05/25/09

Great Indian restaurant in Needham!

by lsarao

It's not often that we find ourselves in Needham, but there we were and I had remembered this restaurant recommendation from a friend. The interior was very hip and the service was very accomodating. Our meal started with a complimentary serving of papadum with mint and sweet chutney. They very cleverly folded the papdum so they looked like little cones, which was fun and creative. My boyfriend had a delicious mango lassi and I went with the Indian iced tea, which was also delicious. For entrees, we split a Boti Kebab Masala (lean pieces of lamb marinated for 24 hours in yogurt and spices, grilled on skewers in the tandoor finished in a tangy, spicy red sauce and a Murg Malabar (A popular dish of sautéed chicken curry flavored with coconut - From the state of Kerala).

The lamb was a little tough but the masala sauce was excellent. The chicken was perfectly cooked and the sauce was flavorful and delicious. The naan was a little thin, but not bad.

We guessed it would be a bit more expensive than it actually was, so we were pleasantly surprised when we received the check.

Overall we deemed it a very enjoyable indian meal and would definitely return should we find ourselves in Needham again.

• Pros: Large menu, great service
• Cons: Naan was just okay

05/17/09

Why tip added at a buffet lunch

by jeevanc

Over priced, overated resturant. Went for a celebration to see a choice of buffet.

The Naan was served before the brought out the wine or we had a chance to get the appitizers and then told me they did not have my selection of wine which they offered.

The appetizers section is poorly planned out and near empty. People standing around trying to make pani-puri. No bowles to take the pani ( water with masala). The lunch offerings were poor with a overcooked daal and a stange chat style aloo and 3 chicken dishes each not done well.

To top of all this misrable food the added a tip of 18% for 5 people on a buffet lunch. This is a first. Would not reccomend this place to anyone. My appatite and money would have been better served by the Golden Arches. Bad all the way.

• Pros: so-so
• Cons: For the people who do not know Indian food?

09/11/08

Rude, dirty, and dull

by Orbanius

The decor was typically 'suburban upscale,' and clearly had not been renovated/cleaned for a while

The servers were incredibly rude and abrupt. Only the busboy at the very end was helpful and friendly (he finally ended up getting our after-dinner drinks because no one else would pay attention to us)

The food is good, not great. If I was served this in a take-out Indian restaurant I would not bat an eye. For a place that prides itself on the complexity of spices, it was a major letdown.

And to agree with another reviewer, the bathroom was FILTHY. There were dirty dishes piled outside the door, toilet paper all over the stained floor, and there was a pervasive scent of...well...want you don't want in upscale restaurant. Reminded me of McDonald's at a rest stop.

IMHO, if you want good Indian in the area, Gold Star is inexpensive and surprisingly good. Need to try New Mother India next....

01/12/08

Rudest staff around

by dmberdieva

A lot of Indian restaurants in this area are just ok. Actually, a lot of restaurants are just ok, none warrant a review. This staff is so unbelievably rude, I created an account just to write this review! I was only there to pick up take out and they had misinformed the caller about how long it would take and I ended up waiting for 20 minutes. As I was paying I told them that they should really be more mindful about this, but the host would barely let me finish what I was saying. He kept interrupting me and insisted that he told my friend it would be 30 minutes, whereas he clearly told her 10. Our order was pretty much all food that they'd already prepared for the buffet. And then I tried the food and have to say that it's really not worth the price or harrassment. This must be the only Indian place in town for them to survive with staff and food like that.

10/28/07

GOOD FOOD; SURLY BARTENDER

by kirtzy

My wife and I had had a fine time here a coupe of years ago, but last week some college friends and I had to endure a surly bartender. Regulars warned us that we had to humor him as he ran down an endless list of drinks; one of our party didn't, and was told he was drunk and couldn't be served. None of us are eager to come back, although the food, price and service was first-rate.

04/16/07

Great customer service AND great food! Good gluten-free options

by meowshelby

My husband and I enjoy Indian cuisine but have stayed away from it with my recent diganosis of Celiac disease. Our waitress was very knowledgeable in what food options are gluten free, and provided us a very enjoyable experience. We have been here several times and the food is always great, and staff very helpful.

• Pros: gluten free options (you have to ask), parking, tasting menu
• Cons: can get a little noisy when the bar is crowded.

03/27/07

Pretty but Average

by my13munkeez

I was really excited when I got there - the waitstaff was friendly and helpful and the place is gorgeous. I love the elephants behind the bar especially.

But I was surprised to find very, very few vegetarian options on the menu. The ones they did have were typical and uninteresting. I ended up ordering the gobi aloo which I've had at several other Indian Restaurants. I was NOT impressed, especially for the price.

• Pros: Beautiful Restaurant
• Cons: Food was not nearly worth the price.

02/03/07

Average but overpriced food, HORRENDOUS service, fading charmless atmosphere, filthy bathrooms...

by bostonblue07

Only the social pressure of a friend's anniversary and the prospect of "upscale, adventurous Indian fare" convinced us to trek out the suburbs on a cold Friday night: we should have listened to the reviews about the dreadful service and stayed at home and ordered in from Gourmet India. Let's get the food out of the way- reasonable range and appetizingly described on the menu- but overall standard and not standout Indian with no focus on any particular geographic region. A good variety of vegetarian options and the naan breads were crisp, soft, chewy and charred in the right places. Some dhal purris were delicious and the paneer salad seems to come from Hyderabad via Mykonos, lifted by onions, tomatoes and a pleasantly acidic dressing. Otherwise the seasonings were heavy handed (my 3 day marinated lamb barra kebabs should have been rescued after 1 day) and the sauces thick and greasy. I had the faint suspicion that the cooking ghee was stale in a number of the dishes. Well mediocre food and pleasant company would have made of a nice meal but it was ruined by the singularly charmless, abrupt, souless, unsmiling, inattentive service- starting with the "hostess" whose attitude to small tasks such as taking coats or showing people to the bar seemed to be "DO IT YOURSELF". The wait staff appeared harrassed, told us to hurry and order dessert as the kitchen was closing (10.20 pm on Friday night- surely early, even for Needham?) and then turned up the lights and their attitude at 10.35. Many reviews have been focused on the modern decor and atmosphere. It might have looked fresh and interesting in, hmm, 1997 but now it looks tired, worn and slightly dirty. The feature spice bar was empty, half the blue wall lights were off, the bar TV screens were on blank and the lunch buffet still partially set up. The bathrooms- disgusting- overflowing waste bins and unclean floors. This place is in desperate need of an overhaul of both staff, cooking fats and decor. Avoid.

01/28/07

Poor Customer Service!!!

by bostonite101

We went there on a Saturday night around 8 pm. We got seated promptly. The table was small and to add to it there were so many unneeded glasses that the waitress failed to take after placing our drink order. We waited over 15 minutes for her to take our drink order. When the drink order came she made a performance of not being able to open the half bottle of wine my husband ordered and she refused help as "she would get in trouble." It took her another 15 minutes to come back for our food order which in turn came out delayed and not only that it came out with our appetizers. We were certain our nonexperienced waitress forgot to go check on our order. Food---- mediocre at its best. We eat out several nights a week and we enjoy Indian cuisine alot.I have had better, much better. My Saag was so dry it was almost day old. Trader Joes has better Samosas and they are frozen. Out waitress continued to annoy us with her hair flipping and when she took our bill she forgot to return our credit card. She was never to be found after that. Thank Goodness one of the other waiters spotted it in the kitchen and managed to find us. To makematters worse the waitress that failed to come by to check on us was sitting at the frotn of the restaurant counting her tips. I would never go back.........

• Pros: promt seating
• Cons: food, SERVICE

01/19/07

Nice ambience, bad service, mediocre food

by phantom811

Visited on a not crowded week night and it still took 15 minutes for waiter to come over to ask for drink order. Refills for drinks and rice were not available as waiter was busing taking take-out orders at hostess station.

Naan bread was great and only a few dollars. Entrees were good but the worst I've had out of the 4 Indian restaurants I have visited. Portions were small and not worth the 15 dollars charged. Atmosphere was great but recessed lights in walls next to tables were full of dust. Bar selection and menu choices were above average.

• Pros: Atmosphere, bar selection
• Cons: Serving size, wait staff service, flavors