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Haandi Cuisine of India
Rating Details »
- Hours:
Mon-Thu. 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Mon-Thu. 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Sun. 11:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m.
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
15 reviews for Haandi Cuisine of India
Tried this place based on the the excellent reviews here on yelp. We were not disappointed! We were greeted by the owner, Rakesh Sabharwal. We told him that we were there based on the rec's on Yelp.
We invited my daughter and her boyfriend to come along and experience it with us. It was more like an event than just a meal that way. We ordered 3 apps which were great. We asked for Naan but Rakesh said - "no, you'll get too full". Which we actually appreciated!
We ordered 3 entrees - the house chicken tikki, a lamb dish (Rakesh picked) and the spinach/cheese (another suggestion). All were outstanding. And we got Naan! I'd suggest the onion Naan, it was my favorite. Rakesh even shared the basic recipe/ingredients for the "green" sauce - which was soooo good and fresh.
In summary - this is a family owned place where the owner really takes pride in his product. The service isn't fast - but it isn't slow either - just don't go here expecting to be in/out in quick time (at least not for dinner). Take the recommendations of the house and you won't be sorry.
I'm already looking forward to going back.
Not to sound snooty--I realize I'm a west coast guy in the midwest--but I went here with friends while on business in Michigan and this ranks as the worst Indian food I have ever experienced. We ordered the vegetable sampler appetizer plate and received over cooked pakoras, somosas that smelled like Hot Pockets, these green-stone looking things that tasted like rabbit food and sad looking fried jalepenos. Our main courses were better but not that special. My colleague's mushroom muttar was not that good and the chicken in my korma dish tasted like they were just taken out of the freezer.
I think the cherry on top was when we asked our waiter about some of the dishes and he stated he had never tasted any of the food on the menu and really had little clue what they tasted like or even what their ingredients were. I have to say if I were a restaurant owner, this would be probably my worst fear coming to life.
I'm sticking to the belief that Michiganders don't know what real Indian cuisine is....I think,
We went to Haandi for lunch recently on a Friday. At lunchtime, Haandi offers a buffet, but I was a little disappointed at the selection of dishes. I felt this was the case in particular since we were charged the higher price for a "Weekend Lunch Buffet". Yes, Haandi counts Friday lunchtime as the weekend (too bad my manager doesn't).
At other Indian restaurants we frequent, they also have higher weekend rates for lunch buffets, but typically they are for Saturday and Sunday, and generally have a greater than normal selection of dishes, including some combination of seafood, appetizers, or more than one dessert that is normally not on the weekday lunch buffet. This wasn't the case at Haandi - maybe it is on Saturday and Sunday. If they are going to charge more on a Friday, there should be a little something extra on offer.
The food itself was relatively good quality - not too greasy, and quite flavorful. Nothing exceptional, however. They did have mutton curry, which I am a fan of and is hard to get other than at Indian restaurants. I might revisit on an evening or other weekday to see what is different.
We went here based on the reviews here, and it was... okay. The decor is nice, and the wait staff attentive. But the food was merely okay. I mean, there was nothing wrong with it, but it was nothing at all special, with rather simple flavors and tough chicken. If somebody wanted to go here, I wouldn't protest, but I've had better at plenty of places.
To be honest I do not know much about Indian food.
I love Middle Eastern cuisine though.
I got a carry out buffet and they had 4-5 choices. I got a chicken dish with green pepper in a tomato based sauce..it was AWESOME! The chick peas in a sauce were very good, I had some other chicken dish that was very good. And the soup was light broth corn chowder that was also really good.
Great flavors!
Carry out buffet says 7.95 on the menu but I was charged 9.95. I guess they raised their prices. Anyway it was well worth it. I had a big lunch and still had enough left for another meal later in the day.
I will go there again. I just have to start finding out the names of the food.
so im in detroit, and in yelp we trust... booyah. yelp did it again.
im no stranger to indian food, so this was a great find in michigan, who woulda thunk it.
the GRUB:
- for apps we ordered the Veggie Samosas and the Seekh Kabob Roll... the samosa was good with a great blend of curried potatoes and peas fried golden brown; the Seekh was ok, best described by one of my coworkers as a spicy jimmy dean sausage in a blanket...ha!
- 4 mains were ordered - TANDOORI Chicken - served on a sizzling plate was amazing; Chicken HYDERABADI - creamy coconut curry with cashews was out of this world; HAANDI Lamb - spicy onion and yogurt make this dish hard to hate - delicious; and good ol' Chicken TIKKA MASALA - solid, well done dish of boneless chicken in a creamy tomato sauce
- plenty of house NAAN to scoop the awesome flavors and BASATMI rice and RAITA completed everyones dish - awesome indeed.
- MANGO LASSI for me was good til the last drop; the rest of the party tried the house beer TAJ (indian beer) and wine was great too.
the JOINT:
- service was outstanding... i repeat... outstanding.
- plenty of tables in the clean and bright upscale dining room
- traditional east indian decor tied the cafe to its roots
- plenty of parking in the strip mall
the SQUEEZE:
- decent pricing, but for the portion amount and quality of food, the actual pricing is a bargain...great stuff.
- the owner, also greeted us at the table to make small talk and get customer input on the meal... this is key - it shows he really cares what you think... he also, realized that we were all visiting and showed his hospitality by giving us some free desserts and indian tea after we paid our bill... thats love right thur...
- they do take out, and what looks like a lunch buffet
- cash and cards (even my stupid ass AMEX Corp card) accepted here
in final thoughts, this was a grand place to have a dinner with friends and coworkers, if you love indian food - dont miss this gem.
Who knew that I would have to drive 30-40 minutes for the closest Indian restaurant with a buffet? Hell, I would drive up to 2 hours for a good buffet.
The restaurant was pretty empty when I got there, but that's ok. Less competition and people that I have to knock down to get some food. The meat dishes consisted of chicken curry, lamb curry, and tandoori chicken. Both curries were pretty good and both had the meat still on the bone. That's the only way to do it. The flavor is in the bone. The tandoori chicken was ok and the coating on the chicken had a decent kick to it. The daal was pretty good. I've never seen a mushroom paneer dish but tried it and it was ok. I much prefer palak (spinach) and mattar (peas) with paneer. The other vegetable dishes were alright but forgettable as I have already forgotten what they were. The rice pudding and fruit salad was a nice touch. The naan was fresh for a buffet and was brought out within minutes of my arrival. The buffet didn't have raita but the waitress brought me some. The buffet didn't have any appetizers either such as samosas or pakoras. Also, I'm used to Indian buffets having gulab jamun, but I didn't see any out there. The buffet was 9.95 for the weekend lunch. Not too bad.
The service was pretty good. I tend to sweat a lot when eating Indian food, and therefore, drink a crapload of water. My glass was never empty. I would definitely hit this place up again for another lunch.
I, too, chose this restaurant based on other Yelper's recommendations for my husband's and my anniversary and I would like to thank you all. We were not disappointed. Paneer pakora and mixed vegetable pakora were excellent. My husband had a lamb dish and I had a vegetarian dish and we both enjoyed them. Portions were large without being overwhelming. Naan was good, too. The service was excellent and I guess I am a snob because I also do appreciate real table linens--table cloth and napkins, thank you. I used to frequent Peacock in Dearborn, and I enjoyed the contrast between it and this place. I would definitely go here again.
Went here with the lovely wife for our first Indian after a move back from California. We'd had a few favorite haunts back in CA, but this place was cleaner and friendlier than any of them. The waiter even dared to offer a few suggestions on what we might like to try when we had trouble making up our minds.
We had a combination dinner for 2: Veggie samosas, chicken makhani, chicken haandi, and gajar halva (carrot pudding). The chicken makhani was good and creamy, and the chicken haandi had a great and spicy onion sauce. At the end, the gajar halva was excellent, almost like candy.
We'll definitely be back for more.
The only real downsides to the place were that it was a little small - maybe 8 tables or so. And, there was no thali option with entrees - we tend to order that at other restaurants and pig out on the variety.
Fantastic, authentic Indian. But wait, I'm not Indian. How do I know? I went with two Indian friends who both agreed that it is the most authentic Indian restaurant they have been to in their 10+ years in the U.S., which is saying a lot considering both are "foodies" and one is a former food critic in Portland, OR. In fact, since moving to Ann Arbor they have driven the 30 minutes to this restaurant nearly a dozen times.
We had a group of 10 and shared everything family style, which I highly recommend. I loved the house specialty, Lamb Haandi. Perfectly seasoned and just spicy enough to get a reaction but not hot enough to induce burning.
I tried several of the other lamb, chicken and vegetarian dishes and all were good. Suggestion: for dessert, try the Mango Lassi (yogurty milkshake).
Waitstaff was courteous, prompt and helpful in selecting dishes based on personal preferences. The restaurant itself is clean and well maintained. Can't wait to go back!
One note: As of this review (1/26/08), they still don't have a liquor license. Might be an issue for some, but I quickly overcame that objection when the food was brought out.
Haandi is just up the road from the office where I work part-time, and I decided to check out their buffet for lunch. It's nice that they let you pack up a box meal to go for the buffet price of $7.95 on weekdays and $8.95 on weekends. A sign on the door said the price for their buffet was going to be increased a dollar, but I was charged the old price of $7.95.
Haandi is in a nondescript strip mall, but the interior is nicely decorated. It was about three-quarters full of diners when I went there around noon on a Monday.
I asked the man working the front desk-- who appeared to be an owner or manager-- which dishes on the buffet were vegetarian, and he kindly pointed them out. They had a nice selection of three chicken dishes, five vegetarian dishes, rice pilaf and naan.
They must refresh the supply of naan frequently because it wasn't dried out and had good flavor and a soft texture. The rice pilaf wasn't anything spectacular, but it did have very fresh and not over-cooked peas in it that popped when I bit into them.
The eggplant and potato dish I tried was quite good and fragrant with cumin. I sampled a mushroom and pea dish that was strongly flavored with cilantro, and that was good as well. The dish that both scared and enticed me was a bright mustard yellow color. It turned out to be my favorite of the three. They fry vegetable pakoras and serve them in a yogurt sauce, though I'm not sure what gives it that bright yellow color. Nevertheless, it was really tasty.
I'd definitely return here for the buffet again sometime, and would bring friends along.
This new Indian restaurant in Livonia is amazing!
The owner greeted us when we came in and chatted with us a bit at our table. They just opened up six months ago and put an expansion on the restaurant last month.
The food is fantastic. The four of us shared a bite from everything we ordered - lentil soup, vegetable samosa, Masala tea, Chicken Seekh Kebab, Chicken Haandi, Chutney Dum Aloo, and Chicken Vindaloo.
I couldn't stop mmm-mmm-mmm'ing throughout the whole dinner! The staff was very polite and attentive. Definitely one of the best Indian restaurants in the area!
Went here for a lunch buffet $7, and was pleasantly surprised! They had a nice variety of authentic Indian fare to choose from. I especially liked the tandori chicken. The waiter also kept our bread basket full.
OMG I am getting cravings for it just writing about it!
Is it lunch yet???
Went back there for lunch with colleagues. Lunch buffet had a lot of exotic/authentic selection (I believe it's Northern Indian?). Everything tasted amazing.
Friendly and pleasant staff. Clean.
In the same strip mall as Akasaka Japanese restaurant and Koyama Shoten Japanese market.
I love this place! The food is always consistantly fantastic. My only problem with the place is that I eat too damn much every time we get take out from there.
