Rameshwaram Cafe | Fremont — Restaurant in Fremont

Rameshwaram Cafe is now a great new addition to Fremont area for Vegetarian crowd, specially south Indian and more specifically Bangaloreon as the chef is from Bangalore (Now Bengaluru). They just started a week ago and are trying their best. Restaurant is a tough business and is considered most unforgiving. (Majority of people who don't like the food, wont say anything, but will never come back again).

The owners are welcoming and have tried to create a simple yet elegant ambience. One wall features history of Sambhar and how it was created for Indian Maratha warrior Sambhaji- Son of Great King Shivaji. Other paintings include village scenery like Bulls and Cows.

You can place your order with the table - online with QR code or the staff will take it manually. Order arrives quickly and we ordered Ghee Podi Idly and Special open Masala Dosa.

The idly (One Big) was soft, fluffy peppered with generous amount of podi and Ghee. Both the podi and idly were delicious. Peanut chutney was awesome. The coconut chutney was good, though we felt it was slightly on hot side. Sambhar is typically what you get in restaurants in Bengaluru. I would guess it is polarizing -some people are going to like it and some not so much.

Special Dosa was unique in a sense of presentation - It was open- Had potato masala, generous amount of podi and ghee and ample raw onions. Dosa was crisp and delicious.

As it is pure Veg restaurant, many people are going to very comfortable eating here. Parking is easy.

Now the best part - (Also why you should visit) the prices are currently bare minimum. Masala Dosa at $ 7, most of the rice items at $ 9 to give you an example. Please visit soon as I believe that at this prices they are losing money or at best breaking even.

We will visiting soon to try out other dishes and will update or add another review after eating.

I have also seen some of the reviews and felt they are little harsh- Please give the establishment some time to catch up- They are providing a service we need. Do give them feedback, but also be a little patient. I see that they soon will be one of the...

Edit and update ; this is not related to Rameshwaram Cafe room Cafe in Bangalore I just got a confirmation from the main folks in Bangalore in case someone wanted to know

Rameshwaram Cafe is one of those places that feels more hype than substance. The setup reminded me more of a student mess than a proper restaurant, run by what looks like a group of enthusiastic bachelors.

Ambience: Very basic. If you value ambience as much as food (like I do), this place won’t impress.

Food: • Tatte Idli – soft and decent, worth trying once. • Vada – underwhelming, not as flavorful as expected. • Dosa & other South Indian staples – honestly, I’ve had much better in other Fremont-area restaurants.

Service: Slow. When you’re hungry, waiting this long gets frustrating.

Presentation & Utensils: looks Organic made out of natural material ( plus point ) . But plastic spoons, which really takes away from the restaurant experience.

Update: I was under the assumption that this is related to Rameshwaram Cafe in Bangalore , it is not I just got a confirmation from the Rameshwaram folks in bangalore , in case someone is wondering.

Overall: Nothing special. There are definitely better spots nearby for authentic South Indian food with better ambience and quicker service. If you’re in a rush then ok or if you are looking for a pleasant dining experience, I’d skip this one.

And note Sambar and Tea served in the same type of cup 😁...

Service Service was extremely poor. The host was confused and allocated the same table to different people. Once seated they took 40 mins- 1hr to get even a single order out for any customer. This, while customers were waiting hungrily.

Food When the food arrived it was underwhelming. Portion sizes were so small that it wouldn't satisfy an ant. Sambar was watery and such a tiny portion (10 ml to be precise). Dosa was small in size and very very thick while dosa should be big in size but paper thin. Seems like the chef wasn't confident. The dosa was fried in ghee (totally not what a dosa is like). Coffee was so strong that if you had one you wouldn't get sleep for 2 days 2 nights.

Ambience Pretty sad. Visibly irritated and hangry customers. There was a huge time gap where no orders came. These guys take tips before service but won't even provide basic service like cleaning/clearing of tables post service. Being a good citizen i decided to clear table, and the trash area is so ugly and unhygienic. The cans are overflowing and no place to dispose trash, had to leave the trash on top of the can and leave.

Summary If you want to experience an episode of Kitchen Nightmares this is the place to go. The chef/owner is probably a home cook who thinks they cook so well that they can run...