Saravanaa Bhavan in Köln

Ordered 2 dishes and Lassi. Paneer butter masala and Chana Bhatura were horrible. Paneer gravy taste completely off, and Chana curry tasted as if they cooked Chana just with kasuri Methi. Even the consistency of lassi was like water. What was more disgusting was that the guy was pouring Lassi out of a big while plastic bottle. I don’t know if plastic container was even Food safe. Overall spend more than 32€ on food and it was complete waste. I would not recommend anyone to go here.

Masala Dosa, Mango Lassi, Idli/Vada taste good. Enjoyed Different types of chutney including Coconut chutney. It's a Heaven for Pure Veg Eaters as it is difficult to find good South Indian food in Cologne.

Tasteless food as per cost, Only expertise in south indian dishes Not highly recommended if you want to eat other than south india.

Great food, authentic, and friendly service. Music would make it top-notch

The food was tasty, but unfortunately way too spicy for me personally. I ordered a surprise bag from too good to go.

Best service Love it very delicious

Wir gehen sehr oft hier essen. Immer sehr lecker, freundliche Bedienung. Über die Toiletten kann ich nichts sagen. Bestes Naanbrot.

Ordered via “ToGoodToGo”. The dish cost €6 to take away. It was a “dough donut” with rice curry potato sauce. Unfortunately it was way too spicy, you could hardly eat it. At first it wasn't that bad but then the spiciness came through so much that it felt like everything was burning away. Too bad!

Nice location but food is not so good . Utappam and dosa was really disappointing.

We went to Saravanaa Bhavan for lunch today. The ambience is okay. The food was very tasty. The photo shows the dish Ghee Onion Rava Masala Dosa. South Indian food is cooked here, a little spicy means very spicy, if you don't like that, you should point this out when ordering. Mango Lassi and the original Indian coffee are also recommended.

Anyone who has ever been to India knows that it is difficult to find authentic Indian food in Germany. The dishes are often too sweet, too creamy or extremely buttery. However, you will find what you are looking for in this restaurant! Delicious dosa in countless variations, sambar that tastes the way it should, thali as we know and love it. The way it is served on metal trays and in bowls is also the same as I know from many family restaurants in India. The fact that many of the guests have roots in India or Sri Lanka clearly speaks for the restaurant and makes the visit even more authentic. Even the fact that the dishes are often brought to the table one after the other instead of all at the same time is somehow very typical. I went home very happy and will definitely come back when I'm in Cologne again.

Too commercialized. Very cramped place. The servers are sincere and try to make you comfortable. Food quality has gone down drastically since a year. Dosa doesn't taste authentic at all. Disappointing.

Good food. But tea and coffe are bad.

Malditamente horrible. Avoid. Nunca me sentí tan apresurado a terminar una comida. Los baños eran asquerosos. Enfermo en el lavabo. Comida caliente en lugar de caliente aunque muy sabrosa. ¡Pero picante! Ojalá no hubiéramos cruzado la puerta pero se veía increíble. Qué pena.

I visited Sarvana Bhavan with my family and honestly everything was so disappointing. It was Christmas weekend and it was very crowded. Service was pathetic, we ordered tea and they served coffee. Then we ordered paneer butter masala, but they don’t provided spoons and plates. Food was also not good. So overall, I am not visiting any of Sarvana Bhavan’s atleast for some time.

It is located at Heumarkt and is easily accessible. God is good as usual.

Very busy Few eat small portions Not that expensive

24 Dec 2024-Lunch for two:33.7€ Mysore masala Dosa - Good Idly - Excellent Medhu vada-crisp and tasty Service: excellent Atmosphere: the music played is terrible, north Indian music. And the crowd is too loud. Wouldn't go there again.

Perfect South Indian restaurant

Authentic Indian taste at the heart of Cologne!

The attached picture is Schezwan fried rice and not tomato rice😓 We ordered gobi 65 and dosa also. Gobi 65 was worse and i forgot to capture the picture, it was not cooked and some 10 florets they tried to filled up the plate. Dosa was good.

We had filter coffee and kara dosa. The service was prompt and the food was good! Much better than other saravana bhavan branches but it took them such a long time to prepare a roast that we were wondering if the delay was deliberate! Maybe meals would have been faster since we went during lunch time but still.

I went to the restaurant today and the malefront staff was really the worst ever I have ever seen. Like I am the customer but the attitude he gave and left us unattended after giving the menu card. This is not the first time this has happened and from the same person. Also, I won't complain about the food quality and the staff who served. Saravana bhavan can really afford a much better front staff as its the person who can really make a customer come in or turn away.

Delicious Food, never disappoint

Absolut erbärmlicher kundenservice Tldr: Bad Service, Average Food. Review from an Indian. The OG Saravana Bhavan in Chennai (with a bigger crowd) handles customers far better than this branch. So we reached this place with a group of 9 and a toddler. Of course, there is no system of reservation in this place so we came to the entrance inquiring whether there is a room for our group or not, hoping to have a warm lunch here on a cold afternoon. No greeting or an effortless smile from anyone from the staff. We were polite and stayed without causing any disruption to the existing customers. We were asked how many of us we were FOUR times by different staffs but no one concluded whether we should stay, or if there was any delay. They would ask and be on their way. Because I could see that people entering the place who had a fairer skin got preferential treatment I asked the person behind the bar if he could give us an indication how much more time it could take for the tables to open up, he was quite annoyed with that question and straightaway requested us as a group to move out of the restaurant. Absolutely rude and crass behaviour. If you wanted us to wait outside you should have your staff at the gate. We moved out however due to the lack of coordination within their staff’s, another person who took our count earlier let us in and we were cramped into a space next to the washroom. Food: It wasn’t great. We requested extra chutney and it took them 10 mins to fill a steel bowl smaller than the palm of our hands and bring it to us. We left after we’re done but could overhear a heated discussion between the staff and another group of customers for the really bad service.

Absolutely pathetic customer service, poor management, the guy who seemed to run the show and mostly at the cash desk was unpolite and rude. Food tastes below par compared to other restaurants of this chain. To say the least, we had unbelievably bad dining experience, never again!

Great food , good service and pleasant staff

Dosa & Idly were really good but the mains came out cold! Service was slow, staff weren’t very attentive or friendly and the toilets were absolutely DISGUSTING.

Worst place. They destroy the reputation of south indian Hospitality. They will ask indians to change tables every 5 minutes but never the white skin people. WORST PLACE

I have ordered Mysore masala Dosa and unfortunately it's just another normal masala dosa with partially cooked batter and the authenticity of Mysore dosa is completely missing.( To be honest, it's just some partially cooked dosa) Then comes the Chana Bhatura, the Bhatura is flat and cold and the Chana is Kuruma base with Chana. Then I tried the shezwan friedrice, oh my.... there is no flavor and no taste. This place is not for people who prefers authentic south Indian food. Sorry

We visited Saravana Cologne without reservation during the lunch hour. We got a corner coffee table which was pretty uncomfortable due to lack of space. We ordered Mysore masala dosa, onion rava masala dosa, idli and Vada. Idli and Vada were good. The masala (potatoes) was not the typical masala of the 'masala dosa' it was a bit watery with peas and capsicum which didn't please my traditional south indian palate much. The coconut chutney was not flavourful. Though the Sambar was nice.

Tried the paneer cheese kathi roll. The taste was good but the quantity was a little less. Also card payment only accepted above 10 euros so can be a little annoying.

They deserve nothing less than 5 stars! The atmosphere was so warm it felt like being back in India. The food was pure nostalgia on a plate. We went overboard with idli, dosa, and chhole bhature—absolutely shameless, but can you blame us? And the sambaar... pure bliss. It was a feast that left us laughing, stuffed, and planning our next visit before we even left.

One of the best South Indian restaurant in Germany. Food was very delicious

In general it is very good chain but the quality and the taste of food is slowly going down. Restaurant owners, please watch this out and try to bring back the authenticity. Will be looking forward to visiting soon.

The food was very bad , we ordered masala dosa, schezwan noodles and paneer noodels. At first we got a hair in the masala dosa, second the friedrice was like a wet rice total waste of money

Great location, great food. Really tasty food. It's not very common to have an Indian restaurant with good South Indian food. I tried Masala dosa and Mysore masala dosa at Saravanaa Bhavan, and both were authentic. They also have good filter coffee

We found this place way too expensive for veggies. The food taste was just ok! Not going again to this place.

Aneesh and team Superb Service . strongly Recommend to visit

Aneesh and team good service.stroghtly recommend to visit

Aneesh and friends served superb... strongly recommend

I had a paneer fried rice but i got a paneer upma. The worst Indian food that i have ever tried in Germany.

The food is simple 😋 👌 😌 ☺️ delicious 😋 😍 & The location is also good.

Was missing home when I came across this place and my craving was satisfied! Being a South Indian, I approve the authenticity of the food too!

We had Onion Dosa and Sound Indian meal. It’s was good. South Indian meal had poori, rice, tindli palya, rasam, sambhar, pappad etc. Filter coffee was NOT good. Service is excellent, friendly and polite.

Poor response by staff. Walked and reached all the way staff refused to serve even 30 mins before. Indians don't support Indians in foreign land how do we expect someone else support and respect us Very had experience

The dosa was soggy and overly oily, without the distinct aroma or flavor of ghee as advertised. On a positive note, the sambar was quite delicious. However, the overall experience was ruined by the behavior of the restaurant staff, particularly the manager, who was exceptionally rude and unprofessional. This is certainly not the way to treat loyal customers.

Be careful before ordering the food, their portion is hugeeee! I couldn‘t even eat half of my main course, because apparently my appetizer was so big and made me full already. I felt so bad to throw the food but yeah, maybe you better share one appetizer and so you can eat your main course nicely. But everything we ate were tasty, we won‘t complain for that. Absolutely delighted by the South Indian served at this restaurant. Located in the heart of Köln markt, this place serves delicious food. I ordered malagapodi dosa along with mango lassi. The ambience resonated with India - as they played a bunch of popular Indian music. The service was quick and Dosa was delicious. The highlight for me was the 'podi' they applied in the Dosa and the chutney(s). It was a blend of spices and garlic packed with tasty potatoes. The portion size was good and I really admire the tomato chutney they serve along with the Dosas. It is delicious! The sambar and coconut chutney were good too. Mango lassi was refreshing and worth the price. Overall, it was a nostalgic trip and a nice experience.

Delicious food. Good service and quick food. You can usually get a seat quickly. Unfortunately the toilets were like an indoor swimming pool/indoor public pool.

Good place for a fun and authentic South Indian meal in Köln. The ambience is pretty and the food is good too.

Food was a good, but coconut chutney was spoilt and they didn’t even checked before serving.

Nice food amazing but I feel lhad real southindian food after long time in Germany

Dirty. Unfriendly waiters who offer no service other than serving orders and only speak English (not a problem for me). Even carefully selected dishes that were supposed to be mild were extremely spicy. Not suitable for children.

They are spoiling the name of Saravanaa Bhavan. The waiting staff was completely rude. As we were being seated the person to greet us was unnecessarily rude. Then when we asked the waiter to clean the table he replied angrily to wait outside. One can say the same thing while being polite. As an Indian you don't expect someone from the same country to treat you poorly, especially on diwali, worst experience

Most rude behaviour of the waiter there.. we were sitting on a table and it was dirty which on requesting to clean it, they refused and rudely replied by ordering us to wait outside if we want a clean table.. absolutely unfriendly behaviour.. The owner should look into such behaviour and train the staff to talk to customers politely .. I would never recommend anyone to come here again. Spoiled our Diwali completely… thank you so much for the hospitality :/

The real taste of South Indian Food. I love it. A must visit.

A wonderful taste of India, with scrumptious food on offer. Reminded me of the very good dishes that I have had at Saravanna Bhavan chain in Chennai.

We came with our family ., really it’s worth and cost valuable . Our kids were enjoyed sambar Idly and Sambar vada . Paper Roast was awesome . All together it’s a nice one ., experience the true taste of south Indian dishes here .😊😊😊😊

Unfortunately, this is nothing more than standard. It's definitely not a bad meal - the dough and filling are really decent, but unfortunately nothing more! The service is nice, but the ambience - and this may be a very personal assessment - does not invite you to linger. The nice thing is that the platters are well arranged for sharing, but still have a bit of the charm of a cafeteria meal.

Went there spontaneously today and were thrilled with the food. Super tasty and I have never seen such a large vegetarian menu. The service was friendly and unobtrusive but only in English, which was fine for us but might be a problem for some. Since the clientele consisted almost exclusively of Indians and Pakistanis (always a good sign), this probably works very well in everyday life. However, we didn't like the fact that there is a gastro dishwasher in the restaurant itself, the passage to the toilets is hardly accessible when it's full and you see a lot of cleaning utensils on the way there such as brooms etc. For me, that doesn't belong in the guest area. Cleanliness in the toilets could be improved but ok. O. Prices appropriate for the location. Drinks around 5 euros.

We asked politely if we (my partner & I) could use the toilet for €1. We were then “kindly” pointed out a sign at the entrance that said that using the toilet would cost €5 per person. I haven't seen that before either.

We love the idly sambhar here. But otherwise not really our go to place. The service is slow most of the time.

The traditional taste of Saravana bhavan. Food is delicious; enough space inside and outside. We sat outside to enjoy the food with street views. The atmosphere is fantastic; neat and clean toilets.

Idli Vada and Mini Idli was good. Vada could’ve been hot but it was mildly warm. North Indian dishes are not that good. White chutney and sambar and chutney podi was good. Green chutney has too much mint.

Be careful before ordering the food, their portion is hugeeee! I couldn‘t even eat half of my main course, because apparently my appetizer was so big and made me full already. I felt so bad to throw the food but yeah, maybe you better share one appetizer and so you can eat your main course nicely. But everything we ate were tasty, we won‘t complain for that.

Very nice after a very long time.authentic food great service and well mannered staff

FILTHY TOILET & WASH AREA: The food was great. The service was good. Real authentic South Indian Vegetarian Food. The toilets and washing area were filthy and stinking. I wonder why such a good place for food cannot maintain a clean wash room and toilets 😟

This Indian restaurant is all about the dosa – and rightly so! The different dosa variants are recommended, with a wonderful, aromatic taste that is perfectly rounded off by the accompanying dips and curries. If you eat here, you should definitely try the dosa! The Kati Wrap, on the other hand, was okay but couldn't keep up with the dosa dishes. Mon should focus more on the dosa variants. The furnishings are rather simple and functional, the tables are minimalist, which doesn't necessarily seem inviting. Nevertheless, the restaurant scores with super nice and extremely fast service, which enhances the overall impression.

South Indian very tasty food 😋 👌

To be very frank. Overall wherever I go the quality of Saravanan Bhavan has gone down. It’s no more authentic any more. I guess they are not representing the true South Indian taste, what I used to have. I missed that taste. As compared to Frankfurt Saravanaa Bhavan this is better. At the same time there were many good things like: food was served instant, staff was trained good and were very helpful!

Authentic Indian cuisine, which is evident from the presence of 80% Indian guests. That's why it's very common here to eat with your hand; I actually recently did that myself in India. The food was very good and tasty and included typical dishes from Chennai, something different from other Indian restaurants. There is a separate hand basin with soap so you can wash your hands before and after eating separately from the toilets. The service was very friendly and, among other things, pointed out to us if a dish was very spicy and therefore not necessarily suitable for the German palate, and made other suggestions. By the way, the restaurant was recommended to us by an Indian colleague from Chennai.

With one exception, the very friendly and uncomplicated staff don't speak any German, but we got along well. The stainless steel trays instead of conventional plates may be authentic, but they don't seem to be of high quality and also ensure that the food gets cold quickly. The cheese naan for the starter was just sprinkled with cheese and not filled - we knew it differently from other restaurants. There are no sauces for this either, which is a shame. And no plate either - that only came when asked. My food was good, but unfortunately not really spicier than that of my three companions at the same table, despite my order being different. Some of them complained about too much spiciness. And in order to promote communication with the staff, we had to ask again specifically for Messer.

Had dosas. Was too good, almost like having it in India. Good portions, Dosas were big enough.

If you are looking for good food then Ok but let´s not get carried away with the word Authentic. Am a pure south indian and let me tell you tht the food here tastes far from being tasty! Dosa´s are a ripper with no taste in batter and the Dosa itself! Manchurians are colorful and tht stops there! If you love south indian then this is definitely not serving you the best one! Am sorry we have been there more than twice and every time disappointed with almost all the dishes we ordered. Am not talking about the price here since it is unjustified for the food they offer. So pls decide and visit. Pls do not go by the brand. On the contrary, the same outlet in FRA is far better and food tastes much better.

Great food as guaranteed by the brand

Fantastic ambience, Delicious food, Excellent Customer service. Very good crispy Dosa's. I am working as promotional lead for IBM India Buzz. I recommended many good restaurants, Saravana Bhavan is always special. Anish Kumar clearly explained and supported us well. Fantabulous Service Anish Million Thanks 😊 Regards Hari Suseelan

The food is very tasty and not too expensive. The portions are big enough to fill you up

Everything perfect. The food here is very tasty

I love and highly recommend the Masala Dosa. Order it and you will not be disappointed. Authentic south Indian tastes and vegetarian friendly 👌🏼

Nice staff and the food always tastes good.

Great to have authentic and tasty food in the heart of cologne. We had come from an event at the Lanxess arena and were able to walk over. Tram stop just outside too if needed. Was open late night on Sunday with full menu available. Would definitely go again when visiting next. Highly recommended!

In every restaurant it should be an absolute given that there is enough soap in the toilet. Even more so in a restaurant where people eat a lot with their fingers!!! The fact that I have to ask twice for soap and then it is explained to me that soap is available but the soap dispenser is difficult to use is unacceptable. Firstly, the soap was empty and secondly (if the dispenser was actually full) you shouldn't have to explain to a customer how a soap dispenser works. This shouldn't be quantum physics. Therefore, unfortunately, a very unhygienic eating experience.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I can recommend it to all the vegetarians and the meat lovers. Yes, cause what they serve you really don't miss the meat. Friends invited me to eat there and I never can say no to that, but didn't want, cause there was no meat. But the dishes tasted so good, that it was for me a surprise I didn't run for meat afterwards. I was fulfilled. That it is good Indian food, you see, because a lot of Indians go there.

Dosa and Chana Batura are really nice here....must try dishes😋

A good place with above average food quality. I enjoyed their dosa. But other dishes like kadhai paneer lacked authentic taste. Dosas are good.

If you are craving for South Indian food, this is the place to go

I'm a regular here, and I always love the food (and the people here mainly). But today was taking it a notch higher. I tried the Fried Mushroom and Kaima Idli, and they both tasted HEAVENLY!!! I literally could not stop myself from eating the Fried Mushrooms despite the fact that it just came out of oven 😂 I'm bringing my family next time again for more of these 2 dishes, because this delicious food (easily the chef's master dish) needs to be savoured with family and friends!!! Service here is also great! Thank you Aneesh, Harnek, Kanishka, Anjana, Vishnu, Deeksha, Mithesh, Chaamil, Dev for your amazing friendly service always!! 😊

Super delicious Indian food! Just like I know from good restaurants in India. A bit loud, so not really suitable for chatting and hanging out, and it's the best Indian food I've tasted in Cologne! That's what it's worth!

Taste food Wonderful service Nice location

The food was excellent, despite a small misunderstanding because we accidentally ordered in English and then kept switching between languages ​​that were more on our side. What is particularly positive is that I normally cannot tolerate spicy foods at all, but here I was able to enjoy everything without any problems. The huge bread was fantastic and the fried rice was a delight. The Mango Lassi was also available at a very fair price. The only point of criticism: the dishes are unfortunately a bit reminiscent of a prison canteen.

This was the tastiest Indian food I have ever eaten.

Onion rava masala dosa was on point. Filter coffee hit the spot too.

Worst Dosa ever.. coconut chatani was spoilt.. I asked the manager to check but he simply ignored it. Except package drinking water everything was below average.. not recommended if you are craving for Indian food specially South Indian food.

The food was very tangy and over fermented. The service was very late had to wait for a long time after ordering dosa. The taste was not good at all for Mysore masala dosa it had lot of ginger pickle by which the potato curry flavor was suppressed. Onion uttappam dint have any taste at all other than the over fermented taste. Very disappointing this from Saravan Bhavan.

The food was amazing and so was the Service!✨✨✨

For the first time in Germany, I felt disappointed visiting a Saravana bhavan. Having visited one in Frankfurt and Berlin, this one was underwhelming. We order two items- mysore masala dosa and Onion uthappam. the dosa had too much ginger chutney inside which was as making it inedible. The waiter simply ignored our feedback as well. The uthappam itself was oily and lacked any flavour. Even the service was quite slow despite having not many customers. Wouldn’t recommend.

Thank you Anees for taking care for us... delicious food

EVERYTHING original Indian! really EVERYTHING...except the prices! :-) but VERY clean!

The best of South Indian restaurant for me

I ordered Ghee pongal thinking it to be at least close to what we get in Tamil Nadu. It turned out to be very bad. It was very dry and a lot of extra ghee was added on top of the already prepared pongal which made it even worse. Even after informing this to the waiter/staff, they were not courteous enough to take that off from the bill. I would not recommend trying ghee pongal for pongal lovers!!