Restaurant Review: Flavors of Mayura in Midway District of Point Loma

Restaurant Review

Flavors of Mayura
3760 Sports Arena Blvd. #5
(Behind Red Lobster)
San Diego, CA 92110
619-224-7500
www.flavors-usa.com

In my quest to try almost all of the restaurants in the Ocean Beach and Point Loma area that I have never tried before, I asked my friends Jim and Marilyn if they would like to join me for this review of Flavors of Mayura.  I knew that they liked Indian food because I had introduced them to another Indian restaurant on Midway Drive.  I was happy when they said yes.

I wasn’t sure where this restaurant was because I knew that I had frequented the Cafe India some time ago but was unaware that it had changed hands.  This is where that restaurant used to be.  The motif is the same; even to the buffet table, which, by the way, is only available at lunch.  They bill themselves as having “Authentic Kerala Cuisine” from Southern India.  I have no question about it being authentic!

The restaurant had on a television that apparently had a tape of Indian music and dancing playing throughout the time we were there.  I have no doubt that it, too, was authentic.  It was nice at first; became somewhat annoying at the end.  It was just a wee bit too loud for our ears.

The huge menu really had the three of us perplexed because we were totally unfamiliar with most of the headings of the menu.  Then as we began to narrow things down, our server, Jayanth, told us that almost everything that we wanted to order had a spicy rating of “5-10”. ( We were looking for 1-2, maybe even a three).

Chicken stew. All photos by Judi Curry

There were  many, many offerings, such as eight Veggie Appetizers – $4.99-$8.99;  four Non Veggie Appetizers – $8.99-$11.99;  four soups/stews  and two salads; eight Dosa’s from $7.99-$10.99; three Uthappam from $9.99-10.99;  nine Biryani from $6.99-12.99; three Naan from $2.99-4.99; five Indian breads $3.99-10.99; ten specialties of the house – $4.99-12.99; seven veggie dishes -$7.99-10.99; nine non-veggie dishes from $7.99-10.99; and two Chef specials – one at $10.99 and one at $12.99.

There are desserts listed as well.  It should also be noted that there were some items marked “gluten free”.

Jim decided on the Chicken Stew for $10.99.  It had  very large chunks of chicken stewed with coconut, vegetables, and spices.  It was very good; a spice rating of 2, and served over a large helping of rice.  When I asked him if he would have it again he said “yes.”  We all tasted it and agreed it was very good.

Fish Molly

Marilyn had the Fish Molly –( her daughter’s name is Molly, but I don’t think that influenced her decision!).  It was a white sea fish cooked in a mild coconut curry masala.  It was $11.99. It was also a spicy rating of two, but her first bite left tears running down her cheeks.  When Jim tasted it he asked her if it was a 4 or 5, but she said she got used to it. (It wasn’t until we went next door for ice cream that her mouth stopped burning!) She said the fish was nice on the outside and soft on the inside.  She would also order it again.

I had a very difficult time in making up my mind.  I should have taken a little bit longer, because I would not order my meal again.

Spring Dosa

I had a Spring Dosa, which was a Dosa (read “crepe”) stuffed with spicy fillings for $9.99.  I asked for a “2” spiciness.  It was more like  “pico de gallo” wrapped in a pancake, for what it was stuffed with was lettuce, tomato and onion and a hint of either parsley or cilantro.  It was almost impossible to eat it as a wrapped item, because the crepe did not wrap around the filling.  There was a lot of it – 4 individual pockets.

It was served with a dipping sauce, and a cup of very good lentil soup. Even the soup was different than I have had before because there were no whole lentils – they were all pureed into the broth.  It was a wee bit spicy and had a few string beans in it. One of the things that bothered me was that the cup of soup and the cup of dipping sauce were placed on top of the item.  I am assuming that the bottom of the cups were clean, but I would rather that the Dosa’s be placed on top of each other rather than the dishes on top of the Dosa.

mango lassi

I also had a mango lassi to drink, and it was very good.  Marilyn and Jim only had water. Jim also ordered a side of garlic naan -$3.99 – because naan did not come with the meal.  It was served hot and was tasty.

Our total bill for the three of us came to $43.15 without the tip.  The question as to whether we would go back or not is difficult to answer.

I enjoy curry that is cooked with coconut, but they did not have anything with a spice rating that I would be comfortable eating.  If I could get dishes with a 2-3 rating I would go back. Our server was delightful; showed a lot of patience with us and was very helpful. He knew his menu well, and shared that knowledge with us.  In spite of there being many items on the menu marked with chili symbols – 5 or hotter – I wish there had been items marked with 1-3 also.

garlic naan

But … there was a steady stream of customers that came in to eat or take out food, and it didn’t seem to bother them.  Thank goodness for the ice cream store a few doors down!