Desilicious Cafe - Indian Pure Vegetarian/ Vegan Restaurant — Restaurant in Austin

Star rating, 5 stars being best

Overall: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Food: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Location: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Service: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Atmosphere: ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ Value : ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

With this restaurant still in its “soft-opening” several things were promising and some things to improve. “A” for effort but some kinks to work out. When u get to the restaurant you get in line and order at the counter, pay and then wait for the order.

Food - We all ordered a variety of dosas. Paper Dosa (5/5 - no issues came out as expected), Mysore Masala Dosa (4/5 - too spicy), Cheese Dosa (4/5 - Cheese in clumps not even distributed), Pesarattu Upma (4/5 - More like Masala dosa but stuffed with Upma) - Variety of chutneys (coconut, tomato, peanut) and podis; Sambar was too thick and felt like it was old and stale. Service was a bit slow (30 min to get our food) but the front desk staff was making great effort to set clear expectations and doing their best; expect long wait lines (40 min wait) during peak hours with limited tables. Prices were higher than average - Dosa ranged from $11-$13 but nothing to write home about (lower on value); they need to lower their prices with good Indian restaurants along Palmer with better variety, better services and better prices! Cleanliness was good in the restaurant but restrooms lacking supplies - No soap, no hand towels (toilet paper kept as a substitute). The Podi counter is good on variety but maybe susceptible to hygiene issues as anyone could cough onto the podis, etc - consider an elevated table with a plastic cough guard. These are relatively easy fixes.

Overall, good experience, has potential but not as much value for the money as other Indian or Asian restaurants along Palmer. This is a restaurant to watch and deserves a second visit with its official full opening expected...

April 5 2025: I usually don’t write reviews, but I feel it’s important to share my recent experience at desilicious Cafe. Unfortunately, after dining there, I became extremely ill. Within hours of eating Masala Dosa, Mysore Bonda & Tea, I started experiencing severe symptoms, including vomiting, fever, and full-body pain. These symptoms lasted for three days, and I was unable to function due to how sick I felt.

Me & my husband have been here several times . But before this only my husband was getting sick(atleast 4-5 times he had been sick) after eating here & we didn’t realized if it was because of desilicious food. But now when I too got sick it is very clear to me that the desilicious food was the cause of my illness.

The experience left me deeply concerned about the restaurant’s food safety and hygiene practices, and I sincerely hope that this issue is investigated to prevent it from happening to others.

While I understand that mistakes can happen, I believe it’s crucial for restaurants to maintain high standards to ensure the safety of their customers. Unfortunately, I will not be returning until I can be assured that proper precautions are in place.

I encourage Desilicious to address this issue seriously, as no one should have to go through such an unpleasant and painful experience...

If you're looking for a place that specializes in varieties of dosas and caters to Asian veg customers, try Desilicious. Here’s a breakdown of what we had, with my thoughts on each dish below. By the way, there's a ATX Indian Food Group chat if anyone wants to join where people post their findings d do meetups.

70MM Dosa: Serves 2, customizable with vegan options and sauces. This massive dosa is perfectly crispy, even with the masala inside, and makes for a fun, shareable dish.

Punugulu: Deep-fried South Indian snacks, served with chutney. These crispy, fluffy bites were addictive, and the chutney pairing was spot on.

Peri Peri Paneer Fried Rice: Indo-Chinese fusion with a spicy kick. The tender paneer and the zing from the peri peri sauce made this rice dish unexpectedly delicious—definitely a surprise.

South Indian Thali: Classic spread with rice, sambar, rasam, curries, roti, pickles, and rice pudding. Just the kind of comforting meal I love—full of flavor and variety, the perfect way to enjoy South Indian food.

Puran Poli: Sweet, mung bean-filled flatbread cooked in ghee. This one was new to me, and now I can't get enough. It's sweet but not too heavy, and the ghee makes it irresistible.

Atmosphere you can tell they're small family own and are less Americanized. They play cricket on...