Ottawa Foodies

I can confirm that Rinag's still open, since I had lunch there today.

Really good naan. Better than usual, because the guy (not the regular naan man?) brushed the whole thing down with ghee once it had come out of the oven. Glistening and delicious.

The five of us mostly stuck to channa (chickpeas), samosas, butter chicken, baingan bharta (eggplant), and naan. Not a complaint in the house.

If it weren't for the threat of an ever-expanding waistline I'd eat here more often!

Shub - I had lunch at Rinag . . . must have been a month ago or so? It was some time in April. Hopefully they'll have things fixed soon!

Is this place even open for lunch anymore. Has someone been there in 2008?

Tried to go today for lunch and they had a sign saying

closed due to plumbing problems

No buffet lunch on Mondays

This place is an undiscovered gem in the Merivale - Hunt Club area. That area seems to have every type of restaurant imaginable from McDonald's to Mexcali Rosa's to Chinese Buffet.

It was really missing an Indian buffet joint. Not anymore. For me it was worth it just for the Gulab Jamun. So delicious. They keep it warm in the syrup which adds to flavor. It has the perfect amount of sweetness.

This place also amazing naan when the man is in that funny booth making them. Otherwise they seem to come from packaged source somewhere.

Regardless the food is excellent. Tasty. Very well priced. Lots of chicken options. And even a quiet a few veggie selections.

They also tell me all their meat is halal. (Confirm as necessary)

All in all awesome place. I've definitely become a regular.

You might recognize the name Rinag from the prepackaged Indian food at Farmboy and (I think) Loeb. They are located in the industrial park across Hunt Club from Costco. You can buy their prepackaged foods from a counter that is typical of a warehouse outlet. Off to the side is a large banquet hall, which I assume you can book for events and dinners. Since events usually happen in the evening or on weekends, they open up the banquet hall to lunchtime diners like me (the tables aren't all huge -- some seat just 3 or 4).

You have two options for lunch: either sit down for the buffet ($8.99) or fill a styrofoam lunch container for takeout ($5.99).

The buffet offers the usual choices -- samosas, pulao rice, channa, daal, aloo matar, eggplant, paneer, butter chicken, tandoori chicken, beef vindaloo (mild), raita, chutney, gulab jamun. There's also a guy cooking naan in a little windowed room in the hall. Diners each get a naan with their buffet. I found the food to be all right but not incredible. Oh, except the "Channa" chick pea curry was awesome! Regardless, it's the best Indian food within 2 km of my workplace. ;-)

Service is casual, quirky, and friendly. They seem to have a small crowd of regulars, which will likely grow as word gets out to denizens of the industrial park. Parking is ad hoc, mostly on the street out front.

Anyways, I'm thrilled to have an Indian buffet in the Merivale/Hunt Club area. We've been wishing for one ever since the Star of India closed...