Kamakshi’s Kitchen

Finally – an authentic South Indian place on the Peninsula. Super friendly owner and nice atmosphere. Our first vist was on a weeknight, we had thalis. Excellent! The second visit was on the weekend, and we had dosas. Also excellent! Some other reviews complain about pricing, but I’d much rather pay a buck or two more than have to make the slog down to the South Peninsula for good South Indian!

The service is fine but the food not so much. Lacking in options and in taste, I wouldn’t recommend this place except maybe the filter coffee.

I ordered the Cocktail samosas for my party at home and was so shocked to get some wonton like half teaspoon filled flat triangles. Will not use this service again.
Thanks for reimbursing the order. But I have to let you know the samosas were not edible. I have ordered from you before last year and the quality was no way compared to the one this time. I am sure you are taking care of the product. Even cocktail samosas have fillings.
Thanks for your consideration

Loved everything I tasted while they provided goodies to the crowd at Ale Arsanal, so just had to say thanks! VERY tasty, and I loved the sauces and spices – love it hot! My only feedback is that I’m trying to stay away from fried foods, and everything seemed to be fried. I prefer dishes that are fresh, not fried, promoting a lot of extra calories. Other than that, the food was wonderful!

Not vegan friendly. Specially told the male waiter that we are vegan and asked that there is no ghee, butter, dairy, or eggs, and he confirmed there isn’t and added that the Breakfast of Champions we ordered is «pure vegetarian». When we tasted some of the items, two items tasted buttery and dairy-​like, the dosa may be questionable too. Later we asked the cook or manager, and he quickly confirmed there’s no ghee, but later double-​checked and apologized that there is indeed a «tiny» bit of ghee in two of the items, but of course it wasn’t tiny as it tasted very buttery. They were very nice and polite, which is why I didn’t give them 1-​star, but what happened was unacceptable and they should label and explain better what is vegan and contains dairy.

100% true to authentic food from South India. If you are used to the run of the mill South Indian restaurant, you will be in for a real surprise. They are unapologetic for their quest for delivering quality, authentic food. On our recent trek to San Carlos, we had the special Thali served on Ugadi (Née Year celebration occurs at the same time as Baisakhi and Vishu.) 100% authentic, healthy and flavorful plate. Each item had a ton of flavors, while not being spicy. We had a great time sampling so many different items. (They will have specials during the weekend around January 14, April 14 etc. I highly recommend setting a reminder on your calendar so we won’t miss these goodies!)

This review is not for the food, just the service. Placed an online order (which their website prominently advertises). Received a confirmation that the order was received and in process.
Arrived there and was told online ordering was not available that day (yet my payment had been processed). Was offered to order something else which was nice. I was ready to, then no one came back for 10 minutes, while 3 other groups came in and were seated in the interim. When he finally came back, I was frustrated with waiting and decided to leave instead. Complete waste of my time in ordering online, waiting there, and being largely ignored. Further, not even an apology for the inconvenience.
If you don’t take online orders, you should not accept them on your website and process people’s credit cards.
I’ve heard mixed things about the food (both good and bad). Too bad, really wanted to give the place a try since it is so close by, and would love to support San Carlos businesses. But now I won’t be going back after that experience. Instead I ordered online from Chennai Club (10 minutes down the road), and the food was hot and ready to go when I walked in.
So, if you are looking to try the food, don’t let this hold you back. But if you are looking for great customer service, my short experience might suggest you look elsewhere.

Amazing chutneys and great service! I came here for lunch after reading some reviews on Unilocal and I am quite impressed. I love dosas and frequently go to Dosa in San Francisco. I think the food is better here. The chutneys I had were amazing. I will definitely be back.

This is one of the worst South Indian Restaurant in Bay Area. The food served is not at all authentic. I went to this restaurant several times expecting it would be better next time, but the quality dropped every-​time. I had South Indian Thali couple of times, the food was worst. The rice was half boiled. It took sometime to confirm indeed sambar was served in thali. They also serve few north indian dishes, but CAUTION!. try it with your own risk. They are abusing the name of south indian food.
Never try this restaurant. It is better to stay hungry than wasting money in trying food here.

Good Dosa! Went there for lunch and was thorughly surprised.

I remember giving this place an outstanding review a while ago, what a pity to see restaurants with good food have such a hard time growing with their customer base. Back in the day, the food was excellent along with great service. The owner used to stick around and pay close attention to things, and they had a friendly person who used to greet and welcome customers in.
Now their food tastes like its just been microwaved and taste is never consistent, you cannot order the same item twice and have it taste the same. I found hair in my food a few times, their drinking glasses are not clean and the service went straight down the drain.
The new person who manages the place acts like he hates working here, I have never seen him smile or greet a customer, and he is usually hostile and rude to customers. When I found hair in my food, I showed it to him and the guy said «umm, do you want another one?» — like this happens all the time! and is that even a question?. I asked for a replacement and he pretty much threw the plate at me when he brought the replacement around. Wow… simply wow.
This place desperately needs a health inspection. I think I am done with this restaurant for good.

We are so fortunate to be just down the street from Kamakshi’s Kitchen. The food is so delicious, perfectly balanced, and comforting.
Really happy to have a lot of Vegan options. The gravy is spectacular. My mouth is watering just thinking about the roti.
It’s fun to take the scooter over to the location. The manager is so nice, and the place is spotless.

This place keeps getting better and better. If you want authentic home-​style South Indian food, skip Madras Café, Sangeetha, Saravana Bhavan, Ananda Bhavan, and go to Kamakshi’s Kitchen. They are probably the only restaurant in the world that serves «Paanagam», a festive South India drink. Their mint chaas is also amazing.
But the thing I like best about this place is that it is always clean – including the floors. That’s quite rare in the Indian restaurants here. Most of the Indian restaurants in the Bay Area only clean the tables, and not the floors, which is why most of them are filthy. Hoping that KK keeps this up!

Had a midweek lunch with a friend and really enjoyed the authentic flavors of South Indian vegetarian food steps away from the San Carlos train station.
Food:
There is a lunch buffet, which was more than I could handle, but food looked fresh, smelled fantastic, and was enjoyed by many of the other patrons during our lunch. My friend and I both opted for dosas. She had the Podi dosa (stuffed with curried potatoes, red onion, cilantro, and podi — roasted lentils which are ground and mixed with chili powder). I chose the Mysore Masala Dosa, which was stuffed with a potato curry spiced with mustard seeds, turmeric, and cilantro. My mother is South Indian, so I know my way around dosa and utthapam (never met a fermented-​rice-​batter crêpe I didn’t like). Kamakshi’s Kitchen does it right. Sambhar and chutneys served with the dosas were flavorful and spicy, just like the filling for the dosas. If you’re not used to spicy food, you might ask them to tone it down for you a bit!
Service:
Informal, friendly and easy. Since at lunchtime most people choose buffet, table service is pretty simple. We didn’t need to be checked on a bunch of times, and a carafe of water on the table made it easy for us.
Vibe:
Your-favorite-Indian-aunty’s-kitchen-cool. They spend the money on the ingredients here, folks, not the décor. And I wouldn’t have it any other way. FYI, there is a sunny room and a not-​so-​sunny room to sit in, so those with Vitamin D deficiencies should plan ahead.
Family-​friendly:
Yes, but only if your kids like South Indian vegetarian cuisine. No kids menu, but I never met a kid who didn’t enjoy tearing into a plain dosa or utthapam.
Summary:
If you can’t take the heat, stay out of Kamakshi’s Kitchen! But if you like it spicy, this is the place for you. Flavors so good you won’t even miss the meat. Food that would make my South Indian grandmother proud.

Hate to be critical and give a bad review, I know how small businesses get affected by bad reviews, this is just me being honest.
What my two stars are for?
1^st star — cleanliness and accessibility
2^nd star — freshness of food and can eat couple of items
What happened to the other three stars?
–1 star — value for money, really $ 14 for the variety of food that is provided?
–2^nd star — no flavor in food, absolutely blunt, just not cooked right
–3^rd star — service, guys who work at the counter don’t speak a word other than the manager

$ 14 for a vegetarian lunch buffet is steep! Also, many people eat with their hands and then touch the serving spoons around the buffet station. There are families here so you have to prepare for screaming kids. The outdoor tables weren’t cleaned promptly so we had to sit indoors. I ordered a drink that was never delivered to me. When I was leaving, they offered me the drink to go, but at no discount for my negative experience.
My stomach didn’t feel good for the following 24 hours.

Amazing place to taste home-​style Southern Indian Cuisine advancing your meatless food concept.
I wasn’t a fan of Indian food mainly because of the way Bay Area presents it: spicy lunch buffet style with little authenticity. Kamakshi’s Kitchen is everything opposite to that statement.
Little authentic place, located next to the San Carlos rail station, uses only freshest ingredients, with lots of love, honor, and joy, which definitely shows! This family business is ultra friendly, they’re willing to talk food enlightening diners with about cuisine and culture with pride in their eyes.
My husband and I had a Weekend Special Plate Combo and Tikka Masala dishes. Both came with flatbread that can be used instead of utensils. I have to tell you that eating with your hands is much more fun than I thought!
The weekend special had many interesting flavors when mixed with rice was giving usually plain grain an unexpected profile with an exotic compose. Yogurt was helpful for me, a person who is not used to such degrees of heat.
Reasonable prices of this fine place is another great advantage. Even though the dining environment could use a little more visual enhancement, I love the authenticity of the serving plates and other details creating quite an experience.
I highly recommend trying this place because it not only elevates but shifts your perception of Southern Indian & Vegetarian cuisine quite a lot!

This is a good South Indian restaurant, but I’ve honestly had better.
I tried the Ven Pongal and the Medu Vada – they could’ve definitely been better with the former being a bit more richer with ghee and the latter crispier.
The make a nice Dosa but again, the batter could be saltier. I also tried the Onion Bhajji and the batter inside it felt a bit raw (if you will) and could’ve been fried better.
I’d definitely come here if I’m hungry and just need some Indian food in the immediate neighbourhood, but if I want a delicious Indian fare this ain’t it.

I’ve never been to an Indian restaurant that offers this type of customer service and the varieties of authentic Indian dishes on the menu. I personally LOVEEEEEEE the masala dosa, paneer tikka plate, onion pakoras and paneer sizzler! The prices are extremely reasonable and they also have an awesome drink menu.
I still remember the first time meeting Vineet and was super impressed with the service, he was very patient with us since we had people coming in at different times. And he made sure that we got all our orders down correctly.
This has been my go-​to Indian restaurant in the bay area for awhile now and I highly recommend to make reservation during weekends.

I wait at this station several times a week to transfer to another train and was wondering what this place is like.
A pretty decent place. We had an okay experience but I would like to try it again.
Ordered the Dahi Papdi Chat, Samosa Chat, and the Classic Thali for two people. A little too much food. The Dahi Papdi Chat was surprisingly nice and refreshing. The Samosa was okay, and will likely not have the Classic Thali again (not bad, just not that good).
The manager was very nice and welcoming. The inside is a little nicer than what I was expecting from the industrial surroundings.