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Desi Dhaba
Category: Restaurants Indian Indian [Edit]
401 Massachusetts AveCambridge, MA 02139
Neighborhood: Central Square
(617) 547-4121
- Nearest Transit:
-
Massachusetts Ave @ Sidney St (1, CT1)
Massachusetts Ave @ Sidney St (1, 64, 70, 70A, CT1)
Brookline St @ Green St (47)
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11:30 am - 11 pm
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Mandana Y. said: "Out-of-towner Review Was touring the Harvard square when we stumbled across the sign for Maharaja. Walking up to the restaurant I was already getting excited. Talk about decor. This place goes all out! I was a little worried the…" read more »
85 reviews for Desi Dhaba
Review Highlights
"Chicken tikka masala, pakora's, lentil soup, saag paneer..."
(in 11 reviews)
"The best Indian food in Central Square."
(in 10 reviews)
"It's the best dessert naan I've ever had."
(in 24 reviews)
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85 reviews in English
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Review from Genevieve B.
Cambridge, MA
10/4/2011
I want to state that I am new to Indian food so my review will be based simply on what I ate and my experience at the restaurant. I have been four times to Desi Dhaba and I get the same thing. I always get an order of the meat samosas, garlic naan and chicken Jalfrazi. It's sooooo good! The food always comes out piping hot and there is always enough to take home! Sometimes the service is a bit slow but it is always worth the wait! The prices are very reasonable and I always come back with someone new. I've even converted my boyfriend who is NOT a very adventurous eater :)
The restaurant itself is located in a very convenient location in Central Square. It has outdoor seating and lucky for them there is a small gathering area built by the city which is right in front of their doorsteps. In the summer time, it is a great place to people watch! I'm also big on the decor of a restaurant and the Desi Dhaba gets my stamp of approval. The ceiling looks like a replica of a palace ceiling of what you would probably expect to find in that part of the world, the columns are a nice touch and I definitely appreciate the Indian music played. There is a small bar in the restaurant and they appear to have a wider variety of beer than I would expect. Definitely a place I enjoy going to! -
Review from Jay M.
Boston, MA
12/9/2011
I frequent Desi Dhaba for the lunch buffet because it's conveniently located just a couple of blocks from work. This review is based solely off my experiences at the lunch buffet.
It's a steal at $8, but the selection is minimal. There are about 6-8 options-- more than half being vegetarian(which are tasty, but I'm a meat eater). The food is good, but lacks a certain punch. Maybe it's better ordering off the menu because it's more cost-effective to dumb down the buffet? I don't know. The naan is brought out in batches which is fantastic because it's always a fresh product, but the downside to that is that you have to wait when they run out-- especially painful when it's busy.
The dining room is cozy and clean, but the service leaves much to be desired. There's usually just one waiter during lunch service and it's easy to understand that you can become swamped, but it's not that difficult to take a second to stop by the table once between sitting us down and handing us the check. Water doesn't fill itself.
Anywho, Desi Dhaba is a middle of the road experience as far as lunch buffets go. The price justifies the food quality, but convenience keeps me coming back. -
Review from Nitya D.
Cambridge, MA
8/19/2011
They have a great $8 lunch buffet M-F and I think it's either $11 or $12 on the weekends. The buffet has about 8 items, of which half are vegetarian. It's a great place for a quick lunch as I got there around 12:15 and was out by 12:45.
In terms of food, it's actually very decent Indian food, which is sometimes hard to come by in this area unless you're going to try a sit down place like Mela or Tantric in Boston. They make fresh naan and bring it out in batches so that it never gets cold or hard. But this can be annoying too if you're forced to wait around for the naan and the food on your plate starts to get a bit cold. I've been here 3 times now and today was the first time I actually noticed that they have a bar. I wouldn't say it's exceptional, but they do have 1 of everything (scotch, vodka, gin, beer, wine, etc.).
My only frustration was that today since it is scorching out, turning up the AC would've been nice, especially since hot Indian food naturally induces sweating. -
Review from Joshua L.
Cambridge, MA
12/26/2011
Solidly good Indian food in a town that has lots of acceptable Indian food, but, in all honesty, not a lot of very good Indian food. It's average for prices, average for taste, and average for service. You may be picking up a theme here.
-1 star for being a little too expensive for their quality level, and another -1 for a bit of a disappointing lunch buffet. Then again, most of the Indian lunch buffets around here are on the disappointing side.
Still, it's very consistent for its quality level, unlike most mid-price range places. I don't think I've ever had anything bad here, it's just that, aside from once or twice, I've never left feeling particularly impressed either. -
Review from Ben H.
Boston, MA
5/23/2011
I couldn't have been happier with this place. Excellent Indian food, including south Indian dishes (thalis & dosas). I loved the pani puri as well. A number of inexpensive beer options and a nice atmosphere. The dishes are reasonably priced and of the highest quality. I left immensely satisfied.
The only possible criticism I could offer is that there was no alcohol-infused mango cocktail on the menu. Such cocktails are delicious. However, I firmly believe that given their ability to make mango lassis and the presence of hard liquor, they could produce such a beverage if so implored. This is my new favorite Indian restaurant in Boston. -
Review from Kalimuthu C.
Shrewsbury, MA
7/23/2011 1 Check-in Here
My first time to this restaurant. I have been to the other restaurants this group owns and wasn't expecting great Indian food. However, I was proven wrong. The service was good and was a time consumed wait. The food was really good and for the spice factor not surprised, it was good but I thought I could have been little more. We ordered some Roti's, kheema paratha, the chicken curry and the lamb curry were good.
I would recommend this place for an unplanned dinner or lunch session and get surprised. I haven't tried their buffet. This review is good for a dine in. -
Review from Tall C.
Boston, MA
7/20/2011
My favorite India Restaurant in the area.
The food seems always super fresh, the waiting staff is very kind too.
And I adore the over-the-top gold-leaf/bollywood/Indian palace decoration - surprisingly managing to be joyfully kitch and tasteful at the same time! :)
Highlight: their Dal Makhani is A-MA-ZING (black lentils in a warm broth with plenty of fresh crushed ginger and fresh cilantro, spiced just the right way) -
Review from Jungin L.
Cambridge, MA
10/24/2011
The lamb saag stank of gaminess. I love lamb and prefer to have a bit of that smell there, but this was quite overwhelming. We got a scant three finger-sized pieces of chicken as the chicken tikka portion of a two-person plate; why in the world did they put three pieces for a two-portion menu? Beats me.
Coconut soup was neither dessert nor appetizer. Tomato soup tasted way too acidic. The chicken masala didn't have enough spice. Most of all, the Chapati wasn't the flaky, chewy and slightly weightier-than-naan that I expect from quality Indian places I've been to in Central Asia and London suburbs.
I've only been to Diva lounge and Punjabi Dhaba; both were preferable to Desi Dhaba. Avoid this place. -
Review from Lisa H.
Brookline, MA
10/11/2011
Maybe a 3.5, but I really like this place for delivery. Chicken tikka masala, pakora's, lentil soup, saag paneer are all a go. It's not the priciest in the area, but it's not the cheapest either.
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Review from Gal N.
Cambridge, MA
3/7/2011
One of my favorite Indian takeout/delivery places in the Cambridge area. Delicious food, not too spicy but very flavorful. Some favorites are the lamb curry, the samosas, and of course the mango lassi.
I wasn't a huge fan of the plain naan, but the keema naan is pretty good (though not the best I've had). -
Review from JJ G.
Cambridge, MA
10/17/2010 1 Check-in Here
The only reason I am not giving up five stars in the service.
I eat here so often, and still, so slow
Soooooo slooooooowwwwwwwww.......
On the plus side-
Really excellent outdoor seating where you can drink beer
Yummmmmy, if in a very American way, food
Really reasonable prices
Superconvenient, right down the street from my house location
As long as you don't have a starving seven year old with you, who can't wait half an hour for a re-heated samosa, you'll be just fine. -
Review from Lisa W.
Cambridge, MA
1/22/2011
Got (free!) delivery from Desi Dhaba last night.. mmmm! First of all, their delivery radius is really large! We're a good 3 miles away and still in their delivery zone (did I mention that delivery was free?). We got:
meat samosa
garlic naan
chicken vindaloo
lamb saag
Everything was delicious. The curries were slightly spicy which I loved, and best of all, they came under the 45 min delivery time! I am impressed. -
Review from Brittany H.
Pittsburgh, PA
11/17/2010
Went here on a whim with a friend one day and thought it was meh. Average, unimpressive. Prices were okay, but for such boring food I'd expect they'd be a little bit lower. After a really uninteresting meal, I was getting ready to pay the bill, until the waiter placed the bill clearly in front of my friend, who is a male. Like, not just on his side of the table, but directly in front of him, practically on his lap. I was rather offended by this gesture, especially since I was the one paying the bill, so there went his tip.
I have no reason to return. There are much better places. -
Review from Josephine L.
Boston, MA
9/2/2010
I didn't have high expectations for Desi Dhaba since Boston, and esp. Central Sq. in Cambridge is known for having lots of middle-of-the-road, not bad but not good Indian restaurants. So I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed my dinner!
The Tomato Soup truly hit the spot and was piping hot, flavorful, perfectly spiced and just plain delicious. I love soup, I love hot soup, I love hot, savory soup, I love hot, savory, spiced soup. So guess how I felt about this soup? If your answer includes "love", you get a piece of naan!
My Chicken Vindaloo was appropriately spicy, but not spicy enough for me. Then I made the mistake of trying my boyfriend's Chicken Coconut Korma. Oh, wowee! I've tried the CCK at many places because my boyfriend always gets it and we have a lot of Indian food, but Desi Dhaba's is the best I've had. It was so good, actually, that I ended up finishing the Korma he couldn't finish--which made sense since I kept sneaking bites throughout the meal. :)
The naan came fresh, hot and crisp. No complaints there.
Dessert was a refreshing Kheer. One order was enough for the two of us because they give quite a huge portion. It was cold and sweet, exactly as Kheer should be, chock full of cardamon-y goodness. Yum!
Surprised by how good this place is. Considering it's just a hop and a skip from my apt, I'll definitely be back! -
Review from Wen-fai F.
Cambridge, MA
10/22/2010
This place really has the most craveable Shahi Paneer in the Boston area. Whether its authentic or not, I have no idea but god, it is delicious. I tasted my first Shahi Paneer 4 years ago and it was at Desi Dhaba. Since then, it has become my favorite dish (followed by Malai Kofta as a close second) to order at any Indian restaurant but no one does it quite like Desi.
For those who have not been exposed to the wonder that is Shahi Paneer, I don't care if you're an avid meat-eater or grew up on a farm eating meat all day every day... TRY IT. It's nutty, creamy, slightly sweet, and the paneer is cooked so well. So unless you're lactose intolerant...no excuses. And I find myself writing this rampant review at 2 in the morning because I am craving it! -
Review from Aboud Y.
Cambridge, MA
12/24/2010
D.D.D.D.D.D.
That's more D's than you'll find in Pam Anderson's or Dolly Parton's pantie drawer! Ouch, cheesy. But Desi Dhaba Does Do Decent Delivery!
Their vindaloo in particular is outstanding! They are also professional and offer free (and prompt) delivery. For me they are usually a good second delivery option to change things up when I'm tired of Samraat.
As the Governator says...I'll be back! -
Review from Julie J.
Boston, MA
10/11/2010
All in all, I liked this place. I'm a recent transplant from Atlanta, which is slowly becoming more saturated with Indian communities, so there are Indian buffets all over the place. I was very pleased with Desi Dhaba -- I won't go as far to say that this is the best, but it's pretty darn good.
Prices are reasonable. ~$8 for lunch buffet. Their buffet is tiny: maybe like 6 types of dishes, plus rice, samosas, and naan, but for the price, I can't complain. Besides it's really tasty. I've been to buffets where there are endless buffet tables and every dish is mediocre. Here, each dish is really well made.
I've gotten delivery from here too; they may be the only Indian place in Central Sq that does free delivery (well, with a $15 min). They give huge portions though, so it's worth it if you get a couple of dishes.
Their chicken curries are delish -- the chicken is fall-apart tender, and their curries are flavorful without knocking you out of your chair. The veggie samosas are gut-bustingly delicious -- I think I could get full off of 2 of these alone. -
Review from Ziyan C.
8/12/2010
Note: this review is based on going here 3-4 years ago, so the situation may have changed since then.
In general, I love Indian buffets. Love, love, love. And I don't have very high standards.. been to the higher end ($15 buffet at Kashmir) and lower end ($7-$8 around Central), and both are great to me - I just love to eat. So it should be pretty hard to disappoint me, but Desi Dhaba has succeeded in that. I just remember the food looking old/stale, and being rather tasteless compared to other restaurants. Not downright bad - but probably one of the worst Indian buffets I've been to. -
Review from Áine F.
Baltimore, MD
1/2/2010
Ooof! So good.
I have been here on many many occasions, with Indian friends and non. I have been really happy with pretty much everything I've gotten from here...but I have a secret guilty pleasure. The lamb dosa. I know it's wrong, but I love it so! Un-frickin-believable!
I love their buffet. I love the guys who work here. I love the space.
Ooof.Listed in: How to hit Central.
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Review from Julia F.
12/3/2006
Desi Dhaba is a nice place to stop for the buffet (which is about average $7) they have recently given the place a face-lift and have a fully stocked bar. The wait staff is very pleasant and it has a great atmosphere.
My one fault in going out for Indian is that since I can remember I have been ordering Chicken Tikka Masala. Sometimes I will get Poori or Naan with it, but basically, I'm usually freaked out to try something new, cause I KNOW what I like.
Just last week (4/25/08) I went with a friend for dinner, and decided that I would step outside the comfort zone. This means I trust the nice little men at DD to make it good. We got Coconut Soup, Curry Shrimp, Tandoori Grill Platter, and the Large Bread Basket. Literally covered the table in food. We sat and ate for well over an hour, and water was refilled frequently, sauces were brought, plates taken away, check delivered all in a timely fashion. I was happy that I tried something new. I love tandoori chicken, and only get it for buffet usually. So tasty! We had enough food to feed about four people! The bill was about fifty bucks and that included a drink each.
Also, it's not hard to convince anybody you eat with to join you at Toscanini's afterwards... A little coffee or ice cream treat totally hits the spot after any good meal. -
Review from Hillary M.
Boston, MA
10/9/2007
I realize I have eaten here for dinner more than any other place in Boston this past year. It suits me in that it is never crowded, the food comes out fast and it is always really tasty (I am not a vegetarian). The first time I went, we thought the staff was really slow- now we know that you gesture to the staff when you want them to come to the table. Ah ha!
I recommend the mango lassi, samosa, chicken korma and chicken masala. Friends have tried the fish dishes and the tandoori and all were good. -
Review from Shane F.
Cambridge, MA
5/9/2007
Desi Dhaba is the flashiest Indian restaurant in Central square. The interior design doesn't reach the wackiness quotient of Kabob Factory or Diva but it's colorful and modern.
The buffet is of average size and price, it has reliably tasty vegetarian dishes and, at least sometimes, offers Punjabi Tikki instead of the pakoras and samosas you might be tired of finding everywhere else. Their plain naan is possibly the best plain naan I've ever had. If you make decisions about where to eat based on bread quality this might be helpful to you.Listed in: Indian Buffets of Central…
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Review from Shaina P.
7/2/2010
Although plagued by construction for years, Desi Dhaba has seriously benefited (like its neighbor, Luna Cafe) by the open patio out its front door. On a perfect night in June, the hot-but-not-too-hot food (this isn't a review for their buffet) here matched the delicious weather. I'm not claiming to be an expert on Indian fare, but for what is served in other Indian restaurants (and there are A LOT in Cambridge), I thought this place matched the rest well.
Dave and I ordered a meat dish (lamb vindaloo) and a vegetarian dish (name, can't remember), garlic naan, and veggie pakoras. The entrees came with plenty of basmati rice and each entree was served in its own personal crock (hot hot hot!!). The pakoras tasted fresh and weren't overcooked and the naan was smoky from the tandoor oven. They also served your meal with the three condiments: minty stuff, tamarind sauce, and chutney: in clean glass servers. The beer was served in a frosted glass and everything was more than edible.
And if you're lucky, your friend, MMC, might see you while traveling via the 1 on Mass Ave and tweet @ you. -
Review from Heather H.
Somerville, MA
7/10/2006
Decent enough, fresh, non-greasy Indian fare. Inoffensive.
EXCEPT when I ordered vindaloo and it was as spicy as half the spice of a korma. Do not order their vindaloo if you want spice. -
Review from sunny n.
Washington, DC
11/29/2006
Great Authentic Indian Cuisine in a superb classy atmosphere tucked away of central square on Mass Avenue. Perfect Lighting, Great Decor, Owner and waitstaff are very knowledgeable and personable.
FREE DELIVERY - one of the few Indian restaurants offering free delivery. If you want a good experience..I suggest going for dinner and not buffet...thats my suggestion on all indian dining...:-)) -
Review from Rose K.
Boston, MA
11/15/2008
The best Indian food in Central Square!
I really just had to share my experience from last night. I had had a scratchy throat all day, and I walked off the 70 over to Desi Dhaba to get a to-go order and walk home (it was nice out).
Anyway, I walked in, and told them I was there to pick up an order, and they showed me to the bar, and had me sit down while they went and got my food. Then, the waiter poured me a glass of water. It totally hit the spot on my scratchy throat, and it was nice to have for the walk home. I'm not used to such attentive service for takeout from an affordable Indian joint!
My food was all ready, but I thought that was such a nice touch! Also, the food itself turned out to be very impressive! Thanks, Desi Dhaba! Your attentive service earned you a positive Yelp. -
Review from Ryan L.
Boston, MA
9/27/2008
I really wanted this place to be da bomb of indian buffets because it's located 5 minutes walk from my work but alas, beggars can't be choosers.
Desi Dhaba does provide one of the cheaper buffets in Central ($7.95) but compared to the multitude of Indian buffets I've gone to, it's really only middle of the pack. They tend to only serve chicken and the curry dishes could have been a bit more spicier. The chicken tikka masala could have used a little more zing and tomato tanginess. Small buffet selection as well. I'd rather pay a $1 more and go to India Pavilion further down the street. -
Review from Haley S.
Cambridge, MA
5/15/2009
Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum (insert me rubbing my tummy here)
I had the Chicken Mushroom with garlic Naan and this wonderful paper thin crunchy bread thing (I didn't order it but man I ate it!). We sat outside and were served very quickly, water glasses never empty, waiters polite. I can't wait to go back! This is now my excuse to get to Central/Kendal Square more often!!Listed in: No Harvard degree needed..just…
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Review from Melissa A.
Brookline, MA
7/14/2010
Okay so one of the main reasons I will make a trip to Central Square is for my weekend Indian buffet. There's a good number of Indian restaurants in this area and a lot of them are decently priced.
My bf and I ended up at this restaurant for a Sunday buffet only after finding that the place we normally go was under construction. A quick phone search later we end up here.
It was clean and neatly laid out. Nothing super fancy.
I was happy that they offered FOUR vegetarian options in the buffet. FOUR! I was a happy camper. Most buffets I have been to have usually two or potentially three veggie options. Finding a 4'er and paying $8 for the buffet is rare! With those 4 plus pakoras for an appetizer and naan on the side, all was well in the world.
I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for when it comes to food. I'm not going to necessarily hold my standards as high for a $8 buffet a I would for a $16 buffet. For $8 each we left happy, overly full, and both agreed we would come back to Desi Dhaba. The food was good, not too spicy (though I do like spicy Indian food I know buffet dishes are rarely spicy), and had a good amount of flavor. Their spinach was quite good, too.
The wait staff was attentive and though I drank my water frequently, I don't think my glass ever got less than half full before someone came to fill it back up. We were also sort of in a hurry and we were able to get our check quickly, too.
Good stuff and for $8 you can't go wrong! -
Review from Tracy K.
Cambridge, MA
9/1/2008
The food here is solidly good. I wasn't blown away, but it's apparently pretty authentic. Of course, I'm no Indian food expert, but my Desi friend came with me to guide me through the meal, haha.
We got the large naan basket, which included a sweet naan (interesting, almost dessert or pastry-like), one with potato in it, and a garlic one (my personal fave). We split tikka masala and palak paneer. I guess we didn't expect the portions to be so generous. When it's served, it doesn't even look that big, but as you're eating, you realize just how much food there really is.
My only complaint is that the waiter was rather...not smart. He was very polite and courteous, but he was just off in some ways. He did a horrible job explaining to us the size difference between the large and small baskets of naan (something about 2 kinds but 4, 1 of each type, wtf?). We also had to wait a century to get the check, and when we were getting things to-go, he could NOT understand that we wanted to split all the dishes between the two of us.
I'm coming here again before it gets too cold to sit outside, and I'm feeling adventurous so I'm going to get everything spicy. Yeahhh boy. -
Review from annie k.
Los Angeles, CA
2/13/2006
Not a great option with all the great Indian restaurants around, but decent enough, and it gets a star for free delivery through http://campusfood.com.
update: loses a star for delivering poor, bland tandoori salmon when i ordered tandoori swordfish.
update: i've been unfair to this restaurant. solid delivery, decent to good food. 3.5 stars.Listed in: Delivery to Harvard Square
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Review from Chris R.
Cambridge, MA
9/30/2007
Ah, Desi Dhaba. Reviewing you is somewhat of a conundrum for me. In a nutshell: there are Indian restaurants that are more affordable than Desi Dhaba and there are Indian restaurants that are better than Desi Dhaba. There are also Indian restaurants that are both. This is why I give Desi Dhaba three stars. I wouldn't recommend going out of your way to go here but I wouldn't necessarily recommend against going here either.
So why is writing this review difficult for me? Well, a friend of mine and I sort of have a tradition of going here on Sunday evenings for dinner. This tradition doesn't really make sense because there are definitely places that are more worthy of being part of a tradition. Yet, we have this tradition nonetheless and I go here more often than many restaurants that I have given four or five stars. -
Review from Andrew I.
10/14/2011
We had a snack here - the desi dhaba appetizer platter, papadum, and the chutney collection. The papadum were good. The rest was terrible. The fish sticks and chicken nuggets really didn't seem like Indian food at all.
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Review from Rob G.
Providence, RI
1/28/2011
While it's not the best Indian food I've ever had, it's not bad either. It's quick, hot and an overall good value. The Nan is excellent, and they will make dishes spicy or mild upon request. Perfect for a quick lunch.
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Review from Morgan T.
Los Angeles, CA
2/9/2009
Surly waiters? Check.
Terrible service? Check.
Seriously below average food? Check.
Expensive (for indian food)? Check.
Zero atmosphere? Check.
Throwing up all night? Check.
After my last meal there, I'd rather eat whatever that is that gets expelled from the melting snow piles around Central. -
Review from Michelle O.
Kansas City, MO
4/9/2010
My boyfriend and I were visiting the MIT Museum (we're from out of town) and were starving, so Desi Dhaba was one of the first places we came across. There's a great Indian lunch buffet in my town (Kansas City), but we thought we'd check it out anyway since it was close and we were hungry.
When we were seated, the waiter tersely asked me what I wanted to drink and I just said water, then he walked away without asking my boyfriend anything. He came back without our water and asked (me again) if we wanted the buffet, and I said we'd like to look at a couple of menus. So he threw them down and walked away (no water still). We waited a couple minutes for our waters and nothing, so just went up to the buffet. The guy was standing there looking around, not helping anyone (wasn't busy in there). Finally, after we got our food, I flagged him down to ask him for water and he looked at me like I cursed his mother. When he brought it over, he slammed my glass down on the table.
The buffet itself was very small compared to what I'm used to (maybe 6 main dishes total). The food was just okay. None of it was spicy, but I understand that a lot of places will dull their food down for mass buffet consumption. Most of it was bland, though. The saag paneer had almost no paneer in it. The chicken tikka masala wasn't as creamy as I like. The pakora curry was runny, soupy, and a little sour. The naan was tasty, though, and everything was bearable. Just not good.
Meanwhile, this waiter never came to ask us how we were doing or anything of the sort. I had to flag him down to ask for a mango lassi, and he didn't even acknowledge that I had said anything, so I wasn't sure he took the order. A different, more pleasant waiter brought it out to us, though. The lassi was more sour than I enjoy, but mediocre and acceptable enough.
The price was pretty affordable -- around $8 for buffet, which was the perfect price point for the variety you get. But unfortunately for me, I'm spoiled by over-the-top delicious food at the Indian restaurant in my town, so this place was completely dissatisfying. Even if it were good, though, I don't think I'd ever go back, even if I lived in the area. I've had pretty bad service before, but this guy acted like he hated people and he hated life more than any other server I've ever met. I was happy that we had eaten a buffet, though, because I'm convinced he would have spit in our food if given the opportunity. Then again, I didn't notice him being kind to anyone in the restaurant, so perhaps he did spit in it before it was put on the buffet. Who knows.
Get a new line of work, buddy. -
Review from Chris W.
New York, NY
7/6/2008
Desi Dhaba is a pretty typical, but good Indian place. The food is generally good, and prices are about normal.
The service has alwasy been cool. The waiters are really nice and chill from my experiences there.
I really recommend the Combination Dinner if you just want a stereotypical Indian meal. It's got tandoori chicken, lamb saag, daal makhani, and your choice of curry for just $35. They say it feeds 2, but 3 of us shared it and still all got full. The tandoori chicken was HELLA JUICY that time. I don't even like tandoori chicken that much, but it was really good.
The buffet, as everyone else says, is a good deal too ($8.95). They have tandoori chicken (not as good as it was for dinner), palak paneer, mixed vegetables, daal makhani, and chicken tikka masala. I can't remember everything else but it was about 8 dishes total, plus the deserts. The Kheer was definitely the best kheer I've ever had (not saying that much though). It's rice pudding, if you don't know what it is. It was super smooth and tasty.
Oh and they have outdoor seating now, with the new park being built as others have said. This came in handy when my friend had a dog with her, and we needed a place where we wouldn't get kicked out because we had a dog.
Yeah, so Desi Dhaba is an average indian place, nothing too special, but gives you what you want. Kinda like this average, boring, but slightly informative (hopefully?) review. -
Review from molly f.
Cambridge, MA
8/19/2008
I've been to Desi Dhaba several times and have always been pleased with my food & the service. The food is classicly prepared with the traditional flavors and served nicely with little copper serving trays and other touches that add a little something to the meal.
Their portions are rather generous which means...LEFTOVERS! and yes, while I agree with other yelpers that it can be a bit pricier the fact that I can reheat my tasty dinner & have it for lunch the next day makes it worth the extra buck or two. Overall...i'm totally psyched that I can walk to this place & chow down on some great indian food & grab a table outside & enjoy the sights and sounds of central square ! -
Review from John L.
Updated - 9/23/2008
They got the catering in on time this time, and it was again exquisite. I have to give them credit for doing that even the construction going on around where I work, so I'm increasing my stars. The food here is very good (I particularly recommend the lamb rogan josh, as the lamb is quite yummy).
One particularly fun thing to do is get the rice/nan and dip it in the sauces... so good! MMMMMH!1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/12/2008
I'm conflicted with this review: On one end, their food is very good. I mean, the spices are good,… Read more »
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Review from Ellen C.
10/12/2009
I was at Desi Dhaba for lunch today with a large group during a conference.
I honestly was really happy with the food- I love Indian food. I'm not too fussy about it (as far as I know) so this satisfied my desire for not bland food. Additionally, it was perfect for eating quickly with a group. We walked in, immediately got a table, set down our coats, and then could eat immediately.
hooray for convenient lunch.
