The Nilgiris

I used to eat here a lot a few years ago, then kind of forgot about it. Now I’ve re-​discovered it, and the quality is still good.
I ordered takeout from here a few times — typically we get a thosai, puri, and some vadai. I like that the food is not greasy, and tastes authentic. The thosai comes with a small portion of sambar and sambal. The yogurt vadai is my fav — has some nice garnishes, although sometimes it is overly salty. Still good though!
For takeout, everything is packed well and stays in place for the drive home.
I think the thosai here is the best, compared to any of the other local Tamil or Indian places.

I’ve heard decent things about the Nilgiris so we came here on a Monday afternoon strictly for some dosas. For those of you who don’t know, dosas are essentially Indian crêpes. They are awesome. My go to is the Masala Dosa: spiced potatoes in a crisp crêpe. Eaten by smothering in coconut chutneys and sambar.
There were plenty to choose from (there were a page and a half of different dosas) and I would definitely return to try the other varieties. We ordered the tried and true Masala Dosa and Mysore Masala Dosa which is a dollar more ($ 7.49 vs 8.49). They were good. While tasty and satisfying, the Dosa crêpe was fairly ‘short’ in size. I also felt that the crêpe could have been much more crisp and warm as well. You can definitely find better dosas elsewhere.
The service wasn’t as bad as others have said but then again there were only a handful of tables with patrons. However, there were a handful of tables that still had their tables dirty with plates and cutlery during our entire meal. It would have been nice for them to get those out of the way.
The place is a bit tricky to find as it is not facing Markham Road. Rather, it is inside the plaza called the Markham Mcnicoll Centre. Once you enter the plaza you should see it on your left, with a big sign.

This place has good food but disastrous service. You need to be pushy here to get your food. We had bad service everytime but keep on going so that says something about the dosa.
For fun everytime we ask for the chili Bhaji cause they never have it. They always say we ran out. Lol

Went there on Sunday morning. The craving was for dosa. Ordered Mysore masala dosa and regular masala dosa. Both were very delicious. Were served with sambar and 2 types of coconut chutneys. The amount was generous and sambar was very flavorful.

We ordered 50 dosais for take out, was not cooked properly had to throw out all. Service was poor, Managers response was don’t complain about the food to anyone but did not want to refund or give credit.
Terrible place, would not recommend going back!
If you do choose to go good luck with their poor service!

Best southindian foods hands down. really busy so don’t expect good service! food is awesome

The food is tasty. I’d have to say I used to be a big fan of their idli and sambar, however, their standards have slipped a bit in the last little while. i ordered the chilly idli and I expected it to be more spicy as per its name. Unfortunately, the sauce seemed more sweet and reminded me of tomato sauce.
Luckily, I ordered the paneer masala dosa which helped with my craving for spice.
My biggest pet peeve is the service. The staff are nice but it doesn’t seem like you can ever get their attention and getting napkins is a struggle. This becomes a real issue during buffet hours when you’re trying to get a dosa as the wait staff are MIA.
My partner ordered the masala tea and it was very good… we ended up ordering two, and that too on top of my mango lassi. I do wish they’d bring back the beeda they used to make. It used to be the perfect finish to the meal.

3 stars for food, zero for service!
Located on Markham Road with plenty of parking in the plaza, this place has a ‘around the corner in Chennai’ vibe. Walls are painted dull yellow and tables n chairs are pretty old fashioned.
Their sambhar and rasam is the best I’ve had so far. Idli’s are super soft and vada’s are crisp n fresh. We get the Idli dipped in copious amount of sambhar and garnish it with chopped onions and coriander. Can’t say how happy that makes me.
The lunch buffet over the weekends is pretty decent too. But why no medu vadas?
The service leaves a lot to be desired. Although the staff is amicable but there seems to be a language barrier. Now only if I was from South India or Sri Lanka I guess.
They are also pretty strict about timings. Reached at 9pm on a weekday with my parents who are visiting us but were told if you can finish your food by 9.30, you can sit. Or? I didn’t want or wait to hear the rest of it.
We’ll be back for food’s sake though. Sigh!!!

I think this is one of best south-​indian restraurant in Toronto (GTA). I find the food very authentic. They have great options for dosa’s. I tried the Rava Onion plain dosa and idli-​vada sambar combo and loved it. They serve 3 different kinds of chutney’s. All of them are great but I love the red spicy one. There potion size is good. Could not finish the dosa after having idli and varda (even though I was sharing it with the table). The ambience is ok. it’s simple but clean. The prices are good. Would highly recommend it for somebody wanting to have true south-​indian food!

Went on a Sunday afternon. The good: the doshas are huge and good. The bad, they don’t have a thali platter except for take out! They told it’s because they have a luncheon buffet. It was pretty good (hubby has this) I had the coriander masala dosa. Anyhow, they cooked fresh poori’s and had mini dosas at the buffet. I think anything on the menu is there at the buffet so it’s worth it if you want to try a bit of everything (lemon rice, curd, sambar etc)
Hubby was the only white guy in the place… we took this as a good sign! :)

Brunch
Ambience: ²⁄₅ …fits the definition of a hole in the wall
Food: ⁴⁄₅
Service: 2.5÷5 (Friendly, but slow)
Value: ⁵⁄₅
Repeat: Already have. Great brunch spot, supper yummy. But do note it is all vegetarian/​vegan.

Went on a Monday for lunch with co workers. Buffett is Tues — Sat only.
Food was pretty good. We 1^st thought of going to Saravana but didn’t regret comig here. It’s tucked away in a commercial area.
Dosa is nice and crisp and not soggy. Place is kinda dingy but can be overlooked by speedy service.
Service is nothing to write home about but in ethnic restaurants like these. don’t expect a chatty or courteous waiter. Just Sit. order. Eat. Enjoy the food. Pay and Leave.

One of the best south indian restaurant in Toronto (Vegetarian). I’m a meat lover but this vegetarian restaurant get 5 starts easily for its authenticity. I taste south indian food in different restaurants in toronto but nothing compare to nilgiris. I prefer not to go to indian restaurants in toronto because I worked in few so I know if its fresh or some reheated spicy sause crap. I strongly recommend this place. its better to go for buffet so cheap to try different south indian varieties. keep in mind its south indian food (mild /​medium spicy). its not some local sweet butter chicken naan joint. reason I give 4 star is the line up during lunch buffet is long but its worth a wait.

I was so pleased of the environment and service. The quality of the food is so good.
I seriously recommend this place if u want real south indian flavour.

I was quite pleased with an impromptu dinner at The Nilgiris.
After a quick stop at an ethnic wear store down Markham rd, at about 8:30 p.m. we started googling options for dinner. The Nilgiris is where we were directed. A short drive north…
We ordered the chili idli. Idli is a sourdough sort of small disc of soft goodness. It came to us fried, and doused in sauce with veg. It was very good. I am now starting to wonder if it was even idli or if it was tofu but either way it was very tasty and very flavour filled. Great dish. Great take on a traditional food, in a unique way.
We ordered two dosas. I had the regular masala dosa, not much spice, how I like it. He ordered the gunpowder dosa (Spicy!).
the dosa was huge, I could only finish half of mine. I did indeed find the sambar’s were very tiny servings.
The mango lassi was amazing. The filter coffee and the south indian tea was also a great end to the meal. Very traditional, served in metal cups to strain to temper the heat.
The bill was the greatest part — very inexpensive. Under $ 30 for app, two entrée, two drinks, two hot drinks.
Service was great. Restaurant is in an industrial looking area. Very spacious and interestingly decorated. It was an hour till closing and we were one of three families eating here. It was quiet and I do not know if I would come back if it was busy.
I want to try the Brampton location next as it is closer to home. If ever in Scarborough, I would return here.

Had some delicious south indian food for dinner here. The restaurant transports you back to india in atmosphere and food. We started out with their methu vadai, which was served with chutney and sambar. Every plate comes with 3 vadai so two people can share. It was soft and delicious — which made it a great start.
For entrée, I had the spring dosa filled with cabbage, carrots and other veggies. It was a proper size entrée and I was satisfied with portion and taste. Finally, we got filter coffee to finish off. It was good, just as I expected. Service was quick and friendly enough. They have an area where they sell snacks and do take out orders in front of the store.
I would recommend it for authentic south indian taste and also for south indian atmosphere. (Which is somewhat noisy to loud to north American Standard. But for me that’s part of the whole experience)
Price is affordable, food is good and service is okay = nilgiris :)

Great food. The south Indian vegetarian buffet on the weekends is outstanding. Such a treat to have home style curries & vegetables. Their chutneys are distinctive & their sambar is superb. The dosas, idlis. & vadas are of course very good. Try their idli65. The south Indian coffee is too milky. So ask for strong Madras coffee & you will get a good one. One of the best south Indian restaurants in the GTA. Unfortunately in the last year their quality has dropped & they fluctuate a lot. The serving staff turnover is high & they are not always friendly.

Really very good south Indian food! My mom had the dosa and I had a the Bombay thali! The mysore masala dosa came with the regular with a spicy spread and potato filling. The mysore style of dosa is my favorite type of dosa. The dosa was accompanied with coconut, spicy coconut, and tomato chutneys and a tiny bowl of sambhar.
The reason I am giving this place a four stars is because of the tiny portion of chutneys and sambhar, but the dosa size was good! My mango lassi was pretty small as well for $ 3.50.
My Bobmay thali was delightful! I was full and very happy by the end of it. I am a huge fan of rasam, and this place made the rasam perfectly! All the veggie dishes had a unique taste, especially liked the chilli veggies!
Also loved the fried chillies served with the meal! I love spicy food and the chillies were a nice touch. The service was good as well because that is important as well!
Regardless whether you are vegetarian or not, this place is a jewel in Markham!

Great Dosas. You MUST MUST try their chilli Idli. For real, you must. Dosas sambar and chutney are decent enough. We come here for lunch for the buffet. it’s pretty darn good. Mango shakes are good too, get one every time, they used to be a lot thicker, they are watered down now, still pretty satisfying though. Overall: good south indian food in the Markham/​Scarb area.

This is not the usual Indian food served in most restaurant in North America. They are from Madras and serve only vegetarian southern food.
The place has around 20 tables and several waiters to help, as you work your way to the buffet with around 10 or 12 items. However not a single item was something I ever had in any other Indian place,
They have a menu with around 30 choices, all of which are vegetarian.
The place is quite crowded, and if you are a «gringo» you could be the only westerner there, which I suppose tells something positive about the quality of the food.
Since I don’t look Indian, I was asked if I «really» wanted to eat there. You bet!
Two Hindu temples surround this restaurant.
Don’t be fooled and try!