Udipi Cafe

I ordered from here a couple of times and it was good, glad that there was Indian Cuisine delivery in my area. The last time I ordered though was a Friday at 5:30pm. I got a call back immediately to inform me that they were out of certain things I ordered so I replaced them with other items. 3 hours later I realized that the order hadn’t come so I called and they said they had just gotten the order faxed over from Grub Hub and not to use Grub Hub anymore. This was the same lady I talked to at 5:30. She said I was behind 9 other orders and asked if I still wanted it. I said yes. She said it would be at my house in 10 minutes. Another hour goes by and the lady at Nirvana has stopped answering my calls and grub hubs so I call on my wife’s phone and she says 2 minutes and it will be there. I said you told me 10 minutes over an hour ago, you call your restaurant Nirvana and this is how you treat your customers? She hung up on me and never delivered the food. After 5 hours of waiting on my delivery my wife ordered Dominos and it was here in 20 minutes. Grub Hub refunded the money and gave me 20 dollars towards my next meal. They were great but I will never order from Nirvana again.

They have recently converted to Nirvana Indian restaurant and i LOVED the new lunch buffet. Great delicious selection of food! Change can definitely be good! I really enjoyed the freshly baked naan that they brought out us without us even requesting it. So many Indian buffets to choose from in the area, but this is a good one!

Even though we were only the second party there I thought the food was decent and the service was outstanding. The proportions we got for the price were wonderful — the only bad thing I would have to say is that the lasso tasted like plain yogurt mixed with sugar — and I wish they could have put more spices and seasonings in the food — other than that great.

My husband and ate here for the first time tonight, and thoroughly enjoyed our dinner. The menu was extensive, and we are not familiar with Indian food, so we asked our server for suggestions. We ended up choosing a northern and a southern platter, and sampling off each other’s plate.
The plates came with a couple of soups, a tart pickle of some kind, yoghurt, several «main» dishes, and a dessert, with a large dish of rice in the middle. Mine had two different kinds of bread, his had one.
Everything was quite good. The restaurant is vegetarian, but we didn’t miss the meat. The food was interesting and well seasoned. Nothing was bad, but my husband particularly enjoyed his chickpea curry (not sure if that’s what it was called), and he had some kind of stewed okra which was tender and very good– and I don’t care for okra.
My soups were both very good, as was my curry, and some kind of chickpea/​spinach dish. My poppadam was crisp and tasty.
Dessert was interesting. Not sure what it was– server said it was a thin vermicelli, and it tasted a bit like a rice pudding. Very good, and certainly not something we would have known to order.
Although we went on a Groupon, which is how we found this tucked-​away restaurant, even at full menu prices of $ 13.50, the platters would have been a deal. A platter would have easily fed two. At Groupon rates, this was a steal.
Don’t be put off by the very simple and basic appearance of the restaurant. It was like have a gourmet meal in a Costco setting. Service was immediate, friendly, and helpful.
I enjoyed my meal, and look forward to taking my daughter and her vegetarian friends out to lunch there sometime, so I can give them the smug «Look what I found!» treatment.

Fantastic variety of Vegetarian food. As a fan of Udipi cuisine, I have been to many establishments throughout the country, and have to say that this particular restaurant stands out. Fantastic balance of flavors in the food. Sometimes I feel like certain establishments over spice their food (not talking about heat, just spice), this is not the case here. Each item I had seemed better than the last. I was impressed with their Pani Puri, which was light and well made. .. just enough cilantro with the chickpea to make it fresh tasting and uniquely bright in flavor. Often times I find Pani Puri to be heavy in its filling’s composition. The meal was not greasy at all. Their Malai Kofta was also quite a gastronomical star. The actual dumplings were well made but not heavy at all. They were very fruit forward with a hint of potato at the finish. The actual curry of the Malai Kofta was of medium consistency and was well balanced with coconut flavors coming through nicely.
I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who is a fan of Vegetarian Indian fare. I look forward to trying more of their dishes. If the first round with them was this good, I can’t wait until the second.

I have been here more than 4 times. The service is very bad. People here are not courteous. Food quality is also poor. Most of the times I had to leave the plate unfinished because of taste. No value for money.

It WAS NOT greasy and was fresh and tasty. Vegetarian. Lunchtime buffet — fun.

My fiancé and I come here at least once a month and each time it is nothing short of amazing. Each plate is full of flavor and is authentically made. Their dinner specials are a great way to try their wide variety of curries and sauces. The portions are a great value and we always leave with very full stomachs and leftovers. The owners are appreciative of your business and the staff is equally friendly and helpful. See you next month Udipi!

Go here at least once a month.
food is great, one of my favorite spots.
Very clean place
Never greasy food.
Actually one the healthy places to eat and the chef brought out the spices they crush on site showing us how fresh the food really is. I have never been able to make it to the buffet and I would love to be able to try more of their food. I do tend to order the same stuff :) from the pancakes to the jumbo crepes and the paneers. YUmmy!
Cumberland location is awesome and the servers are very sweet! I hope they stick around.

Amazing food and service… Chat was awesome too… My daughter loved cheese masala dosa… Udipi royal dinner wad true value for money… We visited twice in span of our 4 day stay in atlanta…

I’ve been to this place a no. of times now. It’s obvious that I like the food here. Not very oily food in contrast to good generally served in restaurants. Either you have Ala Cart or Buffet, each entrée will be taste good.
I’m not a big fan of the ambience or the music played here. I just focus on my plate anyways.

Udipi in general is a great vegetarian Indian restaurant! You’d think this location would be as good as the original in Decatur, right? No. My husband and I saw the low reviews and figured they must be wrong, so we went to try it the other night.
Service was hit or miss, but decent. Menu was the same as Decatur. I had a potato bonda, he had lentil donuts. both good. But for entrees we both got Masala Dosai. I got Coconut and he had the Summer Vegetable Special Dosai.
Both were ok, but greasy! They were greasy to eat and left grease on the plate.
Overall, a decent Udipi experience. Food is still good, just not top notch like the original location

Worst Lunch buffet ever. Food was cold, not replaced. I asked for some fresh parathas to be brought in because the 4 – 5 on the buffet was cold and hard. Noone brought out anything. Restaurant was HOT and the air conditioning was turned way up. Never going back there…

I have no idea where those 1s and 2s were eating, but my food was AMAZING! I went in because I had a Scoutmob, but it turns out that you can’t eat in after 9:30. I was starving, so I ate there anyway. I didn’t get anything unusual — samosas and daal tadka. Goodness gracious, great balls of fire! Everything was fresh and delicious. I couldn’t finish, so I saved my leftovers for lunch. I can’t wait to go back and get something else — maybe I can actually use my Scoutmob next time!
I can’t speak for lunch, and everyone I encountered was perfectly friendly.
If you think you’d like a vegetarian Indian restaurant, you’ll LOVE this.

I went here for dinner last night and I must say, I was less than impressed. For one, it didn’t look like a restaurant. When you walk in, it feels like you are in a huge big hall, set up for some party expected to begin in 2 hours. It is so spread out and empty. No interesting wall art, lame décor, bright lights, pathetic music playing at a ridiculously low volume. This is definitely not a place where you would want to bring a date. The place was quiet in terms of creating an atmosphere, but there were so many noisy families around, yapping about loudly, talking to each other like they owned the place and kids yelling and wailing and not being attended to by their parents. I was like a pattern, 4 out of the 7 occupied tables had the same situation. It made up for the quiet… Just that it’s not the kind of sound I would want to hear at a restaurant.
When we walked in, we had no idea what to do. There was no one around to seat us. While I was walking towards to counter, someone came and told us to take a seat. We sat down and then got a jug of water and the menu at our table after 5 minutes. The problem was, there was just one person serving the entire place. I don’t know why they can’t just employ a few more servers.
The food was just okay. I’ve had much better South Indian food at places which are not even supposed to be run by South Indians. I had the masala dosa (dosai) and the potatoes were terribly bland. They lacked flavor, salt, and color! The sambar was okay, but I expected better. Even I can make better sambar and I’m not even South Indian or ever lived in South India. For a place that calls themselves «Udipi,» this is a shame! I doubt I’ll ever come back.
I just gave them two stars for being considerate. I broke a glass and they didn’t charge me for it. Of course, I gave an extra handsome tip to compensate for their loss, but that’s not a good enough reason for me to eat here again!

I had to give 1 star coz I couldn’t give 0.
Pathetic would be an understatement for what is served these days. I first visited them in aug 11 and the food had some taste and things were edible.
In my last few visits idli is more like a thickened batter which is somehow solid. Its nt fluffy its not porous. I feel they serve rice rava idli and fool us.
The vegies have so much oil floating you would not want that much oil inside your guts.
Most of the times the trays wud be empty coz there are only two waiters who manage the entire show (from waiting at tables till bringing the check.
Paying a penny for the food they serve is waste. I pity the Americans who have this piece of shit in the name of Indian food.

This is an oasis of tasty food for the practicing vegetarian. Some dishes I’ve had are better at other Indian eateries that I frequent. But for the convenience and taste, they have great aloo paratha and samosas. I love their butter masala dosa too. Typically, I order take-​out.

Udipi Café is so good and filling, you’d never think you were eating at a vegetarian restaurant. That’s exactly how I felt as I left this place, completely stuffed. My stomach was feeling it the next morning, but I think it’s because I ate too much and too many different types of food.
There are three Udipi Café locations in metro Atlanta. This one in Smyrna is located in the same shopping center as hhgregg and the Army, Navy, and Marine Corp. career centers. Udipi specializes in South Indian vegetarian cuisine. The restaurant is named after a coastal city in Southern India.
The interior of Udipi is bright, spacious, and clean. They offer a lunch buffet, which I plan to check out with my coworkers some day. On this visit, I came with Groupon discount in hand. Udipi has a large menu offering chaat («Mumbai Chaat Corner» — foods you’d find from Indian snack carts/​stalls), uttapam (thick pancakes), dosai (fermented crepes), curries, and more.
My friend and I feasted on the following two dinner specials ($ 13.50 each):
Udipi Royal Dinner (options below selected by chef):
Rasam Soup — South Indian hot, sweet, and sour soup
Udipi Iddly — steamed rice and lentil patties
Medhu Vada — fried lentil donuts
Special Rava Masala Dosai — cream of wheat and rice crepes grilled with onions and chilis, filled with potatoes and onion
Coffee
Royal South Indian Thali:
White Rice
Poori — puffy wheat bread
Sambar — vegetable stew made with tamarind and pigeon peas
Dhal — lentil stew
Korma — yogurt, cream, nut, and coconut milk dish
Avial — soup with vegetables, coconut oil, and curry leaves
Poriyal — fried vegetables
Rasam — South Indian soup made from lentils, tomatoes, and tamarind
Curd — plain yogurt
Pickle — a.k.a. achar (Indian pickle), cooked in oils and spices
Papad — a.k.a. papadum, like a cracker
Payasam — a.k.a. kheer, a sweet dish made with rice, milk, sugar, saffron, cardamom, and nuts
Milk Tea
In general, I enjoyed everything except for the Indian pickle (achar). Blech, no thanks. I love all kinds of pickled foods, but Udipi’s achar didn’t sit well with me. One bite was all it took for me and that says a lot as I’ll eat almost anything. Maybe it’s an acquired taste.
I let the chef choose what would comprise the Udipi Royal Dinner. He chose popular and house specialty items for me. The Rasam Soup was spicy, but refreshing. The Udipi Iddly tasted like fermented bread. The Medhu Vada was thick and dense with a somewhat crunchy exterior. These two apps were accompanied with a green sauce and a small stew/​soup as accompaniments.
The Special Rava Masala Dosai was huge. The crêpe skin was crispy and delicious. Sometimes, it reminded me of eating hash browns. This dish can easily be split between two people. Watch out for the chilis — they can be quite spicy. What a filling dish.
The Thali was wonderful. Both the Poori and Papad (breads) were excellent. The Poori was soft and moist, while the Papad (papadum) had a texture I’ve never experienced before. It was smooth, thin, and extra crisp. It was so delicate, it just about melted in my mouth as soon as I put a piece on my tongue.
My favorite of the Thali selections was the Payasam. It’s so sweet and milky. A dish that’s probably quite fattening, but tastes very good. The various stews and vegetables were fragrant and aromatic. The combination of seasonings and spices was very appetizing and went great with the Indian white rice. Udipi’s rice is slightly more thick and dense than I’m accustomed to as far as Indian rice goes, but it’s still good.
The coffee and tea already come with milk/​cream. You can add sugar to your liking.
Udipi had plenty of attentive and accommodating staff on hand, so service was great. I would come back for dinner and I look forward to trying their lunch buffet.

Oh terrible, terrible, terrible.
Probably the worst place I’ve ever eaten. The service was extremely slow. We ordered a south Indian thali and coconut dosa. Thali came after 30 minutes and not only it was not fresh but they did not even bother heat it up.
My boyfriend ordered dosa and it came 30 minutes after thali. Yes, we waited one full hour for the dosa. When he delivered the dosa, he also delivered another dish to another table, then he came back and took one of the small cups from our plate and said it was wrong and put it on someone else plate. I just couldn’t believe that.
The plates and glasses were not fully cleaned. I couldn’t touch my water. The servers did not even bother apologizing for the wait or bad service.

I hesitated in writing this review. One reason is because I’m not a vegetarian. In fact, I am a meat lover. I’ve been here a few times, and I never found it decent.
I try to keep an open mind, but for me, I need some sort of animal product in my food whether it be eggs or piece of flesh. I usually find pure vegetarian or vegan cuisines lacking something.
Udipi must be a good restaurant though. My vegetarian and vegan colleagues go nuts about this place. I know one person who would come here every day if she could. Although I don’t think it would be healthy to come here every day considering it has a lot of stuff fried, drenched, and covered in some sort of vegetable oil.
During lunch, this place is your standard Indian buffet. There are a lot of spicy and creamy stuff here. There are some dishes that trick my meat-​loving eyes. I swear, I get something that looks like fried chicken or beef broth and hope it would taste like its meat counterparts. Well, they don’t, and it’s quite a shock to my taste buds.
The service here is good. The price is fair. And if you’re vegetarian, this should be a great place for you. But for a carnivore like me, it’s just okay.