice and helped me out with a lot of the food. I didn't know what most of them were! I wanted something very spicy! I got the chili paneer with manchurian hot sauce. I told him VERY spicy. I also got a mini idli sambar. I really loved the paneer! Its flavorful but had 0 spice. The sambar i couldn't eat too much of bc its mainly breading with a side of coconut cream. All bad for my sugar. The sambar was a bit mild in flavor bit I loved the veggies in it. If I was a vegetarian again, which will be my goal for next year, I can definitely see myself eating here a lot. You have to pry me off yin tang, but ill get there. I really need to be a vegetarian again. Its been too long! Otherwise this place is pretty good and the worker, might i add is super super nice! read more

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I went with family for a Sunday breakfast. We are asking ok details of some items. The lady at the counter who takes the orders so rude and unfriendly. She can't even smile back or ecxplain the order for a family. Tiffins are ok though, the lady needs to correct her demeanor. read more

Loved San Idli to the core. The ambiance was great and clean. The customer service was prompt and great! They checked on us multiple times and helped us pack the left-overs. My order was the breakfast combo. You get to pick 4 entree and it came with a dessert too. My order : Poori with potato Masala dosa Pongal Upma Idli Vada Filter coffee Kesari Loved the Idli - was warm and soft and didn't taste sour at all. Poori was perfect but not puffy. Masala dosa was great too but I loved the Vada and kesari. I loved the filter coffee. It was perfect! Kesari was super sweet. Would definitely recommend this place! read more

I'm definitely no expert, but this may very well be the most authentic Indian restaurant I've ever been to! I'm not sure if it's because the focus is on southern Indian food, or that it's vegetarian, or both, but I didn't recognize almost anything on the menu! That's a feeling that might be scary for most, but is exciting for me! I asked the person what the spiciest thing on the menu was, and ordered that. I was served something enormous and crêpe-like with handful of chutneys/sauces. It was really good, but I was hoping for something a little more hearty. Next time I will do my research. I was also literally the only person in here who was not Indian, which is always a good sign for an Indian restaurant! read more

I loved this place. It hit every note I needed from the cultural dish. The service was nice and the guy explained everything well. The restaurant itself is like all. It was clean. read more

Absolutely wonderful South Indian food. Very tasty, we tried the poori masala, porotta veg kurma, filter coffee, yogurt rice, vegetarian thali. Loved everything. They also have described all food items on screen with the preparation, so even those unfamiliar can get a sense of what to order. Gut happy South Indian food for sure. Happy to have found this place. Very good customer service also. Small update: we had food again from this place the next day. The plantain bhaji and chilli bhaji are phenomenal, even better than the ones I had in India. Also the vegetable samosa is great. Next time we come to San Diego, definitely having this bhaji again. Also to remember, in the morning they have Upma, need to try it next time ! read more

SAN IDLI - Indian Near Me - San Diego, California

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Everything was so delicious and flavorful. Must try podi Idli if you like some spice. It was delish! The breakfast combo was super filling where you can pick 4 items. Curd rice was another great dish. Rava masala dosa with onions and chilies was really good and the dosas are big. Finally ended with a filter coffee and couldn't complain. Great way to start the day! And to top it up the service was good. Staff is very polite and courteous. Love how they are roaming around to check in on tables if they need more chutney or sambhar. You need to first order before being seated on the table but it does have quite a few tables so can accommodate big groups too. read more

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Came back here after years and omg! The food is still awesome, some of the best South Indian dishes I've tasted. We had gobi Manchurian, idly vada, masala dosa, ghee dosa , thali, tamarind rice and everything was fabulous! I would come back here any day! The food was so good, we missed taking pictures :) read more

It's my family's favorite Indian Restaurant. We usually travel around 30 minutes from our place. Today experience is different. The food is great but the quantity of the masala dosa/ potato inside seems so little. It's like a spoonful only. The price doesn't justify the amount of the filling on the masala dosa. A big bread with a spoonful of fillings.. disappointing. Not worth the drive to eat here. Same as before. read more

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This is a simple, humble location that serves quality Indian vegetarian food. I specifically visit this spot for breakfast, and the Masala Dosa is my personal favorite (though you really can't go wrong with any of their dosas). If you're an Idli lover, try asking them to pour some ghee over it or get a side of ghee to dip--you can thank me later! Overall, it's a low-key place with consistently good food. read more

It used to be an excellent spot for vegetarians and their Idli, Dosa, vada pre covid. After covid their qu a little of food has been detoriating and their portion sizes have been coming down while they have been increasing the prices. read more

Filter coffee: 5/5 if you are a fan of strong coffee, definitely try their filter coffee. Combo plate: good for sharing. We tried idli casa combo, breakfast combo (mini dosa, idli, vada, upma) and it was good for sharing. Masala dosa is pretty big, definitely enough for one person. We went there on a Fri morning and it was just 4 of us. They made everything fresh. Vada came out at the end but that's because it was made fresh and was delicious read more

SAN IDLI - Masala dosa - Indian Near Me - San Diego, California

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Great spot for Indian food! I got the masala dosa and it really hit the spot. My bf got the thali and he really enjoyed it too. We both got their mango lassi and honestly I think it's the best mango lassi I've had in SD, and maybe even in all of California. It's just sooooo packed FULL of mango flavor but with a nice liquidy consistency. It's a must try!! Honestly I would come here just for that. The workers were also super nice because we brought our dog because they had outdoor seating, but it was already occupied so they brought out a table and chairs for us. read more

SAN IDLI - masala dosa - Indian Near Me - San Diego, California

So happy to find a South Indian restaurant in San Diego! The dosa is massive and perfectly crisp! All the curries are delicious and paneer js tasty! Definitely a casual, counter service atmosphere but it's always busy so you know it's a great spot! read more

San Idli delivered an unforgettable Onam Sadya that captured the heartwarming essence of a traditional home-cooked feast. From the comfort of rich Parippu with ghee to the punchy, sweet-spicy kick of Inji Puli and fragrant, coconut-rich Avial, every element on the banana leaf was executed with authentic perfection. Balanced with crisp banana chips and a lush, cardamom-infused Payasam to finish, the entire meal paired flawlessly with the warm, high-energy festive atmosphere of the space. read more

Mini thali combo was too good. consistent in taste. Worth tasting.chutneys taste incredible.

We just go to this restaurant again and again for their BEST COFFEE !!! Epic flavor and variety. We like their filter coffee and Indian food, that has variety of spices. Spices are not equal to chili and masala levels. Please reduce your masala and oily amounts in the food, as that would make non-Indians to enjoy it. read more

Pongal and Vada was good but idlis were not soft but overall neat and clean. Staff was friendly

This place is a total hidden gem with absolutely incredible food! We were starving when we arrived after a day at the zoo. Ordered a bunch of items off the menu all of which were delicious, but my favorites were: 1. Parotta with Chole. This freshly made parotta was super flaky, hot, tasted amazing paired with chole. Can also choose to have it with veg korma. 2. Onion rava chili dosa - just fantastic! 3. Mini idlis - huge hit with the kids; especially when paired with the mini mango lassi! I love that they offer these smaller portions The gentleman working was so friendly and helpful. He was very attentive as well. Clean, low key establishment definitely worth a visit. read more

Indian Food is a type of cuisine that I have yet to truly explore. I came across San Idli while looking for a spot for lunch around Miramar road. San Idli specializes in South Indian food. I'm not entirely sure what the difference is between south and north but all I know is that this place is all vegetarian/vegan. I tried their Veg Thali. Which is only available for dine-in. My order came out within 10 minutes. What I liked about it was the assortment of different items. I was going into this blind so I don't remember which one I liked the most out of the selection. Again, I'm not so used to Indian flavors so it didn't wow me but food was still great. I would honestly share this with someone next time since it was too big for me. For less than $20, it's a deal. The restaurant itself was clean, service was quick, attentive, and friendly. There is also plenty of seating and parking spaces. I came on a weekday during lunch hours and it wasn't too crowded. I would love to come back here and try their other dishes. read more

SAN IDLI - Lunch Special Veg Thali - Indian Near Me - San Diego, California

Best dosas I've ever had! Much better than other places I have tried nearby. Super fast food service, nice ambience, all Indian staff and mostly Indian customers which is a good sign. The masala dosa was perfection and the sauces and soup were delicious. This will be a regular spot for us! read more

Incredible, and every way, fresh, hot, real deal, I'm just starting to get into Indian food, my friend brought me here, it was stellar

I'm not vegetarian but this food always leaves me more than satisfied and guilt free as no animal was hurt. The thali I keep coming back for, this place is 20 min from my home yet I continue to crave their Thalia and Dosas. I come back every few weeks. Good Indian food is hard to find in San Diego. This place serves authentic South Indian food. I've been exposed to a lot of Indian food in my life .. my ex husband is North Indian and I spent 7 year in the uk with him and I have been to Indian twice , both north and south. I love thali and not many places serves authentic thali here in San Diego. I'm the type who wants to order 10 dishes and this fills that desire. Thali is small little dishes and you can ask them for a refill of the tiny dishes. It's quick and easy. Just came for their weekend special and the thali is even more dishes then weekdays! read more

The one place that never disappoints. They are always on top of their food as well as service. Super empathetic, top service and amazing food. This is the hole in the wall place that you always want to find and reward. Simple, unassuming place but they are on top of their game. Every time we visit San Diego, San idli is a must stop and features on our itinerary for sure. This time we got - poori - masala dosa - rava dosa - pongal/vada Never disappoints read more

Food is amazing! Vegetarian food and fast service! 100/10 every time. We recommend their dosa and chowmein along with samosas. Kids were also happy! read more

Long time ago we went and this time. The food and service is mediocre. We went on a Thursday ordered their dosa special , set dosa and Vada, the food was okay but tasted weird. I am very much used to using south indian food but it could be better. The sambar and chutney is definitely amazing and felt fresh. After they deliver the food they hardly care about coming back to you again. Amazingly there are lots of people working there but busy with too many customers. I ordered hot filter coffee but it was completely opposite. Ambiance looks like hardly maintained just enough to pass inspection. I always go by number of people working there and crowd puller, this is one of those. read more

Nothing fancy here, but really do appreciate the sink outside of the bathrooms which is reminiscent of restaurants in India. Service was courteous - order at the counter and find a seat. We were sampling the food so ordered a thali which came with four items and a dessert. Had idli, vada, masala dosa, and puri; came with sambar, coconut chutney, tomato chutney, and a halwa. The items were good and served hot. The coconut chutney was a tad on the runny side, the tomato chutney packed a punch. The vegetable with the puri had large chunks of onions which was off putting. The filter coffee was delicious. read more

The Miramar neighborhood has many solid choices for Indian cuisine. I can't say I know much about South Indian vegetarian fast food, but I love to try new culinary experiences. The suite for SAN IDLI was rather hidden on the north side of an industrial complex. Parking was not an issue as there were several available marked spots in the lot. The interior reminded me of a school cafeteria as it was pretty basic. I selected a Masala Dosa which came with a couple of sauces. While the fermented batter was cooking, the staff allowed me to walk over in front of the griddle to take a photo. The finished product was a very large, thin pancake containing potatoes, rice, and black lentils. The spiciness of the masalas in the dipping sauces added flavor. A cup of lentil-based vegetable stew (Sambar) came with the dosa. I also got an order of the Vada which was two pieces of fried dough (like a donut) mixed with lentils, chilies, onions, and curry leaves served with curd. The curd provided tartness as a dip for the dough. It was certainly different not having any meats with an Indian meal which I usually prefer, but I knew that coming into this place. I did notice the staff was trying hard to please the customers so kudos for their efforts. read more

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There was a long line, but we got our food very fast. All the food was really amazing. The best South Indian I have eaten in Southern California, and it's quite cheap too. The idli and the ilai parotta was everyone's favorite. The filter coffee is amazing too, just that it was warm and not hot. But overall a fantastic experience. read more

SAN IDLI - San Paneer Burhi Dosa - Indian Near Me - San Diego, California

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Tikka masala is amazing. Paratha is thick and delicious. The owner gave us a sample of some of the menu items while we waited for our to go order which was lovely! I would go back for sure! read more

Food was a mixed bag: 1. Poori chole were fine. 2. Plain dosa w/ chutney-sambar was fine too. 3. Gobi Manchurian - meh. I would not recommend. 4. Medhu vada - definite skip. 5. Mango lassi was good too. The place was pretty busy for lunch on Christmas Eve. read more

Amazing food, outstanding service. We were party of 8 and enjoyed everything we ordered. Mysore dosa, Rava dosa, Parota, cofee, mysiore pak & filter coffee. My third visit here and foods is super consistent. Will be back again. Meena madam and team ... kudos to your smiling services. Felt like home eating at San Idli read more

SAN IDLI - Indian Near Me - San Diego, California