Annapurna Grill — Restaurant in Pasadena

This was my second time dining here with my friend. Upon a bad first experience (our food was incredibly salty and the customer service was poor), we decided to try them out a second time, as inexpensive Indian restaurants are few and far between. Immediately after we sat down, we noticed a difference between how the servers treated my friend and me. I am African American and my friend is white-passing. They continuously placed all of the dishes on her side of the table. I can’t even comment on their customer service, as it was practically non-existent. After my friend paid the bill, we left and went our separate ways. I was almost two blocks away from the restaurant and in another establishment, when I saw a man waving at me through the window. It was an employee from the restaurant. He accused me of not paying, however, as I mentioned, I wasn’t even the one who had paid for our lunch. Furthermore, my friend was given a receipt after they presumably charged her card. I told him that my friend had already left, however, he made it clear to me that he was not going to leave. I came back to the restaurant and paid for my meal. My friend checked her bank account and the server did not charge her card, however, to track me down and insinuate that I had intentionally left without paying, is absolutely unacceptable. The bill was $38 in total. Please spare yourselves the trouble and dine somewhere else. I recommend New Dehli Palace,...

I can't think of a time I've been treated worse than here. I put in an online order at 6pm for 6:30pm pickup. I arrived on time and gave them my name. Multiple people who had been waiting for food kept asking them for updates because they had been waiting for a long time, and the staff literally just ignored them and walked away. Everyone was getting really angry. People were literally just saying "Stop ignoring me!". Someone new would come in and show them their phone for an order pickup, and the staff would look at the phone and then just ignore them without saying anything (or "Wait there" at most).

Because restaurants are having a hard time, I tried to be really patient and not show my frustration. After 30 minutes I very politely requested an ETA, but they just said I had to wait longer and that they needed to serve their dine-in clients (only three tables). By 7:15 pm I still didn't have my food and they wouldn't say how long. I then told them multiple times I just wanted a refund, but they ignored me. They finally came out with my food and I left livid. When I got back, I found that even though the receipt outside the bag was correct and itemized (and only a two-person order), my order was...

You could come for the butter chicken but why would you when there are so many more options. Don't mistake me - the butter chicken and garlic naan is delightful. I also hate to peg something as authentic when any Indian dish could be cooked ever so slightly differently and still be called authentic. I came here for the South Indian food, more specifically Telangana and Andhra cuisine, and I left a happy customer. I am partial to the dosa (sourdough savory crepe) accompanied by sambar (lentils) and chutney. I also prefer the goat curry with rice. Piece of advice: Don't be a thrill seeker - opt for the mild/medium spicy and enjoy the flavor. Everything goes down well with mango lassi. Biriyani (flavorful layered rice) as an entree was how I would like biriyani to be. The biriyani sells quickly and you might be out of luck too late into the evening. Just goes to show that they take pride in their cooking.

The restaurant is very informal and is at street level (accessible). Street parking is free...