Sri Balaji Caffe - Pineville

This is a vegetarian South Indian place, and compared to numerous other ones I've been to, this one was a nice place to eat. The charming location had a gravel parking lot (the few spaces in front filled quickly but thankfully there were more in back) and indoor seating as well as a covered outdoor picnic area. The interior decor and music make it very clear that these people are strongly invested in their culture.Their specialty is the dosa, a fermented rice-lentil crepe which they make in many ways. When I stopped in for brunch, some of their other items weren't available, but I was happy to try a regional dosa with spices and onions. It was fantastic, with the finely diced onions offering flavor and texture and a delicious spicy sambar winning out over the chutneys (though I like them all). If I had room, I'd have ordered more.While most of the people here were clearly from the same cultural background, spoke the language, and knew the food, the staff here were more than happy to offer guidance to the North Carolinians who came in behind me and didn't know what was going on. And I'd say if you came to here for your first South Indian experience, this is a good place to try it and it's a cuisine worth knowing.

We came in after a long day at Carowinds. Wow, I love the menu in this place! I got gravy gobi Manchurian , samoas, and dosas. The plates are huge and delicious. The service was great. The place is small and deceiving.

Food made me sickCrowded and dirtyDosa is greasy. Waited 20 min for idli and still didnt get it.Terrible service.

All the worst parts of India. Crowded, multiple people push you and skip in line. Food is ok. But last visit two groups skipped in front of us and then we were refused to order 20 min before their posted closing time.Don't waste your time!

What a great place. The food is amazing. The manager (?). helped us pick out the Sunday Special and combo #1. We got to try four kinds of bread and and 12ish sauces. This place will be on repeat for my family!

Great food. You know when you see all local and Indians there. Took my friend there and he absolutely loved the chole with puri.

We were in the area during Christmas and found Sri Balaji Caffe opened and walked in. This is actually a house turned into a restaurant so it is a bit small but it did not disappoint us. You have to order at the front counter, we started with kesar (saffron) mango lassi, thumbs up , Chana samosa chaat, pani puri, and ghee masala dosa.Everything came out at perfect time and was above our expectations. The dosa tasted full of ghee and crispy (perfection), and pani puri was delicious as well. After the meal, we had the madras coffee which was good as well. You can tell everything is freshly prepared.Overall, we'd come back to this place if we're back.

We tried a couple of items from the menu and here's what I definitely recommend -Vada sambhar - crisp vada and delicious sambhar. Vada was warm enough though sambhar could have been warm/hot.Chole puri - surprisingly tasty. While it's a staple North Indian dish, i was pleasantly surprised with the flavor of chole.Dosa (I tried maysore masala) wasn't good at all. Soggy dosa and felt lack of stable maysore masala spice and flavor.

Sri Balaji Caffe may be my new favorite Indian restaurant in Charlotte. Even if it doesn't take the number one spot, it's certainly up there with the best of the best. I am so excited our friends invited us to enjoy it together for breakfast. The experience was delightful.We ordered the following and shared it family-style:Chilli ParottaOnion Podi UttapamAloo BondaChole Masala GravyParotta KurmaMini TiffinThe Chilli Parotta was not only my favorite dish but also everyone else's favorite dish too. It is essentially a plain parotta shredded into small, bite-sized pieces mixed with sauteed onions, tomatoes, and chili powder. I had never tried it before but I will be looking for it at other restaurants now. And I'll certainly order again when I come back.

Amazing Indian food! I always crave to come back to try something new here. I wish the other customers had more etiquette when it comes to taking a seat because I've had two instances where new customers interrupted me and my family while we were eating in order to rush us so they can sit. The service is nice and fast, but maybe they need to put up signs for other customers to be mindful.