Dosa Grill Vestal — Restaurant in Town of Vestal

Update: Returned to try the dinner buffet. The buffet had a satisfactory variety of veg selections and there's even more if you eat meat. The fresh dosa brought to the table included with the buffet was a nice touch. The price was very reasonable for buffet service. Everything was tasty; although I'm usually partial to the curries, the highlights for me were unexpectedly the beet salad, rasam, and shahi tukra (I was especially excited to try shahi tukra, I never see it on menus anywhere). Except for the rasam, everything was pretty mild in heat. I would have liked to see one or two spicy curries, but even without the heat, everything was flavourful. I think I'll probably go for the regular menu if I come back again, but it was really fun to try the buffet and it's definitely a good choice if you want to go to an Indian buffet.

Original: Very impressed with Dosa Grill. My family and I were eagerly anticipating the opening of this restaurant, and while my parents have been a few times, this is the first time I've been in Vestal to try them since they opened. Moderately busy but not crowded around 5:30-6:30 on Saturday. The atmosphere is nice, tastefully decorated with pleasant music. Papad with chutneys is placed on the tables when you arrive. I ordered the spring roll masala dosa and a salted lassi. I wanted to try the spring roll masala dosa because it sounded interesting and it didn't disappoint! Really good combination of the crunch from the peppers and cabbage with the cheese inside the lightly crispy dosa, and great flavour! The lassi was mild and creamy, which would make it a good accompaniment to a spicy dish. I also had a taste of some of the dishes my parents ordered: rasam, navrattan korma, and garlic naan. All very good. The rasam had a complex spiciness and the naan was fresh and soft. the portions were generous enough that we all had leftovers. They brought out complimentary small servings of semolina pudding to finish, apparently something new they're trying. This was a great way to finish the meal with the mellow, earthy flavour providing a nice contrast to the boldness of the savoury food. Before the tip, the total for the three of us was $67, which I thought was good value for the quality of the food, and even more so since we had a fair amount of leftovers. Service was good. They were polite and attentive, and helpful with my parents' questions about the menu. I'm definitely hoping to come back next time I'm in town and...

I’ve visited Dosa Grill three times, and while the first two visits were just okay, my most recent visit was a big letdown. I drove over an hour from Scranton, PA hoping for a good South Indian meal, but left disappointed.

We ordered two masala dosas, two mango lassis, and one chicken lollipop. The mango lassi tasted like cheap canned mango pulp mixed with yogurt—not worth $5 each. The dosas were decent, but nothing special for $15 apiece. The worst was the chicken lollipop—just four tiny, dry pieces for $15 that tasted awful. We forced ourselves to finish it just so we wouldn’t waste money.

What made the experience worse was the attitude. When the server asked how the food was, I mentioned the chicken lollipop wasn’t good. Her response? “Then why did you eat it?” That kind of response was shocking and unprofessional.

Despite the poor service and bad food, I still paid the full bill and didn’t even ask for any courtesy or discount—I just wanted to leave and be done with it. Honestly, I expected better from a place with so many positive reviews, but it seems like those might be more about boosting reputation than reflecting reality.

I don’t recommend this place. If you go and don’t like it, don’t feel bad walking out. Don’t expect good service or accountability....

Wonderful Indian food, with multiple chefs from different regions of India, the food has a lovely variety of flavors. I was born in India, so of course it’s restaurant food and that’s the only reason I removed 1 star, because of course my mother’s version of these dishes were superior to the restaurant food. However now that my mother passed away, when I get homesick for Indian food I choose Dosa Grill.

Very convenient location and friendly service, in fact the service is consistently excellent and polite and friendly and at the same time it’s a bit more casual than other Indian restaurants in the area, which I appreciate!

Thank you guys for sharing your fabulous cuisine. Also the menu has Westernized dishes like Butter Chicken. The Lamb Tikka Masala is one of my favorites. They do a very tasty Lamb Biriyani, those and my husband loves the dosa! Also he recommends many of the seafood entrees. Another thing that I have been told by my friends is that they quite enjoy the buffet!

One more note, whenever I order “not spicy”they (unlike their counterparts) will be very very happy to make it not too spicy-hot, despite all the other spices in it. We simply express ourselves as needing the food to be “for a small child,” so not...