Samudra Vegetarian Restaurant & Chaat House
“I miss having coconut in my food and love their Dosas, it's not only delicious , it's simply mind blowing!”
“I love the delicious dosas from the South Indian menu as well as the curries from the North.”
“I am looking forward to going back and ordering another huge masala dosa!”
Samudra Vegetarian Restaurant & Chaat House
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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The saag dosa was delicious, as was the dal makhani. The gobi Manchurian was a touch sweet for my taste but the cauliflower was very nicely crisped. Poori bread was hot, fluffy and not the slightest bit greasy. Service was super pleasant and the owner was just delightful – I was here on a weekday for lunch so it was not crowded and we had a lovely chat about India, cooking, and shopping for spices. I would like to come back and try some of the other dishes!
I'm not big on eating vegetables (unless it's potatoes or of the fried variety), but I absolutely LOVED the food here. It was a definite nice change of pace from eating the typical Indian buffet fare (and I do love me some Indian buffets).
Walking distance from Jackson Heights/Roosevelt St. (but a little out of the away from the street), the service was decent, the decor left a lot to be desired, but I wasn't really there for the atmosphere.
I would and have definitely recommend this place if you're looking for something a little different as far as typical/mainstream Indian food is concerned.
Spent the day walking around Jackson Heights and enjoying all the culture/diversity with my roommate. Given the plethora of Indian options available, we decided to come to Samudra because of the reviews and that it was vegetarian.
Unsure if this was an off-day or not, but I was not impressed with the restaurant at all. The service is pretty slow, granted it was a Saturday, we were there relatively early and before the dinner rush. After being seated, we got menus and water. Here's what we ordered:
Bhel Puri (appetizer) – it came out on a white plate with a nicely shaped cylinder block of bhel with one small puri on top. It looked a bit dry, so we asked for extra chutney. The bhel puri itself was okay…it was tangy, which both of us like, but nothing to knock your socks off.
Paneer Makhani – when ordering, I asked the waitress why the paneer makhani dish was in a different color font than the rest of the dishes, minus a couple of others. I asked if it was because it was a specialty, but she had no idea. Waiters/waitresses should know every piece of the menu and be able to assist customers in making decisions and informing them about the dishes – it was very surprising that she didn't understand why certain foods were in different colors. I ended up ordering it, extra spicy, along with a poori.
When the paneer makhani arrived, it looked good – nicely played with some cilantro on top. However, when I took the first bite, as I was still waiting for the poori, the curry tasted like bland tomato soup. I hate to say it, but similar to Campbell's condensed tomato soup that you mix with water. There was no spice or flavor to it. I ate some more with the rice, as I still waited for the poori. The poori arrived and was tasty – normal large bhatura-like poori. The paneer cubes were pretty good – they were small, which I prefer over large pieces, and cooked well. I had to add a lot of achar/athanu to get some flavor and taste into this extremely bland dish.
My roommate got the Mysore masala dosa and it wasn't that great, not crispy. The sambar was okay, but he mentioned he's definitely had better sambar.
Overall, I don't think I'll come back here and although I had high expectations, none of the food hit the mark. Don't know if it started with the waitress not properly taking our order when we asked for it to by spicy, or if this is how the restaurant actually is. When I'm back in Jackson Heights, they'll be other places to explore.
When I'm in Jackson heights – the hub of ethnic food (especially Indian/Pakistani) I expect to have a good meal. This meal was just average. We ordered the cheese uttapam and butter masala dosa along with mango lassi and masala chai. The cheese uttapam was ok (a bit plain) and the butter masala dosa was average also (slightly better than the uttapam). Not quite sure about the buttery consistency of the crush of the dosa but the potato filling was certainly lacking some flavor. The mango lassi was quite nice but the best part of the meal was definitely the masala chai.
I wont be back but this place isn't awful – just have had much better South Indian food elsewhere.
Favorite dosas in NYC! But I'm always open to trying new places. 😉 Came here last maybe 2 years ago, and decor hasn't changed a bit. Love the ambience, tons of locals coming in for the lunch specials. Pure Jackson Heights; Latinos, whites, Nepalis, Indians … even Franchies (that's me! lol).
Btw, the owner is very nice. First time I chatted with him. He's from Bangalore, so it was really nice reminiscing with him about southern Indian and my recent visit there.
Still looking for a place that does southern indian food as good as in southern India! But this place comes close. And damn cheap, especially the lunch special. Tips on how to eat authentic like a local (and also cheap of course), get the Samudra Special! Curries are more a northern thing, southern people eat tons of dosas, uttapams, vada, etc. And no need to get the fancy dosas/uttapams with cheese, spinach, etc. In India everything comes plain but accompanied with sauces (coconut chutney, sambar, etc.).
The dosas are excellent – thin and crispy. The vada donuts were even freshly fried!
I savored my lunch at Samudra, a quiet south Indian restaurant in Jackson Heights that takes you away from the hubbub of Manhattan. I ordered the spinach dosa and was stuffed before I could finish my plate. They don't skimp on the filling (woohoo meeting my vegetable quota!) and are very attentive with making sure your water glass is always full. Trust me, you will need the water because some of the dips that accompany the dosa are spicy. The restaurant owners were also very friendly, thanking each patron as they left, and their warm hospitality contributed to the overall charm of the restaurant. I'd much rather come here than a loud, crowded Indian place in Murray Hill.
I found Samudra from an article on vegetarian cheap eats in New York. Delicious and cheap vegetarian fare. The service is good, and the dosas and thali special were awesome. We'll definitely come back for the curries.
As a vegetarian dosa fanatic, I give this restaurant my heart. Everything we tried (chai, masala dosa, chana bhatura) was delicious. Definitely worth a stop if you're on a South Indian nosh trip to Jackson Heights. The best surprise was great service because some of these reviews indicated it might not be the case. It was a hot hot day in NYC & the plentiful water refills saved my life.