Kathakali, An Indian Eatery in Kirkland

amazing south indian and flavourful food. Slightly expensive, however worth the bucks

I highly doubt the chef knows how to prepare the dishes they have on the menu! The place is not authentic, which can be understandable sometimes but when the food misses basic taste and seasoning that s just horrible. We ordered Kandhari chicken which was just deep fried chicken served with a chutney that you get with dosa! A BIG NO! That s not how it s cooked, so better name it fried chicken? The appam we ordered was stale and cold. I would never ever return or recommend this place because of the overpriced items and poor quality.

Food tasted authentic while dining; however stomach was upset later

I had an amazing Kerala vegetarian cuisine after a long time in USA. My kids also loved their food. It s delicious

Dosa was not up to mark specially sambar. malobar paratha was really good, but others didnt find worth the value for money

NOT SAFE! Their menu doesnt list nuts in the ingredients, and we expressly stated in our order notes that we have a severe nut allergy, and I spoke to someone at the restaurant on the phone who assured me our order was nut-free. In spite of all that, my kid who is extremely allergic to tree nuts is now in the ER after having an anaphylactic reaction to the cashews in his meal. Dietary restrictions: Not safe if you have a nut allergy

This place is my go to Indian joint when visiting the USA.

The food is good but its highly overpriced. Given the quantity, the price is too high.

Great food, terrible service & atmosphere. Recommend to-go orders. Parking is also a nightmare. Food : 4/5

Very good food and fairly nice people Vegetarian options: Very good options Food : 5/5 |

A great place for kerala India cuisine. Have been here multiple times and love the dishes.

The food was good..my husband and I loved the appam....The porotta was good too!...will come back again..

The only kerala cuisine restaurant in the town

This is a great place for South Indian food. The food quality and taste is excellent. However, it is a small place and is in high demand, resulting in long wait times, especially during weekends. Also, parking space is limited and it is often difficult to find a parking spot. Keeping these issues aside, the food quality is definitely worth the wait and I definitely recommend this place.

Truly, a bit disappointed about the high cost for what we ordered. Parking: Parking was ok when we arrived early. I have seen the parking lot full at later times. Food : 3/5 |

Food was great, would highly recommended.

I cannot believe how good the food was here. I had meen polichattu, idiappam, and gunpowder dosa and all three were stellar. Highly recommend this place for South Indian dishes.

Nalla molagu chicken curry was good with Malabar parotta. Poori were good sized and looks like it s not whole wheat. Overall good South Indian place to dine in. Very quick service.

Really good mutton, paneer, and garlic Naan.

Delicious Kerala food with great ambiance.

I ordered biryani for my daughter s birthday party. It was packed, punctual, and delicious. A party hit! Thanks, Naina, for the great coordination.

I love this place. It s clean, minimal menu, but I like it.

Food was ok, nothing to rave about.

This was amazing! I got the masala dosa and pistachio rosewater lassi. The dosa was great, but the lassi was something else. It had the perfect balance of tanginess and sweetness, and wasnt very dense. I would highly recommend this place.

We recently catered for a party of 16. Naina did a tremendous job with the logistics, and Ajay whipped up a fantastic feast. We are, and have been, extremely satisfied customers.

Wonderful flaky malabar parathas, succulent lamb stew and spicy goat curry. A great meal was had. It s not the biggest space so go early to avoid the lunch rush. Also, the location of Kirkland is not optimal for us vehicularly challenged individuals (took us over an hour by bus from Downtown to get there, another to return) but if you re in search of good south Indian curries, this place is for you.

Food is amazing. Must try Meen Pollichathu and also Mutton Varattiyathu. Plenty of free parking around. Service was rushed to collect dishes. If not, staff are great.

Amazing uppam!!

This is my go to place. Every time I crave for Indian food.

My favourite South Indian place in Seattle! Everything is amazing here :-)

The service was impeccable from start to finish. Our server was gracious and accommodating, ensuring every aspect of our dining experience was perfect. Thank you Bhaswati for your excellent service..great food

Very dirty restaurant, staff works without gloves and hairnets, very rude service, even if I die of hunger and this is the only restaurant in the world, I prefer to die of hunger than from germs and viruses in this restaurant.

We ordered to go n when we ate the food, my all time favourite avail tasted as if it s prepared using undone curd, it tasted horrible. Not only that my husband ordered a biryani n a curry, it was ok ok but later after an hour of eating he felt discomfort n had vomit n stomach upset. It took whole day today to recover n feel better. We will never buy from this place.

Ive been here for the third time and every time everything here is always top notch. The taste of the food , the quality and the quantity of the food is awesome and I cant ignore the special service provided by Sushant thats what makes it all PERFECT. The nalla molagu chicken curry, kerala aapam, masala dosa and the meen pollichathu was the perfect recommendation by sushant, we had no idea about a few dishes and it was explained to us in the best way. We will definitely visit again and we hope Sushant will be our server. Thanks to the entire team for doing their best to provide us with good food and service.

Flavor wasn t good. Butter chicken not worth it. Paid $36 for one person and food was waste.

My husband and I are in the Kirkland area and were just looking for a place to have dinner before heading home. We drove past by Kathakali and it was a good decision to stop by here to eat. Amazing food for sure! Their Tikka Masala and Mutton Biryani are the best Ive had here in Washington to date. The sauce is just so dense and tastes complete. And the Lavender Coconut Lemonade is a must-try! Totally divine!

Very good tasting Indian food

We are all the way from canada and visited kathakali yesterday, it was a nightmare experience, worst customer service I ever faced..The two guys who works there took the plates while eating we don t even finish the food. And the food is not at all kerala food even though the restaurant try to promote it that way.

I think food is overhyped here, it is very average. They have very limited sitting that s why wait is long. Cutlery wasn t clean either. I ve previously visited 3 other times with more than an hour wait time so left.

Just an average indian restaurant. Can do a lot to improve the quality of food and service. Excess use of masala spoiled the taste of chicken and mutton dishes

Love how authentic the taste is! We were very happy with the pistachio lassi, parotta, truffle dosa and curries!!

Very authentic Kerala style South Indian cuisine. Loved basil spinach dosa, pistachio lassi and Idiyappam.

Oof... Not a fan of this place... Food was dissapointing but waiters were so nice

Nothing like Kerala food. My husband is from palakkad and he dint like even a single dish here. They have got names right but not the food. Even dosas are not worth a try here.

Excellent service by sushant

Kathakali is super accessible from Seattle via bus (in fact the restaurant is right next to bus stop, so fairly hard to miss). Coming from someone who loves South Indian food, the Kerala style Avial dish was very tasty! Love the convenience of the restaurants location to Lake Washington to wrap up a good evening in Kirkland

The food tasted amazing and fresh. Avial and jackfruit stuffed dosai were top notch The downside is the wait time . Be prepared to wait 30 mins to get a table and 20 mins more to get your food eventhough you pre-order it .

Weve been to Kathakali a few times to try Kerala cuisine; and the vegetarian options have been good. The jackfruit/chakka thoran dosa tasted great, and so did the adai, aapam and veg ishtoo. The nair chai served in a glass is reminiscent of serving tea in India; and was very refreshing.

A great place to try the Kerala Indian cuisine. For non-Indians, Kerala is a southern state in India, a cuisines of which revolves around lamb, fish and coconut primarily. We tried the dal vada, avial, malabar paratha, munnar mutton kurma and pistachio lassi. The dal vada was decent. The munnar mutton kurma and malabar paratha were really great. Avial was nice too but I am not a big fan of coconut curry prep. Pistachio lassi was not great. It should have been thicker with more pista flavour. All in all a great place to try the kerala specific foods. Do avoid anything that is non-kerala cuisine. And I wished the space was bigger because it felt too crammed up. Also, it felt a bit expensive for the quantity offered.

I feel like the Biryani was subpar. Malabar Parotta was acceptable. No food recommendations were made by the staff and the food items did not match with what was described in the menu. Gun powder dosa did not have enough kick in it. Pretty disappointing for a $95 meal.

No a/c amidst a heat wave outside, food taste didnt meet expectations, appears that the malayalee chef quit

Very average food! It was a really good restaurant 4years back Food

Vegetarian options: Tried Samosa, paripu vada, pistachio lassi and gunpowder dosa. Dosa was 3.5/5. Rest food dishes were 5/5. Will visit back for other dishes and to explore there vegetarian menu further. Bhaswati served us and she did her job with excellence. She did make sure all little things. she was communicative, friendly and caring with customers. So, Service and experience was really good and rating for that will be 10 out of 5.

This is our go to restaurant when we are busy and have no time to cook. We love their biryani and I think its better than any other restaurants in this area. Yummy and full of vegetables

Food tastes really good. It is expensive but its because its in Kirkland. But overall potion is good and well cooked

Anushka provides the Customer service and makes you feel like coming back . Ananda

Small restaurant with enough parking serving good South Indian kerala food. Highly recommend the Avial. Appam is served with sweet coconut milk which was very good. Chai was meh!

Kathakali has the most authentic Kerala cuisine in greater Seattle area. Almost every dish we ve tried has been excellent. Mango puliseri and palakad avial are delicious and so is the meen pollichathu. Everything goes well with steaming hot appams. The staff is friendly and helpful; special shoutout to Anushka for making ordering so convenient.

Anushka was great to help us with the orders and gave the best service. Food was fantastic and great experience with the restaurant.

Lovely food and pleasant staff. Kudos to Anoushka.

This is one of my favourite Indian restaurant in Kirkland, great food!

Totally weird location. But theres parking. And the food is outstanding. Excellent service.

One of the few authentic South Indian places in town, especially if you have a craving for Kerala cuisine which is their specialty. Parotta, appam and chicken curry are a must try! Good food, decent prices, smooth service and sufficient parking. Can get busy on the weekends.

Awesome food & service. Authentic Kerala food. Decor can do with upgrade.

Decent food: flavorful and spicy. The wait times can be long and parking is a mess. Still, would recommend.

Best Indian food Ive eaten in Seattle

This place was recommended by people on Reddit and it did not disappoint. This place is legit delicious! Came here for my birthday and loved it.

Mmm mm mm!! Loved the fish meen curry with rice. Heat for me was just right, but only order if you enjoy suffering slightly - it was shiok! Parking: Restaurant parking lot, about 10 lots available

Food is the only noteworthy thing. Rest is all average. Because of rush time - Sunday lunch - service was little slow Parking: Parking for around 20-25 vehicles available adjoining to Resturant

Very average food! It was a really good restaurant 4years back

Absolutely the best Indian food Ive ever had in the States! As good as eating in Bhutan! Such friendly and quick service!

I recently visited this South Indian restaurant with a group of 5 friends and had a great experience. The atmosphere was warm and inviting, with traditional decor and music that added to the ambiance. Our server was friendly and helpful, guiding us through the extensive menu and making recommendations. The food was delicious and flavorful, with a variety of options to suit our different tastes. The portions were generous and the prices were reasonable. Overall, we left feeling satisfied and happy with our experience. If youre in the mood for authentic South Indian cuisine, this restaurant is definitely worth a try.

Vegetarian options: I had a jackfruit dosa, it was so good Dietary restrictions: Menu clearly labeled gluten free and there are so many options Food : 5/5 |

I went here with my family. The service and food was pretty nice. Service was also good, we received the food quickly. We ordered the medhu vadai, Idli, Masala Dosa, nalla molagu chicken curry and malabar parantha. All items tasted good. Though the place is bit congested so have to sit tightly. Vegetarian options: Sufficient vegetarian options are there. Parking: During peak time may find difficult to park .. otherwise its fine during lean hours. Kid-friendliness: High rise chairs available for kids. They also offer lollypops and toffees.

I am extremely disappointed and disgusted with my recent experience(may 19th 2024). As a dedicated vegetarian living in Washington state, I ordered a vegetarian kadala curry and vegetarian Malabar paratha from your restaurant. However, when I began eating, I was horrified to find a piece of chicken in the curry. This blatant negligence is not only unacceptable but also deeply offensive and fraudulent. Misrepresenting a dish as vegetarian when it contains meat is a serious breach of trust and can cause significant emotional distress to your customers. For those of us who choose a vegetarian lifestyle for health, ethical, or religious reasons, such a mistake is profoundly troubling. Consuming this curry, has caused me severe distress, including heartburn and nausea. The impact of this incident on my mental health is significant. I now find myself experiencing an aversion to food, and I fear it may lead to an eating disorder. The emotional trauma is so severe that I might need to seek therapy to overcome it. Such carelessness in food preparation reflects a lack of respect for your customers and their dietary choices. I expect higher standards from a restaurant, especially in ensuring that vegetarian dishes remain free of meat contamination. I urge you to take immediate steps to prevent this from happening to other customers in the future.

Great Indian food. Very good dosas n authentic Kerala delights.

Great south indian good .

I love this place! I ordered lunch for me and my co-workers, and the food was delicious! They were very sweet when my coworker came to grab the food, the cooks even came out to say hello(: Very authentic cuisine compared to other places I ve been, the menu options are more extensive (a lot of option I had never heard of) I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants a taste of India! I will definitely be back soon!

This is one of awesome Kerala food place. Their chicken recipes are pretty awesome. I tried a Mango curry which felt a fusion of South Indian and Thai food. Not so good stuff - Restaurant is not spacious and waiting time can be long. The beet halwa is so stunning - must try. Equally good is the Telapia fry Wheelchair accessibility: Parking and entry possible on wheelchair.

At each visit, Kathakali restaurant is degrading in terms of its food taste and quality. They really need to do food quality checks and get experienced cooks to bring the real taste of Kerala. The only reason some of us malayali s come here is we crave Kerala food at times, but there is no other Kerala restaurant options near by. We went there to celebrate a happy occasion for our family. The non alcoholic drinks were nothing great and the Rose mint spritzer did not have any mint flavor, just the color. The Payyoli chicken tasted very basic and the Nawabi Paneer curry did not have any flavor. The chicken pieces in the Nallamullaku chicken curry was tasting bland as it was not even marinated looks like. The Chakka ice cream used to be my favorite, but this time it tasted horrible and stale. I don t like wasting food, hence took home the left overs, so I can add my own flavors and make it palatable. For the price they charge this place is neither providing good taste, ambience or comfortable seating. The tables were so close to each other- it felt that the family sitting next to us were almost part of our group. The bathroom was horrible, paper towel dispenser did not work and I see patch work with tapes. Overall it was the worst experience with Kathakali this time. With tip, our bill came to $130 , which felt like a total rip off considering the substandard quality of food.

Free parking on the side. Feel like we were in a rust. They had us wait for 30 minutes for the table, when our table ready they asked us to order before being seated. Which is fine as they said food will come out faster. We ordered our food, then got seated, waited for another 40 minutes for our food to come out. They were missing our order when I asked they argued, and then brought our order out without apologizing for it. Seating was really tight. There are barely rooms to move around without touching others customers. In the end they did say sorry for the mistake. However I personally wouldn t come back.

Most delicious Indian food I ve had since living in LA. The flavor was incredible. Highly recommend but be prepared for the spice!

Wonderful Indian food!

This restaurant offers the most authentic Kerala-style dishes Ive tasted in the US. Dont miss out on the Mutton Varutharachatu its a must-try!

Delicious food all around, must try

Favorite Indian resturant in the area.

The restaurant looked nice, but the food was just okay. It didnt taste as good as I hoped.

Awesome food. Idiyappam, parotta with mutton korma, Paal parotta amazing food Hands down best South Indian restaurant Don t get biryani here. All other dishes 100/100 Food : 5/5 |

It s okay

As a foodie for over thirty years, I visited Kathakali without high expectations. Three visits later, I will confirm that not only was every dish outstanding with a rich blend of spice and substance, but the service was very warm and friendly. Thank you.

Most authentic Kerala dishes in the area. Chakka thoran, Kappa and Ishtu were good. Recommend adding Puttu Kadala to the menu Vegetarian options: Good options for vegetarians

Had a nice dinner here. Went with the most recommended dishes. All of them were quite spicy. I generally order food 4/5 stars. When they say it s spicy.l they mean 5 star spicy (in my opinion). We had to ask for yogurt and they were happy to provide. I recommend going and if you aren t familiar with southern Indian cuisine then just follow the recommendations and ask for some yogurt to go along with them. A little bit pricy but excellent dinner.

This is my first experience with Kerala cuisine in US and I m quite satisfied with the food. Ordered Medhu vadai, spicy tilapia fry, idiyappam, Malabar parota and Nalla molagu chicken curry (with rice). They were all delicious! All the appetizers had very less portion sizes but the chicken curry and rice had very generous portions. It s a small restaurant and they seem to be almost always busy with customers. Even through the rush hour they managed to bring the food to the table as fast as they could. Seating area is not very comfortable because of how close the tables and chairs were arranged next to each other. Highly recommend this place if you are looking for good South Indian food.

The service and food was pretty nice here. We received the food quickly. We ordered the medhu vadai and it was so good. It is served with sambar and 2 chutneys. There are some green chili in the vadai! The picture only shows 1 on the plate but it comes with 3. We also ordered garlic naan, butter chicken, and beetroot korma. All the dishes were great. The Chai was ok and thats the only thing I wouldnt order again.

Amazing South Indian! The dosas were so so good. Service was attentive, food was prompt. A bit tight for seating but overall great experience. We will be back!

This is my second time visiting this restaurant. I had no issues the first time. This time though the chicken curry was very very chewy and when server came by and asked how s your food? I said chicken was too chewy . His response ohhh.. and he left. After sometime I chewed on a stone and hurt my teeth and he came by again and I told him about the stone and he said ok I will let them know . I did not see him coming back or apologizing here. I am not sure why people are not trained to respond in Indian restaurants.

Great experience! The food and atmosphere are excellent. Every dish we tried was super tasty, and we enjoyed everything. The restaurant is usually quite busy; we had to wait for around 40 minutes on a previous visit. Fortunately, today we were lucky and got a seat. Definitely planning to come again and try more dishes.

Food taste was just average. Just one time try place.

Too expensive = Not worth the price. Small portions.

The Malabar parottas were incredible; soft, light, and fluffy texture. The spicy tilapia fry and avial were also exceptionally tasty. Overall, all the dishes were delicious, complemented by attentive service

Food was ok. We were expecting a lot more I guess esp since we are regulars to Aahar. Nothing really wowed us here.

One of the best in the Seattle area, not as good as Surrey Canada or SF Bay Area. It gets extremely busy on weekend evenings, prepare to wait an hour or so to dine in.

The only photo clicked was of delicious spicy tilapia fry. The rest was wiped off on the Christmas Eve dinner, super starved! Appam and coconut milk topped my list as the perfect dessert. Nalla molagu chicken curry and Meen pollichathu had our taste buds tingling for more. The rates are steep but totally worth it if you are craving for good Indian food in Seattle.

Best dosas especially gun powder dosa spicy with potatoes on the east side! Great chutneys and excellent chai! Nice waitress and efficient! Pricey but I guess it s because it s Kirkland?!

Vegetarian options: Limited Vegetarian Options. Would love to see more additions to vegetarian menu. Food

Food was not very good. We ve had a lot of Indian food in the area and this is the worst we ve had.

In addition to dinner at the restaurant we also did some catering again in December, which was great! Santosh and Sonia really helped out. Thanks for everything and great food ! Kudos to Ramya and Ajay and team ! Food : 4/5

Idk how the reviews are so high the food is really mediocre. Very disappointed

We ordered fire cracker chicken in the appetiser, I wish it was fresh. It felt too hard and salty. Other than that, the main course was ok. A bit on spicy side but it was flavourful.

This isn t good South Indian food. Definitely not Kerala cuisine .

Our favorite Indian restaurant in the Greater Seattle area. The Masala Dosa and Kasuri Methi Chicken is the best! Highly recommend coming as soon as they open as it gets busy quick.

Amazing food both South and North Indian. Recently enjoyed the Masala Dosa and Kasuri Methi chicken. Highly recommend.

One visit good enough. Nothing to be gung-ho about.

Vegetarian options: The Dosas are amazing and have a variety of veg curries as well! Food

Really good food. Authentic Kerala cuisine. Few curated menu selections. This place can get really busy really quickly, would recommend reaching here early.

Amazing Indian restaurant, try all the fish curries and appetizer. The parathas are amazing. Good food overall.

Kappa chili chutney was okay. Appam and Palakkad Avial was too good. Food

All restaurants here in WA should understand that chutneys shouldnt be served cold. Kathakali served me cold chutneys which is no good. The food was pretty much ok not good. Ordered the below and my ratings Wait time : minimum of 15 minutes. Butter/Masala Dosa : 3 out of 5 Butter chicken : 2 out of 5 Naan : 4 out of 5 Rice : was complimentary and it was basmati.

Excellent southern Indian (Kerallite) restaurant with a cult following for a reason. Gets very busy any night of the week. Dosa and curries are significantly better than average Indian eateries that cater for Americans. Parking: Parking can become hectic at busy hours.

Great place for authentic South Indian food. Loved the sea food option. There are many must try dishes and good dessert options as well.

The fish fry is very very tasty that aviyal and veg biryani also super dosa and sambar vety tasty why there is no puttu that navartna adayi also very tasty Thank you for good food here i came to my see my son from india

I do think its a bit pricey for what you get, but I cant argue with the quality.

Being from Kerala, this used to be one of our favorite places to get kerala food and get nostalgic about home. However this is no longer true(think there was some management/personnel change?-hypothesizing so could be wrong). The Parathas taste store bought, the curries no longer have the flavor we once craved and the portions have drastically reduced. The place has always been a bit pricey but it has always been worth it. Sadly, the last 2 visits disappointed us so much that it is no longer worth the money or the drive from seattle.

Little crammed but excellent food.

This place is consistently provides us with a very satisfying set of delicious meals.

Best Indian food in the Seattle area by far.

During our weekend visit with friends, we encountered some disappointments. We had to wait for a table for around 30 to 40 minutes, which wasnt ideal. The food, unfortunately, didnt stand out and was rather mediocre. It seems the quality has declined over time. Our servers attitude left much to be desired, when we asked for recommendations, he responded with sarcasm and rolled his eyes, appearing disinterested in helping us. We had to repeatedly request water and additional plates, making it feel more like a self-service restaurant. This was particularly embarrassing since we were celebrating our friends anniversary. Overall, the experience was quite poor, and well have to seriously consider returning in the future.

Excellent restaurant and take out! The staff is very nice and responsive. I definitely recommend trying it out!

Just walked out of this place for such a bad attitude and service. Have been going here for the last few years. We go there at 11:35 am with more than half the restaurant empty. They seat us at this wobbly table that is tiny which is so close to next table that your elbow can hit the person eating at the next table. When we ask for a different table, they say it can get busy and they have to save those empty tables. When will you learn what customer service is. If you cant have decent seating and its more important for you to have your restaurant empty for customers who are not there yet in compromising service for people who have walked in, then you just lost some loyal customers.

Service was good. I think the only thing I liked was the mint chutney. I had high hopes because of an IG post I saw that highly recommended this place.

Best kerala food and jack fruit ice cream

Place is very congested, food s not good at all. One of the waste restaurants. Prices are too high for the quality and quantity of they gave. Only best thing is the service folks give there. Dont even try this place. Not worth to throw money for this.

We ordered masala dosa , pistachio lassi and veg biriyani. Bith were good enough. This is the second time I visited this restaurant. Sambhar was ok( it was much better the first time I visited 8 months back) .. may be its still the same .. however I find it ok now. Chutneys are good. Veg biriyani was flavourful and different than usual hyderabadi biriyanis. But we loved it. The raita comes with it is delicious and creamy. We also ordered pista lassi and it was yummy! Its much costlier than regular restaurants.

Most authentic food! I crave for their Dosa! I have recommended this place to many local, visitors, and Indians - all have loved it!

Great flavors and ingredients. Really disappointed in the portion size of kappa and idiyappam!! I got them to go, please increase the portion or reduce the price. Palappam was super soft! So glad to have a Kerala restaurant right here!

Other than the namings, the food is not anywhere close to Kerala or South Indian cuisine.

Went for family dinner 4 adults and 1 toddler (2 years). They charged 18% gratuity by default saying that they charge 18 % tip for party of 5 or more. We were surprised and shocked as they counted two year old also. The toddler didnt eat anything. If they would have told earlier, surely we had left the place. The food quality is average.

This is a great place to go if you want to try Kerala style cuisine. For starters I tried the prawn pakoras and coco paneer. Both were really tasty. For main course I had Malabar parotta, appam with coconut milk and aviyal. That was delicious. The only thing that can be improved is the portion size. It s very small for the price that was charged. Otherwise I would definitely recommend this place.

Good Ambience but not all the food items were tasty

Very authentic Kerala food available. Yummy, sumptuous and good food with smiling face.

Very good veg options and food tasted wonderful