Chennai Cafe

It's like visiting another country without leaving your own 😃. I felt transported by the atmosphere and flavors so delightfully foreign to me. There are many Indian restaurants in town but few of them with buffets and this one has the broadest selection I've seen anywhere. (The price, of course, is commensurate.) Having many options is important to me, not being familiar enough with the cuisine to order a single dish with satisfaction. This shotgun approach, therefore, is efficacious. The staff are delightful, but I marked one star lower in this category on watching them take unused water bottles from dirty tables and return them to an unseemly stockpile in the center of our dining room. Not a winsome practice.

I go to few Indian restaurants and this is one of my top 3. Some friends from work took me here and have been 3 years that this place has kept me coming back. Always have many options to choose from this is a buffet style totally awesome restaurant. If you like Indian food this is a must try place, have vegetarian options as well apart from lots of desert options.

We went on a Sunday afternoon for lunch buffet and I was amazed by the varieties of food options they have. Especially their crab masala, appam with coconut milk, various biryani options, ragi sangati, kavuni aresi kanji and lot of vegetarian options also.

Have nice buffet South Indian style. There’s plenty of food options available. The food quality and tastes was average. There’s live naan, dosa counter. The panipuri, biryani and kebab doesn’t tastes great. The staff is courteous and there is ample parking outside. The buffet price is affordable and many items which satisfies the taste bud.

Went in with my friends just 1 hour before closing, the service was awesome. The person who helped us in guiding us to the table was very welcoming. Food was fine. Top was real time dosa making with chutney served on buffet. Punugulu, chicken biryani, tikkas and desserts were awesome. The other ones some seemed okay but had very good ambiance and service.

Absolutely the BEST Indian restaurant in the Dallas area—hands down! They first welcome you wearing a heartwarming smile. The prices are unbelievably cheap for the top-notch quality of food you get. My 12 and 10-year-old boys were blown away by how delicious everything was, especially the freshly made aapam and dosas. Honestly, it was the yummiest aapam we've ever tasted anywhere! They make aapam and dosas fresh on demand, right in front of you, and despite all the hard work, the staff always serve them with big, genuine smiles for everyone. It’s so heartwarming to see how much care and effort they put into every single dish. We just finished our lunch, and we are delightfully happy—completely satisfied. The buffet is out of this world, with over 25 different items both veg and non veg, each one bursting with flavor. Every bite was worth way more than what we paid. I just wish we lived closer so we could bring the kids every single weekend. If you love Indian food, you HAVE to try this place! Vera level taste nga!! Namma oorla saapta maari iruku!!!

We went for buffet. There were so many varieties of food. My fav was the ambur biryani, Andhra chicken curry, live dosa. The dessert were also good. Definitely worth visiting. The service wasn’t that good. It was $25 for each person.

After struggling a lot to find good Indian restaurants, we finally found Chennai Cafe. The buffet here has most of the things, right from starters to Indian desserts. Sabzi Roti/ Naan, live counters for Dosas and appams/ pooris/ omelette. There is biryani and daal rice, different dips (chutneys), salads, hakka noodles and pav bhaji and samosa and bhajjis. There is more on the veg and the non veg menu. All things definitely taste good. But every time i go there, i fall all over the PANYARAM and RASAM. It’s a must try. Special mention of PANI PURI and BESAN BARFI ! Never had besan barfi as good as theirs.And appreciate their effort to reduce wasting of food by putting up notices saying all food wasted by customers would be fined. Must try place for people who like want to indulge in variety of Indian food.

Was looking around for a budget friendly cake with minimal decor. I chose Chennai Cafe to give it a try and I must say I wasn't quite sure how it would turn out. The output was just amazing and they did a great job . I loved the cake inside out. We ordered 6Lb butterscotch cake for a gender reveal event.

Updating on 10/18/2023 Commenting to Owner's response You can see how busy the place is in the pic. There are empty tables available and we were only 4 people in total.. my wife and me already there on 10/7/2023 at around 1.15-1.20pm. Other 2 were 15-20mins away. We requested the front desk if you could accommodate 2 of us as we were very hungry and other 2 will eventually come in 15mins which they did come early than 15mins. We can understand if there were no tables available but it was not the case on that day. And your policy of accommodating guests at table only when all guests are there makes sense to apply if the party is big. If you could not even accommodate 2-4 people when there are empty tables available then I dont know how great of a hospitality is this!!! Take an example: Just think of any other restaurant applies the same rule to your relatives/sis/bro/parents who arrive at the restaurant very hungry and there are empty tables available but are made to wait till you arrived, may be in about 20-30mins and there are still empty tables available.. How would you feel? And what would you do in this situation? Will you be SATISFIED at the end of the lunch/dinner? My answer: I WOULD NOT P.S. - A customer centric restaurant business would find a solution for case by case scenarios, rather than dictating rules as an excuse. ########################## Updated on 10/7/2023 I am changing my review from 5 stars to 1. They make people wait even though there are tables available. Say that everyone should be there to get table. What kind of mindset is this. This place is becoming worst treating customers day by day. WORST EXPERIENCE!!! #########Old review############## One of the best south indian buffet places in town!!! There are other over hyped restaurants in Frisco/Plano are but Chennai cafe will never disappoint you. We went to this place over weekend and during a weekday. Both days food tasted very good.

I'm a big fan of their bisibelabath and veg thali. Great service and consistent food quality. Don't miss the rasam if you're eating their thali, it tastes so good! Veg kothu parota and samosa are good too.

I love this place ! Prem the manager and the front desk girl Parnalavi are so sweet and welcoming ! They are always smiling and have great customer service skills. I love how the food is always fresh and the place is always clean ! The service is top of notch and friendly people. The dosas are so good ! I come just for the masala dosas and they do not disappoint at all. This place is a must !

This place has great buffet spread but their food taste and freshness are a hit or a miss. The staff has ambiguity in communication. Also they've crunched lunchtime, most of the time they ask to leave without recognizing that customers are still eating.

Good food, nice atmosphere , buffet is plenty ............... Saw one of my students not a bad price

I went for the lunch buffet and it was Texas Big! I'm from CA and we don't have buffets like that. The quality and variety of the food was fantastic! But the best part were the made to order dosas and appum! I love masala dosa, but have never had appum! It was so amazingly delicious, I need to find a place around me that makes it. The waitstaff were kind and really hustle.

Chennai Cafe is an excellent choice for anyone who wants to experience the vibrant flavors of South Indian cuisine. With its delicious food, friendly service, and reasonable prices, Chennai Cafe is sure to become a favorite for both locals and visitors to Frisco. Prices are reasonable, with most entrees falling between $10 and $15. The atmosphere is casual and family-friendly, with a clean and comfortable dining area. The restaurant can get crowded, especially during peak hours. Be prepared for a short wait, or call ahead to make a reservation.

This is a top tier Indian buffet. I don't understand the lower reviews at all - it's by far one of the best Indian buffets in Dallas. They have an incredible selection, and the items they offer are good quality for a buffet. They provide dosa - plain or with masala, on request, and on Fridays they have a station setup for this food. The restaurant interior is also quite nice, especially for a buffet. My only complaint is that I eat about 2-3k calories in one sitting here. I can't come here often without getting measurably fatter.

Lunch buffet's leftovers will be served for dinner. Watch out! For the lunch buffet staffs will try to push you to leave, so there is a table for another family. On the whole it's a $25 rip off.

This is a traditional South Indian cuisine consisting of rice based dishes and therefore of an eclectic nature. With vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, it is indeed a foodie heaven. Service was amazing. Especially loved the freshly made Dosa and Aapam - two pancake like delicacies but not sweet!!! The host brought us to the table and in the establishment that occupied almost 2000 sq. ft., the staff was efficient in clearing the dishes and providing the condiments needed. Ambiance was hustle bustle of people to and fro for the buffet. But it was such disorganized chaos that I was surprised at how non-affecting it was. I assumed that it was because of the amazing palette that was offered that people were more engrossed with the gastronomic heaven that they were not picking on each other and more eager to sample everything!!! A traditional bent with wear and tear that shows how busy the place gets was very welcome because the focus of the place was to give you the goodness of great food!!!!

I see a lot of great reviews for this place, but I honestly don't understand the draw. Yes, there is a buffet and you can try a bit of everything. But, overall, I have had much better Indian food, including Southern Indian (which is harder to find in the US). Our reason for this spot was finding a place that could accommodate 30-40 people. When I left the office, we were looking at Mumbai Grill, which was about 10 minutes away. Unfortunately, they are very small, so this option was chosen. After driving north to Oklahoma - joking, but Frisco is far from Addison - I finally found the place. Huge restaurant. And very full. One of the largest Indian buffets I have every seen. I wish I had followed Yelpiquette and taken pictures. The place is massive for a restaurant. And, overall, it was pretty full, even for a Wednesday. The food is not bad, but not the best flavors. The briyani was one of the most meh, while the made to order items dosa and appam were the highlights. Tandoori chicken was decently done, as well. Not much of the rest of the meal stood out. I ate all I took, so nothing was gross, but overall pretty underwhelming for an Indian meal. Would I go back? Unlikely. I can see the draw, however, as this is a HUGE buffet with lots of options. Also easy to find a seat and it serves large parties. I could see it as a nice lunch spot for a work lunch, if you were in this area, but I would not drive here unless "all you can eat" is your main reason for going to restaurants.

I've been coming to Chennai cafe for years. ALWAYS have raved about the massive buffet that they host and the a la carte menu that they offer. But slowly over time I started noticing a change in quality of food and service. I really gave them the benefit of the doubt during Covid time because I knew that the restaurant businesses have been struggling. BOY WAS I WRONG. I went again on a weekend dinner time (when it's usually the best time to go) with a whole group of families and all of us left pissed off and disappointed. No chicken in the chicken biryani, some of the food was tasting burnt, barely any meat dishes and the dishes that were supposed have meat didn't. Chicken tandoori shouldn't even have been served, shrimp curry had no shrimp, butter chicken was all gravy with maybe teeny tiny chicken pieces. I even remember as a group thinking how one of the desserts that they offered tasted spoiled as well. Service was god awful. I saw the waiters NEXT TO ME chilling on their phones talking to each other and not once did they come to fill up our waters, mind you even after asking them they said they would and forgot. During our entire dinner all of us just had one glass of water to get through our meal. The best part was when we went to management to complain they didn't even care. We might as well should've complained to the wall and would've gotten better feedback. I remember Chennai cafe was a place I was proud to introduce to people from out of town. Unless I hear about drastic changes in food quality and management. I will not be coming here anymore.

Went to their weekend buffet after forever/ absolute chaos and just not good quality food. A million items- nothing actually worth eating. A/C wasn't working either. For two adult buffets and a can of Diet Coke with too we paid about $62. Much better options are out there. But I suppose the people that go there regularly enjoy what they're offering.

Pathetic service! They made me wait and didn't even want to take my order. I stood in the line for a long time politely and the server was busy attending to other customers who were not in the line. Truly disappointing and unprofessional!!

Very good experience, have heard about it from friends and has lots of good reviews. A/C wasn't working but they were prepared with big fans inside that helped the temperature. Service was good, always attentive to take plates as you finished getting up for more. Food was great, everything you love about Indian food, curries, nan, it was all good and definitely would go back. Good pricing especially for a buffet. The only thing I was looking forward to that was not at the buffet was a mango soup/drink I've had at other buffets to pour in a bowl. I saw it at checkout as a drink to purchase separately. But doesn't hold back a good review overall. Traditional decor and upbeat Indian music played.

Went for weekend lunch buffet. Service: service waa great and even though there was a wait to get in, servers were ready to help when we got seated Food: loved the dosa and appam corner. They were fast in service too. The meat portion of the buffet was average at best. Nothing extraordinary in the biryanis or curries. The vegetarian portion was much better, kichdi, sweets, sambar. You should try it out!

I love Indian food and I don't claim to know who has the best, I just eat and try things as I see them. Largest Indian buffet I've encountered in DFW with a large section of food. Most things were too spicy for me but all was great and I appreciate them having several vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. I love Gulab Jumin soo I ate a bunch of that. Go during lunch it gets busy. Lots of room for group gatherings. Enjoy!

This place is fantastic. Clean, friendly and good prices. Oh, and the food is AWSOME! Can be a bit crowded depending on the time, but that tells you how good it is. HIghly recommended.

This place has gone downhill in a hurry! We used to enjoy coming to Chennai Cafe and so yesterday when we had family in town, my uncle insisted we go. It was a let down and even though he always looked forward to the mutton curry, he wasn't thrilled. I asked why. He said they cheaped out...they're using the worst part of the goat. He said the meat they were using was not a typical cut of goat. When I went to pay at the register I asked the nice employee what they were doing special for the 10 year anniversary they were advertising. She says, "We added a few more dishes." Could have fooled me. It looks they had several pasta options I hadn't seen before but that was about it. Unsure you can consider it adding dishes when you also took away dishes like the crab curry and replaced the mutton curry with a gross cut of goat. Yes costs go up and inflation is at an all time high thanks to Bidenomics but increase the price of the buffet. Don't cheap out on ingredients. 2 stars are for the masala dosa which is always good and vegetarian options. Glass half full: I've always fought the urge to try all of the other Indian restaurants/buffets in the area but after this experience I think I'm finally convinced I need to explore what other options are available.

I recommend the dinner buffet to any newbies to Indian cuisine! Sample a little bit of everything and get a feel for different Indian dishes and spices. Tons of dishes for vegetarians and carnivores. A little on the pricier side but it's worth it if you're wanting some variety. The live dosa and pani puri station is pretty fun too! Yum! I agree service could be better but it doesn't keep me from visiting!

Lunch buffet on a Friday. Just about everything in the restaurant needs a good wipe down. Service was fine, but a bit awkward. Food was okay, definitely lacking in spice and overall flavor. Rice was mushy and naan was very dry. For the price, this place is fine, but there are other option in the area.

Been to this place many times for their buffet.One of the best places to try most Indian dishes under one roof. This place consistently maintains its quality. They run Grand buffets on weekends and weekdays Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and during festivals. They have live dosa and appam counters and have a decent variety of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. Tons of flavor and aroma, and everything was fresh. Service was really good, the wait staff was very prompt in removing finished plates as well as refilling water and soft drinks. My favorite was their (idiyappam) with korma. You have plenty of items available and trust me you never feel disappointed. Good ambiance.

The reason I'm giving 4 stars is because I cannot speak to the dining experience within the physical location of this restaurant because I've only had the pleasure of indulging in their delicious food by way of foodja; which is a delivery service my company uses for our lunch. Therefore, I do not know and cannot speak to the ambiance, so 4 stars it is. Now, to the food... I ordered the kozhi rasam (spicy chicken soup) + Idli (rice puffs) that came with Dahl. When I say the food was a 10/10, I mean, my God! It was so delicious, comforting and the herbs and spices were cooked so seamlessly together. I'm already plotting on when I will get my next order. I highly recommend you try what I ordered if you like something hearty and fulfilling, without being overbearing on your stomach.

Tried this place 3-4 years back first time then went there to treat family and in-laws for dinner. Items and Varieties of foods are much smaller quantity then before. But quality and taste still good. Like the live dosa station. Suggested to add few Indo-Chinese items. But service is very prompt.

First time visiting Chennai today for lunch with my girlfriends. I truly enjoyed the food and service from the time I walked into the restaurant. The food was full of flavor and the employees were very friendly. I'm not a "buffet" type person because I do not eat much however, I am so glad my friend introduced me to Chennai. I love indian food and I was not disappointed.

Went to this place couple of months ago. We celebrated one of our friends birthday. We're really enjoyed the buffet there. The food was really good. Quality was great too. We all had a great time.

The best Indian food in DFW . It's well worth the buffet price. The best thing they have is the dosa making station.

Great Indian buffet, but on the pricier end price wise but it is worth it. Service is also great for the buffet as they are very attentive and helpful. Great ambiance, a little crowded(but hey that just shows a lot of people love it lol). Only Indian buffet I have ever been to that serves crab in the buffet (and it is good). Strong selection of dishes while maintaining a good quality in each dish as well. Overall definitely one of the best Indian buffets in the Dallas area!

Food was really good for the price that you get it for! I believe an all u can eat buffet was $17.99/person which is a steal because a lot of the dishes are incredibly well made! They had a fresh dosa and appam station when we went and the appam served with coconut milk was INCREDIBLE. Would probably come again.

The food tasted good but I hate the buffet concept. It feels so dirty eating there. People eating with their hands go back to the buffet and use the same hands to fill new plates. For that reason I'll never go back to this place. It is not cheap either. So if you are charging me decent price for the buffet and expect me to tip your staff, please have enough stuff to serve the food.

Sunday brunch (or I guess lunch.... Or May be something it is).... We walked in... here is the inference... The world is very hungry .. for sure ..! like really hungry! And these guys are completely fulfilling the needs of the hunger! This place is like .... Like Ross once said .., instead of tables there is people and food. Instead of chairs, there is people and food. Instead of the end of the day, it's end of time, and food is all that has survived! God bless us !

The freshest item was the lolipop in the basket on the way out. This place is disgusting and unsightly. It will have to go out of business soon given the rents in the area. Any of the recent 5 Star reviews have to be fake. I've eaten here twice: the lunch buffet and the dinner buffet. Both were bad. The dinner buffet on a Friday night was cold and I'm pretty certain based on the texture and temperature of the food it was left over *at least* from lunch, if not from the day prior. The rice pudding had turned. Beyond the old, unflavorful and cold food from the buffet, the place lacks class in any way, shape or form. It might be acceptable to people from south Asia but there are a number of unsightly things about this restaurant. 1) the plastic water bottles sitting out on the floor. 2) the un-sorted silverware 3) the badly taped and hand-written signs 4) the un-uniformed employees, 5) the number of burned-out lights or blinking lights, 6) the broken items and unsightly cash-register area. 7) worst of all, the bus station for clearing plates is in the center of the restaurant feet away from where you eat! Do these people have any concept of what is acceptable restaurant practice? If the people working there weren't carrying an air of mild seriousness about what they are doing, I'd swear it's just a money laundering front for something else. If you want to feel like you've got an authentic Indian experience, definitely give this place a visit. You'll feel like you're in Kolkata. The Frisco Health Dept ought to pay this place a visit. Recommendations to management: 1) require your employees to wear a uniform. Have some pride and respect in what you are doing. 2) Clear out all the old, crooked broken signs. 3) Replace the light bulbs 4) Keep the tables straight and the chairs pushed in 5) Cook fresh food for both lunch and dinner 6) Remove appox 500 plates from those tables of plates. You don't need that many plates sitting out. It's ridiculous. 7) Remove the bottled water off the floor. 8) Provide patrons with a glass for their water. 9) Sort your silverware 10) Bus plates and tables IN THE BACK. 11) Get those green plastic dish washer racks OFF THE FLOOR

Took my mother! Food was delicious and our service was phenomenal! Krishna was especially attentive giving good recommendations on what to eat. We will definitely be back!!!

We always go there when we visit Frisco because it is very authentic Indian food.. Always very busy .5 out of 10 for cleanliness. They don't practice normal restaurant etiquette. They just want you in and want you out. Always go there for the food but not for a pleasant dining experience. I'm only taking off one star for customer experience. Lol

Went here for a weekend lunch buffet (visited out of curiosity,as it was one of the few places serving buffet during COVID) Sanitary measures were good-gloves and mask required while serving,well spaced tables. Staff were attentive and were refilling the water and taking away used plates regularly. But the food was a complete disappointment. Decreased options in the appetizers and mains specially vegetarian dishes, they lacked flavor and taste. The South Indian breakfast items and desserts were the saving grace in the buffet.

Avoid on holidays and weekends! The weekend I went was an Indian holiday and the management did a really bad job managing the crowd. There were huge crowds and just one person managing them. I understand that restaurants are short-staffed these days but they did anticipate the larger crowds and could've come up with a better people management solution. They finally let us in 2:45PM and they simply took away all the food in the buffet at 3PM without giving any warning leaving us with barely any food. I hardly ate anything yet had to pay the whole bill. When I took this up with the person at the front desk, they just shrugged off saying that they can't do anything. The food in itself was quite decent, but with the large lines to get food I just feel it's best to avoid places like this on holidays.

Very good selection and ambiance. I taken many of my friends and family here. Nice manager . My friend's child was crying and he came all the way over to our table to give him a lollipop to calm him. That was nice. Food is delicious!

Food was flavotful but ambience and service was like a countryside marriage reception. You have to queue up first to get a table and then queue up to get food . The price was 21.4 for a saturday lunch buffet.

They have amazing all you can eat Indian buffet in Frisco, TX. The price is reasonable for the amount of variety of meal. My favorite is their goat curry.

Me and my wife went there to have an early dinner to this place. We were surprised to see there was dinner buffet and we looked into the menu items .They had lots of varieties and food was amazing. They have live Dosa stations and also appam stations.In addition to that, They also have Kati roll Stations. The ambience was so good with some pleasant Tamil songs playing in the background and also people working there were so courteous. The price is around 15$ per buffet which is worth it for the variety they provide. Definitely recommend this restaurant if you are around Plano/Frisco area.

For was ok but they charged me $25 per person. Over $50 for two. I feel like I got ripped off.

Amazing food. Everything was amazing. One of the best tasting buffet I had in a long time. I tried almost everything starting from dosa, appam, batura, chole, nettali fish, chicken masala, biryani, country chicken curry, bhendi masala fry, daal, sambar, rasam, etc. Just wow. Friendly staff and place is well maintained. Highly recommend this place over other Indian restaurants. Try the appam and coconut milk as the dessert. Had the perfect taste and a perfect way to conclude the meal. They have a bunch of Indian sweets and even masala chai.

First time here after having been recommended by an acquaintance. Food seemed okay upon perusal, but after having served myself (buffet) the tandoori chicken pieces were very dry. Almost had a day old reheated texture to them. The Naan was very very thin and didn't have that just baked puffy quality. For the buffet price they charge it was just 'meh'. :( I will move on to seek out a better rated Indian restaurant.

Good food but VERY inattentive service, even at slow times is Chennai Cafe in a nutshell. We enjoyed the lovely art and atmosphere here, but wished for more folks to liven the place up. Nevertheless, our experience here was pleasant, if a bit lonesome. Freshly fried free papadums dusted lightly with garam masala made for a nice appetizer, and gave us something to do while we waited (and waited, and waited) for our food. We saw it eventually come up in the window, but it took at least 5-8 minutes more for the waiter to notice. He was busy polishing plates at the buffet and chatting with buddies on staff. Once our food arrived, it was delicious! :) I got the Chettinaahu Masala Kari with Mutton. It was very generously portioned with tender mutton in a dark brown sauce with a good spice kick from black pepper and red chiles - I loved it! I ordered mine with rice. And the leftovers were enough for 2 more meals for me. The Chicken Tikka my daughter ordered was delicious, not too spicy for my daughter, and leftovers made enough for lunch the next day. We ordered naan bread with the chicken tikka, which was hot and chewy and crispy - mmmmmm Once our food was finally delivered, our waiter disappeared, and we never saw him again, until we left. I finally waved down another guy to bring us boxes for leftovers and our check. Our waiter did not ever check on us, and, as I said, we were the only paying customers in the place. With better service this is easily a 5 star restaurant. 4 where-is-my-waiter? stars

Worst experience. Food was awful, however that is more the worst thing to happen at this restaurant. Service is just pathetic. We were finishing our appetizers and planning to order entrees. Even though it is still 20 min before close, they didn't have the courtesy to let us know about kitchen closing. Stay away. There are much better places in Dallas.

Truly a gem of a place very authentic and genuine food everyone working there is willing to explain but everything is and there are lots of vegetarian options I love this place it's a must in Frisco!

I tried this place again after several months, and I'm lowering from 3 stars down to 1. Where to begin? I came in right when the buffet opened, and everything looked like it had been sitting out all day already. All night, I guess? Half of it wasn't even warm. The whole place just has a junky feel to it, which is unfortunately not so uncommon with Indian buffets around here, but you can easily find much better food for cheaper, like dozens of options in a 5-mile radius. I've given this place more than a fair shot. I'm done.

If I could leave 0 stars I would. My husband and kiddos decided to treat me here yesterday for mother's day to avoid the rush of Sunday. We were enjoying our time until the rude guy who works there asked us to leave because of the crowd that was there. Mind you I had my two children there and we were paying patrons. This did notatter to him and instead of wishing me a happy Mother's day he decided to ask me to leave. There were about a fifty other tables that were there and instead of asking them he decided to ask the mother of two small children to leave and not have a good mother's day lunch. So if you want to patronize such an establishment who does not care to keep their customers happy, go for it, but I definitely wouldn't recommend it when India 101 is so much better and they actually try to keep their business instead of these people who kick people out.