Vani’s Kitchen

Past couple times I’ve tried to call and order, I’ve been unsuccessful. First time, they were closed during posted open hours and the other time, some guy picked up but said they were at some festival so the restaurant was closed. None of this stuff is posted anywhere on their website or facebook page. Just not worth it to try anymore when there are other Indian restaurants nearby that are happy to serve their customers.

My favorite restaurant for authentic Andhra food :) Ambience is poor but I mostly prefer take out service. I’ve heard that chef has recently changed there but quality/​taste is still good.

Don’t be there late, or there will be only few things left and they won’t fill with new foods. Also all the dishes were extremely spice, all of them! And you really don’t have any choice. Not only were the limited selection and flavor, there were also almost no services. You should even get water by yourself! In a word, worst Indian restaurant experience ever:(

Good butter chicken and naan. I have tried a few other dishes and some are extremely spicy. This place always has Indian customers so I think the food is probably authentic. The service is very slow if you go when there is not a buffet. Great place for take out, but give yourself a solid 30 – 40 minutes between the time you call and the time you pick up!

4÷18÷15
We were excited about dining here because we heard accolades from a friend. We arrived to find a family at the restaurant finishing their meal and another table next to us with a group of friends talking. After waiting for about 25 minutes, one of the people at the table next to us proceeded to get up and ask us what we wanted. Our waiter was in conversation at the table next to us the whole time we were waiting. Odd. He saw us come in and had to hear us say, «where’s the waiter…» a couple times.
Alas, we gave the waiter the benefit of the doubt. We attempted to order our drinks and food. However, more than half of what was on the menu «was not available». The waiter literally told us what they did have available (practically telling us what to order). At that point, was just agreed. We heard the food was great, so whatever right? The waiter attended to the family who was finishing their meals, went back to his friends a couple times over, gave carry out orders to people who came in, and then went back to his friends. But, he did not once come to our table. We were waiting for an additional 30 minutes. He could have at least given us our drinks… I was parched and getting a little irritated.
When the waiter arrived, he told us they didn’t have any more food available. We thought he was joking at first, but he wasn’t. The place was scheduled to close at 10 pm and it was a little after 7. We sat there confused, as he just smiled at us. We saw him serve carry out food to people coming in… he even give his friends plates of food. Confused, we asked for an explanation. He said there wasn’t a cook available. We asked why weren’t we told earlier (so he didn’t waste our time)… and there was no answer. Totally confused and hungry, we just got up and left. He didn’t offer any consolidation for our nearly hour wait, but we weren’t going to take it if offered. We were that upset.
With time being a huge factor in our lives, we had to eat quick, so we went to panda express. We talked about it wondering why were treated so. We threw out the race card bc we’re brown too (not Indian and everyone there was Indian).
***Only other explanation I could think of is that they were being stingy and trying to serve us food from an earlier course/​meal? Maybe an earlier lunch buffet but he served it to all his friends? Idk. Irregardless, I’d recommend this place if you’re hoping to wait nearly an hour for nothing Given their behavior, I certainly wouldn’t trust their food even if people say it was good.

I’m a fan of Vani’s Kitchen! You should know what Vani’s IS and what it is NOT. It IS the place for succulent and flavorful Indian food. It is NOT a large restaurant with expensive décor. Venues like this are common in some of the larger European cities I have visited, but perhaps they are less familiar to most Americans. So don’t expect to be «wowed» by the space itself — it occupies about ¼ of a BP Gas station and convenience store space. But if you love great Indian food, you cannot miss Vani’s.
I have visited most of the Indian restaurants in the area. Some that I thought were pretty good, sadly, didn’t survive. Those that have found success tend to offer food that I feel is more on the bland side. Vani’s offerings, on the other hand, are robust, such as Indian food should be. The owner, Vignesh, really knows how to cook! There are 8 tables in the restaurant, and by 12:30 p.m., 7 of them were occupied! And many of the patron were ethnic Indian folks. That is testament to the food itself, and that’s what dining should be primarily about.
I had the lunch buffet, and I was not disappointed by a single dish. I ate too much, but of course that was not my fault, since everything was too good to have only one serving. So if you love FLAVORFUL Indian food, don’t miss Vani’s Kitchen — but leave your expectations for ritzy décor at the door. Now that’s fair, isn’t it?

Tried buffet over weekend here. chef seems to be a home cook. not much variety. A bit authentic but of low grade and doesn’t represent any regional cuisines of India other than what’s made in a home. Needs a lot of improvement and trials with any dish in particular before introducing into buffet. Wouldn’t recommend unless you want to experiment your day. buffet isn’t cheap and costs 10.99 $ on weekends. Not worth it by any means. will try it again in future if quality improves significantly.

My original review was for the grocery section which is now at 2353 Silvernail Road, Pewaukee, WI 53 072 (262) 299‑0040
We went to the first ever Milwaukee India Fest, an amateurish one day event in Humbolt Park that showed promise of expansion for the future. What the performers lacked in professionalism and talent, were balanced out by enthusiasm, sincerity, and my sense of humor. The event was impressive in that it was put on by a bunch of Indian families, they were engineers, physicians and IT professionals, not event planners or music producers. The turn out was pretty encouraging, I think someday Indiafest will be a few days long, joining the older immigrant fests at Summerfest. The food vendors had the longest lines, all sorts of people waited rather patiently on the hot summer’s day for Indian quick eats, and Vani’s Kitchen was selling freshly made lamb biryani as fast as they could. Based on this one experience, I’d say this little business can dish out a tasty Indian meal to a pretty big party at a relatively affordable cost per person. I’d consider them if you’re catering an event.

Great biryani but be prepared: it’s spicy. Four stars because at least on two occasions during normal business hours they were either closed or had a one hour wait for goat biryani.

This place is great! I went for the first time last night (12÷1÷14) for dinner and was pleasantly surprised at how delicious the food is. We got the naan basket, chicken khorma, chicken chettinadu, and rice. The entrees were seasoned well — the chettinadu was a little spicy and khorma was mildly spicy; the naan basket came with garlic and plain naan. Each entrée could definitely feed 2 people, and at $ 10 each that is quite cheap for such wonderful food. Upon leaving, I think we got to speak to the owner who recommended the lunchtime buffet, which I look forward to trying sometime.
Update: My second trip here was still a good experience, but the service wasn’t stellar — our food took longer than expected to be brought out and we waited for 10 minutes after the food arrived for silverware. The food itself was yummy but the service bumped my opinion down to 4 stars.

Been here once for lunch and once for dinner, and the food was exceptional both times. The service is great, too, and the place is clean and inviting. The waiter was full of good suggestions. I would suggest a basket of naan or rice to go with your entrée. I had the paneer tikka masala and LOVED it. Even my unadventurous (mostly eats chili and ham sandwiches) boyfriend wants to go back. The Kingfisher beer is delectable and the samosa appetizer with tamarind sauce was scrumptious. We also had a mango drink with yogurt which could serve as a dessert on its own. We’ll definitely be broadening our takeaway horizons from pizza and Chinese!

My experience was bad @ this place… worst goat biryani I ever had… felt the meat was too old and had lot of bones in it…

Stop by Vani’s because it was closest to us. Got there and wasn’t greeted. I asked if I could do take out and they looked at me confused. After figuring things out, it took about 15 minutes to get our good out. Which wasn’t bad. The food is okay. I got an order of chicken tikka masla and butter chicken. Both taste burnt and the chicken was burnt. My husband had a chunk that was completely black on the outside.

This is a classic case of good food with bad management. They charge even for small kids but have nothing for kids to eat! The food is super spicey and kids have a hard time with that. The buffet is running out of food and items and unless you ask it is replaced rather slowly. It is replaced but if you are in between your meal then waiting can be bothersome.
Other Indian restaurants do ask you about how much spicy you want your food. I personally eat spicy food and love it but my 3 year old is not ready yet.
hopefully they will improvise on this and I can come back.

The best indian food I have ever had from a place attached to a gas station. Seriously, not great but good. Solid service.

Great indian spicy food. That’s all I have to say about this place. The service could have been better.

Amazing food, amazing service. Shares a building with a gas station but you can’t tell at all. Wish I lived here so I could go here more often! Try the paneer saagwal if you like spinach, it’s delicious. The owner will give you good recommendations too if you’re unsure. Good portions. Will definitely come back in the future. It seems to be a bit of a hidden gem!

I heard about Vani’s kitchen and decided to try it since I was in the area.
We tried the goat biryani and I have to say it was fantastic. I was impressed with the speed of service and quality/​authenticity of the food. I look forward to trying more of their offerings.
Friends — If your not familiar with Indian food, brace yourself. These are bold flavors (and smells). I noticed candles on their counter so I smiled when I read another review about the smell. Small price to pay, I dont mind smelling like spices for the day.
I’ll definitely be trying Vani’s Kitchen again although I wish we could give ½ stars. Vani’s is a solid 3 ½ (4 stars is a bit of a stretch) but I am giving the benefit of doubt until I try a variety of dishes.

I wasn’t expecting much from an Indian restaurant in Milwaukee but I have to say that I really enjoyed the food at Vani’s. An added bonus was that the menu included several South Indian items that you don’t see in most other Indian restaurants. The ambiance is that of a low key, café. They are under the same roof as a gas station which is a bit quirky but there is a separate entrance. Next time I am in town visiting my parents, I will definitely be stopping here again.

Food is good and I like it much better that most other Milwaukee restaurants. I love their mirchi bajji and veg biriyani.