Little India Grocery & Chaat Restaurant — Restaurant in Tempe

I hope this review doesn’t get removed. I honestly don’t know where to start. It took me three days to recover from the awful food I had here. From the moment you walk in, the air feels moldy and suffocating. The place itself is dirty, with old, worn out furniture. The staff didn’t look clean either. Don’t even get me started with the food, it was the worst I’ve ever had. Stale, unpleasant, and downright disgusting. It was far from fresh. The pani puri tasted like dirt. I’ve been to other Indian restaurants in the city, while they may not always have the most authentic flavors, at least they were clean and had welcoming staff. This place was a huge disappointment. What’s even more frustrating is that instead of taking customer feedback seriously, the owner argues and challenges us. Telling customers it’s okay to eat or buy expired products is unacceptable. “ best before” is still an expiration date. Indian restaurants back home adhere to strict food safety standards, and it's 2024 these standards are followed everywhere. The place needs to be cleaned as soon as possible for your own (staff) safety. Customers eat and leave after a few hours, but the staff stays there for much longer, and it’s extremely dangerous for anyone to breathe that air. This place misrepresents the quality and standards associated with Indian culture.

Thank you for your response. It’s important to clarify that we have no intention of slandering your business. Our reviews are based on personal experiences and aim to provide honest feedback. While we appreciate that you’ve received an A grade from the health department, our review reflects what we encountered during our visit. It’s great to hear that many of your customers enjoy your food and that you’ve taken steps to maintain cleanliness. However, every customer’s experience is unique, and we simply wanted to share ours in hopes of contributing to the growth and improvement of your business. FYI we were seated on the larger sofas which were worn out. You can check for yourself. And no I do not have knowledge on food safety or do not intend to get a certificate, thank you for being as rude as you can. However, I’m a mother and I have been cooking for more than 30 years and can definitely differentiate between fresh and stale food. We don’t have to lie about anything, we are being honest and we are not getting rewarded by giving you a bad rating. We would want you to improve so that we can recommend your place to others and visit your place again and change our opinion. We respect the work that goes into running a small business and wish you continued success. Thank you for your understanding.

Amazing attitude. God bless you. Let me not stoop to your level and lose my cool. All the very best. And yes God is watching everything. I’ll forget I had ever stepped foot in the...

Do yourself a favor and eat here!

I have been coming here for over a year. This is my favorite restaurant in all of Arizona. The food has always been consistent. It is literally sitting at this families kitchen table. I have had the whole menu. Every item on the menu is perfect! The menu is small and everything is made by hand. The chaats are exploding with a multitude of flavors. All the sauces are outstanding! The masala tea is to die for and a must get! It comes without sugar so you can sweeten it to your liking. Always piping hot with an incredible spices flavor. If you have any funk going on, it will drain it all away. The specials they serve are foods from the area in India they are from. Each special dish I’ve had has been a new experience. So delicious with various flavors and textures you will find no where else. My favorite is the dahi puri and the chole bhature. The dahi puri has such a mix of flavors with that homemade tangy yogurt. The chole bhature comes with that big puffy fried bread and chickpeas in the most delicious gravy. I’m not vegetarian but when I eat here, I never have the feeling I’m missing the meat in the meal. Every meal is filling and just the right proportion for the price.

The grocery store part of the business is great. They have the good dosa badder and the good paneer. Handmade Indian sweets and great quality frozen items. The snacks selection is tremendous! The dry and canned goods are always well stocked. I’ve never gotten anything out of date. Though something could get past them. Just let them know and they will remove it.

The service has always been top notch. The young man has always been sensible and ready to share his knowledge and culture. They have always taken good care of me. One time an extra samosa chaat was made and he just gave it to me. The older man at the register has always greeted me with a smile. Every time I go in they ask me how I am and how my grandma is doing. Truly worthwhile and lovable people. They provide a true and honest service to the community. Offering suggestions and tips on making you own Indian food at home.

Some of these negative reviews as of recent seem very petty and disingenuous. They seem to have some personal or slanderous motivation.

I have never written a review for a restaurant. This review comes straight from the heart out of admiration! Give this place a try you will not be disappointed! They are worth your business.

The food can be SPICY! Please just ask the young man for suggestions! Ordering is so easy on a computer! You pay there and quickly the food is brought to you!!

You know who this is,...

Update -10Sep2023 My dad went in with the receipt to get his money back on the chana he had bought. Instead the cashier wanted to see the person who wrote the review. So my dad called me and I went in and the cashier was giving me lecture on ethics. He said everything was based on price chart and claimed that he was the one who picked up the phone when i first called to let him know about the price difference in roasted chana vs salted roasted channa same size of same company.I would have given him back right there in the store had my parents not been with me. But here is my response- if the guy is indian origin, he knows difference between two types of same brand of channa roasted vs roasted salted. If he had clear conscience when i first called he would have said oh there might be mistake let me check and call you back. But instead he said we sell salted ones at 7.99 and unsalted ones for 1.99, 6 dollars for pinch of salt in 250 gm of chana wow.. He made the gesture of adjustments only after my google review. After today’s transaction i owe him 3 cents because he didn’t charge on card remaining balance and i didn’t have cash to pay him. But I will very soon come back and pay more than 3 cents as i donot like to owe money to anyone.

old review we went to little india this weekend to get few indian snacks since we were out there for chutney’s buffet. We bought roasted chana 2 packets same size. When we came back home we noticed one was priced at 1.99 and other was 7.9. When i called the store they said one was salted and thats why priced more. I mean just putting salt you will add 6 dollars. They were kept just next to each other so thats customer deception. here are the pics. i have been a little india fan ever since it was owned by an old uncle because of food quality and good grocery store. Food quality as well as ethics have gone for a toss ever since this latest ownership. Please be very cautious of shopping here. I will...