Lacto
Indian
Non-veg
Serves meat, vegan options available. Indian restaurant where all the mains can be made vegan. Serves classic South Indian dishes like idli and vada, in addition to dosas. Added meat to the menu July 2024. Open Thu-Sun 12:00pm-2:00pm, 5:30pm-8:30pm. Closed Mon-Wed.
11 Reviews
First Review by nicole_m
KesHarris
Points +47
Best indian food in Dunedin - Edit
Fantastic vegan options, had to include vegetarian and meat options due to demand. Some of the best Indian food in dunedin, and one of my fav restaurants. Great staff and lovely owners. Highly recommend!! Something a bit different than your usual chana masala or aloo gobi.
Read morePros: Dosa!!, Great service, Great variety of options
Guest
twodaisysdaisy
Points +13
Bad preparation, I am not sastisfied. - Edit
When I walked in, the staff was very welcoming,not very tidy..i cleaned the spoons to use.
Read moreMy only concern is with their food, the Sambar was very watery ( should not be )seems like swimming pool and tried to catch veges. Even the coconut chutney had a very bad smell to it.
I have been to lots of South Indian restaurants, but by far this was the worst.seems like they just microwave frozen idili’s and hand it to us, with that very watery sambar that very bad smelling coconut chutney.
Do not recommend.badly disappointed.
Guest
Elevator_Lady
Points +31
Lots of variety, delicious food - Edit
Vegetarian restaurant but almost everything has a vegan version or can be made vegan. Friendly staff, delicious food, and good prices. I recommend the dosa, the Tali, and the idli, but I bet everything else is yummy too.
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2024-01-26
Pros: Great food, Friendly service , Good value
Guest
EvelynS
Points +515
Dosa - Edit
If you are in Dunedin try this place. Food is delicious and very filling (I had a starter and main).
Read morePros: Food, Friendly, Good price
Guest
Victw
Points +29
Yes Southern Indian - Edit
This was a great change up from the heavy curries we've seen throughout the country.
Read moreIf you've never had Southern Indian food order the combo.
You might want extra sambar.
I would have liked more chutney options, but that might be a western thing.
Updated from previous review on 2023-12-21
Pros: Sambar
Cons: Would have liked more chutney options.
Guest
KellyDowdell
Points +20
Maximum flavour - Edit
Each meal has a burst of flavour that keeps you wanting more. Highly recommend, such delicious food, friendly, great location and good prices. Vegan options are available
Read moreUpdated from previous review on 2023-04-09
Guest
naamasha12
Points +128
Loved it! - Edit
We took the masala dosa and the onion dosa, the samosas and chai masala
Read moreEverything was super tasty, hot and satisfying
Staff was extremely friendly and helpful
Great price, lovely atmosphere and a good vegan option (also the dosas are GF!)
Highly recommend
Guest
LeisatheAwesome
Points +90
Absolutely love this place - Edit
Such a friendly, awesome place with amazing dosa. Very easy to have everything made vegan.
Read morePros: Quick and easy, Amazing taste, Easy to make vegan
Cons: Would like more served
Guest
JayC
Points +11
Dunedin's Dosa Stop - Edit
I have been to this venue thrice with my father. Both of us have lived in South India for years and are very familiar with the wonderful vegan and vegetarian foods available in those regions. We have been waiting for 25+ years for a real dosa place to open In Dunedin and now we have one.
Read moreMy masala dosa was just what you would expect to get in Mysore. We ordered a side of idli after they had closed down (I think!!!), they went out of their way and steamed a fresh bunch for us even though it took some time..... Only spoiled grandkids get that treatment.
Thank you.
Awesome !!!
Pros: Authentic Food, Clean Amenities , Nice Atmosphere
Cons: South Indian Music Not Playing
dosaetc
Hi Jay,
Read moreThank you so much for your review, we're happy that you're enjoying our food, and we hope to see you again! We'll also make sure to update our music playlists for next time as well :))
Guest
Stewert
Points +11
Middle of the way - Edit
I ordered Masala Dosa and Vada with Sambar. The Vada arrived and just by looking at it knew it came frozen from a factory. No harm there, but they never measure up to what a Vada really is. No need for more explanation here, if you love South Indian food, you will know what I mean. However, the Sambar was nice and light with all the correct tones of flavor.
Read moreNext the Masala Dosa arrived. I wish I knew it was going to be a Rava Dosa, which usually means it is not fermented and made only from Semolina. This for me was disappointing as fermentation is a must for a dosa batter unless it is stated as Rava Dosa, then you know what to expect. Parts of the Dosa were crispy and other soft, not the best but not bad. I would say they went a little bit overboard with the oil. As for the potato filling: It was a bit on the heavy side, dry with a lot of green peas and some carrots added for some reason. Usually the potato masala in a Dosa is light and soft, with flavors of curry leaf, turmeric and onion, this was lacking and almost like a samosa filling. Hovever, I have had much worse in Dunedin over the years, so not too upset. Now for the queen of the dish, the coconut chutney: I know there are so many versions, but what they have in common is being of a nice creamy consistency, not watered down and noticeable flavors of curry leaf, green chilly, tamarind and coriander. Sadly my coconut chutney was very watery and missing the traditional flavors. Instead it had a lot of mint which I found quiet unusual, having grown up in Karnataka with coconut chutney at every street corner. As above, the Sambar with the Masala Dosa was very nice and light.
I am grateful for the effort of the owners to provide us with great vegan and vegetarian South Indian delights here in remote Dunedin NZ, thank you for your efforts. A few words of advise: Ferment your Dosa batter or state that is unfermented Rava. Make homemade Vada, you can still freeze them. Stick to traditional flavors, we have plenty of curry leaf, coriander and all other spices and flavors these days. Please don't adjust the flavor to suit the "western" palette, we are all pretty well traveled these days and we know what to expect.
I am looking forward to coming back and tasting the Idly and other menu items. I hope the Idly are freshly homemade from fermented lentil rice batter and not frozen factory ones.
Lastly, I know how complicated it is starting up such a business, it may take some tweaking to get there.
Cheers
Pros: Very Clean facilites, Friendly Staff, Nice light atmosphere and Music
Cons: Consumed item still needs improvement
dosaetc
Hi Stewert, thank you for your review!
Read moreWe are sorry that we did not meet your expectations on your first visit. We strive to serve only the best and most authentic South Indian food. Also, we can assure you that everything we do is made in-house and in small batches, from soaking the lentils and rice to frying the vada, grinding and fermenting the dosa batter and steaming the idli. Everything is made by us in the restaurant and always has been. You are more than welcome to chat with the chef next time if you have any questions or concerns! You can also follow us on social media, where we regularly document our process so you can be assured that all of our food is freshly made as we claim it to be. Once again, we are sorry you did not have a good first experience, and we hope to make it up to you next time!
JayC
Hi Stewert,
Read moreWe Also lived in Karnataka for many years and you have some points. I have been to Dosa Inc with my father twice now and believe me, they ain't that bad. Actually, I had a masala dosa today, I might as well as be in South India.
Guest
nicole_m
Points +3551
Small but yum - Edit
A new all vegetarian South Indian (possibly Dunedin’s first South Indian offering). The menu is short, featuring various flavours of dosa, idli, vada, a few sides (though chutney and sambar come with the mains already) and a daily special. The staff said everything could be made vegan except the daily dessert special (I didn’t double check though if that meant the cheese dosa would have vegan cheese or if it would end up being a plain dosa). We tried the combo with a mini masala dosa (didn’t seem mini to me!), idli, and vada, which came with chutney and sambar. Everything was delicious. The dosa and vada were flavoursome and crispy, the idli soft and soaked up whatever I dipped it in. I’d definitely return.
Read morePros: Fully vege, staff say everything can be vegan, Cheap prices, Yummy food
Cons: Smell of burning incense is strong, not for all
dosaetc
Hi Nicole! Thank you so much for your review, we're glad you enjoyed the food. Hope to see you back soon :)
Read moreGuest
For Members
Why was my review removed? Guidelines for writing a review View our privacy policyFor Business Owners
Claim this business
See inaccurate information? Submit an update here Link to this page from your site See an unfair review? View full terms & conditionsThis page has been viewed 0 times.