On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Loading...
I cannot believe all the bad reviews I am reading on here. My sis went here the other night and we were blown away by the food. And, we are picky about our Indian Food!
First off the ambiance is very pleasant and we thought the indian music videos that were playing were a nice touch...and pretty darn entertaining.
The papadum was so good, probably the best we've had and it was free.
We also had the vegetable korma and it was mind blowing! Then we had the Shahi paneer and it was so creamy and delicious.
For our rice dish we had the special of the day and it was cooked just right, seasoned just perfectly and had a veggies. The garlic naan was very yummy, not chewy like some places. Oh and get the coconut and mango chutney, mmmm good. I'm getting excited just thinking about it. Its a good thing they are not located in San Francisco 'cause I'd be here every week!
You must go!
The food here was VERY flavorful, but not too spicy.
De-lish!
Took my boyfriend out to dinner here on a Friday night and we were pleasantly surprised! Usually when we eat Indian we tend to go to New Delhi, but that night we decided to try a new place.
The ambiance is great, except that on the back wall of the restaurant there was a bollywood movie (music video?) playing, which was a bit entertaining, but over all pretty distracting. I'm not one to have dinner and movie, or eat and watch something, unless it's live music - and not very loud. So I'm a little picky. Overall great ambiance, wonderful place to go out on a date night or even just to catch up with an old friend.
The garlic naan was delicious and had that soft airy quality to it, unlike other places where it tends to be chewy or cold. The rice was cooked very nicely and given in a generous amount. We also had a Chicken Tiki Masala, which we ordered by mistake!! (we meant to order the Chana Masala, haha) but was incredible none the less, over the rice and along side the Aloo Gobi.
Mmmmmm, I'm getting hungry thinking about it.
Not the greatest, cheapest or most exciting but definitely a place to check out.
I am an Indian veggie and love paneer dishes. IMO, All India Cafe makes the best paneer (Indian cottage cheese) dishes in Pasadena. The down side is that they seem to use the same curry base for all other dishes (like malai kofta) as well!
The naans and parathas are well made.
The lunch menu on weekdays is quite expensive for the amount of food you get though! They did not have lunch buffet few months ago! Don't know whether they have buffet now...
Good quality, but some items can be pricy!
This was a mediocre meal. The food would be 2 star on the east coast, but since LA seems to have a dearth of good Indian it gets bumped to 3. The lamb makhni used nice pieces of lamb (at some places you get horrible slimy lamb in these curries), but there was very little of it and the sauce was somewhat bland. The fish vindaloo was an entirely forgettable dish, the fish was swordfish (I think) and the sauce had no taste whatsoever. The menu lists it as spicy, but it was incredibly bland! They had 5 slivers of green chili, but these did nothing to enhance the overall flavor of the dish.
The appetizers are pretty standard and unobjectionable, except for the sev puri, which I did not enjoy (although, I have not had a puri before, so maybe it is just not my taste). The onion naan was quite heavy, but had lots of onion in it.
The service was fine, and actually slightly better than one usually gets at an indian restaurant at this price point ($70 for 2 people with tax, tip and beverages).
The service is not good BUT the food is amazing!!!!!!!!
I order the same thing every time because it's so good -- the Chicken Tikka Masala. The sauce is so yummy! It is the best Indian restaurant I've found in the greater LA area. Excellent food, prompt service, cozy setting, great lunch specials. Give it a try you won't be disappointed.
The food from All India Cafe, via delivery, was good, not great, just good. The Tandoori chicken was tasty though presented quite poorly. Three small hunks of meat on a bed of carrots in a Styrofoam box. The Chicken Tika Masala was more like a soup, but still quite good and the better of the two meals.
The prices from the after 3 p.m. menu were a little expensive, though not wholly unexpected from an eatery in Pasadena. But who knew 2 pieces of nan and a small carton of rice would cost so much! None of those came free with the meal.
While the food is tasty, the charge for small sides is a killer. If you're on a budget, or don't wanna break the back for an afternoon meal, you may have to skip this place.
we got the assorted nan.. all of them were delicious although the one filled with cream cheese was a strange surprise, bagel-ish! sauces were spicy but the food was kind of bland so mixing them together was a pretty magical concoction.. my fav was the mint one :)
the wait to sit wasn't too long but the wait for the food took FOREVER, although I will say that may have been a Rose Parade day fluke..
The best thing about my whole meal was the Mango Lassi. Very disappointing. Somehow All Indian Cafe has managed to make flavorless Indian food. The chicken tikka masala tasted like roasted chicken from El Pollo Loco but more dry. Absolutely no Indian seasoning in there, forget about spicy.
The Shrimp Vindaloo was a little more than overcooked shrimp plopped in tomato sauce. It was my first time having this dish but apparently its supposed to taste more uniquely "Indian" according to my dinner buddy. Service was A-Ok, I'm pretty sure they mean well but not everyone from India is cut out to make Indian cuisine know what I mean?
This place has gone downhill ine the last year. I am not sure why, but the Chicken Tikka Masala sauce was watery and bland. Too bad. Give it a miss. There are better Indian places within a few blocks.
First of all, I loved my sweet lassi. For those of you who don't know what it is, sorry to disappoint- it has no dog in it. It's a yogurt drink. I've had a lot of mango lassis but never a rose flavored one. It was pretty heavenly. My friends got the Indian ice tea with sweet milk which they liked. Oh, they even got refills on both the tea and the milk. Nice.
The naan was nice and spankin fresh. My chicken tikka masala was okay. Overall, I thought the food was bland by Indian standards- like they toned it down for the Westerners or something.
The biggest downside? The food took about 30 minutes to come out and there were only 3 tables (including ours) at that time. I might come back someday, but not before trying other Indian joints that have a good chance of being better.
OMG so yummy! This restaurant is located in the heart of Old Town. It is a quaint place good for a date or just a night out. They have a projector with interesting Indian entertainment, my sister and I couldn't stop watching. We had the vegetable Korma and Shahi paneer with garlic naan and coconut and mango chutney. It was perfection! My mouth is watering just thinking about it, damn I wish it was closer. For all those people not into spicy Indian, this is the place, it wasn't spicy at all (at least in my opinion because I love spicy food). I can't wait to go back!
Habit has once again set in and my ordering here pretty much remains the same ... Chicken Tikka or Lamb Masala for the entree accompanied by Onion Naan and Raita, and a start of their spicy Tandoori Shrimp Salad (they tend to overcook the shrimp, but I enjoy the flavor anyway). The Samosas appetizer served with tamarind chutney isn't bad either.
While I enjoy dining here, my husband does not, so visits are now rare. I think his main complaint has been the tendency to overcook the proteins, but it's not a bad substitute when the lines at The Cheesecake Factory on the corner are at a 40-minute wait :)
This is the best Indian restaurant I have ever eaten at. The Lamb Masala is amazing. I also love their Naan. Especially their Garlic Naan. I definitely recommend this to everyone who loves Indian food as well as anyone wanting to try something new. Their lunch specials have more than enough food and are very inexpensive.
PS The Chicken Masala is excellent as well.
My friend wanted to treat me for dinner and seeing that All India had discounts, we decided to check them out.
I LOVE Indian food & don't eat it often enough. After a meal I ate last night, this place put a bad taste in my mouth. First off, when is Indian food bland?
We ordered Shrimp Vindaloo, Tandoori Chicken, Naan & rice. After about 10 minutes of eating we both realized that the food was not spicy, the chicken was roasted without sauce & the Vindaloo had no hint of a lime/vinegar spicy flavor. I know my Vindaloo...
We were starving so we continued to eat. Deeper into our meal, I regretted that we chose to eat there. I've never complained at a restaurant about the blandness of food but since my friend was shelling out money for a tasteless meal we decided to ask the manager what happened to the spice.
His response was that they can't make it too spicy for the customers so you have to tell them if you want your food spicy on the scale of 1-10. Our spice was on the range of 0.
I call BS on his comment because I've been to other Indian restaurants in the area and elsewhere where the dishes are spicy because they are suppsosed to be cooked that way.
If customers must tell them how spicy they want their food to be cooked, then put that on the menu so that customers who can handle the spice will know. We kept looking around at the other customers wondering if we ordered the wrong dishes.
For those that have love for the spices, save your money & go elsewhere. I felt like this restaurant was too watered down for the masses that can handle Indian food.
After having lunch at this AMAZING indian restaurant I was excited to review it on yelp. I mistakenly started reading some of the other reviews. Honestly some of these people must be orally dead. Or perhaps they are the type of people who swallow before they taste their food....we shall never know.
But what I do know is that All India Cafe has put some love into their food. Ok yeah its casual and yeah the wait staff is laid back but come on, this is So Cal! Relaxxxxx. And its well worth it!!!
I had their homemade ginger limeade. Its so refreshing on a hot day cause its tangy and fizzy and delish. I also got the lamb curry which was so tender and had such depth of flavor that I nearly wept. My husband got the chicken tikka masala which has excellent tandoori grilled flavor and creamy yogurty goodness. Nan was fluffly as a cloud. Their dal was unbelievable too! To end this meal of perfection I ordered the kheer for desert. It was rich and full of fresh cardamom pods....heavenly....really....
So after writing that my mouth is watering. It reminded me that I also ordered the samosas and they are so crispy and light on the outside but full of flavor in the middle. They are too good. They need to stop being so good.
As to the decor, I think its unique and fun so grab someone who loves to eat spicy delights and hurry up and go. Because I like saying I told you so.........;)
Excellent food, I had the Chutney Sampler with chips, quite tasty!
We had two kinds of chicken (Curry based) and (Masala) both were served with two large pieces of freshly cooked Naan super soft and delicious, and basamati rice (usually for me is very dry) but it was very moist and delicious, maybe i'll give it another try at home. We came in about a hour before closing, they were really nice and courteous. Where most places would rush you out and such.
But the decor, service, price were quite reasonable. I will come back again.
Overall it was OK.
Like the other reviews have said, service was pretty sloooow.
the food was ok. not the best, but not awful.
it's pretty tiny, so if you're thinking to come with more than 6 people, i would look for another restaurant. we can with a group of 12 and they ended up splitting us up. it worked out ok since there was just a walkway dividing up the group, but still it would have been nice to have been seated together. it also would have been nice if they had told us that they were planning on doing that...but hey, every new restaurants an adventure right?
The one time I had Indian food I saw a cockroach run across the table and take a dive into the curry.
YUMM...crunchy. Talk about texture.
So since that faithful day I have stayed CLEAR of the stuff.
I think the closest thing that I've ever had were some mini samosas that were passed around during a networking cocktail shindig.
Now that I've given you a little background....here we go.
This guy tells me how he can totally change my thoughts on Indian food and that he is SURE that my life will change after eating here.
Yeah, ok. Sure.
As soon as we walk into the restaurant he starts coughing. Cough, cough, cough all the way to the table. I asked if he was alright and he said "Yeah, I'm fine."
I tried to hurry our server so I can ask for some water but it was Friday night and it was pretty busy.
Our Server got to the table a few shakes later and asked if we'd like to start with anything. My Date was still coughing...
Server: "Hello, would you like to..."
Date: "I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE SOME WATER, I'M DYING HERE."
Server: "Oh i'm sorry, Yes. I'll get you some water."
She left to get some water for him but apparently she wasn't fast enough. My Date got up, walked himself TO THE KITCHEN, grab a glass and came back to the table with a glass of water. He then proceeded to take a drink and follow it by flagging the Owner down and complaining about how he could've died.
In his defense, yeah maybe he could've died but did he REALLY have to cause a scene like that?
After he had calmed down a little (this was after a handful of rude comments SHOUTED to the Owner across the restaurant and evil glares at the Server) he ordered dinner.
We had samosas, chicken curry and something else...I can't remember because I was so fixated on LEAVING.
The food is fine. I mean I'm sure if I wasn't completely embarrassed I would've walked away from the dinner a changed Woman.
Unfortunately, after an hour of endless rude comments about the wait staff being inferior, sending back chutney because it came out TOO late and constant "tips" to the Owner about how to manage his staff better, my stance was clear. NEVER AGAIN. NEVER NEVER NEVER NEVER.
Since I didn't get a chance to apologize that night. I will now.
I am TRULY sorry for what you went through, All India Café. I won't judge you if you spit in his food the next time he comes in.
I am not often one to eat my humble pie, but this time, I can't deny -- even I may be a changed man, once in a great while.
So, to recap, the days of Jordan dragging me to All India Cafe went on for two years. Before long, and quite in spite of myself, I started craving the Chicken [Tikka] Tandoori Thali on a very regular basis. That heavenly steel platter of wonderful comes with heaping Chicken Tikka, face-smacking good mixed rice, aloo mattar, naan, kochumber/raita and the dal of the day. I'm not embarrassed to say that at one point, I had absolutely no clue what the hell any of that meant. I assure you, the names don't matter -- they're all awesome.
If you, like me, are sort of an Indian food neophyte or intimidated by unfamiliar offerings, the Thali platter is probably the best possible thing I can recommend. It's a solid introduction to Indian food that is virtually incapable of scaring anyone off; it's just that good.
Probably worth mentioning that I've tried similar offerings at other Indian restaurants, Akbar being one of them, and to this day nothing even comes close to how solid this place is across the board.
Don't miss the Mango Lassi, heck, pair it up with an Indian Iced Tea (minty + creamy = bliss). Throw in a samosa or soup for good measure. Live a little. ;D
So my friend Jordan is obsessed with this restaurant. I'm always getting roped into going here. And… Read more »
Aside from the Bollywood DVD looping on the big screen, this place is pretty bland. Service is bland, food is bland, even the Bollywood dance scenes, with a few exceptions, were bland. The only reason for the second star is that they had gajar halva. Even bland gajar halva is pretty good.
Food: pretty tasty and decent portion. my friend was nice enough to order off the vegetarian menu so i can have some of his. he had the roasted eggplants which was really good. i had the cauliflower and potatoes which was decent. flavors were there but nothing too exciting.
Ambiance: place was cute, rather small. nothing fancy or trendy. very casual.
Staff: helpful
Price: $$
We walked around Old Town that night and looked at several menus and could not find a place to eat and then we remembered this place cause we parked across the street.
The food here was sooo yummy we had the Baingan Bharta which was a Veggie dish, a puree of tandoori baked eggplant saut6ed with onions, fresh tomatoes, ginger, and green chili. This was our favorite it had so much flavor. We also had Lamb Curry which was boneless pieces of lamb prepared in a traditional sauce made from tomatoes, onions, ginger, garlic, and freshly ground spices of course we had them make this extra spicy which they did. We also ordered some Naan to go with everything. Every thing had so much flavor and was so yummy and the wine went everything...we had an Indian Sarah.
We will for sure be making the trip to Pasadena to have more of this. Also the atmosphere and service was great...everyone was very friendly and fast.
Most of my co-workers love this place. I'm not a huge fan of Indian food but this place is pretty good. Plus a whole page of lunch specials that will stuff you for about 10 bucks - you can't beat that. Pardon me as I don't know the official names of stuff. I had the lamb kabobs (in meat chunk form vs. ground up which is a choice) dish. The kabob didn't come on a stick which is what I thought 'kabob' meant. It was just like 5-6 pieces of lamb topped with some raw onions. But still it was pretty tender and grilled to the right done-ness. The plate also came with a small salad (just the right amount of dressing), naan (hot and fresh), rice (mixed with some veggies), beans in a green sauce and potatoes in red sauce. So filling and it took a little work to finish it all. I've also had the chicken tikka masala for lunch before. And it's even better because the chicken is in a great sauce. Service was a little slow in the beginning trying to get them to take our order but they were nice. Not trying to be rude but the waitress we had has crossed eyes or something so when she's taking orders, she's not really looking at you so it's a bit confusing. Also it's located on a side street in Old Town so it's not very busy. There's also a parking structure across the street that has the fist 90 min free parking. It's so hard to find free parking in Pasadena.
We took my in-laws here for dinner over the holidays. The service was much better than my last experience. The restaurant was very busy, but they seated us right away. A few minutes later, a better table opened up, and they offered to move us. We took them up on it and were more pleased with our table.
They do a bang up job of utilizing an awkwardly narrow restaurant space. The food was great as always. Portions are quite large, so bring friends to share or expect to take home leftovers.
The food is 4 stars. I love it. I love the garbanzo bean dish. Perfectly spiced and delicious.… Read more »
GOOD: Garlic Naan - $2.75
BAD: Chicken Tikka cames out super dry, I wanted to dip it in ketchup just so I could swallow it without scratching my esophagus. Service sucks too.
DEAL BREAKER: My utensils had dry food particles on it.
I expected a packaged deal where the entree would come with rice, sides and naan like most other Indian restaurants. But we had to order everything on the side. My Chicken Tikka was $12, but it came out with just some onions and pickled vegetables. To complete the meal, I ordered Basmati rice ($4) and the garlic naan ($3), so I really paid $19 for a meal that was only mediocre. NEXT!
I really appreciated the restaurant host allowing me to order lunch special at 3pm when it ended at 2pm, so this is truly a 3.4 star rating. With that said I was disappointed at how runny my lamb curry is. It tasted over-diluted. Granted, $9.95 lunch special with curry, rice, nann, and salad is an awesome deal, but their curry could really use a few more scoops of yogurt. I've made Indian curry at home before, so if I can make it nice and thick (like how Indian curry should be), they can too. There are a number of Indian restaurants in Pasadena that serve good Indian curry, so All India Cafe needs to step it up a notch or two to keep the Yelpers from going elsewhere.
YUUUM-MYYY! First of all, Old Town Pasadena has such a great variety of ethnic food choices... Yipee for Old Town.
My love for Indian food is almost compares to my love for Japanese food and stumbling across All India Cafe for lunch made my heart flutter and my belly growl. Lunch specials are somewheres around $7.95-$9.95 and you get so much food that you end up with feeling like you have an Indian food baby in your belly afterwards. The chicken tikka masala lunch special is my fav.. served with aloo mataar, dal, naan, rice and salad.
Welcome baby Tikka!
I think the best thing I had was the bread they serve before your order your meal. The Indian Chai tea I had tasted like it was mixed from a powder, and the "spicy" lamb vindaloo I ordered was mild to say the least. I think the restaurant is run by Asians rather than Indian's which might be the cause for the lack of traditional spices in the foods I ate. I wouldn't go there again.
The staff was nice though. They let me sit there for an hour and read until my guest arrived without a complaint.
Crowded seating inside and the service is way too slow BUT the food is always delicious and very filling. The owners are always kind and gracious.. wish the place was bigger with more servers...
There are many choices for great Indian food in the Old Town Pasadena area. All India Cafe is at the top of that list. It is small in size, but makes up for it in the flavor of their food. I usually order the palak paneer and Chicken Tikka Masala. The portions are just right and the waiters are very pleasant. I like to sit by the window and watch the street traffic while enjoying my meal. If you go, you must order the cheese naan with the tasty mango sauce for dipping.
You really can't judge a book by it's cover...because if you could this place would be delightful and not shitty...like it was. The only redeeming quality about this place is that it is rather charming inside, but don't let that fool you!
I'll admit I am not the best judge of Indian food but I do know bland food, and that is what I got. I ordered the lunch special which came with palak paneer, mushy unspiced rice, ho-hum naan, and a weak salad (9.50 + a extra dollar for garlic naan instead of regular). Everything was kind of boring, portions were small. My $1 was spent in vein because the naan was not garlicy at all :(
Service sucked. Not friendly, useful, fast or attentive. I had to chase down our server to get hot sauce which was anything but hot when I finally got it. This place does not deserve to have a yelp sticker in the window.
All India Cafe was by far the worst northern Indian food I have ever had. Hands down. They win.
1. Slow service.
2. The wine was warmer than Campbell's soup.
3. The dark meat, and I repeat dark meat chicken was drier than the driest white meat from KFC.
4. The chicken tikka masala was so watery, it was like water.
5. Fine, the dal was okay.
6. Keema nan was putrid.
7. Garlic nan was gross.
8. I'd rather eat poop than go back to All India Cafe.
Thanks. Bye.
Oh, nonononononono!
I ended up here a few months ago after looking for an alternate lunch spot upon finding Azeen's (which I have NOT had occasion to try, unfortunately) closed for lunch on weekends! Ach!
So my buddy and I settled on the closest thing to it in Old Town. Indian. Bad move. We must've gone through four or five different places (Mezbaan, Akbar, some others) before settling on this. Should've just skipped it altogether and trekked back to the crotch of the I.E./O.C. for some Diamond Palace goodness.
Now, I'm a pretty good judge of Indian food. The friend who was with me happens to be Afghani and spent considerable time in India and Pakistan. So there's an even better judge.
I don't know, maybe all my experience with REAL Indian food has deadened my gustatory and olfactory systems, but this food was BLAND. Like cardboard and plaster. The two of us were, like, WTF is up here?
Lots of Indians eating here too, which is proof that just because the patrons happen to be the same ethnicity as the food that's being peddled, you're not guaranteed a good meal!
I think that, perhaps, part of the downfall of this restaurant is that they try to be too many things to too many people. As the name suggests, this is "All India Cafe" so they attempt, in their menu offerings, to represent all regions of India. Too many competing factions, just like in India. It's not working. Sorry.
Now, since I'm new to Yelp, I see that there are some choices in the review entry console for additional information to be entered.
It's marked "Good For".
I just can't seem to find the "Nothing" box.
My favorite Indian restaurant! I've been coming here since I could remember and usually during lunch time with my dad. My usual is an order of chicken tikka masala with a Mango Lassi. And seriously, their naan is probably the best I've ever had, fluffy and full of fresh flavor
I also like the side of lentils they give, yummm
This is generally my go-to Indian place in Old Town. Service is a lot friendlier and it seems much cleaner than Mezbaan.
I have had great mango lassis here and I enjoy the much more relaxed pace at this restaurant.
Then again, it cost a bit more and it's not a buffet during lunch.
Hell, now I want Indian food!
I went here last summer with some friends for lunch. This was the first time trying Indian food outside of Berkeley, so I wasn't sure how it would match up to House of Curry. It matched up pretty well, I'd say.
I wanted to try something new, not the usual chicken tikka, but I went for it anyway. Sorry! I got the chicken tikka lunch special, which comes with a little bit of everything (salad, rice, chicken tikka, and another sampling of something else of which I can't remember the name) served in small silver bowls on a platter. The naan arrived in a little basket for my friends and I to share. The salad was delicious, it wasn't too heavy and was a little mustard-y in taste. I can't really pinpoint what it was, but it was simple and good. Overall, about $10.
The portions are perfect, and we left feeling not too full or hungry. Just right.
The food here is bland I'm sorry to say. I was so excited to try this place because they deliver, but it just wasn't good Indian food. The chicken tikka had a red tasteless sauce with chunks of dry, overcooked chicken...so disappointing as that is one of their most popular dishes. The garlic naan tasted like it was previously frozen and had a tough texture. My favorite thing was the one item they gave for free: the cracker with some kind of spicy tomato salsa-like dip. That dip had flavor and I just wanted to eat it like soup.
Overall, thanks, but not again.
The food here is great. I have no complaints whatsoever on the food. The prices though? Hmn. My (very salty) Saag was about 9 dollars. Just the dish itself!! If you come here, you have to order the naan/roti/rice a la carte. Booo. The best part of the night was handing them my coupon for a free appetizer, and getting their samosas (normally four-five dollars for two). . .free! Yay! Mmn, their samosas are worth coming back again. . .but for the price, I'd probably head somewhere else, like Taste of India in Huntington Beach. . .the same quality and equally tasty food for half the price! And Taste of India is definitely more liberal when they come to piling on the sides on your plate.
If only I can find a clone of Taste of India in Pasadena. . . .
Not the best Indian food I've ever had, however, the fish (salmon) curry vindaloo was amazing.
I ordered the "safe" chicken curry lunch special that came with a salad, bread, and lentil soup. The chicken was good, but the rice was mushy and runny. Kinda weird. My friend ordered the fish curry vindaloo, and I enjoyed her food more than I enjoyed mine. Fortunately, I didnt have to pay for my meal....otherwise I would've been upset at throwing away $10.00. Not really worth it.
Neighborhood: Pasadena
Category: Indian
Neighborhood: Pasadena
Category: Indian
Neighborhood: Pasadena
Category: Indian
Neighborhood: Pasadena
Category: Indian
Neighborhood: Glendale
Category: Indian
Middle Eastern, Greek, Central Asian, Russian,…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
the places i go to when gas is too high to drive…
You can find great cheap eat around here but you…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
