ANNACHIKADAI — Restaurant in Pleasanton

Rating - 5/5

We ordered Chicken 65, Non-Veg Meals, Parotta, Idicha Chicken Kulambu, Chicken Biriyani, Potlam Parotta, and Mango Lassi.

The Chicken 65 had the perfect Chennai-style taste, with plenty of quantity that no other restaurant could match.

The Non-Veg Meals was very good, with the gravies having the right amount of chicken, mutton, and fish fillet, respectively. Refills were quick as the restaurant was not crowded, possibly due to the rain. I noticed that Chicken 65 and Chapathi were removed from the menu, and they also replaced the traditional South Indian sweet with a Gulab Jamun. Given the inflation and price point, I can't complain too much.

The Chicken Biriyani was really good, with a balanced masala/spice and a good aroma. The quantity was generous, with three pieces of chicken, including one leg piece.

The Parotta and Idicha Chicken Kulambu were fantastic. The kulambu was spicy but enjoyable, as you would expect from restaurant food.

I also tried the Potlam Parotta, which I ordered based on the online buzz/ facebook videos, but I wasn't a big fan of it. It might not be the restaurant's fault, but the dish, in general, didn't appeal to me.

I will definitely visit again for their Chettinad meals (which include Kuzhi Paniyaram and Chettinad Chicken), bucket biriyani.

Service : Both the person who took the order and the chef/owner were very friendly. They checked on us and had casual conversation with us.

Advice for the restaurant: For the meals, please provide a small serving of Chicken 65. Since the Jamun size was small, please provide at least two. You can also provide two chapathis on request. In the past, I used to eat 5-6 chapathis with the chicken and mutton gravy, followed by very little rice for the fish gravy and rasam. So having the chapathi option is important for people like me.

I also found the price of Mango Lassi ($4.99) to be steep. $2.99 to $3.49 would be a better price point. I am providing a rating of 5 because we were totally satisfied with our experience. There are minor differences to the pre-pandemic experience at MV but with inflation, it is completely reasonable. Gobbled up all the food so did not...

Oh man, you will not believe the nightmare we had at Annachikadai in Pleasanton!

So, we were just driving through and really craving some South Indian food. The menu at Annachikadai looked super authentic, like real Tamil stuff, so we thought, "Yeah, this is it!" Even though we'd seen some bad reviews, we were like, "Nah, how bad can it be?" BIG MISTAKE. Seriously, that was our first and worst mistake.

First up, we got this mutton soup. You know when something's barely heated? Yeah, it was clearly microwaved for like, 30 seconds. The meat pieces inside were still cold.

Then came the appetizer, Naatukoli fry. And oh my god, the chicken had this horrible, nasty smell when we tried to eat it. Like, obviously old stock they just fried up to hide it. No one could even take a second bite. Just revolting.

Next, the mutton biryani. It was just... preheated. Like, room temperature. Not even warm. Definitely another microwave job, and honestly, the quality was worse than something you'd get from a random roadside stand. Just bland and sad.

We also got chicken pothi parotta, thinking it would be something special. Nope. They literally just took a regular parotta, wrapped it in a banana leaf (which, by the way, had some burnt spots and remained fresh aftercooked, nice touch!), and put some random chicken curry inside. That was it.

The only thing that was actually good was the kothu parotta. That's it. One single redeeming dish.

And then, long story short, after tasting all that stuff, I actually had to go into their restroom and throw up right there in the store. It was that bad.

So yeah, if you're ever thinking of stopping there, just beware! I'd seen reviews about people getting stomach upset and food poisoning, but now I can confirm it from my own disgusting experience. Avoid that place...

Dine-In Experience: Craving a Thali, we settled on this place. Upon arrival, we noticed a popular South Indian restaurant right across packed with customers, while this one was empty—just us as customers. We hesitated but decided to give it a shot.

Veg Thali - Unfortunately, my wife found it unimpressive. Nothing stood out, and with better options right across, we questioned our choice.

Non Veg Thali - The taste was alright, but we were quite disappointed with the portion of rice and curries. Only a tiny piece in the chicken and mutton curry for $18-20 didn't seem justified.

Saving Grace - The person taking our order was courteous and quick. My kid enjoyed conversation with him. As a gesture, he offered us a complimentary sample of JeeraSamba rice mutton biryani, which turned out to be flavorful and delicious. One extra ⭐ just for that. I would recommend trying that if anyone decides to visit here.

Feedback to Management - When a highly popular restaurant is nearby, ensuring satisfaction in taste and quantity is crucial to good reviews and more customers. Restricting curry portions to just one piece won't achieve that.

Taste - 3/5 Quantity - 2/5 Quality - 3.5/5 Service -...