UlavacharU Indian Restaurant — Restaurant in Sunnyvale

Ulavacharu: A Culinary Catastrophe – How Quantity Decimated Quality As a dedicated foodie who thrives on exploring diverse cuisines and experiencing the full breadth of a buffet's offerings, my recent visits to Ulavacharu for their weekend lunch buffet have spiraled from disappointing to frankly disastrous. While the restaurant initially lured me in with an ostensibly "interesting array of dishes" for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians, it's now painfully clear that variety is the only draw. The ambiance is forgettable, and finding parking is a frustrating challenge. But these minor grievances pale in comparison to the utter collapse of their food quality.

The Food: A Shocking Decline My last two experiences confirm a disturbing trend: Ulavacharu's buffet has become a numbers game, entirely devoid of genuine quality. Not a single dish, save for a few desperate exceptions, met even a basic standard of taste or preparation. The once-promising buffet now serves as a testament to how quickly a restaurant can abandon culinary integrity.

The only items that offered a semblance of quality were the mango lassi, chutney, and pickle. Even the fresh fruits were suspect, possessing an unsettling taste and odor reminiscent of nail polish remover.

A Gastronomic Ordeal: Dish by Dish The descent into culinary despair began immediately. The pav bhaji proved an abomination; terrible aftertaste, the vada was so over-fried it was a tooth-breaking projectile. The gobi fry followed, was brutally salty, greasy, and burnt. The "beans curry" was visually and tastefully disgusting, and the tindora fry was simply soaked in burnt oil, a truly unappetizing mess.

Amidst this wasteland, only noodles, sambar, rasam, and white rice were mercifully edible. Even the curd rice failed this time. The various curries (Butter Chicken, Goat, Chicken, Fish) were merely palatable, but marred by poorly used whole spices. The tandoori chicken was, surprisingly, spot on – a rare contrast.

However, any lingering hope was immediately extinguished by the flagship biryani and pulao. For an Andhra restaurant, serving such subpar versions of these staples is inexcusable – over salty, excessive masala and plagued by an overzealous use of whole spices that left a lingering, unpleasant aftertaste. I simply gave up.

My courage for dessert was completely depleted. I couldn't bring myself to try anything, but my wife, ever the optimist, found the Pineapple Kasari surprisingly pleasant and perfectly sweet.

The Unacceptable Cost of Disappointment Ultimately, paying over ~$25 per plate for such an abysmal dining experience is not merely poor value; it's an outright rip-off. Considering the pervasive lack of quality and the sheer number of inedible dishes, the price point is indefensible.

Ulavacharu undoubtedly enjoys a strong fan following, but their current food quality has taken a precipitous nosedive. This unfortunate pattern is common among Indian restaurants: as popularity surges, prices inflate, and quality plummets. It appears the chefs at Ulavacharu are disconnected from their craft; they seem to neither taste nor truly understand the food they're preparing. This isn't culinary art; it's a blind, uninspired adherence to a recipe, treating food preparation like a sterile lab experiment rather than a passionate endeavor. Any skilled chef would taste their creations and simply refuse to send such food out of the kitchen.

Ulavacharu needs an urgent culinary intervention. Until then, dine at...

If you are looking for a caterer that can serve traditional, South Indian dishes for a wedding or large event in the Bay Area and Napa, then Ulavacharu is a great choice. We hired Ulavacharu to serve a traditional, vegetarian lunch for 270 guests after our South Indian wedding ceremony in Napa. Ulavacharu’s team worked closely with us to develop a menu that included several traditional South Indian dishes, including Andra mirchi bajji, masala vada, sambar, tamarind pulihora, guttivankai gravy (eggplant), gongura pappu (gongura daal), and jaipuri bhendi (okra). These main courses were served with a side of white rice and roti, along with roti pacchadi, peanut chutney, mango pickle, and yogurt. We also ordered double ka meeta and kajjikayalu for dessert, served alongside chai and paan.

All the food items were freshly made and delicious. For example, the Andra mirchi bajji included properly spiced peppers and freshly cut red onions, which can make all of the difference when eating such a dish. The masala vadas were fried perfectly, and even our non-vegetarian guests could not get enough of the eggplant, okra, and sambar dishes. Not only was the Ulavacharu team pleasant to deal with during the planning stages, but the chef and his team also were willing to listen to our feedback. For example, during our food tasting, we realized that we wanted to adjust the ingredients in the paan to match our guests’ tastes. They made our requested adjustment, and our guests could not be happier – everyone loved the paan.

Everything ran smoothly when it came to logistics. Our point of contact was responsive to our coordinator in the weeks leading up to the event so all of the minor details were ironed out in advance. On the day of the event, the food was ready on-time and there were no surprises. The pricing was also very reasonable compared to other major caterers in the area. Even though Ulavacharu did not have experience with our venue, they had no major issues in terms of setting up and running two buffet stations for over 250 guests arriving for lunch near simultaneously following the end of our wedding ceremony.

Ultimately, if you are planning a South Indian wedding in the Bay Area or Napa/Sonoma and want to have a traditional South Indian meal either following your ceremony or during another event, then you should strongly...

Hi , I hve been visting Ulavacharu Restaurant some times as it is near to my house living. I would like to give the review for this restaurant . Customer service is very very bad. The people who take your order are very rude , first they do not Greet you , never Say 'Thank you ' after you pick up your order. The person named 'Srini' who will be seen in the restaurant while taking order , this person named 'Srini' who showcases as if he is most busiest person in world. I have once ordered the togo food by phone and this person 'Srini' does not have patience to listen to my instructions at all, its not once every time I call ,and when ever this person picks my call does not have patience to listen to the Instructions at all . I dont understand what busy work he has , and I see some times hardly have Customers in hotel and he shows as he is very very busy and does not have time to listen and take the order and listen to Instructions. And he just disconnected the call. Very rude person. Management or Owner of this Ulavacharu restaurant , if you guys reading this review. Please take the action against 'Srini' . Coming to Food , the rice given is not Freshly cooked , I am thinking it is booked morning or day before. The chicken is not Freshly cooked , and its not Tasty also. I am not sure how this restaurant got so many good reviews . So many local guides who write the reviews saying 5 stars . Really doubt whether they are really genuine reviews. The Biryani which I have ordered is not Fresh , rice is not good , Chicken is not good. Please prepare freshly food and serve the customers , as they are paing their hard earned money for this food . Try to learn some good manners to Treat and Greet the customers welcoming warmly and say 'Thank you' when they pickup the Food Items. Please prepare food...