Adyar Ananda Bhavan

The food was good, but the service was terrible. It was a Saturday afternoon and they ran out of coffee within an hour of opening shop. It was pretty crowded and the food was tasty and authentic. The front of the house needs some serious help there are 2 people covering approx 20 tables. This makes for a very bad dining experience.

This is a really good place and great food. It has a pleasant ambiance. I’ve had the Bombay Thali and Rava Masala Dosa, and they’ve been delicious. This is definitely one of the better South Indian places in NYC

Authentic South Indian food experience. Onion Rava dosa was crispy, light and yummy. The chutneys and the sambar were really good! I definitely recommend this place for an authentic dosa, idli and Vada eating experience. If you want a sampler of a bunch of items, get the Deluxe thali (number 67). It’s very filling and delicious and good value for money. Great service (timely and courteous)!

The grill thali with dosa and utthapam was disappointing — Unilocal let us down. South Indian cuisine is one of my favorite cuisines in the world, yet at the same time I had the opportunity to taste some of the best. Flushing Hindu temple canteen is one such example — the difference is day and night.

This place is a rip off. Small portions, they charge for things that were not sent with the order and then they argue with you.

The best Indian food I have ever had! Their Deluxe Thali leaves you very full without feeling too heavy – a welcome change to the rich and creamy buffets at many other Indian places. Very friendly service as well!

There are some restaurants where the food is so exceptional that you don’t really care about the level of service. Adyar Ananda Bhavan is not one of those, so unfortunately the poor service had a big impact.
I came here for lunch with a friend after hearing rave reviews about the dosa. They have three lunch specials at $ 11.95 each — the Masala Express is the only one with dosa, so that’s the one we ordered. Dosa was really oily but overall food was okay.
Restaurant was completely empty but once our orders were taken, we were pretty much left to fend for ourselves. My advice is to drink your water sparingly, because once you finish it there will be no refills. Or maybe just bring your own bottled water — there will be staff standing in the back of the dining area, but they won’t do anything other than give you a dirty look when you ask for the check.

This is my GO TO south indian place in ny. Absolutely no comparison to any other place. I am comparing it to south indian food on lexington indian curry hill area restaurants and jackson heights as well. Take queens and bronx as well. This place is as authentic as it gets. This is as close as it gets to eating south indian food in Madras itself. Ambience is ok. Peaceful overall. I have tried every dosa on their menu, their thali, the uttapam, masala papadam and madras traditional coffee. Every single item, every single time– perfect. Their Gunpowder masala dosa and onion chilli rava masala dosa are earth shattering. I wish they delivered to upper west side :(. But no worries– i order ahead after wrk, take the 6 train and it’s all worth it once they serve the amazingness! I think I am craving their dosa now !!!

Ordered take out. They called me cause my order was ready earlier. The paneer and potato dosa was delicious. This is my new indian restaurant that I will come to again and again. I was very impressed with food and service!

Came here with a lot if expectations based in a friend’s recommendation but had one of the worst experiences ever. Dosa was overdone & breaking apart… May be they should call it Dosa Crumble. The lassi was awful, how can one screw that up! Very poor service. Disappointed.

Updating to three star as I still like going for dinner there
Their food is still awesome when ordered at the restaurant though haven’t ordered meals for delivery since a very long time

Neat place. Situated in an unexpected spot. Great food. The chutney I’ve always craved for — this is the only place that had the right flavors. Try the cocktail fried idli — its kick-​ass!

With a very inconspicuous façade, this little place is a gem! The service was polite, although they tend to confuse which orders go to what table. That’s OK! Because the food and prices are worth it.
I believe it’s very authentic southern Indian food. The restaurant had many tables of Indian people, which is always a good sign! Although I was tempted to order the huge dosa just for the novelty, we ended up ordering the Thali platters, which comes with coffee/​tea, dessert, and an assortment of sauces to go with the bread and rice.
I thought overall, the sauces were good. They’re pretty light on flavor, which I appreciated for health reasons, but it was very good. For $ 16, there’s enough food for 1.5 meals I think. It’s well-​presented. There’s actually a little bread/​donut appetizer thing that comes out before the big plates. They forgot to get me the coffee/​tea, but I was so full by the end that I decided against bringing it up.

We have been coming here fairly regularly, even though we’ve moved more up on the upper east side. The food refuses to disappoint. I would love it if they could increase their delivery zones.

It is one of the best South Indian Vegetarian restaurants in NYC. Dosa and Idli are authentic. The ambience and service is in line with a restaurant in Jackson Heights. Location is also awkward.
But, food is awesome. One star deducted for being enough around edges.

We had the south indian thali. May God bless these people! The food was amazing. Authentic is a word that does not describe how great the food was. It took a while for the food to come (about 30mins) however the wait was absolutely worth it. Both my friend and I did not leave a morsel of food on the plate. Great great south indian.

The food here gives saravana bhavan a run for its money– and it’s easier to get to for those of us living in queens, less crowded, and doesn’t have fluorescent lighting!
I came here with a couple others. We tried a number of items. The chaat was pretty tasty. The thaali was not memorable, but it’s not really my thing anyway. Dosa, however, I am definitely into, and the dosa at AAB was excellent. I had the plain paper dosa– it was gigantic and crispy, and thankfully less greasy than at SB. The sambar and chutneys were tasty, though the sambar could’ve had a bit more bite. The dosa was almost too crispy, as some parts were too crumbly to fold and dip.
The service here was okay, about average for a desi restaurant.
We really enjoyed our food here, and I’d come back, but I’m not sure I’m letting go of SB just yet.

Food: Amazing! All vegetarian. Best Korma curry I’ve ever had. Best Dosas (large crepes) in NYC (I’ve been to all the ones that usually make the best-​of lists and these dipping sauces blow them away). The mulligatawny soup is good but I’m used to thicker.
Service: Non-​existent (practically)! Good luck trying to ask them questions, get a recommendation or to flag someone for your bill. They do a good job of refilling water however.
Notable:
–Traditional Southern Indian food. No naan. Instead, you’ll see hard to find Idlli.
–This place is normally filled with South Asians – always the best barometer!

We get delivery from this place all the time. Pretty solid Indian food! Usually we get the South Indian thali — but make sure to say if you want the DOSA thali or the normal South Indian thali!
The dosa one comes with a large uttapam (my fav!), dosa, masala, sambhar, and chutneys. The South Indian one is a mix of different South Indian sabzis with rice — still good, but just not what we were expecting. The sambhar sadly isn’t that good, so don’t expect a real fresh South Indian one. Their rasam vada is good though — the rasam is nice and hot!
Solid Indian food delivery.

So good every time, and I’ve been here a handful of times.
Thalis are your best bet for 2 people to share a filling meal. They now serve lunch thalis for $ 11.95. Dinner thalis are $ 17.95. MUMBAI ROYAL THALI is my fave.
Here are the dishes I recommend:
_​IDLI ($ 5.95)
steamed lentil and rice mixed cake with chutney and sambar
_​MULLIGATAWNY SOUP ($ 4.95)
a traditional soup of split peas flavored with curry leaves in a vegetable broth
_​PALAK PANEER ($ 11.95)
savory creamed spinach with fresh cheese
_​CHANA MASALA ($ 11.95)
chickpeas, onions and cilantro
_​BHINDI MASALA ($ 11.95)
spicy okra sautéed with tomato and onion
_​RAITA ($ 2.45)
cold yogurt with cucumber, onion and mint
EVERYTHING TASTES DELICIOUS! You have to try it, and return often as I do!