Balaji Cafe in Great Falls

Very arrogant staff. They just give the food out of the freezer.

Friendly staff, clean place but the food was average. The dosas were small (which is okbut was very oily and seems like they used frozen coconut chutney. We did go to the restroom at odd hours (4pm ishso may be the chef was on break.

Very rude staff, got agitated upon asking questions and gave wrong information. Food was okay.

Sambhar was tamarind taste and wada was the worst worst that I have eaten both in texture and dark burnt flavour

Tried this place first time thinking it to be good but it turned out horrible. Firstly the order was missing plus the quality of the food was terrible too. Very disappointed. Not worth it at all

Delicious food, plenty of vegan options. I had the masala dosa with chutney and sambar, as well as a couple of samosas. Everything was wonderful, and came out fast.The kitchen was unfortunately rather noisy, and I wish they didn’t use styrofoam and plastic for everything, too much waste. More of a take-out place I would say (there are seats, but at dinner time on a Saturday I was the only one dining in).

Absolutely awesome Indian vegitarian vegan place. The staff is so nice.

They may look short staffed but they dish out things faster than expected. Their chats are good except Vada Pav. Their stuffed paratas are thin but tasty (Kid attested).

Excellent tasty dosas.Very delicious chole bhature.Very very good madras coffee

Never ever order their Thali 😡 . We ordered 3 thalis and most of the items were not feeling freshly made. We ate half of the samosa and realized it was smelling bad and surely few days old. We ended up throwing away all the samosas . Same with their halwa they just heated it up. I was worried we might get food poisoning but luckily nothing bad happened till now .Just saw few other reviews which mentioned about molds in the Samosas and noodles and mentioned owner lady insisting that the taste is ok. Same happened to us . So it is confirmed that thier food sucks. Save yourself and never go there😡

A nice cozy small place where food tastes nice and authentic, with pleasant Lata mangeshkar/Kishore kumar hindi music in the background. I have tried parathas, dosas, chole batura, samosas and hukka noodles. Recommend for families or office lunches. Courteous staff.

It was quiet, food was good. A bit unkept though.

Uck, the food was terrible. We ordered veg chowmein, Manchurian and vada pav. The pav used for vada pav was sweet! Disgusting. The chowmein despite asking for spicy was bland as hell. It smelled of dirty cooking oil and was terrible despite her offering to fix it. The munchurian again was saltless. I had to drive 30 mins to get here and I’m surely never doing that again. Save a trip and don’t eat here - worst food I’ve eaten in DMV.

The food here was very tasty. Felt homemade without the aftertaste of restaurant food. We had rava masala dosa, Bhel Puri, Dahi vada, Gobi paratha and mango lassi. All the items were great. The masala chai was the best we ever had. The host was very friendly and attentive to my child’s food allergy restrictions. True to its name- Balaji “Organic” cafe👌

Wish I could put it less than oneLousy dry idlis, vadas sambhar dosas we’re all miserable topped with bad attitude of lady at the counter and dirty restaurant

Needs so much work. Served water instead of sambhar, God knows what was served in place of masala in the dosa (yellow smashed potatoes), chutney was neutral to taste, peanut garlic chutney was a good one, dosa was less than satisfactory and burnt. The concept of the restaurant seems pretty good but it is due for a major overhaul to fix the food and quality.

A favorite for me and my wife, we call it “Daily Dosa” amongst ourselves. We can get enough food for both of us for dinner for under $20 and we love the food. The dosas are great and tangy and we like the sambar so much we learned how to make it at home (that pod vegetable is called ‘drumstick’). Just be careful not to accidentally place your phone order with the other place called Balaji Cafe in Utah.

Very helpful and friendly! I went with my friend who cant eat anything with chili spice. They helped us find what we can order non spicy. We ordered a bunch of dishes to share, and I got one chaat for myself that was a little spicy. The food was very good! I especially enjoyed the chaat, dosa, and sambar. I will definitely be returning. There are so many other items I look forward to trying.

I should have known the moment I walked into an empty restaurant on a lovely Sunday morning. I was carefree and naive and had no idea how horrible this ordeal was going to turn out to be.. I ordered chaat, Chole Batura and paav bhaji. The order was ready in a few minutes to my surprise from a fairly uneventful kitchen.. (this should have been the second red flag). The food was abysmal to say the least. The chole was cold, the paav was cold, the chat was soggy and the bhaji had a weird taste to it.I really hope the owners take these reviews seriously because I feel for the people who accidentally eat here.

If i could give negative stars, i will. Here are the things that was not good with our experience: the waitress did not know items on the menu even existed. All our paratas were reheated because they took it out of the frozen package, if i want to eat frozen, why will i go to a restaurant? Yogurt had a very odd smell.. even the reheated frozen paratha was like papad. Chaat items were too sweet and noodles had only the taste of soy sauce! Not worth going here

This is a very bad quality masala dosa with chars and burns. I tried a little bit and tastes spoiled and not at all fresh. Also, not sure what kind of flour they use. It’s oddly white in color. They used to have better (not the bestdosa in the past. I don’t know why they have changed their cooking style.

We ordered Rava masala Dosa and veg Hakka noodles, taste was good and reasonable price then quantity also far better than other restaurants.

Ive ordered takeout from this place twice now. I cannot understand how much this place needs to be visited. No matter what you order the cuisine is absolutely spectacular..The wait time even when they are busy is very short. Communication on the phone is absolutely easy. The area is spacious so if youre worried about social distancing you are able to. The restaurant itself is spotless. And the staff are absolutely fantastic and friendly.So far Ive had the pleasure of trying...Pav Bhaji which was absolutely spectacular with the butter bread.The onion and green chili uttapam hit the spot. It had the perfect balance of ingredients.And my ultimate favorite thing from this place so far has been there samosas. These delicious treats are very well portioned. Stuffed very well, and very flaky and crisp as they should be.It has been years since Ive experienced such great food of this type. Please give this place a visit.Oh and dont forget to try one of their lassies. The mango one was exceptionally delicious.

They served spoiled vegetable Biryani. Never going to visit this place again. Please value health of your customers. Worst food.

Horrible experience, spoiled food was served. We identified and smells so bad as soon as we received. When we asked their response were so bad. All they said was in rude way to get the refund. It was really bad experience in restaurants to serve very rotten food. Careful

Not impressed with quality of food, the dosa was bitter and burnt, chaat had chickpeas half cooked and a lot of it in terms of quantity. The idly was hard and sambar was very watery and salty. This please was good 2 years ago but after my visit last week, I would say I am not going again.

We went for lunch for my birthday..it was a big mistake. Food did not have a flavor even the easy to make rasam was not even tasting like rasam and the easiest of all the rice it was so hard cant even chew and the rest of the food absolutely tasteless and flavorless. Seriously, I was wondering whether they taste the food while preparing or serving? Unless chef and whole menu changes I would not recommend to any one who loves food.

Nice Eastern European waiter. Polite and good service. Granted Tamil noses are unique but still the smell of old oil pervaded the restaurant. That was I hope just today as it made the wait for food uncomfortable.Lastly, if people order thali and masal dosai in the store, serve it reuseable metal containers please. We wasted so much styrofoam when we didnt even take out.Good tasting food for a mom & pop restaurant (not better than my dads was thou ;o)

6/6: Had idly vada and moongdal dosa . Vada is nice . Idly and dosa tasted bad sour , chutney are like 2 weeks old 🤮. Irani tea is like masala tea .I don’t recommend 👎🏻.Front desk staff person is good 👍🏻

Worst food ever. Ordered this Balaji thaali.. the quantity was so less and thank god the quantity was less bcoz the food tasted like it was made 2 days ago. Sambar was watery and we can easily say it was not fresh and is atleast made 2 days ago.. Rasam was worst. Sambar and Rasam had weird taste and was stale.. Not even a single item tasted good.. only gulab jaamun was good.. very disappointed

Ordered masala dosa and idli Sambar. Sambar was thin and all I could see was water and chili powder. Idli was ok but dosa was not cooked on the other side. I doubt I will visit this place again.

I had one of the worst experiences here.Before the food was really good and I used to enjoy it alot. Since last couple of time the front desk is acting very poor. I ordered sambar rice and they just put some sticky rice cake pouring sambar on it .It tasted very bad and when I asked the front desk regarding that she just trashed and told that all I have and anything else you need.She was so rude and disrespectful.The restrooms were very poor and not maintained.Sad to see such an amazing restaurant losing the standards!

Had a very bad experience. We ordered sambar rice and Thali. The lady on the front desk took my order and served the food without washing her hand after touching her mask. The sambar rice was very bad, she just poured sambar on a hard piece of a rice and the Thali was served in the foam bowls which was melting because of the hot items in them.Not at all hygienic and won’t recommend this place and bad service!

I love this place and go here regularly. The food is inexpensive, fresh, and tasty. The lady who works here is very nice and knows everything about the ingredients and the menu, so if you have any food allergies or sensitivities, she will be able to tell you what you can and cannot eat. I love the vada sambar, veg burger, dosas, and desserts especially. The thali is a bargain if you are very hungry and want some variety. I have not been disappointed in anything I have tried. My family loves it too, and I take them here whenever they visit me. Everyone in my family is vegetarian or vegan, and its great to have this veg restaurant nearby.

Food here is fresh and delicious. We ordered Veg Burger, Idli and Puri Bhaji. Only problem is portions are not big or filling but nonetheless they still taste great.

We have ordered veg manchuria, just look at this expensive cheap food , stale , no taste , old , uncooked . Look at the pictures , I would not recommend anyone to get food from here , seriously you Guyz need to change the chef or leave this business.

Horrible.! Ordered to go. Sambar rice is tasteless, veg Hakka noodles is a nightmare and veg manchuria is finely grounded balls that did not cooked properly and sauce is tasteless. Rasmalai is good and that single star is for that. Purchased a Groupon coupon 10$ for $20 worth. But ended up in paying $13 more since take away is for minimum $30. Please don’t waste your money. Stay away

Worst experience. We ordered dosa and idli vada. Dosa is worst and doesnt had any taste, no salt in dosa or chutneys. It looks like they gave a day old idli and very cold. We see some black dust on idli and we dont even dare to touch them..(attached photo)

This place is dynamite! If you are dosa lover, come here! You will not be disappointed. The dosas are authentic and fresh. Masala dosa, Mysore masala dosa - they do it exactly right. They have many other scrumptious things including snack items that vary and are not on the menu. The prices are a great value. If I could eat here every day, I would.

Ordered the thali by looking the photos on their website.. Couldnt even eat half of it.. Chapathi and samosa both seems to be frozen and reheated. Rice is sticky and very less quantity.. Papad is soft. All Currys are full of oil. Never going here again

The food was wonderful! I picked up food from Balaji Cafe on Sunday. Im not a vegetarian but I love Indian food so I thought I would try this place. I called and asked them what they recommended for a first-time vegetarian Indian food eater and they recommended the Masala Dosa. They also recommended the Mango Lassi. Both were sooo delicious! The Masala Dosa is a giant crepe with a potato mixture inside. And the Mango Lassi was like a mango/yogurt smoothie. When I picked up my food I met Naresh the owner who was such a nice guy. Ill definitely be ordering more from here and Im looking forward to being able to sit down in the restaurant when this whole Corona thing is over to enjoy another great meal. Cant wait to try his other restaurant too, Supperclub of India!

Weve been going here on and off for the past five years. We love this place. Food is good taste wise and quality of ingredients wise also. Almost all of the items on the menu are great choices. We particularly like the parathas and Indo Chinese dishes. The Madras coffee is a must have to seal the meal.

Rava dosa and Chana bhatura were tasty options on the menu. Samosa is another good item on the list. Gobi paratha did not have enough filling, was pretty ok. Overall a good restaurant with a lot of food options to choose from.

Fantastic place. Dont let the industrial area for you. Also inside its cafeteria style: you place the order at the counter and its delivered to your table. Seems like a family run operation and the food is delicious. The lady who took our order and brought the food to us was very pleasant and was smiling throughout. Process are quite reasonable and you will get to enjoy so many South Indian devices and staples. Vada was quite crisp and was delectable to be dunked into sambar. Thank allows you to taste many different things in a single plate.Go take a look and taste a few dishes, you wont be disappointed.If youre a vegetarian or vegan, you will be amazed at the choices. Quite a treat!

Please try their complimentary mint water placed next to the cashier. I was so happy to see it. I asked them if its complimentary, and then drank two refreshing cups of mint water while I waited for my order to arrive.It looks like a cool place to hangout with your friends. I had gone there on a Saturday. A security was posted at the entrance of the parking lot to check on people, so that the Herndon festival patrons dont park there. Despite the Herndon festival, Balaji Cafe was moderately busy.I like their completely Vegetarian menu. For once, I dont have to think about substitutions or worry about why they dont have that similar dish in Veg.I had ordered a halwa Poori and Bhel Puri to go. When I got home, I was pleasantly surprised at the size of the two pooris, they were big enough, almost the typical size of a dosa. And the accompanying sooji halwa/Kesari was mildly sweet and was of adequate quantity.The Bhel Puri was a let down as I was expecting some spicy tangy masala. I would definitely come and try the other dishes at this place as their rates seemed pocket friendly. I guess its more of a To Go place/Chaat space. Hope they continue to serve complimentary mint water.

This is definitely not the best place to have South Indian food but it does the job for anyone craving for it and in the area. The dosas were just ok - too flaky and the potatoes could have just a little more spice. The sambar was decent but needs more tanginess and bulk. The best dish was the rassam & rice - my kids loved it. Somehow you also keep feeling that the ingredients are not the freshest and they could source better.

This place serves good Indian chat and masala tea. Liked their aloo papdi chat, pani puri, and shev puri. Serve good quantity and quick service.

I have been here a few times and I like their South Indian options. Didn’t like their samosa very much though thought it was weirdly made. I take out or have my meal there. They have nice old Hindi songs playing in the background which is nice. Their chole bhatura was okay could have been spicier. But take note that they make paper receipts if that’s something you’re particular about.

Yummy food. They have variety of parathas, I tried aloo Ka paratha which was delicious. Other items were halwa puri, idli, dosas and few special breakfast items which is available all day long.

The best dosa in the dc area by far. Incredible bargain. Giant masala dosa and sambar and chutney for $6.