Bawarchi Biryanis - Kansas City — Restaurant in Overland Park

Man, I'm disappointed to write this review.

The dosa at this place is amazing, and is quite frankly the only reason I gave Bawarchi anything other than one star. Worth going at least once to try the masala dosa. However, you're going to wait for it. I'm bullet pointing some issues below.

The service is disjointed, slow, and - sorry - pretty clueless. It took me nearly 15 minutes to be sat last time I was there and the restaurant was totally empty (save for one guy picking up take-out) with two people working as host/hostess. I've been several times and it hasn't changed one iota.

If you order an appetizer, just be aware you will not get it until after your main course arrives. This has happened several times and I have repeatedly asked for my appetizer to come out first and confirmed with the waiter that that was the plan (started doing this after the second of these particular incidences).

My glass was constantly empty and was not refilled even once the last time I ate there. Also, Mango Lassi is served in a take-out cup with lid and straw. For $4, they could take the time to pour it in a glass.

The menu is gigantic and needs severe trimming. Sorry, no way they are going to pull off a quality meal when they are trying to make 100+ dishes. This has been my experience and I have tried probably 20+ different dishes there amongst friends/family.

Here's the kick in the teeth...

Last time I went, I went on Thursday because they had a flyer on the table for $10 all you can eat dosa night. This is also reflected on their own website. My wife and I sat down and were told they weren't doing it that night. Then we were told that we could still order any dosa on the menu. I said "thanks, maybe we'll come back next Thursday," and got up from the table and left.

I'm not going back. My feedback for the owner would be the following:

A) Take your entire team to some well run restaurant, e.g. Cheesecake Factory and have them study the service while eating a meal. Have them take notes about attitude of waitstaff, timing of drinks/appetizers/entrees/deserts.

B) During closed hours, have the entire team run a mock meal service with owner and manager as the table guests. Critique them after the meal. Ask if the timing of the food was right, the order was right, glasses were refilled in a timely manner, etc. Take them back to another well run restaurant for review after they have recieved critique. Discuss what they did to make the meal quick and pleasant with the entire team.

C) Shrink the menu. Figure out your 5 best appetizers, veg entrees, non-veg entrees, dosas, and desert. Reprint the menu with only those things on it (and perhaps some better descriptions) and only make those things. That's a 30-item menu and is quite expansive, in my experience. Your lunch menu is actually an excellent example of what you should be shooting for!

D) Do not serve anything in a take-out container that wasn't ordered for take out, full stop. When I get water in a glass and an expensive drink in a plastic cup, it doesn't look well-prepared. It looks cheap and lazy.

I do wish Bawarchi the best of luck. I loved the dosa, the decor is cool, and they've got a good location. If they don't get the rest of it under control, they're not going to last a year.

I hope to hear from people in passing that they had a great experience at Bawarchi. Until then, Barawarchi doesn't get...

All ratings as of a day after opening.

Ambience : 4/5 . Really clean setup , minimalistic grey and black design. Could use an Indian touch to spice things up. They could shuffle the music a little more, seemed monotonous with only Telugu songs playing.

Logistics : 5/5 . Phone calls were promptly answered, simple and elegant menu with not too many items or pages. Room for waiting area and takeout was handled pretty well!

Wait time and service : 4/5 . Got my dosa in 15 minutes or less, the servers were prompt and well mannered, no issues with order placing or trying suggestions from the menu. Had issues getting my bill, after waiting a bit went to the front to pay my bill.

Taste and Authencity : 4/5 . Had ordered Mysore masala dosa. taste was pretty good. Got 3 chutneys and sambar, taste of the sambar and the chutneys were good, but I wouldn't call it authentic Mysore masala style but it was a good Dosa : sorta combined Mysore style with a Chennai style dosa. the red garlic chutney on the inside of the dosa needs more work. It was a satisfying dosa experience overall though. Curious to try starters and biriyani from here.

Cleanliness : 4/5. For most parts it is was hygienic and clean. The table was well maintained, the cutlery was wiped down and spot free. The glasses were slightly stained though and the restrooms could be slightly better maintained. Was pleased to find a handwash in the back! Well done here.

Overall : 4/5 . Better than most Indian restaurants, hoping they maintain the quality and curious to try other...

Recently, my friends and I went there to pick up our dinner on the way to our weekend trip. We ordered in advance and set the pickup timing. There was a significant delay in delivering the order as they gave half of the order, and again, we had to ask for the other half. While rechecking everything in our car, we found that another item is missing, and we had to return. It was 4 cups of chai, and we informed them that it was not there in the packets they gave. After 5 minutes, one person returned and gave a single cup of chai, and again we told that we had ordered 4 cups. Then, for several minutes, no one came. After 15-20 minutes (by the time the first chai was cold though), we checked with them. The response was just unacceptable. The front desk receptionist told us that it takes time to make tea, and it will take more time to make the order ready. Since we had a long drive ahead of us, we ordered in advance to ensure that we did not have to wait for the food. However, in the end, we had to wait for more than 30-45min for our food. There was no apology in the tone of the voice, and the behavior was extremely rude. On top of that, only 1 out of 3 receptionists were wearing a mask. As individuals, we went to their place in other cities, and this is the first time the behavior was that bad. I hope this review will at least fix some of the...