Chennai Masala Dosa — Restaurant in Barcelona

Chennai Masala Dosa: Disappointing Experience Despite High Ratings

I visited Chennai Masala Dosa with high expectations, driven by its impressive 4.4-star rating on Google. I traveled 70 kilometers to introduce a foreign friend to authentic Indian cuisine. However, our experience was far from satisfactory.

Service and Hospitality: From the moment we arrived, the service was subpar. The hostess initially ignored us, despite the restaurant being only 30% occupied. After indicating that we needed to wait for two minutes, she proceeded to seat other guests who arrived after us, making us wait an additional five minutes before seating us. This was the first red flag.

Once seated, the service continued to disappoint. It took ten minutes to get someone to take our order, despite my repeated requests. During this time, I observed that other guests, received immediate attention and service, including prompt delivery of their drinks. This differential treatment was disheartening and unprofessional.

Order and Food Quality: When we finally managed to place our order, the server's attitude was indifferent, almost as if she was doing us a favor. We requested a mango lassi and a strawberry lassi, only to be informed they didn't have the latter. When I chose an alternative, it turned out they didn't have that either. Eventually, I had to settle for the only available option, the mango lassi (which they said to us that they only have one but the more was seen by us, as we were sitting next to bar), which was served without any courtesy.

The food itself was another letdown. The masala papad arrived cold and soggy, a far cry from the crisp, fresh appetizer one would expect. The dosa, while acceptable in taste, was nothing extraordinary and certainly didn't justify the hype. Furthermore, the chicken masala dosa contained a small bone, which is a serious safety concern as it poses a choking hazard. This oversight is simply unacceptable.

Overall Experience: Adding to the negative experience was the premature presentation of the bill, barely a few minutes into our meal. Despite it being close to closing time, it felt incredibly rude and rushed. Additionally, when I requested to change tables to sit near a window, I was curtly told no, under the pretext of cleaning, despite the restaurant's emptiness (This happened before even we sat on our designated table).

The overall hospitality was severely lacking, making us feel like an inconvenience rather than valued customers. Given the long distance we traveled, the entire experience was extremely disappointing.

Conclusion: Chennai Masala Dosa may boast high ratings, but our visit revealed significant gaps in service and hospitality. The indifferent attitude, poor service, and substandard food quality overshadowed the potential of what could have been a delightful dining experience.

I'm writing this review using ChatGPT to ensure it is detailed enough and politically correct, but the disappointment is real. Additionally, my forgien friend now had an upsetting image about the country I love so much. If the management wishes to discuss this further (for recommendations and improvements to make it amazing indian experience), they can reply to this review, and I will be happy and privileged to provide more details and assistance (to share a common goal in boosting India's pride...

We were a group of five people reserved a table via email, never got a reply from them. We called again and booked at 20h and arrived on time, only to findout that they made us wait on the street until 20.30h with other customers. They even did not bother to ask us in.

We felt unwelcomed and only things started to get WORSE. We ordered and requested them to serve non spicy food and they insisted that they serve food that is not spicy. The food was very Stale,cold and lacked taste. They messed everything up by serving us EXTRA SPICY food which we couldnt eat, most of the food what we ordered was not eaten and wasted!!

When we decided to order some dessert the blond waitress who was extremely Rude, Haughty, Unprofessional told us that we have ONLY 5 Mintues to eat and leave because they received a new reservation for the same table, which was ridiculous since they opened late and hurried us up to pay and leave. They did the same thing to another table beside us.

When we tried to speak to the owner she had no remorse but after a while she started to say that we can stay how ever long we want and she said she did not tell the waitress that we have to leave in 5 minutes, Which was even more absurd. This place is a JOKE and shouldn't be in business.we have been to several Indian restaurants all around the world and were never treated this bad. Spend your time and money...

One of the fabulous South Indian meals I ever had with so much aunthenticity and homeliness. Classic chettinad style of cooking with the right balance . The dosas were perfect, the chutneys were just perfect and so fresh . As a professional chef , I can vouch for the freshness and flavors at this place. This is not a typical me too Indian restaurant. Right from interiors where colorful kanchipuram sarees catches your attention , the smell and aroma of a true filter coffee welcomes you. We in fact visited two days in a row and almost tried almost all the items for lunch and dinner. The shrimp thali has perfectly grilled spiced king prawns and prawn curry and the rasam in the thali is almost replica of your mom s rasam. Infact that's the only flip side of the restaurant this brings back memories of home and home cooked food so much that you start missing home... that's the true tribute to this place. Homely food , authentic chettinad , friendly service , lingering flavors hours after you finish the meal.

PS - saw a review by one of the contributor about the chutney and its freshness and as a chef I can say this was one of the authentic chettinad chutneys you can have... kudos and great job mr kumar and family . On a New Year's Day we truly felt we were served food by our family back home.. thanks...