Swami's Dosa Grill Restaurant

The owner is super friendly, but the food is not authentic as it claims. We ordered a mysore masala dosa, and it was evident that the batter was old and had no salt. The chutneys had a decent taste, the aloo was comparably liquidy, and the sambhar tasted like daal.

The restaurant first of all opened 20 minutes late from their scheduled time, and the entire experience just went downhill from there. The ordering process was chaotic there was only one person handling customers, taking orders, and cooking at the same time. It was self-service, but nobody explained anything or guided customers on how or where to order. Then came the dosa $18 for something that was barely cooked. It looked and tasted underdone, with the batter still feeling raw in parts. It was flipped on both sides instead of being properly crisped, had no oil or seasoning at all, and ended up tasting dry and bland. The aloo masala wasn’t even inside the dosa, it felt more like plain aloo sabzi served on the side. Overall, a very disappointing experience and honestly a waste of money, food, and ingredients. Definitely not worth the price.

This is some quality Indian food! 👌 as someone who loves Indian food, this blew me away! We got idli, 2 dosas, and 2 mango lassis, and everything was phenomenal. Every bite was followed by an “mmmm,” and the guy was super chill. Nice guy, great food, definitely recommend if you’re seeking Indian with great depths of flavor. The sambal had warm deep flavor that was replenishing after a long day, and the chutneys were so good on their own but even better when combined with the rest of the meal! 10/10 recommend! Nice to support a small business instead of a big chain :)

Great food and tea! Chris is awesome. Keep up the good work. I was here twice during a 4 day trip. First time almost at 3pm closing time and yet the tea was made hot and fresh which was super comforting after a 6 hour flight. The second time was Idli Sambar and tea after a long day out and it was delicious and hot again. For a South Indian craving for familiar food on a multi day trip, this place satisfied it!

Here’s a cleaner, more polished version of your review: *** This is a small restaurant located in a food court in Kona, Hawaii. The menu is limited, and orders are placed through a self-service kiosk. The chef was friendly and helpful, offering suggestions when needed. The food was good overall, and the sambar was especially excellent.

I had a great experience at Swami’s Dosa Grill! The food was fresh, flavorful, and clearly made with care. The dosa was perfectly crispy and packed with delicious fillings, and the chutneys and sambar really brought everything together. The menu has a lot of authentic South Indian options that you don’t always find at other Indian restaurants in the area. The staff were friendly and the service was quick. If you’re looking for something different or want to try real South Indian cuisine, this place is definitely worth checking out. I’ll definitely be coming back!

Unexpectedly great south indian food in big island. The tomato chutney so good and spicy.

After 5 days of travel to Maui and not having any luck there with getting Indian food, I had made up my mind to check out this place when we landed in Kona. This is in s food court - nothing fancy about the ambiance. But it had decent South Indian food and that is exactly a vegetarian like me would seek. I ordered a plain dosa with extra ghee to eat there. Sambar and chutney were good. I did a take out for Pongal and vegetable Biriyani. Pongal was good but could be better with more ghee. I would not get the veg Biriyani - Instead the sambar rice I saw someone else getting there looked yummy. Curd rice is also a tempting option. Definitely recommend this place if you are craving South Indian and don’t mind a meal with no meat.

Good Indian vegetarian food. Tried all their dosas. They are good but could give me potato filling for the price. Chai / coffee is overpriced. It would help if they gave the oz of coffee for that price. Masala soda is highly recommended.

It is behind 76 gas station in a food court. After ordering from self ordering kiosk, food arrived fairly quickly. I only saw one person working. I am assuming that is swami who is owner and chef of this restaurant. Food was very good. I ordered masala dosa, cheese dosa and vegetable dosa. Also, samosas, Masala lemonade and masala Pepsi. Considering big island doesn’t have lot of Indian restaurants, this place serves best food. Opens at 11:30am-3pm and opens again at 5PM and closes at 8:30pm. Owner was very kind and offered complimentary water bottle and ice cream to little one in our party. Overall great experience and I highly recommend this place. When I went around 5pm there weren’t many people but I am thinking you may have to wait if you went around dinner time during peak season. This should not deter you from trying out this place. I ate at this establishment when it was food truck few years ago. I remember food to be good even back then.