Jalsa

First of all, Goma, the owner, is a freaking sweetheart. I came in here ~6 weeks after the International Supper Club CMYE and she immediately recognized me and said, «welcome back!» with the world’s sweetest smile. We then chatted while my food was being prepared. Your adorableness will kill me, Goma, if an overdose on the momos doesn’t first.
I ordered the chicken chaat, a half order of chicken momos (6pcs), and a mango lassi. The mango lassi was fresh and sweet, yet thick and creamy. My boyfriend LOVES mango lassi, and I thought for a second about saving him some, but quickly forgot that and his name as I hogged the whole delicious thing. The momos were insanely enjoyable, just as they were the first time I had them. They are bursting with flavor, literally, so don’t wear a white shirt. This was the first time I’ve ever had chicken chaat, and I’ll be damned if it’s the last. It is an orgy of flavors that I highly recommend you get in on. It consisted of what I’d describe as tandoori chicken, chickpeas, a perfectly robust/​spicy curry, with chutney, yogurt, herbs, and crispy noodles. It’s a small step up from «Minnesota Spicy», where it offers enough heat without inducing pain.
1 star is withheld due to a lack of organization of the menu and front area. I originally wanted to order chicken choila, but they did not have any, or know when they would, even though it was listed on the menu. And by «menu» I mean one of the MANY papers taped onto the wall.
But hey! Keep an eye out on this place and try to get here asap, because they are currently having issues keeping their lease, and Goma said it is possible they might lose this location in a month. Other prospective locations are slim to none. Of course this is all TBD, but I pity the fool who might miss out on Goma’s momos.

Food is tasteless. I ordered chhola bhatura, samosa chaat, paneer wrap. All things were tasteless. Bhatura was not bhatura at all, it was like a thick undercooked roti. Chhola was tasteless. Samosa chat was neither tangy nor sweet or sour. Panner wrap was badly made, with very less paneer filling. It was a total waste of money.
There was usage of lot of color in food — in chhola and paneer.
I had to give one star to leave a feedback here. I am surprised by the highly appreciative comments left here.

«My blood — it’s boiling with flavor.»
Those are the words I whispered after I devoured an entire Styrofoam box worth of chicken momos at Jalsa today. And even though I would later find myself laying on my couch, snuggling with my dog, and watching SportsCenter in agony, they were by far the best I’ve had in the Twin Cities. It was worth it, yo. WORTH. IT.
For those unfamiliar with the Nepali snack, they’re wrapped like Chinese xiaolongbao; however, their innards comprise of meats — ranging from yak, lamb, pork, chicken, beef etc… — mixed with various spices. Jalsa’s momos also come with this crazy orange-​y amber sauce that packs a mind-​blowing spicy punch. (Not the burn your tongue spice-​y, but the my-​blood-​feels-​like-​it-​turned-​into-​lava spicy.) I contemplated tearing my shirt off and running out the door, but I was in a meeting. So, yeah…
To cool down, I poured an entire mango lassi, and it was incredibly refreshing and cold. It settled my stomach a bit.
Regarding the prices, here’s the breakdown:
–Chicken Momos ($ 9.99)
–Mango Lassi ($ 3.25)
–Mango Juice ($ 1.49)
–Soda ($ 1.00)
Overall, everything was pretty affordable! Other tidbits you should know:
+Nepalese have taken over the restaurant, and they’re rolling out more authentic Nepalese dishes.
+There’s plenty of parking.
+It’s next to Dong yang.
+The bathroom is connected to an Indian grocery store. A bit dirty.

Food is excellent. I would give food 5 stars but marked it down because of oftentimes slow service. Plus their soda fountain has been broken for months, which doesn’t bother me except for the fact that’s where you get water. So it’s a bit run down. But it’s the best indian street food in the cities, large portions and half the price what you’d pay at a ‘fancy’ indian restaurant.

The food is generally tasteless. If you’ve had decent Indian food and you remember the taste, be ready for a harsh let down. The dishes seem to be put together haphazard manner. Under cooked chana in chana masala, pav bhaji does not have mashed bhaji, chicken chaat was pathetic.

Nice place for Indian Fast food. It;s next to grocery store. U can go get some grocery and have some nice food.

This place lags something for customers to get on high, but staff was friendly and gives what you need to try upon your mood and chat was good but lags sweet in it and vegetable biryani that I have ordered was spicy and delicious

Its hit or miss with this one.
I have gotten stale samosas.
chole chat for samosa chaat
and then pretty good paapdi chaat and vege Manchurian.
for the ambiance and quality the prices are high.
If they want to keep the basic décor– which i am fine with, they need to reduce the prices.
The quality does need a lot of work! getting stale food every other time is just not acceptable.
the two stars are for the decent vege munchurian and decent paapdi chat i have had there.
the older guy at the front desk is very likeable and polite, but one time i picked up samosa chat and upon reaching home found no potatoes in it– they had taken a easy way out and just added the chole on a bhatura. So i called them to complain. his reply to this was «what i gave u, is a more expensive dish– so just enjoy!»
Well, i did not order the dish based on prices!!! i ordered it based on the food i would like to eat!
So I would say more a 1.5 star in my opinion.

Green chutney and sweet chutney were spoiled will not eat there again disgusting
Will not eat there again

I was THRILLED to discover this place! I was looking for an Indian grocer and Pooja was very well-​rated so I went there but I had no idea Jalsa was next door. I have been searching and searching for an Indian fast food place that resembled one back home in Texas and this is it! They have biryani, chaat, and even platter dishes, as well as desserts, all for amazing prices. The staff were not chatty, but they were friendly enough. I ordered a paneer kati wrap (came with two wraps for only $ 6, a complete steal) and it was delicious! I will be returning often.

Good service and very tasty food, served quick and cheap!
Definitely recommended!
I had: Pav Bhaji and Vada Pav

I’ve been loyal to Jalsa and Pooja’s for a while now, but each time I come to Jalsa, I feel annoyed that the prices are so high for this type of Indian street food. I have been to similar chaat stands in Berkeley, CA/​New York City/​Oklahoma City that are much better in terms of food and service, yet still charge less than Jalsa!
I recently went with some friends and one friend got sick and another had their order mixed up and inadvertently got a meat version of a dish (she’s vegetarian!) — I think Jalsa needs to up their game and lower their prices, because I want to be loyal but the price/​quality is not there!

I went here with my husband with great expectations, especially after reading the positive Unilocal reviews.
We had samosa chat, chana bhatura, aloo paratha, gulab jamun. The chana in the samosa chat and what came with the bhatura were exactly the same — overly spiced and still flavorless. The bhatura was unlike anything I have ever tasted. The aloo paratha was passable. Gulab jamun was unimpressive — probably made from a mix and microwaved. I had asked for green chillies on the side and I got two, pan fried. When I bit into them, both had turned black. I went back and told the lady at the counter about this; she was surprised and gave me two fresh ones, also pan fried. They too had gone bad.
Overall we were very dissatisfied with the taste of the food and it was also priced somewhat high for this kind of Indian fast food.
I’m not going back to give Jalsa a second chance; I got very sick that night.

More rice please!
A friend of mine saw a $ 15 Groupon for this place, which isn’t far from her house, so she bought it and convinced me to come along. We had no idea where the place was, but found it. It’s a strange kind of market/​deli/​takeout setup, but it was fine.
We shared butter chicken, chicken chili, garlic naan (they were out of roti) and 2 DCs. The butter chicken was a meal, so it came with a gigantic piece of naan and a small scoop of rice — think divided Styrofoam plate, small compartment.
We got the food rather quickly and started eating. Now, I know I don’t even need to eat rice to start with, but I love basmati and I need rice with my Indian food. This just wasn’t enough rice for the 2 of us.
The food was very tasty, pretty clean, had cool videos and music playing, so it seemed very authentic, but… I thought even after the $ 15 Groupon, it was kind of expensive, almost $ 8. I know the because I gave the cashier $ 8 and was waiting for the change I was going to throw in the tip bucket and she never gave it to me.
I liked the food, but I think for $ 23 we can have Ponch serve us at India Palace. I’m glad we tried it, but would not go back.

Delicious pani puris and chole bhature

This place is snacktastic! They specialize in Indian snacks & street food. I stopped in today for a little snack & chai. I ordered the samosa chat & received a whole plate of sweet, spicy, tangy goodness. It really is more of a meal than a snack & at 3.99 is a great bargain. They also had a buffet but it didn’t look terribly apealing. Better to go up the road to Amu’s if you want to fill up buffet style. Stick to the snacks here & you won’t be disappointed.

Went there yesterday. Had a craving for some Chaat and decided to stop by while in the area. We had the Samosa Chat, Chat Papri and then the new dish Idly and Sambar. Based on my review all executed nicely and delicious. Portion size is perfect too. Only compliant was that the Sambar was a bit too watery.
I am surprised to see a place like this in Minnesota, but it is a welcome addition to the Indian/​Pakistani restaurants.

One of the best Indian restaurants in the city and it’s also vegetarian. The food is really amazing and it’s a lot cheaper than most. They have a buffet during lunch which rocks. I just love this place, they play Bollywood music videos all day on the TVs. It’s also connected to an indian grocery store.
*Note: I walked into this place and thought I had walked into the Facebook game ‘Café World’. It looks just like one of those cafes

This place is a great substitute for Bombay 2 Delhi (Central and 19^th) that closed back in 2008.
The samosas are fantastic. Best of all they are only $ 1. I mostly order the samosa chaat, pani puri, and bhel puri. My friend and I have a filling meal sharing two dishes (samosa chaat and bhel puri) and 2 samosas.
Very reasonably priced and the service is great!

Jalsa is the restaurant inside/​next to Pooja Groceries that seemed to forever be in gestation whenever I went there.
I noticed that it had opened when I showed up there to pick up a few items and everything had been spiffied up & they were offering free samples of what they would have on their menu.
I went back today & my wife and I ended up having a light dinner (for me anyway) there tonight. We ordered the Khaman Dhokla, Samosa Chaat, Paani Puri & a Sweet Lassi. Other than the Lassi, everything was spot on. I would definitely order them again.
I hope they stick around, put out stuff that’s consistently & bump up the service level to get them that extra star.