Pavani Express — Restaurant in Corpus Christi

I had heard about this place from my coworkers and I finally decided to try it today. Boy were my coworkers right! The food was absolutely amazing! It's so fragrant and flavorful compared to other dishes I've had in Corpus that claimed to be "Indian". The chicken was super tender and moist, and the rice and was delicious! Be prepared to have enough rice to feed you for a two meals though, they are super generous with it!

I ordered their chicken biryani with a side order of garlic Naan. The Naan was a little more expensive that I thought it would be, but it was really tasty so I don't regret it. I wasn't quite sure what do do with the two sauces they gave me, so I just poured it on the rice in separate halfs. The sauces were interesting... one was a more savory brownish/red sauce while the other was white, milky, and a bit sweet - sort of like coleslaw.

The restaurant itself is very basic and humble, almost a bit sketchy looking on the outside, but don't let that put you off. The food and service was good. I had take out, so I can't speak to whether they offer any table service, but the woman behind the counter took my order and rang me up with no problems.

I will definitely be coming back! It's a lovely little gem in Corpus.

Update 12/16/2022:

Stopped by to pick up some dinner. The woman operating the register recommended the lamb curry and she was right: it was fantastic! They still give large portions (I will probably have lamb curry for lunch tomorrow as well). My opinion of the place has not changed, it's still great! I also ordered a Lassi and it was very tasty as well. The garlic Naan is also still just as good as the last time I had it.

I still recommend you try this place out for take out if you get...

December 2021

This place is your typical hole in a wall restaurant. It’s right next to the gas station/ convenience store, has limited seating and not too fancy on decor. As all the reviews state, this place has more of a homely feel than your typical flash of a restaurant.

Let’s start with the experience - Tables are first come first serve and are wiped down after use. You have to order and pay at the front and grab your food to your table. The food is decently priced and there’s cutlery placed besides the ordering booth. There’s one restroom for both men and women and it’s kept clean.

Talking about the food, I had a party of 5 and we all ordered Mysore Masala Dosas, I know, we should’ve ordered a variety of dishes to explore, but it was that kinda day where we all fancied to eat a dosa. The dosa comes with 3 different variety of chutneys and a sambhar.

If you want my honest opinion, the dosa was good but not extraordinary. The dosa was very similar to a Masala dosa. It lacked a different flavor that we expected this dosa to have, especially being a Mysore Masala. The chutney and the sambhar was fantastic, no complaints there, but the Dosa itself left us wanting more.

Overall, a decent place to grab a meal, is light on your wallet and the food is tasty. If you’re a fan of the ambiance that a restaurant has to offer, you wouldn’t enjoy this place. If you’re expecting a good waiter service, this isn’t a place for you either since it’s self serve. This place has to be judged purely based on the quality and the taste...

Warning: Don’t ever dare to eat here I was impressed with reviews but honestly this place is messy unhealthy serving very badly prepared food. Who ever says and reviewed food was delicious they either have never tasted Indian food before or may be they are local and its the only restaurant available in that area. As its the only one restaurant in Corpus Christi, people are ending up here and also the few of the ratings been fake and overrated. Don’t ever think to visit this place, it’s wastage of money, nothing is anywhere near of even 25% of Indian cuisine and what they serve is not eatable at all. Such a worst Indian dishes I haven’t seen even in a deserted place. Few sample dishes Sambar like yellow dal water and and peanut chutney of dosa smell n tasted so bad and coconut chutney tasted bad with only gram and no coconut at all. Such a Rava Dosa I haven’t had ever before and . Chole-Bhatura were not bhatura it was paper soaked in stinking oil and barely you could find Chana in the gravy. Uncooked Meat in biryani and fried price was pathetic like a raw masala rice., these so called Indian dishes you could have never seen any where on the earth. Very unclean kitchen and unhealthy way of preparation. When we raised the issue with the management they were least bothered as they have a huge rush which is not apt for the place. Also this restaurant has to be reported to Texas depart of food and health...