Kovai Cafe — Restaurant in San Jose

Food is just superb. Definitely in my top 3 South Indian restaurants I tried in the bay area.

Service is very efficient. I like that they have a pickup counter where you can go and also pick up the take out boxes as you need without asking or waiting for the waiters to bring it.

The ambience is also perfect. The music they play is so soothing, it takes me right back to South India or a temple. I just love it.

Visit #1: ❤️ Butter masala dosa: just superb, loved it. Their white chutney is probably the best I had in the Bay area. 😃 Paneer 65 was very good, perfectly crispy. In case you didn't know it like me, it is a South Indian paneer pakoda. 😊 KC special masala dosa: it was just as good but the "KC special" part is not that special in my opinion, it is just some carrot and some masala other than your normal masala dosa. You can try it if you are curious but in short, nothing too special about it. 😊 Sulaimani tea was good 😐 Medhu vada was only average or maybe below average because it was not crispy. It was a little soggy.

Visit #2: ♥️ Paruppu vadai was too good especially with tomato chutney. I never found a use for the South Indian tomato chutney but it paired so well with paruppu vadai as if it is specially designed for this. And obviously their tomato chutney is superb too. ♥️ Mysore Kara masala dosa was great but tasted like normal masala dosa. I couldn’t really feel the taste of kara masala but that could be because I only had a few bites of it from my husband’s plate. 😀 Rava masala dosa was good. In general I am not a fan of rava dosas because they put a lot of whole spices in it which I don’t like coming in my bites but that’s just what the recipe is so not the restaurant’s fault. It paired perfectly with tomato and peanut chutney. For some reason, I didn’t like it with coconut chutney and sambhar so in case you want to give this combination a try. 🙂 buttermilk was good in taste but it was very thick so if that's how you like it you will love it. But I think buttermilk is supposed to be watery to give you that refreshing feeling. Their buttermilk was more like a tasty but...

A Disappointing Sunday at Kovai Café

With lots of excitement, I went to this joint for breakfast yesterday and returned disappointed.

We stepped into Kovai Café and were warmly greeted. With no waiting time, we were promptly seated—a table for three: my brother in law , my wife, and myself. The menu offered the usual South Indian delights, and we decided to try the Sunday Special Combo (a mini feast of one idli, two small vadas, a modest cup of rava khichdi, a kesari infused with pineapple essence, three chutneys, sambar, and kathirikkai gothsu), along with filter coffees and a separate order of pongal, just for me.

The combo arrived quickly in shining stainless steel plates, looking promising. Sadly, the taste was a disaster.

The idli was good , but that’s where the compliments end. The sambar lacked depth—almost like the sambar powder hadn’t boiled well, as the powder smell was strong. Coconut chutney was overwhelmed by roasted gram, tomato chutney lacked any identity, and the kathirikkai gothsu was forgettable. The rava khichdi swam in oil, drowning any flavour it could’ve had with zero hint of lemon or the aroma of onions. The vadas were tough—not in a crispy way, just… firm inside, missing the urad dhal’s typical softness.

Then came the pongal—ah, the great letdown of the day. What was meant to be warm, aromatic comfort food tasted like bland paruppu sadham. Missing were the curry leaves, the ginger, even the fragrance. It took a conversation with the cashier to confirm that some curry leaves did exist somewhere in some pongal. Just not in mine, apparently. He brought a bowl with one floating curry leaf like it was Exhibit A in a courtroom drama. No explanation, no apology—just an awkward shrug.

The grand finale, the filter coffee, served in a gleaming golden davara-tumbler, managed to be as underwhelming as everything else. A bitter aftertaste lingered—not just from the coffee, but from the entire experience.

Tasteless food, unjustified prices, and a careless attitude with Zero accountability —Kovai Café left me with only one...

All of us in my family went for dinner to Kovai cafe along with another family on a Sunday. There was a wait time of around 15 minutes, given that we were a party of 6. There is an Indian store right next door, so one can pick up stuff from there while waiting.

We ordered a variety of tiffin items, each of them was top notch! Gobi 65 - The children enjoyed Gobi 65 immensely - the spice levels were perfect for them and the oil seemed very fresh too.

Poori/Chapati - The pooris had little to no oil. The chapatis were really soft. The kuruma that came with the poori & chapati was so flavorful and not overpowering with masalas. One feedback would be to increase the size/quantity of pooris and make side ordering of pooris available.

Dosas - Ghee/Rava/Cone - The dosas came with an assortment of 4 different chutneys, all of which were very authentic, fresh and catered to different spice levels in our group. The fresh coconut chutney was less spicy and perfect for kids. The tomato chutney was of medium spice level and the cilantro and peanut chutneys were lip smackingly spicy for the rest of us. The sambhar did not taste like authentic "hotel" sambar, but it was more homemade style and did not upset the stomach at all. Being hardcore south Indians, we could all feel a difference in the quality of dosa batter compared to other restaurants. There was no "soda" feeling and overall we just kept ordering more Dosas just like it happens at home.

Overall, we are so happy such an authentic South Indian place has opened up in the Bay area. We wish them all the very best and hope that they can maintain the same quality of...