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Shri Balaji Bhavan

MY REVIEW: Excellent food, Very inexpensive but quality was great. I recommend this place to anybody. I would definitely visit again a lot more. I ordered Mirchi Bhajji, Idli-Vada combo, Pav bhaji dosa and bread pakora. All were great. Try this place. Food is equivalent quality of india. Now i don't miss India too much for food.

NAME: Manish
SUBMITTED: 12/27/2012   LAST VISIT WAS: Dec 2012
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Inexpensive and freshly prepared and fresh tasting vegetarian food. However, it is on the bland side. It would be fine if you are North Indian or Gujarati; South Indians would likely find it not spicy enough.

NAME: irfTX
SUBMITTED: 11/27/2012   LAST VISIT WAS: 11/12
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: This is hands-down THE best Indian restaurant in town, and that is saying something in this town, where there are many, MANY awesome Indian restaurants, like B*hojan, S*hiva, H*imalaya, and some of the others in little India, but all-in-all, for flavor, price, variety, AND being completely veg, you just have to try this restaurant. The fact that it's always packed, full of Indians and Westerners, lets you know this is the real deal. And the chai . . . very authentic, very delicious and only a buck a cup. Love this place!

NAME: sandy
SUBMITTED: 6/11/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: last weekend
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: Now i visit almost regularly ( atleast 4 times a week ). The service has improved a lot. Although the quantity of chats seems to be a bit low at times the taste of food has been a consistent factor. ilove their Dahi puri. Its just so delicious and hard to resist eating it again and again. The thali is one of my all time favourite.

The ambience of this place is not bad. The price is very cheap as compared to any other restaurant that i have visited. The staff and manager are very courteous. The wait time for food during peak lunch and dinner hours is a bit more but still the food is worth the wait. I strongly recommend this place to all who wish to have genuine indian food.

NAME: Pappu
SUBMITTED: 5/21/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: 05/09
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: Very clean and new interior, and tables/chairs had some style so ambience was not so "low-scale" as I was expecting from some of the reviews.

It is fast food which I liked. No wait-staff. DH and I each had the combination platter and ordered spring rolls which weren't on the menu but were a special advertised. Our total bill was 19.50 which I was surprised since I was expecting it to be VERY cheap. The combination lunches were $6.50 each. For drinks, they only had a choice of hot tea, cold sodas or water. We ordered the water which came bottled. Not sure what we paid.

The service person at the cast register was very pleasant and helpful even though it was obvious that we were not "natives" and were confused by all the choices on the menu.

I asked for the "bread equivalent" of naan and he said that would be chapati (sp?). Well they forgot our special order for this. We ordered since we weren't sure what bread would come with the meal. Turns out that plain basic chapati really isn't on their menu, but is offered with different fillings. I'm still not sure if we should have gone up and looked to see if we forgot to pick it up. It was very confusing for us and the line had gotten long by this time so we didn't bother them.

We definitely felt we got our money's worth. We loved the spices they use. Almost too spicy but still within tolerable range for me. (except I couldn't eat the red paste that came with the spring rolls - too hot).

I can't tell you what we ate. When we go back, I think I will at least have the Dal. I think we had chapati filled with potatoes, a serving of some kind of onion broth soup which was very nicely seasoned, a tasty green dipping sauce that had a slight sweet avocado flavor (just guessing) and a sweet cup of what might have been rice pudding where the rice was pureed to a very high degree. Though I say I felt we got our money's worth, this wasn't as cheap as I expected it to be. Portion sizes were average IMO, not extremely small but not very large either.

We definitely plan to go back now that we have our bearings somewhat and give some of the other selections a try. Most of the other items on the menu were less than 4 dollars and many, probably over half were $2.99. My main disappointment is that they don't server naan. I LOVE naan. Oh well.

NAME: cilantro
SUBMITTED: 10/28/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: Oct/2007
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: I didn't have to wait in line very long and it took about 15 minutes to get my to-go order. The person at the cash register was welcoming but she did tell me that the Madras Thuli was not very spicy which it was. With the yogurt and rice to cool things down it wasn't too spicy though. It was very tasty and the portions were large enough for two meals for me. It's a great value.

NAME: Dawn
SUBMITTED: 7/20/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 07/2007
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: one of my favorites. delicious, and non-vegetarians love it too. a bit hard to understand the menu if you are not familiar with South Indian cuisine, so you may take recommendations or an experienced friend along the first time. the thali sampler plates are always a good choice. and so cheap!!! the wait for food is a little long, but not too bad, probably 15-20 minutes for two people.

NAME: Diana
SUBMITTED: 6/26/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 5/2007
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: I am an American married to an Indian and I must say the food is very authentic. This place is frequented by mostly the natives and that usually is a good indication. The food is not only pipping hot and delicious, but its also ridiculously cheap. Try the Madras coffee (served in the typical south Indian style of a tumbler & a bowl) or an amazing Chai for just $0.79 ! Everything on their menu is less than $3-4 and portions are quite big.

The place has regular south Indian fare like dosas, idlis, upmas but also specializes in Chaat stuff as well as other Indian fast foods. I highly recommend the Special Thali (which is big enough for two people to eat) or the Madras Thali($4.99). My wife tells me that the Chaat here tastes a lot like she had it in Mumbai. I highly recommend the place.

PS : The food here tends to be on the hotter side for Americans, but you can ask them to tone it down.

NAME: Jeremy Brown
SUBMITTED: 6/15/2007   LAST VISIT WAS: 6/15/07
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: I went to this restaurant two days ago with a group of friends from India. Everything on the menu is vegetarian, but flavor is not absent from the menu! I am from Mexico and I am not a vegetarian, but I like to try different foods every chance I get. Unlike some of the other reviewers, I did not think the food was excessively hot, but I did have to take a few extra drinks of water to tame the heat a bit. I heard you can ask the cooks to go easy on the spices. I ordered the combination plate, which had a dosa, rice patties, the dipping soup, a fresh cilantro-based dip and a sweet coconut sauce that was delicious. Don't ask me to remember their names, all I know it was good stuff. I washed it all down with a mango lassi (a yogurth drink) that was very refreshing and not too sweet, just right. The prices are probably the best part, since I only paid about $8 for my meal. I would recommend this place to anybody who wants healthy, flavorful food that is made to order and is willing to try something different. Oh, and don't forget to walk next door to the fast-food restaurant next door for a variety of Indian desserts.

NAME: Chente
SUBMITTED: 3/6/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 03/06
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: The food is good but really hot and spicy. You have to wait for a long time, in my last visit I waited for almost an hour. For every side dish I also had to get raita/curd to mix with it because the side dishes were so hot/spicy it really burned my tongue. When we ask them why it is so hot, they say that's their original taste. Anyway you can try it at your own risk.

NAME: Idlylover
SUBMITTED: 1/30/2006   LAST VISIT WAS: 01/2006
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: Best authentic south Indian food (on par with South Indian restaurants back in India), I would say. I love to go here whenever I am in the area.

NAME: Rivid
SUBMITTED: 12/13/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: November
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: ok food. It's quite hot. Sometimes you have to wait a long (especially if your order is to go).

NAME: khawaiyya
SUBMITTED: 6/3/2005   LAST VISIT WAS: June/2005
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: If you are looking for authentic South Indian food, this is the place in Houston. We loved this place on our first visit itself and made several satisfying visits. Spicy Dosas, Sambar Vada, Idlis and a variety of exciting delicacies avait you. Served on Plantain leaf, it adds a touch of traditional South Indian hospitality. You also get chappathis and side dish to choose from. The service is excellent. I would enthusiastically recommend this place to my friends.

NAME: Ramesh
SUBMITTED: 8/21/2004   LAST VISIT WAS: August 1st week
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: ONE OF THE BEST SOUTH INDIAN FOOD I HAVE EVER TASTED. I GREW UP IN INDIA AND THEN I MOVED DOWN TO HOUSTON, TEXAS FOR MY EDUCATION, WHEN I LEFT INDIA, I WAS REALLY MISSING THE DOSAS, IDLI, AND EVERY OTHER KINDS OF SOUTH INDIAN MEALS, BUT AFTER GOING TO BALAJI BHAVAN, I FELT LIKE I WAS BACK AT HOME...THE SERVICE WAS AMAZING AND THE BEST THING WAS THAT IT WAS CHEAP! U CAN GET A FULL MEAL TALI FOR ONLY $4.99 WITH THAT U GET YOUR CHOICE OF THREE CHAPATHIS, OR THREE PURIS, OR A DOSA AND A MASALA DOSA AT THAT!I WOULD SUGGEST THIS RSTAURANT TO ANYONE! SERIOUSL TRY IT OUT!

NAME: MUKESH
SUBMITTED: 12/1/2003   LAST VISIT WAS: 11/03
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

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