Komala Vilas

I think I found a great new spot for Dosa in Santa Clara. Very reasonably priced for fresh and delicious South Indian vegetarian food. The lunch special is a steal for $14.50, and it's UNLIMITED! Loved the fresh Drumsticks in the Sambhar, absolutely delicious. The lady at the counter taking your order was very kind and friendly.

Best Indian breakfast in the Bay Area. Everything was fresh and hot. Service was quick and easy. We tried a bunch of items. Definitely recommend the mysore masala dosa and the poori masala. The vada’s were also phenomenal. Also heard that the hotel provides a part of their profits to charity.

One of the best south Indian restaurants in the bay area... you dont go here for service or ambience, but the dosas easily compensate for all that. Also, most reasonably priced compared to other Indian places.

We have been visiting this restaurant for 20+ years. Their tiffins and South India meals are the highlight of their menu. Their dinner a la carte menu also has great options to choose from. They also sell some snacks and sweets. Definitely, one of the must-eats in Sunnyvale for vegetarians that delivers homemade food taste. They can get busy during peak hours but generally food quality and service are big hits with us. Kudos to their management and the kitchen staff for maintaining their standards all these years!

The food is decent and service is also quick. The idly and vada was average any other South Indian place. Idly wasn’t fresh but the Sambar was tasty. The one dish I would recommend is Upma along with filter coffee. They make it in Ghee.

The food here was absolutely delicious. It truly reminded me of authentic South Indian food that can be around all around south India (obviously) and some parts of north India. It brought me back to memories of Tamil Nadu. The restaurant is decorated like a restaurant in Chennai (simple) and the atmosphere wasn’t anything special but I’d definitely recommend trying the food. Staff were nice and fast.

I have not been to this place in a decade and wanted to try this out. I should have stuck to simple things but instead went for the peanut kara masala dosa that I couldn't finish with sambhar that was very salty. The coffee was weak and I had to ask for a stronger one, which they gave. The vada was crispy and the idlis were good. The service was fast and friendly.

My family and I have been patronizing this restaurant for 15+ years. Their Sunday lunch with the potato fry is the highlight of their menu. Kudos to the management and the kitchen staff for sustaining their standards and taste all these years. When they are really busy, it seems a little hard to flag down the wait staff to request more food. They need to consider expanding the number of wait staff during their really busy times. They also sell some snacks and sweets etc., which are always a hit with our family. Their dinner a la carte menu is also something that our family looks forward to eating from. Overall, one of the local gems. Improving wait staff service and overall ambience would take them to the next level.

Food taste is amazing. This review is for the Sunday lunch delivered order which has the Potato special curry, which we had delivered through Uber Eats. For a 32oz order, the container was less than 3/4ths full. We specifically order from Komala vilas for this special delicacy and were disappointed to find the container poorly filled.

3.5 stars. Not bad for a quick lunch today in Sunnyvale. Our cousin suggested this place for south Indian food so that's where we went. We ordered idlis,medu vada,mysore masala dosa,rava dosa and kari dosa. All pretty good and authentic. The food has a real spice kick,just like in India (lived there for 9 years). Uttapam was also pretty good. Friendly and quick service, quite affordable and clean bathrooms overall.

Came here on a Saturday afternoon when the place gets a lot of lunch traffic. We lucked out, however, and were seated immediately. They gave us menus, but it's a little confusing. Not sure if we were supposed to wait for someone to take a order. We waited a bit and then got up and went to the counter and placed our order and gave the cashier our table number. The food came out pretty quickly. The coffee we asked to be served immediately so the cashier poured it for us. Piping hot! A good milky brew too. My wife had the Idli/Vada dish. You can see from the picture that this consists of 3 idli/1 vada and the chutnies and sambar. I had the Mysore Dosa to which I added some onion. Interestingly, the mashed potato came on the side rather than inside the dosa. This also comes with Chutnies and Sambar. Happily, it was very filling. The setting is a plain cafeteria. You come here to eat quickly and get on with your day which we did.

Amazing food, consistent taste! Idli is always soft, sambar piping hot and chutneys with perfect balance of spiciness. The dosa, vada, uttapam everything is always spot on too. Filter coffee smells so good and tastes even better. Service is also very courteous and prompt. Ambiance is pretty basic. This is our go to spot for South Indian food for years now!

Delicious food and chutney! The store was simple and they have a sink to wash hands in the back. The service was a bit confusing, wasn't sure if a server was coming or if we had to order up front. Turns out they come to you and you pay right when you order, that was a nice touch. Drinks will be served at the front.

I came here with my family after we heard the thalis are very good here. We came in a Sunday during lunch time and it was very busy but we got our table right away. The Sunday thali came with rice, dal, spinach kottu, pickle, tomato rasam, sambar, buttermilk, papad, and pineapple keseri. Out of all the items, my favorite was the dal, tomato rasam, and pineapple keseri. The other items were the average taste you get anywhere else -- the sambar and spinach kottu were definitely lack luster and had minimal flavor. Overall, for $14.50, the unlimited thali was decent; it's perfect for people who tend to eat with less oil, less salt, and mild spices. My only comment regarding the service was it can be difficult to find waiters/staff to replace your items if you want more. You kind of have to go out of your way, especially when it is busy.

Our go-to place for AYCE tali and dosa. The food was good and hit the spot. A reco place for vegetarian cafe. There are plenty of parking. Come early if you don't want to wait in line. Get a table, check your table #, and order & pay at the cashier. Your order should come soon. You want more of any items in you tali tray, just ask any staff.

I am surprised at how low the rating is, but I had a much better experience reminding me of my childhood says of sambar from my amma (mom). The only thing I wish was not there was pepper in the rava dosa. I have ordered rava dosa countless times, and it was a little strange to have large pieces of pepper. Otherwise, I would rate this 5 stars.

Amazing South Indian, the masala dosa was hot and delicious. All the chutneys were fresh and good. Nice chunky coconut chutney. It's a big space, so lots of room. Chai was good too. Lovely food, glad I came. Prices are good!

We tried out this restaurant after a long time, after we heard great reviews about the changed management. We ordered a thali and vegetable biryani. Liked all the dishes that came with the thali. It is unlimited and you can order extra servings of any dish. Beetroot poriyal was great and we ordered an extra. Vegetable biryani tasted great, came with vegetable salan which was perfect combination.

The interior is very bare bones with a water pitcher already on the tables. Don't let this details fool you though. The service and chefs are fast. Servers make sure the pitcher is full. The food here is very flavorful and such good value especially in this economy. I ordered the following: * Sambar vada $8.00 * Tomato Onion Chili Uthappam - 10.50 * Filtered coffee $2.99 I'm not a fan of coffee but I am now of Indian filter coffee. It's not bitter. There's milk and chicory. I added two packets of sugar.

Today 8/10 we went to komala vilas, the food taste become very normal. The Sambar is very normal not much taste, it is unlimited meals but when we four of asked for extra meals they are not serving we waited for almost 5-10 minutes with empty plates. They are serving food for new people but not for us we almost asked all of the employees, I asked for extra pappad and poriyal at the end I left the hotel losing my patience. I would recommend not this restaurantant

Komala Vilas suites us perfectly! They never take time to give us food and they have amazing food waiting for us to eat. My husband eats the masala dosa while I eat medu vada. Ambiance is normally splendid and we are extremely lucky that it is close to us in Sunnyvale.

Completely shows no commitment to cooking well and give good food. Vada was not well cooked and cold Uttapam is very thick and shows just put together in a hurry.

This is hands down one of our favorite spots for dosa. Where else can you enjoy a perfectly crisp Masala Dosa, a refreshing Mango Lassi, and unlimited masala and chutneys (just flag down the server) for only $13? But it's not just about the price--the dosa is consistently fresh, fast, and absolutely tasty, and the chutneys are always on point. Some savory, some spicy if you are into the heat. All delicious. Sure, it's no-frills, but unless you're prioritizing ambiance over flavor, you really can't go wrong with Komala Villas. For incredible value and authentic South Indian flavors, this place is a winner.

Still loved this place. Yes ambiance is no frills and basic but it works. Service was nice and friendly but the dosas here are consistently good along with the dips. The poori was oily but okay but dosa is the thing you want to get, always will be back!

4 stars only for the Thali and the dishes in it, and specifically for the Sunday Thali. I go here on Sunday's just to have the Potato Fry (spiced, crispy) and the Spinach Kootu. These are my favorite dishes from when I was young and this place does these well, although the spinach kootu can do with a bit more salt for most people. I prefer less salt though. The variety in the thali is not that great (compared to your usual thali), but that is okay, as long as you do the dishes you offer in an unlimited thali well. The Sambar feels a little diluted at times, but is good. Not a lot of drumstick though. I typically do not have the rasam a lot, but I think it's good. I wish they gave curd/yogurt on Sundays over buttermilk. The pineapple kesari is nice. You also get an appalam/papad. They serve potato chips on some other days and I prefer that. You get refills on everything, and I always ask for a second/third cup of the potato fry, and also the spinach kootu, and sambar/kesari at times. The meal leaves me very full and I probably end up skipping dinner that day. This is a heavy carb meal. I've also tried the thali on other days and I'm not as big a fan. They have rotating dishes. Their plaintain/raw banana fry and beetroot are good though, on other days. They serve chow chow kootu on Friday and a potato curry (not fry!), which I think they can make better! I have had all of these dishes through my childhood and judge the food here against that. The rest of their menu, I do not have mostly. Dosas are fine, but not the biggest fan of their chutney and tiffin sambar (I don't think they make a tiffin sambar, it's probably the same as the thali, usually it is supposed to be different). Set Dosa with Vada Curry and and Veechu Parotta are dishes you can try here, they are good, and are not offered by most South Indian restaurants in the area. You'd only get them at Madurai Idli Kadai, which is their sister restaurant. Sundays are very busy, and you'd have a 15-20 minutes wait in peak afternoon times to get a table because of the popularity of the thali. I'd recommend you go in before (11:30-12) or after (130+) the peak to be seated fast. You usually get your food in 10-15 minutes. Make sure you ask for refills when you get the thali itself, and when the servers are walking across, sometimes it might be a difficult to make eye contact. But they're generally pretty quick to refill and always come with extra portions.

Bad service and tasteless food. They messed up my order. Didn't get my food until the entire table was done. When it finally came after everyone at my table was done, the food was uncooked

A reliable place for South Indian food, focused on good food and efficient service. If you're looking for a leisurely meal, please find another place! We went by for lunch on a Sunday. There was a wait, and we put our names on a waitlist, which moved through pretty quickly. This place has a dining hall kind of an ambiance, which is focused on a quick turnaround time. They have a pretty limited set of dishes on their menu, but it works to their advantage, since they do those well. They are super efficient with the meal serving and our food was served within minutes. We got the Sunday lunch meal, which had sambar, rasam, rice, buttermilk, veggie varieties, and papad and pickle sides. The veggie varieties change based on the day, so I'd recommend checking the menu for the day if you are looking for a particular dish. The food was good, but I did find it to be at a lower spice level (possibly to cater to those who may prefer less spicy flavors). You can also ask for additional helpings of items if you need more. You can aim to be in/out of this place in under 45 mins from the time you are seated. If you're craving a South Indian thali and want a quick, reasonably priced meal, this is the spot!

Outstanding South Indian food even in take out orders. Well packed take out orders ensure the same quality of food at home as in the restaurant. Highly recommend this place!

We are regulars to KV's lunch Thali, as it is closest we can get to home food. But now, we are rethinking this. We were there for lunch on Veterans' Day and I could feel that the quality has fallen by about 1000 ft within month. The rasam was watery, the papads were too soft and I don't even recall if I had sambhar. They served us an ice-cold avial that kind of shocked me! When I asked the person at the counter how could they do this, they confidently said "Avial is supposed to be served cold" Since avial is a Keral dish, I confirmed with my Kerala friends on what would be the ideal temperature it needed to be served. They all concurred that it had to be warm, at the minimum. Oh well.

Went for dosa on a weekday afternoon. Had a masala dosa and filter coffee. Both were good and mild sambhar. It was definitely fresh as I have had dosa at Mylapore dosa during the weekday and it caused a lot of acidity and bloating, most likely due to left over sambhar from weekend. I digested Komala vilas dosa very well.

Service was quick and good. Food was decent, wish the sambhar was a little less thick and our rava onion masala dosa was crispier. Spring dosa was good. Prices are as they should be. Ambiance is very fast food vibes.

The food was very homely! Very tasty South Indian food with kind workers and a great ambiance. The thali had a wide variety of options and an incredibly tasty payasam. The appalam was crispy! The cheese ceylon paratha (which is Sri Lankan, I believe) was unique and also tasted great. Definitely recommend and I look forward to coming back here again.

Most consistent quality. Can't beat the service. Very economical and lunch plate is unique and has variety from day to day.

Yum! My family came here for lunch on a weekend and boy was it busy! That's always a great sign. So basically you sit down, order and give them your table number and they bring out the food. We tried a variety of items given there were a bunch of us, and the dosas were among the favorites. The tables are a bit smaller so if you order more than 1 thing per person (say extra idli/vada to share there won't be much room). I got my standard Rava onion masala dosa and was not disappointed! They did forget about our drinks which were brought towards the end of the meal, but otherwise great!

The moon is awesome they need to upgrade just some of the interior decor place has been here a long time. They have enough traffic of customers where they're making well enough money do you need to spend some money on the Decour the water cups water jugs (fingerprints everywhere, on the cups and spoons ) Great customer service & great food. Also, they gots to offer receipts for the bill to everyone, first time I forgot to ask for the receipt. ‍.

Thursday, Feb 15th, 2024 If you have been to Mess in Chennai, this experience & taste was very close. The spice level, salt & sweet was extremely low in the Thalli, hence perfectly suitable for kids, elderly & as everyday meal for adults. I have a sensitive gut, their food was soothing in my stomach! Taste can be enhanced a little bit, but am guessing it's because of the low salt, oil & sweet methods they use to cook. Was here on a Thursday but still there was a lot of rush! Ordered Rose milk & Jiggarthanda as well, but there was no room to eat or drink anything else after tasting their thalli! The Thalli menu is different each day, so it's nice to try it on different days! Can't believe their unlimited thalli is only $13.50

A nice homely south indian vegetarian restaurant. The ambiance is well-lit and hygienic. They sell some prepared desserts and dry snacks too. I love their lemon sevai and idli sambhar (dipped). Overall its a decent south indian place to try out!

They serve a hearty, wonderful and sumptuous vegetarian meal. Gives a touch of home-hot, flavorful and tasty.

This place was busy for a Sunday lunch, and has been there for over 20 years so it's a veteran in the South Indian food scene. People come here for the thali, but they serve breakfast items too like idly, dosa, and poori. We put our name on a wait-list and waited to get called for an empty table, where we then ordered and paid for it right away while we waited for our food to come out. We ordered sambar idly and vada, kara masala dosa, and poori kurma. If you read my reviews, you would know that I am a huge critic of breakfast sambar, and it's not the best here. I appreciated the fact that it was fresh and had a bunch of vegetables, but it was under seasoned and could have used that special sambar masala taste. The vada and idly were good though and fresh. The dosa could have been crispier too, but the chutneys were excellent. We didn't order the ghee version but it still felt like it was in the dosa, maybe leftover from the stovetop it was cooked in. The kurma for the pooris were the best apart from the chutneys, though it was on the blander side. The pooris were very fluffy and soft, almost like bhaturas, but definitely on the oily side. One of the best things about this place is that they will refill your sambar and curries without question. Usually at other places they charge for kurma but here we saw we didn't get a lot and they asked if we just wanted a refill now. But I have had better at other places so I can't give it a higher review without trying other dishes again or the thali which everyone seems to order.

I highly recommend their thali meals in the weekend, this is the authentic Tamil food that you get in the Tamil homes

Liked the Paper Masala Dosa (Big big dosa) Tried the Upma (To Quick order to table service! Liked the Upma as well

Veg/vegan reviewer: Craving for healthy, homely South Indian food? This place is a must try! Not a place to try if you're looking for spicy food though. The unlimited thali is a such a deal and a treat to the hungry soul! Their idly sambar and vada is all great as well. Nothing great/fancy about the ambience, just a quick eatery. Tip: the food is very affordable and good quality, so there's always some waiting.

We went on a Tuesday evening, food was absolutely delicious with mild spice levels which suits my tastebuds at best. Happy hour menu was a steal deal. We ordered pongal vada, dosa, poori. All the dishes were very tasty, would come back sooner.

Masala dosa , quiet Friday morning 9 am , not crowded , nice dosa with accompaniments , hot and nice . Had a filter coffee , needed more decoction to make it strong . A pleasant lady in the whom I had met during the last visit too in 2022 .

If you are Tamil, you will adore this place. Their "thaali" is as authentic Tamil as it gets. Unlimited servings makes it such a great deal. I have been going there since 2003 when the thaali used to be a flat $8 inclusive of taxes and tips. I remember distinctly, there used to be a board requesting not to pay tips! Lol. The owner was a IIT(M) guy, very principled and righteous. I don't know if he is still the owner. The food is still awesome!

A very authentic South Indian spot in South Bay. This place is very basic but the service and food was great. We tried their dosa, vada and coffee and I will definitely go back to try their thali meal which seems popular on the weekends.

Love the lunch here! This is one of the best home style South Indian Vegetarian food! Service is decent. if you ask for extras during lunch, they take very long sometimes. I'm not a big fan of their other dishes like Idli and Dosa. Ambience is decent.

I avoided this place all these years after my poor experience almost 8 years back. My husband insisted on coming back here after he had some amazing food recently at an office event so I obliged. We got kara dosa, paper dosa for the kids and Chana batura. There was just one batura on the plate but it was humongous. The chana was served in a tiny bowl but they got us more bowls for no extra charge. They also served some diced tomatoes, onions and deseeded chillies with the Chana batura. And I should say I was impressed!!! Chana had a unique South Indian flavor unlike the North Indian version and the crunch of the fresh veggies and kick of the chillies rounded up the dish so well. Next came the dosas, the paper dosas were huge as was the Kara dosa. The kara dosa came with some potato filling and spicy powder. The dosas came with three chutneys and sambar. They provided more bowls of sambar at no extra charge again. All the chutneys tasted fresh and sambar was delicious as well. None of the dishes were oily. The place was literally buzzing on a Wednesday evening so looks like it's pretty popular. I am glad I came back here, it was like dining at a mess style restaurant in south India. The prices were very reasonable as well. I recommend giving this place a try!

Authentic south Indian place. Been there several times, over several decades. It has changed hands, but holds some residual authenticity. Recent visit we had sambhar vada dipped, sambhar was very less, but when asked for, got a cup, no problem. We also ordered set dosa and vada curry, dosa was generous size, vada curry quantity was less. May be people waste food, they are trying to eliminate? Ambience is nothing fancy, you need to order and pick a table, food is served to table, but you need to order before sitting. Taste has degraded over years still better than lot of other places. Salt was less on most of the dishes for our taste.

We've come here before many times and I don't know what happened if it's a new manager or what but we had a horrible experience with the manager today. We drove from thirty minutes away looking forward to a nice warm comforting meal on a Saturday and what we ended up receiving was three absolutely cold dosas with cold masala and cold sambhar. My mother went to try and get a replacement or refund, which is very understandable, and at any American restaurant such feedback would be received with an apology and a refund and replacement or at least an apology and replacement. Instead what this I believe misogynistic and rude man did was to rudely contradict her and make absurd statements wasting our time further for ten minutes instead of just saying sorry and giving us hot food. Truly never experienced anything like this in the U.S. before, these people need to be taught a lesson on customer service if you're managing a restaurant. He told some worker to just print a receipt and give it to our table.. what? And then we had to go back and ask for a refund at least because she returned the uneaten dosa. We ended up having to drive to another dosa place to be able to finally get a nice warm lunch (thank you Abhiruchi)

We've been eating here for more than a decade! Authentic home style South Indian vegetarian food Great value for money. Their Sunday lunch thali, which is unlimited is just awesome. Unlimited meals for $14 is a steal in the Bay Area! Their evening dinner menu is also very very good, generous big portions, very nominally priced. They haven't updated the ambiance for as long as I can remember, and it gives that yesteryears feel :) don't judge by the ambience, try the food!

Kamala Vilas is a place like your grandma grandpa's vila, you will be served with homely smiles, nutritional food and simplicity to the best. I have been eating since many many yrs now. I remember our first visit when was when we were newly moved to California and missing home food, I was pregnant and was craving for that sambar made by mummy. Kamala Vilas gave us and still continues on giving the homly contentment far away in foreign country. Thank you komala Vilas.

Komala Vilas. Mr Consistency . . Lunch every day offers variety. Love it since it opened. Now more hours on all days. Organic food being served here. Rest assured that your stomach will not complain after eating here.

The food was impeccable and the feel of the whole place takes me back to India. All the service was great and food was made so efficiently.

We went for lunch at komala .. They serve fresh & hot homely food ...we ordered masala dosa ,parotta ..its always our go to place .....​​​​

I was here today for the second time in a week. They seem to be super busy these days and the tables were all taken. Was interesting to people watch and see some folks take down their mask everytime they took a bite and most folks keep it off the whole time. I digress... Komala Vilas has good South Indian food. Today's bounty was the onion rava, masala, and paper dosa which were good and went fast.

Don't go for the ambience - go for delicious, authentic and pocket friendly (South Indian) Tiffin food My yardstick usually is the Sambhar - if their sambhar is good, they know what they are doing. I loved this place for their tiffin food - idly, uttapam, filter coffee. Their chutneys were a bonus! Really great food, with the ambience of an Indian hostel/mess. Will be back for more soon!