Saravanaa Bhavan, Al Barsha — Restaurant in Dubai

I write this review while sitting in Saravanaa Bhavan in Al Barshah. My wife is a big fan of this chain. Each time we visit a new city, she makes sure to check out the hotel if it is in the city. After hearing that there is an outlet near the place I am staying, she insisted on me to visit.

When I came in, nobody bothered to greet. I had to ask the person in the counter, who is busy with his money counting. After he is done, he called the waiter. The waiter simply said go and find a seat on that side by pointing his hand.

Then I tried to order rice item at 11.20 am. The menu says it starts at 11.30 am. I wanted to tell the waiter I will wait till the time, just take the order. The waiter mentioned the rice items (biryani and thier lunch menu) are not available until 1.00 pm. I showed him the 11.30am mentioned in the menu, but he insisted it won't be ready before 1 pm.

Guys: south Indians eat rice items for lunch and the lunch generally starts at 11.30 am not 1 pm.

I ordered masala dosa which came with three types of pickles and sambhar along with potato curry (masala) in the dosa. All the three pickles and the masala tasted exactly the same taste. I felt no difference between them. I ran out of pickle (which I am sure you all know a common occurrence), but nobody bothered to check on me or anything. At this point, I simply wanted to see whether they will check or not. It turned out they didn't.

The worst part is, the manager came and sat in the next table and started eating . He didn't bother to see what my situation is. I finished dosa without pickle.

The guy who took my order and bought dosa never came back. I haven't seen him again.

The service is bad, the taste is bad.

So close to India with so many Indians in Dubai and yet they are having hard time maintaining standards. It is way better in USA, the taste is far better this place and the service is always good.

Never again this location.

BTW, the water doesn't work in...

I have visited Saravana Bhavan in three different countries and always loved the service.

However, today I went to the Al Barsha branch in Dubai. The food was fine. We were a party of three and paid a significant amount of money.

I realized we were out of data and urgently needed internet to recharge our phone. Without internet, we couldn’t book any cabs and were stuck. It was an emergency situation. I saw the Saravana Bhavan Wi-Fi and went to the person at the reception, requesting access for 2-3 minutes to do an emergency recharge.

He said, “Oh, no, we don’t have Wi-Fi,” and then he switched off the Wi-Fi. The food was served, we ate, and as soon as we paid the bill, he switched the Wi-Fi back on, and it started showing in the available networks.

This is the worst imaginable service. He first lied about not having Wi-Fi, which was clearly there. He refused to help in an emergency situation, and when I confronted him, he said, “Do whatever you want, I don’t care.”

Because of people like him, I no longer feel like going to Saravana Bhavan in any country.

In the end, I had to request Wi-Fi from a restaurant next to Saravana Bhavan. They helped us even though we didn’t buy anything from them.

At Saravana Bhavan, we paid 105 AED, yet the staff still didn’t help.

I have attached screenshot which I took when the wifi reappeared suddenly after I...

Hey Folks back again with a Sunday Morning Breakfast review. While this place has a brand value for South Indian cuisine - I honestly don't know what's all the hype about? The place is alright and the food is decent, the service is good and on point, really worth tiping. But the price doesn't do justice to the meal and the ambience. While the place is big area wise and there is enough seating, it looks conjested. The air conditioner is leaking water on one of the tables and honestly for the price paid, it didn't seem worth it. I know cheaper place with better food and better hygiene and better ambience. On the whole a decent place for breakfast but not worth the price. You can try the masala dosa, vada plate, Rava dosa. Bon Appetite!

An update- since I've last been to this place they've renovated this place now the ambience is good but the service still sucks. The waiters are lost in their own world, I ordered a north Indian thali where they forgot the soup and don't give spoons for desert. I don't know what to make of it - I guess because you're a big brand south Indian resteraunt you get away with rookie mistakes when customers are paying good money for their inflated dishes. Not sure if management is even interested in improving service. The waiters can't even reply back to you properly. Not...