Udipi Cafe

I have been to Udipi Cafe at least 7 times in the last 6 months. I'd like to say that, as of today, there is no other place I can think of that would earn 5/5 stars by me other than Udipi Cafe.

I wish I could remember everything from every experience and recount it all with perfect detail. But I'll just touch on some of the highlights and then give an overall summary.

From the first time I came here, they were very accommodating with me being vegan and also not being able to tolerate really spicy food. They assured me nothing had dairy, butter, etc. and made nothing extremely spicy. I had the rava dosa with potatoes and onions etc. and ever since then I've gotten it almost every time. It's one of my favorite dishes. We tried to order a bunch of things but they were randomly out of them, which wasn't really a big deal. So we got an appetizer platter of whatever they had lying around the kitchen... and to this day I still really don't know what each of them was!
They brought out a couple of random extra dishes without so much as a word and plunked them in front of us, quite clearly just because they had some extra sitting around in the kitchen. We weren't complaining!

Our second time, I went with a group of 3 and the total bill was no more than $40 and we had nearly half to take home as leftovers. Got some tasty appetizers and great dosas! And a veggie/curry-style dish that was okay, but the flavor didn't jump out to me too much.

One of the following times, I went with a group of 4 on a nice double date with my best friend. She's vegetarian so she got some things with cheese in them that I can't account for, but she seemed to love them. One cool thing about this time: the staff definitely recognized us because they just kept bringing out random extra things they had in the kitchen, which was really nice! Lots of tasty stuff.

One recent time right after I had gotten my wisdom teeth out and wanted a nice treat, we went here and got the dosa platter ($10.99) - I think this was definitely worth it. The portions could have been a little bigger but still for $11 it was at least two whole dosa's worth on one big platter. I also got the yellow dal dish and it was sooooooo good. The flavor was just right and the thickness was great. My favorite experience at Udipi by far. Everything we ate in that meal was just wonderful.

Last time I went, I tried to get the yellow dal again and it was different... go figure! It was spicier and more watery, and the flavor wasn't as sweet and savory. But I still enjoyed it. We got that big puffy bread thing with the chickpea dip, and it was too greasy. Our last experience was with a group of 5. Someone in the group got that unlimited appetizer deal and we all kind of took part in it. Also a pretty good deal. I guess the stuff on the front cover of their menu is definitely worth trying out.

The experiences here are different every time. I always love the food and am especially appreciative of the price. The food is worth the value. The staff are great, and I love their attitude. The focus isn't on superficial small talk and pointless conventions, but just on running a restaurant. They have random extra food sitting around in the kitchen? Well, why not bring it out and give it to these customers, if it's just going to go to the trash anyway? They don't stop by every couple minutes to ask how we're doing or to try to placate us with politeness, and I love how frank and straightforward it is. I like that it's a little crowded and a little dirty and a little sketchy. It's just perfect the way it is.

I'll definitely be back here again for many times to come.

HORRIBLE!!  Bad food and rude service.  This place was not anything like I imagined from the other reviews.  Food was disappointing - dosas were soggy because no grease paper was used to line the plastic plates and mendhu vada came out raw.  Restaurant was severely understaffed meaning no service.  Had to "yell" at the waiter to get anything.  Didn't help that the RUDE waiter was also processing payments.  Brought up our displeasure with the manager and were told not to expect any service at a place that sells $3 dishes.  AVOID!!

I've been eating at Udipi for about 3 years and the dosa is always delicious. I usually have idli and mysore masala dosa, and its spicy, crispy dosa with delicious and relatively generous filling. Sambars and chutneys are all very tasty and I always leave with a full belly and not much damage to my wallet,  as everything is reasonably priced.

Service is quick, but nothing to write home about and the cleanliness of the restaurant does leave something to be desired.  I keep coming back for the delicious dosa!