Sri Venkatesh Bhavan

home after home :) … we give our weekly attendance to this one … owner is very hospitable and portions are large.

I have visited this place 3 times so far and may not visit for a while.
Food is decent to average — more on the authentic side, so its primarily for Indian clientele.
But service is average to awful, it depends on the day and which servers you will run in to. I have had decent experiences but most of the times seating times are awful — not because the restaurant is full but mostly because of mismanagement. Someone who just arrived could talk their way up to the top of list and someone at the bottom of the list could talk their way to be seated next.
There are some servers who appear to be FOB and they do not know the meaning of respecting the customers especially in how they treat women. The rest of the servers will end up apologizing and try to control the damage.
So beware and «Enter At Your Own Risk».

Visiting bay area and happened to run into this place. Thali is meh… but the khaima idli is too good. Loved the Dosa and the chutneys are finger licking delicious. Usually a very few places could impress me chutneys. Ohh the sambar is well made… would love to pay a visit if back in town.

Worst food! Food was not cooked and the owner yelled at us when we told him the food was cold!

I love dosa… Kotthu paratha… vada…idli…and would love to go back again and again!

Me and my son love this place. If you are from hyd then you will exactly feel like you are in kamat kinds.:-). We always try the mini Thali and rava dosa and both are very good.
Also tried their sweeets and they are freshhh.
We will go there any day.:-)

Sat here for 20 min with my kids and we were all hungry. No food. No service.
Walked out. Worst experience ever. I would give them zero for service

Food was below average compared to other South Indian restaurants. Had been here on a Sunday at 11am when there was no rush and waited for the thaali for an hour. Ridiculous. And the wait wasn’t worth it. Upon inquiry the response was they are short of kitchen staff. Seriously? On a Sunday that too? Didn’t enjoy the thaali and better to go to ananda Bhavan or saravana Bhavan instead.

The best and the most authentic South Indian vegetarian thali in the whole of SF Bay Area!
The daal, sambar, bhindi, potato, kesari, papad, kozumbu, roti, etc etc … Every dish was ridiculously delicious!
Mind you, I’m a big Saravana Bhavan fan; but this Venkatesh Bhavan exceeded our expectations! We might just go all the way (20+ miles) for this thali again and again!

I am very picky with the sambhar — I am in love with the way they prepare it. tangy & just like mom makes it – just the way I like it (it’s my comfort food)! Almost everything on their menu is pretty good! Definitely recommend this to my friends and family.

One of the worst service I’ve experienced. Not that great South Indian taste. Cashier at Bill desk was not at all receptive. He was not ready to split pay our check and told can do only one card payment with a curt face. Also the host forgot our order and missed for One friend. We had to reorder and then too took Lot of time to serve. We had almost finished our plates when they came with the missed item, which was basic meals which does not needs cooking at the nth moment. Feeling bad to have been there.
I would definitely not return there or recommend to anyone.

Average food. dirty restaurant.
We went here for lunch as we were shopping nearby and got here shortly after it opened. There were piles of garbage under tables, next to walls, in the rest room etc. The food was mediocre and tasteless. Our mixed pakora appetizer was just batter fried onions. The Madras thali was weak and the masala dosa was cold and limp. My wife got her lunch almost 15 minutes after the rest of the group was served.
will not return here again!

Yes, I am fan of this place. The place is always busy. The food is similar to homely taste and thats one reason I like food here. Sambar consistency hasn’t changed since I have been visiting here, one of the best places I have had sambar at. We have tried Dosa, Uttapam, Idlis, Vadai and everything is as good as it is in every visit. Best part is after you have your meal, add order of filter coffee on top of it.
This is the best south Indian restaurants in the nearby areas. We go here frequently to pacify our south Indian food cravings

We have been to this place couple of times and every single time the food was and is just average… They seem to be quite busy most of the times but they seem to bring bring out the food very fast. We always go for idli, dosa & Utappam.
Idli’s are consistently good and the utappam is decent as well, however our dosa experience was pretty bad. Dosa is always cold no matter how fast they bring it out and this the last time dosa was burnt and we know no Indian place that I know of offers replacement w/​o you having to throwing a big fit… so we just went out to another place to grab food.
After few not so great food experiences, this restaurant has fallen out of our south Indian place list to back up (may be)…

I am very picky on the way my sambhar is cooked. This place has the best Sambhar what so ever. Thick and Tangy as I prefer.
Everything in this restaurant is very fresh. I have tried the the tiffin thali and sambhar wada on multiple occasions. Both the items are really cooked well here.
This is one of the best south Indian restaurant in the bay area.

This is conveniently located right off 580. It is clean and the food was good, I got to try the paneer dosa and onion rava dosa. The dahi vada was just OK. Service was brusque rounding down to a 3 star rating.

I love this place! If you want vegetarian South Indian food, this is a pretty good option.
Service is quick & no fuss. Kinda reminds me of restaurants when I used to live in India. They’re usually pretty nice about something when you ask from when I’ve been here.
The dosas are bomb. I love their sets & thalis. The tiffin combo is good. Last time I was here, I had the Hyderabadi Thali. It came with quite of bit of dishes and rice and a roti (tortilla). It’s pretty bomb for the value.
There’s nothing else I can really say. The food is delicious & inexpensive! It definitely reminds me of the yummy food in India.

I recall throwing some massive fits when I was a wee tot when the food items on my plate were touching. With some stern guidance from the parents I grew out of it, kinda. So imagine my delight when I saw how the food was served here!!! All items are separate from each other in their own little steel containers! Now if I could just understand what was in them…
Thank the gods I was with 3 people who are very knowledgeable about South Indian food. They all gave me a run down of what the menu items were and what was in them. Tiffin (square platter) looked smaller than Thali (round platter) so I went with the Thali Quick Lunch (Bisibelabath, Yogurt Rice, Special Rice, 2 Veg. Curry, Sweet, Papad & Pickle). It seemed like all flavor/​tastes were represented on the plate. Bisibelebath (fun word to say!) was spicy, yogurt rice was sour, tomato rice was salty/​savory, and the noodles with cashew was sweet. The curry and the two other veggies were also very good.
The Bisibelebath was my favorite! It was a lentil and rice dish that was creamy-​ish, spicy, and just overall yummy. I could imagine getting that on a cold day.
I would come back again, even if I wasn’t with my knowledgeable friends, and just choose something. I am not sure how helpful the wait staff would be as they were hustling about and have very determined looks on their faces. That is the reason for the 3 stars, service is a little frantic and spotty.

Went back again last night. Still exotic and wonderful.
I got the Thale plate with nine little mysterious steel bowls.
I did not love all of them, but that did not dampen my delight.
Just wonderful. I will make another trip as soon as I get to the East Bay again.

I’m new to the neighborhood, so upon gassing up at Valero, I spied this restaurant from the station itself. I figured I’d give it a try since I love dosas and I made it my Sat brunch before heading to Ikea.
So the atmosphere is a bit spartan, but it’s acceptable. Looks like it could hold a ton of people. On every table is a stainless water vessel. Might want to curb this practice given the drought situation. Plus it’s kind of unsettling too with regards to how long it’s been sitting there.
I walked in and no one came to greet me, so I figured it was a sit yourself place. No sooner than my ass touched the seat, some guy dressed like he was off the street (not like a homeless dude, but maybe in his casual clothes) rushes to me and directs me to a table. So why the confusion on my part? There’s no one on the wait staff with any sort of uniform. Get some uniforms!
Now I’m not really familiar with South Indian, made more apparent when I read the menu. So I looked for the combo and that’s what I ordered. However before ordering I called the waiter over to ask a few questions and recommendations. The guy seemed really annoyed. Oh I was the only non Indian in the room. Anyways I asked a few questions, he continually seemed annoyed, so I just ordered the combo. Had he answered my questions, there was a good chance I would’ve ordered an appetizer. I also asked if I could substitute a soda (pennies on the dollar vs a lassi) and he curtly replied NNOOO substitutions. Ok man, it’s your show!
Food came out, it was pretty good. I thought the mini Sosa was just ok. They served a beet based chutney which was off the wall good. It was so good that I asked another passing waiter what this was so so could order it again, but just like the first guy, this guy didn’t seem cheery at all.
Ok I think it’d take another look at it, but they really need some better training. 2 stars off for poor service. To the proprietor: Not all of your customers are Indian and know the dishes. That’s why I’m there to learn and experience your food and culture. Be more accomodating!