Shri Balaji Bhavan

My favorite Indian spot in Houston. Been coming here for over 15 years and still love the food. The food is cheap and full of flavor. My favorites are the dhai puri, bhel and dosa. But you can’t go wrong here! It’s a simple place and worth a stop.

I loved the masala dosa, curd rice and filter coffee. In general, good south indian food.

You’ll find this authentic vegetarian joint between a sari shop and an appliance store in one of the eerily nondescript strip malls in Little India. The inside is simple but clean, with large mirrors lining the wall and shiny tile floors. Everything here is do-​it-​yourself: order at the counter, grab your own silverware, and retrieve the food when your number is called. The man behind the cash register was very helpful; even though I’m of Indian descent, my family is from the Eastern part of the sub-​continent, so I appreciated his tips.
Three words come to mind when I recall my meal: cheap, oily, and spicy. Most of it was very, very good. We kicked our lunch off with some classic street food: samosas, pakoras, mirchi bhajia, and pani puri. The samosas were decent, but literally dripped oil if you picked them up. The pani puri (small spherical crisps that you fill with chunks of potato and chickpeas, then dip into spicy tamarind-​water) was a little bland, though the sauces were fantastic. The mirchi bhajia, or deep fried green chilies, were my second favorite appetizer, with a heat that was noticeable but not overbearing. The real standouts, however, were the pakoras, i.e., spicy vegetable fritters (think capsaicin-​loaded onion rings). With a complex flavor that lingers for long after the snack is en route to your stomach, they were among the best I’ve ever tasted.
I was a little full at this point, but powered through. I opted for the Madras Thali as my main course. The round steel platter holds 5 – 6 little bowls with various curries and sauces ranging from sweet to spicy to bitter. It comes with rice and chapati (circular flatbread) that you can use up to soak up all that gravy. I give the dish a solid ⁷⁄₁₀. I’m not a fan of khir (rice pudding) in general because it’s too sweet for me, but the saag paneer (spinach and cheese curd), sambar (watery lentil stew) and especially the spicy cauliflower were all exceptional.
Your meal isn’t complete without dousing your burning tongue with some mango kulfi, which is a traditional dessert midway between ice cream and shaved ice with strong hints of cardamom. All around, SBB is a great place to get your South Indian fix on the cheap. Check it out!

Excellent place to get Indian food that’s a bit different than your typical north Indian or Pakistani curry (like Himalaya for example). I can’t speak to its authenticity, but I’ve had the
Madras Thali and the Mysore Masala Dosa recently, and both have been great and worth the incredibly reasonable price. The Thali was fantastic and I can see myself coming back regularly to experience different dishes in it. My dosa was good, and I was surprised (in a very good way) at how spicy the sambar they served with it was.
Overall, the service is great, the price is super low, and the food is good. And on top of that, it’s a place to keep in your pocket for when your vegetarian friend wants to eat some place.

Great food, good prices! Many options to choose from, very friendly people to take your piece.

Their thali is so consistent and so good. The prices are very reasonable. Best sambhar in town. Must try.
When they make their ladoos, don’t miss them. They taste like how my mother makes them. Very delicious. Perfect sweetness.

Lugar excelente, no coração de houston. Logo ao entrar voce irá notar que é um lugar simples, porem autentico. o menu está em indiano mas voce pode pedir por um em ingles. Pedimos 2 entradas e 2 pratos principais, já que o valor é bem ok. A comida foi mais do que suficiente, e o tempero era sensacional. Molhos picantes e muito bem temperados, mas como os pratos tinham os nomes em indiano não soubemos exatamente o que estavamos comendo no momento que pedimos.
Se voce procura por algo autentico indiano, adora comidas codimentadas e está por perto, certamente é um local que irá lhe agradar.
Assim que voltar a houston voltarei para experimentar outras delicias desse lugar.

Good stuff… may be a line but it moves fast and food is worth it. I’m craving their chaat just writing this.

Let me start by saying I am nowhere near a vegetarian.
But this place is tasty, cheap, authentic and makes me not care if there was no meat.
The dosa here is very very good, huge portions for the price. Great place for a quick lunch and some food for later, all on the cheap.

Absolutely amazing chaat and dosa. There was a line but was totally worth the wait. We ordered the pani puri and bhel puri as well as the combination special (dosa, sambhar, idli, vada). It was all very flavorful with a hint of spice. Hmm. I want to go back.

tl: dr They run out of Chole Bhatura rather fast, chaat’s are fabulous and cheap.
I ordered the Dahi Papdi Chaat and the Mirchi Chaat. Mirchi Chaat is a must-​have and super super unique to this restaurant. They freshly fry the Mirchi Bajji’s and so your dish is a combination of crunchy and onions/​sauce/​chaat-​like features. The Dahi Papdi Chaat was just as good as you’d find any place else in the Hillcroft Area.
Would definitely recommend for a quick, authentic, Indian bite.

I always enjoy coming here, only problem is I can barely remember what I had ordered the previous time. I definitely recommend doing your homework before showing up, and not just blindly ordering. Unilocal has some great pictures of much of their menu items. Most times I’ve been the food has been great. They may not cater to all vegetarians though. Below are some of the dishes I’ve tried
Idli
Mysore masala dosa
Masala Dosa
Cheese Uttapum –good
Dahi Puri — definitely unusual, but not bad
Combination Plate — good variety
Bangalore Dosa — good and a bit spicy
Vanilla shake — just ok

Shri Balaji Bhavan has been loved by brown Houstonians since their inception for the awesome Chaat and South Indian food. I love their Chhole (Spiced Garbanzo Bean Curry), and the Mirchi Chaat here, that too once in a blue moon since I cannot handle a completely vegetarian meal!
Im not someone you’d find in a Vegetarian restaurant on the regular, but Im always here for the Masala Chai and the Badam (Almond) Milk!

The restaurant has some good food. I really liked their Madras Thali. Excellent all around. Make sure you have some rice to go with it. Having traveled around India and gone to a variety of Indian restaurants, I can be a bit overly critical. I felt their Masala Dosas, my favorite meal, was a bit too wet and greasy. Overall, the spices were quite nice.
You might be a little confused when you don’t see forks/​spoons available. They go quickly. I tend to eat with my hands, but they do have plastic silverware slightly hidden. Just ask for it if you don’t see it.
Date worthy? NO! This is a friend /​co-​worker /​family environment. The atmosphere can get really intense because a lot of families come here, and with that, comes the crying children. So, if you’re looking for something a little fancy, go elsewhere. Here, you’ll find good food with a very casual welcome.
Parking isn’t too bad, even on a Saturday night because people are coming and going constantly.
Service is friendly but as to when your food comes out, that can be a little unpredictable. Some of the items were out almost as soon as I sat. A few others took longer.

My friend from Austin, who is a vegetarian (stereotype, I know), was in town over the weekend. She wanted saag paneer, but she wanted to go to a place where the dish wasn’t «too runny.»
After doing a Unilocal search for «Vegetarian Indian food,» we landed on Shri Balaji Bhavan. Now, we’ve driven past this establishment numerous times and never gave it a second glance. We’re usually in the neighborhood for grocery type items or getting something altered.
So, we walk in and realize it’s a «dossah» place. This is basically an Indian crêpe filled with yummy things, but rarely is it sweet (unlike French crepes). So, my friend opted for the saag paneer dossah, which was to her satisfaction. She felt that it was «just the right amount of spice.» Whereas, I opted for a masala dossah, the original, and found it to be spicy. My husband opted for an alloo batura, which I loved! I wish I had ordered it… alas, he wasn’t willing to share.
We all had super greasy but super tasty meals here! And, a word to the wise, if it’s spicy, drink mango lassi or tea — — water will make it worse!
Before we left, I found myself wondering if there were some stereotyping with our food/​spices happening… mine was awfully spicy, my husband’s was mild (he said he would have preferred more spice), and my friend’s was «just right.»
GASP! Is there an Indian Goldilocks!!!

I came here again after work for a late lunch, this time I ordered the madras thali and badam milk. The thali was okay, I wasn’t feeling the food, it came with several steel tins and some rice and thin bread that looked like a tortilla.
Badam milk was delicious, a bit difficult to drink because of the crushed almond pieces, but I enjoyed it regardless.
The service was much better than the first time I came in, and the lady over the counter was very sweet and kind.

Balaji Bhavan review — please vote if you find the review helpful.
Read great reviews of this place. However we were disappointed. Ordered a dosa and paneer kathi roll. Both were on specials. We had to send back the bhaji dosa as is wasn’t crisp at all (despite the request). The paneer was frozen and chewy. Had to send that back as well. Perhaps they were having a bad day. The dosas were presented well with banana leaf and steel plates. Chutney was good, sambar was below average.
The good things was customer service. The cashier was friendly, took the order carefully and gave us time to decide. They also took back the dishes, no questions asked or frowns. In exchange we got a simple masala dosa and sev puri. They were average. They seemed to have good chhole bhature. This place is Gujarati in so I’d stick with those dishes here and avoid the dosas.

I’m in love with the DO-​SA! And I feed my addiction at Shri Balaji Bhavan! Definitely one of the best places to get authentic South Indian food in Houston, and it’s all vegetarian!
It’s a casual, counter-​service restaurant, but right off the bat you notice how clean it is– everything in its place, spotless counters, water pitchers filled, silverware station stocked, every table and chair placed perfectly. The menu consists largely of chaat snacks, dosas (savory crepes served with potatoes and chutney), khati rolls, yogurt sides, and a variety of Indian drinks (hot almond milk, juices, mango shakes, etc.) I recommend ordering several things and sharing, because the menu is large and the portions are big. The prices range from $ 3 and up, so you can definitely get a great meal for two under $ 30!
On this visit I ordered:
–Saag paneer dosa, AMAZING! I highly recommend trying this especially if you like creamed spinach.
–Dhai Puri, DELICIOUS bursts of flavor in each one, and each crispy puri is more than a mouthful!
–Paneer Pakora, awesome fried cottage cheese with a sweet dipping sauce
–Paneer Khati Roll, this was one of the best khati rolls I have had! It comes 2 per order, and they are like Indian burritos loaded with flavor!
–Hot Almond milk, this is a perfect dessert drink. It’s hot milk, with almonds and cardamom.
My dishes were topped with fresh tomatoes and fragrant cilantro, only enhancing the taste! The food can be spicy so keep that in mind, you can specify your preference when you order. All in all a great casual dining experience! I was so impressed by the variety of vegetarian dishes this place offered and HOW FULL OF FLAVOR everything was! Will definitely be back soon.

Um Yes! I love me some Inidan cuisine and this place was pretty good. Not only was it good, but it was amazingly economically priced. You could easily go to a fancy resturant and pay three or four times a much for the same meal.
Its a simple resturnat with no frills or fancy things to raise the cost of a good meal. The most important thing that I saw when I looked in the kitchen…3 indian women cooking. Indians cooking indian food? Who’da thunk it.
If you have never been here, just a note, go to the counter and grab a menu. This is were you order. I was waiting at the entrance waiting to be seated like a big snob until I realized the guy at the counter was just starting at me just as hard as I was staring at him.
We ordered the Samosas, Madras Thali, Dahi Puri, Chai Tea, Mango Lassi, and Ras Mali.
Why so much you ask? Because the portions were just perfect to try it all and I was I left without feeling overfull or tons of stuff to take home. First were our samosas. Delicous. Not too big, not too much pastry, and a tasty filling. Not the absolute best I have ever had, but I’ve a ton of samosas in my life and this one was pretty darn good. Definitely get it if you can. (so good we got two to go) The Dahl Puri came out second and looked amazing. The taste blew me away. A great combination of yogurt, onions and spices in a nice crunchy pastry. The Madras Thali came out next and included thalis the names of which I do not know but they were ALL delicious even the bread that came with it. We finished with the ras mali which was to my mom was one of the best she had tasted. It wasn’t too sweet which usually ruins the desert. Both the drinks were delicious as well.
You have to get your own silverware, seat yourself, order at a counter, get your own food if they call your number and refill your own water. Don’t come here if you want a restaurant experience and catered to. Do come here if you want amazing food at a ridiculously low cost!
i will definitely be making a return here to try some of the many dosas on the menu.

We came here after church one Sunday for lunch with our youth group! I’ve been here before with the parentals/​family but it was a long while back. So I’ll just give my most recent experience!
It was busy, but there was still room to sit comfortably. When I got there my friends gave me the menu and were sitting waiting to order when everyone arrived. So when you get there you can do the same thing or just go up to the front and grab a menu and order immediately. They will give you a number that you hold onto and you can grab cups and a pitcher of water if you aren’t getting anything else to drink. Then you go to your seat and wait for your number to be called and return the number when you go up to the front to grab your plate. Some of the people in our party didn’t know the protocols so they were waiting for someone to come get their order and didn’t know that the number gets called. However then runners are sweet and being you your food if you don’t hear them call your order!
I ordered the Bangalore Masala Dosa because it was one of the specials of the day! That might be why I got my food last or it might just be because I took forever to order LOL BUT IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT! The dosa itself was buttery and crispy and the masala and potatoes inside were flavored to perfection! The Bangalore Masala Dosa came with a spicy chutney and a sweet tomato sauce and the normal raasum which were all fantastic and perfect pairings! I thought I wouldn’t be able to finish it but I did and it was awesome! Didn’t think I’d be so happy with a vegetarian restaurant!
Our whole table was very satisfied with their food and the stuff I tried of theirs was awesome so I’ll be coming back to get those next time!

My favourite Indian restaurant. They don’t tone down the spice level. and the food is consistently good if greasy. There are some dishes that I don’t approve like the manchurian rice but you can’t go wrong with any of the dosa and the sambhar is consistently good.
Highlights that I usually get:
Pav Bhaji
Cheese masala dosa
Samosa chaat
Madras Thali — although this can be hit or miss depending on what they give you.
The place is mostly counter self service and they have jugs of water. Trust me you’ll need the water.