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Madhuban Indian Cuisine
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11 am - 2:30 pm
Mon-Sun 5:30 pm - 10 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
183 reviews for Madhuban Indian Cuisine
Review Highlights
"Nice & Tasty - love the lunch buffet."
(in 38 reviews)
"The Chicken Tikka Masala (CTM) uses white meat, something..."
(in 11 reviews)
"Luch buffet has good selection of veg/non-veg dishes."
(in 3 reviews)
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183 reviews in English
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Review from Courtney M.
Santa Clara, CA
10/22/2011 1 Check-in Here
Oh how I love my indian food...
This place was spectacular- food was delicious and full of great flavor. I ordered the Lamb Roganjosh... and it was incredible. I am also a huuuge fan of Lamb (sad, i know..) so when I get a chance to endulge, I go for it. Our table ordered a wide variety of things, so I tried many different dishes including the Bhuna Goat (very tender!) and the Murgh Curry (chicken curry). I had a hard time deciding if I preferred the lamb or chicken curry... and that means a lot because normally it's lamb, hands down.
The only reason I knocked off a star was due to the mix up with our orders. They gave me the goat at first, thinking it was the lamb, and the two servers were disagreeing on which was which. They made up for it by being very apologetic and giving us an extra order of our grilled chicken dish. Nobody is perfect... I think it was important to highlight the positives on this one.. The food was fabulous and that's truly why we go OUT to eat right..? Yes. Go to a restaurant to get something you can't make at home... let the experts do what they do best and take advantage! -
Review from Cobey C.
Sunnyvale, CA
1/30/2012
I took a couple of business associates to Madhuban for lunch. The food was good, not the best but not the worst. The service was another issue. For starters no real host, a waiter just waved us to a table from across the room. Okay, no biggie. But then we had to ask for naan, we had to flag someone down to take drink orders. Our table was right in the middle of the restaurant. Staff walked by several times just ignoring us.
Here's where the real problem starts. I forgot to keep a copy of my receipt. The next day I went back and asked if I could get a copy. The manager said sure and took my contact information saying she would email it to me. It's now been 25 days, 8 different calls, 3 voice mails, 3 visits back to the restaurant and no response. I'm so furious in dealing with the incompetent people at this place that I would sooner starve then ever eat there again. I screwed up not keep a copy of my receipt but on 3 separate occasions they have committed to sending me a copy and have not responded. If they can't do it fine, but don't say that you can and waste my time. -
Review from Chander S.
Boston, MA
1/9/2012
Worst possible experience ever!
Went for dinner with my friend on a saturday night and the place looked surprisingly empty. We ordered Chicken Hot n Sour soup, which was all watery and lacked all the flavours. In addition, they dont carry chinese sauces(chiili, soy and vinegar) and when we asked their servers, they all seemed puzzled. Then we ordered Fish Amritsari, which turned out to be frozen fish nuggets dipped in some pathetic red coloured sauce. We then called for Chicken kadai, which tasted below par.
This restaurant not only has pathetic food, even their servers are incompetent. None of them seemed interested. Once we received our food, no one even came to check on us, or to ask if we needed anything else, considering the place was relatively empty and they didnt have anything else to do. The worst thing was when the server asked us what the price of fish amritsari was on the menu.
Bay Area has amazing indian restaurants, so dont waste your time and money over here. -
Review from Henry Y.
12/16/2011
I've been here several times already now. Always for work functions. The interior is spacious and nicely decorated. The food is just OK. They have trouble keeping some of the more popular items (like chicken and lamp) stocked, so frequently when I go up there is just a pan of sauce for those dishes. Even then, their most popular items aren't great but are decent enough. Regardless of that, I'm always full by the time dessert beckons.
However, I enjoy going and don't plan on stopping. It's always a pleasant experience. -
Review from Raman S.
Fremont, CA
2/2/2012
Reasonably good Indian buffet but very overpriced at $16. They had a good selection of Indian vegetable dishes. The place was not too crowded during lunch time like other bay area places. They also had a full spread of chaat which you don't normally see in a Indian buffet. I would not recommend this place unless you are in the neighborhood.
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Review from Monks G.
Santa Clara, CA
11/10/2011
Horrible. They charged us 18% gratuity on a weekday buffet. Seriously this is no way to make money off people! The food was average. They had omelet instead of the usual dosa. the dessert were below average (imagine that at an Indian place).
We used to having office our get together at this restaurant, not any more...
Not mad about madhuban any more -
Review from Linda L.
South Bay, CA
12/20/2011
Incompetent customer service.
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Review from Anuj P.
Mountain View, CA
12/19/2011
One of my favorite Indian places in the Bay Area. A little expensive compared to regular Indian joints, but the food quality is superb: the spices are fresh and there is a large variety from the usual chicken tikka, lamb curry to yummy vegetarian dishes. There is something for everybody. Their desserts: gulab jamun and gajar halwa are mouthwatering.
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Review from SAMMY Z.
Santa Clara, CA
12/18/2011
DISGUSTING! The food was substandard...TERRIBLE SERVICE. Food came out staggered... my friend was done eating by the time my food got there. And then when my food got here it was the wrong order!! The food was clearly frozen because some part of the food was SO cold and the rest was hot. Please save yourself the disappointment and money and go to some other place. Do not reccommend. I am not sure what they are thinking by charging the kind of money they do!
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Review from Joe L.
Bay Area
8/31/2011
Had lunch with coworkers there. Food was good. Very tasty. The lamb curry was my favorite. One of the dishes was very hot (spicy hot) but I liked it. Not sure many people can take as much heat as my tongue can, so beware.
We had 9 people in our group, so tip was included. The bill came to $18 per person. I don't want to spend so much for lunch. I only gave 3 star because I don't think it is good value. -
Review from Sahil B.
Sunnyvale, CA
11/19/2011
Atleast 3 days old food guaranteed.I am indian and know how indian food tastes like.I have been there twice lunch and dinner same week. Two of my friends fell sick after that.Don't go there
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Review from Sanjeet A.
Santa Clara, CA
11/21/2011 1 Check-in Here
Their a-la-carte meals are pretty good. Went there for a regular weekday evening dinner and the food was pretty good. Nothing fancy - but nice enough for a regular meal.
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Review from Mohit S.
Fremont, CA
10/3/2011
Very nice decor, feels you are in real Indian restaurant.
I typically go for lunch here, lunch food quality is similar to other Indian buffet place. Place is clean and very comfortable. -
Review from Gina C.
10/15/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Why haven't I dined here earlier?! My fiance and I love Indian food and never thought to dine here although its a second away from our place. We ordered the tandoori chicken, curry chicken, chicken chow mein, naan and rice. The tandoori chicken was so moist and delicious. The chicken curry was really really good, I must say that its up there with the best. The chicken chow mein wasn't too good, that's my fault for ordering chicken chow mein in an Indian restaurant. Besides the chow mein the food was delicious. The service was decent. One thing that really bothered me though was that they had a very large group of people who were really loud. Although they were in a semiprivate area they were very annoying. Screaming every 10 seconds. And to top it off they had a parrot there. I have no idea why they would have a parrot in a restaurant but it was squawking and annoying.
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Review from Davinder S.
Paramus, NJ
11/26/2011
Great Decor! Nice place, but the most important LUNCH BUFFET, was just A-Ok, they don't offer many variety of chickens and lamb. I was expecting more quality in the food.. as per plate cost is quite expensive. This place is great to show your girlfriends that, you have money to spend on luxury, but if i was with my home boys, then it would be Sneha down the corner.. or Chaats and Currys, But In the upper Luxury place, Madhuban is a must to entertain business clients and others, but they need to improve their Food quality, we are in a recession, they are suppose to lower the profit margin and increase quality to lure customer, Business 101.
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Review from Suefow S.
San Jose, CA
5/5/2011
Came here on a Friday for the lunch buffet. The place was packed, so we opted for seating on their traditional seating which was on cushions (pillows) laid all over the ground. The table was ground-level. I'm glad we opted in for the seating because it was comfortable and it was a good experience (similar to traditional Thai seating...shoes off, very comfy!).
After stuffing my face with some tasty naan, chicken masala, tandoori chicken, etc., I did not want to get up off my "you know" and get back to work. All I wanted to do was chillax! Haha.
Note: The food at this location is much better than their Skyport (by SJ airport) location. The food was fresh and the naan was cooked well, not under-cooked and/or translucent like Skyport location.
I'm definitely going back. -
Review from Kirsten T.
San Jose, CA
10/14/2011
Great food but if you aren't going to eat a ton it's expensive because it's buffet style.
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Review from Katie O.
San Francisco, CA
8/29/2011
I came here for dinner with an Indian family member. We ordered the assorted bread basket, some kind of goat curry, chicken tikka masala, birayani, chana masala. The food was good. The bread was extremely oily though. I think one of them that had meat in it was extremely salty. I had to consume one whole class of water just eating a piece of it. The other breads were good. It's quite different than the naan breads that I'm used to eating from indian restaurants - which I am told are more northern/pakistani style indian naans. What I didn't like about this place was how expensive it was. I know it's not a casual/hole in the wall type of restaurant, but for the amount of food you get compared with the price, it seems kind of overly expensive.
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Review from Julie W.
Saratoga, CA
2/7/2011
I was invited to the lunch buffet last Wednesday; upon entering I was impressed with the decorations and nice furniture. The food was tasty and service was prompt and courteous. The arrangement of the buffet area seemed a little odd; not the best flow, I also had no idea what I was eating.
I understand that the price here is higher but it's a worthwhile experience for a non-Indian customer. Some improvements lsuch as English labels for the dishes will help. -
Review from Mark N.
Absecon, NJ
11/18/2011
Tried lamb somsa, "Indian Chinese style" Szechuan vegetable plate, and chai. Lamb somsa was delicious!!! There is a whole section of the menu dedicated to "Indian Chinese food" , something I had never tried before, so I was curious. The Szechuan veggies seemed to have a combination of chile, maybe some Szechuan spices with I think curry and sugar and then there all this mint sprinkled on top.. It was a very interesting combination.. I love Chinese food and I like Indian food, but the combination of spices (and sugar) in this particular "Indian Chinese" creation was not to my personal liking and was also just too hot for me, but I have no idea if this is representative of "Indian Chinese" cooking, which I guess is sometimes called "hakka". The ingredients seemed fresh and to be of high quality and the presentation was good.. However, service was very good. The waitstaff seemed to notice that I was not eating my Indian Chinese dish very fast and seemed to be suffering so they quickly offered to make another one less spicy. They also brought some sort of delicious mango shake concoction to help with the "fire" free of charge. So I would say servers were great and quite friendly. The restaurant itself is very nice, the interior decoration is very attractive and elaborate, this is a quite nice somewhat fancy feeling place.. I will very likely return, I just may steer clear of the "Indian Chinese" dishes because of my personal preferences.. Lamb somsa was awesome..
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Review from Ben H L.
1/15/2011 1 Check-in Here
Came here on a Saturday for the lunch buffet with my neighbor friends. To our surprise, there were only three tables occupied when we went there. Although I liked all the nice decoration touches like the sit on the floor tables as well as the fancy artwork and colors spread across the room, I felt a disconnect in terms of being friendly to newbies to Indian food. There were descriptions at the buffet as to the name of the food, it gives no description of the ingredients and whether or not it's spicy in nature. By process of elimination, I determined what was meat and vegetarian and after tasting all of them, the veggie dishes had a lot more spice and kick to it while the meat dishes like chicken tikka masala and the lamb curry tasted average needing a bit more spice and seasoning.
All in all, a slightly disappointing meal because I love me some savory meat dishes and they fell below the mark. And we were charged the weekend lunch price of $16 so if I do ever come back here, I'm going to pass on the buffet. -
Review from Reza D.
West Los Angeles, CA
12/1/2010
Not sure why so many bad reviews for this place- I've been to TOO MANY indian buffets and I was very pleased with Madhuban's lunch buffet. Maybe they've improved the menu, I went here on 11/29/10 with my dad.
Plusses:
- wide selection of dishes including 2 kinds of biryani rice, mixed veg curry, lamb curry, chicken tikka, goat curry, pakora, idli (rice patty), mushroom mutter (rare), spicy tofu (more rare- nepalese influence?), chicken and tomato soup (also rare- these are Indian style soups), melon, mango pudding.
- The Chicken tikka uses white meat but it is very tender and flavorful.
- Lamb curry is boneless and goat curry has bones. Good for both preferences.
- The raita is especially tasty. It's hard to get raita wrong but this place makes it even better. the vegetable shavings are very fresh and a great compliment to the curries.
- Ambiance is classy and appropriate for business lunches. There were plenty of silicon valley business meetings and you can learn a lot about the IT market by just hanging out here.
- Fast service. Ice water and Naan was refilled frequently
Minuses:
- Tables are slightly to low for +6-footers.
- Slightly more pricey at $12.99 compared to other indian lunch buffets in the area at $9.99. But worth it.
- No meat Biryani, but meat curries pick up the slack. -
Review from Corrine L.
San Jose, CA
1/20/2011
Good, but really really pricey for lunch.
I will not be back because I can get the same food and bogus curry smell in my hair for $6.99 down the street. -
Review from Phoebe Y.
Sunnyvale, CA
10/19/2010 1 Check-in Here
Don't be fooled by the fancy interior - the buffet food here is quite disappointing.
To be sure, I am no Indian food snob - most Indian restaurants seem equally good to me, but somehow Madhuban has fallen far short of the mark. The food manages to be somewhat spicy and bland at the same time. It seems they skimped on the more expensive spices that lend complex flavor. Non-spicy dishes like the chickpeas (chana masala) merely tasted watery.
The tandoori chicken had a strange, somewhat sour taste. I'm pretty sure the sourness was due to the marinade they used and not because the chicken had gone bad since it was not like a "rotting food" type of sourness...but I didn't bother to get a second piece of chicken to test my theory.
The rice pudding (kheer) was bland and tasted slightly stale. The fruit platter looked delicious and was beautifully arranged, but the watermelon was not crisp like fresh watermelon would be. The texture is hard to describe - slightly denser and mushier.
Perhaps they just had bad luck picking the watermelon today, but all things considered, I will not be coming back. Especially not when Sneha is just down the street. -
Review from Nandhini S.
San Jose, CA
Updated - 9/19/2011
After seeing a bunch of people who started off giving Madhuban 5 stars, and then graduted to giving it 3/2/1 stars made me realize I wasn;'t the only person disappointed with this place.
It had a great start, and good food about 3.5 years ago. Not sure what went wrong with it, but food now is plain bad. Will not come back unless they actually advertise that the management has been revamped.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/13/2011
This used to be a nice place for lunch, we thought it was always consistent.
However, we went last… Read more »
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Review from Aubrey C.
10/19/2010
Madhuban BARELY scrapes by with 3 stars in my book, and I could've honestly given it 2.5.
The selection in their lunch buffet is good; there is a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. However, the taste of the food itself is generally a one-trick pony -- you taste heat but little else. None of the complex flavors and spices that generally flavor Indian cuisine. To make matters worse, the dishes that aren't heat-based are simply bland, such as the chick peas.
My friend and dining companion also complained that the fruit was on the stale side and not worth eating.
The only decent parts of the meal were the mango lassi (nice mango taste with a clean finish) and the naan (nothing special, but hot and crispy).
As others have mentioned, the decor is quite well-done, but as I always say, you're not eating decor. -
Review from SidDharth L.
Sunnyvale, CA
8/28/2011
Poor poor customer service and incompetent management.
Food had dirt particles and hair in it. If you are concerned about your hygiene, you will avoid this place. -
Review from Archie G.
San Jose, CA
6/18/2010
Ladies, please picture this scenario:
You are at a bar and spot a good looking guy from across the room. At first glance, he makes a great first impression. He has natural swagger and after constant glances back and forth, your eyes lock with his. It makes your heat skip a beat. You opt to approach him and you find him well mannered, impeccably dressed, and very confident. You have few drinks, which leads to a few laughs. Eventually, you find him more than charming enough to take him home to - for lack of better words - try him out.
You get home and you immediately begin to kiss. And then the touching starts. But the spark just isn't there. Everything seems to be going well, but there is definitely a lack of "inspiration" and it shows in the all too important areas. In the end, you feel it was an "alright" experience, but you're not sure if you'd ever go back for round two.
Gentlemen, picture this scenario:
You are at a club and spot a stunning girl from across the room. Upon first glance, she makes a very favorable first impression. She is sexy without trying too hard. You decide to approach her and you find her easy going, extremely fashionable, and oddly alluring. You have to have her. So after a few drinks, you opt to take her home and indulge in all things her.
When you get home, you are unable to contain yourself and you immediately make your move. There is kissing, and touching, and grabbing. But the fire just isn't there. Sure, some of the foreplay is fun, but she doesn't seem warm and ready to go in the all too important areas. You try to savor the moment, but in the end, you just get it over and done with. You are left to wonder if you'd ever go back for another go.
Well, the two above scenarios can definitely sum up an experience at Madhuban Indian Cuisine in Sunnyvale. I have passed by this joint many times on the way to work. And one day, I decided to stop by for lunch.
Upon entering, I found myself inside a beautiful restaurant. The decor, furniture, statues, fountains, and other gorgeous adornments stunned me. The layout of the all-you-can-eat buffet made tingle inside. The presentation was very attractive and inviting. I just had to try their food out. I filled my plate up with chicken tikka masala, palak paneer, assorted bhajia, naan, and other Indian treats. The quality was there and so was the taste (at times), but I felt the food could have been a lot warmer. It was barely lukewarm and made me wish they had microwaves available for the patrons. How can you properly enjoy Indian food if it's practically cold?
So as much as this place has the goods and delivers an attractive, quality product - it made me unsure if I wanted to go back. And with the lunch buffet costing in the neighborhood of $15, it definitely made me uneasy about a repeat visit. In the end, while I found Madhuban intriguing, the spark, the fire, the whatever you want to call it just wasn't there.
Madhuban, just like the hot person at the bar, looks great on paper. But presentation on paper can never replace passion.
Never ever underestimate "la pasión." -
Review from Amelia B.
Menlo Park, CA
12/13/2010
Fabulous for lunch!
Very good Indian buffet and definitely over the top in presentation and dining room decor. Our crew from work loved it and can't wait to go back. Nice selection, deserts, Indian spice tea too. Yum Yum Yum. Don't be such a snob, enjoy it! It's just lunch for heavens sakes. -
Review from Bharath V.
Santa Clara, CA
8/28/2011
Poor food.
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Review from Shabib S.
San Jose, CA
10/7/2010
Great lunch buffet. Decor is very updated, and you won't smell like food when you leave for your 1pm meeting.
Food was good. A little on the pricier side compared to other less decorated Indian lunch buffets. -
Review from Nirmal O.
San Jose, CA
3/16/2011
16$ for a lunch buffet! Really??? This is the most expensive Indian lunch buffet I have ever had and it was not worth it.
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Review from Chala C.
San Ramon, CA
11/5/2011
They serve good Indian buffee. But not consistent. Your chances of getting lucky is 70%. Bit expensice bit good ambience. Hand made crafting on a special wood tables imported from India.
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Review from Keyur P.
Sunnyvale, CA
11/3/2011
Decor is the best in bay..but food is crappy..
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Review from Kathleen M.
San Jose, CA
2/12/2009 ROTD 4/15/2009
Madhuban looks like a nondescript strip mall Indian restaurant from the outside, but the inside houses one of the prettiest Indian restaurants around, filled with Indian arts and intricate wooden carvings. Even the serving dishes on the buffet - in fancy serving bowls at different elevations - is literally an aesthetic step above the rest.
This is a good Indian restaurant for a business meeting and for a regular joe if you're good spending $12.99 for the buffet. That's the highest price out there for a lunch buffet, except for Amber India's which is two bucks more. The weekend lunch buffet at Madhuban is $14.99. You can only order a la carte in the evenings. Their menu looks pretty good and the prices are actually lower than I expected given their buffet prices. (Veggie entrees are $10.99 to $11.99, and meat entrees are $12.99 to $16.99 with most falling into the low end of that range.)
On my visit the buffet included:
Dal
Fries
*Paneer Makhani
Dal Vada
*Chicken Tikka Masala
Chili Pakora (I was excited to see these since I love Priya's version and I rarely see them but these were too spicy)
Bengan Bartha
Zucchini Masala
*Chicken Biryani (good quality chicken and nice spicing)
*Malai Kabob
Salad and vegetables
Raita
*my favorites
Didn't Try:
Tandoori Chicken
Mushroom Masala
Idly
Lamb (heard it was good)
Dessert table:
Fruit
Mango pudding (not as good as Turmeric's)
Excellent fresh hot naan was brought to the table (unlike Turmeric's folly of putting it in the buffet to get cold). We visited during the prime lunch hours of 12 and 1 and the place was really busy. On the upside I saw dishes frequently replenished. On the downside there was a constant line at the buffet. The buffet clearly needs to be set up differently. While the central island was always free of traffic and could be accessed from two sides, the area with troughs against the wall was always a bottleneck. This was partly because of dishes in the corners of this set-up that couldn't be reached until you were exactly in front of them. And the line was so tight you couldn't hop it just to get one item.
The meat quality here was a revelation. They use white meat chicken in all or most of their dishes. That's part of the reason their meat dishes here are stronger than their veggie dishes. The Chicken Tikka Masala (CTM) uses white meat, something that's hard to find nowadays. (Places seem to try to get by making the similar dish, Chicken Makhani, with dark meat.) The Malai Kabob (similar to Turmeric's) consisted simply of nicely cooked chunks of chicken and was excellent.
If this place was $11 or under I would definitely give it 5 stars. However, since it's $12.99 ($14.99 on weekdays), I have to give it 4 for now.
My Current Indian Buffet Rankings:
1) Turmeric, Sunnyvale
2) Passage to India, Mountain View
3) Priya, Berkeley
4) Bombay Garden, Sunnyvale
5) Mehak, Berkeley
6) Sargam, Walnut Creek
7) MADHUBAN, SUNNYVALE
8) Rangoli, San Jose
9) Maharaja?, Mtn View --- on Castro St., can't remember name but it's not Sue's, maybe Godavari?
10) Tandoori Mahal, San Francisco
11) Mayuri, Santa Clara
12) Khana Peena, Berkeley
13) Sahib, Richmond
14) Taj, Sunnyvale
15) Swarna,Walnut Creek
16) Mezbaan, Santa Clara
17) Grand Indian Buffet, Sunnyvale
18) Tandoori Bites, San Jose
19) India Palace, Berkeley
20) Raj, Oakland
21) Nawab, San Mateo
22) Udupi Palace, Sunnyvale -
Review from Scott L.
Soquel, CA
4/15/2010
I used to *really* like this place. The food was spicy, there were unique dishes, and it was all *really* good, even the buffet.
Not any more.
I took my girlfriend there last weekend and it was a disaster. Not only was the Tikka Masala severely burnt and chewy dry (I get that it's supposed to be a little charred in the Tandoor but not incinerated), but the waiter *insisted* this was the way Tikka Masala was meant to be.
Yeah right. It was awful. Not going back after coming here on and off since they opened. The Channa Masala faired better, but it had no strong flavor. the only good part was the Naan.
In the end, we joked about it being the end of a winning streak of really great restaurants since we met, but I'll miss the place Madhuban used to be (that is until something better takes it place). -
Review from Keiko S.
8/19/2008 6 photos
NOTE: This review is for the weekend lunch buffet only.
We got there around 11:45am for the weekend buffet, and for a while we were the ONLY patrons sitting in this large venue. By 12:30pm the room became mostly full...but still, is this place not as popular as the other Indian restaurants?!
* FOOD*
I was impressed with the fine quality of the ingredients. The vegetables were fresh, the curries weren't old and mushy, and the tandoori chicken was mostly, if not all, WHITE meat. Although a bit bland, I was glad to find a healthy alternative. And of course, I appreciated the several tasty vegetarian dishes with fresh ingredients. The curries were pretty light, without the excess grease, and at least on the day we went, they offered three kinds of curries - lamb, goat and chicken.
But 3 stars for the food...because everything was generally too mild for our palates. Also, the two soups - tomato and chicken - tasted like they were poured right ouf of Campbell soup cans.
Anyway, it's roughly $15/person. Given the freshness and the good (and healthy) variety of food, it's really not so bad.
* AMBIANCE & SERVICE *
I'm throwing in all 5 stars for the ambiance. They did an excellent job with the decor, and how I wish Grand Indian Buffet down the street could adopt some of this elegance...because food wise, I think it beats Madhuban. The service was okay...but a bit spotty, considering the fact that we were the only ones there for a while.
Well...3.5 stars. If only they could SPICE UP their dishes more, we'd be here all the time! -
Review from Carole G.
11/8/2008
I loved this place when it was Sarovar but I love it even more as Madhuban. I've probably been coming to this Indian buffet for lunch for more than 10 years. I have watched this restaurant change hands at least 4 or 5 times; getting better with each ownership change. This recent change to Madhuban is undoubtedly the best ever!
The decor is amazing with all of the furniture and artwork imported. You don't get the normal stuff here. We're talking full size camels that could be Trojan horses. I had not been there in a long time and recently took a friend for lunch. I knew the name had changed but I was honestly surprised at the complete transformation. The interior has been completely redone from it's former selves and is now classy, warm, intriguing and inviting.
That lunch revisit led to another and then to a few dinners here as well. Unbeknownst to me they serve the buffet on Saturday and Sunday nights as well. You can expect a full house here then; especially on Saturday. I had a party of 11 in for a Saturday night buffet and one diner remarked she had not eaten food this good since she had been in Mumbai.
The buffet is large and with many offerings. You won't just find a few main dishes here. On the nights I have been they served Tandoori chicken along with four other main dishes including two chicken curries, one lamb and one goat. In addition to that, they have everything else. I don't know all of the names that well but everything is marked and everything I have tried has been really delicious. On our last visit they had a Mango pudding dessert that was silky sweet and amazing.
They also had an appetizer station set up near the entry. A gentleman manned this cute little lit up hut and made two kinds of "popper-like" treats to order. Very cool! Fresh naan is brought to your table and they have a full bar and serve many Indian beers as well. It would be difficult to leave here and still be hungry!
While I'm more of lunch out eater than I am dinner, this is one place that is so much fun to share with guests and really comes alive in the evenings. It's bustling with Indian families in native dress and can almost make you forget you're in a strip mall in Silicon Valley.
The menu can be rather pricey during non-buffet times so I suggest going during the buffets so you have the opportunity to try many offerings and then come back again later for your favorites. Pillow seating for groups of four is also available and that can be fun too.
Written in my travelogue: Madhuban makes me fall in love with curry again!Listed in: Not American Food!
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Review from Lyly P.
Emeryville, CA
5/23/2008
Best part of the South Bay? The plethora of Indian buffets. I've tried every, single one of them and Madhuban's my favorite. Sparky dishes, clean well designed interior, freshly baked naans delivered to your table, helpful staff of cutie boys.
I just made myself hungry. -
Review from Sue Ellen E.
Santa Clara, CA
Updated - 12/13/2009
It was really disappointing to stop liking this restaurant, if only because the staff are soooooo friendly.
They did what Indian restaurants tend to after being in business a short while: water down the raita. It started out wonderful, and became crap.
Some people don't want their drinks watered down; me, I don't want my yogurt messed with, dammit!
That is the death knell, IMO.
I couldn't even finish my takeout order as the raita didn't have enough substance to be scooped up by the paratha. Where's the point in that? Where's the FOOD in that? It might as well be a drink.
The frustrating parts are: I KNOW they know better; they are a very convenient location but now we have to go farther away for decent Indian food; the staff are so damned nice it bugs me that eating there no longer appeals.
It is more expensive here than other Indian restaurants but I was willing to pay as long as the food was great. No more.Listed in: My 'Hood, Best Date, Best Eats, Indian Food
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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12/28/2008
It's very difficult to find truly decent Indian food, ironically, in an area that is known for… Read more »
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