Chennai Tiffins

Wish I could give a negative star. WORST service ever. They treated all the customers as if we were disturbing their busy schedule, not sure where they get this attitude from despite the horrible reviews.
There are far better Indian vegetarian restaurants in Artesia that serve not so great food but definitely better than this. Who plays hindi songs in «Chennai» Tiffins and the cook is definitely not familiar with tamil tiffins.
They tried to over charge us and REMINDED for tips as well, who does that??? If a customer likes your service and food, ofcourse we will provide tips as well.
BOTTOM LINE IS STAY AWAY PEOPLE FROM THIS PLACE!
DON’T FOOL CUSTOMERS SAYING THAT THIS IS «CHENNAI» TIFFINS.

I wish I can give negative rating. Food is ok but the customer service is horrible. I went there on Saturday late in the afternoon and the restaurant was empty. After we walked in, server asked us to sit at a specific table and we requested another table which was like a booth so we can sit comfortably and enjoy our food. All the tables were horribly dirty including the finished dishes on the table. The server looked upset since he has to clean the table for us. From the point of time we entered till the end, his attitude was not customer friendly at all. He did not serve clean spoons and when requested to change it, the reply was «I just washed it and its clean». Just to finish it off at the end, server and the manager refused to accept the groupon voucher we had which was perfectly valid for the date/​time and the bill amount. No sorry no thank you just basically give us the money and leave. Now I have to deal with groupon and waste my time explaining the situation to get the refund.

Stumbled upon this little place randomly on a Saturday afternoon and I am glad we did! For us, this is by far the best South Indian vegetarian restaurant in LA/​OC. I ordered the thali while the hubster ordered a dosa and medu vada. Everything was tasty and fresh. Being a South Indian myself, I judge a restaurant on the sambar and this place passed my sambar taste test! All in all a much better place service and taste wise than udupi palace next door!

*****This Review is of the New Woodland Hills Location*****
MAGIC. Pure magic. Make it a point to eat here.
We stumbled upon Chennai Tiffins, an unassuming new gem, after having done some shopping.
We love Indian cuisine, but were unsure of what to expect having never been to the Artesia location.
We ordered what Eric, our server, indicated a nearby patron had ordered: the Chennai Platter, Southern Thali. Few words can describe the bounty that arrived. Despite expert and earnest attempts to give us a quick tutorial on customary pairings (the staff did an excellent job and we did our best to absorb the knowledge quickly) there is only one way for us to learn it all: we will have to come back to try it all again.
The food is all prepared from organic ingredients, which renders the final product clean and rich. As we eat organically in our day to day lives, this made us feel really good about the food. You are what you eat, right? The chef (s) here clearly has a deep understanding of subtle and traditional techniques and is weaving magic in the kitchen. This is among the best Indian food I have ever eaten (and I have eaten a LOT of Indian food)
Eric, our server, could not have been more eager to please. Raja – who graciously welcomed us – instinctively knows how to make you feel like you are the king of the world. Prepare yourself to be treated with kindness, smiles, and a sincere aim to please.
We were offered additional food throughout the meal. It is clear, the staff here want you to feel welcome, as if you were in their own homes.
We’ll be back. You should get yourself here.
Know this, the décor is unassuming and unpretentious. This is a simple and comfortable place. There is nothing glitzy about the signage. Don’t let that fool you. Inside are the true riches: hospitality, pride, and incredible food. What else could you want?

This restaurant deserves less than 1 star if possible. Bad service, bad service and bad service. If any hopes that the food will make up for the bad service, not a chance. Wanted to order kothu parotta and was told in less busy times its takes 20 minutes min so pls dont order it. Ordered medhu vada, took 30 min for less average sized 2 medhu vada to serve. No one cared if your food was ready or not. Just simply pathetic service. Dont think these people are meant for running a restaurant business. Never going again or recommending to anyone. Thumbs down!

We like all varieties of tiffins here one of our favorites is pongal which is made with mashed rice and served hot. It’s a good place to eat all types of Indian tiffins.

I haven’t eaten here yet but I heard they’ve closed. I called and was told they’re open in Artesia and no longer taking Groupons. I couldn’t post this without putting some stars on the review.

Every time I visit LA, I always go to this South Indian restaurant. Every single ingredient is handpicked and shipped from various parts of the world! There is no other South Indian restaurant in all of California that is so delicious!!!
The new location in Artesia is even better!

Excellent hospitality services
Great south Indian food.
Good portion, taste, flavor

First time I came, food was decent, packed! Returned again today and the place was closed! No sign, and we arrived during regular business hours. Apparently they moved. But no notice on the restaurant. LAME.

Called to order take out and they said it would be ready in 20 minutes. I get there and the guy tells me that they don’t do take out. So either the guy on the phone or the guy at the restaurant lied to me and I don’t like liars.

I checked out this place after buying a voucher on Groupon. It was a little hard to find since it didn’t have any actual sign above it, like all the other restaurants in the plaza. I literally drove past it twice.
The food was good, definitely not as insanely spicy as some of these reviews led me to believe. The server seemed a little annoyed that my boyfriend and I were unfamiliar with the menu, and was really unenthusiastic when we asked for suggestions.
We were feeling a little adventurous and ordered lassi for beverages, not knowing what it was. We asked, but were brushed off. Needless to say, we were a disappointed when we got two large cups of drinkable yogurt. We each took a sip and immediately asked for a coke. (They only had diet. Canned.)
Our server didn’t even check in on us or ask us if there was a problem, even when she saw those full cups at the end of our table. And still charged us, without any sort of accommodation.
However, the drinks we couldn’t stomach were a slight upgrade from the very dirty-​tasting tap water we had been served before them. I took one sip of that and almost gagged.
Also, we received our starters, entrees and beverages all at the same time. Why even order an *appetizer* if that’s the case? Hellooo.
AND we were literally the only guests in the restaurant, so that speaks volumes about the quality of service.
Overall, just okay. Definitely nothing special.

My latest visit to Chennai Tiffins has helped it earn its fifth star. Yeah, it’s that good!
The chapatis taste just like my mom’s — delicious! Yup, many dishes are still super spicy and I wish they could tell you how spicy based on a scale of 1 to 10. I wanted to order the bisi bele bath and told our friendly waiter that I can only eat mild to medium spiced food (yeah, I’m a wimp). He’s all, «yeah, you can take it, it’s medium spicy. You’ll be fine.» My husband gives me the raised eyebrow skeptical look and I press on. «But how spicy is it on a scale of 1 to 10?» Our waiter laughs. Not a good sign, for me at least. I order the masala dosa instead. It was delicious as expected. Good move.
We chat with our waiter towards the end of our meal and I ask him what his favorite dishes are and how spicy he likes his food. He tells me he eats habaneros. Raw. But just one at a time. Yeah… I am so glad I didn’t order the bisi bele bath because I’m sure I would have burned a hole in my mouth — not to mention the other end!
Delicious, authentic food that’s cheaper than it should be. If you like spicy food, you should definitely pay Chennai Tiffins a visit.

Amazing vegetarian/​vegan food! Very polite customer service, clean and well maintained eating areas, and did I mention the food???
To the food: flavors range from plain and savory, to spicy and hearty! There are some sweets too. I never go in there knowing everything I want to order so when I feel adventurous and see a South Indian name to a dish, I just pick it without knowing what to expect and I’m never disappointed at this joint
To the service: all of the people working there are very nice. HUGE TIP: this IS an Indian food restaurant, and it does showcase TRADITIONAL DISHES, which means sometimes the staff will also be CULTURED. If you do not understand them or their accents, DO NOT be rude but simply ask them to explain it. English is not their first language and they were badass enough to learn a second language to survive in this country. There were two women behind me that were very rude (and kinda ignorantly racist) to their waiter. This place is very fam friendly, does not have outside seating, and has interesting décor inside
Cons: there is no traditional chutney or naan

This place is very close to 5 but will settle with 4 for now. The atmosphere is decent. Their menu options felt little limited. Price is really affordable. The best is their chutney counter, Unlimited and many varieties of chutneys. Liked most of them. Rava masala dosa was the best, so as the pesarattu. Chili dosa was good too. Onion dosa was ok. Vada and gobi manchurian were decent. Chili, and tomatoes chutneys were my favorite. Service needs improvement, specially on clearing the empty plates from the table.

I was introduced to this hole in the wall vegetarian south Indian restaurant by my friend. It’s a small place with a few tables that was relatively unknown with no wait times on weekdays, but it has been getting more attention with busy lines forming on weekends now.
We shared their Gobi Manchurian, which is a delicious fried cauliflower dish with spicy sauce. It was definitely fiery red and made my mouth burn and crave water.
We also had their Spring Dosa, which had yummy veggies that included peas, cabbage, green onions, and others.
They have this sauce bar which included unlimited soup. I got their tomato and peanut sauce, both of which complimented the dishes very well with their flavor.
Overall, I was very satisfied with my experience here. Our server was friendly and attentive. I would definitely come back to try more of their South Indian cuisine.

New to this place. I ordered the Southern Thali. Never had it before, so this was the first. It looked very interesting based on other Unilocal’s photos. I decided to give it a try. Honestly, the taste was very wonderful. Very distinctive. My most favorite among those little ones was the «Okra». Will I come back again? Of course.
–Rachel :)

Awesome food, great pricing and great service. This place is a total hidden gem — It’s not on Pioneer so you may not think of it right away but will be glad you did!
We had the lunch thali and it was great, the dosa is fantastic! Hands down, the BEST chutneys you will have at a south indian place, be sure to check out the chutney bar!

They have one guy cooking for the entire restaurant and hence the wait for food is toooooooo LONG! I was surprised when we entered why we had to wait so long for a table… until I saw more than half of the tables were waiting for food and people looked pretty unhappy.
The food is ok, I had Rava onion masala dosa and it wasn’t the best I’ve had. My friend ordered the spicy Andhra dosa and that was better. The good part is that you can refill the chutneys and the sambar as many times as you like. Overall, it was an ok experience in terms of food with the wait being too long! There are better options for dosas in Cerritos than this place.

I purchased a groupon the other day and gave this place a try. It was pretty darn good for what it is…
I am not vegetarian and would like some choices of meat, so i guess it wouldn’t be 100%.
However, the dolsa, samosa, and bajji were all pretty tasty. The sauces they have are also very good and they also give you FREE Soup! it was pretty darn good.
I will probably come back when I am in the area.

Tienen unas dosas riquísimas! Y un mango lassi deli deli! Me gusta mucho el potato masala, definitivamente es uno de los lugares más ricos de comida India en cuanto a dosas se refiere! Y los miércoles hay opción de bufete!