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Category: Indian
Neighborhoods: UC Campus Area, Downtown BerkeleyMon-Sun. 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Mon-Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
"I had to review Cafe Raj, especially if we go there at least once a month... :) Since we've been there, we have ordered the same entree and…" read more »
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Get in the ride, park, then walk in, and order the following:
Vegetable Samosa
Bengan Bharta
Tandoori Prawns (yellow rice included)
Naan
you'll also be a fan - now go!
I love the Indian Lunch Buffet mainly because of the service. You would think service isn't very applicable during buffet's, but...the elderly man who always seems to be around whenever I come by is so sweet.
Once, while studying for a midterm here as a Cal student (I know...who studies in a restaurant...? Well, I did!), the elderly man brought over a cup of chai tea for me. I found that very endearing. It make me feel like I was chilling at my grandpa's. =).
Aside from that, they continuously fill you up on naan =D.
They have a great selection of curries and dals to choose from at the buffet + chicken tandori + dessert. (Love love loveeeee the indian gulab jamun and rice pudding selections). Very fresh and flavorful.
All for less than $9! Such a great deal!!!
They also have a great space upstairs that accomdoates private parties perfectly -- I threw a bday bash here once; everyone enjoyed it. Consider doing so, too, if you and your pals love love love Indian food!
Best Indian Lunch Buffet I have ever had in America. And cheap, especially with student discount. The variety is good, great veggie options. Once I started eating meat, the meat dishes are also great.
Beautiful artwork and delicious naan.
Dinner prices are expensive, so try out the dishes on the buffet, then head back for more of the best stuff during dinner on special occasions. Full bar makes the evenings fun.
Parking is hard, but it's very close to the Downtown Berkeley BART stop.
My fiance and I had gone shopping near here for our wedding and it started to rain so we headed into this place to grab a bite. We ordered some pakoras and some chai.
The service was slow but we were in no hurry. I have been here multiple times when shopping in Berkeley and the food has never been a let down.
They definately need to improve their customer service though.
I came here hoping to order the nice multi-course dinner that also came with recommended wine pairing at a reasonable price. Unfortunately, we were informed when taking our order that the liquor license was suspended. We ended up going with a different choice that didn't come with alcohol. It was really disappointing that the place didn't tell us when we came inside that the license was suspended, which I found to be somewhat dishonesty by omission. On top of that the wait staff was extremely slow in getting our food out and not particularly attentive.
That said, we did get a lot of good food for a low price, and the restaurant itself is cute. I think this might be a better option for take-out or delivery than dining in.
Wow was I let down.
I'm not saying I'm a connoisseur of all things Indian, but I've had my fair share of good food from the sub-continent. Americanized or not, Indian food is something that can go totally good or incredibly bad. Take for example, Chicken Tika Masala. An English take on a local dish. I figured--how hard can it be to make a tomato-yogurt-spice dish with some quality cuts of chicken.
Apparently India Palace missed the memo on that one. I don't want stringy chicken in a tomato soup.
Now, the second stage of my critique--Naan. Garlic Naan is something that is pretty staple when I order Indian. I guess I shouldn't have ordered it from here. The bread came loosely wrapped in some foil with a few sprigs of cilantro thrown in. It wasn't garlic--and I wasn't all too pleased paying the 2 dollar premium from the regular naan.
Oh well, I just hope Biryani House starts delivering again. Mmm, Biryani House....
Excuse me as I wipe the drool off my keyboard.
Wow - best Indian food buffet I've ever had, and I've tried more than a few. For fellow (pesco-) veggies, you'll have trouble getting all the veggie options on your plate the first go-around. Also, unlike a lot of Indian buffets, the food wasn't heavy/oily/greasy. The spices just dance on your tongue. The naan was super fresh and moist (a lot of places serve it after it's been sitting out awhile and it gets hard). We also fell in love with the fish pakora, with its spices and juicy meat.
The only bummers were no ice cream for dessert, the included chai was so-so and finding a parking space can be challenging, though we lucked out today. But, you can bet we'll be back...
Best weekday Indian buffet in the immediate vicinity of campus. And yes, that's saying something; this being Berkeley, I expect every restaurant "downtown" to be complete shite. But instead I was surprised to find a perfectly respectable buffet for the excellent price of $8.95.
Lunch buffet for students here is a great deal, everything from vegetable korma to tandoori chicken, lamb curry and freshly made naan.
I like this Punjaby family-ran restaurant near UC Berkeley. A low-key place to come to come and talk with your colleques.
$10 for buffet. Good food. Yummy naan.
Authentic, adventurous, spicy, homey.
I would want to go back and try everything on their menu.
Also…
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Took my mom and a friend here for pre-theater dinner (Berkeley Rep is two blocks away). Granted we were the only people there at 6:30pm, but the wait staff was fantastic, attentive, but not pushy. Food was great and everyone enjoyed what they ordered. Apparently my mom likes Northern Indian cuisine (the type this restaurant serves), and she was quite pleased with the meal. We ordered a crapload of food and the bill was super reasonable.
If you're looking for a mom-friendly Indian restaurant that's not a dive, this place is fantastic.
It'll do...
we went for the lunch buffett on a weekend and for $8.95 you can stuff your face.
When I went there were 3 different meat dishes and about 5 vegetable dishes, salad, papadum, chai, melon, the dessert balls (i forget the name) and rice pudding. Oh and naan is brought to the table
The staff is super attentive.
I really like that for once I enjoyed tandori chicken as it was juice and not dry.
I was going here for a couple months and thought the food was overpriced for the ambience, decor, and overall service. But they recently must have changed management or something, because the last time I ate inside of the restaurant I was IMPRESSED. The interior decorations had stepped up times 5, and the wait staff was excellent, waiting on us hand and foot.
Recently we ordered delivery, and it didn't take too long to arrive, about an hour or so. Their food never ceases to amaze me. Always hot, and well flavored. Every dish has a distinct taste. The garlic naan, to die for! I haven't been to the lunch buffet, but after reading other reviews, it sounds like a pretty good deal. At least I'm confident it will taste good. I would recommend this place for a casual dinner or if you're just in the mood for tasty Indian food. You won't be disappointed with the taste at all,
Not bad takeout.
Delivery is usually within an hour and the food is decent.
Ugh, this place bears the dubious distinction of almost ruining Thanksgiving with a digestive disaster...
::activage woozy flashback sequence::
It all started innocently enough when I came home from work and found a pink flier attached to the front door with 3 magic words: "India Palace", "Free" and "Delivery" ( i know technically, that's 4 words, but i'm counting the name as 1, ok?) When I saw the name on the Menu, my heart began to race as I thought this may have been an off-shoot / sister store of the much beloved India Palace in Alameda (review coming soon). Boy was I wrong...
From the very nice lady who answerd the phone, I ordered:
veggie pakora-- fried, breaded mix veggies
aloo gobi-- veggies in a red sauce
lamb saag-- lamb cubes in a creamed spinach
veggie biryani-- rice with veggies
tandoori chicken-- chicken marinated in yogurt and spices
mango lassi-- mango yogurt drink
gulab jamun-- fried balls soaked in rose-honey
kheer-- creamy rice pudding .
There was a 'coupon' on the menu offering 2 free breads with any order of $20.00 or more, so i chose the kabuli and the onion naans. All in all, my order totaled to about $50 before tax & tip and was enough to feed the 3 people generously coming over to help me prep the Thanksgiving feast we were to have the next day.
The order came about 45 min. later and was delivered by a very sweet asian girl. At first i was confused, and thought perhaps someone else in my building must have also ordered take out, so I asked the girl if this was from India Palace, and she smiled and said that it was. (I'm guessing perhaps she may be she's used to reactions like mine...)
First things first: despite all the food I ordered, every thing fit into ONE PLASTIC BAG. Second, it was all lukewarm/ soggy by the time it arrived. Third, the level of spice-heat drowned out the actual flavor. Finally, it gave everyone who ate it the runs. Yeah, that's right, the R-U-N-S. I could go into more depth, but i think its safe to say that the following breakdown justifies my very disappointed review:
+1 star-- nice people over the phone and in person by way of delivery girl.
-1 star-- Presentation: take out containers are very small. the plastic packaging is about 12oz. or the size of a small cream cheese tub. Its kind of makes you feel ripped off considering that a majority of their entrees start at about $10.00 a pop.
-2 stars-- Quality: I was extremely disappointed that my "mixed veggies" had nothing but cauliflower in my order. The paoka had really cold, thick and soggy breading. I ended up pulling all the breading off and just ate my pile of cauliflower.
The lamb saag and the aloo gobi were so spicy, you could not taste any flavor other than seared tounge. I am by no means a wuss when it comes to spicy (i carry around a small bottle of saratcha sauce just in case...) but you could not TASTE anything other than heat.
The free naan with order was worth a star, but i had to take it away because the naan was BURNT on one side! If you are going to burn your incentive, then don't bother offering it at all.
Finally, the gulab jamun was dry, hard and stale.
-1 star: Aftermath. Um, yeah....Let's just say, Thanksgiving Dinner was enjoyed visa vis 'left overs'. If it wasn't for ginger-mint tea and bo-chai herbal pills, me and my friends would have spent Turkey Day up a certain creek sans paddle...
As I entered, I noticed the nice ambiance. We were seated promptly but no server came to the table. We were waiting there for at least 10 minutes with no server. I then rose my hand to the bus/water man. He ended up taking our order. He couldn't really understand us, nor could we understand him. So ordering took about 5 minutes while ordering only 2 main dishes. The food was very good though, so it kind of made up for the service. The prices were kind of high, so I probably won't be coming back.
I was a little hesitant to get delivery since most places do not deliver to my neck of the woods. Hell, we're lucky if Mr. Pizza man drops by.
Due to the fact it was 80 degrees in my kitchen around 7pm, I refused to cook. I've been craving Indian and felt it was time to explore my options.
I have to say that the food was good. No watery spinach here! No rubbery naan, decent amount of spice and the food came within an hour...and it was HOT. Decent sizes, good chana masala and palak paneer. Tried the samosas too, nothing to knock your socks off, but if its spiced potatoes you want, then its spiced potatoes you get.
I didn't get ill, and I'm eating the leftovers for lunch. mm mm good. Can't wait to stink up the office microwave.
All in all, I'd order from there again when feeling lazy.
I was craving Indian food tonight, so the boyfriend and I decided to go to Berkeley, based on their diverse taste of restaurants. There were three Indian/Pakistan restaurants to choose from (on the same street), we chose the one that was lesser in price from the three.
Since we were watching our wallets and not really our weights, we ordered the Palace Hors D'oeuvre, because it was good for two people. The platter consist of samosas (a must have), papadum, chicken tikka, and seikh kabab. We also shared their cucumber salad and chilli cheese naan. I'm not familiar with Indian specialty drinks, but my boyfriend ordered their Chai tea, which is really smooth and relaxing to drink.
The astmosphere was quite quiet, there were only two other groups there when we walked in. What caught my attention was the beautiful painted mural on the main wall. The service is o-kay, not a whole of attention is lavished on you. What do you expect, there was like 12 people altogether is this two story restaurant?
I can't give a five-star based on the fact that we ate only appetizers. Thus, I would give this place a try, if I ever find myself in the area again.
Three and a half stars, if I could.
Free delivery is a big plus while the naan was not as good as it could be. The vindaloo and masala was excellent.
The mister and I had planned on going somewhere else for lunch- but they were closed
we walked by India Palace and were enticed by the inexpensive buffet
I'll admit it- I was a little scared to come here for the lunch buffet
I had been burned by too much bad Indian food and honestly- the place was empty
I was pleasantly surprised!!!
First of all- there are so many choices- both vegetarian and non vegetarian
the rice was awesome
the quality was high
and everything had flavor
hooray
good naan
super good (FREE!!!!!) (well included in the cheap buffet price) chai tea
by the end of our meal- the placed was pretty much packed
everyone was super nice from the second we walked in the door- to the end when we paid our check
india palace restaurant just recently got their liquor license back. this fact becomes obvious as the waitress excitedly asks you if you would like anything to 'drink', naming beer, wine, cocktails. india palace, you were in the desert so long ...
too bad i only ordered my usual, chicken tikka kabab and daal soup. don't forget the tamarind sauce.
the restaurant usually looks deserted with a maximum of one other table occupied, but don't let it fool you. india palace is open for business, back better than ever.
bring your (albeit expired) cal student id because they will give you a 20% discount at dinner, 10 or 15 at lunch. they'll even give you a 15% discount with their (Free) delivery. but recently they started only giving the discount to those who actually furnish their IDs, so bring them.
they are getting stricter on many fronts ... which is probably good, given their history. cheers.
Alas, I will probably never eat at this place again although I actually really like the food here. Why you ask? Because my ex and I used to eat here once a week and anything even remotely associated with him leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Hence the thought of going here is not that appealing.
They have yummy chicken tikka masala and good palek paneer. The portions our quite generous as well. Now if only I could get over my annoyance with my ex, maybe I could go and enjoy this place again.
The best Indian Buffet in Berkeley, by far. Inexpensive, plentiful, and tasty. The servers are very nice and the setting is certainly acceptible. Not five-stars because it's not the prettiest restaurant in town, but what it lacks in aesthetics it makes up for in bang-for-the-buck.
I want to throw the guys at India Palace some love. Although I've never been to their restaurant I had their food last night...Where? At the mutha-f-ing Warriors game!
I don't know about you guys, but one of the things I left behind with my 20s was Stadium food. I'm finished with eating things that may or may not pass the FDA's definition of food.
So it was an incredible surprise last night when, starved at halftime, I stumbled on India Palace's stand.
For 7 bucks, it was also a helluva deal.
Have I had better Indian? Indubitably.
But have I ever had fresher, real food at a ballgame?
No way Sanjay!
I ordered from these folks because Raj on Piedmont didn't deliver until dinnertime. I probably should have waited. The chicken curry I had was very nice, but had a couple of dried-out spots in the meat. The channa masala was watery, almost more like soup, and the aloo gobi had nothing binding the cauliflower and potatoes together other than lots of turmeric.
The naan breads were good-tasting and fluffy, but it was clear my order had been held for quite some time before going out for delivery, or had ridden around half the East Bay waiting to get to me, because the chai was lukewarm as was the channa masala and aloo gobi, and the onion bhajis and veggie pakoras had plenty of time to go from crisp to soggy in their foil pouches.
I think next time I'll tide myself over with a package of sag paneer from TJ's, and wait for Raj to open.
I came for the lunch buffet at about 12:20. The butter chicken had NO chicken left-- it was a vat of sauce. The naan was slow in arriving to our table. The food looked pretty old and didn't taste that great. The raita was very watery and the kheer? Oh man. The flavor was okay but where are the raisins and almonds? The chai was bland and not very hot. For an Indian lunch buffet, it wasn't worth the $9 in my opinion. Not when superb Thai food on the same block costs $6 and feeds 2.
Just not that great, I don't think I'll be going back.
good and fast and cheap. AND they deliver! it's such a pleasure. we can watch a Lost marathon and only have to get up to get waters and let the dog out.
it's not the best but not the worst and it's got a little heat to it (which I'm a big fan of)
we tend to get the same things, the tried and true:
vegetable pakora (mostly cauliflower and potato), chicken pakora, meat samosas (better flavor than the vegetable version), garlic nan (I prefer this to the onion kulcha), dal soup, and then some meat (lamb probably) or vegetable dish.
don't forget to order rice as everything is soupy.
I've never actually eaten in the restaurant. all I know comes from delivery....
that may be a different experience entirely and one that I'm more than willing to take on.
My boyfriend and I have eating criteria that India Palace fulfills impeccably: cheap food, lots of it, decent to the palate, nice ambiance and service. India Palace excels these last two: a gorgeous coloful mural covers one two-story wall; cloth tablecloths and napkins are offered even for the buffet lunch; flowers (fake) stud every table; skylights and a wall of windows let in vast amounts of sunlight. Service is smiling, friendly, extremely attentive. Once the hostess noticed that I hadn't eaten my raita (it tasted overpoweringly of rose water) and she took it off the bill!
As for the food --- well, as I say, we only have medium expectations. The all-you-can-eat lunch (now $8.95) is very much worth the money (rockin' navratan korma, my fave, and great chicken tikka masala). It did hit a pretty bland note one time I was there, but overall is very tasty but not spicy. Dinner is about the same quality, although you can specify spicier food. Overall yummy, but for quality food (and grumpy service and awful, crowded dining room), check out Ajanta on Solano.
Let me start out by saying I have never physically been to this restaurant- we found out about India Palace when a menu was left on our porch. We like to try different Indian places and compare them to one another, so it seemed natural that we would take advantage of the free delivery and get some food.
PROS: Free delivery; large portions.
CONS: Food was too spicy- which wouldn't have been so bad, if it had had any flavor other than the spiciness; the rice was chunky and hard; the naan was rubbery; took an hour or more to be delivered.
All in all, the free delivery and large portions were not worth it because in the time it took for the food to get here I could have walked to one of my neighborhood Indian places, gotten takeout, brought it home, and finished eating- AND it would have tasted better.
After reading the other reviews for India Palace, however, I can only infer that the food is of a higher quality at the actual venue.
Ghee is a wonderful, dangerous thing. India Palace's naans are brushed with this buttery liquid, and my reaction to a basket of freshly-baked naan arriving at my table always sounds like a cross between an orgasm and a "D'oh!" From the sheen, the smell, and the oil slick it leaves on your fingers, you can tell that India Palace is not encountering a ghee shortage crisis anytime soon.
The lunch buffet here is my favorite in Berkeley. I'm sure Indian dinner fare is great and everything, but I'm the kind of person who's willing to sacrifice a little quality and immediacy for ten times the choices (under controlled circumstances, that is). Not only is the food prepared better and the spices more agreeable to my palate than the scores of other Indian buffets nearby, but India Palace also offers more in the way of variety. Where else can you get turnip masala, which after an hour of sitting under the fluorescent lamp has turned into a sweet, aromatic mash along with some great potatoes? The aloo gobi here is better than any other place, if even the other places offer it. Actually, it's pointless for me to go on about how one thing at India Palace is better than the same thing at another place. Because I'd be going on and on about common item that they carry.
I think my favorite item there is the veggie korma. Their version is a yellowish green, as opposed to the pinkish-orange that I am used to. It has overtaken tikka masala as my favorite thing with which to dip my buttery, fluffy naan.
I usually don't bother with the meat items at Indian buffets, but the chicken tikka masala and the lamb are tender and flavorful at India Palace. Whereas most other buffets have few vegetarian items and a bunch of similar, mediocre meat offerings, IP carries scores of vegetarian options and a few solid meat dishes.
Come at around noon and try to steer clear about an hour before closing. They are reluctant to bring you seconds of that hypnotic, buttery naan at around that time, and if the restaurant's not crowded, you'll meet the gaze of the restless cashier. Vaguely uncomfortable.
My wife recently found the web site for this restaurant, and this place actually delivers to the Laurel in Oakland. Since we live somewhat far away, we had to order a minimum of $30 worth of food, so I added an order of samosas. Delivery came in one hour as promised.
Pros: The bhindi (okra) was tasty, but the samosa and the classic chutney trio (tamarind, mint, onion) was the best part.
Cons: We asked for spicy, and nothing was spicy. The saag paneer (greens cheese) was creamy, but not very flavorful. The naan and chapati were both ultra-chewy. My guess is that they were pulled from the buffet and reheated in a *microwave* before delivery. I have no other explanation. That is just shameful!
After looking up the location with a map, I realize that I tried their buffet before and wasn't too impressed. I won't make that mistake again. There are way too many good indian places. Hopefully, I can find one that delivers.
Their ad showed up on my doorstep (serendipitously!) on a night when we were feeling lazy and yet craving Indian food. And they delivered? (I didn't know anyone in Berkeley delivered, outside of pizza places!) Normally I equate delivery with really shitty food, but we decided to just go for it.
The food arrived, nice and hot, about 40 minutes after we placed the order. AND IT WAS SPECTACULAR. Seriously - really, really good. The samosas were light and airy, the Tikka Masala spicy but not TOO spicy, the naan smothered in garlic. Mmmmm. And did I mention the naan was free? FREE. When you order $20 worth of food (which you need to do for delivery, anyway), you get two orders of naan (any kind!) for free. And if you order three entrees, you get a fourth for free.
I am so thankful to find an Indian restaurant that delivers! No more pizza, yay!!!
edit: so, we've been having some issues with India Palace. And I don't even like saying it, because I love this place and I'm hooked on their...well, their everything...but the past two times we've ordered for delivery, it took OVER TWO HOURS to come. Actually, we ended up cancelling both orders after the two hour point and just eating easy mac, because we were so damn hungry and so sick of waiting. Something about having electrical problems in the kitchen? But why wouldn't they call and let us know the food wouldn't be coming? When I called to cancel, they said that they hadn't started preparing the food yet...and so why didn't they call? I don't get it. And I wonder how many orders were just on pause for 2 hours+ in their kitchens.
Very, very, tasty Indian food. We had the Saag Paneer, Began Barta, and Chicken Tikka Masala. All were awesome. Two downsides: somewhat slow service. Indian without a 22 oz. Taj makes me sad. Other than that, a great spot!
Last night, based largely on Yelp reviews I ordered some chow from Indian Palace. Despite the fact that I have had bad experiences with Indian delivery in the past. I was exhausted from a long day of cycling and the thought of going out was impossible. Heres the deal:
The cost of the food is a little above average, meat entrees about 12.00, vegi's $8.95.
When eating at a new Indian restaurant I always order my barometer dishes: Chicken Tikka Masala, Saag Paneer, Raita, Nan. They delivered the food well before the 45 minutes they said it would be, and I live about an 8 minute drive from the restaurant.
The Chicken Tikka : was very good although the chicken was a little over cooked. The sauce was very good.
The Saag : What the hell? This was by far the worst WORST saag panneer I have ever had, Tasty Bites makes better Saag. It was very loose and waterey with weird overcooked chunks of red bell pepper?? It did not seem to have been made with spinach, as it tasted nothing like spinach. The over all flavor was bland and unappealing, the color was off too being a brighter green than it should have been. It is possible that they had switched to some other leafy green durring the California e-coli scare, and had not yet switched back. I am just guessing.
The Raita : very thin, hardly creamy but the flavor was okay, not the best I have had but not the worst either.
The Nan : WHY WHY do Indian restaurants not understand how to pack Naan for delivery? If the hot Naan is wrapped in foil for packaging, it steams inside the foil, the end result is soggey, rubbery Naan. Indian Palace went one worse, they actually had a thermal bag that they put the foil wrapped Naan into, had they simply put the Naan directly into the thermal bag and left it open so that the steam could escape the Naan would have been better, not great but better.
I also ordered the Dal Special it was decent, pretty average and not spicey at all.
If Indian Palace can't even figure out Saag Paneer or how to pack Naan, I just can't recommend this restaurant. The total for the bill was around $32.00 and that was a lot of money to pay for piss poor food.
Lastly, a general comment about buffets, and Indian Buffets specifically. If the buffet is open for 3 hours ONLY go if you can get there within the first hour to hour and a half. Otherwise it's steam table hell, but that's just me, I am a bit of a food snob.
I ordered take out from there last week and it was not good. First of all it took an hour and twenty minutes to arrive and when it finally did, it was cold. The spices seemed non-existent, bread was dry, lamb samosas were gross and dry too and everything overall was flat tasting and boring. Not only that but they were expensive. Not even in a moment of full on indian food craving would I order from them again.
OK. This place rocks the house. My ex and I went to this place probably once a week for 2 years. Why? Because we had this super-awesome "entertainment card" that let us get this gigantic meal for $24 including tip. Even without a special discount this place is a good value. Here is what we got, damn near every time:
1 mint pratha
1 shahi paneer
1 tandori chicken
1 paneer pakora (to start)
(rice comes with entrees)
You will leave FULL. We came here so much that we learned that one of the waitresses was from Mongolia. She once asked us if we were married... I suppose the implication being that who ELSE but a married couple would be so boring as to get the SAME THING EVERY TIME. But I digress...
This place serves the absolute best Navratan Korma. The Chicken Makhanwala was just okay today, but the Navratan Korma definitely picked up the slack. Mmm, I love Indian food!
I like this place because they have a nice lunch buffet. I haven't eaten there, I've only picked up… Read more »
The owner of this restaurant rear-ended us one night on University Ave. with his Mercedes! Even that didn't stop us from ordering delivery from this place on a regular basis. I like their meat dishes, but the vegetarian dishes often have too much ginger for my taste. If you're not a fan of chunks of ginger, watch out!
LUNCH BUFFET!!!
This place gets four stars for having a buffet. The food is is yummy and there are a lot of variation of dishes. Some I wouldn't order if I had a menu in front of me. Lunch was about 12 bucks for each of us and for a filling lunch that's the place to go. I'd only go here for lunch.
lunch buffet, lunch buffet, lunch buffet. there now you know what i like about this place.
Service is good too, staff is nice and courteous.
I tried another Indian lunch buffet over the weekend - India Palace in Berkeley. It's in the downtown area in the old Raja location on University between Oxford and Shattuck. Well, after eating at India Palace I lament the loss of Raja - one of my favorite Indian haunts.
For $6.95 (on the weekends at least) you get:
-Chicken makhanwala
-Tandoori chicken
-Lamb curry
-Aloo gobi (potatoes & cauliflower)'
-Aloo gajar (potatoes, green beans & peas)
-Aloo bengan (potatoes & eggplant)
-Dal
-Saag paneer
-Lentil balls (kofta?)
-Spinach pakora (cold)
-Rice (with whole cloves still in it)
-Naan (brought fresh to the table)
-"Fancy" lettuce mix
-Apples, canteloupe
-Kheer/gulab jamun desserts
Their chicken makhanwala (which along with chicken tikka masala is my make or break dish for buffets) was just OK with some weird pieces of chicken to pick around.
The most disappointing part of the meal was the vegetable/raita course since there were no vegetables like cucumbers or tomatoes. Even though there was "fancy" lettuce, raita didn't taste right with it. Additionally, the canteloupe was overripe and we had to cut parts of it off.
Potatoes figured prominently in the vegetarian dishes, and they were all fairly good.
Overall, however, I was pretty disappointed. Normally with Indian buffets I eat too much and have to convince myself to stop eating. This time I was easily convinced.
No offense to the proponents of India Palace out there, but I'd rank it in my bottom 3 buffets thus far:
3) Swarna (on Locust in Walnut Creek)
2) India Palace
1) (worst) Raj (on Piedmont in Oakland)
The place is nice and close to University, which was a good lunch break for me today. At lunch, they have a buffet for $9.00. Compared to Sargam, the Indian joint in Walnut Creek I love, it's not as good. The nan is nice and buttered and there is a good selection of chutni, but there is no chicken tikka masala. They have the sauce, but no chicken in it. However, I really dug the cabbage masala... it rocked me.
The service was okay, but how can you really judge that if it's a buffet? They gave us nan and water at the beginning and that was it.
I would give it 3.5 stars if I could. The rest of the buffet was not to exciting.
Berkeley, CA
Category: Indian
Berkeley, CA
Category: Indian
Berkeley, CA
Category: Indian
Neighborhood: UC Campus Area
Category: Indian
Neighborhood: UC Campus Area
Category: Indian
Berkeley is a motherlode of cheap good food. But…
I lived in Berkeley near campus for a couple…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
I love Indian food and I want YOU to love it too.…
I love Indian Food. Probably my all time favorite…
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
