Nellai Banana Leaf — Restaurant in Town of Clarence

We were a party of 4 enjoying 4-days of vacation in Buffalo, NY. Been impressed by this restaurant from our trip last year, we wanted to visit once again. However, we ended up visiting this place all 4 days. 😍🤩 Had such a feast. Though we very much miss their authentic Thirunelvali halwa 🤤, they did impress us with their Payasam, Jamun, and rose milk. Well, our favourites go way beyond. The best part was, they used their spices in a well balanced manner (not high not low, it was just right!!). Your tummy fills in a healthy manner - proves that they don’t use artificial flavors and rely on home made masala (spices)!! Do review the list with patience and definitely try them all!! My advice, team up with friends and family to relish their wide menu options! 😎😉

Iraal milagu karuveppilai varuval - pepper prawn curry leaf masala. Crunchy and yummy baby prawns! Vaaval meen varuval - the spicy marination of this fish griddle made the best for idly! Thoothukudi neththili fry!! Pudina paneer tikka - soft cottage cheese in yummy mint marination! Don’t forget to dunk it in their mint chutney before you eat! Madurai mutton chukka - Goat meat was well curated and tossed with spices. You can just have it all! NBL Chinthamani chicken - authenticity of Erode packed in a dish! Aatu kal soup - right after your trip to ‘cave of the winds’, just go for this soup. You can’t catch any kind of cold or cough! Btw, if you are lucky, you get the delicious Nalli! Kozhi malli milagu rasam soup - same as above! Right after your Niagara visit! Kal Dosa, Idly, AAPAM 🤩❤️‍🔥Our favs! Best pairs with their chicken, goat and fish gravies. Nellai varuthu araicha kozhi curry - chicken curry made with Roast & ground fresh spices. Yes!!! This had the authentic flavours of the south TN packed. Goes well with steamed rice and any of their Aapam/dosa/idly etc.. Meen kozhambu - their fish gravy is amazing! Pair it with Aapam, kal dosa and idly..! ❣️ Thalapakattu mutton briyani - being married to a briyani aficionado, it felt like stepping in Dindigul eating this briyani. (Would be out of the world if the meat is sliced even smaller and well marinated in briyani spices) Do not step out without having their COFFEE!!

If you are wondering, where are the pictures of other dishes mentioned in the review above - Sorry, we were very much focused in relishing them rather than clicking pics. Foodies would get that emotion 😝!!

@NellaiBananaLeafRestauranteers Keep up the consistency in quality guys! Thanks for making our vacation the best with delicious South TN food. Felt home 🫠 with...

We catered food from Nellai for lunch at an Indian-style wedding in our family that took place recently in Western NY (about an hour from Buffalo), and were THRILLED with the experience.

Kali was great at communicating, easy to discuss multiple options, and very willing to work with our unique set of preferences, dietary restrictions, and choice of wedding venue at a significant driving distance from the restaurant. He communicated with multiple members of our family easily and helped us design the menu with several interesting suggestions that he came up with, including alternatives to some of the things we had proposed. Many of these are not even on their restaurant menu (or even standard in Indian restaurants, e.g., the "Marina Beach Sundal").

Prior to the event, the Nellai team visited the venue, made sure they understood what was possible, where things needed to be set up, what equipment was available, and so on. On the day of the event, the Nellai crew arrived on time, and did the set up in auto-pilot mode. Kali's partner Tony was at the event, directing the team for both set up and the tear-down.

Most importantly, the food was AMAZING -- it wasn't just "good Southern Indian food by Western NY standards" -- it was just EXCELLENT Southern Indian food, period. Just writing down the menu items at the end of this review makes me relive the joy I had eating this food! The Nellai team also had great attention to detail -- every item was clearly marked with which dietary restrictions it was compatible with (we had a number of family members who preferred Jain food, but the Nellai team also clearly marked the items that were vegan, which turned out to be a blessing for several others).

Heartily recommended! [This also looks like my longest review on Google Maps -- understandable since the occasion was very important to me! I have no personal or business relationship with Nellai beyond being a truly delighted customer.]

For completeness, here's the menu we went with:

Light Refreshment between Baraat and Ceremony: Chaas Light snack: Marina Beach Sundal

Lunch: Bisibele bath Veg Pulao Plaintain Roast Green Beans Usili White Pumpkin Kootu Mix Veg Kuruma Chapathi Curd Rice Appalam Mango Pickle Semiya...

I am sharing this review based on my take out experience today. I placed an online order of special rava masala dosa at 5:16 pm with a hope that the order will be ready in about 1 hour as suggested by restaurant website. However, I was disappointed that my order was not ready until the next 2 hours. While, I understand that there was a fire alarm that delayed all prep work for at least 30 minutes, the biggest disappointment was the lack of organization of any sort from the staff. Nobody from the waiting staff were providing update as customers started congregating near the checkout counter. The COVID-9 protocol were thrown right off the window for the initial duration of my wait thereby leaving me with I no choice but to step outside of the restaurant for my wait.

After standing outside for almost 40 minutes, I asked the waiting staff to check the status of my order. He went inside the kitchen to inquire and literally stood behind the counter near kitchen to avoid waiting customers. Unfortunately, the food was pathetic as well pictures reveal.

This review summarizes observations of my 5 visits in the last 1.5 years. Their service was weak to begin with and has gotten worse since. The quality of food is not as great anymore either.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Old review: Excellent spread of south Indian cuisine offered at this place. The chutneys were fresh and al (three) courses were good. Their service was a bit of let down because fresh silverware had to be asked for each course. If you like authentic Indian food then this eatery should be on top...