This is one of the most well-known South Indian eateries in the New York City area, located not in Manhattan but in Flushing, Queens. What makes it unique is that it’s situated in the basement of a South Indian Hindu temple. You can attend temple service upstairs and then come downstairs to the cafeteria-style eatery. We visited one evening close to closing time, but the place was still packed — mostly with Indian diners, which makes sense since many of us eat dinner late. While the temple upstairs was what you’d typically expect, the dining hall downstairs was lively and full. Even so, we managed to find a table. This is a fully self-service setup. You place your order at the counter, sit down, and wait for your number to be called to collect the food. There’s no table service or fancy dining experience here — it’s rustic, basic, and entirely focused on fresh, hot, authentic South Indian (Tamil-style) food. We started with upma, which tasted very homely — the kind that reminds you of food cooked at home. The portion was generous enough to share between two people and came with sambar. Interestingly, the sambar here seemed to be made with moong dal instead of the usual tuvar dal, and it wasn’t very spicy. I actually loved it — it was comforting and quite unique compared to most sambars I’ve had elsewhere. We then ordered dosas. I originally wanted a rava dosa, but they were out of it, so we settled for a paper masala dosa. The service was quite slow — possibly because it was late in the evening — and we had to wait a long time after finishing the upma. By the time our dosas arrived, they were almost closing, but the dosas were hot, freshly prepared, and satisfying. The food overall wasn’t extravagant, but it was exactly what you’d expect — simple, authentic, and well-executed. The standout for me was definitely the sambar/dal, which felt different and memorable. The rest of the meal was good, though fairly basic. We ended with gulab jamun, which was very standard. All in all, it’s a solid place to visit if you’re in the area and craving authentic South Indian food. Nothing fancy — just honest, comforting meals served fresh.
Hindu Temple Canteen
Excerpts
This is one of the most well-known South Indian eateries in the New York City area, located not in Manhattan but in Flushing, Queens. What makes it unique is that it’s situated in the basement of a South Indian Hindu temple. You can attend temple service upstairs and then come downstairs to the cafeteria-style eatery. We visited one evening close to closing time, but the place was still packed — mostly with Indian diners, which makes sense since many of us eat dinner late. While the temple upstairs was what you’d typically expect, the dining hall downstairs was lively and full. Even so, we managed to find a table. This is a fully self-service setup. You place your order at the counter, sit down, and wait for your number to be called to collect the food. There’s no table service or fancy dining experience here — it’s rustic, basic, and entirely focused on fresh, hot, authentic South Indian (Tamil-style) food. We started with upma, which tasted very homely — the kind that reminds you of food cooked at home. The portion was generous enough to share between two people and came with sambar. Interestingly, the sambar here seemed to be made with moong dal instead of the usual tuvar dal, and it wasn’t very spicy. I actually loved it — it was comforting and quite unique compared to most sambars I’ve had elsewhere. We then ordered dosas. I originally wanted a rava dosa, but they were out of it, so we settled for a paper masala dosa. The service was quite slow — possibly because it was late in the evening — and we had to wait a long time after finishing the upma. By the time our dosas arrived, they were almost closing, but the dosas were hot, freshly prepared, and satisfying. The food overall wasn’t extravagant, but it was exactly what you’d expect — simple, authentic, and well-executed. The standout for me was definitely the sambar/dal, which felt different and memorable. The rest of the meal was good, though fairly basic. We ended with gulab jamun, which was very standard. All in all, it’s a solid place to visit if you’re in the area and craving authentic South Indian food. Nothing fancy — just honest, comforting meals served fresh.
This is one of the most well-known South Indian eateries in the New York City area, located not in Manhattan but in Flushing, Queens. What makes it unique is that it’s situated in the basement of a South Indian Hindu temple. You can attend temple service upstairs and then come downstairs to the cafeteria-style eatery. We visited one evening close to closing time, but the place was still packed — mostly with Indian diners, which makes sense since many of us eat dinner late. While the temple upstairs was what you’d typically expect, the dining hall downstairs was lively and full. Even so, we managed to find a table. This is a fully self-service setup. You place your order at the counter, sit down, and wait for your number to be called to collect the food. There’s no table service or fancy dining experience here — it’s rustic, basic, and entirely focused on fresh, hot, authentic South Indian (Tamil-style) food. We started with upma, which tasted very homely — the kind that reminds you of food cooked at home. The portion was generous enough to share between two people and came with sambar. Interestingly, the sambar here seemed to be made with moong dal instead of the usual tuvar dal, and it wasn’t very spicy. I actually loved it — it was comforting and quite unique compared to most sambars I’ve had elsewhere. We then ordered dosas. I originally wanted a rava dosa, but they were out of it, so we settled for a paper masala dosa. The service was quite slow — possibly because it was late in the evening — and we had to wait a long time after finishing the upma. By the time our dosas arrived, they were almost closing, but the dosas were hot, freshly prepared, and satisfying. The food overall wasn’t extravagant, but it was exactly what you’d expect — simple, authentic, and well-executed. The standout for me was definitely the sambar/dal, which felt different and memorable. The rest of the meal was good, though fairly basic. We ended with gulab jamun, which was very standard. All in all, it’s a solid place to visit if you’re in the area and craving authentic South Indian food. Nothing fancy — just honest, comforting meals served fresh.
Very fairly priced South Indian vegetarian restaurant/canteen in Flushing, located in the basement of the temple. The food was delicious and at the same time wasn't too oily. Although, the snacks were a bit on the expensive end, I felt, but definitely a must-visit.
Very fairly priced South Indian vegetarian restaurant/canteen in Flushing, located in the basement of the temple. The food was delicious and at the same time wasn't too oily. Although, the snacks were a bit on the expensive end, I felt, but definitely a must-visit.