DOSA on Valencia
| Address: | 995 Valencia St, San Francisco, CA 94110, USA |
| Phone: | +1 415-642-3672 |
| Site: | dosasf.com |
| Rating: | 4 |
| Working: | 5:30–10PM 5:30–10PM 5:30–10PM 5:30–10PM 5:30–11PM 11AM–3PM 11AM–3PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 8
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Kent Wilson
We were in town for a convention near the airport and took a taxi up to Dosa on Valentia based upon the 1076 reviews with an average of 4.1 out of 5. Were very familiar with Northern India Food, so it was really fun to experience Southern India Food. We didnt make reservations (sounds like that would be a good idea for Friday night when we went). We ended up sitting at the bar. Jake was exceptional in explaining and recommending options. From how our meals tasted his recommendations were exceptional. We ended up choosing the sampler menu where we each selected something for each of the three courses. This has smaller portions, but more variety than if wed just ordered regular items. As a result, we were able to experience more diverse types of South India Food. Jakes helpfulness and deep knowledge of the menu helped us to make great selections in choosing our dinner. We had an excellent dining experience. The food was excellent, varied in flavors. The two Dosas we had were incredible. We really enjoyed the appetizers and main dishes too! Jake and the other bar tender were very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable about the food! Not only was the food 4.5 to 5, but the service by Jake and the other bar tender was a 5-6. Jake and Dosa on Valencia team, thank you for a great dinner! Now theres 1077 reviews for Dosa on Valentia!
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Krishna Malleboina
Best place for dosa in the entire Bay area. Every item is delicious. This is the same type of food that I get in India(south to be specific). Go to this restaurant only. Dont go to any other branches of dosa restaurants in San Francisco. Our first visit here was for dinner. We liked all the chutneys that were served with papad. Best chutneys I have ever tasted. I have ordered from the spring tasting menu. Lamb kebab sliders were awesome. Spicy moong masala (pesarattu) is another rare item that I dont get in any other indian restaurants in the US. The sambar and the chutneys served along with dosa are the best. Hyderabadi lamb chops are good. The only thing I didnt like is the wine. Were surprised by the type of delicious food we got and started exploring the menu further. I have stumbled upon masala tea and filter coffee. Non-alcoholic drinks were placed in the alcohol menu. I have never had such a great masala tea and filter coffee. By the time we finished our dinner, the restaurant was heavily crowded. Our second visit was for lunch. Lunch menu is very short. Its just dosas and chat items. I ordered egg dosa which has spicy powder in it along with cilantro and loved it. Masala tea (tea with spices) is my usual drink. I recommend you to go to this restaurant early for dinner to get a wonderful experience.
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Adam Lasnik
[from oct 2006] You know what is one good way to judge a restaurant? How do you feel after youre done eating there? Does you stomach feel happy? Do you feel relaxed and not rushed? Are your ears calm or ringing painfully? Is your wallet still about the same size it was, or 17 pounds lighter (or with smoke coming out of pieces of plastic)? If your answered affirmatively to most of the above questions (first part), then its probably a nice find of an eatery. Thats how I feel about Dosa. All the dishes my friends and I shared were flavorful and *not* greasy. The sauces, quite distinct, with most packing a pretty good punch :). And speaking of spice: whoa, try the fire fruit. Theyre not kidding when they say fire :D. My lassi, as with most lassis in America, was a bit too sweet for my tastes (compared to the more authentic creamy-but-not-sugary lassis), but I give a hearty thumbs up to everything else. Even the server was friendly and helpful. Out of respect for one of our friends who is a vegetarian, my other friend and I (avowed omnivores) ordered only veggie dishes. And we didnt miss the meat one bit. Now THAT is saying something :)
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Susan Shepard
The food was great--i tried my husbands keema dosa and I had a paneer and peas uttapam. It was a busy, yuppie place, even at 6:45p on a rainy Saturday night. I really enjoyed the atmosphere. The waitress took off one of the glasses of wine that my friend ordered but didnt end up liking. The waitress also brought over their allergy menu which lists what is and isnt gluten free, dairy free, and nut free. She also said that the pappadum served at the beginning was gluten free as well. Ill probably go back. I want to. That night, though, I had symptoms very similar to being glutened which was definitely not fun. Perhaps it was my husbands tapioca pudding dessert. I didnt ask if it was gluten free because Ive never seen a recipe that called for flour, but... Hopefully it was just my bad and not the food. Its really lovely to go to a restaurant where you can eat practically everything *and* eat bread-like things.
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Robin Johnson
Id been waiting to try Dosa for quite some time and wasnt wowed by my experience--but definitely wasnt disappointed either. Southern Indian cuisine is different than your average Indian restaurant, making the menu a bit hard to navigate. Our waitress (while very nice) was not very helpful in this regard. She kept getting confused by what we were looking for, and her descriptions were not too helpful. We ended up trying the chutney sampler and the masala dosa. The chutney sampler came with generous portions of 4 different chutneys--all were OK. The tarragon sauce tasted a little like A1 steak sauce? The masala dosa (crispy, crepe-like bread filled with curry "mashed" potatoes) was very good! The mix of textures and flavors was really unique. The food was good, but a bit expensive for what you actually get (in terms of quality, not quantity).
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Olivier GHEZI
Super restaurant indien, cuisine du sud, dont la spécialité sont les fameux "Dosa" qui sont des genres de crêpes géantes accompagnées de différents mix. Je conseille le Lamb Dosa (agneau) qui est délicieux. Attention le resto est petit et très populaire, donc toujours réserver. Aussi, bien préciser le niveau de spicy/relevé que vous souhaitez car ça risque dêtre très piquant...
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A Private User
This place is amazing. It does not serve your regular South Indian or N. Indian curries. In my view Dosa has experimented with the S. Indian curries and it has done it successfully. I can savor the different spices in the food, can chew and say ah ah this is x, this is y spice. And the other good thing is that food is non-greasy. The biggest problem I have found with the Indian restaurant food in U.S. is the excess use of oil in the curries. Probably they do it to extend the shelf-life of the curries so they dont have to make it fresh all the time. Hope Dosa maintains the quality of its food and as a bonus this place offers a decent bar with exotic Indian mocktails (again non-traditional, well experimented drinks)!
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Tony Quan
Dosa on Valencia is housed in a beautiful space, with beautiful lighting and gorgeous colors. I really enjoyed the vibe here and the unique selection of cocktails. The food was very tasty as well and definitely flavorful. It is a different from what you typically would find at your corner Indian restaurant/buffet. They are known for their dosas which are large thin dipping bread. Im not an expert on Indian cuisine so dont quote me on that. Anyways, they are HUGE. Literally. Dosas are great for sharing and I enjoyed dipping it in all sorts of different sauces and spices. Definitely a restaurant worth checking out. They have a location in Pac Heights as well on Fillmore, if you happen to find yourself in that area.
