Ottawa Foodies

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Decided to give Host India a try for takeout last night. I was a bit wary after reading some of the comments below (which mainly refer to the buffet) but it got good reviews on Urbanspoon so I decided to give it a chance.

Two things stood out
1) The food wasn't at all oily which my usual Indian suffers from.
2) Boy was it spicy!

I like my food hot, but even the side salad with my pakoras left me tingling (e.g. the carrot strips marinated in what seemed like vinegar & chilli). Very nice, but not quite what I was expecting. The pakoras themselves packed a reasonable punch, as did the mains - none of which were officially listed as hot or very hot.

The food seemed very fresh, and although the prices were a little higher than I'm used to, the portions were ample and provided more than enough for leftovers tonight.

All in all, very enjoyable. We'll be trying a few more things off the menu in future, but until I calibrate their heat setting, we'll be erring on the side of caution.

Cheers,
Ratty.

I went here on a Sunday night for the buffet and would probably not return. It's not in my neck of the woods, and I've definitely had better Indian food in other restaurants. As previous commenters have mentioned, the food was warm but not hot. I had some butter chicken and found a few tough bits, probably tendons, that I couldn't eat. The naan was okay - parts of the naan were dried out so I couldn't use it to pick up the meat and rice. The samosas were the best part of the meal, but otherwise it was a fairly average dining experience. I call it a "neighbourhood restaurant" - the kind where you'd probably go often if you lived near it, but probably wouldn't go again if you had to make a special trip out there.

Perhaps ordering off the menu is better, as others have suggested?

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Stopped by for the first time tonight. Pleasant dining room, attentive staff.

They have a buffet on Sunday evenings, and the variety and quality were very good. Naan was, as noted by others, superior.

Biggest concern: As someone else mentioned, the buffet food was not hot (temperature-wise): Ranged from almost hot to lukewarm. I don't mind that taste-wise, but it does concern me microbiologically. It isn't safe to serve lukewarm food.

The food was tasty enough that I will try coming back and ordering off the menu.

Very nice. Went with a friend for the buffet..I was so pleasantly surprised by the freshness of the food. I have never eaten such soft and flavorful chicken tandoori before...so so soft. The butter chicken was also delicious..the best i've had so far. Naan was good as always. I also had some rice(that was more plain) and I couldn't decipher the other dish but it was pretty good as well.

If they do lunch buffet that well, then I have no doubt in my mind their dinner is well worth it.

Only complaint I have is that it was so noisy and there was just tons of people, almost full room, and people consistently coming in and out. I don't know how it is for dinner.

But I'd easily do take-out from here because if the freshness is always like that...its the best standards I've seen.

My SO and I went to Host India last night for the first time in about 6 months. I've been going here for about 3 years, though never for the buffet, so I can't comment on that. But, each time I go it seems to get better and better. They've redesigned the à la carte menu since the last time I was there, but thankfully the menu hasn't changed. It was busy but the service was prompt and attentive. One good sign was the fact that at least half the restaurant was Indians in for dinner, and then they were hosting/catering a party in the back room. They were also extremely busy with big take-out orders as well.

We ordered a half-carafe of Banrock Station Semillion/Chardonnay, Butter Chicken, Lamb Garlic Tikka (a tandoori dish), Tarka Daal, naan and white rice. And as usual, we had pappadums given to us beforehand and vegetable samosas with chutney as an appetizer. I've linked the Butter Chicken, naan and samosa to the page and their individual reviews are there.

The lamb garlic tikka was a new dish for us to try and we'll definitely order it again. The lamb was rubbed with tandoori spices and then dusted with garlic. The lamb was still chewy and moist, despite having been cooked in the tandoor. The dish was served on a hot skillet with cucumbers, lettuce, onions, peppers and a slice of lemon.

The Tarka Daal was a lentil vegetable that we decided to try instead of our usual baigan bhartha (eggplant dish) or a paneer (cheese dish). It was light on the curry spices, but delicious. It was a nice alternative from the heaviness of the cream-based butter chicken.

Our total bill was $80 with tip - I wish we hadn't eaten everything so we could've had leftovers today! The decoration is traditional, but not overdone or tacky. The kitchen is visible to the dining room as the chef working the tandoor is visible to everyone.

Best butter chicken i've had so far.

Such a great meal put together with rice and the garlic naan bread... I loved. And the service was amazing.

This is the best butter chicken I've had. Plenty of sauce with a garnish of cilantro on top. It's heavy on the cream, but so rich and tasty. The curry isn't too strong and it's fantastic with their fresh naan.

Menu is great food, buffet is shoddy.

Lunch buffet at Host India was disappointing. I've been there many times for dinner and ordered from the menu. The food has always been great, amazingly flavorful and always fresh. The spices and taste of their dishes have had me going back again and again over the years.

But the lunch buffet is way too toned down in terms of flavor and taste. It's so bland I was sorely disappointed. So I really recommend saving your visit to Host India for the evening, or ordering from the menu.

Don't get me wrong, I love Host India. It's my favorite indian restaurant here in Ottawa.

Happy eating! -Ravi Shanghavi, Ottawa

Tried out the buffet. All the currys were cold. There was only about 4 or 5 others when I was there, and they were asking the staff to heat their food up for them. I think there might have been an issue with their buffet warmers when I was there.

The service was quick, picked up dirty plates before I could sit down with a new plate.

The pakora was awesome (and hot), best mint chutney I've ever had too.

Soup was tastey, some variety of lentil soup.

The naan is made fresh by the chef working in the tandoor kitchen - you can watch him stretch it and put it in the tandoor and then remove it for serving. It comes to your table warm and soft.

The samosa order comes with two samosas. The vegetable ones are great - heavy on the curry, but lots of potatoes and peas. The chutney is a clove-based one.

They make the best and most softest tandoori in Ottawa imo.