Annachikadai - Indian Restaurant — Restaurant in Mountain View

Update on June 20th, 2024

The ownership has changed again for the worse. This hole is not worth it. Will never go back.

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Update on March 22nd, 2023

Don’t waste your money. They charge a lot for very poor quality. It’s not the way it used to be, please read my review below from 2018. The management has changed and they serve very small portions. Will never go back.

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Review in 2018:

The Indian food scene in the Unites States is laced with stiff competition. The SF bay area is not an exception. Indian restaurants that consistently offer good quality from the start thrive and flourish. Those that cannot maintain quality with rising demand wither away. There is nothing like "Indian Cuisine" which is an amalgam of cuisines from all over India with each state or region offering its own delicacies. In a broader sense, Indian cuisine maybe categorized as "South Indian" and "North Indian" which are quite the polar opposites when it comes to the dishes, preparation and presentation though rice and wheat (Roti/Naan/Chappathi) are staples all most all over India.

The UK has branded "Chikka Tikka Masala", "Tandoori Chicken" and "Naan" as Indian cuisine which is a tad misleading. Wait until you visit this very truly South Indian restaurant "Annachi Kadai" nestled in a calm and serene spot in Mountainview. This food is very reminiscent of the cuisine from the southern state of Tamilnadu particularly the interior "Chettinad" region famous for its "Chettinad" cuisine. Once you get hooked to its unique taste, you will crave again and again.

I have been to "Annachi Kadai" which means in the regional language Tamil "The elder brother's store or shop" in a generic way. I have tasted their thalis (platter of samplers kind of) which are either offered 100% veggie or with meat dishes depending on your choice. It is home style cooking at the very best, nothing fancy like the more popular or branded Indian dishes worldwide. It is comforting, soul food nicely cooked without hurting your tummy. Plus a fantastic, friendly smiling staff who offer unlimited refills of the portions, if you so wish.

If they continue to maintain this mantra "Quality, cleanliness, friendliness", they will continue to thrive. The only constraint I felt was limited parking. On certain days, it can get full and you will have to find overflow parking either on the street...

This place has been open for just two weeks, a textbook hole-in-the-wall, but I have a feeling it's bound to blow up as a South Indian favorite in the area.

I started with the masala chai because it was cold outside and wanted to warm up. They brought it out in two stainless steel cups, one tall and one stout, to waterfall and cool down a tad before sipping. Just what I needed.

Then came the gobi 65. I had the option of getting chicken 65, but I decided to be slightly healthier (ish). It came with onions and lemon, the perfect accompaniment sans salt. Crispy on the outside but soft and textured within, and it took a few pieces to discern the taste of hing in the batter. It could have been spicier, but when I asked, she said they make the batter uniformly mild because kids usually get this dish the most. I can be a kid for this.

Next I got the fish curry with idiyappam. I thought the idiyappam would be similar to appam, but NOPE, it seems like cooked rice noodle clumped together, very different from what I had in mind. Nevertheless good to eat by pouring over the fish curry, it acts just as rice or naan or parantha would - a carb base to carry the meal. The curry had a savory + lemony tinge, which I absolutely love (probably would have asked for lemon separately anyway). Unfortunately when the curry first came, it had fish bones in it (very good sign), but absolutely no fish pieces (very bad sign)! When she came and asked whether it was spicy enough I said yes perfectly but there's no fish. I think it's important to point out that they immediately corrected the problem with another bowl, almost exclusively of fish, cubed and fried. The pieces were soft and flaky when cut into, and paired beautifully with the rich curry.

Definitely coming back again and bringing a...

If you want a pleasant dining experience, stay away from this restaurant!

I wish there was only a few things wrong with this restaurant but there are several so that is why I feel compelled to write this review. I don't people to waste time or money going here.

First, the lighting is strange and makes you feel like you are in an industrial setting. The TV plays music videos from youtube which makes the atmosphere feel cheap.

My wife ordered the vegetarian thali and I ordered some chicken curry. We asked for an appetizer but the server said they were out. It was 5:30pm on a Saturday and they were already out of appetizers and three other entrees on the menu!

Once my wife's food arrived, it was served on a half dead banana leaf and the food was not even hot. The various sauces were either lukewarm or cold. I told her to go ahead an eat. After about 5 minutes, the server comes over and tells me they are out of the entree I ordered. He couldn't have told me that after he took the order to the kitchen?!? No communication whatsoever. I did not want to wait and see what they did have left in the kitchen that they planned to serve me.

At this point, I was getting annoyed and also thinking why am I drinking water from a paper cup with a copper pitcher on the table.

Then, one of the servers comes out of the bathroom and obviously had NOT washed his hands.

We had enough so decided to leave. Overall it was an unpleasant dining experience. We will never return and hopefully those of you reading this will not bother to dine here. I rarely write reviews unless I have a really pleasant or exceptionally terrible experience. Please take my advice and...