Went today to Lotus Deli after a long absence from patronizing the deli. I tend to patronize the store more. The last time I ate at the deli was maybe 2013.Today I had a thali (combo) with malai koft. I am of Indian background. My wife of 18 years is from Vietnam. She got the vendi curry with roti.The food was overall okay. It is maybe something more like what my mother (from Mysore) would eat. My father from Mumbai would take one look at it and say that his mother would cook better. Still, the food was good. Yes, I will say that Pati made better.My wife has been to India, and she does like the food.The only things that were maybe different for us are:There is much more salt in the food then what my wife and I would normally eat.The rotis were good, but the ghee on them was a bit much for my wife and I.Other then those two things, it is okay. The issue I see with the food style is that your patrons are probably not going to be the younger generation... even among those of Indian background. The food for an Indian is actually quite ordinary. For an American it's different. This is my take.The next time Mom visits me in Mesa, I may bring her here...TBD.
Naren T.
Indian food inside the Lotus Indian grocery store. No signs outside and was hard to find. Delicious snacks, chapati and friendly staff. Vegan friendly as well.
Ali B.
Amazing! This is totally a hidden gem. I've had it bookmarked for along time and was so happy to try it today. I got the house chaat plate or something, it had all of the different chaats on it. It was absolutely delicious, so happy I ordered it. The other thing I got was a chickpea curry I can't remember the name of. It was also delicious. This is some of the best Indian food I have had, I am really glad I tried it. One downside was that they were having some tech issues so I did have to wait for a long time, and they charged my card twice on accident. But overall this was a good experience! My food was amazing and I got a ton of food for a reasonable price, I can't wait to come back and try more things!
Shrunjal Patel
Chaat were DELICIOUS!! ?
Syed Mahmood
Service: AwfulLady who takes the order is extremely rude, she speaks Gujrati and think people don't understand her and mocking and complaining about patrons. She and the chef were both talking about us and we could hear them loud and clear.Not only that, she messed up almost every single order she took, no one while we were there waiting for our food she got a single order correct. This is after she checks with you during and after you placed your order.Food is Ok...we asked for less spicy and they made super spicy we couldn't eat it at all.Chef came out couple of times to check up on us and we told him food is spicy even after we asked for mild and he kept saying this is how Indo. Chinese Fusion taste like.To that I said I tried Indo Chinese food all over the US and unfortunately it doesn't taste like this at all. He wasn't willing to hear us at all.Most probably we will not go there again, wanted to try since they are new in business and was Super disappointed.
Tevin
Always a great experience here. Food is exceptionally good and the staff is always super helpful explaining the menu and items. I usually get the chickpea dish with the bhatura (really similar to fry-bread) and my girlfriend gets the butter paneer combo with roti, curry, rice, and other goodies. Usually a couple samosas as well which are amazing with the sauces that come with them. We always leave full and happy!
Samyukta Basnet
It was fun. Loved the food.
Patrick H.
This is a small restaurant tucked into one area of the market. The small menu is posted above the counter. I had the paneer masala curry and it was flavorful but the portion was small and the rest of the plate was basically filled with naan and rice. It was a so-so lunch overall.
RS Enterprises
Food waaaayyy too spicy, couldn't enjoy it. Not that fresh either. Customer service was just ok. No hurry to return. The grocery store section is beautiful!
Deedee W.
I cannot say enough about Lotus Deli. Service is super friendly and helpful and the food to die for. I am vegan and asked exactly what I should get and they made sure they pointed out the things I could eat. Note: this is a deli inside the market, so don't pass it by! When in Mesa make sure you visit Lotus Deli, and even check out the grocery store when done!
The meals my sister and I had were AMAZING!!! We're plant based and after 2 other places being closed we almost gave up hope but luckily they were open and boy was it worth the travelling. So much flavor and the service was friendly, love the artistry in there as well. We loved it and will definitely be making our way out there again...btw we came all the way from Verrado sooooo yes. We believe it's worth the drive as a plant based family. Successful meals
Michael Wade
What happened to this place. Due to the pandemic, I havent been in a while and decided it was time to go. I first noticed that it seems like they changed ownership and the menu was missing a lot of the items I would normally get. I ended up ordering the Thali and Samosa. The mint sauce that came with the samosa didn't taste kind of like like grass or something, the filling of the samosa was very dry. The Eggplant curry tasted like the eggplant had been burned to a crisp before cooking, or maybe they just dumped a whole bottle of liquid smoke into the curry. Nothing tasted even remotely good and I ended up just throwing it all away.This is very disappointing, because Indian food is one of my favorite cuizines.
Sooraj Kumar
The place is good for a quick bite or a drink. I personally like the samosas with hot masala chai (which comes with a Parle G biscuit ofcourse :D). Have also tried the mango lassi and have no complaints. The rosemilk was a little watery when we tried it and was not that consistent like the lassi. Overall, I like the environment and the food options.
Julie R.
Excellent food at an affordable price. The staff is very friendly. The restaurant is clean.
David K.
Hidden inside Lotus Market in Mesa is a little cafe that turns out solid vegetarian Indian eats! There's a cool atmosphere with Indian music playing in the background, incense burning at the counter, and even a rickshaw parked in the corner as decoration. But above all, the food is the thing to come for! I started with the samosa chaat, one of my favorite Indian street foods consisting of chana masala (chickpea curry), tamarind chutney, herb chutney, yogurt, sev, cilantro, and of course, a samosa! The plating of this samosa chaat was particularly stunning--the samosa was covered with yogurt and looked like a snow-covered mountain sitting in an ocean of brown (from the tamarind chutney), green (from the herb chutney and cilantro), yellow (from the sev), and white (from the yogurt)! The samosa skin was perfectly crispy and the potato/pea filling was nicely spiced, but my favorite part was the chana masala, made with soft, tender chickpeas and plenty of hearty spices! The chaat was savory, sweet, sour, cooling, warm, soft, and crunchy all at once--what an amazing combination of flavors and textures! In addition to the samosa chaat, I also ordered the combo platter thali, which came with two roti flatbreads, white basmati rice, a papad cracker, daal tadka, a pickle, chopped and seasoned red onions, and a choice of a curry. My pick was the aloo gobi, or potato and cauliflower, which looked nice with its red and orange hue, but sat in a huge pool of grease that made it hard to eat. That said, the other components of the combo came together nicely to make for a complete meal--the rice and bread were perfect for eating with the curries, the huge papad cracker added a nice crunchy texture, and the raw onion added a bite of sharpness. But my favorite part of the combo was the daal lentil soup, which was so simple but so warm and comforting. What an amazing hidden gem of a cafe!
Went today to Lotus Deli after a long absence from patronizing the deli. I tend to patronize the store more. The last time I ate at the deli was maybe 2013.Today I had a thali (combo) with malai koft. I am of Indian background. My wife of 18 years is from Vietnam. She got the vendi curry with roti.The food was overall okay. It is maybe something more like what my mother (from Mysore) would eat. My father from Mumbai would take one look at it and say that his mother would cook better. Still, the food was good. Yes, I will say that Pati made better.My wife has been to India, and she does like the food.The only things that were maybe different for us are:There is much more salt in the food then what my wife and I would normally eat.The rotis were good, but the ghee on them was a bit much for my wife and I.Other then those two things, it is okay. The issue I see with the food style is that your patrons are probably not going to be the younger generation... even among those of Indian background. The food for an Indian is actually quite ordinary. For an American it's different. This is my take.The next time Mom visits me in Mesa, I may bring her here...TBD.
Indian food inside the Lotus Indian grocery store. No signs outside and was hard to find. Delicious snacks, chapati and friendly staff. Vegan friendly as well.
Amazing! This is totally a hidden gem. I've had it bookmarked for along time and was so happy to try it today. I got the house chaat plate or something, it had all of the different chaats on it. It was absolutely delicious, so happy I ordered it. The other thing I got was a chickpea curry I can't remember the name of. It was also delicious. This is some of the best Indian food I have had, I am really glad I tried it. One downside was that they were having some tech issues so I did have to wait for a long time, and they charged my card twice on accident. But overall this was a good experience! My food was amazing and I got a ton of food for a reasonable price, I can't wait to come back and try more things!
Chaat were DELICIOUS!! ?
Service: AwfulLady who takes the order is extremely rude, she speaks Gujrati and think people don't understand her and mocking and complaining about patrons. She and the chef were both talking about us and we could hear them loud and clear.Not only that, she messed up almost every single order she took, no one while we were there waiting for our food she got a single order correct. This is after she checks with you during and after you placed your order.Food is Ok...we asked for less spicy and they made super spicy we couldn't eat it at all.Chef came out couple of times to check up on us and we told him food is spicy even after we asked for mild and he kept saying this is how Indo. Chinese Fusion taste like.To that I said I tried Indo Chinese food all over the US and unfortunately it doesn't taste like this at all. He wasn't willing to hear us at all.Most probably we will not go there again, wanted to try since they are new in business and was Super disappointed.
Always a great experience here. Food is exceptionally good and the staff is always super helpful explaining the menu and items. I usually get the chickpea dish with the bhatura (really similar to fry-bread) and my girlfriend gets the butter paneer combo with roti, curry, rice, and other goodies. Usually a couple samosas as well which are amazing with the sauces that come with them. We always leave full and happy!
It was fun. Loved the food.
This is a small restaurant tucked into one area of the market. The small menu is posted above the counter. I had the paneer masala curry and it was flavorful but the portion was small and the rest of the plate was basically filled with naan and rice. It was a so-so lunch overall.
Food waaaayyy too spicy, couldn't enjoy it. Not that fresh either. Customer service was just ok. No hurry to return. The grocery store section is beautiful!
I cannot say enough about Lotus Deli. Service is super friendly and helpful and the food to die for. I am vegan and asked exactly what I should get and they made sure they pointed out the things I could eat. Note: this is a deli inside the market, so don't pass it by! When in Mesa make sure you visit Lotus Deli, and even check out the grocery store when done!
Restaurantji Recommends
The meals my sister and I had were AMAZING!!! We're plant based and after 2 other places being closed we almost gave up hope but luckily they were open and boy was it worth the travelling. So much flavor and the service was friendly, love the artistry in there as well. We loved it and will definitely be making our way out there again...btw we came all the way from Verrado sooooo yes. We believe it's worth the drive as a plant based family. Successful meals
What happened to this place. Due to the pandemic, I havent been in a while and decided it was time to go. I first noticed that it seems like they changed ownership and the menu was missing a lot of the items I would normally get. I ended up ordering the Thali and Samosa. The mint sauce that came with the samosa didn't taste kind of like like grass or something, the filling of the samosa was very dry. The Eggplant curry tasted like the eggplant had been burned to a crisp before cooking, or maybe they just dumped a whole bottle of liquid smoke into the curry. Nothing tasted even remotely good and I ended up just throwing it all away.This is very disappointing, because Indian food is one of my favorite cuizines.
The place is good for a quick bite or a drink. I personally like the samosas with hot masala chai (which comes with a Parle G biscuit ofcourse :D). Have also tried the mango lassi and have no complaints. The rosemilk was a little watery when we tried it and was not that consistent like the lassi. Overall, I like the environment and the food options.
Excellent food at an affordable price. The staff is very friendly. The restaurant is clean.
Hidden inside Lotus Market in Mesa is a little cafe that turns out solid vegetarian Indian eats! There's a cool atmosphere with Indian music playing in the background, incense burning at the counter, and even a rickshaw parked in the corner as decoration. But above all, the food is the thing to come for! I started with the samosa chaat, one of my favorite Indian street foods consisting of chana masala (chickpea curry), tamarind chutney, herb chutney, yogurt, sev, cilantro, and of course, a samosa! The plating of this samosa chaat was particularly stunning--the samosa was covered with yogurt and looked like a snow-covered mountain sitting in an ocean of brown (from the tamarind chutney), green (from the herb chutney and cilantro), yellow (from the sev), and white (from the yogurt)! The samosa skin was perfectly crispy and the potato/pea filling was nicely spiced, but my favorite part was the chana masala, made with soft, tender chickpeas and plenty of hearty spices! The chaat was savory, sweet, sour, cooling, warm, soft, and crunchy all at once--what an amazing combination of flavors and textures! In addition to the samosa chaat, I also ordered the combo platter thali, which came with two roti flatbreads, white basmati rice, a papad cracker, daal tadka, a pickle, chopped and seasoned red onions, and a choice of a curry. My pick was the aloo gobi, or potato and cauliflower, which looked nice with its red and orange hue, but sat in a huge pool of grease that made it hard to eat. That said, the other components of the combo came together nicely to make for a complete meal--the rice and bread were perfect for eating with the curries, the huge papad cracker added a nice crunchy texture, and the raw onion added a bite of sharpness. But my favorite part of the combo was the daal lentil soup, which was so simple but so warm and comforting. What an amazing hidden gem of a cafe!