Saravanaa Bhavan

Excellent food and very authentic. If you want good tasting South Indian food, this is the place. They also have North Indian items on the menu that I didn't try. The service is very basic. I wish they had a proper seating space outside on the streets with heaters and shade. The outside seating space was on the curb and next to a loud machine that can be heard inside or outside the restaurant.

As you walk around this block of the UWS Amsterdam Ave, you get amazing scents of India and great south Indian cuisine. I'll give you a heads up that most of the negative reviews are related to the service at this restaurant. I honestly expect poor service at most NYC restaurants. I expect worse service if I ever go to an Indian restaurant. However, read all the reviews for Saravanaa Bhavan. VERY FEW are negative about the food. The food is awesome. It's authentic, it's flavorful, it's CHEAP, and it's fresh. The place itself is small, service is slow/inattentive, but the focus is on getting your order right and done WELL. I personally have no major complaints with this place. It's great Indian 'soul food' with great prices for NYC and fresh quality and good location. You can't miss the smells wafting down amsterdam! Good thing is that when we entered very first, a staff came to check vaccination proof from individually each of the group.

This is the place we were looking for during our week long trip! Finally, got to the right place and had a excellent experience. We really enjoyed the quality and taste of the food! Mr.Vijay was very helpful and made sure that we had a good experience. Had been to the other location but had a very disappointing experience! We highly recommend this place if you want to taste the authentic south India food! We will sure visit this place during our next visit and also highly recommend this place to others😊

Excellent dosas in the UWS! I was having a pregnancy craving & usually have to travel to Jackson Heights to get dosas. Luckily I found this little gem in the city. I had a Rava Masala Dosa with onions, chili’s & potatoes & it was delicious. My husband had a Masala Dosa with potatoes & chili’s, which was crispy & buttery. Totally recommend if you’re in the city & craving dosas.

Saravanaa Bhavan is a South Indian iconic restaurant and this branch here in NY does justice to its reputation. We were served by Vijay and his service definitely made the entire dining experience truly memorable. We had the Thali lunch and uttapam for the kids. All our plates went back completely wiped clean! Definitely put this place on your list to eat when in NY.