There was only one person in the kitchen who was cooking and putting orders on the counter once ready. The guy wasn’t making eye contact or smile or greet to anyone. The worst thing was that he was dripping with sweat. I was watching him and hoping the sweat drops don’t go in the food, but I am sure it didn’t escape. He had a napkin on his shoulder, but he never wiped his face! We ordered 3 dosas and didn’t like the taste. Also, they were out of red chutney by the time our turn came. I was so excited to go to this place, but then felt bad going.
Anna C.
These samosas were delicious. But you could buy them for the sauce alone, which was phenomenal. The chutney was so good that I actually ate it by the spoonful when my samosas were done and I had leftover chutney. I would buy that as a sauce to take home. So fresh and yummy! I think the darker sauce was a tamarind sauce? It tastes sweet and inviting at first and then the heat pops up, but with a heat that keeps you coming back for more.
Kitcrazy
The restaurant is in the Kona international market food court which is behind the 76 gas station. Go around to the back to find it even if the building looks closed. They were the only restaurant open for dinner. To order, you enter your order and pay at the self serve device. Everything you order is prepared once your order is placed. So the food is absolutely fresh. We had to wait about 15 minutes to get our food and the wait was worth it. My spouse had a dosa and I had the samosas. Both were fresh and delicious . There was only one person preparing the food and he attended to one order at a time. Be patient because the food was great!!!
Abhishek
I tried dosa and idli. Taste and food are really good..!
NN41
We were a large group and ordered lots of dosas. Everyone enjoyed the food. It was a very busy time and the two people who were working in the food truck were working very diligently and hard.
raj2193
We had ordered Masala dosa and uttapam . the sambar had gone bad and so was the red chutney. surprised to see that getting served even when many people reported the that it was bad. so for the price and quality the rating for Swamis Dos Grill would be 1 Terrible . At the same location adjacent Asian food place had excellent fresh food reasonably priced.
Meena B
If you want to try only dosa then this a good place to try. Most varieties of dosas were good but when it comes to rice or puri pls stay away. It’s not even close to South Indian. I tried both Sambar rice n rasam rice. Qty is very very little even by HI standard but very pricey. Filter coffee is another disappointment. So stick to dosas then you will be good.
Arunima Ram
Indian food in Hawaii is not something you would gravitate towards, however as soon as we saw this dosa truck while we were picking up a sushi dinner we knew we had to hunt the truck down next day to grab food from there.The guys running the truck are super nice and patient. We ordered a feast of masala dosa, vada's and plain dosa. They also had aam panna(green mango juice) that is such a summer delicacy in India. The flavors were perfect - as good as it would be in a restaurant in india. The food does take time to come out but they are cooking as orders come in and they follow the order it comes in.Totally worth the price and wait.
Denise B
Being personally unfamiliar with South Indian food, a member of our party with more experience did all of the ordering for us. She did not steer us wrong. We had dosa, biryani and uthappam. While all of it was delicious, hands down our favorite was the uthappam. Just sorry we did not opt for a dessert but there was quite a crowd so we chose to give up our space at the picnic table. Wishing the owners the best of luck with their brick and mortar space.
Neelie S.
very good authentic food but it’s honestly ridiculous how overpriced this place is! $16 for a dosa seems a bit too much
It was pretty good. We ordered 4 dosas and 2 orders of Idli, but only got 1 large container of sambar. We should have gotten 2 at the very least. The filling for the dosas was potatoes only, no onions at all; what's up with that?!? Sambar was ok. Dosas and chutneys were excellent. Idli was also excellent.
Bmeena71
If you are a South Indian craving for dosa or idli or vada, Swami’s dosa grill is good choice. Its a food truck and they operate both for lunch and dinner. But in different locations. So google swami’s dosa grill lunch for lunch location and Swam’s dosa grill dinner for dinner location. They have few seats to sit and dine. Very pricy dosa($17.95) and basically expensive dishes. You cannot eat here every day. We went for dinner had 3 dosa, 1 uthappam, 1 cofee and 1 mango lassi and paid almost $100. So consider this place to indulge yourself once during your stay in Big Island. They serve pretty quick. But my mysore masala dosa was uncooked at few places and too garlicky for my taste. The potato masala had fennel seeds which is not a norm in the traditional aloo masala for dosa. Sambar was more dal like. Their red chutney was flavorful. The schezwan dosa had mainly carrot filling. And the mixed vegetable uthappam had mainly carrots as well. But their vadas were very crispy and tasty. They also had pongal and samosa in their menu. They owners seemed young people. So I don’t mind spending $100 there. I will consider that as a gesture to support a fellow desi who are working hard to keep their business going. So if you are in big island do give them a try.
Bryan Smith
Cute little food truck outside the 76 gas station. We were there around 8pm on a Tuesday and people just kept coming... so many south Asian folks came here to eat (The white guy writing this review ingerred that these guys are doing something authentic).I am not going to sugar coat it, getting your food takes a loooooong time. However, the 3 young men running the truck were unfailingly polite and the Food was absolutely delicious. My family were all please with their dosa and the vegetable biryani was great. The chutneys they serve with your meal were all top notch. If you have the time and want something different, give this place a try.
Dan Mitropolsky
Excellent south Indian (Tamil) food in Kona (surprising, yes!) Many Indian families come to eat here. It isn't too cheap (this is Hawaii after all), and it will take a while to prepare (up to 30 min), so be prepared, but it's my favorite place to eat in Kona.
abakaya
The only way to sum-up our experience is: this is the best dosa we have had in the US [my wife is south Indian and I have lived in south India for 6yrs, so very familiar with dosa and related items]. The food is authentic, delicious, fresh and worth the money you spend. Service is not bad too once you call Kush (the owner) and figure out where his food truck will park for lunch/dinner (he has separate locations for them) and at what time. Definitely try if you like good dosa, vada, or just Indian food, in general. Oh, btw: the chai here is made the way it should be, if you know what I mean!
There was only one person in the kitchen who was cooking and putting orders on the counter once ready. The guy wasn’t making eye contact or smile or greet to anyone. The worst thing was that he was dripping with sweat. I was watching him and hoping the sweat drops don’t go in the food, but I am sure it didn’t escape. He had a napkin on his shoulder, but he never wiped his face! We ordered 3 dosas and didn’t like the taste. Also, they were out of red chutney by the time our turn came. I was so excited to go to this place, but then felt bad going.
These samosas were delicious. But you could buy them for the sauce alone, which was phenomenal. The chutney was so good that I actually ate it by the spoonful when my samosas were done and I had leftover chutney. I would buy that as a sauce to take home. So fresh and yummy! I think the darker sauce was a tamarind sauce? It tastes sweet and inviting at first and then the heat pops up, but with a heat that keeps you coming back for more.
The restaurant is in the Kona international market food court which is behind the 76 gas station. Go around to the back to find it even if the building looks closed. They were the only restaurant open for dinner. To order, you enter your order and pay at the self serve device. Everything you order is prepared once your order is placed. So the food is absolutely fresh. We had to wait about 15 minutes to get our food and the wait was worth it. My spouse had a dosa and I had the samosas. Both were fresh and delicious . There was only one person preparing the food and he attended to one order at a time. Be patient because the food was great!!!
I tried dosa and idli. Taste and food are really good..!
We were a large group and ordered lots of dosas. Everyone enjoyed the food. It was a very busy time and the two people who were working in the food truck were working very diligently and hard.
We had ordered Masala dosa and uttapam . the sambar had gone bad and so was the red chutney. surprised to see that getting served even when many people reported the that it was bad. so for the price and quality the rating for Swamis Dos Grill would be 1 Terrible . At the same location adjacent Asian food place had excellent fresh food reasonably priced.
If you want to try only dosa then this a good place to try. Most varieties of dosas were good but when it comes to rice or puri pls stay away. It’s not even close to South Indian. I tried both Sambar rice n rasam rice. Qty is very very little even by HI standard but very pricey. Filter coffee is another disappointment. So stick to dosas then you will be good.
Indian food in Hawaii is not something you would gravitate towards, however as soon as we saw this dosa truck while we were picking up a sushi dinner we knew we had to hunt the truck down next day to grab food from there.The guys running the truck are super nice and patient. We ordered a feast of masala dosa, vada's and plain dosa. They also had aam panna(green mango juice) that is such a summer delicacy in India. The flavors were perfect - as good as it would be in a restaurant in india. The food does take time to come out but they are cooking as orders come in and they follow the order it comes in.Totally worth the price and wait.
Being personally unfamiliar with South Indian food, a member of our party with more experience did all of the ordering for us. She did not steer us wrong. We had dosa, biryani and uthappam. While all of it was delicious, hands down our favorite was the uthappam. Just sorry we did not opt for a dessert but there was quite a crowd so we chose to give up our space at the picnic table. Wishing the owners the best of luck with their brick and mortar space.
very good authentic food but it’s honestly ridiculous how overpriced this place is! $16 for a dosa seems a bit too much
Restaurantji Recommends
It was pretty good. We ordered 4 dosas and 2 orders of Idli, but only got 1 large container of sambar. We should have gotten 2 at the very least. The filling for the dosas was potatoes only, no onions at all; what's up with that?!? Sambar was ok. Dosas and chutneys were excellent. Idli was also excellent.
If you are a South Indian craving for dosa or idli or vada, Swami’s dosa grill is good choice. Its a food truck and they operate both for lunch and dinner. But in different locations. So google swami’s dosa grill lunch for lunch location and Swam’s dosa grill dinner for dinner location. They have few seats to sit and dine. Very pricy dosa($17.95) and basically expensive dishes. You cannot eat here every day. We went for dinner had 3 dosa, 1 uthappam, 1 cofee and 1 mango lassi and paid almost $100. So consider this place to indulge yourself once during your stay in Big Island. They serve pretty quick. But my mysore masala dosa was uncooked at few places and too garlicky for my taste. The potato masala had fennel seeds which is not a norm in the traditional aloo masala for dosa. Sambar was more dal like. Their red chutney was flavorful. The schezwan dosa had mainly carrot filling. And the mixed vegetable uthappam had mainly carrots as well. But their vadas were very crispy and tasty. They also had pongal and samosa in their menu. They owners seemed young people. So I don’t mind spending $100 there. I will consider that as a gesture to support a fellow desi who are working hard to keep their business going. So if you are in big island do give them a try.
Cute little food truck outside the 76 gas station. We were there around 8pm on a Tuesday and people just kept coming... so many south Asian folks came here to eat (The white guy writing this review ingerred that these guys are doing something authentic).I am not going to sugar coat it, getting your food takes a loooooong time. However, the 3 young men running the truck were unfailingly polite and the Food was absolutely delicious. My family were all please with their dosa and the vegetable biryani was great. The chutneys they serve with your meal were all top notch. If you have the time and want something different, give this place a try.
Excellent south Indian (Tamil) food in Kona (surprising, yes!) Many Indian families come to eat here. It isn't too cheap (this is Hawaii after all), and it will take a while to prepare (up to 30 min), so be prepared, but it's my favorite place to eat in Kona.
The only way to sum-up our experience is: this is the best dosa we have had in the US [my wife is south Indian and I have lived in south India for 6yrs, so very familiar with dosa and related items]. The food is authentic, delicious, fresh and worth the money you spend. Service is not bad too once you call Kush (the owner) and figure out where his food truck will park for lunch/dinner (he has separate locations for them) and at what time. Definitely try if you like good dosa, vada, or just Indian food, in general. Oh, btw: the chai here is made the way it should be, if you know what I mean!