Banana Leaf - South Indian Cuisine

Its nice and tasty. Different from other Indian Indian food. Must try. Everyone likes it.

Address:
319 A South Limestone
Lexington, KY

everyone should try this food! i've never had any indian food like it. the appetizers are like breaded heaven! the pakora, bonda, onion baji, and vada are a must. for those who aren't accustomed to indian food, try the chicken dosa. and the service is spectacular!

Closest you can get to authentic home cooked south indian food..

Banana Leaf Web Site:

BananaLeafLex.com

Banana Leaf Lexington KY
BananaLeafLex.com
South Indian Food Restaurant - Dosa, Idly, Uttappam, Methu Vada, Roti cannai, Lunch Buffet, much more.
319 A S Limestone
Lexington KY 40508
8592529595
Free Parking @ Secure Parking lot ( Pine St vs Jersey st just behind Mcdonalds )

Its a good restaurant but we don't find any clear homepage for it. Can you please let us know about this

sorry...didn't see the website address in the previous post...i got it now :)

It sucks man. I was having a gas problem after eating there. I'm surprised that people like that food. I won't go there again.

For popularity

Take tums for the gas problem.

Banana Leaf is my Favorite Indian Restaurant. Try Dosa - Egg Plant + Banana Leaf Special, Fried Noodle (Mee Goering), Hot & Spice Chicken during dinner and Sweetb Bonda, Rasam in lunch buffet. Must Try.

Is it spicy?

Cindy wrote:

Is it spicy?

Its medium (not Indian hot). Mild spice & Sweet items too.

Bananaleaf is the finest southindian cusine in the midwest. I have been there many times and I havent had any acidity problems so far. The food is homely, hygenic and tasty. Customer service is excellent. I strongly recommend this restaurant for tasty southindian food.

First of all, I'm a real person who's eaten there. Also I'm a non-Indian person which is relevant because a) before this place I've only had north Indian food and b) I had no concept of what "Indian Hot" means.

This out of the way, I really enjoyed the restaurant. It appeals to me because most Indian restaurants I go to are roughly the same. They are also very delicious, please don't get me wrong. However Banana Leaf is also delicious with the added virtue of also being different. I hadn't realized the great difference between North and South Indian cuisines.

There will be some Americans who will prefer Northern Indian cuisine only because they are used to it. My fiance is a prime example of a person who prefers Northern Indian cuisine. Why? Because going to Banana Leaf she had misinformed expectations... she was looking for the Chicken Tikki Masala and so forth. However she liked it also, just is a little "spoiled" in terms of expecting all Indian food to be like North Indian food. Myself I like the Banana Leaf for the same reason she doesn't prefer it... because it is delicious and different.

Also I must commend what has been called the customer service. A failing of some other Indian restaurants in Lexington is a very slight but definitely present "I find you Americans to be irritating" kind of attitude. This is my own perception based on particularly bad experiences at nearby Kashmir. Perhaps this perception is based on my own deeply ingrained concept of "customer service" based on my life experiences. Nevertheless, the owner of Banana Leaf is wise to recognize most American-born persons like myself are, for better or for worse, possessed of an expectation for service to be friendly and performed with a smile now and then.

Okay so by the length of the post you might assume I have a vested interest in promoting the restaurant. You are correct... I'm tired personally of the same kind of Indian food everywhere and enjoy the originality and variety of Banana Leaf.

Oh, and if the owner is reading... I'm the guy who came in yesterday and asked for a menu to go... I would suggest to you printing up some take-away menus... perhaps 10 or so... for people who are like to plan ahead for dinner.

Best,

Sam Wilson

One revision I feel I need to make after rereading my previous post. I had commented in other Indian restaurants in Lexington I had encountered an "I find you Americans to be irritating" kind of attitude. This is an unfair characterization. What would be more accurate is to describe my initial experiences as "service delivered with no smiles." After many Indian dining experiences I grew to understand the lack of smiles didn't mean they found me irritating. It was a form of respect and letting the food be the focus of my experience. HOWEVER at the time I thought this is exactly what it meant. Why? Paranoia? Perhaps. But also perhaps I grew up with that Cracker Barrel style of service -- deep-fried Southern Hospitality which lots of smiles etc. Now I admit most of those smiles at Cracker Barrel are given for me to leave a bigger tip and for me to come back to get more money, but my point was many first-time customers are nevertheless more comfortable with the kind of smiles the Banana Leaf owner gives. Especially in the case of the owner, I think he is honestly happy to have new customers. I hope that attitude continues even after he is successful !:)

Thumbs up for the restaurant.

And also, while I'm here, maybe servers aren't smiling at you, Sam, because they are only paid 2.13 an hour--a wage that hasn't moved since the early 90s--plus tips (and when folks come in an d order a buffet, those tips are likely to be slim) and are tired as hell.

We USA'ans seem to think that we are entitled to an emotional display from people who work in the service industry. It's an extension of our commodification of everything from public school buses to university research projects to public health, and yes, even to the smiles that are forced from servers and flight attendants.

Their job should be to answer questions about dishes, bring the food, and refill your water glass. No more, no less. We get into icky territory (and I doubt it was meant this way, but imperialistic territory, really) when we start expecting people to sell their emotions.

Sam Wilson wrote:

One revision I feel I need to make after rereading my previous post. I had commented in other Indian restaurants in Lexington I had encountered an "I find you Americans to be irritating" kind of attitude. This is an unfair characterization. What would be more accurate is to describe my initial experiences as "service delivered with no smiles." After many Indian dining experiences I grew to understand the lack of smiles didn't mean they found me irritating. It was a form of respect and letting the food be the focus of my experience. HOWEVER at the time I thought this is exactly what it meant. Why? Paranoia? Perhaps. But also perhaps I grew up with that Cracker Barrel style of service -- deep-fried Southern Hospitality which lots of smiles etc. Now I admit most of those smiles at Cracker Barrel are given for me to leave a bigger tip and for me to come back to get more money, but my point was many first-time customers are nevertheless more comfortable with the kind of smiles the Banana Leaf owner gives. Especially in the case of the owner, I think he is honestly happy to have new customers. I hope that attitude continues even after he is successful !:)

We have been going here regularly for the last year and have found the food to be excellent and the service to be very good. There is a wide array of vegetarian dishes -- both entrees and starters -- and the kitchen is very accomodating to vegan requests. The dosas are especially good at dinner time, and the portions are generous. For lunch, there is a buffet with more than half the dishes being vegetarian and of good quality and variety. A family-owned and operated establishment, the Banana Leaf offers some of the best home-cooked Indian food we've ever tried, and its environment is relaxed and welcoming. Minor drawbacks are that the service can be occassionally slow and the TVs that play entertaining bollywood music videos can sometimes be a bit too distracting. Banana Leaf is more than well worth a visit.

Excellent Health Inspection Report:
Banana Leaf Indian, 319 A South Limestone, 99.