Neeraj Nema

Visited Chennai Tiffin for breakfast and tried their weekend breakfast buffet. It costs $15.99 per person and the food was really good. I loved the taste — authentic South Indian flavors. They serve dosa and poori fresh on the table, which was a nice touch. It’s better to go a little early because the place gets quite crowded later. Service is slightly slow when it comes to refills, but overall the experience was good. I would definitely recommend this place for a nice South Indian breakfast.

SHRUTI GANDHI

Went there on Friday for happy hour !! Unbeatable price in Bay Area. Like 5$ each. Crazy . Food is decent. Service is nice and friendly. Ghee podi was my fav there. Medu wada sambar was good . Sambar was really impressive. Podi dosa had less ghee but again for 5$ it was great. My husband liked Kesari.

Angelina Z.

A boost after a morning gardening. The food is exceedingly delicious. The tea is smooth. I like it. The staff is very friendly. The music is really a great touch to the atmosphere. I’ll be back with my family and friends. Recommend.

+1

Nikhil

We read the reviews for Star Udupi Cafe and decided to give it a try, but when we arrived, we realized it was Chennai Tiffins. The place was nearly empty, which made us wonder about the food quality. However, we were pleasantly surprised by the affordable prices on the menu. We ordered a variety of items to taste. The highlights were the Onion Rava Masala, Poori with Aloo Masala, Punukulu, and Cut Mirchi. The Gongura Dosa, Parotta with chole curry, Vada, Idly, and Aapam were average. The Mini Idly had too much ghee. It's worth noting that the Idly is not Rava Idly but the Tamil Nadu style. Unfortunately, the Upma and Kesari were disappointing. The Upma we received was reheated in the microwave and cold inside. When we mentioned it, they replaced it with a fresh plate. The Mini Tiffin Combo was supposed to include Pongal, but we received Upma instead. The Kesari was dry and tasteless, likely prepared earlier in the day. I suggest skipping the Upma and Kesari and checking if Pongal is available before ordering the combo. Despite these issues, I recommend visiting for the affordable tiffins.

+6

swaroop krishna

Chennai tiffins is actually the name . It was confusing when we arrived there but we still tried it and turned out to be good . Liked pungulu it was crispy and had enough sourness. Cut mirchi is spicy and I liked it Upma was served cold and we had to ask again and it turned out good. Gongura dosa is okay, onion Rav’s masala dosa is very good . Appam with veg Kurma is decent . Didn’t like the mini idly and vada Overall a good place with budget friendly pricing and decent ambience

+3

Richard Lee

The place is not well decorated. But the food is decent. Staffs were polite. Didn't know when I walk in. This place is self service. Go to the cashier to order your food. Find a seat. Wait till your order is called then you go pick them up. Napkin, water, plastic spoon available. Must clean up before you leave. I ordered their Mega Thali.

Upen Rajkumar

Dosas tasted good. Ambience is ok. Vada was crisp. Chutneys stand out. Very flavorful unlike other veg restaurants like madras cafe and madurai idli kadai. Service is not great. They should serve dosas in bigger rectangular plates. This dosa they served was touching the table when served. Masala tea was good. I would recommend this place for the food they serve

Brendan

Friendly neighborhood Vegetarian Indian restaurant located in Santa Clara. Friendly staff, fast service, good location, and decent food. Recommend ordering takeout here about 15 minutes before arriving. [Food] The food here is vegetarian Indian cuisine. They offer several items but we came here for the Dosa (masala and cheese dosa). I’d give the flavor average to above average for the price. They give you plenty of dipping sauce for the price! [Location] This is located in a strip mall in Santa Clara near El Camino Real. There is plenty of parking. Area feels safe and it is well lit. [The Restaurant] They are still recovering from Covid but they do have a few tables for dining in. When I went by, I saw a couple eating and talking. It is a very quiet place but a nice atmosphere. Overall, 7/10 for the area!

+1

Pooja Gadhvi

Please make sure to maintain sanitation inside the area, and hence focus more on the cleanliness side too. Food is really good and tasty. Also, please either remove the polar bear at the entrance as it’s too untidy and has turned black, or remove it from the entrance completely. Staff is welcoming and gentle though.

Ashwin Mudigonda

I am not against hole-in-the-walls. Some of the best food can be had in obscure places. Chennai Tiffins exhibits all the traits of a standard Indian hole-in-the-wall. Strip mall location, barebones furniture, stuck watching YouTube ads, the list goes on. But it would have been worth it if the food compensated for it. And, sadly, it did not for me. In an area where one can toss a pebble and hit a dozen south Indian restaurants, Chennai Tiffins, with all its regalia of Madras hanging on the walls, could not instill the nostalgia with its idli or vada. The menu, per the norm at such places, was pretty lengthy. I got the idli, vada, and pongal combo. It came out soon enough, but the idli was off in consistency (firmer than expected). The vada was fine in texture, but lacking in flavor. The pongal was passable and the best of the three. The sambar, it must be said, was excellent. That alone deserves a star (since it is used as a side dish in more than half the orders). I am always curious to see what a restaurant's specials taste like, what could they conjure up that deviates from the norm. I tried the Vijaywada Paneer dosa. I don't know what I was expecting, but I got a lot of dosa that was smeared with a spicy chutney and grated paneer. The combo did not work well. The paneer felt like an afterthought and there wasn't much of it in each mouthful to scoop up. I may have to try something else the next time.

Devi Chandana

We had a variety of unlimited Kerala appam from this restaurant , which was delightful. We also had different types of dosas and bajjis. The dosas were particularly delicious, but unfortunately, the bajji was below average. Our main complaint is that the place is never clean; the tables and chairs are very old and in need of refurbishment, giving the whole place a neglected appearance. Additionally, the service was not satisfactory, as it lacked friendliness and attentiveness towards the customers. Despite these drawbacks, the food deserves more recognition.

Samrat Banik

Pretty ordinary South Indian food. It’s Chennai Tiffin, the place is no longer called Udipi Cafe, from older posts looks like it might be new management. The food quality was quite sad, but I gave a 3 star instead of 1 or 2, just because they took time and cooked everything fresh. The Veg Thali content was weak, rice was not cooked properly. I ordered a Bombay Masala on recommendation from the owner/manager that it would be nice and spicy. It was neither. It even had less salt so it was not possible to eat without the chutney. Talking about Chutney, the coconut chutney was made from stale coconut and had the bad taste of stale coconut. Masala Dosa was very very ordinary too. I won’t go to the place again or would not recommend anyone.

Niru I

I really wanted to like this place, tried 2x before pandemic and the experience was really good one time and so so the 2nd. Decided to give it another try as it’s been a few years. I went on Wednesday evening and they were offering live dosa in addition to regular menu service. Decided to try it as they offered 6 or so varieties and it was unlimited for $17.99. The first couple of dosa came out very dark and crispy so had slight bitter aftertaste. So the next rounds instructed cooked to make it less brown and it was slightly better. I tried mysore masala, andhra masala, onion , gongura paneer, cheese dosas. You are probably thinking I am a pig and how was I able to eat this many dosas. They were mini dosas luckily otherwise no way I can try all of these varieties. I didn’t find most of the combinations that impressive in terms of flavors unfortunately it could be due to the fact stuffing of dosa wasn’t very generous thus insufficient amount to bring out the flavor. Even the potato masala wasn’t that great as compared to other South Indian restaurants. They gave pani puri for those who got live dosa. I didn’t find it very good and would be disappointed if I had paid for it separately. Puri was too crisp and lacked taste. Stuffing didn’t seem to be traditional potato Chana but tomato onion mixture. There may have been potato but was such a scanty amount I missed it. Pani was meh, not terrible but not great either. The coconut chutney and sambar were delicious and the saving grace of the meal. You get serve yourself from the station set up next to live dosa. Sambar is vessel that stays warm which is awesome. Overall not sure I will do live dosa again as I felt I overate to feel I get my $ worth lol. For 2 ppl this meal + mango lassi came out to $50 after tax and tip. This is tad pricy when food wasn’t satisfying taste wise. Those of you with less discerning taste and big appetite definitely come here. I love the concept of live dosa. And will come back to try their breakfast buffet sometime in near future.

We’ve been coming here as a family for breakfast for a long time, and the food is consistently excellent. It has always been our go-to spot. Unfortunately, during our last visit( feb,8), we had an uncomfortable experience with a staff member. When I asked if plates could be cleared from our table during the buffet breakfast, I was told they prefer reusing plates. I apologized, as I wasn’t aware of this policy. After that, I overheard the staff member mocking us by saying each person used four plates, which was not true—we were three people and used five plates in total. The restaurant was also not crowded at the time, so the comment felt unnecessary. While I understand policies around reducing waste, being mocked made us feel embarrassed and unwelcome.

Sumanth Bandi

Ordered Pesarattu upma, the peanut chutney is spoiled and the quantity of chutney is less, had to order extra. For the best Pesarattu dosa, one should try Dosa confessions food truck in Milpitas.