Shri Balaji Bhavan
Houston, TX 77036
Phone: (713) 783-1126
- Price:
- $
- Cross Street:
- Westpark Drive
- Hours:
- Wed-Mon 11am-9:30pm
Editorial Review for Shri Balaji Bhavan – by Andrea Loera
In Short
Inside the simple tiled dining room, a line at the counter is common, but the savory meal is worth the wait. The extensive vegetarian menu features popular South Indian items served on a banana leaf including various crepes (dosas), samosas, dals, lightly fried puri breads topped with potato and onion, lemon rice and chole (tomatoey chick peas). For a more varied sampling, the thali platter offers around seven small dishes for under $5 and is a standard for most diners.
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Insider Tips
Know Before You GoIndian food is traditionally eaten with one's hands, although diners opting for forks at this restaurant are still the majority.
User Reviews for Shri Balaji Bhavan
07/12/2008 Posted by Kris101
You can call it a cheap place to try out a Indian food. New customers beware of the following: 1. The management has increased all the rates by straight 10% from the Menu Rate and they have put up a notice. Now, the customer will go there and view the menu but will be surprised to see the higher rate. 2. The Menu might have items like Pongal + Vada. The customers might get a first impression that they will serve Vada along with Pongal. When we say Vada, we presume that the Vada includes 2 pieces along with Chutney and Sambar. However, you will be surprised that they will only serve the regular pongal and give 1 peice of vada (as donation). Same with Combo meals like Masala Dosa, Idli, Vada, Sweet. Here you get 1 masala Dosa, 1 piece Idli, 1 piece Vada, 1 simple sweet (rice with good qty of sugar) The vada and idli will be half the normal size, no extra sambar or chutney for the combo. And Price $ 8.32 although the printed price is $5.99 (pretax). Note you get a full buffet in the nearby Bombay Restaurent for $7.50 just few shops away 3. Nowadays, they dont provide a token once you place order, instead the staff will shout and call you and you have to go and collect your stuff. Also the receipt will be given only if demanded. Moreover, the behaviour of 1 middleaged man is very aweful. He presumes that he is some hero of a Telugu movie. For eg: if you ask him abt the preparations, he will certainly give you a lowdown. Also, once I provided credit card for payment for a bill of $4.86. Instead of just informing the they dont accept credit card below $5, he informed me that he we customers are using credit cards to collect reward points or cash back, and the vendor has to pay 10% tax on these transactions. I felt like retaliating and replying what I'd have, however due to the queue, I just wanted to finish mine and not keep others waiting in queue. Indulging in cheap practice, no business ethics, I'd not recommend this place to my friends
Pros: Indian food variety
Cons: Cheap business practice, no value for money, self service, time consuming, low quality
09/17/2007 Posted by tilmaya
I absolutely LOVE this place. The lines can be long during peak hours, but the food is definitely worth the wait. I always get the masala dosa-the best dosa in town hands down! Their dahi puri is also the best - perfectly sweet, tangy and spicy! I also love their mango shake and masala chai. They also make the best sambar. If you want to try a little bit of everything, try their thali. Sometimes the food quality goes down when restaurants expand, but this place hasn't changed a bit in the quality of their food since they've expanded and upgraded their restaurant. I tried the new Indian Coffee house nearby, and boy oh boy, that was a mistake! I am definitely going to stick to this place!
Pros: GREAT food! Best DOSAS in town!
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