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Having lived on both coasts and in India, I can say that the lunch buffet at Udipi Cafe on 161, west of Cleveland Ave., east of 71 is well worth the money. They nailed South Indian food at the lunch buffet!
They not only nailed the food, they nailed the odd restaurant-in-India authentic decor, and the plethora of wait staff that mill about seemingly doing very little. It’s really strange just how spot on this place is. For those of you that have eaten at restaurants in India, you’ll know what I mean.
When I moved to Columbus, I never expected to find a good Indian restaurant. I certainly never expected to find a South Indian restaurant. And I most definitely never expected to find a really good South Indian restaurant.
For those of you that don’t know, South Indian food is very different from North Indian food. North Indian is what 90% of Indian restaurants around the globe serve. South Indian is usually all vegetarian and its main staples include idli (rice patty cakes), uttapam (sour dough pancakes with vegetables), vada (non sweet doughnuts), dosa (crepes with various fillings), and soupy sauces such as sambar. A truly unique cuisine.
At any rate, you simply must go to Udipi since it is one of Columbus’ best ethnic eats and a good lunch value.
Oddly, they are closed on Tuesdays for lunch. Make sure to get the superb lunch buffet (I’ve never actually eaten dinner here). Included in your lunch buffet, they will bring you a masala dosa fresh from the kitchen. Their free lunch dosa is OK, nothing to rave about but the buffet is consistently great.
I also recommend the mango lassi (yogurt drink) and the chai (Indian tea) with the meal.
It gets really packed in here at lunch around 12:30 or so. A lot of Indians and Indian-Americans eat here – always a good sign.
(Note: Udipi is a chain and I normally don’t recommend any chains, but I’ll make an exception for this one.)
I could not agree more. Udipi rocks! I had never had South Indian food before so I have nothing to compare it to, but it’s awesome. I can never remember what I ordered the last time, so every time I seem to order something different and it’s always good. Have not tried the lunch buffet yet, and I’m almost afraid to. I’d eat myself under the table! :P
yea, udipi cafe is great. my co-workers and I go there every once in awhile.
I’ve also been there for dinner and it was actually a lot better than the buffet. I am no indian food expert, but i thought the dosa was amazing.
i had no idea this was a chain. it doesn’t seem like one.
How long has this place been around (in Columbus)? This is the first I’ve ever heard of it, but it sounds fantastic … I’ll be sure to put that on my list of things to try next time I’m back in town.
I guess now I’ll have to go back there for dinner too!
As for eating yourself under the table at the lunch buffet, beware – I’ve had to roll myself out of there every time…
Awesome. I’m going to check this place out.
For non-southern Indian check out Venky’s Spice House on Brice Rd. in Reynoldsburg. It’s a grocery with a small kitchen in the back…has my favorite Indian food in Columbus…but honestly I don’t have anything but the Indian Place in the North Market and Indian Oven to compare it against here in Columbus as I haven’t tried other Indian restaurants here.
I really like this place, too. I just wish it were closer to where I work; then I could go for lunch.
I seem to have a radar for holes-in-the-wall and good ethnic food. I did see Venky’s out of the corner of my eye about 6 months back but haven’t been in R-burg since. I didn’t think it was a restaurant either until I just read your review today. Thanks for posting that!
It took me awhile to recalibrate to Columbus. On the coasts, these types of restaurants are the norm and chains are the exception. Columbus is different, and I have found that one typically needs to look in older strip centers for these restaurants. So, now whenever I’m driving past an older strip center, I’m trying to read all the signs that aren’t related to haircutting and vacuum cleaner part suppliers as I speed past…
I’ll definitely go to Venky’s next time I’m out that way and stuff myself silly. I’ve tried much of the North Indian in town but haven’t been blown away by anything yet.
I just found you another South Indian restaurant last night! 8)
I think the place is relatively new, or at least I had never noticed it until now, but it’s on Bethel Road in the stripmall plaza across the street from Microcenter. Anne & I go there when we’re in that neck of the woods for bubble tea at Fantasia Tea Cafe, which is the best bubble tea we’ve found in all of town. The plaza also includes maybe 6 or 7 other ethnic restaurants and grocery stores including everthing from Mexican to Mediterranean to Korean to South Indian.
Anyway, this place is called “Banana Leaf”. Here’s some more info:
Banana Leaf
816 Bethel Road
Columbus, OH 43214
(614) 459-4101
Tue—Sun 11:30 AM—2:30 PM
4:30 PM—9:00 PM (9:30 PM on Fri and Sat)
http://www.bananaleafofcolumbus.com
Score! Thanks, Walker. Good find. I haven’t seen this one.
It’s definitely South Indian with some Gujarati (NW Indian – usually vegetarian and sweet-tooths) mixed in. I’ll definitely be checking this place out.
Is this located on the far west side of that plaza? There used to be an Indian vegetarian place tucked back in that corner – wasn’t called Banana Leaf then. Good name.
In case anyone is interested, there are also 2 other South Indian restaurants in Columbus called “Dosa Corner”. One is on the west side somewhere and one is just NW of Polaris on Old State Rd next to a pharmacy. I like Udipi more than Dosa Corner though. I’m glad Banana Leaf has arrived too!
Who knew this city had this much indian food available! :o
Going to Venkys for lunch today. Have gone once a week now the past several weeks. They’ve got a newly printed take out menu, and as it turns out they do have some south indian items on their menu.
This $5.99 lunch special they have in unbeatable.
Banana Leaf used to be called Woodlands – the place was the definition of a hole in the wall, but the food was tremendous. Haven’t been back since the name changed, but I’ll make it a point to head over there.
Forgot to mention… I popped in Banana Leaf for take-out lunch on Saturday. I’m not too well versed in Indian food to compare it to anything, but I thought what I had was alright.
What I will say though is that the people working there were about as nice as they could possibly be. I was going to order an item or two off the menu to go, and the man helping me recommended I just get the buffet so that I could try a little of everything. Good suggestion. He handed me a strafoam to-go container, which I started to fill up. It was a huge container and I wasn’t that hungry, so I filled it about half way. He took notice and started clammoring about how I needed to take more food. He pointed out a lot of things I needed to try, and started filling several seperate containers with vairous sauces for me. It was like having my very own food consultant!
When I went to pay, it was $9.99 for the buffet, so a little over $10 after tax. I handed the woman at the counter $11 in cash, and after she looked in the register, she handed me a dollar back saying that she didn’t have the right change. How polite! So I told her to keep the dollar as a tip since I had help with the buffet. I started to leave and realized I had no plastic silverware. I went back up to the register to ask for some, and she not only gave me silverware, but also a free bottled water. How nice!
The dining room itself was about half full. It looked like about half the people dining there were Indian, which is always a good thing to note. When it appears that people of the same ethnicity are eating at an ethnic restaurant it’s usually a sign that what you’re getting is authentic. How many mexicans eat at Don Pablo’s?
So yeah, this place is worth trying out in my opinion just because of the friendly service. It’s a bit of a drive for me, so I don’t know how soon I’ll be back, but it might be a good option for people who live in that neck of the woods. 8)
Thanks guys for posting some good suggestions on indian food. As I told ndecnt recently I am spoiled when I visit california as my sister married an indian man. His mother will be there when I visit and all day long she cooks the best indian food ever and there is what seems to be an endless supply. I have yet to find on my own free will a quality indian spot. I will have to check out some of these spots when I return and start missing the flavors.
I love Indian food, but for as many different places as I’ve been and as many different things I’ve tried, IMO buffets remain the BEST way to eat Indian food – there’s just too many different things to decide, and the flavors are so strong that a little bit of a lot of things is so much nicer than a lot of one thing. Well, except for a lot of naan – you can’t go wrong with a lot of naan.
Dosa Corner is just off Kenny Rd to the E, on Old Henderson Rd behind Kinko’s and Pacific Eatery.
The Dosas are the definite draw and better than Udipi’s (which can be random in getting them during the lunch buffet.) No buffet, everything to order. Don’t bother with the other items.
New India Restaurant in the Bethel Center Mall* is also good. Lamb Korma and Paneer dishes (make their own) being particular standouts.
* Bethel Center also plays hosts to a Korean Bakery next door which is a better option for dessert. And Cafe Shish Kebab which, if they haven’t got their license yet, allows BYO.
A.
I gotta disagree.
The buffet can be a good bargain and a good intro to the general idea of the food or the ability of the restaurant, but ill-serves many dishes. Good samosas should be eaten shortly after they arrive. Ditto and squared for tandoor items like chicken which get horridly over-cooked on the steam table. Other dishes get over-cooked too.
I also find that restaurants often just go through the motions when it comes to the buffet. They recognize that the patron standards are lower for it.
A.
Damn I’m suprised so many people like Indian food! Here I am being brought up with it and i’m sooo sick of it!
Thursday, June 21, 2007
BY Gary Seman Jr.
Just who makes the best masala dosa in town — Dosa Corner or Banana Leaf — is a subject of great consternation.
This isn’t the usual debate about who’s got the best burger, pizza or burrito — this is serious, mostly because so few restaurants in town serve the Southern Indian dish. We’ve traced it to four key players: Banana Leaf and Annapurna, both owned by Kamal Panchal, and Dosa Corner and Indian Corner, both owned by Hari Narahari.
Save your angry phone calls. If there are other dosa purveyors, they will be considered for future review. But for the purposes of this story, we’ve confined the evaluations to these specific eateries, both of which have generated the most buzz about the meal.
READ MORE
Never again will I touch southern indian food. I am all about curry and stuff like that but the potato stuffed nan and the coconut dipping sauce had me sick for 2 days after I ate it and I usually have the stomach of a rock!