Little India

Food: 4.5 stars
Everything else: 2 stars
I walked in and was so confused. I had no idea how to order food. Apparently you grab a slip (which took me a while to find) that’s next to the water cooler and give it to one of the ladies working in the kitchen. When I went to give it to her I got a good look at the kitchen and it is super clean. The lady who took the slip was super nice so no complaints there. There are only about 5 tables so takeout was a good choice.
I ordered the mattar paneer (pea and cheese curry) for $ 2.79 and a samosa for $ 1. Food came out insanely fast and I loved shopping for groceries while I waited. I didn’t get too far into the groceries but they pretty much have everything you’d need for Indian cuisine.
When checking out the cashier wasn’t really rude but definitely not friendly. He didn’t say a thing to me the whole time but I can overlook that.
The food was really good. The little sign (see pictures) said that they have the best samosa in America. Now I’m not sure about that but it was probably the best samosa I’ve had in Phoenix. Most samosas I’ve had are too doughy. The samosa here was perfectly fried and the dough was closer to a pastry; it was so flaky. I would definitely get it again. The chutney was good too. It almost tastes like they combined the traditional mint and tamarind chutney into one delicious sauce– sweet, fresh, rich, and tangy. A perfect sauce for the samosa. The curry was super tasty and pretty spicy which I love. My only complaint was that the curry was way greasy. The pool of oil on top was a turn off but worth getting through for how good the curry was.
I would definitely recommend this place for fast and light Indian food. I hate that when I usually want Indian food I either have to gorge myself on a buffet or spend a lot on individual dishes. At little India I can get just as much food as I need and at a price that cannot beat. Definitely check it out!

Best authentic Indian food ever. I absolutely love this place! I’ve never had anything bad ever and it’s all reasonably priced. I go here every week (sometimes twice a week) since I moved here 4 months ago and it has always been incredible. If I lived closer I might just eat here everyday… It’s my favorite restaurant in AZ. My favorite is the Chole, aloo chaat and the samosas.

Can someone emphasize to the cranky elderly man at the counter that Customer Service has a whole new definition today as compared to even a decade back… Has no respect for the customers n lacks basic etiquette… Food is great and kudos to hard work that the ladies in the kitchen have put into but what a waste if you welcome and see off the customers with bad behavior… For food I’ll give 4 star but for service –1… I’m more than happy to talk in details with the management and give inputs, personally have had more than a decade experience in consumer retail and service industry, so I’m talking sense here!

Wow! Amazing! The owner’s customer service was consistently delightful. The prices unbeatable. They sell great indian food for a non-​offensive price. Other Indian restaurants have alot to learn here.
Some of my favorite dishes are:
Special #2 with Pakoda Kadhi… oh so good, the chapati are perfectly made, pickles are homemade, and the rice pilao is scrumptious!
The Samosa Chaat is awesome… honestly they do have some of the best somosas I have had.
Aloo Tikki Chaat so good especially if you eat it fresh as opposed to take out (even then it is worth it!)
The chai was fresh and unbeatable.
Gobi Paratha, yum! Aloo Paratha, yay!
I could go on and on, but three words sum it up… Value, Authenticity, and Fresh!
Enjoy

Very casual, delicious food in a grocery store/​restaurant. Fill out the menu checklist and hand it over to the ladies in the kitchen. We were brought the wrong food, but I didn’t care or know better. It was delicious.

The restaurant in the back of the store is great. I go at least once every other week. I am pretty familiar with Indian food but found I had to Google quite a few of the items on the menu. One time I had fairly slow service, but otherwise have been happy.

I have no frame of reference in terms of the authenticity of Indian food, but I do know that everything at this place is incredible! My mouth didn’t know what to make of the intense flavor profiles I had a noticeable buzz after eating here.
The owner was a very kind and funny man who helped is select his favorite dishes on our first visit. Anyone who enjoys food should check out this restaurant, especially if you’re vegetarian.

Chaats are really nice. Great place to go for Indian snacks. A little bit congested though.

Quaint little store tucked in Baseline road, Tempe.
They have very limited groceries and God forbid if you ask them about a product they do not have. The cranky old man will give you a good 15 minute talk on supply chain management, how difficult it is to get things from India and how he only has the best brands and the one you’re looking for is basically crap.
The store also has a little restaurant inside with a few cramped up tables where they serve a good selection of vegetarian food mainly meals/​thali, samosas, chaat, kachori etc. The food itself is great and reasonably priced but I dread going to the store because of their customer service.
They are just outright rude and don’t have a care in the world. Also they will not accept AMEX, he did go on to tell the husband that one should not be using such cards (Whatever that meant).
If you happen to find yourself in Little India pray the owner spares you. Don’t even think about getting a receipt.
Cheers!

Awful service.
The man at the counter was very rude. And was preaching to me about how I should live my life. I did not ask for it.
Lots of expired products. Incorrect labelings (weight of dal). And dals are of very low quality.
I guess cheap food isnt everything. It comes at a cost.
Please spend a few more dollars and go elsewhere for your produce if you can afford it.

Just serving delicious chat is not enough, you also need to have decent Customer Satisfaction rate. But the people working here do not understand that.
I had called the front desk to order chola puri Togo for dinner on Thursday night. The owner of this fast food joint told me that it will be ready in 20 minutes. I reached there in 30 mins, but they took 50 mins to get my order ready. I had to stand there for 30 mins with nothing to do and watch people around and waste my time. When I politely raised my concern on the delay to the owner, he told these words — «YOU DON’T HAVE TO COME TO MY RESTAURANT AGAIN. THIS IS HOW IT IS AND ITS NOT UNDER MY CONTROL». It was so embarrassing in front of everyone.
This Gentleman is filled with Ego and has no respect to the customers coming to his place. He thinks he is doing us all a favor by running his joint. I STRONGLY DISLIKE THIS PLACE.
They need to change their attitude towards customers otherwise they are gonna lose customers.

Chat is very good. Try samosa and bada pav.

I am mainly doing this as the old man at the front desk has been growing more and more unfriendly lately.
He does not even care to give customers credit card receipts with payment. You probably have to ask for it every time, seems like he is saving paper (read penny pinching).
Very arrogant about the quality of groceries sold at his store, ask him about the quality and you will know.
Plus he has some real ill-​will for AMEX guys in case if you ever care to check whether you can use your AMEX card. In my case he went on for a 5 minute rant.
Food quality at the fast food place is great, no complaints.

Best Indian food ever! It’s all vegetarian and homemade. Love this place and would recommend!

samaos are great and only $ 1 each. Its a small place but they have a great little grocery and resturant. I also tried the special number one which was really good.
The guy who owns it it very friendly and helpful. Its definitely a perk to have this spot in the neighborhood.

Best Samaos I eat here. Very small place but food is good. Indian home food taste you can get here…
Owner is from Banaras so he knows the north Indian taste.
Cheap and tasty. I would love to go here again and again. They do have PAN as well.

Recently visited this place with my wife after a long time. Ordered chaat, Bhindi, and Daal Palak. Let me just start by saying this, if you want cheap, quick, non authentic out of the package food then this is your haven. Theres no real cooking here. Dirty tables. Half the employees dont speak english. Dont get me started on the restroom. You feel more dirty coming out of the bathroom even after washing your hands. Least they can do is clean up the restrooms. Oh well, Lets move on to the food. Bhindi was raw and hard. No spices what so ever. Daal Palak had 4 leaves of palak. Why call it daal palak, just say daal.
Papdi chaat is out of the box and doesnt taste good.
Worst part about the experience is their customer service. Rude, no gratitude what so ever. I dont understand how can they even be in business for so long with this kind of service? Or its just as Desis we dont expect service?

On a self directed tour of Desi grocery stores near campus, pleasantly surprised to find a clearly well loved mixed use space, part grocery, part fresh kitchen churning out Anti made goodies at affordable prices. While little, the back eatery was packed, a steady hum of Hindi and an enclave of first generation faces happy to be in a familiar and tasty context. Prices here competitive, selection in grocery more extensive than expected for a compact store, can also get India West newspaper here. Good food, homecoming vibes, and fun attitudes (sign above kulfi case reads «Best Samosa in America.»). I read the sign aloud and a fellow desi customer checking out turned to me and said, it’s true, you should try it. So my husband and I made sure to visit the kitchen, and I’m so glad we did; bhindi masala, dhokla, samosas, all for around $ 7. Anti made, Anti approved.

I was shopping nearby so I thought I’d go check this place out.
As many reviewers have said, this grocery has a chaat kitchen in the back. It isn’t a restaurant. I find that people either hate this kind of place or love it. I didn’t expect much in terms of the space, but some people do. I found it to be ran enough, the tables were wiped, but they did have staining. Again, not a big deal to me.
I wish that the menu did a better job explaining the food. I really had no idea what I was ordering. I ordered the pani puri and the bada paav. I liked the filling for the pani puri and I also liked the patty inside of the bada paav. I could totally have skipped the soggy and tasteless hamburger bun. Both were flavorful and I enjoyed the spices. I have no idea what «authentic» indian food tastes like do I have nothing to compare. I did think it was tasty. I’d like to try the curry!
Communication was a little difficult. I think that may be one of the reasons why other reviewers say that the owner is rude. He wasn’t rude to me, but he wasn’t warm either.
I’ll definitely Boy Scouts back to try more items on the menu!

Don’t let this simple hidden treasure keep you from coming here. This is tucked in a grocery store with authentic spices and cooking for an affordable meal! It’s like having street eats! :)
You just grab one of the yellow sheets and mark what you want and then leave it in the basket. The staff will take the order while you sit. Sip on some water while waiting.
The last time I came here I ordered the Aloo Tikki Chaat. This is vegetarian dish made of the Tikki (potato patty) made of potatoes, green chili, corn flour, lentils, chili powder and other spices) served with chopped onions, green chutney (spicy sauce), tamarind chutney (sweet sauce) and yogurt.
I also ordered Special #1: rice pulao (mixed veggie rice), bhatura (equivalent to a Mexican tortilla), matar paneer (cheese-​like curds) and pickle (pickled veggies that probably the inexperienced palate will not be able to master).
These dishes have so many flavors! Give it a try! :)
Updated because I heard that some of the grocery items were expired! Restaurant food is good though.