Chennai Garden

Doesn't Recommend

authentic_crave

Joined 6 years ago

DONT WASTE ur MONEY. I am pure Indian... Born and raised in Indain. I think I know Indian food!!!! I have eaten in Asia, Europe, Africa. This place by far is the worst example of Indain food. I am sorry the service is like you just walked into MCdonalds and no one values your business.

Compling or requesting to rectify an issue regarding the food being so skimpy is a SIN in this place. They look at you like you are asking to visit GOD.

My girlfriend and myself made a special trip to this restaurant since its a block away from out favorite (Chinese Mirch). She was craving SouthIndian food and I was craving something different!

We got to the place and she ordered Cheese Dosa(typical South Indian Dish), its a stuffed flour wrap.. Usually stuffed with potato and spices. We requested cheese Dosa, since it was marked as special on the menu.

The Dosa looked awfully thin, so we opened the wrap and it barely had any cheese or anything. It was like someone just had cheese and sneezed on the dosa and whatever fell out was all we got..(imagine that). So i asked the server his opinion on the stuffing. He looked at me like I was speaking english and not his language. So we asked for regular potato dosa instead.... Guess what !!! same thing.... At this point complaining was useless, so we ate the dough and left for a better meal.

Sorry DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME & MONEY. Make a trip to Jackson Heights and get some real Indian food.

Doesn't Recommend

najaruna

Joined 6 years ago

Noisiest atmosphere and rude manager( good food). Horrible management! I met with a group of people for lunch on the weekend. It was loud from customers. The table was shaky. I asked the manager for a table that was not shaky,he said not to worry---he could not move it. Loud disco style/modern indian musak---made conversation impossible. The food was good however. This was the noisiest restaurant and rudest management I've come across.

Recommends

shrads

Joined 6 years ago

Mom's cookin'. So I'm from Chennai, whatever that's worth. I don't cook traditional Chennai food, but this place tastes just like my mom's cooking. Their dosas are phenomenal, the rasam vadai was so traditional and delicious, and the sambar was SO much better than those in other south Indian places. It had a vegetable that we call drumstick, I'm not sure what it's called in America, but that's a super-traditional addition to sambar. The idli was not soggy like it usually is at restaurants and they even give you chili powder to dip it in (if you ask for it). Don't go here if you're looking for phenomenal service. I haven't had a bad experience with the service, but it's not great. They are also a better-decorated Indian place. I've seen very large parties seated without any hassle on a Friday night.

Doesn't Recommend

foodbum

Joined 7 years ago

No steam - Kosher (yeah right)!. Thought I would take the path less traveled and ventured into the alley where it was the lone station. Bad call?the station was dirty, the engine broken and the conductor sleeping. If the criteria is to get snarls from the owner (or owner pretend) and be surprised by the greasy servings then I would have recommend them for a Michelin star! Why must you exist when you cannot provide good food or service is beyond this foodbum?s comprehension.

Recommends

janesays13

Joined 9 years ago

MMMMMMMM. Delicious. Maybe the best Indian place I've been to in NYC. And I actually found the service to be fantastic. The owner and servers were very friendly and attentive, and my friend and I were never pressured to hurry up or leave. I would absolutely recommend this place.

Recommends

canai

Joined 7 years ago

Yum!. 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!

The food is consistently wonderful - I've been coming here for years, and the owner has always been accomodating and friendly. I love this place!

A hearty two thumbs up!

Recommends

newjerseydiva

Joined 7 years ago

I love this place!!!. I love Indian food and consider myself to be quite an expert on it. Chennai Garden is my favorite Indian restaurant in the city. They have authentic Indian at amazin prices. This restaurant is VEGETARIAN; there are NO MEAT dishes whatsoever. The seats are uncomfortable if you are sitting against the wall on wooden benches. It's a rather cramped and busy restaurant and it closes early.

Doesn't Recommend

bunnybunny

Joined 8 years ago

Go two doors down!. After reading bad reviews, I thought: How could service be rude for a buffet? To my surprise, the owner is breathing down your neck even when the restaurant isn't full. I'll go back to this neighborhood for Indian but I'll go a few doors down to the restaurant on the corner.

Recommends

pmohanram

Joined 9 years ago

Good Food, Crappy Service. We went for a buffet as a group of four on a weekday. Food was very good. When we were winding down, the owner comes up to us and says, if you are done, can you leave, as there are people waiting. I was surprised but said ok, give us a few minutes. He came back in 2 minutes and reiterated the request. We left in a hurry. On the way out, I told him that what he did was rude and uncalled for. I told him that this what one would expect at a cafeteria and not a restaurant. His response - my prices are lower than cafeteria prices. I was shocked. As I said before, if you can put up with such service, go there.

Recommends

sparkyk

Joined 9 years ago

Best lunch buffet in the city. I've had the lunch buffet at Chennai a couple of times, when I have been in the neighborhood. It is terrific, as is the value. $6 and there is much tasty food, all of it fresh and continually refilled. I am not a vegetarian but, almost all the dishes were great. Frankly, when you compare what you can have here for lunch, versus McDs or so many other sandwich shops in the city, there is no comparison. Go hungry and enjoy.