Annapurna Simply Vegetarian — Restaurant in Rogers Park Township

I do love Annapurna. This place has great food from different corners of India at a great price. But... there are some things to be mindful of.

First up, I love all the chaats on the Annapurna menu. I've tried everything and like everything. What you should know is that they make theirs sweeter and less spicy than you'd expect. I don't mind it, and I'm sure most Americans won't mind it, but if you yearn for that classic Indian street food level of spice, this place is not it.

Except for the pani puri. I mean, how about the pani puri! It's been ages since I've had the "live" pani puri and Annapurna has done great to dedicate a corner for just that, at their new location. I love it! The water is great, the golgappas are great and you can use the sweet/spicy chutneys for added flavor. It's also a great place to take your non-Indian friends and introduce them to the Indian street food experience- otherwise impossible to do at other Indian restaurants.

South Indian: They have a fair number of south Indian items on the menu, my favorite being the uthhapam. Usually crispy and well flavored, it has occasionally been bland. The sambhar is usually excellent though but the coconut chutney (that can make or break South Indian food) sucks. I really wish they'd do better at the chutney.

North Indian entrees: Frankly, that's not something I've ever ordered here except for the paranthas (which are all great). If I wanted a curry-naan main course, I'd go to a different restaurant that specializes in curries, and not to Annapurna. The paranthas are great, the paneer one is exceptional. Be careful with the muli (daikon) paratha- it was spicy AF!

Ambience: So Annapurna now is in a new location. They used to be a few stores down in the same block. When I heard they were going to open in a new location, I was excited to see what they'd done with the design, and it's disappointing. Bright-ish purple walls with bright green subway tile. Who came up with that idea? The pani puri section is walled in and feels congested (especially because.. pandemic). There are far less tables in the restaurant than it can accommodate if it were better designed. It's a mess and I was hoping for better.

Still, Annapurna is a great place for a chill meal - regardless of the time of day - and the wavering flavor of food only adds to feeling that this is the closest experience to dining in India you can have here in...

One of the best places in Chicago to get classic Indian vegetarian street foods/snacks.

The most popular thing here is their Dosas which are amazing. Definitely get the Masala Dosa which comes ith the most amazing potatoes that are lightly mashed and seasoned so well with a buncha different Indian herbs and spices. The Dosa comes with Sambar which is a nice refreshing tomato based sauce to dip your dosa in. What is Dosa? Dosa is a thin crispy crepe like pancake made from a rice and lentil batter that is savory, crispy but also thin and soft where its thicker.. It's a must have and a perfect brunch item to have with a nice Lassi (Indian yogurt based milkshake) or with some chai (indian milk tea).

You can never go wrong with Annapurna. They have alot of others snacks/Indian street food such as pani puri, samosas, indian pav bhaji (blend of diff spicy veggies with toasted buns), various types of Chat (pronounced Chaat meaning 'lick'), its a mix of spiced chickpeas, cilantro, onions, and commonly also potato, yogurt, tamarind sauce and alot of tangy zesty spices.. alot of fun to eat.. Classic Indian street foods

They also have alot of classic cold / soft drinks you would find in India like mango juices, Thumbs up, Frooti, Jeera Soda,

Theres so much more on their menu that I cannot possibly list so definitely go check them out. Perfect for Brunch or Lunch.. they have walls/windows that open up in the summer for a nice breeze, as well as an outdoor...

So it was feburary 1 around 1 pm something. We went inside order fewthings and ordered 7 large sugar cane juice we were group of 7 people. The lady on the cash register told us you’re number will be called then you can take your food from food counter. After some time they called we took our food when we taste the sugar can juice it taste nothing like sugarcane they added ginger soo much it taste like ginger juice we tasted only one so we went to register and informed them to sawp all the remaining drinks and give us without ginger because it was super horrible. For that she replied no we can’t do that after few minutes she said we will give you for free rudly “she just charged us money and has the audacity to tell us on the face we will give you free throw all of these” and specifically told the waiter to throw all the drinks near the same dustbin were we were sitting” very bad service horrible experience and they think they are doing a big favor on us by selling food and the worst part was after the new drink arrived they told us to collect not from the food counter, go and take the drinks from cash counter . She made us feel humiliated for asking a replacement. turns out they have rotten sugar cane to supress that taste they are adding ginger a lot we end up throwing the replacement as well. Never gonna go there save your money go...