Dakshin

Seems like I just ate here not too long ago and it’s given way to Dosa Republic. The non Veg Thali is a decent amount of food for the large eater. Falvors are good and they have interesting items. The ambience however is somewhat sad and the service isn’t all that. Unfortunately, this was one of the few places of it’s kind in the area so there’s a void in thali style places here now.

This is no longer Dakshin. It’s now a restaurant called Dosa — totally different menu. It was a surprise to us since the exterior sign still reads Dakshin. The food was pretty good, but the menu boards were difficult to read and quite complex. Luckily I had some friends with me that could provide some guidance :) It’s a very loud restaurant, very open with high ceilings, so if you want an intimate experience you should go elsewhere.

One word — yuck!

The food is not good and not worth the visit.
I ordered Mysore masala Dosa and my friend ordered Chettinad Goat Biryani. Both were below par and many restaurants use the Chettinad name without knowing how to cook.

For Saturday lunch buffet they didn’t have idly (baked rice cake)!! Service sucked big time. used plates were not removed and the staff hardly paid attention. 3 stars just for the food. and I agree with fellow Unilocaler that it is highly priced for lunch buffet and the items offered.

The best south indian restaurant in San Mateo area! However, compared to some other excellent south indian restaurants such as Madras Café (in Mountain View), I rate Dakshin a four star.
We have been regular customers since we moved to this area 5 years back. Earlier, it was all-​vegetarian place and we used to love their wide selection of vegetarian entrees in the buffet. Now, the buffet has limited vegetarian selection. For dinner, I like their set dosas and paratha/​kurma.
Overall, a good place for south indian food.

Indian lunch buffet that is really authentic but selection is really limited and food seems like it is out for awhile. I thought the food still tasted decent nonetheless and they have really hearty samosas. They used to be pure vegetarian but now feature meat, though still not much.

Earlier this place used to be called as annapoorna. I guess it is just ok to dine there just because there are not many options to eat indian food in san mateo.
Now this place has improved a lot. Food is much better than before. Earlier i used to wonder why do i come and eat here every week even though i dont like it here. But i would have to say now that they have improved very much and food is good and much better than before.

Used to come here when it was Annapoorna, and the food was good, and only vegetarian, but the décor/​ambiance level was low.
Recently, came to find it under a new name with better décor and the menu expanded to include non-​vegetarian dishes.
Lunch buffet is excellent — $ and taste. Dosa or uttapam will be provided fresh, and there are two buffet counters — one with vegetarian and the other non-​vegetarian. There is not a HUGE selection, but what is available is quite good. The dal was excellent as well as the chicken curry — which is different than the typical tikka masala available in most conventional Indian restaurants.
Definitely some of the best South Indian food around the Bay Area!

Dakshin is currently our most favorite *South Indian* cuisine restaurant.
A few months ago, we met the owner and his chef at a friend’s birthday party where they were catering. We loved the food, especially the fresh roti and the spicy lentil soup. We got a card from the owner and a few weeks later, we went to their restaurant for lunch. (And he remembered us!)
What we like about their food is that, while being rich in flavor and frangrance, it’s not greasy. That’s South Indian cuisine, I suppose. Everything tastes fresh and generally healthy. We never walk out feeling heavy from eating too much.
As for their lunch buffet, they have a vegetarian section and a non-​vegetarian section. I love their lentil and veggie soups and fish and chicken curries. Some are spicy, but others are mild enough for our toddler to sample.
Savory food, reasonable prices, polite and friendly service, comfortable setting. What more can you ask for?
SUM: Great for both vegetarians and meat lovers who want it healthy

Been to Annapoorna a few times; this time tried their expanded non-​veg menu & loved it. (Renamed Dakshin after the menu change)
Must go back or replicate their pepper chicken chettinad!
Reshmi Kabab — awesome. Chicken was so tender… they marinate a day before! Not spicy, but flavorful. The nephews loved it too
Mysore Masala Dosa — great. can’t go wrong. liked that it was not oily
Pepper Chicken chettinad — yummy. going back for this one
Enne Katrekai Curry — eggplant curry. Strictly alright. Nothing special. Not getting it again
We got some roti’s to eat with the chicken & eggplant curry. Fresh & Soft.
Also got our own wine & no corkage fee!

How could you not have half of your vegetarian options at 6:30 on a Thursday night? Boo! I wanted a vegetarian korma, but the waitress said they didn’t have any korma dishes, so I had to settle for the channa masala (garbanzo beans). Along with that, we had the hot chili and onion uthappam and the mysore masala dosai.
Hot chili and onion uthappam was like a pancake with onions and jalapenos. It was served with a yogurt dip and another soup-​like dish with potatoes and other spices. The yogurt was a nice compliment to the spicy yummy pancake!
Mysore masala dosai was a thin crêpe smeared with spicy chutney and stuffed with a potatoes and it was served with the same side dishes as the uthappam. This was darn good as well! It was my first time having that type of dish. It was a bit oily though. I’m assuming that’s they way they are typically prepared?
Channa masala: Delicious! It came in a big bowl that was enough for two people, but they only gave one bowl of rice (however they didn’t mind giving another one when we asked) It didn’t taste heavy at all, and it was perfectly spiced. Matter-​of-​fact, every dish was perfectly spiced and full of flavor. Nothing really burned your mouth, and if it was getting a little too spicy then I would just use the yogurt served on the side to cool my mouth down. I even made the comment to the bf that I was happy to not have to put red pepper flakes/​hot sauce on any of the dishes.
The service and lack of dishes being offered was what brought down this review. Service was S-​L-​O-​W and inattentive. Restaurant was no where near full, but the waitress just nonchalantly walked around as if she had nothing to do. We had to call her over for everything — more water, checking up on a dish (she never put in our order of the mysore masala dosai), more rice, the check.
Maybe I should come for the lunch buffet? They’ll probably have more veggie options. From other reviews, sounds like the service isn’t any better though.

I wasn’t going to write a review because the owner/​waiter was so nice. then I thought I only chose this place because the reviews were so good… So, I will say this. There is no ambiance but at the price point that might be excused. However, with food it’s all about taste, which I found lacking here. I love Indian specifically for all the great spices, which were missing. I understand there was an ownership change so perhaps that has something to do with it.

Service is lousy, especially for lunch. There were only 3 tables full. We got our water soon enough, but then saw that the waiter was just taking the order from the first table, with 2 to go.

I live in SF, but I drive down here for great South Indian food. The lush and vibrant flavors make me feel good and I never feel overstuffed… and I am not hungry an hour later either!
Rebranded from Annapoorna. New name, new look, new menu additions (fish, chicken, mutton) but the same friendly owners and great food. The food here just puts a smile on my face. The buffet is great for lunchtime, but dinner gets a little more attention to service and presentation.
Come with a few friends to experiment around the menu. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

2.5 stars, rounding down to 2 because I don’t feel the need to go back, so how could I rate that an A-​OK?
Location: On El Camino in San Mateo south of 92, which makes the parking situation a pain, and crossing El Camino on foot (if you parked on the West side of the road, where there is more parking) can be like a live game of Frogger.
Look and feel: Square tables, padded chairs, mirrors on the walls. It has a clean look to the point of being Spartan. You’re not paying for ambiance.
Service: Some good, some bad. I love that they keep bringing more individual-​sized rice bowls as you empty them. The rice is always hot and available. I was also never wanting for water. The bad part is that they somehow managed to not deliver two items that we’d ordered at our table for four.
Menu: Lots of options, both Northern and Southern Indian. They do not have a buffet for weekday lunch, which was disappointing.
The food: My overall impression of the food is that the flavors were pretty good, but the textures on the curries were all wrong. It was as if we’d ordered curry soups instead of stews.
Saag Paneer — I’ve had this at dozens of restaurants, and never before have I seen it served as a bright green liquid with chunks of paneer. Seriously, the saag was a color I can’t imagine came just from spinach, and it was completely liquified. It was fruitless to try to eat this with naan. The flavor was pretty good, but the texture was just weird.
Eggplant curry (not Bainghan Bharta) — Rather than the usual style of chopped eggplant cooked in a stew, this is made of tiny eggplants cooked whole. Good flavor, including a nice level of spice, but the sauce was very watery.
Masala Dosai — No idea, they didn’t bring it to us. :(
Butter Chicken — Overall good. The sauce in this dish wasn’t significantly more watery than I have found it everywhere.
Mutton Pepper Fry — Good flavor, lots of bones. This was probably my favorite of the dishes we had.
Nan/​Roti — Fresh, hot, tasty nan. We didn’t receive the roti we ordered.
Value: Most of the dishes were $ 12 each. That’s rather expensive for an a la carte lunch dish. There was no discount for ordering vegetarian items, either.
Will I go back? Unlikely. I wouldn’t veto it if someone else wanted to go, but the hassle of the parking, the overpriced dishes, and the texture of the curries all add up to a place that doesn’t really deserve another visit.

Food is generally good although the weekend buffet of nearly 20 items, including chicken curry and decent lamb biryani, for $ 10 is a total steal for San Mateo.
Didn’t think the a-​la-​carte was priced right for the ambiance and service you expect for the price.
For a place that tries hard to be a restaurant it is disappointing that it comes across as a good looking curry house where you go for food and not much else (as in service and ambiance).
4 stars for weekend buffet
3 stars for a-​la-​carte mostly due to about average service.

Awesome food. Loved th authencity of the taste. For me its better than any other south Indian place in the bay area. Can be improved on ambience a little bit.

I believe that this place was formerly Annapoorna– I have to say that I’m quite disappointed with the change. Now the menu includes non-​veg food and I truly feel that the quality and service has gone down because they have way too many items on the menu. It was early on a friday night, and did not appear to be too busy, but the staff still kept forgetting items we ordered, and the dosas were not properly cooked and served cold.
I probably will not return here because one of the things I liked about this place is that it was pure veg, and since they’ve started trying to appeal to the non-​vegetarians. Maybe its better for their business, but I’m really sad that this change had to take place! There are already so few 100% vegetarian/​vegan places in the peninsula. My motto is it’s better to offer fewer things and make them excellent rather than try to offer everything.

Previously Annapoorna but now rebranded into Dakshin, this joint serves up mostly South Indian vegetarian fare but with the random chicken and fish product as well.
I ate their for the lunch buffet and for the buffet price you get unlimited made-​to-​order dosa and there’s lots of other stuff in the buffet. The sambar and dal was solid and I enjoy all you can eat idly whenever I can.
I prefer saravana bhavan in sunnyvale but that’s like 40 minutes from my house vs the 10 minutes Dakshin takes so i’ll probably go there pretty often.