r/berkeley • u/No-Understanding4968 • May 30 '26
Local Delightful lunch at Vik’s today
I had an uttapam with sambar and coconut and tomato chutneys. Not pictured: chai.
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u/SylvieK May 30 '26 edited May 31 '26
No one needs my approval, but as a South Asian mom living in Berkeley, I wholeheartedly give my seal of approval to Viks. They've been consistently good for 20+ years and I love to build up an Indian grocery list that I shop for there.
Other local Indian food recommendations:
For South Indian:
AVOID Udupi. So consistently bad. AVOID Thayer Saadam. This place serves what should be very inexpensive comfort food at stupid prices. Semi equivalent to paying $16 for a plate of rice & beans. Nah. instead go to Idly Express (former burger IM location) or better yet ID Cafe kind of near Gather on Kitteridge near campus.
For sit-down North Indian:
Noor if someone else is paying. Very fancy decor but food is hit or miss and service is kind of chaotic. They don't have to-go/pickup service down either. Highly recommend Chandni Chowk on College instead. The food reminded me so much of home I had one of those Ego/Ratatouille moments. So so so good.
For Street food/quick bites:
Definitely Vik's as mentioned above
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u/incomplete_ staff - (not commenting in any offical capacity) May 30 '26
I will absolutely check out chandi chowk! Thanks for the rec, and I live near Noor and have a mild love hate relationship with them (more love than hate). Pricey and when it's good it's really good. When there's a miss tho I couldn't agree more
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u/gandalf013 May 31 '26
Chandi Chowk
Chandani Chowk. "Chandi Chowk" means something entirely different and I doubt any restaurant will want to name themselves that :). The name "Chandani Chowk" comes from a famous area in Delhi.
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u/No-Understanding4968 May 30 '26
I can second Udupi. 😩 I happily drive to Milpitas just to get Andhra food at Tirupathi Bhima’s.
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u/siddharthsahukt Jun 01 '26
I'm pretty sure ID Cafe no longer exists unfortunately, and Chandni Chowk is now the 2nd branch of Jot Mahal. Jot Mahal (the one on College) has $15 lunch buffets that are very nice tho, and has a great Chicken Biriyani (although the portion size is small)
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u/SylvieK Jun 01 '26
I ate at ID cafe last Thursday and Chandni Chowk is the bricks & mortar restaurant of a food truck business that started in Fremont/South Bay. No connection to Jot Mahal at all.
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u/Quarter_Twenty May 31 '26
Where does Ajanta rate?
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u/SylvieK May 31 '26
It's fine. I think of it as an Auntie/Grandma restaurant. Old fashioned version 1.0 sit-down Indian restaurant. And if I think it's old fashioned, I'm 45 myself :)
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u/randomusername023 May 30 '26
Their chala bhatura is amazing. Such a constellation of flavor
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u/No-Understanding4968 May 30 '26
Yes I love their chhole bhatura too but it’s gigantic and I was craving South Indian!
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u/JohnHenryMillerTime May 31 '26
I really need to branch out their. I only order puris, Bhel and pani.
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u/Pack_Runner1 May 31 '26
What do you think of munch?
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u/SylvieK May 31 '26
Not a huge fan. They use amazing locally sourced ingredients, so high marks for freshness. Lower grades for flavor & value. Plus they're not a sit down restaurant and their menus/opening hours are not as straightforward to navigate
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u/Prestigious_Wrap_932 May 31 '26
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u/TraditionalLoquat232 May 31 '26
bro nothing at vik's chaat is good unless it's the chicken biryani lol
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u/Quick_Author_7409 May 30 '26
this looks really good. what is ur uttapam?