Bukhara Restaurant
Category: Indian/Pakistani [Edit]
Neighborhood: Jamaica Plain701 Centre Street
(between Burroughs St & Harris Ave)
Jamaica Plain, MA 02130 (617) 522-2195
- Nearest Transit:
Green Street (Orange)
- Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
76 Reviews for Bukhara Restaurant
I just got back from a few months in India, and I think the selection here is quite nice. I had the vegetable korma and it was very tasty, unlike many of the veg kormas I had in Calcutta! I found the service to be fine, the portions generous, and the water did not give me an intestinal virus. What more could you ask for?
The prices are a little steep for your average lowly grad student, but well worth the treat from time to time.
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I absolutely love Bukhara, though I will say straight away that the dinner prices are a bit steep. But I'm all about the buffet, so that's not really a problem for me. Yes, the food isn't spicy enough because it has to suit the tastes of the masses, but there is something truly delightful about getting to sample so many different dishes...and sample them until you are ready to fall asleep at your table. The lame Indian restaurants lining Mass Ave. between Central and Harvard can't touch Bukhara.
The food is excellent, the aforementioned lunch buffet is the bomb, the waiters are pretty insane and wonderfully entertaining, and this one dude who works there always takes a shot of Budweiser as their lunch service is coming to an end. Once, I saw one of the servers find a pair of ostentatious sunglasses that a customer had accidentally left behind, and put them on and do a dance of sorts. I mean, all of this for like $12? That's a pretty good deal to me.
I've also seen the owner/manager pack up a little plastic container from the buffet and give it to a homeless man on a few occasions. I also witnessed the entire waitstaff push a woman's stalled car to the side of the road, so she wouldn't have to leave it right where the #39 bus pulls in. I think this shows that they do genuinely care about their community.
I've been here a couple times, mostly for the buffet. I enjoy the food, and they're willing to make it pretty damn spicy, but man that service leaves something to be desired.
I end up getting naan for dessert with their pace. They ignore you. When I tried to cash in on the MBTA discount program, where they offer a free mango lassi or two samosa with the purchase of an entree, the manager argued that you needed the "coupon". The discount book just has an entry, not a coupon, and their door says "show and save" not "show and bring a coupon to save". I checked the website and they're totally not supposed to do that. Then he charged us anyway and was pretty mean about it.
That being said, I like Indian food and will probably keep eating it because it's close to my house. What a sad life I live.
The most important thing to remember when coming to visit Bukhara: bring a sweatshirt or something. Every time I have come it has been so damn frigid that I've had to restrain myself from tearing a decorative tapestry off the wall to use as a blanket.
The service is always bad here in one way or another. On my most recent trip, I was surprised that out order was taken and the food was delivered in a semi-reasonable timeframe, but after that, no sign of our waiter again. The only person who came by was some different waiter trying to steal our chutney. My soda glass was empty by the time the food arrived, and it, like we, sat neglected for the remainder of the meal.
The food is hit-or-miss. I've had good food here before. I'm pretty sure, at least; it was before my Yelpin' days, so I don't have notes, but I had a vaguely warm feeling about the place. My chicken tikka masala was weirdly sweet, which was unexpected but kind of worked for me. I love malai kofta at most places, but I didn't care for the creamy/nutty way they made it here. The poori was just greasy, though I thought I had had it nice and crispy before, so I guess that just means I lost the cook's coin toss this time. If you're melanin-deficient (read: white), don't count on being able to get anything spicy.
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You want it hot?
Ask Bukhara what their levels of spicy are (there are more than are advertised on the menu) and then say "I want it very hot." Your server will ask you if you want it very hot, and you should say "Yes, very hot."
Sit back and savor an ice-cold Kingfisher as you anticipate your meal. You could even enjoy some papadum with Bukhara's hot-ass chutney (the same level hot as the meal you just ordered) while you wait.
Then it comes. I had the ghosht curry, and it was fantastically hot. I've never actually gotten truly spicy-hot Indian food in the Boston area, but Bukhara gave me just what I asked for
AND IT WAS AWESOME!
My mother, partner and I ate here last December and it was a truly horrid experience. The service was terrible, it was extremely loud and busy for dinner, making it really hard to converse and relax. The food was the worst Indian food I've had in all of Boston. I ordered Paneer Korma (cheese in a cream based sauce with cashews). This is one of my favorite Indian dishes, but I just did not enjoy it here. It was extremely bland even despite the fact that I ordered my dish "medium". It felt like a watered down version of what the true dish should be like. The paneer was very rubbery, it did not taste very fresh. To make matters worse they ended charging me $20 more than the actual bill, which took about two days of calling to get it assorted with the manager. I will never return to this place. There are far better Indian restaurants in the Boston area.
Mmmm....indian buffet. I like the attention to detail this place provides. The waiters and busboys are always paying attention to how full your water glass is, the amount of meal that's been consumed, the number of plates on the table, even the cleanliness of your napkin. I like being doted upon. I've never had to wait for a table, had a bad dish, or had anything negative to say about the service or food. The sunday brunch buffet is my absolute favorite time to frequent this place, but the buffet line can get kind of long. The veggie samosas are always gone within minutes, too, but who can blame them for that? They're delicious!
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When I recently visited India, I fell in love with a dish called murg makhani. Its delightful combination of spices and flavors enchanted me so much that I had that dish at least four times during my visit.
So when I saw the murg makhani on Bukhara's menu, I had to try it. It was very different from the version I had in New Delhi, but the dish was really tasty. The saag paneer was also quite good and rich.
I cannot speak from first-hand experience, but my dining companion said the bathroom was "sketchy." Otherwise, I had a lovely time dining at Bukhara last night!
I love bukhara. My husband and I go to bukhara whenever we visit friends in JP. We've never had a bad meal there. I agree with some that the service can be abrupt at times, but they've never been openly hostile or failed to bring something we've asked for. I've lived in the Boston area for a long time and have tried several indian restaurants. Bukhara is my favorite in terms of the quality of the food and the portion sizes. Four people can easily eat there for about $50-60 if you share entrees. That's pretty affordable, in my opinion.
This would get 5 stars if the service were better. They usually just sneer at you and act like they're annoyed to have you in their restaurant. It's a good thing their food is so good (best in Boston according to my Indian boss). I love their chicken korma. YUMMY!!! Can't get enough of this place.
I have had several good meals at Bukhara. The one consistent part of the experience is the mediocre service. It is consistently rude and slow. The real deal breaker for me was this friday night at 10:30 when my friend and I had dinner. There was another couple enjoying the entrees. On four occasions we were asked if we are finished. I will not be back for sometime.
THE BEST Indian restaurant I've ever been to in my life! ! The food tastes like it is cooked by professionally well-trained chefs. Every single dish I tried was blissfully amazing! So much flavor and richness. Pricing is unbelievably affordable (I expected to pay way more when I got the bill for the first time). The buffet includes dessert and chai. Lively atmostphere. Ambiance is charming. Location is very hip. It can't get any better than this.
Bad service combined with truly lousy food = never coming back here.
We were seated immediately, but service took forever! We were waited on for drinks and though those came in 15 minutes time, we asked twice for condiments which took 10 minutes, and had to ask three waiters before we got to place our order, and it took 25 minutes just to place it!
The food, unlike most reviewers said, was awful. Our garlic naan was burned. The Saag Paneer ($12.95) was nearly inedible -- it was runny and had no flavor whatsoever -- while the chicken tikka was flavorful, it also caused ahem! gastrointestinal problems for hours for both of us. Coincidence?
I was also amazed to find that the vegetarian dishes were as expensive as the meat dishes -- not usual, and definitely disappointing.
While the Mango Lassi was good, and the portions were a good size, the service combined with the icky food means no go for me again.
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Bukhara was phenomenal!
When I went, my companions and I got the Baingan Bhartha, the Shahi Aloo Gobhi, and the Kabuli Chanaa. This was some of the best Indian food I've ever had. Going here has inspired me to learn to make these dishes myself, because I don't know when I'll be in Jamaica Plain/Boston again! YUMMMM!
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My favorite restaurant. Perfect JP location, nice ambience, awesome food. I love going for the weekend brunch buffet, but equally love going for dinner.
The lunch buffet here is just okay, fresh food with good flavors, however not much variety. A decent lunch.
The dinner service and food here has a lot to be desired. I had a entree that tasted burned and the the service was took like FOREVER.
I remember when this space was the Bread and Water Cafe. That place was a treasure. Please come back!
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Note: this review is based solely on the lunch buffet. I've heard negative things about the dinner service, but I had a really positive experience today at lunch.
Anyway, on with the review. My work posse rolled up here today to take advantage of said buffet. We showed up around 2, and we were not disappointed. There wasn't a huge selection of food, but what was there was fresh and delicious. I sampled the rice, the beef korma, the chicken tikka masala, the saag paneer, and the tandoori chicken. Aside from the saag paneer, everything (especially the tandoori chicken) was delicious. So delicious, in fact, that I went up for seconds. Yes, I'm a glutton, but at least I didn't finish them.
The prices are great, too. It's approximately $9 for all-you-can-eat, which means a lot in our American culture, and means even more when one dines out in Boston.
There's free parking in the back, if you drive. Also noteworthy: the tables are nifty. Check 'em out.
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DRROOOOooollllL~~
I love getting food here. More importantly, I love that they deliver. And it has NEVER taken more than half an hour to get to my house.
I could order it every day.
Tons of great options, prices are good, and they show up at your door all dressed up and polite, with the food still steaming hot.
LOVE IT!
I love Bukhara.
The tandoori is not dry like some other Indian restaurants I have been too. I love the naan and the basics like Tikka Masala and Korma are exceptional.
The dinner for two is the best deal in town and it feeds closer to four. You can even get it to go too.
I have yet to check out the lunch buffet but I hear it's outstanding.
I once murdered a mango creme brulee here in under a half minute. That was kind of embarrassing.
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It's been established that the waiters are jerks. Boy, are they! At first I thought they were just homophobes but then I read all these reviews and see that they're equal opportunity d-bags. I suppose that's comforting. But here's the deal. The food tastes good. Really good. So go for the buffet. It gives you a sampling (or gorging) of the basics, and if you go on the weekend you get the dosas, which are really yummy. Maybe bring a bottle of water too though, cuz again, the service totally sucks and you don't really want to interact with those guys anyway.
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My favorite place for Indian food and about the only Indian food in Boston my boyfriend [who is from India] will eat. I've tried every vegetarian dish and was satisfied with all of them -- I don't think I could pick a favourite. And how I love the brunch/lunch buffet!
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This definitely goes into my Best Indian of Boston list.
Another great date with S, a couple of weeks ago. Also a bit rusty on the details of this one, should have written review right away!
Had the vegetarian dinner for two with a Cotes du Rhone. Definitely enough food for two, plus leftovers for Indian omelettes the next morning...
I believe we had the Mulligatawny soup with the Aloo Mutter and Vegetable Korma entrees and for dessert: mango ice cream (him) and gulab jamun (me). The meal came with samosas, papadum, nan, and raita. I was very very pleased with every dish. The samosas were a little drier than I'm used to, but still tasty. S was skeptical of gulab jamun, but ended up stealing a second taste. The onion chutney was INCREDIBLY spicy and took me by surprise. Fortunately, the raita did a fine duty as fire extinguisher.
The waiter was utterly unhelpful with the wine pairing, so I took a stab at it, and must say-- I did well. Try it, let me know what you think.
Will definitely come back here. Maybe the next time we walk through the arboretum?
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I'm pretty sure I could eat naan and saag paneer here all day long.
We went for the buffet this afternoon, and I have to say it surpassed my expectations; I'm used to places like the Tin Tin Buffet, which offers plentiful, if not that great, food. However, everything in this buffet seemed well executed with fresh and tasty ingredients. I tried a little bit of everything and liked it all to varying degrees - there was nothing I disliked, which was good.
It's a small space and with the buffet in there it makes for some close quarters while dining and/or getting your food; I felt like I was either in someone's way or they were in mine no matter if I was at our table or in line for food. The service was okay -- they were hell bent on making sure we had full water glasses at all times which was a bit irritating as the waiter kept leaning over my right arm and he knocked the food off of my fork a few times by just appearing and reaching over to me fill glasses without any warning.
The price is more than reasonable for the buffet and well worth going to again in the future.
I can't say enough good things about this place. I've been in JP for almost four years now, and I go back here a couple of times a month every month. Their staff is very nice, the food is fantastic. I highly recommend the tikka masala dishes, but really everything is good, especially the breads. They make a good sweet lassi! The crowd is always cool and the prices here are about average for Boston Indian restaurants. Check them out, you'll love them.
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This and Rangoli in Allston are my favorite Indian places in the Boston area. I don't know what's authentic, having never been to India, but the food here is fresh and well-prepared, with a range of flavors. They will happily cook to your requested level of spiciness, and since I often order for my kids, this is a huge plus. The buffet is excellent, and you can take it out.
Like every other Indian place except Rangoli (where the servers are almost all Nepalese as of two years ago), the staff are often cold and curt. I should mention that when I go alone (almost always to pick up an order), they are very nice to me, but my wife won't go alone because she says they're rude to her. In a neighborhood that has become mostly lesbian, rudeness to women is not a good business move.
I would have knocked a star off for this, but the goat curry (usually available at the buffet) is so good, it gets that star back.
This place had pretty much already struck out for me before I even stepped inside:
1- I know nothing about Indian food.
2- I'm the pickiest eater EVER.
3- I was going out to dinner with my SO's family. (ok ok not the restaurants fault I know!)
We were seated at a booth in the back. (on a side note this is how awkward my SO's family is: they arrived before us and seated themselves so that we would have to sit at opposite ends of the table. This was my worst fear b/c her family makes me so anxious). The service seemed ok in the beginning but after our appetizers came the service went to shit. They rushed us through our appetizers clearing the plates before asking if we were finished. After our meals came they hovered over us waiting for us to finish. And what's more annoying than running out of water and not having any? A waiter coming over literally every 2 minutes to see if you need more! Let me eat in peace!
The food was pretty good I guess.
It was my first time with Indian food so I don't have anything to compare it to. I thought the waiter was going to kill someone when a few people asked to take they're food home.
I will probably go back again. The menu was ginormous so I'm sure I could find a few other things I would enjoy.
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Good Indian food. Went here for a lunch buffet and stacked my plate. The thing about buffets is that you sacrifice quality for quantity. And for dinner its a bit out of much current price range. Also when we ordered nann it was a little small. I dunno maybe im just used to hole in the wall places with cheap huge portions. Deserves a second visit.
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I went for dinner on a friday night and the place was doing some good business. In an attempt to be a useful Yelper (!) here is my expert opinion [c'mon - you should know by now that all Brits are curry experts]
The Pluses
:: GREAT naan breads, the doha looked fantastic too
:: best tikka masala I've tasted in Boston (duck too!)
:: lamb dopiaza was lovely if a little different to usual
:: a good dahl (i requested a half-portion and they duly obliged)
:: lovely decor - the place has a great atmosphere
:: best Indian dinner I've had so far in America
The Minuses
:: a bit expensive for what it is, especially with the bad service (read on)
:: no need to be showing the Sox game in a $$ restaurant
:: funky blue glasses mean that the waterboy can't tell that you're out
:: menu has not much in the way of new or adventurous stuff
:: my lassi was very small... a bit of a rip-off
:: bland and small poppadoms with terrible sauce options
The Weird Stuff (ie. also please give me a funny vote)
:: People had to borrow a flashlight to read the menu in the 'moody' lighting (?!)
:: I had to ask for a salty lassi 3 times, they just couldn't believe I would order it and it came very late into the meal after they'd unsuccessfully tried to smuggle a mango lassi under my nose
:: When I ordered a special side dish I was told flat out "you don't want that"..... WTF?! errmm... I do. They never let me order it though. Hmmm.
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The food tastes good, I wouldn't go to great lengths to describe how delicious or complicated it is, because it's just a small notch above some other Indian joints in Boston....and the servers/managers are CRAZY, and definitely aim to piss you off when they can.
I like me a good prank, but not when it comes in or around food. They will place little "reserved" placards on tables throughout the place to play games and I'm not sure why they get such a kick out of it, but they do- and you may find yourself the subject of some obvious banter, and then the service will continue to inject the sarcasm into the experience...without ever actually involving you, and letting you laugh with them, but by feeling like an ass for eating there. This has happened twice for me there, second time a bit more extreme when they placed down the pistachio drink my friend ordered, knocking it into him and spilling all over the table, without cleaning up, and laughing about it, yet again. Had we not been voracious, we all would have left right then. Instead we chose to compensate accordingly when that time came around.
All kind of makes me wonder...what do you thinks in the saaaaag paneer?
Go to Kebab Factory in Somerville, if you're looking for a modernish Indian experience. I've heard they have the same owner, but the service is great and the food is considerably unique and worth a good yelp.
Best Indian food I've had in Boston so far. Good service and very reasonable. Curries & naans are very tasty. Highly recommend.
I really like their buffet. Food are very delicious. I saw people mentioned why they love this restaurant and food they recommend.
Here i add little comments, so you know why I give such a good restruant 3 stars only. I went this restaurant so many times when I was visiting my friend in JP.
When I try a restaurant, The most important food I really care is the rice. Sometimes their rice is hard, that was disappointing, but everything else is great. After all, a good Indian buffet restaurant!
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I love love love the Indian food at this JP restaurant. They have delish curries and the staff is always friendly and nice.
I had been wanting to go here for months because every time I was nearby, I could just smell how good it was. So, when my friend came into town & wanted Indian, off we went. It was a Saturday night & were immediately seated by the window in a nice small booth. The atmosphere was great, though there was a toddler toddling around & doing toddler type stuff (in my non-kid opinion, 9 o'clock on a Saturday night seems late to have your toddler out to dinner).
But getting to the real point - the food. It was very delicious - though the exact names of what we had escape me now (as I'm only an Indian food newbie). For dinner & a round of drinks & of course, a dish to go for hubby, it came to $60. Not bad -- pretty much what I'm used to spending when I go out.
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I went once for lunch and really liked it. The dishes were tasty, and the spicing just right. Maybe not the best Indian ever, but certainly good. The lunch buffet is a really good deal, too.
Update: I've been here many times by now, and while the lunch buffet is good value, I have to go down one star for the food in general. It's ok, but you can find better in Boston.
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My opinion of this place is bipolar. On the one hand, i've had some fantastic curries here (the mahi-mahi coconut curry special was fantastic, and most of the other curries have been decent), and the lamb dishes have been OK overall; he tikka dishes are quite decent as well. I also like that they're generous with the portions and you'll definitely leave full, and appreciate that the place looks nice (unlike the comfortable but hole-in-the-wall decor of most of the other Centre St places)
On the other hand, while I haven't had outright rude servers like some other reviewers, my experiences with the service would characterize it as "disinterested and brusque'. And there have been some menu missteps as well. The tandoori was really bad, and the goat curry was atrocious (Himalayan Bistro did it 100 times better).
Still, all in all, it's a totally serviceable Indian restaurant. I don't think i'd drive out of my way, passing up other Indian places to get to it, but it's perfectly fine if you're in the neighborhood.
I am addicted to this place! They serve Indian food, but most of the staff are Nepalese. Sorry no Nepalese food on the menu. They have a great lunch buffet for $9.95 and a very good selection to choose from. They will usually have veggie samosas, tandoori chicken, a dish with korma sauce, a curry dish, and then some others. I have had eggplant and fishe before too. They change up the items on the buffet, but for the most part, it is a welcomed change. They also offer soup, south indian style and also dosa, which is also south indian. I am not really a big fan of South Indian food, so I pass on this portion. They also have salad, and desserts. I think that this place really is affordable, and its great if you want to dine by yourself.
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Having eaten both the lunch buffet and dinner at Bukhara, I'd recommed going there for the lunch over the dinner. The buffet has a wide selection (maybe 8 or so 'mains', plus masala dosas, as well as a collection of fruits and the rice puddding), which is more than other Indian restaurants I've been to here.
The food was good, the service was quick (to clear plates, bring water etc.) and it's got a nice atmosphere - I like the good mix of people who eat here as well as the good people watching that can be done onto Centre Street through the front windows.
Great for local Indian restaurant, although whether I'd drive to JP especially to eat there from another part of town, I'm not so sure.
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Yum! Granted, there are many Indian places I have not yet tried in Boston, but I was impressed by the food here. I've tried the Murg Curry & Murg Tikka Masala- both had a very nice flavor, and the portions were large- plenty to take home for lunch and maybe even dinner too! I love the Pashawary naan, stuffed with coconut, dried fruit & potatoes- absolutely delicious. My main complaint here is that the service leaves something to be desired....some of the staff is not all that friendly, and our server never checked back on us after dropping the food.
A mixed bag. I enjoyed the sauce of the swordfish masala, but the fish itself was overcooked. The aloo paratha was poor. The scallop appetizer was good except that it was skimpy on scallops. Atmosphere was excellent, but service was shaky. Wine wasn't served at the proper temperature.
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I've eaten here three times; once for my first try and twice more because other people wanted to. I've never made it through a meal without having to run to the bathroom - quickly. Too much information? Consider yourself warned.
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