Woodlands Restaurant

Oops! Wrong restaurant

Oh how I used to love this place. But now I am bringing down the 5 stars I gave them everywhere. Don’t get me wrong the dosas are still exceptional.
Their service has become really bad, no rude people just a little ignorant. Secondly it seems like they have changed their awesome coconut chutney and the new style of chutney just doesn’t fit that flavor. The new one is too salty for my taste and has so little coconut in it.
This restaurant is now closed!

I love the dosa and Desi coffee at this place! I haven’t had anything as good as this yet in my South Indian dining experience. The only thing I am not a fan of is the lack of ventilation in the restaurant. I end up smelling like fried food and spices to an extreme level after leaving this place. But the great food makes up for it!

For some reason I always get put off with standoffish waiters… and let me be clear that the 3 stars are not for that alone… The good part. The hot and spicy rasam is the best I have tasted in the bay area — it has the right amount of ghee and spice to blossom your taste buds… I usually order south indian thali and have not had much problems with that. The bad. My non-​indian partner liked the rasam so much she wanted another cup at the end of the meal. The waitress seemed a little appalled and rudely and reluctantly brought another one — all the time asking what else do we want to order (kinda alluding to the fact that our free stuff was on a short leash)… I dont see what’s the big deal — its mostly just hot water… and good service always results in return customers…
I feel like the service and the quality of the food has taken a beating. I dont see a change in ownership at least its not apparent. The last time in Feb 2012 I brought a visiting Bangalorean couple and they just simply loved this… having toured Europe, Canada and much of the US, this just was the closest to home. What a compliment! I became a regular at that point… but lately I think I am beginning to change my mind… sad!

Mixed review for me.
We have been taking food to-​go from here for a few months now. I like the poori-​bhaaji.
But the last time we ordered, there was a long hair in the food, and the bhaaji seemed over cooked and not fresh.
So I think more consistency is required from the cooks.

It is a nice South Indian Food joint. I usually order their executive lunch which is great.
Love the rasam. Idli and vada. Not a great fan of their sambhar. Dosa and uthappam are good. Love their sweet lassi
But now with Saravana Bhavan in Fremont I am sure woodlands with have stiff competition

We used go there every other time we went shopping at the adjacent Indian Grocery store ‘Coconut Hill’.The food was tasty and the service just about OK, the first few times. The quality of food as well as the service went down each time. The last time was horrible. I had to wait long to get my order although fewer than 3 tables were occupied. The person who took our order was very rude (i wonder why ?).While we were waiting for our food a family of 4 came and sat next to ours. Among them was a toddler holding a box of pizza. As soon as the kid wanted to take a bite of his pizza, our waiter charged to impose «‘no outside food here». He was totally rude. The boy’s father apologized and said his lad did not take well to spicy Indian cuisine and asked if he could eat his pizza quietly while others could get some real Indian food from the restaurant. The waiter wouldn’t budge and continued being his rude self. Finally the chef (i guess he is the owner/​manager) came out and asked them if the pizza was vegeterian (!!!). The father replied ‘yes’ and the chef reluctantly let the little boy eat in peace but only after making quite a face. I could see that the whole family was totally embarrassed. I couldn’t just stand their awful behaviour though i respect the store policy on outside food. Our order finally arrived — dessert first; appetizers in the end!
After this horrible experience we never returned. Instead, we found another place across the street where they greet us with courtesy and serve their food with a smile, where food tastes good.

Went there few weeks ago.
Service and food quality is still down. Removed from my list.

Cuisine: Mix of TamilNadu plus Karnataka minus the tamarind stew.
Ambiance: Very inviting. They have a big Ganesha’s statue right at the entrance. The restaurant felt so clean that I thought I would hear a squeak, if I rubbed my finger against the floor. ;)
Layout: Lot of space between two tables. No one can see what you eat and hear what you talk (well, almost). ;)
Service: Above average.
Owner: A lady, who is very courteous, plus brimming with confidence. It has been long since I met someone who was as sure and confident about their food.
We ordered a Thali, and the quantity was just enough for one. Which means, a little more than that won’t hurt, especially their rice, although the size of Puri compensated it to an extent. They serve Rasam as a complementary appetiser almost as soon as you enter. It is more like the Bangalore Rasam: tasty, slightly sweet, and moderately spicy. Considering it’s quantity and taste, you wouldn’t mind one more serving. They serve the same Rasam as part of their Thali too. :-) Let me quickly run over all the Thali items individually.
Sambar: Moderately good. I felt it should have been cooked slightly longer, because it still had a raw taste to it.
Puri: Tasted good. You may say oh its so easy to get that one right, but trust me, in majority of the places that serve Puri, you can literally see oil dripping from the Puris! But this place got it right. Their puri is almost the size of a Batura, and made less oily. The owner takes pride in her Puri, and it is for a reason I see. :-)
Ivy + Brinjal curry: Could be better. This is the only dish in the thali that felt like a North-​Indian-​wannabe. I felt a taste of garam masala somewhere in that dish that really wasn’t needed. Also something dint feel right about it. May be it was overcooked, or may be, it was just the combination. I wonder why everyone tries to combine ivy gourd with some or the other vegetable. They should just leave it alone, because, if Ivy is made the right way, it can make a super good stand alone dish!
Kurma: This probably was kept as an accompaniment for the Puri. It tasted yummy! Most of the places, where I have tasted Kurma, almost always over stuff it with garlic. I personally do not like so much garlic in any dish, because I feel the strong flavor of garlic overshadows the taste of the main dish. But here, Kurma tasted just right!
Ladyfinger Curry: Good. Nothing to rave about.
Kheer: Tasted nice, but could have been less dilute. So they can definitely do better in terms of consistency.
The Thali also had Dal, Papad, Lemon pickle and Curd. The lemon pickle was so tasty (Brahmin style, so no garlic) that I almost went on a virtual trip to Krishna’s Kafe in Bangalore. The highlight of this place though, is that it is a 100% vegetarian restaurant!
Bottomline: Does this place compare to Saravana Bhavan? May be, may be not. But I would not wanna drive all the way till Sunnyvale when there is something like Woodlands in Fremont itself. And, I am not even considering the new Saravana Bhavan at Fremont, because the last two times I went there it was damn crowded, and we didn’t wanna wait. And from what I hear, the food at SB Fremont is not comparable to the Sunnyvale branch yet. So unless something drastically changes in Woodlands, I am going to make ‘Woodlands’ our regular go-​to place.

Very much enjoyed a Paneer dish and the samosa chaat was amazing! Overall very happy with the food and would definitely eat there again!

yo me gusta.
the food is good.
If you like to hear nice chanting of sri vishnusahasranam be there at 6pm when they reopen for dinner.
Nice feeling along with being served comforting hot rasam soup.
Prices are reasonable.
Nice people.

Good, fresh authentic south Indian food.
I’ve tried South Indian food at a lot of different places, woodlands @ fremont is among the top in the authenticity of taste.

I go there for lunch about 1 – 2 times a month. I ususally get a mini thali which comes with 1 chapati, 1 papadum, rice, yogurt, sambar, dal, 2 other vegetable dishes and tea/​coffee. Also, everyone gets a small rasam when you are seated.
Everything is very tasty and the tea is my favorite from the many different restaurants I’ve tried. Also, the food is never overly oily, as many Indian restaurants I’ve been to are.
My only criticism is that I wish the dosas came with more than one kind of chutney.

Good place to eat south indian food… The rasam is great… nice to have on a cold day. their mix and match menu are priced well…

This place has very low prices, the best tasting authentic dosas i have had anywhere, and they are right next to my house. Can’t get any better than that right?
Right when you sit down they give you rasam (a spicy tomato like soup) which is awesome!
Usually i order a masala dosa and i believe its $ 4.95 and it comes with chutneys and a sambar!
They have lots of lunch/​dinner plate options with rice, lassis, vada, idlhi etc for a really good price!
The dosas here are better than most i have tried in fancy restaurants!

Service has gone from «okay» to «bad». We had recently been there again with my mom and the waiter (a man) whom we came across kept telling us what we should order so that we can save a dollar instead of listening to what we wanted. Finally after placing our order, the woman who served the food came and simply placed it on the table without even asking who this is for, or what she was serving (considering all dosas look the same and all of us were having different dosas that day).
Food is simple, they give the same chutney and sambar with every dish. It’s not super cheap, but affordable once in a while.
Advice to their management, if you want your customers to keep coming back, hire friendly waiters, because they matter the most.
Since we have moved to San Jose from Fremont, we most likely won’t be going here again.

If you are looking for home made food south indian food then this is your go to places ! Rasam is just superb ! They also serve Pongal with an interesting tomato and jaggery chutney.
Lemon rice and puliogare were quite nice.
Sambar and coconut chutney were just about average — nothing to rave about. I was disappointed to find that they were not serving bisibela bath that day. I definitely plan to visit woodland more often !

The specification for a perfect dosa should read like this:
500 microns thick with a tolerance of +/​-​100 microns.
Rolled on the plate but shouldn’t have any cracks
It should crumble when you press your fingers on the top side
Area allowed to be covered with brown spots: 25−50%
Ovalness ratio: 1 to 1.5
This place will have a yield of about 95% and the repeatability should be very high.
A good sambhar with dosa is like an beautiful girl with brains. Life doesn’t get any better. At Woodlands, I’m not impressed with the Sambhar and chutney at all. The quality of vegetables in the Sambhar should be improved. It just doesn’t have the right flavor. When you are served a perfect sambhar you should be able to gorge yourself with multiple cups.
I’ll still go here again as I like the South Indian look and feel. I wish they played Carnatic music.
Go here if you want a crispy dosa. I’m still on the look out for a place with a great sambhar/​chutney.

It is needless dishonesty to have named this place after a famous restaurant of the same name in South India, when the two are not affiliated. The food here stands on its own and is easily the best South Indian fare I have had in the Bay. It is an authentic introduction for those new to the cuisine.
Southern food is pure vegetarian, light, and healthy. I had the $ 8 express lunch, which consisted of a masala dosa (rice crêpe stuffed with spicy potatoes), an idli (a steamed rice bun), a vada (rice-​based falafel) and sambar (a vegetable broth to dunk the idli and vada in). It was authentic in ever aspect except price. In the home country, South Indian fare is *always* dirt cheap.
The ambiance resembles a beachside shack in South India, which invariably are dark since Indians are not fans of the unrelenting native sun. The scene here is more families than eligible Indian professionals.
And although takeout is available, I would not suggest that since the essence of dosa is how thin and how crisp it can be made and it quickly begins to get soggy after it is served.

This place is located along the plaza with Lion Market and all the other Asian restaurants and food shops. I had such a pleasant experience! Our server (I’m guessing he’s one of the owners) was so nice and friendly with us. Six of us went at 1:30 p.m. on a Friday afternoon and it wasn’t busy at all. They have about three big booths that can snuggly fit six people in it also. The décor is nice… not too fancy but not a hole in the wall either.
Mix & Match ($ 6.95): one type of dosa, one rice dish & one drink. You can choose from the list they have which is most of the stuff from their regular menu. I think this is the best deal because you can try two things and for the bisebelebath, they give you as much as if you ordered it separately (which costs $ 6.95) anyway.
–Mysore Masala Dosa: rice crêpe sprinkled with special spices, filled with potato & onion masala, served with sambar & coconut chutney. This was so delicious! The potato inside the dosa reminded me of samosa. It was soft and full of spices. It tastes wonderfully with the sambar but I could do without the coconut chutney. The chutney is mellow so it gets masked underneath all the other strong flavors. But I do love how chutney is refreshing.
–Bisebelebath: South Indian rice specialty with lentils, mixed vegetables & spices, served with pappad (like a big round wafer). The wafer breaks easily so I’m not exactly sure how you’re suppose to put the bisebelebath in it. But at first taste, this dish reminds me of couscous. It’s like mushy rice but spicier, with veggies & even some nuts. On the menu, they don’t indicate that this dish has nuts so BE CAREFUL!
This South Indian, all vegetarian restaurant has food that’s different from any other Indian food I’ve had and I’m glad I had it! It’d be a once in a while deal for me since I love meat.