Bhimas Indian Vegetarian — Restaurant in Artesia

Thali Time

Thali means plate/platter. Ordering thali at an Indian restaurant means a set meal, consisting of several small bowls of various dishes (called katori), arranged on a platter (thali). I've never ordered thali, so I did some research on restaurants in Little India. I found Bhimas Vegetarian's unlimited thali cost $11.99 & $12.99, whereas other nearby restaurants' thali cost $14.99 (single serving) & $17.99 (unlimited). $17.99 seemed a lot for a vegetarian "buffet", so I opted to go for Bhimas' less costly thali.

Bhimas Vegetarian has 3 thali to choose from - Andhra Spicy/Non-Spicy South Indian, and Special North Indian (+$1)

Special North Indian thali- A lot of food, of which nothing was particularly remarkable. Sambar didn't have enough heat. I was surprised basmati rice wasn't utilized. While filling, I didn't find much satisfaction in the Special North Indian thali at Bhimas.

Service was good. The gentleman taking orders also prepped & brought out the food. The interior of the restaurant is drab and leaves a lot to the imagination. Parking is via a private lot at the 2-story Little India Village, with Bhimas Vegetarian located on the right, at the end of the plaza.

My first time with thali, and I left disappointed. The plates upon plates of Indian food weren't pleasing to my palate. I suppose I should check out the more expensive thali options mentioned prior, as it may be in this case, you get what...

Let's start with the positive. The outdoor patio was nice, although not as sturdy as I would've liked, and the menu had quite a lot of options. I also appreciated their weekend specials menu. The restaurant is also located in a food court area with free parking, which is always a plus. However, the bad outweighed the good. As far as I could tell, there was only one waiter, and he was quite slow and quiet. He assumed we didn't know what we were ordering and tried to provide an unsolicited explanation of our dishes. (I'm sure they deal with a lot of people ordering food they don't understand and then complaining later, but the way he handled it rubbed us the wrong way.) We immediately drank our small waters, which were definitely tap and tasted like metal. When the waiter came back, about 10 to 15 minutes later, we had to ask for refills. When we finally got our order, the food was mediocre at best. Our homemade masalas and roti are way better and more flavorful. The worst part was that my dosa had a human hair in it. But who was I to complain to? When we finally flagged down the waiter to get our check, we had to wait a while for him to return. While we were waiting, a family who had arrived after us left without getting their food because they'd had to wait way too long. The only reason I'm giving this place two stars is because none of this was the waiter's fault; he was clearly in...

Sitting on their large patio in the evening gave us a very different vibe as compared to other restaurants in this area. The Edison bulb lighting bathed the spacious patio in a warm glow on a cool summer evening. They are dog friendly as well on the patio, which is a welcome relief for those of us with fur babies and they cater to them with the same love and professionalism as they do with us, asking if our pup would enjoy a bowl of cool water, which we very much appreciated!

Staff was very friendly and knowledgeable and made solid recommendations. Food is authentic - we are from the south and the north parts of India, hence grew up with this cuisine.

Dosas were amazing. Aloo was spread throughout, rather than only being concentrated in the middle. All the condiments were on point. Podi (mix of spices and roasted dal) was so good, I sprinkled it on everything! 😬

Uthapam was on point as well and the vegan chicken 65 was out of this world! So good.

Highly recommend!

In fact, we're heading there this weekend for our weekly fix, hope to see...