Great place if you like South Indian food! We went there specifically to eat dosa, and Sankalp did not disappoint. They have expanded the traditionally vegetarian dosa, and included a variety of chicken, lamb, and beef stuffings. I was intrigued, so I ordered a chicken Chettinad dosa. It came stuffed with minced chicken in a spicy masala, and they had cut the dosa into thick strips so that it would be easier to eat. I also ordered a sweet lassi which was very nice. My husband ordered a regular dosa with potatoes and it was great. The next time i'm there though, I'll probably have a paper dosa, since I love my dosa to be crisp and all the dosas with the stuffings were soft. The rest of the family (we were visiting in the Chicago Area) had dosas and a Malabar fish curry. I had bites of both and they were both very good too. If you're in the Schaumburg area and want some good South Indian food, go to Sankalp.
Review Source:I have been here a couple times. The restaurant was pretty quiet both times I was there, and I was seated right away.
I am the worst at ordering Indian food, so I asked our waitress (same waitress on both my visits) for some recommendations. She was very attentive, asked me questions about my preferences, and offered some suggestions. I still have no idea what I ordered either time, but I can say that I tried a lot of different food and was never disappointed.
Also, try the iced coffee. It has ice cream in it, and it is delicious.
I highly recommend this place and will definitely come back again.
Looking for a new Indian place to try a friend of mine came up with the suggestion of Sankalp. Cools let try it.
Upon entering we stood at the host stand and stood and stood and stood. Even though people poked their heads out and saw us, no one said boo. Finally a gentleman came over, seemed confused as to what we wanted- ummm a table for 2?!?! So we were sat and told it was a special night for the dosas. I wasn't necessarily there for a dosa so he offered up the full menu. I'm not all that familiar with Indian food terms and the descriptions on the menu left me with no answers as to what was involved in the dishes. BUT the man who seated us, once asked- was chock-full of knowledge. Great.
So we ordered some things on his recommendations. We got those spicy potatoes that everyone mentions and they are GD delicious. He was super cool and gave us 2 different "tortilla" type bread things to try with our meal.
So yeah all in all it was a good meal. A little out of the way for me to return to but if you're in that area looking for Indian you should give it a try.
We actually started going out to a different restaurant tonight. Â It was a different Indian Restaurant and banquet hall in Schaumburg we had a Groupon for. Â But, when we arrived, we found that someone had rented out the whole restaurant. Â Too bad. Â We found somewhere else to go.
When you first drive up to Sankalp in Schaumburg it is not particularly impressive. Â They have a relatively small space in a strip mall. Â The entrance is small, but when you get inside it is very clean and very minimalist in decor.
We were immediately seated (around 6:30PM on a Saturday night). Â There were several families at large tables, but unlike in said in some other reviews, they kids were quiet and well behaved.
Our family is kind of new to Indian Food still, so there is a lot we don't know. Â The waitress was very friendly and very helpful. She pointed out a number of things on the menu. Â We ordered what turned out to be a great appetizer called Telangana Aloo, fried potatoes in a spicy blend that absolutely rocked. Â
For dinner, I had Chettinad Express Dosa. I didn't think anything could have been better than the Telangana Aloo but I was wrong. Â Dosa, thin Indian pancakes, filled with shredded chicken and vegetables and spiced like nothing I'd tasted before. Â A flavor explosion in my mouth!
The only thing better than the food was the service. Our server was attentive to our need, accommodating, and patient with our ignorance of the food. Â She really helped guide us to the right meals.
Oh, when she delivered the check we learned they offered 5% off for paying cash. That was a nice surprise.
A great experience - we may have found a new favorite in our area.
Okay so generally there is a train of thought that if you go to a Chinese Restaurant  and there are several Chinese patrons, same with Thai restaurants, Thai patrons, Filipino to Filipino, ... you get my drift ... that this restaurant cooks their nationality's food well (sometimes better than what they can do at home) and it's authentic and tasty and it's a good, to me, it means the food is tasty and I hit the jackpot .  Well I think the same goes for Indian food, my husband and I were the only non-Indiana patrons at the time and  I was happy to see this since this was our first (definitely not last) time dining here.
Yes it's a zoo here with screaming kids, even a baby falling out of their highchair (was unharmed, thank goodness, I shrieked in fear!), but since I have a child of my own, I tune it out and it doesn't bother me. Â If I were eating at a floofy restaurant in downtown Chicago and my bill was $300 bucks, yes I would mind then, but this restaurant is anything but floofy and the food is excellent and the service is very attentive.
Upon arriving and reading a reviews for some help with ordering, I got the spicy potatoes as our appetizer. Â WOW, thanks Candice G. for recommending these. Â They are awesome!! Â I would come here for lunch and just munch on these alone. Â
You also get a vegetable soup that they bring out after you order. Â This soup is very very good. Â I could just ask for a big bowl of this soup and rice and be happy!
For me entree, I ordered the paneer dosa ( love spicy). Â I wasn't sure what to expect really, but what came out was so delicious. Â My dosa looked like a crisp thick quesadilla (in shape and the way it was filled) that was spicy and filled with either chopped tofu or chopped egg, the menu didn't really explain what the filling was, and from what I googled it says cottage cheese, but with all the spices and the way it looked, I couldn't tell but no matter, it was yummy. Â Probably helped that they use ghee to fry it :P
My hubby ordered the Chicken Chettinadu. Â It was very tasty and went well with the side of basmati rice that it comes with (or a choice of other sides that you can pick). Â With the amount of sauce that comes with the dish, I recommend rice though to soak it all up. Â This dish is a great first dish to get if you aren't feeling to adventurous to try something else, but you want to order something good and a bit spicy.
Can't wait to eat here again,and I would definitely recommend my friends to come as well.
I'm going to say good things about the restaurant but first: restaurants may not be babysitters, but Sankalp (like a lot of Indian restaurants) encourages families with babies/ kids/ screaming toddlers who run away from their parents while the onlookers watch helplessly or ignore them altogether. I personally DESPISE it, but I'm willing to put up with it because the food is STELLAR and the servers very, very attentive. I'd say be aware of the kind of place it is before coming in. Â If you want a quiet Indian dining experience, this is not the place. (And while things have been pretty chaotic, no, we aren't just a bunch of monkeys hanging from the ceiling, thank you very much. That doesn't excuse the kids running around, though. I concede that). Â
Two, this is what I like to call a *somewhat* North Indian/Bambayya take on the South Indian food. I'm Tamil, and I'm also from Bombay, so I just ADORE the sambar, the dosas (with all the exquisite fillings) and the idlis (even though we make them differently at home). The rasam, the chettinad fried idli and the idli appetizers are all definitely undilutedly South Indian, and that's the charm. I get the best of both worlds! Â The kaikari biriyani is AMAZING. I just can't get enough of it.
(PS: To the reviewer who wanted sesame sticks or whatever, each Indian restaurant serves different kinds of appetizers. And very few places offer South Indian food more or less  exclusively, so this is just not the norm. Mint chutney, etc are all staples in places which serve a lot Punjabi dishes--India House, Gaylord, etc).
With regards to service, it has been consistently good. Occasionally, we get a server who is harassed because she/he has a large table to handle, but it's been okay so far. They tend to get full very soon, so I know to expect longer wait times.
Oh, and try the rasa vada. You won't regret it.
This place is very unique.. Â Would get an outstanding award for providing the best Dosa and Idli eating experience in Ilinois.. Â
Rava dosa had raw onions spewn around... that was a bit wierd...
Overall, with the sides that they provide for idli/dosa and better than expected service , this restaurant will make me go back for more
Sankalp has great food but needs to get their service in check.
The first time we came here the service was excellent and the food was even better. Â Our server was asking us simple questions about our meal and gave us great recommendations. Â However, the second time that we came here the service was so bad that I questioned why we came in the first place - the service would have made for such a bad dining experience if the food was not so good. Â
Enough on the service as we have all had bad experiences one time or another, lets talk about the good stuff.
Dosa, dosa, dosa! Â The dosas here are fantastic with rich flavor and a perfect dipping sauce/soup really makes them first class. Â Both times that I went to Sankalp the dosa that we ordered was my favorite part of the meal - it just has something special about it. Â As for the other entrees, I have tried one of their curries and had no complaints however it is no better to me then the curry you might find at an Indian lunch buffet and can be over looked if you are looking for something a little more unique in your dining experience. Â Sankalp has an array for Indian breads which were very tasty - though no substitute for naan - they were a great stand-alone side dish. Â
As for appetizers the spicy potatoes were perfect - a mouth water combination of roasted potatoes with a spicy Indian flare. Â I would recommend them to anyone that likes their food on the spicy side! Â The soup is also a good choice for an appetizer - it is not too heavy and has all the flavor you could ask for. Â I think with a bowl of soup and a loaf of naan you would be set for a meal if you ate light. Â Last but not least, mango lassi, what Indian dining experience would be complete without the lassi? Â Sankalp serves up a great lassi with a bit of spice on the side, I am not sure what it was except green and tasty.
I also like the small attention to detail that Sankalp provides - a heavy metal or a metal cup with substantial weight was the first thing that I noticed. Â With the logo etched in it was a fine vessel for water and is by far the best cup I have ever drank out of at a restaurant. Â This has little to do with what the average person might be looking for in a restaurant but at the same time shows that Sankalp is willing to go the extra mile to bring quality to their customers.
If you generally don't care about service and just love tasty food then make your way over, however if the wait staff can bring down an dinner be careful as it is hit or miss.
I think 'Sankalp' might be Indian for 'playground'. Children running amok. Grabbing ish off our table. High-pitched screams coming from every square inch of the place. Walking in was like that scene in Jumanji when the kitchen door swings open and you see dozens of monkeys hanging from the ceiling and monkeying around with the family's ish. The food is great, though.
First and foremost, I need to b*tch. I don't know why some people think that restaurants are the same as babysitters. It's fine to take your kids out to eat *I guess*, but don't even try to act like those little people you came in carrying aren't with you now that you've sat down... 'cause that's not how it works. Until they're 18, they're yours... keep your GD eyes on 'em. //rant
On my first visit to Sankalp, I had a perfect 5 star time... this last visit, was probably closer to a three, but I wanted to recognize and relay that the kids started it all. The place was packed at 9:15 on a Friday night, just as it was on my first visit several months ago. Every table full, we got the last spot and also the pleasure of having servers who were mega-pissed off about the massive party, taking up half the restaurant with their kids running absolutely e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e.
Our food took a looong time, but I think that's just part of dinner dining at Sankalp. The mango lassi is a steal, defo get that. The spicy potato appetizer is very spicy, and totally something I don't feel complete dining here without ordering. The rasam soup is moderately spiced and probably one of my most favorite foods ever. If they sold it by the bucket, that's how I'd buy it. The curries are insane, as are the dosas (a must, though ours came out very cold this last time) and uttapam. Everything has been pretty out of this world, but the first time we came it was all just so much better.
At that time, the restaurant was newer and there was guy waiting on us that I think may have been an owner, or related to the owner. He was knowledgeable, friendly, made sure we loved everything and brought us all our food. One of my beefs this time was that our server, obviously very annoyed and distracted by the ignorant family party with 5 million screaming kids, wasn't very helpful or even cordial, and I don't feel like she provided the experience that I felt Sankalp was indicative of after my first dining experience here.
On my first visit, and every visit to any Indian restaurant I've ever been to, I've gotten those flat cracker things with the sesame seed looking things on them and those different minty and salty sauces. Who doesn't love that ish?! Plus, we were so hungry and basically drooling over the idea of crackers and sauce. Anyway, when I asked about it, the server basically looked at me like I was crazy. Like she'd never heard or such a thing. Really? Every single Indian restaurant I've ever been to has that. It's not new, I swear, and Sankalp also used to have that, but not anymore. And I know it's just free crackers, but it's pretty standard to get that and it was frustrating because I know we got it here only a few months ago when we had the nice server.
Also, the restaurant, still only a few months old, is a lot stickier than it was before. Our booth had dirty little hand prints all over the formerly white walls and up to eye-level was tinged dark grey. A scrub down is defo in order.
One last difference is that while the menu is still enormous, it has changed since our February visit and been tightened up a bit, which is nice since there were literally several hundred things on the menu. There's still probably well over 100items still there, but they've made changes that highlight their signature and favorite dishes as well as dishes that are popular amongst kids. It would still be nice if they included better descriptions and/or even pics of their items since a lot of their dishes have descriptions like 'Jain specialty' or 'made with lentils' and really doesn't tell you much about what you're in for... but again, everything I've had has been spectacular, so I can't fault them for being confident in that.
I'm sorry - I really wanted to like this place but it is not good at all.
I've eaten inside (bare/bad ambiance + meh service) and had delivery (not authentic or tasty).
Every time a new indian restaurant opens up, I have a glimmer of hope that they will be authentic and do things the right way - will have to keep waiting, sadly.
Pass on this one.
I got a call from the manager informing me that I'm this week lucky winner for free Dosa night!! Nice... all these days I never believed in business card drop off. This changed my opinion. Â
We had a good experience here during our first visit. Our 4 & 6 yr old kids are up for Dosa any time and had a great time here. Â Even though they could eat only plain Dosa, they had some options in the buffet section.
I tasted Military (ghee roast masala), chef's special  Bhaji Dosa, Capsicum Cheese Dosa and Plain Dosa. Every Dosa was crisp and right out of griddle. The size of the Dosa was not too big, so I could taste more than a couple of Dosas'. It was a great experience and would go back some time to taste other Dosas' on the menu!
This place was recommended to me by a South Indian co-worker who said this place served authentic South Indian food...not just dosas and idlis. Â I was excited to try other South Indian far and we ended up going on a Thursday night. Â Turns out Thursday night is Dosa Night. Â So much for trying new things. Â
As for Dosa Night, it's all you can eat.  They also had a little buffet setup with idli, uthappa, sambhar, rice, and some type of  halwa (the night we went it was Mango Halwa).  And I have to say, everything tasted good.  The first dosa I ordered was the Golden Crisp Dosa which is basically a plain dosa.  I wish I could say I enjoyed it, but I can't.  I never got a chance to try it as my 2 year old proceeded to eat the whole thing along with 1 idli.  And if you knew my 2 year old, you'd know that is a lot of food for him.  So after he finished Dosa #1, I ordered the same one for myself and it was good.  For Dosa #3 I tried the paneer dosa and OMG so good.  My husband tried a few of the nonveg dosas and enjoyed them as well.  I wish I could remember which ones he tried, but I can't.  I'm not sure how big the dosas are when you come on a regular night, but on Dosa Night, they were on the small size...which is good cause it doesn't fill you up and lets you try the other kinds they make.
I can't wait to go back on another night and try other things.
This place is a great and fresh addition to the South Indian foodie scene in the Chicagoland area.
The dosa's are varied ( including fillings with meat) instead of the standard fare that one expects at most Udipi restaurants.
We tried the Mysore chatpata and the chettinad express dosa's and they came out with some intricate plate settings.
The accompanying Sambhar is to die for- it is not watered down, but nice and thick and very flavorful.
We are definitely going back.
The restaurant interiors are new, modern the service mediocre, the server chewing gum did not make any attempt to explain overwhelming huge menu was more interested in sending us out and finishing his shift I ordered specialty dosa and idly which I thought were good but the condiments like sambar and chutney that came with the food were as authentic as they can be. The food was pretty expensive even considering the decent quality of food, coupled with the fact that some entrée were to be ordered and there accompanying condiments would have to be ordered separately. Over all an expensive proposition coupled with bad service  would stay away from this place.
Review Source:SanKalp is a franchise out of India. To my amazement, the food was refreshingly good. It already has become an instant leader for dosas. Great variety, atmosphere and food!. Fresh dosas and amazing chutneys. Probably the closest to dosas that you can get from India. New favorite dosa place! I would definitely recommend this place to all my friends and family.
Review Source:I am always looking for good Indian food. This south Indian restaurant is  focused on Dosa's ( similar to a savor crepe) is what the northwest suburbs needed. Lately, it has been hard to get authentic Indian apart from home cooking. However, Sankalp was a happy change from the norm creating a stylish atmosphere with the highest quality in food. I had the Golden Crispy which is the traditional dosa. The smells and tastes brought me back to the times of having breakfast with my grandmother and family on the veranda in Indian. If you are looking from great Indian food look no further.
Review Source:The heaven for unlimited dosa's on Thursday's. We tried almost every dosa here and they just kept getting better. The only one thing that could be improved was using Indian cheese instead of the cheddar cheese in the dosa's. The cheddar cheese didn't have good flavor with the Indian dosa's. But overall great service and great food.
Review Source:Very very good food. I had the Chicken Masala and the Paneer curry dish. The spicy tomato soup that is brought out at the beginning of the meal was very enjoyable. My wife and I had the set dosa and white rice with our meal and they were very good. I loved the set dosa!
I am definitely coming back again!
my friend and i decided to try a new restaurant, and we hadn't had indian for awhile, and when we walked in it was fairly empty, but saw many Indian people eating there, so we thought it had to be good.
the Chennai chicken is delish, and the dough/fried to eat with the curry was soooooo perfect! i will DEFINITELY be going again!
i went to sankalp in schauamburg i got the waitress her name was hemina she was awwsome good recommendation, friendly service .  if i go next time i would recomend to see the waitress hemina and about the atomosphere it was good  but little hot. there food was good,  i order three barrel dosa and uthapama it was hot and good i didnt wait to much i would recomend to go there  and ask for hemina lol haahhah.
Review Source:Tonight was my second visit to this restaurant with large group (5+) again and overall it was a very good experience. Â Restaurant's ambiance is not bad, food is excellent and prices are fair. Â Now when it comes to service, it's above average but definitely NOT the best especially during evening rush times.
When I went there the first time (this was during their first week of opening), I was with a group of 10+ people and some of us received wrong order, but the staff was courteous to quickly correct this mistake by getting what we ordered out to us asap (took less than 10 mins). Â As for the food itself, the dosas were perfectly made and all of us loved sambhal just as much if not more.
This place is definitely worth visiting atleast once if you haven't done so yet.
Well, we had been waiting for this restaurant to open since a long time because I had been to this place in Mumbai, India and had liked it (although I had found it expensive for a dosa)
The website shows opening shortly. But, it opened around 2-3 days back and we tried this place out. Here are my views:
Service - Good
Ambiance - Fair
Food - Excellent
Am I going again? - Definitely yes
This is one place totally dedicated to making one of the main south indian staple food - idli and dosa. They have an elaborate menu which is one of the main highlights. The complimentary rasam served immediately as we were seated was good (of course it would have been great if they had served it piping hot - because that's when you enjoy the spicy part of it). Nevertheless, we still liked it.
Our order - Keerai cheese garlic dosa, Kozzi sukka with dosa along with lemonade and cold coffee. All of these were great and prepared really well. We loved them. Even the siders - milagai podi and the chutney were well made. We are definitely going here again and trying out other types of dosas.
If someone likes south indian fare especially dosas, try this out!!! This is healthy food too.
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