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Ashoka the Great
Categories: Restaurants Indian Restaurants Buffets Indian, Buffets [Edit]
18614 Pioneer BlvdArtesia, CA 90701
(562) 809-4229
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11 am - 3 pm
Mon-Fri 5 pm - 10 pm
Sat-Sun 11 am - 10 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
266 reviews for Ashoka the Great
Review Highlights
-
"I LOVE their Lamb Biryani and their Chicken Tikka Masala." In 34 reviews -
"The garlic naan melts in your mouth." In 47 reviews -
"This is our go to non-vegetarian place in Little India." In 34 reviews
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266 reviews in English
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Review from Aida D.
Los Angeles, CA
5/21/2012 1 Check-in Here
Mango lasi! MMMMMMMMmm! :o
Want authentic Indian food? then this is the place apparently!
(told to me by my Indian cutie pie) ;)
We ordered :
The Ashoka Special Tali (includes enough food for 2 people)
.... Rice, lamb curry, ryata (yogurt like dip), spinach-like dip, dal (thick and spicy lentil dip like stew), shahi paneer (cheese pieces with curry), tandoori chicken and paneer tika.
We paid less than 16$ I think! what a deal!
You MUST try mango lasi and the regular lasi- it's like having an oral orgasm!
Enjoyyyyyyyyy jaan! -
Review from Hebron S.
Los Angeles, CA
5/12/2012
I am a huge fan of Indian food so I expected a great experience here. Perhaps the day I came to Ashoka it was a very off day but the food and service were easily the worst I've ever tried. I ordered to-go and waited over 45 minutes, until after most of the the dine-in patrons finished their meals! Then, when I got home and ate the order it was completely incorrect. The server was terribly rude even though I was very nice to him. And there was a guy in the restaurant that kept telling me the food here is the best. He showed me the chicken tandoori and said no place makes it better, that this is the juiciest. The only problem is that I love tandoori and I've never had it "juicy." Tandoori should not be juicy. And the chicken looked pink, not the normal orange tint associated with the dish.
I also saw other unhappy patrons; a couple sitting just across from me left without leaving any tip at all and after I got home, with the wrong order and after having waited 45 minutes for it, I do not blame them.
The food was well below average.
I'd go anywhere else in little India before returning to Ashoka. In fact, I'd rather eat Indian food anywhere other than this place and I can't think of a single Indian restaurant, other than this one, that I would actually avoid. -
Review from Sam L.
5/8/2012 1 photo
I was impressed with this restaurant. First, it's nicely lit, most Indian restaurants I've been to have not been. Second thing I noticed was there were no spots on their utensils or water glasses. Thirdly, the service was excellent. Now on to the food...
We had the Veggie Pakora (curry fired fritters) and the Ashoka the Great Combo which included 4-5 different curries with choice of lamb or chicken, comes with rice and we ordered the garlic nan. Everything was good. I'm definitely coming back. If you've never tried Indian before, I would recommend this combo, good variety and a nice sample to see what's what.
1) Delicious
2) Great prices
3) Good portions -
Review from Clara L.
I've lived 15 minutes away for 20 years and never ate in what seems like OC's little India. Compared to the other well known restaurant with a couple hundred more stars but majorly bipolar ratings, this one seemed pretty steady in the number of stars. We stopped by on a Saturday around 5:30 for an early dinner. We ordered the Ashoka the Great combo which came with chicken tikka, chicken curry, tikka masala, paneer masala and two other curries I forget the name of and naan. We got a side of garlic naan and an order of Chana masala.
Everything was better than good but not excellent. I think Chakra in Bev Hills does tandoori better and their curries are more flavorful but Ashoka was pretty good and totally won in terms of portion size. My companion was a 6'4, 180lb man and eats like a beast. I'm a little shorter but out eat him every single time.
We had 8 containers of food I took home that day. I'm really sick of Indian food now as I froze and ate the leftovers for a week so thank you Ashoka for literally getting rid of my Indian food craving. -
Review from Mary C.
Thank you thank you thank you to the owners for being so nice to tend to a to-go order while my boyfriend and I were in a rush before the restaurant opened for their lunch buffet.
We ordered our usual Indian food favorites: Paneer Marsala and Chicken Tikka Marsala. Standard but never goes out of style. That, and slap on their delicious Mango Milkshake (DONT MISS OUT ON THE MILKSHAKE I'M DEAD SERIOUS).
Both platters met expectations and was filling as well as delicious. Prices were higher than what I'm used to when it comes to Indian food but maybe it's because we didn't get the buffet instead. Next time...
Take time to look at those beautiful art pieces around the wall. They're painted on fabric and makes me wonder about the stories behind it..
Finally... if you're looking for a restaurant before 11... it's not gonna happen around these streets and I didn't like that :'( -
Review from Sunny K.
Los Angeles, CA
3/19/2012
I have these 2 friends that will drive to the ends of the world to eat what they consider the best dishes. For the most part, I'll be a trooper. This one?...... Not so much.
After what seemed to be a never ending car ride, I was starving. Ashoka is a decent place with authentic flavor, served in a clean family friendly environment but, the service is spotty at best. It took forever for our food.
It's cheap and decent but there is no way in hell I'll do that drive just for some damn Indian food.
WARNING.... Do not order any cocktails. Stick with beer. They have no idea how to even make the simplest of drinks. -
Review from Angelie D.
Arcadia, CA
3/14/2012 1 Check-in Here
Went here with Jeff B. last week for dinner. We decided on Indian because we haven't eaten it in a while. Friday was a good day to go since we aren't suppose to eat meat.
Vegetable Samosa with the sweet sauce was quite delightful. Crunchy interior and hot fluffy potato and veggies in the middle! I haven't had a bad Samosa since I've started eating Indian food!
Paneer - Serving for this was pretty large. I enjoyed and creamy texture and the spicy flavor to the spinach. This was average compared to my favorite Indian place in Torrance!
Fish Marsala- We decided to venture out and try something new! The fish marsala was a winner! They fry the fish first and then drench it in the Marsala sauce. The fish was velvety and light while the sauce brought in the flavors of India!
Eggplant dish- I forgot the Indian name of this entree. This dish was also average in flavor. I did enjoy it more than the paneer this time around. The eggplants were cooked enough so that it stayed tender and not too saucy.
The service was pretty average.
The ambiance was nice and dim.
They have larger tables so a group would be nice to bring here.
Since this place is in Cerritos, you can't go wrong coming here or possibly going to another restaurant just down the street. -
Review from Christine D.
Cerritos, CA
4/9/2012
Ashoka the Great? No. Pshhh, this place should be called Ashoka the Best! XD
But really, come here for the all you can eat at lunch time or come here for dinner and eat a la carte style. Either way the food is all delicious.
The restaurant has been renovated so its a lot nicer than before.
The service is friendly enough. -
Review from Amit L.
Los Angeles, CA
4/5/2012
If you love Indian food, you must dine at Ashoka the Great! It is THE spot for great tasting Indian food. It is located in Little India in the Artesia/Cerritos area, which is about 30 minutes away from Downtown Los Angeles. I dine here almost every month since I end up coming down here to shop for Indian groceries.
They have a lunch buffet from 11:30a-3:00pm, which serves a wide variety of meat and vegetarian entrées. I personally enjoy their chicken curry, aloo chat, navrattan korma, tandoori chicken, saag paneer, vegetable samosas, and their naan, which is always piping hot out of the tandoor oven. Their kheer (rice pudding) and kajjar halawa (carrot strussel) for dessert is never left without indulging on. Entrées are changed from the buffet every 20 minutes to ensure fresh food every single time.
It gets crowded on saturdays and sundays since people do most of their bulk shopping in nearby Indian shops/ markets on the weekends. The restaurant is a clean family friendly environment but service is not as perfect as one would like. The waiters are somewhat friendly. I feel bad giving them 3 stars since their food is delicious but it's my personal experiences here is what forces me to give them a 2 star demerit.
One time it took forever for the waiter to come and refill water to my table. I even (for a lack of a better word) "signaled" the waiter and he just completely ignored me. And on another occasion, I had ordered a drink and the drink didn't come to my table until I was done with my meal. But the last time I was there, they seemed a lot friendlier and amazingly water was refilled on time. :) -
Review from Kimberly K.
Los Angeles, CA
4/1/2012
Great all you can eat lunch, bright decor, some of the fruit was not that good.
Vegetarian options were good considering it was a brunch service.
Atmosphere is recently renovated, very family friendly with TVs showing Bollywood films. -
Review from Angie L.
Los Angeles, CA
2/27/2012
This sits right on the border of 3.5-4... I tried the 9.95 lunch buffet, which is a decent price and the selection of curry is decent... It sits on the cusp of the 3.5-4 border, because the naan was actually very good. But the curry wasn't the most amazing curry I've ever had. It wasn't bad. That's why it sits snugly right in the middle.
The service was efficient, they return to give you refills regularly and clean up your plates promptly. Korma, masala, saag, all my faves and they're decent here.. but I'm still on the hunt for more. -
Review from Del T.
Glendale, CA
1/28/2012 1 Check-in Here
Ashoka the Crap is more like...
...first of all, I'm a curry (from a country around India), and this place just sucks.
I do have to admit their garlic naan was very yummy; cloudy, soft, and disolves in your mouth. Simply delicious.
As for the $9.95 lunch buffet, yea, i will pass on that.
Entrees that are filled with food coloring, and over cooked meats.
And Deserts from cans, and rotten fruits? (are you kidding me!)
PASS PLEASE! -
Review from Nadia C.
Los Angeles, CA
12/25/2011
EXCELLENCE IN EVERYTHING...*********$8.95 Buffet everyday.
Try the goat meat, lamb, chicken, vege, deserts, bread, salads. Every food item is cooked to perfection. The meat melts in your mouth.
Too many pros to write. Listing all the delicious, high quality food and excellent service will take too much space. All I can say buffet, service, ambiance, pricing....... should get 10 stars if there was such a rating.
I will return again and again even though I drive 29 miles each way to eat here. Saturdays you will find me here for lunch buffets for sure. -
Review from Guadalupe L.
Fullerton, CA
4/7/2012 2 photos
I was debating between this place or Tangy Tomato. Ended up coming here because I was in a budget and I heard Tangy Tomato was super expensive. The interior of this restaurant looks really nice, compared to other Indian restaurants nearby. It was clean and very modern. The waiter who showed us our table was super nice but that is where the "friendly service " ends. We were ready to order but it took forever for someone to come and take our order. Even when I told one of the waiters that I was ready to order. We ordered the tandoori chicken, chicken tikka masala, and the chicken biryani. The tandoori chicken was amazing, it had a strong ginger taste which was good!. The chicken tikka masala was good too, very rich in flavor. I would definitely come back here again and try their other dishes.
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Review from Marek M.
Long Beach, CA
1/21/2012 1 Check-in Here
Hands down my favorite Northern Indian restaurant. Been going here for years and it has never disappointed. They unscaled the décor about 2 years ago but fortunately it's still a family friendly, local ethnic eatery with great authentic food.
It is in the middle of a very ethnic, Indian, neighborhood and the clientele is mostly Indian so you know they are not watering down the food for Western tastes. The service has been at times spotty but I just chalk that up to cultural differences.
There is not one dish that has disappointed me so far and the lunch buffet is an unbeatable deal. -
Review from Kenneth N.
Westminster, CA
4/13/2012
I was introduced to this place by a friend of mine who is Indian.
If you love Indian food this is the place to go. My favorite dish is the chicken tikka masala. Creamy and tasty chicken cooked just right. Try dipping the nan bread in this sauce for better results.
They also have a number of vegetarian dishes. I am an almost exclusively carnivore and a meat lover and I hate most vegetables with a passion. I have to admit their spinach dish converted me. The food is really healthy because they don't use that much oil in the preparation process.
I'll be coming back for more in the future. -
Review from Chantelle T.
Los Angeles, CA
1/10/2012 1 Check-in Here
Mmmmm! I think Indian food + buffet = match made in heaven. Their buffet is under $10 which is a great deal for the quality of food you get.
They have a nice selection of appetizers/salad as well as main entrees. The fruit at the dessert section weren't that great so I ended up not eating most of it. Their mango lassi was delicious and they do have a regular menu you can also order from if you don't feel like eating the food at the buffet.
The service wasn't that great (even for a buffet) but they were very nice and helpful once you could get their attention. If I'm ever in the area again, I wouldn't mind coming here again for the value. -
Review from Lily Y.
12/17/2011 1 Check-in Here
My favorite Indian buffet restaurant!
Delicious lunch buffet! Totally worth $8.95.
The buffet comes with all-you-can-eat garlic naan! Fresh and hot!
Buffet bar includes salad, vegetarian dishes, meat dishes, dessert and fresh fruit!
Must try:
-tikka masala
-samosa
-chicken curry
-goat curry
Great attentive service! Love this place :D
Parking: try to find street parking.. can get crowded on the weekends -
Review from Victoria H.
Los Angeles, CA
4/5/2012
Came in for a casual lunch with the boyfriend. We both love Indian food, and were excited for a lunch buffet. As vegetarians, we were thrilled at the many options before us. However, the taste was all right. My all-time favorite of saag paneer was a little bland, and there wasn't much cheese in it. The pakora was tasty though. Warm naan kept arriving at our table, and our water was constantly refilled. The fruit bar was somewhat disappointing. The blueberries they had that day were of raisin-consistency, and the mango was tasteless. Overall, okay for the price if you happen to be in the neighborhood for a quick lunch on your break.
-
Review from Radhika R.
San Diego, CA
3/26/2012
Best Indian food in Los Angeles! Although Cerritos/Artesia isn't very close to downtown where I'm located, it's most definitely worth the travel. My family and I have been coming here for years. Their lunch buffet is still the best value of any Indian restaurant I've ever been to. It used to be 5.95, but is now 8.95 I believe which is understandable. However, it's definitely better to come for dinner. I can only speak about the vegetarian entrees, but that's the best stuff. It's hard to find a better samosa, and although their pakoras are a bit salty, they really hit the spot. Mutter paneer, palak paneer, navrathan korma, and malai kofta are all delicious. Their breads are perfectly cooked, and still very well priced. We always order extras so we can have leftovers. A great spot, with a great ambiance that really hits the spot. It's a must try for any north indian lovers.
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Review from Mina B.
Laguna Beach, CA
3/27/2012
Meh. If I'm in the area again, I will try another restaurant or head to Belmont Shore where I know I can get great Indian food. Was here for a Saturday buffet. The food didn't seem fresh at all. The pakoras and goat dish were good, and I loved the soft, almost fluffy gulab jamun.
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Review from Jessie B.
Huntington Beach, CA
1/22/2012
In Artesia, there are many great Indian restaurants. And Yelp reviews can help you find them. Ashoka the Great is one that you should explore. But, you don't have to take my word for it.
Bah-dum bop! -
Review from soeung y.
Garden Grove, CA
12/18/2011
I ate Indian food once many many years ago and it did not leave a good impression. This is our FOB NIGHT #2 stop and I must say it has changed my opinion on Indian food.
We had some curry dishes that were lamb, chicken, and eggplant related. We also had these garlic type bread.
It was three of us and originally we thought we didn't need that much rice but the waiter suggested we'd order 2 plates. He was right.
So we had 3 curries, 2 rice, and garlic bread thing... for the three of us we were quite full. I think for a perfect meal for average sized... 2 types of curries would've been sufficient. Perhaps if you want to try varies types they do have a sampler dish I believe.
I can't handle spicy food well so we ordered mild and it was good to our liking.
I would say this is a pretty good place to give Indian food either a 2nd try or your first time. -
Review from Erwin P.
3.5 Stars - I liked it.
This restauarant looked very plain and ordinary from the outside. However when you come in, it is very nice you will see a glass partition with cascading water. The strong odor of curries and spices is overwhelming, but eventually your nostrils get used to it.
Food: Word of caution if you are sensitive to hot and spicy food this place may not be for you. The spice level (heat) at this restaurant is 3x stronger than The India Restaurant IMO.
The Tiki Masala dishes were tasty and spicy. The Tandori Chicken is flavorful but a bit dry. The garlic Naan is awesome. So 3.5 stars for food.
Now, the fried milk balls in sugar syrup (Gulab Jamun) is out of this world so 5.5 stars for that dessert.
Ambience: Very classy and nicely decorated. The collection of framed artwork of Indian silk embroideries is impressive. No linen napkins just paper napkins. The tables however have table cloths so 3.5 stars for not playing the "fine dining" role to the fullest. The place is a bit small and but cozy. Street parking only.
Service: the servers are friendly and cheerful but not very attentive. You have to flag them down to get a refill of iced tea or water. 3.5 stars.
Overall, not bad. The only thing that got to me was I found a black curly hair in the yogurt. Needless to say, that is one dessert I did not try today. -
Review from Chris C.
Downey, CA
I've been craving for Indian food for months now so I finally asked the hubby to take me out for dinner.
I knew for sure parking was going to be challenging on a Friday night. You have to fight for your parking along Pioneer on the weekends. We ended up going around the back and parking a block away. It's not too far so no complaints there.
The place looks nice, clean, and busy. We were greeted when we came in and seated within 2 minutes. Our waitress immediately filled our water glasses the moment we sat down. A big plus for my husband who loves water (I, on the other hand, can survive with 2 sips of water during a hot day). Then we were given our complimentary appetizer as we browsed through the menu. It took them about 20-30 minutes to bring out the food after we ordered but that's a pretty decent time. Okay, on to the review.
Mango Lassi - very smooth, with just enough sweetness in it. Pretty good.
Vegetable samosa - it seems like potatoes dipped in batter and then deep fried. It tasted a bit oily by itself but of course you're supposed to dip in the sauce that comes with it. The sauce was a bit sweet and spicy. Really, really good.
Karachi Chicken (medium hot) - I shouldn't have gone for the medium spicy. The hotness overpowered the flavors so I couldn't really tell if the dish was good or not. I could taste a bit of ginger in it but that was it.
Fish Marsala (medium hot) - surprisingly I could taste the spices in this one. I could taste the coconut and ginger in it. It was very flavorful; a little bit of sweetness and hotness in it. It tasted so good I kept dipping the na-an into the sauce.
Mango ice cream - I was surprised when the hubby ordered the mango ice cream. Yet again, they don't have much of a dessert selection. The ice cream tasted like the mango lassi. Except in solidified form. ;)
Yep, we're coming back here for sure. -
Review from Karen L.
Norwalk, CA
10/7/2011
Glad that I had my 1st experience w/ Indian food here. (: The servers seemed kind of anxious though (they were probably wondering how on earth a Korean family would like Indian food..) But we all liked it! The curry is very original & there's a whole buffet so that you can try all different kinds. They give you a kind of pita bread + spicy dips to eat them w/ on the side, and the plates come w/ rice + greens. I got a lamb curry which was reallyyyy good. The meat was tender, and was great w/ the rice + curry.
The servers also stopped by a lot to see how we were enjoying the meal. They were real nice & asked questions, always checking to see if they could do more. Will be going again soon! (: This place is a definite recommend~ -
Review from James T.
Redondo Beach, CA
12/26/2011
My wife and I drove out here to meet some friends for lunch. We were able to find parking on the street. The restaurant has no parking. It was a Monday so most of the shops in the area were closed so parking was easy. Otherwise I hear that it is hard to find a spot. The outside of the restaurant was fixed up nice but all the other store fronts along the block were run down. Walking inside I was pleasantly surprised.
Inside was very nice and clean. Even the restrooms were clean. The food was good. Nothing great and nothing very spicy. The same general food that you can get at hundreds of other Indian buffets. One thing that was very nice is that they keep coming out to your table with refills of Garlic nan. It would have been nice if they clearly labeled which dishes were vegetarian.
If you are in the area check it out. But its not really worth driving out of the way for. LA has plenty of Indian restaurants that are just as good. -
Review from Jean L.
Diamond Bar, CA
9/21/2011
This has the nicest interior than any Indian Restaurant I've been to. But that's not saying much because I've only been to like 5 different ones.
Anyway, I was here for the lunch buffet! I loved the Chicken Tikka Masala and Garlic Naan! There were some other curries I liked too, but I didn't take note of what they were called. One had spinach in it.
They do have a nice dessert/fruit selection at the end of the buffet line! Which was great to end with after the heavy lunch I just had.
I will definitely go back for more~ -
Review from Peter N.
Riverside, CA
12/5/2011
Its 10.95 on the weekends for their lunch buffet, but super yummy and delicious! Lots of selection with fresh garlic naan brought to your table.
Weekend lunch runs to 4:30, which is EXCELLENT! Will visit for weekday lunch, hopefully the selection will be just be numerous! :D -
Review from David T.
Long Beach, CA
8/20/2011
It was a tale of two restaurants with both the food and the service either being extremely good or extremely poor.
The good. The chicken vindalu, shrimp curry, and naan were all flavored perfectly and some of the best I've had. There was one waiter who was attentive and kind to us the entire night. We could barely understand what he said but always made sure we were taken care of when our actual waiter decided to pull a disappearing act.
The bad. The flavoring of the Chicken Tikka Masala and onion naan were fine but tasted like they had spilled a cup of salt in it. It was salty to the point of being inedible. In addition, the rice was overcooked and mushy. Aside from the one nice waiter everyone else was distracted and unfriendly. The host and our waiter would ask us a question and turn to walk away while we were answering their question. At the end of our meal we tried to give them a warm good bye but only were met with a half-hearted wave by the host.
Ashoka, I wanted to like you. I really did. But with all of the great Indian restaurants around, you really need to step up your game. -
Review from Felisha E.
Cerritos, CA
7/30/2011
Great lunch buffet, great service, and great prices. Their cuisine is a lot spicier than most Indian places I go to though, and they also use A LOT of ginger, so expect to bite into some ginger chunks during your meal! My favorite is their curried eggplant (baingan bartha). I'm not crazy about their basmati rice in particular, but they definitely have delicious garlic naan.
Parking is pretty much street side, so beware!
Also, I saw that they currently have coupons available on http://Restaurants.com, so check it out! -
Review from Kathy W.
Craving Indian food and found this place on Yelp. Thanks for the tips on the http://Restaurant.com coupon even though I wasn't able to use it.
Appetizer: Crispy chip with mint chutney and red pepper chutney [http://www.yelp.com/bi...
- the chip itself was a bit spicy which was odd
- there were large peppers in the other chutney to go with the red pepper
- I ate it more because I was hungry
Chicken Tikki Masala with soda (pink lemonade)
- flavorful, creamy base
- was a bit too salty
- good amount of chicken and bell peppers
- great addition to naan or rice
- pink lemonade was straight up concentrate! had a hard time drinking it. each time I did, I used water as a chaser.
My friends ordered the Chicken Thali combos and seemed to enjoy their meal. They got tandoori chicken and a chicken sausage-like with grilled onions before receiving the other things [http://www.yelp.com/bi....
Regular Naan:
- decent; not super warm or crispy
- would have preferred garlic naan
- not as good as The India Restaurant [http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Ambiance/Service: nice and casual. Diverse clientele. They don't come by very often so it may be difficult to track them down. They did refill my water, which is a blessing.
Overall the food is flavorful but has its side effects. It is a bit too salty and made me really thirsty later that night. The dining environment was appropriate for meeting up for a casual meal. Not sure if I would come back again other than to use my http://Restaurant.com coupon. [Thali combos and special combos and daily lunches invalidate the coupon]. -
Review from Ratika N.
7/11/2011
I have eaten here a couple of times and there is absolutely nothing spectacular about the food. I would probably give 2 stars for the food but the 1 star is really for the entire experience of eating here and for the attitude and service of the management and staff. I only went here because my usual restaurant was closed and decided to do take out as we were meeting at a friend's house (the bill was $75 for 6 of us).
We ordered take out at 11:30 am, reached the restaurant at 12:30 and after charging my credit card, I was told that the food wasn't ready yet. The restaurant was mostly empty except for 2 tables and I was told it will take 5-10 more minutes to get it ready. I was alright with that...no big deal.
I waited for 40 more min till I got my food, of which the naans were soggy, were not freshly made. I am Indian so I know what fresh naan tastes like....these were clearly made early in the morning! The chicken dish was way too creamy, I hate it when they compensate crème for flavor...Indian food is supposed to be flavorful with spices and not loaded with crème.
The worst part of this was when I asked the guy in the front why it was taking so long, he pretends to go back in the kitchen to check and I see him along with 3-4 servers and the chef just hanging in the front of the kitchen, sharing some laughs and not the least bothered. Even when other people came to eat in the restaurant, no one was there to greet them as they wanted to avoid dealing with me and telling me one more time that they have messed up the order again. This kind of pathetic service is really not done...The food was bland and too creamy, the naans were soggy and to top it, the service sucks! There are plenty of good restaurants in Cerritos and LA...I would not recommend Ashoka.Listed in: Ekks.....Places to avoid!
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Review from Kimberly C.
Los Angeles, CA
8/13/2011 1 photo
3.5 stars
I've tried about every Indian restaurant in the 10-mile radius surrounding Long Beach. Ashoka's buffet is my favorite. It is packed with lots of different dishes and is overall very consistent with the quality of the food and the service. If I'm going to be completely honest, as much as I ADORE Indian food, I've yet to find an Indian restaurant that really BLOWS me away. I'd much rather have homemade Indian food, but because my ties with local Indian moms and grandmas are limited, Ashoka's will have to do for now. -
Review from D C.
Norwalk, CA
8/29/2011
I searched for Indian lunch buffet on yelp and chose this restaurant because it had great ratings. So I went here for the lunch buffet on a weekday.
First impression was great. Their interior is very classic with tableclothes and chic booth tables.
However I was very very disappointed with their food.
I love Indian curry especially butter chicken with naan and vandaloo and so on, but this place had only one chicken curry, one goat curry and one vegetarian curry. The only thing I liked was thick naan breads. goat curry was so tough it was hard to chew.
Bottom-line... I want better curry and I'll never return here. -
Review from Anand V.
Pacific Beach, San Diego, CA
2/7/2012
Poor service and mediocre food
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Review from Tida C.
Pasadena, CA
I love indian food, and I've found it hard to find a place that matches up to Simply Indian in London.
My parents took me here a few weeks ago and I must say, this is amazing! We went to the buffet lunch which is only $8.99! They serve goat for the buffet which is really nice! They've also got lots of fruit and just a huge variety of things to pick from! I will definitely be back!
Very clean and they also have great waiters! -
Review from Albert P.
El Toro, CA
2/19/2012
Excellent mushroom masala, rich creamy and full of flavor. We usually have to wait 10 minutes to get seated as it is a popular spot on a weekend night, but well worth the wait. The chicken tikka masala is good not great, but the tandoor items are excellent. Also the bhindi masala is real nice and tasty, a hard to find treat done well. The kulfi is served perfectly and the gulab jamun is always served hot.
Dont sit next to the door -
Review from James W.
1/7/2012
Place was just as I expected. The other reviews here on yelp about this place were spot on. Your standard indian buffet standbys with the addition of delicious garlic nan delivered straight to your table, which is what sets this place apart form the other indian buffet places nearby. They had about three different deserts to choose from including a delicious rice pudding. Parking in c-town's little india can be annoying, so try going to lunch before 12 if you can to get a spot on pioneer.
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Review from Luisa J.
La Habra, CA
7/26/2011
I've been dying to try this place as it came highly recommended by a co-worker. Although some of their dishes were tasty (lentil soup and coconut chicken), I was overall dissapointed. We tried three types of appetizers - all were served tepid or cold The Chicken Marsala lacked flavor. The service leaves LOTS to be desired.
I'm glad I had a coupon!
