Preet's Casual Indian Dining
Categories: Vegetarian, Indian/Pakistani [Edit]
8440 160th Ave NE(between 83rd St & 85th St)
Redmond, WA 98052 (425) 867-9400
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 12:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
Mon-Thu 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.
Fri-Sun 12:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
Fri-Sun 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Private Lot
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol: None
20 Reviews for Preet's Casual Indian Dining
The lunch menu was pretty limited, and the portions were moderate, but the food itself was delicious and carefully prepared. Vegan options so everyone can enjoy something here. The staff was very courteous and attentive despite how busy it was, and both the interior and exterior looked well maintained.
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I define carnivore. Most meals I eat are only meat. With that preface, Preet's vegetarian makes my mouth explode with goodness and delight.
It was my first time at Preet's. I was scared, overwhelmed, and wishing to be eating somewhere else. Then the menu came--followed by helpful, and for ignorant me, necessary explanations. Feeling stronger now I ordered the samosay, and the thali. The thali is plate that consists of three of the vegetables. My choices were mulai kofta, rajmah, and aloo gobi.
The wait for the food after ordering was fine, normal. Appetizers were good. They are served with this red chutney that is fabulous. Clearly, this is punjabi crack.
Entrees come soon after. The meal is served with rice, rotis(flatbread), and pickled carrots. The worst part of the meal was not knowing how to eat it. I spied some veterans and enjoyed the finest indian meal of my life.
I dropped less than twenty bucks. Atmosphere was fine. The clash was playing on the stereo. Service was bomb. Ross, our waiter, helped answer my unasked questions and provided everything I wanted. Now, I am a weekly regular.
Thanks Preets.
Man, who can say anything bad about these guys?
Great veggie dishes, great regional dishes. Prices aren't bad, ambiance isn't bad. Service isn't bad.
I will say the place gets crowd-ED during lunch from all the Microsofties flocking there (and then talking their goddamned time).
Otherwise, I like this joint a lot.
A-OK.
The service was slightly poor, the portions were fairly expensive and small, and the atmosphere was non-existant, but the actual food quality was fine (not terrific).
If you have the curry cravings - as I often do - then it's worth a visit.
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I was so excited to go here that I actually went to Redmond.
Unfortunately I cannot say that it was worth the drive...to me. Perhaps this is the most authentic Indian food (authentic != good) in all of King County but it just didn't hit the spot for me or my over-ordering dining companion.
Southern Indian food is some of my favorite food on the entire planet. I crave Iddly and Veda dipped in Sambar, sometimes I yell "Dosa, Dosa, Dosa!" until someone agrees to accompany me to the Eastside for my fix, and Gulab Jamun is a dessert that I drool over so imagine my disappointment when they didn't have the first 3 things on the menu and the dosa was really just a bit of flat bread.
The paneer for some reason tasted like hard boiled eggs, the samosas were nothing more than spicy potato fritters with a couple of peas, and the chana, daal, and kofta all had an odd flavor to them (so odd that I was glad we were eating vegetarian because if meat was involved I would have been really suspicious) so it was a good thing that my lassi was tasty and the gulab jamun was good.
The odd atmosphere and the poor service would be forgiven if I had enjoyed the food, but I left here losing the one reason I ever had to drive to Redmond.
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My Indian friend took me here because he said it was the very best.. and of course, I LOVE Indian food. It's vegetarian and the place looks pretty modern (not traditionally decorated Indian restaurant).
Within minutes of being seated, the place filled up to max capacity. This was on a Monday night so I was surprised.
I ordered a mango lassi (pretty good.. standard though). The entire menu is vegetarian though. We got the sampler appetizer which has four different things. Unfortunately, there was only one of each item (with the exception of the potato thingy). I was a little surprised how small the quantity was for $8.
I tried the combo as well for dinner. The ingredients are indeed fresh. I really enjoyed the chickpeas and kidney beans dish... but I really wasn't too impressed with the aloo gobi (curried cauliflower potato) or the Indian bread that came with it. So not everything is good.. even if it is authentic. The same complaint though.. the dishes were way too small for $16. My friend only got one of the dishes and it was just a little bigger than mine. That was $8.
So my two complaints: First, the place is kind of far from people who don't live near Redmond. Second, the place is kind of pricey for vegetarian food considering how much you get.
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Some of the stuff is pretty unique and good here. E.g. Indian junk food called chaat, which is a category rather than a dish. Try papdi-chaat, or bhel puri. Not great but passable. Btw, disappointed that this place does not do stuffed parathas well enough, that being a Punjabi forte. If you think the parathas here are great, ahem, let me say you need to have better ;)
Service is sketchy at best. This is a Punjabi restaurant so don't look for South-Indian stuff here :D Look up the India states to see why.
Overall good unique Indian experience, away from the staple curries. Expensive for what you get though.
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Great Indian place for lunch.
- Not a buffet, thank heavens
- Good presentation
- Delicious
- Portion sizes are just right (not too big)
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When I moved to Seattle from the Bay Area, my heart sank with the crap Indian food here - I had to start cooking for myself till I discovered the Punjab Sweet House and its sister concern, Preet's. This is how north indian food is supposed to be : everything is just a-ok.
I typically order the thali with some extra orders of chappatis. With the thali, you can pick your choice of side dishes. Having made my way through the entire menu several time, I can recommend absolutely everything on it.
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The quality of bread in most Indian restaurants sucks. This is particularly the case for paranthas, the flat pan fried bread from north India. Indeed the situation is so bad that at some places you can't even distinguish between the naan and the parantha.
Fortunately dear reader all is not lost. Preet's is here to save the day. A cozy little Indian restaurant devoted to the fine art of stuffed parantha making. They have it all, from paneer, to cauliflower and from boiled potatoes to spinach. A man can only eat so many at a time.
Every single paranthas that I have had was beautifully spiced and cooked just right. It came with some pickle and a bowl of Indian style chunky yogurt. yum.
The rest of the menu is good too. The stuffed baby eggplant is delicious, so is the kadhi pakoda. The malai kofta is nothing to rave about since the kofta was put in the sauce minutes before it was served to you and it barely had any time to become one with the sauce. The thali is an excellent deal and comes with two very well made rotis, the roasted cousin of the parantha.
So why the four stars? Because their appetizers suck. The aloo tikki is deep fried instead of pan fried, so its more a pakoda than a tikki. This is a grave insult to all tikki lovers and for this Preet's loses a star. The pani puri is too sweet and I am not a fan of the papdi chat either.
In summary, if you want to eat a parantha or three, Preet's is the place to go.
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Thanks god for Preet's. Really, the flavor of their food is awesome, it's vegetarian, and it used to be a couple blocks from my office. The atmosphere is a little odd as the place was a Korean BBQ a few years back, but you will quickly forget once you get your food. I love the Channa Bhatoora and the Aloo Gobi. Usually I end up ordering both as I am a fat american pig. The owner is a fun guy who is often in the restaurant working and making people feel at home.
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This is related to Punjab sweets. My absolute favorite place in all of Seattle (well Kent really). Ok I love Preets but not as much as Punjab sweets because the sweets aren't quiiiite as good (but are close). This place has a more "restaraunty" feel than Punjab sweets, but the same home cooked taste. I love getting the chaat (appetizer/snacks) which I'd reccomend more than the main dishes. Except the mulai kofta- I love that too. The parathas here are awesome (Indian bread- like a roti but stuffed w/yummy things and well, greasier- YUM). The waitstaff is really nice to us and treats us like family.
Don't forget to try the sweets!!!!!! (To prime yourself for Punjab Sweets).
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I always assumed Redmond was nothing more than tasteless sprawl. Fortunately my friend showed me there are a few gems, especially when it comes to Indian food. I ordered the combination plate (the name of which I am now spacing on) primarily to try three different items. I enjoyed 2 of the 3 to be exceptional but found the saag paneer to be excessively salty. I had to dilute it with plenty of rice.
I would definitely eat here again on my next trip to the area...
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Outstanding food. It is the closest you can get (other than Punjab Sweets) to eating Genuine Parathas(tm) in the Seatlte area.
Things you must try out: Papdi Chat (the best description I've heard is Indian nachos, but that's like equating the Sun to the Moon because they're both round) and Mooli Paratha (bread with radish stuffed in it).
Its a good setting, very reasonably priced and a great place for dinner (or lunch or snacks...)
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Very tasty food. Although it gets a bit loud in this place and the food arrives in a strange order, the food is worth the oddness. Also, since I love variety, I love that they allow you to choose 3 items to make up your own dining experience. Next time, I'm definitely trying the chick peas!
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I read about the "awesome" parathas so I had to check it out.
The Mooli paratha is pretty good, soft and filled with mooil, although lacking the wonderful flavor of paranthas -they are the only parathas that resemble the real thing that I have had in the Seattle area. As someone else said the other places have parathas that taste like naans. I like the yogurt. Really really good. I am thinking of getting some home to get my own culture started ! But its probably not worth the hassle.
Other than the paranthas everything else is so-so. I dont know why people think its so very representative of punjabi cooking. Its kind of authentic but not very good. Kind of like an aunt I have, who cooks authentic Indian food at home, in the US, but would be considered a bad cook back in India! The malai kofta tasted of the freezer that I was there last time.
3 stars- because they satisfy my hankering for not super greasy somewhat authentic paranthas! I also like their gulabv jamuns. BTW whoever said they did not like the DOSA, there IS no dosa in this place. It is a punjabi place. For dosas you need to go to a south indian place. Its hard to make dosas in this weather because they need to ferment just so.
A little on the pricey side- the parantha is 11 something, although they do add a small side of the entree of your choice.
I ate at Preet's for lunch. They seemed a bit understaffed for a Friday lunch. The service was below par compared to other restaurants in the area. My entree was pretty good (Aloo Gobi) and the bread was excellent. All entrees are vegetarian.
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I honestly can I say I didn't know what good Indian food tasted like until I went here. I thought I did (Kanishka), but I really didn't. I thought the all vegetarian menu would be a turnoff since I love me some tika malsa, but I was wrong. My friend Faisal (native Indian) said it's by far the best he's had in Seattle. I like the rosewater flavored drink, appetizers (I had several), and mulai kofta... dosa was my least favorite. I also thought the presentation was MUCH better than average for an Indian joint... modern and chic. Other than food, what suprised me most was the crowd. If you don't get there a bitbefore noon, make sure you have time to wait.
Preets represents home-made north indian cooking at its best. While the all-vegetarian menu is not as extensive as most Indian Restaurants, the food is lip smackingly good.
So why the 4 stars...service is not great...that's why. Most of the time, one has to self-seat and there is nobody around to take your order. When the restaurant is full, it can take a good 10 - 15 minutes before somebody comes by to get your order. and another 15 - 20 minutes before you get the food. The portion size of the entree is also slightly on the smaller side.
On the positive side, the yummy food makes up for these shortcomings.
Once they fix the portion sizes and the service quality, this will be one of the best dining spots in the Seattle area.
It's all vegetarian! None of my favorite Indian dishes are vegetarian, so I probably won't go back. What had was pretty good. I think it was spinach with cheese (saag paneer?). Strange pickles. The waitresses were eastern european, kinda odd. I ate at the counter. The restaurant was packed, looked quite popular.
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