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Category: Indian
Neighborhood: Flatironwalk out filling a container choosing anything out of our succulant everyday buffet.includes a freshly baked naan bread.
Announced 4 days ago28th St-Park Ave S (6)
23rd St-Broadway (R, W)
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I kept smelling spices around me during the 5 block walk home. Definitely lost the battle between Good vs. Starch. Two hours later I'm still rubbing my stomach like I've just discovered my belly is a buddah.
And, tomorrow morning, the people at my gym are going to thank me for having the raw onions -- garnished only with a squeeze of lime.
Great spot, lots of space, fast service, delicious food. Veg, meat, dairy, vegan, desserts, full bar -- something for everyone! Plus it's modern/clean with good service.
If it helps you navigate the crazy long menu: try a few appetizers (samosas, fried okra, anything with potato) or the tandoori, chicken and lamb dishes. Can't go wrong with anything followed by "tikka" and "masala"!
This is like the Platonic ideal of Indian food. Seriously. Best I've had in the United States. Have had a fairly wide variety of dishes from their relatively ambitious menu -- curries, chaat, vegetarian dishes, more fusion-y kind of stuff -- and they've pretty much nailed everything. Pay attention to the little chili pepper icons on their menu ... if they say it's spicy, it's seriously, intricately, not dumbed-down-for-white-people spicy. I've yet to find a friend brave enough to split the Phaal with me, however.
Drawback: the service is SLOW and a little indifferent. It seems actually to have improved some -- they'll now give you some papadum when you sit down, which I don't think they used to do before. But nevertheless, plan accordingly: don't expect to get in and out of there under an hour, and don't expect to be able to intercept a waiter if you're hoping to order another beer, curry dish, etc. Just order all the food and booze you need when you sit down and then lean back and enjoy.
Lunch buffet was delicious... much better than most of the Indian food I find in the city. The saag, the paneer, the gajer ka halwa were great. You can get green chilis on the side. Servers walk around with Tandoori Chicken, offering it (it kind of took me off guard). They brought delicious fried plantains to our table.
I don't know why others were saying it's a hole in the wall... when I was there, the place was reasonably sized, and was clean and well decorated.
Arre yaar this is the spot!
Met up with BF's parents here for a little buffet action after finding out the owners also manage Bombay Palace in my CT hometown.
Great buffet selection (chicken biryani, chicken tikka masala, lamb vindaloo, jeera aloo, saag paneer) and this is the first buffet that offers fresh green chilies as a side condiment! Granted I got some looks from the older desi crowd at my generous helping of hot green mirchi.
Down to earth atmosphere and great service. I love (Mu)Curry Hill!
So I finally made it to this place despite living in (really) close proximity. Went for the weekend lunch buffet.
Nothing wrong with the food. In fact they included some extras in addition to what is at the front in the buffet. They bring some chicken around to your table.
It just wasn't that special. The fact that I had to sit cramped at a tiny booth didn't really make me want to return anytime soon.
The bff and I came here for the lunch buffet on Sunday. It was packed full of brown people which is a very good sign, generally.
The decor at Lit is a colorful sari vomit explosion without being tacky. Totally appropo for date night. Plus, they have a bar (even better for date night).
Hands down, one of the best Indian buffets I have ever had. It's seriously a deal for $12.99. I know, $12.99 sounds like a lot, right? I generally just wouldn't pay that much for a buffet since Murray Hill is full of South Asian places to eat. Trust me, this place offers a ridiculous variety of GOOD food for dirt cheap.
The buffet had a good amount of meat dishes like lamb dupiaza and chicken biryani which aren't common buffet items. This was the first time I saw a bindi dish on a buffet menu! And there was a chaat station including pani puri. Dudes, they didn't only have the usual gulab jamun and kheer for dessert, they had rashmalai. The kheer was whatever. But the rashmali tasted like my mom's and she's a Bengali dessert goddess.
So you have all this bangin' a$$ food on the buffet table AND the waiter BRINGS food to the table as well. The bff and I would be munching on a curry from the buffet and the waiter would bring us a little surprise! The surprises included: fresh warm naan, buttery fluffy poori, pav bhaji with bread, juicy tandoori chicken and even bhel puri!
The best compliment I have for this place is that my dad (RIP) would have loved it. He was a fat fat man (I say that with the utmost respect) and friggin' loved food like no other. He was a food junkie. He would have eaten until he fell over at this place. Oh dad, no one gets food all over their face like you used too... *Sniffle*
This is a review from when I went there in January; I just hadn't thought about posting it here before (it's copied from my blog.) This is a review of their lunch buffet.
I went with my cousin's wife to Indian lunch yesterday. We took the 6 down to 28th, and popped up above the ground on that little strip of Lexington where it's all Indian food all the time. Then we just had to pick where to eat.
I didn't want to eat at the delicious Saravanaas (sp?), since I'd eaten there with Zora and Peter not two weeks ago (although, to be fair, it was last year) and since it's a menu that's pretty typical of West Berkeley chaat houses. There's the place with the big kosher certification in the window at the corner of 27th, and that has really tasty food for not expensive, but it turned out that it is closed on Tuesdays. And of the two places, one right next to it, and the one next to that, I remember not having been bowled over by the one, and the other was closed.
So there we were, window shopping for Indian buffet, and someone was outside of one (Dhaba; I hadn't been there before) cleaning the windows. The place looked pretty schmancy, but the buffet was right under $10 and there seemed to be a fair amount of people there, at least two of three who looked Indian (although it wasn't the ideal overwhelming majority), and so I figured I'd ask the window guy if he had any opinion of the food.
This is the conversation that we had:
Me: The food here, it's good?
Guy Cleaning Window: No.
Me: It's not?
GCW: No.
Me: You don't like it?
GCW: No.
ME: Do you like Indian food?
GCW: No.
After this, I paused for a couple of seconds. I mean, the people inside all seemed really happy, and the restaurant wasn't empty. So I decided to try the conversation again.
Me: Do you like the food here?
GCW: No.
Me: Why?
GCW: No English.
Me: What do you speak?
GCW: Spanish.
So I started the conversation over again, and this is how it went:
Me: La comida aqui, ¿está buena?
GCW: No.
Me: No?
GCW: No.
Me: No te gusta?
GCW: No.
Me: ¿Te gusta la comida India?
GCW: No.
Long story short: the lady from inside came outside, and told us that we were welcome to see the buffet if we wanted to consider it first, and so we went inside and took a look and it smelled and looked delicious and there we stayed until we were full and couldn't eat another bite of the sooji halwa they had for dessert.
Dhaba is my new favorite Indian restaurant in New York.
Came here for a Diwali dinner on a Saturday night. It was pretty crowded but we got seated in about 20mins or so.
We ordered a pitcher of beer, chicken tikka masala and a shrimp curry, bhatura and 2 orders of garlic naan. We rolled outta the restaurant and were ready for bed. Food coma....
But I slept like a baby and will definitely be back with my bf for more chicken tikka masala and garlic naan and maybe try the paneer. Yummilicious.
Pretty good. Food was good but not spectacular. Clean, good price so worth a trip. Good Samosas (but what isn't good fried) The service was a little slow and could have paid a little more attention.
A group of us went to Dhaba for an early dinner before the Halloween parade. It was good we went early and had no wait - by the time we left at 7 pm, the place was filling up.
The food was delicious and much better than other places in Curry Hill. Like most Indian places, there were plenty of vegetarian options, but this place was also had several paneer dishes and I had to try one. I got the Kadai Mirch Paneer, which, along with the delicious spongy cubes of cheesy goodness, had green chilies, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers and fenugreek. The waiter warned me that it was spicy and he was right - my mouth was buzzing the entire time, but not to the point where it was too hot to eat. It was a nice change from most paneer dishes that I've had in a creamy sauce and it didn't feel too heavy. The rest of the table had various paneer and chicken dishes and everyone was happy with their meal.
The only annoying part was that Dhaba charged for the rice - considering the slightly higher than average prices, it really should come free with the curry , especially considering how spicy some dishes were. The food was delicious but the high price and the rice charge makes me think I'll only return occasionally - knock the price down a couple bucks and I'd be a regular customer.
BigIndoUps to Miss Neema B for her recs helping crack the code on making the Gora sweat.
Beer 1 + papad + [(kurkuri bhindi + nimbu murgh kabob) x chutney]^onion achaar + (dahiwala murgh + kardai mirch paneer + garlic naan)^chutney + Beer 2
viva.la.morena
I have been here twice and both times the food isn't as spicy as I would like and the flavor isn't great. I ordered the malai kofta which was a bit bland, maybe next time I need to order something else.
Not bad at all.
Stopped in here for dinner due to good reviews from friends, and wasn't disappointed.
The waitstaff was attentive and swift with water and asking if we wanted drinks, our order taken, or just looking at the menu and answering questions. The place itself felt a bit on the "hyper-space modern" that would've fit in very well with the 70s if the place wasn't quite so dark. Tables were a bit small, but then again, this is the city.
The garlic naan - good amount of garlic, needs a little more butter. The alu pea paratha was better, in my opinion. I'll have to try the spicy cauliflower paratha next time, though.
Saag paneer was excellent, good firm paneer in decent amounts, and a creamy spinach around it. The lamb in bhuta curry was also good, although their description was something like "heavily spiced curry". Not entirely helpful, but mild ended up tasting something like medium spicy, and there were interesting bay leaves (or something similar) in the curry that weren't all edible.
They have a German hefeweizen here, though... interesting. 20oz and 32oz versions of many beers.
Decent service, filling and tasty food. Not bad at all. A little expensive for dinner, though, especially if you want to try a few different things, we ended up putting down $65 for two. Sounds like the buffet is a better deal.
My favorite place to go to on Lexington Ave for lunch when I'm craving Indian food. The buffet is a deal. Only negative is the service can be a bit spacey when you want the check. HOWEVER, they are quick do bring out spiced chicken legs, another special appetizer and warm naan. I love all the vegetarian dishes the best. YUM!
And the award fot the 'Best restaurant for Indian Buffet' goes to Dhaba... seriously guys for 10.83 bucks on weekdays (incl. tax) you get the wholesome goodness of Indian food. The food quality and hygiene makes it a strong contender for some award. You get the choice of some 6 delicious sabzis like Saag Paneer, Chicken Tikka Masala, Rajma, Bhindi Masala and more... The dishes were super delicious and ingrediants seemed fresh... I overfilled my belly to the point of bursting... I ate soooo very much (remember Gluttony? - one of the se7en deadly sins)...
Apart from food, the decor is pleasant with one wall decorated with bowls and jars containing spices and stuff.. while the seating area has colorful rolled fabrics behind... The staff was very friendly... Thank you guys...you rock... Jai Ho!
Admit it, a celebrity spotting makes any meal more notable. 3/4s of the way through ours, Robert Pattinson walked in. He gave me a quick, piercing bite on the neck and then threw his luscious hair back under a ball-cap to go incognito again. But first he remarked "Mmm, did you just have lentils?"
He was accompanied by Emilie de Ravin, she and I had just crash landed on a remote island off the map, so I promised her I would make sure she and her baby were OK, but only after I had a sip of mango lassi. They were accompanied by anonymous lanky man in blue plaid shirt, but of course none of the online tabs noted this. Everyone is just looking for confirmation that R and E are indeed dating.
So, yeah, about Dhaba...it's the best Indian I have had in NYC. The atmosphere isn't fancy but isn't casual either. We sat at one of three long communal tables down the middle of the restaurant. We had no reservation and were seated around 8pm on a Saturday night.
The cuisine is north Indian. We ordered chicken, lamb, saag (spinach), lentils, naan, and rice. I also had a mango lassi and a friend had the "Highway lassi" which is the same but with a kick of champagne. I was admiring the jar my drink came in and thought "was this place on taxi tv?" (trip home in cab confirmed, yes, it is). All of our meat dishes came in gravy, delish, and we had ordered the perfect amount of food for 4. My biggest complaint is when Indian food is too sweet, or too oily, or looks the wrong color (like a saag dish that looks far from spinach green). No such travesties at Dhaba.
And all of these delights came in at $25 per person. Even after the extra order of rice and naan. Perfection!
A bunch of my girl friends are not speaking to me because I wouldn't snap a photo, even though I was in prime table-perpendicular-to-them position to do so, but doesn't that break a couple unwritten NYC codes? I.e. leave celebs alone?
Anyway, Dhaba is good enough for Twilight and Lost, and most importantly gets 5-stars from me.
AMAZING Sunday buffet deal! For like $12.95, you get the entire buffet. Plus, they bring out naan and appetizers to your table. What is not to like?
And the food was legit. Most of the clientele that morning were Indian, and my (Indian) friend that I went with commented that the food was good. I enjoyed the tikka masala a lot. They have a selection of meat, a fish, rice, vegetarian, and desserts!
Awesome awesome. I plan on coming for the buffet again!
Dhaba, you're good and all but you frustrate me.
I came here one soggy evening around 6, and though I had no reservations I was promptly seated. I noticed the guy sitting next to me had already finished his meal, and seemed to be just chilling. For what, I wasn't sure. But who am I to judge.
I sat for a while, and eventually someone came and poured me a glass of water. Mind you that it wasn't busy yet. Some time later, someone came and took my order. Pani puri and chole batura.
Papad came with three chatnis in a cutesy dish, but I like to be able to put it on myself. But alas, no spoon. I asked the waitress for a spoon. She said sure.
So I waited. And waited. And waited.
And waited.
And finally said "Screw it" and tried smearing on some chatni with my fork and just ate the papad. Plus points for being fried. It was only once I finished my papad that the waitress brought the damn spoon. Dandy.
And then I waited some more.
Lucky that I wasn't super hungry because the wait would have been pretty brutal on me. First the pani puri came. 6 puris, a little skimpy on the filling of potatoes, onions, and some moong dal I think, but I tasted the pani and smiled. That'll do pig, that'll do.
I was on my second pani puri when the chole batura came. Finished the pani puri and then focused my attention on the chole batura.
Now, batura is usually very big and puffy. This one? Not so much. Soft, yes. Puffy? A little. But not big, and I immediately knew that I had too much chole and not enough batura, even though you get two smallish-sized ones. Ah well.
The chole was good, well-seasoned, a tad on the salty side and not spicy really. So far, things were going ok! I'd only had to wave down the guy for water 2 or 3 times.
I finished my meal and was hoping to get some gulab jamun. I just wanted something sweet. The dishes cleared. And...
Nothing. There were plenty of waiters and waitresses but no one asked me if I wanted anything else. A few of them kept staring at me every now and then. So I just clasped my hands and waited some more, thinking that someone would come up and ask me if my fat ass would like anything else. And my answer would have been yes.
I found myself remembering the dude that had been sitting next to me before, just chilling out for 15 minutes having finished his meal. And now, that's what I was going to be doing. If you aren't going to offer me dessert, then screw you, I ain't asking you for it. I waved someone down and asked for the check and received a huge smile in return.
20 minutes later, I still didn't have a check. I was already getting hungry again.
The check came, I placed my card down, and the little book sat on my table. For ten minutes. And then someone took it away.
Another 20 minutes go by. Umm....check? Please? Can I go home now? The check comes and for 6 pani puri and some chole batura, I'm paying close to 20 bucks. And I'm already hungry again. What. The. Furikake.
I had essentially waited for my check for the same amount of time that it took me to eat my meal. Over two hours?! Say what?
You're ok Dhaba, but I don't think I'll be coming back to see you. I really don't have that much time on my hands.
Small place.
Dark lights.
Small portions.
I ordered this chicken with rice. I actually do not know what was in it as I was eating, but it was pretty tasty. A bit spicy, but not too much. My first meal at an Indian restaurant!
Looking at the menu confused me because I did not know what was what. They just listed the Indian names and a brief English description. Some didn't even have English! How was I supposed to know what to eat?!
The waiter didn't remember who ordered what (and we couldn't help them since we didn't know what they were either!), but they were nice.
Very crowded place. The waiters didn't have a chance to stop. Good thing was: we didn't need to tell them to refill our drinks, they went around doing so.
This place needs me to go again, haha :)
There's more food to try!
Quality indian food with a plethora of choices.
What we ordered:
Chicken vindaloo: From the immediate looks of the dish, the deep reddish/brown colors should be a clear warning for the heat to be expected. The intense chili mixed with tomato flavors offers much enjoyment as well as burning pains.
Chicken Madras: Extremely tasty and definitely milder than the vindaloo. I think I definitely prefer this over the vindaloo
Lamb korma: At every indian restaurant, I always seek out its korma dish. And to my excitement this korma met all my expectations. Its creamy and smooth textures helped coat the lamb, but unfortunately some parts of the meat itself seemed too tough and chewy.
And all these dishes couldnt be devoured without some good naan. Unlike other restaurants, its naan wasnt overly thick like a pita, but was fresh, crispy and soft enough to use your hands to scoop curry. The garlic naan is a definite must!
Also a great addition to the meal is the King fisher lager. A non-overpowering lager that goes great with all the dishes listed above.
Great place. A tad pricey, but i'm reading the real bargain is during their lunch buffet!
Mmmm....lunch there sounds good right about now.
We had a wonderful meal here last night.. I must say, it has been some time since I have been excited about a restaurant.. This place is exciting.. It's refreshingly new, unique, and just plain fun..
The menu is pretty expansive.. I am no Indian Food expert and will not claim to know authenticy however, I know what I like.. And I really, really like this place..
The four of us started with this dish MIRCH PAKORA.. It was wonderful.. If ever there was a stoner Indian dish, this is the one.. It's essentially a chile relleno wrapped around a sweet fried donut, served with this sweet tamarind sauce and some herb sauce.. It was spicy, sweet, and really interesting.. I would highly recommend this..
The next dish that came out was BATATA SEV PURI.. This was puri covered in a yogurt mint sauce with chickpeas, potato, mint and a tamarind sauce.. It was a nice side to have next to the spicy "Pepper wrapped donut" The yogurt was really tangy and refreshing.. Thicker and more tasty than I have had.. Not a thin water sauce I often expect.
We then moved onto GALOUTI KABOB.. Lamb patties served with a some onion and lemon.. The patties were spiced well and not dry..
We then moved on to mains.. ACHARI GOSHT This is decribed as "Curried lamb, pickling spices and fresh coriander" Served in a really pretty pot, this curry was one of the better curries I have had in recent memory.. The lamb was cooked perfectly, there was a nice portion that was easily divided and not finished among four people.
Finally we ordered SARSONWALI MACHI. Fried fish served over spinach and mustard greens.. Just a few fried fish filets but, the spinach and greens were really nice.
Naan reminded me of levened matzah.
20 oz King Fisher beers for 6 bucks..
I am looking forward to going back and trying more of the menu.. As I don't think we even put a dent in the things to try.
Dhaba is one of my favorite Indian lunch buffets...ever. It's not huge; they have maybe 6 or 7 different items to choose from, but every one is delicious. You can safely load up on everything, even if you're not sure what it is.*
Strangely, it's as if the staff actually wants to make you happy (it's unheard of). As you're stuffing your face with that first plate, piled high with goodness, they will bring you a warm basket of fresh naan, and also a plate full of delicious surprises.
Once it consisted of fried fish pastry things drizzled with some savory sauce, that tastes worlds better than I am describing. The second time we had fried eggplant, also with a wonderful sauce. AND they also bring out huge drumsticks of delicious juicy chicken, one for everyone in your party. Woohoo!
If that wasn't enough, my water is always full, everyone is always smiling,** and when you're ready to get out of there, the check is promptly delivered. Speaking of, $10 bucks for this AYCE, TASTY lunch buffet? This might be the best option in the area.
_________
*Sometimes I wish they labeled everything, but there's nothing wrong with a little mystery...as long as its not feet vindaloo, or rocky mountain oyster saag. Those aren't traditional dishes though, and I haven't seen them yet.
**I think they are on drugs. Or maybe they just get to eat the food all the time. Food and illicit drugs are the only possible explanations for this kind of happiness.
Went here with my gfs's for a very late night dinner. The place is nice and clean and offers an array of Naan, which has me sold already on the place. I've been to Indian restaurants in Jackson Heights, Queens, In Jersey City and all over. This ranks in the top two.
WE ordered the chicken vindaloo, the chicken madras and the lamb korma. The vindaloo was spicccccyyyyy. those 2 little peppers on the menu are not kidding. it stripped a layer of my esophagus and intestines off, but you could still taste how good it was.
I am not a big fan of lamb but the curry that came with the korma was absolutely fantastic that it wouldn't matter what meat you put with it. it was a good balance between the creaminess and the seasoning.
The chicken madras was tasty. It had a more tomato feel to it. But nothing stood out about it. I didn't really eat much of this.
WE ordered regular naan and the garlic naan. The regular was good and the garlic naan..... WOW!!! We had to place another order for the garlic naan. it just smells so good from the get go. it's crispy and has a subtle taste of garlic and who doesn't like that???
Overall i was very impressed with this restaurant and would really love to eat there for their buffet lunch
I came here for the first time for brunch yesterday with friends. The restaurant was not packed but certainly had a good amount of people in it, which is always a good sign. The buffet was in the back. They had a good amount of both meat and vegetarian options (for those who don't eat meat, unlike myself). The tandoori chicken was actually being served by a waiter and in my confusion I couldn't figure out what the waiter was offering until one of my dining companions clarified it. Our dirty dishes were promptly cleared and our water glasses were always being refilled. Even though we took up a rather large portion of space with the empty chairs and tables, the staff was in no rush to get rid of us. It took us a while to get the bill and fortunately not any surprises on it. It is definitely a place I would go back to.
I went for Father's Day and this is what has changed:
- food has become bland and the after feeling was not good
- portions seem to have decreased
- service was AWFUL
A great spot, really. I love the Indian food here because its full of flavor. They own other… Read more »
Probably the best British style Indian food I have had in USA. The Chaat Bazaar Indian street food is amazing as well. Their Chaas was the best salted Lassi ever, with cumin and corriander. Nan breads are disappointing, I dont think they have a tandoori oven. I havn't tried their Masala Dosa yet. Ovreall, probably my favorite Indian restaurant in NYC.
Mmmmmmm -what a great way to start off our culinary tour of NYC. Granted, I saw more Indian restaurants in the blocks surrounding Dhaba than in all of Oregon (where I'm from). I'm used to Indian restaurants being in converted diners with vinyl seats. Not Dhaba. The decor was lovely and although it was a typical small NYC restaurant, I was comfortable sitting against a lovely multi-colored wall of exotic colored fabrics.
We started with the paneer pakora. This tasty appetizer that warmed us up for the mains. My husband's tandoori chicken tikka was amazing. There was so much flavor! I asked the server for a suggestion on one of their "British Curry House" dishes. I ended up getting the Balchao based on her rec. Some of the curry leaves were a bit strong and probably not meant to be eaten (?)
Overall, I was very impressed with this restaurant and we left stuffed and hungry for more Indian cuisine. A great start to our trip!
Me and a friend from seattle went try after reading the reviews. it was around 5 pm, and there was a party going on. Without a thought, we ordered our food, and sat for 20 minutes and got nothing. I asked the waitor about our food, and he went into the kitchen to ask, but came out with no answer and went to help his workmates move an ice maker across the restaurant. waitresses continuously avoided eye contacts with me, and when I asked again about my food, they said my food is coming. about 10 minutes later, they told me that my food will be out NOW. So I told them, I will wait 2 more minutes, because they only keep saying that the food is coming. 2minutes later I was fed up to the lies, I walked out. We had pizza instead at Mike's.
We will not go back regardless of the reviews, because they left me feeling ignored just because they had a party..
I was hesitant about Dhaba. Too trendy to be good, I thought.
Not so. The place was modern, yet very cozy and comfortable. It was pretty full for a Sunday night, but our table for two still felt intimate. We ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala and Goat Curry. Both were great (especially the Goat dish).
Authentic food + Modern setting + Fun Indian Music = Yumtastic Indian Dining Experience!
I hated Indian food before. Maybe it was the strong curry smell or the pungent spice but I never liked it until I tried DHABA in Murray Hill. I can't say that it was the most amazing Indian meal I've ever had because I had only tried Indian food once before. Buuuuuut, I just LOVED my dish--- Chicken Bharta with a side order of Naan and a glass of Chardonnay. The restaurant was very cute and the service was friendly. I will definitely return soon to try some of the other dishes on the menu.
I have eaten there three times within the last six months and it has alway been consistently good. There suggestions are always first rate.
Here is a good place to dine with friends.
Overrated!
Saw on Yelp and decided to check it out for dinner.
The service was great, especially considering all of the asks we had of them (we had a big party, needed to be in and out quickly, and many of the people in the party have never tried Indian food before).
They essentially have 3 rows of seating. Middle row is a little tight, but any of the side ones are comfy, especially the booths.
Food was so-so. I've had better, cheaper, Indian buffet than the food at this place. The kadai bhindi was way too oily, and the chicken tikka masala was too plain. The naan could've been more chewy and fuller, but it was rather oily and crispy.
The portions were also not too large, but they didn't come with naan/rice, that had to be ordered separately.
The ambient Bollywood beats and chromatic symphony of fabric rolls create a fashion, filmy feel in this modern, moderately upscale venue to eat, drink, and be merry.
While the minimal lighting made me feel like "it's the time to disco," it also made for a heck of a time trying to read the extensive menu. The standout item I'd definitely order again: dahiwala murgh (white meat chicken with yogurt, fresh coriander, onions, bay leaf, and black cardamom)--it was creamy, moist, and cooked to perfection; I can't recommend it strongly enough. My friend has sampled many of the chicken dishes here and maintains that none measure up to this one. The Pav Bhaji was also excellent. I recommend steering clear of the Pani Pori, which I know to be light and refreshing but instead came out overstuffed and heavy. Also, the masala chai was not as good as mine ;-) The service started off as very attentive, then slowed down once guests began clearing out---a bit of a paradox. Prices seem high but end up being very reasonable when you consider the generous portions, especially if ordering mostly appetizers and chaat (our bill was under $20/person).
Overall, this is a great spot to share a variety of food with friends and you will leave completely full, ready to drift off into a reverie with all of your favorite Bollywood stars...
Awesome chole, roomali roti, and pani puri! My fellow diners enjoyed the lamb curry, chicken peppercorn, and chicken wings. One of the few places that serves Kingfisher beer on tap. The portion sizes are pretty good. Friendly and fast service.
I took away a star for their mango lassi + champagne cocktail and Shrimp Dhaba curry- the lassi's consistency was a tad too thick for a champagne cocktail. Also, the shrimp in the Dhaba Curry entree was a bit undercooked, though the curry itself was delicious! I'm looking forward to going back to Dhaba.
A little overpriced but generally good Indian food - we went for dinner not the buffet. The chicken tikka masala was standard, nothing to write home about but enjoyable. Same went for the saag ponir. Portions are deceivingly large. When my friend (a big guy on crew) and I walked in, the plates looked small so we ordered three dishes to split: we barely finished half of each.
One downside: they charge you for rice.
The three cold blocks from my office to Dhaba...free.
Lunch buffet...$9.95.
Seeing the look on the waiter's face when my lunch partner went back for his fourth plate of food...priceless.
Wow. Given the 5-star reviews, I'm shocked at how bad our experience was. Maybe Monday is an off-night for them so they pulled out the trainee staff, but our meal at Dhaba was a train-wreck.
Everything took a long time to come -- the drinks, the food, the check. They brought out our samosas with no sauce (do they charge extra for sauces? weird, and annoying! but at least they could have asked if we wanted sauces when we ordered the samosas). When we asked for some sauce, they brought out very small servings of 3 sauces for the 4 of us to share, and no spoons -- and there are no spoons on the table. Oh yeah, and they didn't bring plates with the samosas, we needed to ask for them, so the samosas sat there for 10 minutes while we waited. We needed to ask multiple times for our water to be refilled. We needed to ask twice for the check. They only brought one serving spoon to the table, so we had to take turns serving ourselves our 3 dishes.
The food was all tasty but it was completely overshadowed by the amateurish service. We called over the manager at the end of the meal, and he apologized, but I'm happy to let others benefit from their lessons, as I will not be back.
At 12:45pm on a Tuesday you'd expect an Indian buffet restaurant to be spilling over with rabidly hungry patrons, but to my surprise (and extreme pleasure) we were able to snag a window seat without any fuss or trouble.
We headed straight for the buffet table and were greeted with six or seven unique dishes - no standard tandooris or tikkas here - it was all stuff I've rarely encountered at a buffet and was eager to try. I especially liked the langar dal (mixed lentils) and aloo mattar (potato/pea curry). There was another dal dish of some sort that tasted heavily like black beans - not sure what it was called but I'd gladly scoop it up again!
In addition to the buffet items, a few more meaty dishes were delivered to us with table service. Plus, there were baked eggplant chips (who knew I liked eggplant?? I mean, really!) and heaps of naan. The naan was outstanding and slightly sweet and salty, just the way I like it.
I dare you to eat more than one gulab jaman, by the way.
My only suggestion for improvement would be to label the dishes more clearly - the names were not translated into English and not everything was identifiable, especially the various lentil dishes. Not to mention there was no indication of whether dishes were meat-based or vegetarian - usually at Indian buffet this is clearly marked.
After moving from SF, I found a serious dearth of good Indian food in New York. Sounds weird, but as I barely leave Manhattan, it was hard to find a decent Indian place that doesn't serve just 'Chicken Tikka Masala'... ugh.. fucking chicken tikka masala...
anyways - Dhaba is fairly new in the Lexington Av corridor in Curry Hill. The ambiance is great, service is friendly and quick - and most importantly, the food is superb. The menu has an excellent variety of dishes. 100% North Indian, in fact, most authentically from Punjab. It took a while to decide what to order. Be careful when you order spicy, as they don't fuck around for the average 'spicy' bs. I was happy to have roomali rotee after a while, and they served 'jalebees with warm milk', which I thought was very unique.
Dhaba is far better than any of the jackasses in Curry Hill. Definitely my favorite Indian restaurant in New York.
SOLID Indian food. Check out the $9.95 buffet. Where the heck do you find a good buffet for that cheap in NYC?! It's unheard of! I was a little skeptical b/c of the price, and thought the pickings would be slim, but I called to ask what they had and the guy on the phone kept naming a bunch of items. So I was satisfied and decided to give it a whirl.
Relatively new spot. Modern inside and very clean. Staff is nice too.
Right as we sat down, basket of fresh naan was brought to us. Then we helped ourselves to the food. Relatively decent selection. Two meats (butter chicken and lamb) and a bunch of veggie options at the counter. But they also bring you some chicken and other sides to the table.
My fiance liked the lamb. My fav's were the deep fried poori and saag.
The food isn't too greasy and not too heavy like a lot of other places.
But you can't have Indian all the time as the cuisine itself tends to be heavy in nature. We'll def be back in the future. Can't beat the price and quality. FYI - $9.95 is valid M-Sat. Sunday, buffet is $3 more. Not sure why.
Oh one more plus, you don't walk out smelling!!
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