Chennai Garden by Tiffin Wallah
“The 3 dosas (weekend specials) I've tried were Pondichery, Coconut Rava Masala, and Mysore Rava Masala.”
“I had the coconut rava dosa for dinner and I was very surprised at how good it was.”
“For anyone unfamiliar with South Indian cuisine, you're missing out, and this place is doing it right.”
Chennai Garden by Tiffin Wallah
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Ordered delivery (which took a while – almost an hour) but the food arrived hot. Loved that the ice cream I ordered came in an ice bath!
Food wise, everything was delicious. Favorites were the yellow dal and Chana masala. The thali ($17) which I'd definitely recommend came with roti, rice, raita, pickle, kheer, rasam, papad along with Chana and palak paneer. Interestingly the spinach was not completely blended to a smooth curry – I enjoyed the more chunky texture.
For context, this was a day trip to NYC for me, and I put a lot of thought into where to eat dinner, and I had an abundance of second thoughts about choosing this particular all-vegetarian South Indian place, and even upon perusing the appealing menu, had more second thoughts about what to order.
That is, until I started actually eating it.
They had several thali options, and the South India thali is perhaps the most general of those and the fairest on which to rate them. It was quite possibly the only thali I've had (a combo platter with many small dishes) where I liked everything on it. The dosa was thin and crispy (not an easy skill, speaking as someone who's tried this at home) and filled with a fantastic and lightly fried potato and pea masala. The sambar was rich and spicy, and the idly I dipped in it fresh. The vada was good enough not to really need dipping, but the chutneys enhanced it anyway. The uttapam, while it looked a tad onion-y for my taste, was again cooked just right and dipped well into the various accompaniments. Having had lentil/rice preparations every which way, the carrot halwa at the end was the thing I liked least; a tad dry and I never really like halwa much, but still not bad.
That is a full, rounded meal, and given the location, fairly priced, certainly better than some of the alternatives I was considering. Filled me up nicely for my late ride out of the city. It isn't a fancy place, but it's got a nice little ambiance going, and business was good while I was there. For anyone unfamiliar with South Indian cuisine, you're missing out, and this place is doing it right.
For a vegetarian Indian food restaurant, they have excellent food. The entrees are priced well for a sit-down place with waiter service (~$11-13 on average). The dishes come with rice and are very filling.
They are good about dietary restrictions for things like Jain diets and the restaurant is certified Kosher.
I have been multiple times and have gotten the malai kofta every time (vegetarian meatballs). The dish is excellent and the curry sauce is rich and flavorful. I would never have thought that anything called vegetarian meatballs could be as delicious.
Nice atmosphere and good food. It wasn't super spicy, which I missed, nor was it miles better than other similar places in this area. Still, I would go again!
On the search for satisfying South Indian food, Tiffin Wallah has been popular for their variety of dishes and authenticity. Saturday evening, was able to easily get a table for two in the moderately sized restaurant. Ambiance is a little lacking, like a slightly upscale cafeteria.
Split the Samosa Chaat ($7.50), Pondicherry Masala Dosa ($12), and a paratha with veggie mix whose name I forgot. Chaat is large with a sweet sauce and yogurt. Could be spicier yet the flavors are good. The dosa is cut up and served in fourths – filled with potatoes, tomatoes, and chili. Good with the chutney, but again, not spicy. Paratha is crispy and the veggies are cooked well with large coconut flavor.
Given the large portions we packed up most of the food. We paid our bill and realized we hadn't received the leftovers yet. Turns out they threw it all away even though we told them 3 times to pack it up. Server did not offer any compensation. Overall, food is fine – service and atmosphere is poor. Won't be back.
I admit I don't know much about Indian food. Usually when I eat at an Indian restaurant, I am fortunate enough to have an Indian friend do the ordering, and that's always worked out well for me. We had a good laugh when a group of us carnivores had dinner here. My first question to the one who chose Tiffin Wallah was, "So how come you're in the mood for vegetarian today?" His response was, "This is a vegetarian restaurant?"
Lol, luckily we're aware that most Indian dishes are tasty vegetarian dishes, so we're not entirely ignorant. We just didn't research the menu prior to our arrival.
We shared a bunch of dishes family-style with rice. Unfortunately, I'm too ignorant to put a name to most of the dishes we consumed. Everything was colorful, saucy, and loaded with flavor, especially this eggplant dish. The bhindi masala – okra, tomato & onion dish was very tasty too.
The dosas were probably my favorite, and the coconut chutney and sambar sauces were packed with flavor. The paper dosa was an especially fun dish. The wafer-thin crepe was delicately shaped into a horn with a small serving of mashed potato, corn & peas, hidden inside the dosa horn. I resisted the urge to pick up the horn and make trumpet noises.
Even though the meal was good, I doubt I will return for dinner, because the $9 lunch buffet trumps dinner. They also deliver lunch for $9. Not a bad deal.
Oh hey, this is actually pretty good.
Craving some spicy, home-style food so I came over. The manager spoke Tamil, perfect. I love I can get little slices of my Indian culture in NYC.
The onion rava masala dosa, while it could have been roasted slightly more, was very good by NYC standards. Obviously, it's not particularly spicy, nor is there that much potato stuffing, and it costs $13, but it gets the job done. Taste buds satisfied. Chutney was forgettable, sambar was actually thick and delicious.
Ordered idli vada to go. The idli, of course, was kind of hard in the center. Vada got the job done. Also, what is it with NYC and this whole 1 idli per order thing. Like who the fuck eats 1 idli?!! Only in the rent-inflated city to they have the audacity to charge $6.50 for it.
All in all, this place, while clean and courteous, fulfills the stereotype of mediocrity surrounding Indian food, well everywhere in the city.
The food here was really good! The service was enthusiastic and attentive – not something you can count on at an Indian restaurant.
We had the thali with the South Indian vegetables as well as the kadhai paneer. The flavors were great, quantities were great, and we enjoyed our meal.
Not that you can expect much ambiance at an Indian restaurant, their bulbs were out and they were trying to fix it while we were dining. The noise level is so high that we just chose to have a quiet dinner with no conversation.
I'm really excited to return and try more menu items – but may choose take-out this time.