GumaGumalu Indian Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Fremont

Visited them with family on saturday 02/10/2024 for lunch buffet. Really loved the quantity and quality. What impressed me was the flavors were genuine, not overpowering. For snacks, there were authentic mirchi bajji with great stuffing: that were just spicy enough. The mysore bajji were just yum: crispy outside and soft inside! Then there were alasanda vadalu - amazing texture. The ginger chutney was a great accompaniment for the snacks: it was mildly sweet and not too spicy and added different dimension to the snacks. There were fish fry, prawn fry and chkn ghee roast. Fish fry was usual. Chkn ghee roast was great. Prawn fry was passable. For the mains, tried pulihora, which was very authentic again: no vinegar taste. Right color and texture! There was coconut rice too with subtle coconut flavor and crunchy tampering. Then, there was chkn biryani with seeraga samba rice which was hoping to try for quite some time and was pleasantly surprised to see it on the menu and it didnt disappoint - very different from our dum and pulavs. Tried a bit of mutton biryani - no complaints. There was nawabi mutton curry and the gravy was very rich and soft mutton pieces. There were chkn and egg curries too which I was too stuffed to try. How did I forget the chamagadda pulusu! Authentic is the word! Did not pay much attention to the veg dishes but there were quite a few! Beers were included. Lassi was there. Tea was great. Coffee didnt impress me much. Now nitpicks: Not too much impressed with desserts: on saturday there was mysorepak, kaddu ka kheer and another one that I didnt pay attention to it.. mysorepak was run of the mill and kaddu ka kheer was just plain. No wow there. Feel the buffet was bit pricey but looks like that is the new norm these days. Coming from the days where there was buffet price of 12.99, sad to see the inflation in full display.

Keep up with standards - which is what I told the very courteous people manning the cash counter. Hope they really do.

Will...

We recently dined at GumaGumalu with my Mother-in-Law and Father-in-Law, and while the experience had its highs and lows, it left us with mixed feelings. The restaurant had its strengths, but there were some notable shortcomings that impacted our overall impression.

To begin, we ordered the Veg Biryani, which turned out to be flavorful and had a delightful assortment of vegetables. It satisfied our palates, and we would rate it 4 out of 5. However, the Non-Veg Thali didn't fare as well. The Chicken curry lacked the desired flavor, appearing somewhat watery, and we would rate it 3 out of 5. It was a disappointment as we had higher expectations. Similarly, the Chicken 65 dish was unfortunately dry and soggy, earning a low rating of 1 out of 5. The texture and taste were not up to par.

Regrettably, our experience took a turn for the worse when we ordered the Veg Thali. We encountered a shocking incident where the sambar served was spoiled, and unfortunately, my in-laws had consumed a portion before realizing it. As they are seniors, we were greatly concerned about the potential health impact. We immediately reported the issue to the restaurant's management, but their response was disappointing, showing little concern or explanation. However, the saving grace of our visit was the empathetic lady who served our table. Despite having no control over the situation, she constantly checked on us, offered whatever she could, and expressed genuine empathy as we left the restaurant. Her care and understanding were truly appreciated.

Overall, our dining experience was marred by the disappointment of the non-vegetarian dishes and the alarming incident with the Veg Thali. The lack of adequate response from the management was disheartening. However, the empathy and attentiveness displayed by our dedicated server were commendable. It is essential for the restaurant to address these issues promptly to ensure the well-being and satisfaction of...

This review is specifically for dine in experience for breakfast.

We (me, my mom and my son) were greeted nicely and promptly seated. And then we waited... And waited. I saw self help stall for coffee and so I helped myself with a warm cup of South Indian coffee to .... Wait.

Eventually, I thought that something is different and so I asked who would take my order. To my surprise, I was told that my order for 3 thalis (for the non initiated, that is a preset combo meal) was already placed. I explained to her that we cannot possibly finish 3 thalis and would like to change the order to one thali, one plate idli and one order of dosa.

And the wait started again.. people who came after us, got their orders (they were all thalis), and we waited. Eventually, our one order of thali came. A bit disappointed as we thought that may be they will bring all 3 items in our order together.

We started with the thali... A $15 unlimited refill. Most of the items were not good. The 3 items that we liked were idli, sambhar (very spicy though, and closer to rasam than sambhar) and upma.

My son and mom still waited for another 30mins before they got their orders of idli and dosa.

Not only that, no one would come to us to ask if we needed any item to be refilled while they would go at all other tables asking for and bringing stuff to them. So I called to clarify how the thali system worked and requested that we not be discriminated and offered the same service. I have to say that we were the only different looking folks and most were South Indians.

I would not recommend this place for breakfast to any of my friends and family. Idly Express is far better than these guys for items that are considered South Indian breakfast. And ID Company is a good one for trying some fusion takes on Dosas (or...