BRUNDAVAN — Restaurant in Santa Clara

Hello! I am a regular at Brundavan and have always loved the place for its authentic Indian food and its great variety. However, I'm compelled to drop a 1-star review due to an extremely distressing experience last night.

During my visit, I was subjected to a horrifying situation caused by another customer, which the restaurant allowed and entertained, leading to a highly unpleasant experience for me. A lady dining at the same time as me was nitpicking with the waiters and making various unrelated demands. Eventually, she didn’t pay for her order as her card was declined. When the waiters were away, and as she was pretending to leave, she took unsolicited pictures of me and my food, and to my shock, she also passed racist slurs against Muslims.

When I brought this to the management’s attention, they swiftly intervened, but instead of addressing the severity of her actions, they merely shushed her out of the restaurant while I was still trying to get her to delete the pictures. This left me with very little time to react and process the situation. Although the management may not have known who she was, it is their responsibility to protect their customers from harassment beyond just removing the perpetrator to calm the atmosphere.

Other folks waiting at the desk mentioned that this specific lady has harassed them at other locations and is a known troublemaker in the area. I did not take pictures of the incident out of goodwill for the restaurant, but I am deeply disappointed and confused by the lack of thorough questioning or answers provided.

This woman took advantage of the fact that the staff were busy and not around. Despite calling for help from the table, nobody came around as they were busy. I had to walk up to a staff member to explain what was happening. She continued to take pictures of me even as I sought assistance. By the time the situation was addressed and she left, my food had been taken away for disposal to make room for other customers - in a rush.

I urge the management to take prompt and decisive action to avoid entertaining such customers in the future and, if possible, report this woman to law enforcement if she is seen around again. I am concerned about the risk she poses to me given that I do not have access to her iPad and the pictures she took.

Please take this feedback seriously and consider reserving the right to refuse service to customers who could potentially harass others. Thank you.

The food was great but I don’t feel like visiting again due to this experience. I believe this situation could have been handled much more efficiently...

I live in Canada and my husband lives here in San jose. This Restaurent was introduced to us by one of our friend, in her birthday party. We had mutton dum biriyani. It was the best biriyani I ever had in 29 years of my life. I am basically from Kerala, and we have very good biriyanis, but this was like another level. From then onwards when ever my husband visits me in Vancouver he brings me a Biriyani from here.😁

And we do take out every time I visits him here. Day before yesterday I dined in here for first time. The restaurent is very very clean and ambiance is also very good. (Bonus: they plays all my fav tamil songs )

HIGHLIGHT: The food tasted 100 times tastier when we did had it there. The taste and quality is very consistent. We were served by a guy named PRESTON, Best service we ever had in a restaurant. The way he serves the food and the happiness on his face while giving the food will fills our heart. He was so kind and polite. We even went the next day to try some new item descided not to have biriyani and haleem which was our staple. This day also we were lucky to be served by PRESTON. We tried appollo fish , mulagu bhaji and lacha parata OMG, how they make everything tastes this good? I have worked as waitress before and I know how it feels when people dine it just before closing. We went there pretty late. (Which we should not have done) Even at 11.30 working long PRESTON had the same energy. And smile on his face while serving. The kindness and love in his talk filled our hearts.

Next time we are ready to wait until we get a table served by PRESTON 😀 I want to write more but stopping...

I recently traveled to Santa Clara, CA, on a business trip and went for dinner at Brundavan on the recommendation of a colleague. The first time my colleague and I ate at this excellent restaurant, I was sure I would go back again and again. I enjoy various cuisines on my US trips, but after a few days the nagging feeling of missing the home food always sets in. From that perspective, Brundavan positively impacted my trip experience by making me feel at home with food. The cuisine is authentic coastal Andhra/Hyderabadi and North Indian, with homemade spices and other ingredients. I spoke to the chefs, with a thorough understanding of Indian food attitudes. I ate six meals in all during my trip:) Let me rate them here for you: Potlam Chicken - It's easily among the best chicken curries I've eaten - even in India. It's spicy, and the andhra flavor is rich. 5/5. Fish Fry: Nothing can beat a crispy fried fish with Telugu masalas in coastal Andhra style. Yum! 4.9/5. Full Fish appetiser: When you are at Brindavan, you cannot miss eating fish. They excel at it. 4.9/5. Hyderabadi Biryani and Patthar ka Ghost: This one's a real surprise. While the fish fry and potlam chicken were cooked in Andhra flavours, Biryani and Patthar were made in perfect Hyderabadi style. Biryani lovers will have fun! 4.8/5. Dal Rice: After a binging on meats, the simple dal rice provides the much-needed relief to the tummy. It's juicy and yummy. 5/5. I strongly recommend that anyone who loves or wants to taste authentic Indian food should definitely visit Brundavan. Very Hygienic, best service, awesome place. Trust me, you will...