The Adyar Cafe — Restaurant in West Whiteland Township

We were a group of 6 adults that traveled from NJ just to try this new vegetarian restaurant for lunch. We have been to Malgudi cafe (which is 5 minutes away) and heard another vegetarian restaurant has opened in Exton and decided to visit. I tried calling to ask if the menu is buffet on the weekends or al la carte but no one answered had to call like 4-5 times.

The decor/ambiance is very nice. Feels like I’m sitting in a traditional cafe in India.

Service was good. They were busy so understandable that there are some delays. They might need more servers.

Now the food. Since it was a 2 hour drive we decided to try a few things on the menu. Some things were sold out. Like masala puri, curry leaf pasta, baby corn fritters, filter coffee, biryani.

Samosa chat was good. Not too sweet. This was perfect for us. Could have been more spicy but it’s was flavourful

Dahi Vada was almost good. The thiyr was perfect. They did not add any sugar to it. Which is how it should be. Thiyr vada should not be sweet. The tadka was perfect. The Vada was dry.

Mirchi bajji was good. Everyone liked it

Hyderabadi gobi 65 was ok. The flavour was good but it was not crispy. It was soggy.

Podi and plain appam with stew was excellent. It seems to be a popular dish to order there. Every table has at least one order.

Benne Mysore masala dosa was ok. I understand we ordered benne. But this was just an unnecessary amount of benne/oil. The potato filling was not the best and was too much. The red chutney for inside the dosa was not great either. Was too much and no flavour. And not spread out evenly. The Sambar was very nice. Very flavourful and balanced. The 3 chutneys they give you was not great. Very basic.

Mini idli dipped in sambar was very good.

Idli sambar was also very good.

Chole bhatura was good

Cutting masala chai. Was bad. I don’t know if it’s because we were the last ones there before they closed for lunch. But it was bad.

Sugar cane juice was very good.

Neer mor was good.

Price: I found some things a little expensive. Like sugar cane juice was $10 for a small glass. Even the food items the portions were small like the samosa chaat, the gobi 65, mirchi bajji. Small portion but full price.

Somethings were good price like appam. You get 2. The benne dosa also you get 2.

We were 6 adults who wanted to try the paneer chimmichuri. Asked the server how many pieces of paneer in one order she said 5. Explained to her we want to try it and we are 6 people can you make it 6 pieces. She said no we have to order 2. We said no. If she had said let me check and they gave us the extra piece of paneer as good customer service. I would hear writing about that experience.

The total bill was $270 including tip and tax.

Would I go here again? I don’t know. Maybe, to try the weekend buffet breakfast. But it’s a bit of drive away for us.

We were all so hungry and tired of the long drive (because of traffic it took us almost 2 hours to get there) left home at 12.15 got there at 2. So plan accordingly. They close after lunch at 3. We also didn’t take any photos of the food...

Revisit Review: We had a wonderful dining experience during our recent visit. Our server, Nandini, was exceptional—she handled the entire dinner with grace and efficiency, making the evening smooth and enjoyable. The food was fresh and flavorful, and everything felt thoughtfully prepared. Overall, it was a very pleasant experience and we look forward to returning again!

A Comedy of Errors 🍽️🤣

Oh boy, where do I even begin? We walked into Adayar Cafe hoping for a nice South Indian meal, but we basically signed up for a Waiting Marathon 2025! ⏳😂

Let’s start with the food – just okay-ish. Portion sizes? Let’s just say I’ve seen bigger samples at Costco. 💸🙄 We spent over $170, expecting to be stuffed, but nope—just tiny portions and a side of disappointment.

Now, let’s talk about the legendary Rava dosa… or should I say the black pepper bomb? 🌶️💥 My poor friend almost teared up from the spice attack, and my husband? Oh, he was laughing, while I was sitting there wondering why we paid to suffer. 🤦‍♀️😅

And the service? Absolute chaos. We asked for coffee to be reheated ☕ as it was not hot at all and waited… and waited… and waited… 45 minutes later, it finally never came , At that point, we could’ve just grown our own coffee beans! 🌱⏳🤣

Then came the grand finale—the billing disaster. They included gratuity (which is fine), but then (sneakily )added another tip. 🤨 My husband caught it, and guess what? They showed us someone else’s receipt! 📜🤯 After some back-and-forth, they finally fixed it. But honestly, at that point, I was just done.

Oh, and when we asked if they expect this kind of rush every night, they said yes. Sooo… if you know it’s gonna be busy, why not hire more staff who is skilled in handling people ? 🤔 Logic is clearly not on the menu. They are super sweet to their friends or people they know I guess … because clearly I can see that.

We had a great time with our friends because we could chat and laugh, but if it were just us, I would think 100 times before coming back. This visit left me with a mix of annoyance, confusion, and regret—but hey, at least we got a funny story out of it! 😆 Would we return? Only if we have 3 hours to kill and a backup snack...

Worst Service Ever – Avoid This Place

This was one of the worst customer service experiences I’ve had. They didn’t serve half the items we ordered, and the ones they did bring were low in both quality and quantity. Staff were unprofessional, lacked basic manners, and were outright rude. No sense of hospitality whatsoever. It felt like they just wanted us out of there. Not worth your time or money.

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Professional and Constructive:

Disappointing Visit – Needs Major Improvement

I had high expectations, but unfortunately, the experience fell flat. Many items on the menu were unavailable, and the few we received were poorly prepared and barely enough to count as a full portion. What stood out most, however, was the staff’s lack of courtesy and hospitality. There was no attempt to make us feel welcome, and any interaction felt cold or dismissive. This place has potential, but serious improvements in service, food quality, and staff training are desperately needed.

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Emotionally Expressive:

Felt Unwelcome and Let Down

I rarely write negative reviews, but this one is deserved. We were ignored for a long time after being seated. When the food finally came, it was disappointing—tasteless, poorly presented, and far less than expected in portion. But the worst part? The staff made us feel like we were a burden rather than guests. No smiles, no help, just rudeness and indifference. We left feeling frustrated and unappreciated....