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Abhiruchi South & North Indian Cuisine

4 star rating
based on 35 reviews

Categories: Indian, Pakistani  [Edit]

3815 SW Murray Blvd
Beaverton, OR 97005
(503) 671-0432
Hours:

Mon-Sun. 11:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Mon-Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.

Attire:
Casual
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Parking:
Private Lot
Price Range:
$$
Good for Groups:
Yes
Good for Kids:
Yes
Takes Reservations:
Yes
Delivery:
No
Take-out:
Yes
Waiter Service:
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes
Outdoor Seating:
No
Good for:
Lunch
Alcohol:
Beer & Wine Only

35 reviews for Abhiruchi South & North Indian Cuisine

Review Highlights   

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"They have menu items also, but you can't beat the buffet." (in 18 reviews)
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"The tikka masala with toasted almonds was the perfect marriage." (in 4 reviews)
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"…couple of other Indian restaurants in Portland Metro but this one was the…" (in 7 reviews)
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Sort by: Yelp Sort | Date | Rating | Elites'
Photo of Kimberly V.

Elite '09

210

407

Kimberly V.

Portland, OR

4 star rating
11/29/2009

While we rake the forks through our respective piles of rice, my sister asks, "You remember the part when Natalie Portman was on the phone and she said something about Gujarati?"

We had watched a movie that starred Natalie Portman the night before, so it wasn't like we hung out with her and recalled the time when she spoke on the phone. Just in case you were wondering.

"She . . . what? What did she say?"

My sister explains that Gujarati is a language spoken in India. Her ears perked up at the word, she says, because a friend of hers speaks Gujarati. The friend's family is from the Mumbai region. I remember these facts better than the word itself.

"Gajuh. Goulda. How do you say that again?"

"Gujarati."

"Gadorati. Right." In order to tell this story later, I eventually come up with a mnemonic device involving Cujo the scary dog.

In the course of that exchange, I learn a few things:

1) That people in India speak more than Hindi. In fact, some of the people don't even speak Hindi. It seems obvious now.
2) That there is a sizable Indian-American population all over the East Bay.
3) That there are comparatively very few Indian-American people in Portland, save for the ones running the restaurant that my sister and I are eating in. There is also a large party of Indian people - four kids, all boys of various ages - eating at three tables against a wall. But that's a good sign about Abhiruchi.
4) That my younger sister really is the smarty-pants of the bunch.

The fourth fact is substantiated by the fact that she came into town with a craving for Indian food. That led us through the information highway and along the actual highway to the $8.95 lunch buffet in the 'Tron. The buffet comes with about twenty-five different things in hot trays and bottomless glasses of soda. For less than what I spent on gas, I got to taste things like tamarind soup, basmati rice laced with lentils, and deep-fried lentil pastries.

My sister pushed me to save room for dessert, and I tried my first gulab jamun with kheer. The English description - syrupy flour balls in a white rice pudding puddle - sounds less savory, but the taste was light and sweet. Told you my sister is smart.

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Photo of Brad W.

 

12

20

Brad W.

Beaverton, OR

4 star rating
11/21/2009

One of those places that is way better on the inside than the outside, as it's next to a dimly lit dive bar and Kmart.  But alas, there is wonderful Indian fare inside.

We had three kinds of Indian breads, some naan, garlic flatbread, and a crispy bread, all delicious.  Tasty curries and of course all the Indian sauces that make that cuisine so great.

My only reason for 4 stars instead of 5 is the portions are just a little too small for the price.  Indian food makes great leftovers, so a little more would go a long way.

My new favorite Indian Restaurant.

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Photo of Alicks K.

 

8

94

Alicks K.

Beaverton, OR

3 star rating
10/1/2009

Date Visited: Monday September 28, 2009 (Dinner)
I've driven by Abhiruchi a number of times, but never stepped foot inside until this night.  We had gone to Kmart to seek out Halloween costumes and walked down to the restaurant.  After a quick look at the menu, we decided to go in and eat.

The restaurant wasn't unlike other Indian restaurants I've been in.  We were seated and given our menus.  We inquired about the vegan items.  Unfortunately, the waitress was not familiar with veganism, so she called someone else over.  I don't know if he's the owner, chef, both, or otherwise, but it seems he might have been asked this question before.  He immediately told us that they could make items vegan, but they already had a number of options.

I went with the Aloo Gobi and a root beer.  Not a great combination, but I wanted soda.  Anyway, my fiance got a lentil dish with a hot tea.  Our waitress forgot our drinks and after a while, we signaled over to a waiter and asked if we could get our drinks.  Not long after, our meals arrived.

I wish I had known the Aloo Gobi was going to be spicy.  While I do know Indian dishes are spicy, the servers usually ask what level of spice you want or you get a pretty mild spice.  This was not mild and I feared my stomach would pay dearly for it.  

My fiance's dish, however, was not hot and I think I preferred it to mine.  Since he enjoyed the restaurant and we thought the knowledgeable man was extremely personable and helpful, I would say we'll go back again.  There is an Buy one, get one 50% off Abhiruchi coupon in the free paper just a short walk from the restaurant and there will probably always be a coupon available, so that's also an added bonus.

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Photo of Jessica K.

 

0

4

Jessica K.

Hillsboro, OR

5 star rating
10/16/2009

my favorite indian restaurant!!!!! :)
the lunch buffet is great! such a awesome variety of curries and soups!
i love everything about this place!
the naan is always soft and the saag paneer is always always perfect with it's cute little cubes of green cheese. :)
yum yum yum!
eat here, it's the best!!!

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Photo of Brianne G.

 

0

5

Brianne G.

Hillsboro, OR

4 star rating
10/29/2009

Such a great place - don't be turned off by the neighbors (Kmart and Grocery Outlet) - this place is more than strip-mall fare! Great Indian food, friendly staff. Great buffet. Only one downside; I once found a bug in my rice (it was a take-out order). Maybe I'm gross, but I just ate around it. And I've been back many times since then (all have been bug-free events).

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Photo of Sherri M.

 

19

26

Sherri M.

Portland, OR

5 star rating
7/19/2009

I am only very occasionally lured to Beaverton by a reason sufficient enough to get me to put up with the awful traffic, but when I do go I usually reward myself with Abhiruchi! The food has always been excellent and the staff are so pleasant.

Call this a 4.5 stars, if they started offering a soy chai it would be 5 full, enthusiastic stars.

Vegans can enjoy a buffet with several choices. Most vegetarian dishes are made with oil excepting for things like paneer and korma dishes (which have dairy). Sadly most Indian sweets are all based around milk, so none of those are vegan.

The naan is very flavorful, all of the types of dahl I've had there are incredibly tasty, I long for the curried zucchini or eggplant, and I liked the spicy carrot & cauliflower pickle so much I learned how to make some myself.

Have I mentioned the dosa and sambar? Worth making the time in Beaverton coincide with dinner are these dishes! I've had both kinds of dosa (vegan if you ask them not to put ghee on the top when they serve) and both are so tasty. Crisp on the fried side and chewy inside with nice crunchy edges. Filled with delicious masala potatoes and a served with a small bowl of some of the best sambar in town.

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Photo of Catherine K.

Elite '09

38

105

Catherine K.

Portland, OR

4 star rating
8/3/2009

Really good Chicken tikka masala: tender chicken and great blend of spices. Go for it!

You might be tempted to turn around after seeing that it's located in an old strip mall, but don't underestimate! the food makes up for it.

-1 star for vacuuming while we were eating.

Go to their website and print out a coupon for buy one, get 50% off second item.

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Photo of reed m.

Elite '09

7

42

reed m.

Portland, OR

5 star rating
7/18/2009

This review is for the lunch buffett...

I'm just now getting into Indian food, so I might not be the best judge, but this place is freakin fantastic!! I keep daydreaming of the curried chicken with coconut milk, and the naan, ooh and the spinach pakora. And these little donut holes soaked in simple syrup (or something like that), so good! And this other dish made with cream of wheat and cashews. Everything I tasted was so good, just the right amount of spicy, everything had that slow and low burn if you will. The kind that doesn't hit you at first, just sort of lingers around in the back of your throat.
There were only 3 meat items in the whole buffet, so this is a great place for those wacky vegetarians.
I will certainly be returning.
I also love that it's in such a random place. Right next to Maguffy's, an authentic Irish pub. HA

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Photo of Kyle F.

Elite '09

466

394

Kyle F.

Portland, OR

5 star rating
6/3/2009

Excellent lunch buffet from 11:30-2:30. There are around 20 dishes available during the buffet and 75% of them are vegetarian if you are a vegan looking for a good spot in Beaverton.

The naan bread was perfect and the saag paneer really stood out to me with it's rich, wonderful flavor. I didn't even know I could get free drinks with the buffet, but was fine with my water.

I would have never found this place without finding it on yelp. It's tucked between a dive bar and Kmart/Grocery Outlet making it very hard to spot from Murray road.

Can't wait to bring friends here to enjoy.

4.5 Stars

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Photo of Jason K.

 

0

17

Jason K.

Beaverton, OR

5 star rating
5/9/2009

If you're like me, Indian is one of those secondary food categories. First tier was Mexican, Italian, Chinese. Then you go to college and people are all like, "Dude! I went to the most random Thai place last night!" or "This Indian is wicked, bro." And thus your food journey continues and your mind (gut) expands.

Well, the new school has replaced the old school and since I always loved Mexican the most, Indian, with its cumin, spices, and nan (aka, why-did-I-used-to-accept-tortillas-as-edible-when- this-exists) is my new favorite.

Why do you care? You don't. But coming from someone whose favorite food is Indian, this is my favorite place to get that food. So there you go.

Details: (I haven't had the buffet. Oh, but I will...)
Chicken pakora are INCREDIBLE. (Like the love child of a curly fry and chicken.)
Nan = like the best pizza crust you've ever had.
Samosas = delicious.
Mango kulfi = fantastic.
Mulligatawny = so hot your face sweats.

Frankly, the fact that this place exists in a K-mart parking lot with only  one other pub next to it is just hilarious to me. It's just so random, bro.

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Photo of Sasha S.

Elite '09

45

97

Sasha S.

Portland, OR

5 star rating
1/30/2009

Vindalooooo. Cuurrryyy! I have eaten here since I had a comprehension of indian food. My mom started it (thanks mom!) and since when I come home schlepping my laundry, I often will beg to get takeout as well as take a stop to the grocery outlet.

I've read some other reviewer's comments about location. Now. I am not an avid fan of K-Mart- but don't you be throwin' shiz at my Outlet! It's a great location.

We will load up on spicy goodness (buffet style, oh yah) and hightail it to the outlet so that I can load up on frozen food to last me a month at college. I'm poor, outlet just means it's not selling at the "rich people's stores".

Food is good. I like my naan made tandoori clay oven style, slapped on the side until it's ready for consumption. That is here. Pakoras are crispity good and everything else is worth a try.

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Photo of Chris M.

 

2

12

Chris M.

Salt Lake City, UT

5 star rating
8/12/2009

We were in Portland for a wedding and my wife found a good review for this place on line.  Excellent choice.  The buffet was very good, service was great, and just the right amount of spice!

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Photo of Mike K.

 

5

25

Mike K.

Portland, OR

5 star rating
2/16/2009

My one and only complaint with Abhiruchi is that I can't ever remember it's name, so every time we want to make a trip out here it involves lots of creative googling.  What this place should be called is "The Best, Awesome, Kick Ass, Taste of India in BFE Beaverton."  I would probably be able to remember that.  It doesn't matter that I've never been to India and don't have any authority to deem something authentic or not.  This place is usually 90% full of large, happy Indian families and lone workaholic looking, probably homesick, Intel employees - and they should know.  

I love this place, go for the meal.  If you live in Portland it is kind of a trek but it sure is a lot closer than going to India.

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Photo of Irene C.

Elite '09

33

96

Irene C.

Portland, OR

5 star rating
6/20/2009

I am really hesitant in writing this review because, well, you'll see.

Who the hell would have thought Beaverton would house such an awesome Indian restaurant?! I truly believe that this place has climbed up to the top rung of my Indian-cuisine-awesomeness ladder instantly. If I had a choice to eat Indian food every night, I would AND I would gladly do it here. Firstly, although the scarcity of patrons may seem unwelcoming, it does welcome attentiveness from the staff. Mahalo for that. Our server was so friendly (in a not-obviously-pandering way) and very efficient. The owner of the restaurant had a chance to speak with us about our experience as we were about to leave; what a humble and kind man.

Secondly, the food is great. I'm sure I can think of some witty, drawn-out analogy to describe the levels of flavors, but I think simple is the way to go in this case. I had the paneer tikka masala. Man, I can eat paneer even if it was served in a dirty shoe. The tikka masala with toasted almonds was the perfect marriage. The man ordered the thali lamb tandoori dinner. I was lucky enough to steal his papadam curry due to his whey-intolerance (I always get the better end of the stick when dairy's involved). It was DELICIOUS. Also, papadam+tikka masala+basmati rice is ingenius. INGENIUS. Every part of the meal was delicious. The lentil starter was great and the chutneys are wonderfully fresh. And our server threw in complimentary galub jamun (I realized it's probably mispelled) which is one of my favorite Indian desserts. Not crazy sweet but just right. Oh, and each ala carte dish comes with both rice AND naan. Yes, thank you.

Thirdly, we had enough leftovers to last me three subsequent meals. My dream of incessant Indian cuisine consumption just may come true. . . .

Fourthly, and this is what I really do not want to admit. . .there is a coupon on their website that advertises "buy one entree, get one 50% off" from 5pm til 9(?) Monday-Thursday. Dammit! I can just hear all the printers now. You jerks better not give this place so much business that they take away the online coupon!!

Well, I would still pay regular price for everything, but who doesn't love BOGO? Exactly.

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Photo of Nader A.

Elite '09

94

231

Nader A.

Portland, OR

4 star rating
11/21/2008

I've been to Abhiruchi for lunch about 3 times, and I can confidently say they have one of the best Indian buffets in the PDX area, hands down!

I don't know how many times Patrick S has been to Abhiruchi, but I've never detected any unpleasant odor at this place, just the normal smells and aromas of Indian food and spices - I don't know what he was smelling, maybe one of the customers, but I'd take that portion of his review with a grain of salt.

Anyway, I found the variety and quality of items in the buffet to be way above average.  Lot's of less common dishes to go along with the more standard Murgh Makhani, Navratan Korma, tandoori chicken, Chana Masala, Saag Paneer, and Lamb Vindaloo.  Of course, as with any Indian buffet, they tone the heat down to appease the masses - which is especially disappointing when they serve Vindaloo - but it is still very tasty and flavorful.  The Makhani in particular was packed with some of the nicest chunks of all white meat chicken I've ever seen in an Indian buffet, and was so delicious!  The lamb was similarly trimmed of much of the fat - something My Lady really appreciated.

The place can get awfully crowded at lunch time (I've noticed sizable groups of employees from Nike, Intel, and Providence), and some of the tables are a little close together so you may have to take a circuitous route when loading up on your 2nd (and in my case 3rd) plate, but all the dishes are replenished frequently, and they've never run out of anything when I was there.

The buffet price ($8.99) IS a tad higher than I'd like for a place located in a strip mall next to a K-Mart and some sad looking neighborhood bar - that's what some places in Downtown Portland charge - but as other reviewers noted, it includes self-serve soda...and not just any soda, but freakin RC cola!  I loves me the Royal Crown soda, and it's not served at many places anymore.

If you work or live in these parts I highly recommend heading to Abhiruchi for their lunch buffet.

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Photo of Barry S.

 

2

57

Barry S.

Portland, OR

4 star rating
7/6/2009

Be patient.  It will take a while.  But it's good.  I've been there about 3-4 times.  I'd go more if I were in that neighborhood more often.

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Photo of Patrick S.

Elite '09

31

130

Patrick S.

Portland, OR

2 star rating
11/10/2008

If there were one word to describe this place best it would be: "Urine". That's right 'Urine' it's what this place reeks of. I don't know how every other reviewer failed to mention this very pervasive odor emanating as soon as you walk through their door. I mean WTF  it's hard to miss the the smell of piss in this place !
  Alright enough pee-pee talk. Service good. Food Okay, I've had better, much better and I'm not afraid to admit it and be called a snob by all the other folks that think this place is the next best thing to dinner at Krishna's Temple. I'm feeling kind so I won't give them one star but Yuck Dude!

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Photo of Sophie D.

 

245

63

Sophie D.

Portland, OR

4 star rating
3/15/2009

I was there during lunch. This is one of the best places in PDX for Indian food.  The food was good. For other bigger city standard I would have given it less stars.  The Mexican staff are pretty friendly.

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Photo of Jewyl A.

 

0

42

Jewyl A.

San Diego, CA

4 star rating
6/20/2009

When we saw it from the road we weren't sure...but then again some of the best food comes from some little strip mall because it's the real thing...so we gave it a go.  Definitely worth stopping in!  We all had a meal, and that comes with rice and four different chutney/curry sides.  They run about $13-$15 for the full meal which even includes desert.  I had the Chicken Tika-Masala and it was delish.  The ginger chicken was a little over spicy and not saucy enough for me... the chicken vindaloo was yummy too though.  Anyways, it's a great little place, so give it a try next time you're in the mood for indian!

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Photo of bobby d.

 

64

163

bobby d.

Beaverton, OR

4 star rating
9/26/2008

I went for the buffet lunch recently. They had a huge selection of items on the buffet table. They even had lamb curry which was my favorite! I was impressed by the unique flavors of north and south india.  The service was very good and staff were friendly.

They have menu items also, but you can't beat the buffet. The buffet as of sept 2008 was $8.99 with drinks included. A little higher than other indian buffets in the area, but worth the extra to get the variety.

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Photo of Jennifer L.

 

7

41

Jennifer L.

Portland, OR

4 star rating
11/22/2008

Since I'm in Oregon, this restaurant gets four stars. Three if I was still in Berkeley.

That said, I've been here for the lunch buffet and for dinner thus far and will be coming back whenever I get a hankering for Indian, which is often.
The lunch buffet selection was fantastic, an everything I tried was a real tummy-pleaser. They had the staples like saag, chicken tikka masala and tandoori chicken plus some veggies dishes you don't see in every restaurant, which was quite a treat.

The prices are great and every time I've gone I've left a VERY happy diner!

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Photo of Erik J.

 

0

7

Erik J.

Portland, OR

5 star rating
6/13/2009

Love it!  My favorite place to eat, big tasty, spicy portions and friendly staff.  If you like Indian food, you have to try this place.

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Photo of Eric O.

 

3

58

Eric O.

Beaverton, OR

3 star rating
4/27/2009

I've eaten here for lunch a couple times, and I've also gotten take-out for dinner.  The lunch buffet is decent, although the selection seemed somewhat limited.  The food is flavorful and spicy, although I wouldn't say it's the best-tasting Indian food I've had.  When you order take-out, they give you plenty of side-dishes & sauces and naan.

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Photo of Mel E.

 

4

80

Mel E.

Portland, OR

4 star rating
2/26/2008

I don't like being a restaurant rookie.

You know, that's when you don't know the best thing on the menu. Don't know that there's a late night happy hour that you've showed up 15 minutes too early for. Don't know that there's better parking around the corner. That sort of thing.

So poo on me for not realizing that rather than ordering off the menu for lunch, I should have just paid my $8.95 and shoved that Styrofoam box with lunch buffet food until it begged me to stop. I could have saved myself moolah.

My chicken tikka masala was good though. Don't get me wrong. It had just the right spice level. The naan that accompanied it was so good. The dish gave me at least three meals.

When I'm not slaving away for The Man, I'm going to return with a book for a leisurely lunch.

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Photo of ken d.

 

4

16

ken d.

Portland, OR

3 star rating
5/30/2009

If you want a surprise, this is the place to go. The food is unpredictable.

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Photo of Lily C.

 

27

52

Lily C.

Boston, MA

5 star rating
5/10/2009

Great price for what you get. My boyfriend and I went there for dinner this past March '09. I ordered the chicken masala...the whole meal comes with different sauces, soup, rice and naan. Good sized portion for what you pay for. It was delicious as well. Rao, the owner, is extremely nice and friendly. I believe there is a coupon on the site that gives you a discount on a meal...definitely check this place out...great Indian food for a reasonable price.

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Photo of Max P.

 

157

66

Max P.

Portland, OR

4 star rating
2/10/2009

I went here for their lunch buffett yesterday (I been here many times) and it was delicious! This place is great for lunch because you can come in and out. They have a lot of different selections and they all taste good. Their staff is okay, not much interaction with them during their lunch buffett. If you like Indian food, and need a quick place for your lunch hour...try this place!!

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Photo of chris m.

Elite '09

17

77

chris m.

Portland, OR

5 star rating
4/17/2008

this is without doubt my favorite indian restaurant in portland.  their makhani chicken makes me go back for fourths even though my neck is totally full.  actually, everything on the very extensive buffet is awesome, and the selection changes daily, so you won't be stuck with the same stuff as last time and you'll be exposed to new and wonderful things.  their tandoori chicken is some of the best i've ever had, and in general, i loved every single thing i tried from their buffet, which was everything except the soups.  

i especially enjoyed the fact that all of their dishes were distinctively flavored--there wasn't any "hmm, this tastes mostly like that one, only it has peas in".  everything was very flavorful and not too spicy-hot, even in the case of the vindaloo.  i usually rate heat ahead of flavor with vindaloo, but theirs tasted good enough to make me forget that my lips weren't tingling.

i went once a week when i worked near here and i am terribly sad that there is now an hour of commuting between my office and this restaurant.  i will be taking long lunches to go out and visit as often as possible!

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Photo of Madras M.

 

1

51

Madras M.

West Linn, OR

3 star rating
7/22/2008

When I moved to Oregon, this is the first Indian restaurant I ate.  The quality of the food was very good.  So, I used to go there regularly for both lunch and dinners.  I tried couple of other Indian restaurants in Portland Metro but this one was the best.   However, in the recent times, I noticed the quality of food is not good any more.  I used to love their egg biriyani and now the quality is gone down the drain!

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Photo of Vinay P.

 

1

21

Vinay P.

Beaverton, OR

4 star rating
9/5/2008

This rating would be three stars if I compared Indian restaurants in Portland / Beaverton with Indian restaurants in California. Having said that, I think Abhiruchi is easily the best Indian restaurant in the area (unfortunately there aren't too many to compare with). Their lunch buffet is great and has some of my favorite South Indian dishes (like Uppama) that that isn't a very common buffet dish.

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Photo of Mary Jane D.

 

6

14

Mary Jane D.

Beaverton, OR

4 star rating
5/28/2008

My boyfriend recently introduced me to indian food... and i gotta say... abhiruchi is GOOOOOOOD indian food! we've eaten here twice in the past 2 weeks. the selection during the lunch buffet is great. food is fresh and made well.

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Photo of Rick E.

 

38

131

Rick E.

Sacramento, CA

5 star rating
9/12/2007

Candace's criteria for demerits seems rather unfair. Get over your Kmart bias already, and don't trust pricing in old newspapers. And R.C. Cola is not generic. I love that the Royal Crown family dominates the little oldfangled soda fountain at Abhiruchi. It's such a welcome break from the megalocorporate Coke and Pepsi product arrays elsewhere. When I hit the lottery and open my bomb-ass international buffet of every awesome foodstuff under the sun (do you know what I mean by "under the sun" up there?), my nozzles will dispense Moxie and Ne-Hi Grape.

I first ate here in 2002 after sleeping off an all-night I-5 trip and an unexpected rat race all over Portland to look for a motel room. Seems like there was some kinda giant convention in town, so all the usual places were without vacancies. We got pushed out to NE 82nd where we were repelled by still more "no vacancy" signs, and what few vacancies we found were at the edgiest dives possible. We cruised into Motel Aaron because we have a good friend named Aaron, and we liked the little outdated brown and orange sunburst sign. We rang the bell and woke up the most ghastly-faced drug casualty to succeed in holding such a job. He looked like that Zoltar coin-op soothsayer on the movie "Big." We sure pissed him off at our disapproving expressions when he announced the $55 rate. So, we figured on looking further out in the cleaner environs of southwest suburbs. And we finally did sleep until the maids came a'knocking, and then we stalled them as we thumbed through the Yellow Pages frantically for a restaurant on a street name that I recognized from when I lived in Forest Grove (92-93). "Murray...I know where that is!" So we went.

Indeed, it was $6.95 including refillable R.C.-family soft drinks back then, and we thought that was such an incredible deal, as we were already used to paying $6.95 without drink at the two semi-decent 14-course Indian buffets at home in Davis, CA. But, yes...This was not so semi-anything. It was just plain GOOD!

I don't know what Candace means by entrees "tending to run bland." Maybe she loaded up on too much of the pongal. Pongal's bland everywhere I've tried it, even as a non-buffet item at a place in L.A. ranked 5 stars in a travel guide for people from India. As for much of the curry dishes at Abhiruchi, I bit into several more intense cardamom bombs than anywhere this side of the $9.95 (and worth every penny) buffet at my favorite 'round here in Sacto, Kaveri Madras. Flavors were certainly very lively at the Rooch. And the cream sauce of the chicken makhani is oh-so-delightful. I go into a ghee coma just thinking about it.

Now that it's $2 more, I'm still not ready to stop going there. Unless it's a light vegan lunch at the Chaat House truck on SW Yamhill @ 14th, I insist on driving out to Beaverton for Abhiruchi. I schedule my roadtrips to the Northwest specifically around this place. I make sure I can get a brisk walk or Forest Park hike in early, then gorge myself, and have the afternoon and early evening free to rest off that ghee coma.

C'mon ev'rybody...To the tune of "Nuthin but a G Thang"...

Aint nuthin but a ghee thang, baybeh
Ate too much curry, now I'm lay-zeh

I once wrote a whole verse, but I lost it under my seat, I think.

Seriously, though...I will drive nine hours up there from Sacto, and I will debate my PDX friends to death when they offer up eating suggestions. "I know...let's hop in my car and drive all the way out to Beaverton for Abhiruchi!" You cannot get PDX people to entertain that suggestion very often. Usually, such a suggestion gets extreme rejection.  "Fine, I will leave you all here in Portland, and we will go there alone and enjoy the best value in Indian lunch buffets this side of Yuba City, California (home to one of the largest concentrations of Sikh population by overall percentage)'s annual Sikh festival." When I did finally succeed in bringing PDX friends, the legend did grow within my circle of friends up there, and now it's a regular treat of several of them, I hear.

So, if I can drive nine hours to eat at this place, you can brave the short trip from Portland.

To be sure, for Indian lunch buffets under $8 (that's now stripping out the low-ball value of the included drink), this place has more variety of dishes and greater quality of food and flavor than any I've seen since the 90's before inflation finally set in.

Finally...Last time I was there, two really funny things happened. First, one of the big-boned boys with fists the size of hams and ankles like giant grapefruits and a neck like a tree trunk was scooping out all the meat from the chicken makhani so that by the time I could serve myself, it was just makhani soup. Everybody guilted him so badly with their astonished gawks and indignant stares, so he scraped half of it back. Next, his li'l bro puked in the hallway on the way to the bathroom. I overheard a neighbor say "Send that trash back to Clackamas!"

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Steve M.

Lake Oswego, OR

3 star rating
5/11/2008

Love the dosas here - perfect combination of crispy, slightly oily outer edges and chewy, yummy interior.  My wife likes the paneer masala and while I appreciate the kitchen's efforts, the fact is, after several visits, I still haven't really found anything on their menu (other than dosas) that I really like.  It's all okay, but nothing really lifts my spirits the way great Indian cooking sometimes does.

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Candace P.

Palo Alto, CA

4 star rating
12/29/2006

Off the bat, Abhiruchi South and North Indian Cuisine had two things going against it for me.  The first was that my decision to go there was based on some review, which was apparently written in the Pleistocene, that raved about the $6.95 lunch buffet.  So when I rolled up to the restaurant to find "$8.95 lunch buffet" plastered on the windows, it was a bit of a rude awakening.  Not that $8.95 is an incredibly exorbitant amount to pay, but when you go in expecting $6.95, the $2 price hike is offputting.  And then there is the unfortunate location.  Abhiruchi's tiny storefront is engulfed by the shadow of its unsightly neighbor, BIG Kmart (lest you confuse it with....small Kmart?).  It is, incidentally, also located next to the "Grocery Outlet", whose existence I find rather disturbing (really, you need an outlet for groceries?  like, this is where you go to find irregular tomatoes and factory error cucumbers?).  So yeah, she ain't the prettiest chick in school (and her friends aren't so hot either), but as you may have guessed from the rating, her cooking isn't half bad.  Compared to some other Indian lunch buffets, Abhiruchi has an excellent selection (something like 25 dishes to choose from), including a tender lamb vindaloo, an excellent butter chicken, and a great cucumber curry.   The dishes do tend to run a bit bland, so I'd actually lean more toward a 3.5-star rating, but it's good if you're dining with eating companions who don't like spicy foods.  The mango custard dessert is stellar.  One additional caveat--soda is included free with the lunch buffet price, but the rickety old soda machine looks like it was manufactured in the 19th century, and holds mostly generic brand soft drinks...some so generic, in fact, that they are merely labeled "Root beer" or "Cola" in block letters. (I went for the 7-Up because I had at least heard of it, but I really would just stick with water next time.)  But anyway, minor nitpicking...bottom line is that you do get a lot of (pretty decent) selection for your $8.95.

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John C.

Hillsboro, OR

4 star rating
2/10/2007

I ordered take out once - has to be one of the top 3 best Indian I've ever had.   Really tasty.   If you know Indian you don't need any more descriptions from me; Candace P's review seems to nail the so-so atmosphere.

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