Sizzle 'N' Sambar — Restaurant in Nedlands

Amazing food, great staff – just a small hiccup in recent service

My partner and I have been visiting Sizzle and Sambhar almost every week since November last year; we absolutely love this place. The food is consistently delicious, fresh, and full of authentic South Indian flavour. Huge credit to the chef, who always delivers high-quality dishes that keep us coming back.

One of the things we’ve always appreciated, besides the incredible food, is the service. The staff has usually been friendly, attentive, and genuinely warm. A special shoutout to Adhavan and (I believe) Navya, who we’ve interacted with often in the past. Even though they don’t seem to work as regularly anymore, whenever they are around, they bring such a great vibe to the restaurant, always polite, professional, and welcoming.

That’s why we were a little surprised during our visits on Tuesday night (15 April) and Wednesday (16 April) during the day. The new waitress on shift at those times seemed quite disengaged and didn’t really check in with us or other tables. We (and the table beside us) were trying to get her attention for quite a while, but she was nowhere to be seen or didn’t seem to notice. Eventually, the chef himself came out to check on the other table, which we really appreciated—it shows how much pride he takes in ensuring the experience is good for everyone.

That said, we still love this franchise and the team behind it, and one off experience won’t stop us from coming back. Just sharing this in the hopes that the high standard of service we’ve come to enjoy can be kept consistent...

The food was below mediocre for an Indian restaurant with such high charges. 1 dosa is between $17-$25. Have been to restaurants where you can get a good dosa for $12. However we did not order dosa as it was so expensive we end up ordering some paratha biryani and a non vegetarian thali. Chilli cheese paratha - I felt they had forgot to put some cheese & chilli in the paratha as it had a very thin layer of cheese which was next to existence but chilli was no where near to found. Potato paratha - I don’t even remember if it was anything like a paratha. I was just eating it like a roti with the mutton curry they served in the thali. Hyderabadi chicken dum biryani - it was nothing other than a boneless chicken pan pulao with an upsetting stomach. Mutton thali, as exciting it sounded and looked it was no where close. Anyways mutton gravy just stock with some spicy ultra basic. The condiments was the only tolerable in this restaurant but were also very stale. Service was too slow waited for almost 20-25 mins after being the only customer in the restaurant. Front of house not so friendly completely forgot about the coffee that we ordered as she was so busy just like how I had forgot to mention about the coffee in this review.

Personal speaking had really high expectations from this restaurant as their reviews are so great but it was a big time disappointment. Won’t go back...

Sizzle 'n' Sambar Indian Restaurant in Nedlands took us on a journey through South India’s rich and vibrant flavours.

We began with the Vegetarian Prelude Platter – a delightful mix of golden samosas, onion bhajis, smoky tandoori mushrooms, and tender paneer tikka. The Tandoori Chicken Sizzler arrived bursting with spice, while the Chicken 65 hit all the right notes – fiery, crispy, and addictive.

The Ghee Podi Masala Dosa was pure comfort — a crisp, golden crepe wrapped around perfectly spiced potatoes, enriched with a generous drizzle of ghee and a sprinkle of podi. Warm, pillowy garlic naan made an ideal pairing for the rich, aromatic curries. The Chicken SNS Special Biryani impressed us with its fragrant rice and tender, flavourful chicken pieces. The Butter Chicken offered a creamy, indulgent classic, but the standout was the Goan Fish Korma — a dish that truly captured coastal magic with its luscious coconut-based sauce and delicate spices.

The desserts were a dream – Pistachio Kulfi, creamy and nutty, and warm syrup-soaked Gulab Jamun to...