Jay Bharat, Artesia — Restaurant in Artesia

Jay Bharat is a village-style Gujarati diner that is vegetarian friendly. Gujarati cuisine is primarily vegetarian due to influences from religious customs. There is an abundance of Gujarati restaurants in Little India, but what makes Jay Bharat special is the consistency of their over the past 2 decades. Ordering one of JB's thali is the way to experience a full Gujarati meal, which is one of the most exotic types in Indian cuisine.

Since I wanted to try other Gujarati restaurants on the Pioneer strip afterwards, I ordered the rotla shak. It's somewhat like a partial thali minus rice, with 2 choices of shak, rotla (millet bread), gur, garlic chutney, and buttermilk. Shak is a term used for Gujarati vegetarian curries. You can pick from a list of 5 seasonal shaks.

Undhiyu is usually on the shak lineup in the winter and spring. It's a very traditional mixed vegetable stew from south Gujarat that is sweet, salty, spicy, and chewy. It contains an exotic mixture of potato cubes, beans, green plantain, green peas, and eggplant, all cooked in coconut and spices. What impressed me most about the gravy was the balance between spicy and subtle sweetness. Also notable for the undhiyu is the varying texture of the vegetables - crunchy green peas like nuts in the same bite as softened vegetables. It's an acquired taste and I'm not sure if everyone will enjoy it.

Another shak that I recommend is the red chori. This is the same azuki beans used in Japanese desserts, but Indians cook it with spices in a curry. Red chori is wholesome, high in protein, and its nutty flavor is apparent when served in a light tomato curry. Perfect to complement with rotli or similar bread.

Out of all the Gujarati restaurants I've tried in Little India, Jay Bharat is one of my favorites. I am a fan of their casual setting and the fact that tips are optional. Service was reasonable for a diner. Servers were attentive but did not know the menu well enough. I was served buttermilk and papad which are really only...

I recently dined at this restaurant and had a mixed experience. I ordered the mini thali with undhiyu and chole sabji. The chole was flavorful, and the overall thali tasted good. However, the undhiyu was missing muthiya, which is a key component of the dish, so it didn’t feel quite authentic.

I also tried the Mysore masala dosa, which was decent, but the red masala spread was very minimal. It tasted more like a regular masala dosa, so I was hoping for a stronger Mysore flavor.

Lastly, I ordered the sev khamni, but unfortunately, it didn’t meet expectations. The texture and taste were off—we couldn’t eat more than a spoonful.

Service was another area that could be improved. Our server didn’t seem very attentive and even banged the disposable water glass on our table, which felt a bit rude.

Overall, the food had some highlights, but there were a few misses as well. I hope to see improvements next time because the menu has...

Let me begin by saying that I am not too knowledgeable when it comes to Indian food. This review is going to be based upon my impressions alone and will make no reference to authentic Indian food as I haven't had that.

With that out of the way, I'll say that I was blown away by all the tastes. It astounds me just how flavorful Indian food is and how colorful it can be. We ordered a bunch of food to try and taste as much as we could. The dishes ranged from OK to amazing. The majority were above average. The ones that I was not too fond of were those that required the dipping sauces to give it flavor. Simply because the sauces were not to my liking. Yet, there was this green sauce that was just phenomenal! I ended up pouring that onto all the food! It was just that good!

According to my friends, the South Indian dishes were not as good...