Dana Mandi

Couldn’t be more amazed by this place whether you order from grub hub or go into the small but quant restaurant/​grocery store this has to be the best authentic Indian food in Philadelphia hands down!

This is a greasy spoon place with the best kabab! Stars for food, not atmosphere. Just look for the parking lot filled with taxi cabs and you will know you are in THE place. The ground meat kabab came on a bed of light and fluffy white, yellow and orange rice, a large nan and 2 sides. I had the gobi (cauliflower) and the channa (chick peas). It was all so delicious! The texture of the chickpeas was fantastic, the cauliflower was a little greasy but so flavorful.
It is counter service, and you point to the sides of your choosing which they scoop into the partitioned plate. The hand you a squirt bottle of rome riata sauce. Not sure what is was but it was good. It was too much food for me to eat in one sitting.
The free parking lot is a bonus!

Dana Mandi makes life so convenient. Near by one stop food and grocery. Simply love it. I hope with increasing popularity they keep the food quality good and prices reasonable. It’s a family owned restaurant and grocery store. Good Indian home made food.

Genuinely good Indian Punjabi Dhaba style food which is rare to find in US where all the Indian food restaurants are generally striving to become top notch with modern menus full of unauthentic food aiming to cater the American tastes or mindlessly make dishes high on spices and grease. If you found this place by accident then I would request you not judge this place as a restaurant as it is not. Don’t judge them for their ambiance, service, cleanliness, availability of kids menu and all things you expect at a restaurant because my friends that is what this place is not. Dana Mandi serves dhaba food (search what a Dhaba is if you still have not) and it kicks ass at it. I love that that they also make Tawa rotis and paranthas (bread baked on flat pan not in clay ovens) and not just naans. Kadhi, dal, paneer and saag are genuinely good and these all are veggie items :) non veg dishes are equally good. Visit them during lunch hours, ask them for a sweet or sour lassi with the food, eat up to the brim, go back home and enjoy a satisfying nap that your satisfied mind and tummy won’t be able to avoid.

I’ve never been to the location but heard that it is a grocery store up front and the food is in the back. As for the food, it’s yummy. Love the nann and chicken tikka masala, which has a nice kick to it. Not too spicey that it will make your eyes and nose run though. Looking forward to getting more take out from them.

Great find! Fabulous food in a casual atmosphere. It is hidden in the back of a small Indian grocery store. Just a short walk from U. Penn and so worth it. I was impressed by the Chicken Curry (watch out it has bones) and the Chicken Kabob too. The wife loved the Chicken Tikka Masala. The Naan bread was a perfect accompaniment, but I suggest one order for every two items. Don’t forget to get some interesting Indian cookies, chips, and snacks on your way out. The teller at the front of the grocery store will have your check waiting for you.
Bön Apatit

This place is so unique. It’s hidden in the back of a grocery store behind makeshift curtains. There is no server. You pick up a menu and a small sheet of paper and pencil and write down what you want. Then handling it in, in the small counter. The food comes out pretty fast and HOT. Everything smells so good! After eating you pay at the register just like if you were checking out your groceries.

Haven’t tried the restaurant in the back yet, but the store in the front is a great place to shop for inexpensive spices and lentils. Just wish they marketed the prices.

I didn’t even try them food yet but they are rude and they don’t even care about customer, I went there was only one table and the who cooked food he is doing everything thing giving grocery to ppl and no wash hand cooking I don’t care what food taste but I do care about my health

So delicious! Eggplant curry was smooth as silk. Great breads too! The paneer parathna has a kick but was delivious. Great deal too!

First: Dana Mandi isn’t your classy, romantic, ‘let’s have a wonderful date’ type of restaurant. It’s a grocery store with a few tables in the back. There are no waiters really; you write your order on a piece of paper and hand it straight to the cooks. There’s usually some (awful) Bollywood movie playing on a TV screen, and that’s about all for ambience.
But the food! Oh, the selection may not be great, but whatever they have is brilliant! I’ve tried vegetarian options like their two dals (chana, makhni), the paneer sabzis, and also the aloo gobi, and they are all very good. But I was most impressed with their tandoori chicken: mouth-​watering, amazing stuff! Quite authentic! And also quite inexpensive.
Sometimes, their food can have excessive oil though. I usually request them to make their food with less oil, and it’s all good.
So don’t dine in. Instead, grab some Indian groceries from Dana Mandi, take out food from the little restaurant at the back (with a request for low oil), go home and enjoy it (and spare yourself the horror of watching ludicrous Bollywood nonsense while eating great food!).

Let’s be honest. All the stars here are going to the great, authentic food.
Eating in the back of the grocery store? Not romantic.
Employees who are maintaining the place, not just «serving,» sufficient.
But real, bone-​y goat curry? Spice, deep, delicious.
Garlic naan? Criticized by some, but way good, IMO.
Chicken tiki masala? Really, some of the best I’ve had in town.
Punjabi kadhi (chickpeas), never had it in another Indian place, but well worth it here. The main thing I’d recommend ordering, in fact.
Lovely food. Everything else is OK.

Good, solid Punjabi food served by typical aunties and uncles. Limited menu.

Missing north indian home food… then this is the place to go. Limited selection, but very good taste and the best prices you can find in Philadelphia.

The food is generally good, though I felt the quality varied a bit each time I’ve been here. However, this place has hands down the best naan in Philly — definitely better than the naan in the other Pakistani places nearby. It also has a great selection of paratha that are also very tasty (potato, cauliflower, or paneer, etc…).
The service may not be existent, but it is, after all, an eatery in the back of a grocery store — where the aisles end and the magic begins. You basically go to the back of the store, write down your order and slip it through the kitchen window, establish yourself at one of the school cafeteria-​style tables, and then «ta da!» your food arrives, usually within reasonable time. It’s very much a bare-​bone dining experience beneath fluorescent lighting, embellished by flashy Bollywood dance tunes coming from the corner TV. There is also a sink on the wall nearby, which is very convenient if you just feel like washing your hands during your meal.
The food options are solid, prices are reasonable, and I’ve never had a bad experience here. The downside for them is that I tend to buy a lot less groceries, once full.

Delicious food cooked almost exactly as it would be in a Punjabi house. If you’re looking for restaurant quality food, ie heavy cream and excessive oiliness this is not the place for you.

The nondescript eatery in the back of the store belies its thoroughly solid Indian dishes. If you’re looking for a classy dinner experience, sitting behind aisles of curry powder and imported Indian snacks is probably going to rub you the wrong way. However, if what you crave is tasty and fulfilling food served on Styrofoam trays then you’ve been successful in your selection of dinner joint. The full serving size (16 oz) is likely enough for 1.5 meals for an average eater and conveniently already comes in a plastic cylindrical container. I was really impressed with the size of their naan and how spicy their pepper-​onion chutney was. The sweet and thick mango lassi was also a winner. Overall this is where I would take people who are comfortable with or grew up eating authentic Indian food.

Great Food! Very rude staff. Poor to no customer service.

Delish. I love hole-​in-​the-​wall places and this is exactly what this is. Picnic tables indoors and an auntie in the kitchen. The food is fresh, delicious and hearty. Oh, and cheap!

My friends, family, and I come here so often, they immediately prepare our usual orders as soon as we step through the door. A heaping pile of freshly baked tandoori naan, full plates of savory chicken tikka masala, and steaming bowls of spicy rajmah and chana masala. There is no doubt that Dana Mandi is my favorite eatery in Philadelphia.

Dana Mandi is a great spot to know about in University City. First the store itself is loaded with food stuffs from the Indian sub-​continent. But what a lot of people don’t realize is that behind the curtain at the rear of the store is a restaurant … a very inexpensive Indian restaurant at that. The atmosphere is basic, there are communal tables, write down your food and bread order and it will be delivered to the kitchen, when your dishes comes out help yourself to water and spices and enjoy eating. Afterwards throw your disposable utensils away, pay at the front counter of the store, and you are happily on your way from a unique eating experience in Philadelphia.
Almost all the standard Indian food items are on the menu … and though the food is not gourmet … it is tasty enough home-​cooking with close adherence to traditional recipes. For example — India’s most popular dish in the western world — Tikka Masala — is just fine here!