Swami’s Dosa Grill Restaurant — Restaurant in Hawaii

The only place to find Dosa on the island. My friends and I live on the other side of the island and I've been wanting to take them here. I've had all the food before, just not from here. My friends have never tried any of this.

First off I have to say, everything was delicious. It's in a food court near Target, but it's a great atmosphere. Airy, slightly breezy, you get lots of natural light inside. The restrooms aren't far away.

I ordered everything for my friends to try.. I said do you want spicy? They agreed.

Two dosa's.. 1 - Mysore Masala with Ghee - spicy mashed potato with clarified butter inside a crispy crepe. 2- Podi with Ghee - spicy dry powder made from lentils (I believe) and other spices along with clarified butter. They were nice and crispy, pretty spicy, and very flavorful. Along side of this you get a side of tomato chutney, coconut chutney to dip in and also a side of sambar (vegetable soup).

Mixed Vegetable Uttapam - a pancake with vegetables cooked right into it. Carrots, tomato, pepper, and onion. Was excellent as well. Love the soft texture.

Medu Vada - a fried donut made from black lentil, curry leaves, and spices. Delicious also. In other restaurants it sometimes comes with a yogurt sauce of some sauce. It did not here. No worries. It's great soaked in the Sambar.

We also tried Masala Sprite and Masala Pepsi. I'm not sure what is in his recipe but it's typically stuff like black salt, cumin, masala spices, etc.

Before I left I ordered my friends a desert of Gulab Jamun. Balls of milk and other stuff, fried, and soaked in saffron or rose water of some sort. Be careful it's super hot. Oops. I didn't know this as I don't eat the desert often.

Spoke with the owner.. he's been here for 10 years. He's super friendly. I spoke a little (very little) Indian with him as I used to work at an Gujarati owned company and picked up some words.

Oh and by the way the food came out fast.

I'll...

Swami's has been our go-to place for lunch on Big Island in each of our Big Island visits. Finding good Indian food on Big Island is difficult. And we're glad Swami's exists because it is perhaps the only Indian place on Big Island where the food is ACTUALLY good.

We have visited Big Island many times and we visit Swami's for lunch every time we're on the island. The sambar and chutneys are homestyle and you can tell they're freshly made. I love it when my sambar and chutneys have simple, clean, homely ingredients.

We have tried many items on their menu - the ghee dosa, cheese dosa, idlys, uthappam, vada, and some of the combos. And all of it has been good.

I would also like to thank the owner for being very kind and polite.

The other staff member (the gentleman with the beard) is also very kind and polite. One time, he saw that my kids were throwing a tantrum and I was finding it hard to leave the table to collect my food from the counter. He actually came up to my table to give us our food so that I wouldn't have to get up. I really appreciated this.

My entire family loves the freshly made food at Swamis.

Some pointers for those who haven't visited the place before:

Swami's is in a food court. So the dining area is common. The place does have a washroom (which many folks don't know about). The washroom does require a code. You can ask the staff at Swami's for the code if you want to use the restroom. This location is very close to all the shops/markets in Kona. So if you need to stock up on any groceries/other stuff while on your trip, you can buy it at Target which is literally just a 2 min drive from Swami's.

Thank you to this wonderful restaurant for serving us Indian food on Big Island. I hope you continue to...

Disappointing Dining Experience at "Swami’s Dosa Grill"

My visit to "Swami’s Dosa Grill," a purported South Indian restaurant, left much to be desired. The restaurant, nestled inconspicuously in a quiet corner of the city next to a gas station , promised an authentic food journey after the top reviews. However, the reality was far from satisfactory.

The menu offered a standard array of South Indian dishes, so I opted for the cheese dosa and a plate of idlis, two dishes that should showcase the essence of South Indian cuisine. The masala dosa arrived lukewarm and lacked the crispiness that is characteristic of a well-prepared dosa. It lacked the usual spices and flavor that define this dish. The accompanying sambar was watery and devoid of depth, tasting more like colored water with a hint of spice.

The idlis were equally disappointing since I didn’t even eat them. After ordering the cook informed us that they were out of idli batter which greatly disappointed my family.

Service was another major issue. Despite the restaurant being full only one man was working in the kitchen. It took an inordinate amount of time for our orders to be taken and even longer for the food to arrive. The servers seemed indifferent and uninterested, failing to check on our table or check in on us.

Overall, "Swami’s Dosa Grill" was a letdown in terms of both food quality and service. The lackluster ambiance, combined with bland and poorly executed dishes, made for a thoroughly disappointing dining experience. For anyone seeking an authentic taste of South India, I would strongly advise looking elsewhere. Eat at...