Chennai Garden

(212) 689-1999

129 E 27TH St (nr. Lexington Ave.)
New York, NY 10016 40.74222 -73.98336

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Neighborhoods: Kips Bay, Midtown

chennaigarden.com/

Hours:

Mon-Fri, 5pm-10pm

Sat-Sun, noon-10pm

Last updated 10.17.11

Category:

Restaurants

Cuisine:

Vegetarian, Indian, Kosher

What People Are Saying About Chennai Garden

Featured Review

Keith Wagstaff

Contributor

Known for its popular lunch buffet, this vegetarian Curry Hill restaurant serves Indian cuisine from all different regions of India.

ambiance
66.66999816894531% positive
  1. “Delicious food, excellent service, and a pretty atmosphere make this a great choice for dinner and the $5.99 lunch buffet makes it an even better choice for lunch!”
  2. “The $5.95 all-you-can-eat lunch is tooted as a good deal but a the ambiance is dreadful and you can get a terrific meal, also kosher vegetarian, in peace with service just around the corner for $2 more.”
  3. “Noisiest atmosphere and rude manager( good food)”
dessert
100.0% positive
  1. “But, the food was delicious and includes a small dessert dish.”
drinks
100.0% positive
  1. “Great sambar, dosas, vada, madras coffee.”
food quality
79.68999862670898% positive
  1. “the food was wonderful.”
  2. “and his food is not even that good.”
  3. “Mediocre food, small selection, couldn't wait to get out the here.”
  4. “$6 and there is much tasty food, all of it fresh and continually refilled.”
  5. “The dishes were so incredible, though, that I altogether forgot about meat and for a second considered becoming a vegetarian!”
  6. “Why must you exist when you cannot provide good food or service is beyond this foodbum?”
  7. “Disappointing food, lousy service.”
  8. “sometimes the vegetarian restaurants compensate with a lot of oil to make the food rich and tasty.”
  9. “The food is delicious and prepared according to your specifications.”
  10. “The food is very fresh and del.”
  11. “love Indian food and consider myself to be quite an expert on it.”
  12. “Delicious food, excellent service, and a pretty atmosphere make this a great choice for dinner and the $5.99 lunch buffet makes it an even better choice for lunch!”
  13. “The $5.95 all-you-can-eat lunch is tooted as a good deal but a the ambiance is dreadful and you can get a terrific meal, also kosher vegetarian, in peace with service just around the corner for $2 more.”
  14. “The food was good however.”
  15. “The interesting Behl Vada appetizer was so tasty and made the Assorted Appetizers platter pale in comparison.”
  16. “But, the food was delicious and includes a small dessert dish.”
  17. “am South Indian so I have high standards for good South Indian food.”
  18. “Excellent food, horrifying service”
  19. “The food here is just as good as a good restaurant in India or at my mom's!”
  20. “best vegan indian food I have had in a long time.”
  21. “I'm a big carnivore, and normally, a meal is not complete without some meat dish, so my apprehension to eat here was obvious.”
  22. “the vadai rasam was delicious and spicy.”
  23. “thought about ordering some more food to go and contemplating a return visit but after witnessing how they kept trying to remove the check from our table (even though we didn't even sign the stupid credit card receipt yet), that was the last straw.”
  24. “love the food, but the service is so hostile.”
  25. “The food is consistently wonderful - I've been coming here for years, and the owner has always been accomodating and friendly.”
  26. “the food was horrible.”
  27. “The prices are unbeatable and quite frankly, the food is great for whatever you're paying for it.”
  28. “Noisiest atmosphere and rude manager( good food)”
  29. “Now all the good restaurants in Curry Hill are asking $12-15/pp, this dude has the audacity to ask $18-$25/pp for only 2 vegetarian dishes!”
  30. “The food service was good but I will never return or recommend this place.”
  31. “best vegan food!”
  32. “am not a vegetarian but, almost all the dishes were great.”
menu variety
0.0% positive
  1. “Mediocre food, small selection, couldn't wait to get out the here.”
overall
100.0% positive
  1. “The food service was good but I will never return or recommend this place.”
  2. “This is a great restaurant!”
  3. “Chennai Garden is my favorite Indian restaurant in the city.”
return potential
100.0% positive
  1. “The food service was good but I will never return or recommend this place.”
  2. “thought about ordering some more food to go and contemplating a return visit but after witnessing how they kept trying to remove the check from our table (even though we didn't even sign the stupid credit card receipt yet), that was the last straw.”
service
76.66999816894531% positive
  1. “The servers were attentive but it got to a point of absolute rudeness when one tosses the check on the table and then each server comes by every 2 minutes constantly seeing if we forked over our cash already, even while we were enjoying our Chennai coffee”
  2. “The food service was good but I will never return or recommend this place.”
  3. “The staff was very friendly, especially compared to other restaurants in the area such as Pongal.”
  4. “The $5.95 all-you-can-eat lunch is tooted as a good deal but a the ambiance is dreadful and you can get a terrific meal, also kosher vegetarian, in peace with service just around the corner for $2 more.”
  5. “Delicious food, excellent service, and a pretty atmosphere make this a great choice for dinner and the $5.99 lunch buffet makes it an even better choice for lunch!”
  6. “Excellent food, horrifying service”
  7. “The food is consistently wonderful - I've been coming here for years, and the owner has always been accomodating and friendly.”
  8. “love the food, but the service is so hostile.”
  9. “Disappointing food, lousy service.”
  10. “Why must you exist when you cannot provide good food or service is beyond this foodbum?”
  11. “It was a very bad service.”
  12. “Noisiest atmosphere and rude manager( good food)”
  13. “The staff has always been friendly and professional.”
  14. “haven't had a bad experience with the service, but it's not great.”
  15. “The owner and servers were very friendly and attentive, and my friend and I were never pressured to hurry up or leave.”
value
100.0% positive
  1. “The prices are unbeatable and quite frankly, the food is great for whatever you're paying for it.”
wait time
100.0% positive
  1. “The servers were attentive but it got to a point of absolute rudeness when one tosses the check on the table and then each server comes by every 2 minutes constantly seeing if we forked over our cash already, even while we were enjoying our Chennai coffee”
  2. “best vegan indian food I have had in a long time.”
4 Star Rating: Recommended

01/03/12

CHENNAI GARDEN HAS NEW DECOR

by Narnia at Citysearch

Chennai Garden was closed for few months for renovation. Now that it is OPEN, it has a new decor, new plates,silver wares and etc. The food as always is good. The server seem attentive. It has a new ambience!!!!!

1 Star Rating: Poor

02/05/11

Feeling queasy

by nycer212 at Citysearch

Wish I'd read about Chennai Gardens' health violations before eating there. I thought it was odd they didn't post their inspection results, as many restaurants do.

Place smells funky. Food isn't good. I love Indian food, but won't go back to Chennai Garden.

4 Star Rating: Recommended

05/10/10

Great Lunch Buffet

by caryn donohue at Citysearch

Tried this spot for lunch last week since it's near the office and I was impressed with the lunch buffet. For only $6.95 you get your choice of 8 or so items, with 4 of them being entrees. I loved three of four of them and went back for seconds. It's vegetarian, southern Indian food, so it was a bit spicy and all around delicious! I didn't find the wait staff to be particularly pleasant, but then again they didn't interfere with my experience much since I served myself for the most part.

  • Pros: Lunch buffet
  • Cons: Wait staff
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

10/10/09

This is a great restaurant!

by nycvegan at Citysearch

Please try this restaurant for yourself and don't be dissuaded by the negative reviews, which I find hard to understand. I've been a regular customer for years and this is one of my favorite restaurants. The food is delicious and prepared according to your specifications. The staff has always been friendly and professional. The menu denotes which items have dairy and which are dairy-free, and also tells you which items are spicy and non-spicy. The menu offers a wide selection.

  • Pros: delicious food; friendly staff; menu notes dairy-free items
  • Cons: No vegan desserts - but no one else has them either.
3 Star Rating: Average

01/01/09

Excellent food, horrifying service

by ee_me_me at Citysearch

I'm done with Chennai Garden. I love the food, but the service is so hostile. Something is seriously wrong at this place.

The Details on Chennai Garden

Place Categories:

  • love vegan indian food
  • mediocre food
  • favorite indian restaurant
  • love place
  • excellent horrifying service
  • attentive servers
  • tasty interesting behl vada appetizer
  • very bad service
  • very friendly staff
  • very friendly owner
  • delicious vadai rasam
  • great dosa
  • dirty station
  • pretty atmosphere
  • nice greeting
  • best vegan food
  • failed health inspection
  • rude manager
  • big carnivore
  • terrific meal
  • uncomfortable seats
  • good south indian food
  • not stupid credit card receipt
  • incredible dishes
  • horrible management
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