Tava Indian Kitchen

We decided to grab food here after seeing all the good reviews. We’re avid fans of Indian food, and the options for quick, cheap Indian takeaway in the San Jose area are very limited compared to what we’re used to in the UK and Australia.
The Chipotle comparisons were a worry because we’re not fans. But we figured they were more in regard to the structure of the menu than the actual food. After all, an Indian restaurant can’t actually taste like Chipotle, can it?
We were wrong. This is not Indian food at all. It’s basically Mexican-​Indian fusion. Which is weird and not at pleasing.
It’s basically Chipotle with some Indian substitutions. The chutneys are even a chutney-​salsa fusion. The actual dal and paneer I had were edible, but combined with the Chipotle-​inspired flavors, it was just confusing.
I finished about half my dish, and then decided I was better off looking for something else for lunch.
Fans of Chipotle who want some token Indian substitutions might like to give this a try. But just be aware this isn’t Indian food at all. It’s a fusion restaurant that is more Chipotle than Indian takeaway.
The search for a decent Indian takeaway in the area continues…

The Chipotle of Indian food? I gave it a shot and liked choosing stuff that is unique from Chipotle :-) Let me preface this by saying that I chose it because everywhere else in the food court was packed and this place had no line. Hmmmm.
The food tasted good. I can’t complain about the taste. However, I would need two of their meals to fill me. At Chipotle I say «more of that, more of this, more of that, etc» and they keep piling it on. Here, no. The portion is just too small to keep me going back.
If you’re not hungry, then the taste will do it for you. If you’re hungry, I would opt for somewhere that is more filling.

It’s like an indianised version of chipotle. The taste of the food is good but it’s not authentic Indian food. Also, I think it’s not expensive as such. kinda like chipotle. Not too spicy, but simple Indian food with a different concept

I am not impressed. Trying to copy Chipotle. Over priced and very spicy. Paneer was ok. Rice was not cooked. This was not good experience.

I call this the Indian chipotle. Starts out with a big ball placed in a machine which flattens it, then grills it, then now you have a warm tortilla. Worker stayed lamb was good, I got lamb with rice, Tikki sauce, yogurt and cilantro sauce, then all rolled up into a burroti. So delicious! If anyone wants to try a Indian version of chipotle, here it is!

The reenergized and revamped Valley Fair food court brings a fresh mix of eateries and dining options to mall goers. Tava is a wonderful spot to get restaurant-​quality Indian food with the convenience and price of a food court. The menu allows full customization to create your own Indian specialty dish.
It’s easy to order here. You pick your base (wrap, bowl or salad), your protein (chicken, lamb, Goan garbanzo or paneer burjhee) and your flavor (masala or daal), lovely sauces, chutneys (tamarind, mint, yogurt raita, cilantro) and fresh veggies and toppings.
For $ 10, I got a lovely basmati rice bowl with paneer burjhee and goan garbanzo, a side of naan and a fruit juice. I love all the fresh layers of cilantro, herbs and vegetables that were at my disposal. My bowl was teeming with flavors and freshness. The food is really filling too… I had to forgo on my Mrs. Fields cookie purchase I was so full.
Tava is definitely one of my go-​to spots at Valley Fair for a satisfying, fortifying and not-​your-​cookie-​cutter mall meal.

I SWEAR I wrote a review for Tava when it opened in Valley Fair Mall! I guess I didn’t.
Tava is essentially Chipotle’s Indian half cousin. You go, you pick your vessel (roti or bowl or salad) and add your desired toppings.
I usually bounce between the Lamb or Chicken option, leaning ever so slightly to prefer the chicken (it’s usually hotter temperature wise). Slap that bad boy with some tikka sauce, various chutneys and you have a fast food lunch that will quell your curry cravings till you can get to a place with a full spread.

Got the chicken bowl.
The food tasted fine, the service was fine, what blew my mind was how little meat each bowl had. I’m not a heavy meat eater, I usually don’t finish mine, but this was just crazy. Finished my bowl and left hungry. Just going with actual Chipotle next time. Will be cheaper.

I love that the price point of this place is on par with Chipotle. And I also think they’ve got the whole Chipotle-​style thing down because I really liked the food here. My friend said the food is more spicy than salty but I didn’t really mind. Be careful getting the tava sauce though… it’s pretty spicy. I ended up getting all the sauces but I will forego the tava sauce the next time.

Yummy!
Indian fast food; especially for those of us who don’t have Indian parents at home cooking tasty dishes. Now I don’t have to invite myself over to my friends’ houses when I have a craving for chicken tikka. It is one of my favorite dishes. I have been to many Indian restaurants in the Bay Area in search for this dish. Tava is one of the few places that makes it well. Plus, they are using biodegradable packaging on many items, which is oh-​so-​eco chic!
The tikka sauce is spicy without being greasy and compliments whichever protein one might choose. The options to customize your bowl or burroti is very helpful to us picky eaters. Brown or white rice, Tava gives both options. The mango lassi is a smooth drink to ease the palate especially if the spices are a bit too much for your taste buds. Try the garlic naan to dip in your tikka sauce with heavenly bites of chicken and rice. Also, you can ask for a side of roti bread if you would like.
My only suggestions:
The drinks need to be colder (I heard you can ask for one from the fridge)
The mango lassi could do with a few ice cubes and maybe a small spring of mint leaves
The roti should be a little bit thicker to accommodate the yummy ingredients stuffed inside of it to make a burroti.

As the reviews all say… this is pretty much an Indian version of Chipotle. It’s located in the food court at Westfield Valley Fair towards the front (closer to the stores). On the day that I came here, they were giving out small sample cups of chicken marsala. I took one bite and was sold. I’m not exactly sure how the entire ordering process works since I told the lady working at the counter to just make me a bowl version of whatever was in the sample cup. I did pick out white rice, my toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, etc.), and some additional sauces. My bowl turned out to be DELICIOUS – filled with flavor from the marsala and the other random sauces that I chose to add in. The sauces blended together surprisingly well. I really liked the rice here too – it’s long grained and it was the perfect texture.
At $ 8, it’s within the typical food court price range. I’m surprised there aren’t more people coming here. I think I actually prefer this place to Chipotle. The customizable bowls/​burritos really suits this Indian fusion type of food well!

I wanted something slightly healthy which meant to me brown rice. I tried here as I was interested in the burroti. I thought the roti would be butter like how it is serviced in most Thai restaurant with curry. It wasn’t to my disappointment but I still ended up liking my order. The server was patient with me as I wanted to try the sauces before adding it. This had a similar set up as Chipotle, so you are able to see everything and how much they put into the roti roll.
Introduced this to my co-​worker and she has already eaten there three days straight!

Why isn’t this place expanding like crazy? Why aren’t the lines longer here? Why do people still go to Chipotle when this place blows Chipotle out of the water?! It makes no sense.
What does make sense is that Tava Indian is pure awesome. For starters this place has some novelty. If you order the burroti, they take fresh dough and press it to make a tortilla-​nan. Say what? And that’s entertaining to watch.
Anyways their protein options are quite tasty. I had their lamb and my friend had the chicken. We both agreed the proteins were awesome. They even have vegetarian and vegan options (aka cheese curds that looked bomb). They also have a selection of sauces that all sound interesting. I had their spicy sauces and that added a really nice kick to my burroti.
If you’re at Valley Fair, just give this place a shot. I honestly enjoyed the food and you’ll be doing your taste buds a favor!

Literally — Indian Chipotle! What could be better than that?!
This place is inside the food court at Valley Fair Mall and is relatively new. The concept is familiar, but the options are fresh and gives variety to the typical options. They have all the same choices such as Burroti (roti burrito), a bowl, and a salad. You go down the line and choose your rice, protein (s), sauce (s), and toppings such as fresh cilantro, fresh chopped vegetables, and house-​made chimmichurries. Obviously it’s somewhat Americanized (you’re in the freaking mall, did you expect authentic??) but it’s still incredibly delicious. I’ve had prettymuch one of everything thus far and I haven’t been disappointed.
They are really friendly as well and allow you to sample anything you’d like before choosing it for your meal. The price is great as well! Around 7 – 8 each plate, comparable to Chipotle and it’s counterparts. I’d much, MUCH rather have this as a more common option than the same old sandwich or Mexican food in the same platform. I hope they expand their locations because I find myself fantasizing about the food here!

After coming to USA, I tried the Mexican dish Burrito. I was quite amused by this, as in most of the Burrito joints gives you an option to chose your choice of rice, beans, meat, toppings, sauce and cheese. You can pretty much chose everything according to your taste and liking. This Dish was quite close to Indian taste due to presence of rice and Beans. I always wondered, why cant and Indian joint try the same concept. To my surprise, Tava Indian Kitchen has the same comcept. You can chose your choice of rice (Basmati or Brown), Chose your protein (Chicken, Lamb, Cottage Cheese (Paneer) or Veggies). The choice of gravy available are Tikka Masala and Dal (Lentil). You can chose your toppings as well as variety of sauce (Tamarind Chatney, Mint Chatney, Tava Lava etc).
We tried the chicken and lamb in Tikka masala gravy with Tava Lava. Both of them tasted delicious. Chicken was tender and juicy. Lamb was server like pieces of Lamb Kababs. Tava Lava totally justify to its name, so when trying it, make sure you go easy on Jalapeño.
They also have indian iced tea to cool you down, but taking a Lychee or Mango juice along with your bowls is a good option.

I am oh so appreciative of the newly designed Valleyfair food complex. For foodies like me, I get to finally new and modern foods! Sorry Subway and others… you are officially forgotten in my book!
YES, all you critics are right: Tava kitchen is by no means equivalent to authentic Indian food. I don’t think anyone SHOULD consider this real Indian food because y’all would need to open your eyes! HOWEVER, it does offer a new twist through its’ Chipotle-​style ordering and offers meats and sauces exotic to a Chipotle regular.
I think this place is great! I usually order the salad with: brown rice, chicken tiki masala (AKA the sample they give out), tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro, and topped with the yogurt sauce! I am very pleased with Tava. The food is good! The twist of the yogurt sauce with the chicken tiki masala — tastes like the ~$ 9 I spent on this meal!
The only downside is that once you get the tiki masala and yogurt sauce, it is best to finish it the day of because the sauces make the salad really soggy. In my opinion, they put too much sauce!
Overall, good food choice option, and thumbs up for the compostable food bowls! :) You have won my approval even if you are not as authentic as people wanted it to be.

Got the rice bowl with chicken and tikka sauce and just like the other reviews said, it is definitely like a version of Chipotle, except with an Indian twist! It was delicious! I appreciated the generous toppings and fillings and the staff was very friendly, which is always a plus for me! The medium cilantro was actually pretty spicy for me, perhaps combined with the onions, but it was delicious and I had to stop myself before I overate!
If you are looking to try something new from the Dining Terrace, definitely check out Tava Indian Kitchen. You’ll be happy you did!

Wow… so disappointed. Really wanted to love this place…
Service: Great!
Ambiance of the place: Even though it is in the mall itself (totally didn’t realize this until I called the place and found out), it looks trendy and clean.
The Food…
I ordered the dal and Goan chickpeas in a bowl. I was sooo excited and was really craving chole but man… I have not had Goan chickpeas before but the coconut flavor tasted rancid. I ended up eating everything else (the dal was yummy), but picked around the chickpeas or swallowed it down with lots of water.
Overall, I think the concept is great and mirrors that of Curry Up Now, but I really like Curry Up Now and its flavors, so I will definitely be heading there instead.

TLDR: ~$ 9. indian chipotle. not sold on the chicken because it’s not seared. Going to try half-​paneer half lamb next time.
I guess you can call this south bay’s cousin of Berkeley’s UrbannTurbann, though Tava does appear to have chains in SF and palo alto.
Choose your preparation style: burroti (play on roti), salad, or rice bowl.
I went for the rice bowl to lower my carb count, and because eating from a bowl allows me to tease apart the ingredients and really try to enjoy each of the different flavors.
For my protein, I got half chicken, and half paneer (cheese cubes). The chicken isn’t grilled and served at room temperature. It has the texture of shredded chicken or oscars ready-​made chicken. I had trouble tasting the cheesiness in the paneer, maybe it’s just because Indian paneer has a more subdued flavor than american cheese. It could pretty much pass as firm tofu. It’s an okay combo, but I would go for the lamb next time and paneer combo.
They also offer seared lamb and garbonzo/​chickpea beans.
For my sauce (chutney), I got the cilantro which I got because I’m sucker for cilantro. Since the cilantro is ground-​up, the texture is kind of like pulp. Think about the texture of pesto.
Lastly, I went all in on the veggies. Get a crunch from the lettuce. Onions for added flavors. All others for nutrition.
Ambience:
Located in the Dining Terrace in Valley. Seating is at will. Extra seats outside with an outdoor fire if get lucky. Very well furnished with a high-​end food court vibe.

Indian Chipotle? Now I’m not a big fan of chipotle but this place might have figured out just what I need for a quick Indian fix.
I ordered their burroti which is a naan wrapped with your choice of meat (I opted for chicken) with Tikka or Daal sauce, white or brown basmati rice, assortment of veggies to your liking and a chutney of your choice (my choices: Tikka, white rice & mild yogurt chutney).
Overall I thought it was tasty and filling. The chicken was super juicy and I liked the assortment of sauces available. My only wish is that the burrito had more of a kick to it. & I’ve definitely had more yummy authentic Indian food… But as I said, this is for your quick fix, definitely worth a try if you are looking for something different.