23rd Street Cafe

SO SAD that this place is closed… it was truly one of the greats. Hope it pops up again someday, in a galaxy not too far away…

Great food… unique menu and pleasant staff. I would recommend this place if you are a foodie.

Cool concept, but they could definitely work on the execution. I love both Mexican food AND Indian food, but my order was primarily Mexican with very little Indian flavor. I had the Chicken Tikka Masala breakfast burrito, which was very heavy and I ended up with a stomach ache after eating. I also would have preferred more tikka masala sauce to compensate for all of the potatoes in it.
They also have long wait times, which was surprising because I don’t think it takes that much time to make a burrito or tacos… Overall, the idea of Mexican Indian fusion is genius, but I was pretty disappointed with my experience here.

Interesting idea, poor execution.
The idea of Mexican Indian fusion is what interested me at first. The reviews raving about the Chicken Tikka Masala Burrito assured me that this was a place to try. But a few bites in, I was met with bland mouthfuls of bean, rice, and chicken. I wish there was at least a little more variation in flavor.
Also, the mango lassi was a bit on the sour end. Buyer beware.

Good fast breakfast spot near USC. They’re open pretty early on the weekday and weekends.
My go-​to is the turkey breakfast bagel, it’s not healthy at all but it’s so good that it’s worth it. They ask have good coffee options hot, iced and blended. I go for the iced Mexican mocha.
There’s not a lot of street parking but they have a few parking spaces in the back.

23^rd st café is an absolute neighborhood favorite!
The owner Paul is a wonderfully nice host who makes a variety of delicious Indian, Mexican, American and fusion dishes. This is a place where there really is something for everyone whether you’re vegetarian, a meat lover, into exotic foods, or a picky eater. It’s one of those places you can really only find in LA– and it’s located in a pleasant college neighborhood. The portions are so large that a burrito can last you all day! I highly recommend 23^rd st café!

Friendly and great prices for huge portions. The guac and chips is 6 bucks and enough for 4 people. The carbe asade burrito is mostly meat and minimal rice… which i loved! Great service. Will go back soon! They have mexican and indian food!

The only downside was there’s no air conditioning so it was just as hot as outside.
The owner seemed really nice. Had the chicken curry breakfast burrito & iced tea. Lots of things looked good on the menu. It was huge! And really good.

4 stars my fat butt! This was one of my worst experiences of depending on hundreds of people reviews … The place looks dirty, the staff’s clothes seems dirty too, they were friendly and polite though … I’ve waited for 35 minutes for a SANDWICH. 35 MINUTES. And the sandwich quality was horrible, i could’ve made a better one myself in less than 35min including the trip to the grocery’s store … And even the fries tasted bad, which is hard to achieve, i give them that … The place has not enough light, no A/​C, not enough air, it’s a sad sad sad place, it sucked a lot of my positive energy, the health people should investigate for dementors in the kitchen or sth.

Best breakfast in the USC area and the staff is so nice and welcoming!
Never had a bad experience here!
Try the fresh squeezed OJ

This place was one of my old stomping grounds when I went to USC but I think having expanded my LA repertoire left something to be desired on a recent return trip.
What I loved the most about this place was the chicken tikka masala quesadilla. It was more than novelty, it was a delicious fusion of two of my favorite treats. I remember ordering this the night before a night of drinking so I could have one on standby to help with the hangover cures in the morning. But on my most recent trip, it was greasier, harder to hold, and all in all, not the exciting eating experience that it was five or six years ago.
I still think it holds merit for current USC students, but it won’t be a spot I return to again unless I need a dose of thick, greasy, still pretty tasty nostalgia.

Chicken Tikka quesadilla is pretty average. Maybe it’s better eaten there and not to go though bc the quesadilla itself gets pretty soggy quickly… I don’t really taste any flavors that pop out but their sauces do the trick!
Customer service to me was good. Although I think I heard some guy getting mad at one of his workers bc they slack off a bit.
Clean restaurant but a bit cluttered when it comes to looking at their showcases that’s filled with desserts but also other random ingredients and stuff.
Basic.

An Indian and a Mexican walked into this restaurant, hopes flying high as they entered this fusion cuisine restaurant. By the end of the meal they turned to each other and said, «Are our cuisines never fated to mix?»
First of all, by their nature, Indian Food and Mexican food are the carbiest, fattiest cuisines out there, respectively. Walking into 23^rd Street Café, we had this in mind. We didn’t mind. We were starving after spending a day visiting museums.
We ordered the mango lassi, the channa samosa bowl, chicken tikki masala quesadilla, and another quesadilla with paneer. We were one of two groups at the restaurant on a Sunday at 4 pm.
Our food came out and the servers were nice and attentive but the food… it was a lot of food. We weren’t complaining, we were hungry. The channa bowl had an unpleasant tartness to it, the quesadilla was too greasy and falling apart, and somehow the chicken was unheated. The Paneer quesadilla was the best thing there, but even then it was really greasy. The only redeeming thing was the mango lassi, which isn’t as sweet as mango lassi at other Indian places.
We hobbled out with stomach aches and half-​finished food. I doubt I’ll come again, but if I do, one order of a quesadilla should be enough for two very hungry people.

Why does this place have 4 stars? It’s utterly gross. my chicken tikka masala was green… why? My naan was really pita bread. The only thing I liked was my fountain drink.
This place is not good… maybe it was a couple of years ago but not anymore. Eek.

Came for late breakfast this morning, and ate in for the first time. I came for taco takeout one other time. The first thing we noticed was how hot and stuffy it is… its in the 80s today and there’s a couple fans whirling around but other than that the guests are sweating as they eat.
The man at the counter was very helpful and easy to talk to while ordering. He easily accommodated my request for no cilantro in my tikka masala quesadilla and no cheese in my boyfriends sausage breakfast burrito. I also ordered a chips and salsa side that came out the fastest and was piping hot! Everything is made to order and very hot when coming out. As a result, things come out at different times. I got my quesadilla first and my boyfriend’s burrito took another 5 – 10 minutes. We both enjoyed our food but got full relatively fast. The portions are big!
If we come back, it’ll have to be for takeout because I can’t handle the temperature inside. I hope to try some other items like the mango lassi next time! It was a good not great meal but convenient for college students who want breakfast all day!

I love the veggie breakfast burrito and the vegetarian Indian combo plates! A lot of great food for a great price. I may be overdoing it with the rating, but its so great to have a place thats local and in a way innovative. The owner really makes an effort to get to know his customers and I know he cares about what he is serving. Some dishes don’t really go well when trying to combine two cultural aspects but to each its own. The vegetarian combos are as cheap as you can get for the amount they give you. And again, the breakfast burritos, even the vegetarian breakfast burrito is something non-​vegetarians will enjoy (assuming you are ok with grilled onions and green bell peppers).

23^rd St. Café really does remind of a cozy eatery, and it’s great for USC students because it’s close enough to the university, but far enough away so you don’t feel like you’re dining right on campus. I’ve been to this eatery twice – once with a friend, and once by myself – and I do believe the breakfast burrito here is one of the best I’ve ever had!
23^rd St. Café is an authentic Indian/​American/​Mexican restaurant featuring traditional mouth-​watering dishes from each region. You can get your American fix here (burgers, burritos, etc.), Mexican fare, Indian cuisine and a unique Indian-​Mexican fusion as well.
The portions are very reasonable for what you pay for, and all Indian food is served as a combination plate. My friend first told me about this eatery because she loves Indian food, and because the menu was so diverse, she said there was bound to be a good assortment of dishes.
When we first went for dinner on a regular weekday evening around 6 p.m., the restaurant was definitely not crowded. There were plenty of chairs and tables indoors if foot traffic came up, but we enjoyed the pleasant dining experience and uncrowded atmosphere.
Gopaul (owner) is the best! He was super friendly and welcomed us to the restaurant, and he didn’t hesitate to recommend some of the eatery’s most popular dishes, which was helpful, since we were newcomers. The food didn’t take too long to come out, and our entrées were piping hot — evidence that the food is indeed made fresh to order.
My friend and I both enjoyed our meals immensely. Here’s what I would recommend, as well as dishes I would want to try if I ever make it back to 23^rd St. Café:
«Chicken Tikka Burrito»: This Indian dish is one of the eatery’s most popular dishes, and it features Chicken Tikka Masala, rice, beans, onions, cilantro and salsa. It was on the spicier side – my friend loves spicy food and didn’t mind; she added the accompanying hot sauce – and bursting with flavors. My friend said that she really appreciated the great mix of ingredients in this burrito, and the «Chicken Tikka Masala» definitely deserves all the hype it gets at this Café.
«Bacon Breakfast Burrito»: I tend to keep things plain and simple when it comes to burritos – don’t like too much stuff in my burrito – so getting this American «Breakfast Burrito» was right up my alley. Though, I didn’t expect to experience one of the best burritos I’ve ever had in my life during this dinner trip. All breakfast burritos come with fluffy eggs, cheese and hash browns, and mine was filled with crispy bacon. I loved the crispy, salty crunch of the bacon pieces – that’s SO important when you have bacon in your meal; I’ve definitely gotten soggy, non-​crispy bacon before in other sandwiches, and it was such a letdown! But the components of this burrito are spot-​on. The cheese is melted throughout and the eggs were light and fluffy, but I think the highlight of this burrito for me were those hash browns. You get finely sliced layers of hash browns wrapped in the tortilla, and they’re all held together by the cheese. Super yummy! The potatoes tasted freshly grated and were light and fluffy … this is truly a winner and I liked it so much that, on both of my trips to this Café, this burrito was my entrée of choice!
«Breakfast Plate»: I love having breakfast for dinner, so if I ever have the chance to visit the Café again, I’d go for this dish. It includes a great sampler if you feel like eating a little bit of everything — you get hash browns, two eggs and toast with your choice of sausage, turkey, bacon or ham.
«Texas Burger»: The American menu features an assortment of burgers, and if I were in the mood for a burger, I would get this «Texas» option. It includes a juicy beef patty topped with pastrami, cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and Thousand Island dressing in between a soft sesame bun. This burger may not contain as many components as those found at true burger joints, but I’m still interested to taste it because I do like the mix of ingredients it entails … minus those tomatoes, of course.
«Sourdough Breakfast Sandwich»: This is another breakfast entrée that I had my eye on, but I decided to save it for a future trip to the Café. This breakfast sando includes eggs, cheese, hash browns and your choice of meat (ham, sausage, bacon or turkey) topped with Ranch dressing in between pieces of sourdough bread. Any breakfast sandwich that includes those fine hash browns sounds like a winner to me!

So after a long run, my friend and I decided to have a quick bite at the restaurant.
We were greeted by the lady who seemed pretty unpleasant that we we were walking in. We didn’t really mind that, so we grabbed a table and ordered two plates of samosas and one play of aloo paratha.
For starters, there was no aloo in the paratha. I had to finish the plate so I moved on to the samosa. This has to be the greasiest samosa I’ve eaten in my life. We decided to press the samosa between several sheets of tissues to make it palatable. What was left was a tasteless and a bland potato filling. Wait, I could made this for $ 1 at home. The only palatable item in the whole deal was the raita. Had to lick it to satisfy my cravings for Indian food.
I am a self confessed foodie and even if apocalypse was staring into my eyes I wouldn’t step into this place ever again.

Mexican Indian fusion. what.
Just like lots of mixed-​race kids are super cute, fusion food can bring out the best elements of different ethnic foods and create a unique blend. Mexican-​Indian fusion though, is pretty rare, even in the melting pot of the LA foodie scene.
23^rd Street Café is a small hidden place near the USC campus. Along with the fusion stuff, it has dedicated Mexican and Indian food items. I’ve only had the Chicken Tikka Burrito but it was delicious. The strong flavors of Indian food always matches well with rice, and so it naturally went great all wrapped up in a burrito. Adding salsa just makes it even better.
Definitely want to try the other fusion items. This is a innovative little place, and good portions for the price — perfect for college students!

I came here for fusion Indian food. Sometimes fusion is a good thing if done right. After trying out their Chicken Tikka Burrito and the Paneer Burrito they were just ok, because they were tasteless, looks can be deceiving sometimes.
They advertised those Indian burritos on their restaurant front window like its a new thing, but the actual food doesn’t even look near what you see on the poster. They looked tasty I“ll tell you that.
— Chicken Tikka Burrito: chicken tikka masala, rice, beans, onions, cilantro and salsa. Once I got my first bite out of this, it feels I took a bite of a standard burrito, and it didn’t taste like I had any tikka masala flavors? It’s just a plain burrito but barely any Indian taste to it.
— Paneer Burrito: paneer tikka masala, rice, beans, cilantro and salsa. Now after taking a bite out of this I thought «is this too?, the Chicken Tikka?». My taste buds description was the same choice from number one, nuff said.
Overall, I liked the idea that they tried a slight twist to it, but both burritos I find plain and flavorless. Nothing special, I think fusion failed on this one. I did like that they were neatly wrapped and the portions were decent.
They even have a Chicken Tikka Quesadilla on that menu. It sounds good, but I think I“ll pass.
This is a USC spot. I noticed there were some USC decors and lots of students come here. Good sized café for large groups and a spacious restroom.