Ottawa Foodies

1

Our favourite indian restaurant by far.

The sauce and spices in their dishes are to die for.

Ordered and really enjoyed the following dishes: pakoras, chicken tikka masala, butter chicken, beef curry, lamb korma and beef vindaloo. Korma being at the top of the list. All orders have been spiced to perfection and order.

Only complaint is that the portions are small, especially the amount of meat, but the flavours more than makes up for it. Also the restaurant is very small (approx 25 seats) and you do not want to sit by the door on a cold and windy winter night, unless you want to catch a cold.

Very interested to try this place for their lunch buffet.

Friday evening (before the rush). Ordered: tandoori chicken, butter chicken, vegetable korma, rice pulao, garlic naan & tandoori roti.

A friend highly recommended this 'little' place. Service was friendly but slow. Tandoori chicken was well done, tasty and very hot - which is good! Butter chicken was okay, a little too creamy for my taste. Vegetable korma was amazing, all the veggies and paneer in the cream sauce - a really good balance of flavour. The breads were good, but I found the naan a tad small for the price. Rice pulao was really lacking in flavour and somewhat dry. I know basmati rice, and how to cook it well - they just haven't got it right here.

Overall food is very good, much better than a lot of other places in Ottawa. Recommend going early as it fills up fast and the wait can be quite long.

1

Enjoyed a takeout dinner tonight, including Samosas, Tandoori Naan, Butter Chicken, Dal Makhni, and Pulao Rice.

The food is very good, but the service baffles me. I used to think the inevitable confusion was just because they were busy, but this time the dining room was empty (at 6:30pm on a Sunday!!) and there was just a trickle of takeout orders. Still, I had to wait 15 minutes past my pickup time, and when the server confirmed my order with me it wasn't quite right. She said, "pakora" and I said, "samosa" and then she went back to the kitchen to see which one of us was correct. She came back and told me that I in fact did know what I had ordered, which of course was not news to me. Haha. :-) I realized just now that she probably charged me for the more expensive pakoras too. Sure, a couple bucks is a drop in the bucket on a $46 order, but that just isn't classy. They're polite and pleasant but just not very competent.

So come for the tasty food, don't be in a rush, and keep an eye on the details of your order!

After reading what people had to say about this place it was time for a visit. Ordering alcohol isn't a great idea. My wife wanted a rye and ginger ale but were out of rye. They seemed to think rum was the same thing. Our third wheel ordered a gin and tonic but got ginger ale instead of tonic. This all can be overlooked since the food is very good. The chicken vindaloo had just the right amount of heat. I wouldn't say very hot as the menu states but I eat a lot of hot food so my taste buds are a little bias. The naan was fresh and hot not too thick with a nice crispness to it. The saag paneer was a delight. My wife thoroughly enjoyed her lamb bhuna and the orange zest in the rice is a nice touch.

I'm a regular here, and take people here frequently - both for the lunch buffet and for dinner, and have yet to find anyone who wasn't impressed.

The lunch buffet is very good, much better than the other, larger west-end Indian buffets that most people go to. It has gotten a bit more bland over the years as they've tried to accommodate guests who don't like spicy food, but it's still very good compared to the competitors...the fresh garlic Naan is one of the best parts. Go early (11:30) to ensure you have a table and get it while it's fresh.

Dinner is much better than the buffet - with dishes seasoned to taste. The Lamb Vindloo, Eggplant curry and chicken tikka masala are some of my favourites - all can be a bit on the spicier side, with several fresh ingredients combining to make a collage of flavours. The butter chicken or one of the Korma dishes are very creamy and rich - complementing the spicier ones well.

The service is usually excellent, but this is a family run place though, and sometimes they have kids or relatives helping out that aren't as attentive as the main crew - still, the food tastes just as good.

Takeout is great value - I'm pretty sure they give you more too.

This is also a good place to introduce people who claim to not like Indian food. The Butter Chicken or one of the Korma dishes are very tasty for those who want to try curry for the first time. I've converted a few people with them.

I realise Indian cuisine is highly personal - there are huge differences in opinion over what things "should" taste like - that likely explains "from T.O."'s review below. I don't claim any great credentials other than being a satisfied customer for a few years now. I have tried "Le Taj" in Montreal, which "from T.O." recommends, and while they have great flavours, they use frozen vegetables. You won't find any of that at Little India... to each and their own.

To answer the question re: white meat. I have had both versions in India (with white meat and with dark meat). Traditionally, in my family (who originates from Northern India- Punjab to be specific), we have always used white meat. It cannot be overcooked, or yes, it will dry out. Many restaurants in North America will use white meat (however, there are those which use dark meat to save $$). Some restaurants will charge a premium if you specifically ask for white meat.

So I guess I'm the self-proclaimed authority on butter chicken eh? :) Well, I am not a chef (however I must say I make a pretty mean butter chicken and delicious naans). My family originates from Punjab (the North) and in the North we primarily cook in the Mughlai (or Mughal-inspired style). Having come from a lineage of foodies, and a few chefs in the family, we consider ourselves to know a thing or two about Murgh Makhani and other North Indian dishes.

I have dined in Bangalore. For Southern Indian food, Bangalore is faboulous! I've also dine at a few North Indian restaurants in Bangalore, and I can't say that I had a memorable butter chicken. On the other hand, in Delhi, I had some of the best Mughlai cuisine!

Anyways, at the end of the day..it's all about personal taste I suppose. If you are thousands of miles away from a decent Indian restaurant, I guess Little India would seem appealing??! Maybe I'm just too picky about my butter chicken?? If you are in T.O...try the Host in Yorkville and tell me what you think. Also, the last time I was in Montreal (it's been a few years now), Le Taj was pretty darn good too!

Cheers!

Ms. 'From T.O.'

It seems the only thing that from T.O. left out is his credentials and just what makes him such an authority on things like butter chicken.

I can tell you that a good friend of mine worked for several years for an Indian outsource company who did the outsourcing for my employer, and he spent a good deal of time in India (Bangalore). When back in Ottawa not just he - but also many of the Indian contractors working here on-site in Ottawa - used to rave about Little India, and frequent the place.

I've never eaten here, however I wanted to inquire about "authentic" Indian food recipes involving chicken. It is my understanding that most traditional Indian recipes would probably not use chicken breast meat as it is less flavourful and dries out easily, and would most likely use leg and thigh meat. This is the same as many other non-North Americanized ethnic cuisines (ie: Thai, Chinese). Friends of mine were surprised when they went overseas to learn that the breast is not the most coveted part there like it is here. Anyhoo, I was just wondering if anyone who may have lived in India previously might know if an authentic butter chicken would use the breast or not? Just curious.

Oh my! Oh my! are you kidding me? I visited this restaurant based on the 'great reviews' I've seen on this site as well as others. DISAPPOINTING (and this is an understatement!!). The service was slow and not on the ball. We started with the paneer pakora. It was a sorry sight (having had paneer pakoras in various Indian restaurants across North America, Europe and in India. They resembled cottage cheese french fries. Way too greasy (which tells me the oil was not hot enough). The spices they used were all wrong!! Oh and they were overly salty! How can anyone mess up such a simple appetizer? The Naans are undercooked (too thick and doughy, not enough flavour). The butter chicken was ATROCIOUS!! They skimped on the chicken. I expected tender chunks of fresh chicken breast. Instead, I found measly little bits of 'white meat' floating in a pool of 'orange sauce.' It was not authentic butter chicken! Again, the spices that were used were not complementary to this traditional mughlai dish. It lacked creaminess...lacked the tangy tomato flavours that normally permeate a gourmet butter chicken. I could barely eat 2-3 bites. It was repulsive! I don' think the chef at this restaurant has any idea how to cook in the Mughlai style!!???! If this is the best that Ottawa has to offer, I guess I need to travel back to T.O. for good Indian food. We had considered ordering other dishes, but couldn't move beyond the greasy paneer pakoras and the sad butter chicken (Murgh Makhani) for fear of indigestion. I saw quite a few folks in the restaurant who were happily devouring an array of dishes. I am assuming that they have not had the pleasure of dining at a fine Indian Restaurant which specializes in authentic Mughlai/North Indian cuisine. "Best Kept Secret"?? My advice----do everyone a favour and keep it a secret!! ...Still searching for a decent Indian restaurant in Ottawa!!

It was packed by the time we arrived on Sunday afternoon around 6: 30, Lucky enough we got the last table :)
It’s the second time we have being here, food is always great, and service is attentive.

We ordered:
Lamb Vindloo
Chicken Do piaza - chicken simmered in different spices. one of my fav dishes!
Grilled eggplant with fresh onions, tomato and gingers.
Vegetable briyani - very tasty !

Overall, nice experience, we will definitely go back~

5

We normally get takeout from here but ventured in for a weekday lunch. Arriving right at noon, we took one of the last tables available. I counted a total of 26 seats.

Service was friendly and effective. This is a tiny and cramped restaurant, so you manoeuvre between chairs to get to the buffet, and you might contort a little to reach some of the offerings while staying out of the staff's way.

The food was delicious, as expected! Nothing spicy but everything tasty. Papadum, Pakora, Samosa, Chutneys and Pickles. Basmati. Saag Paneer, Mushroom Paneer, Lentil Daal, Chana Masala, Aloo Gobi, Butter Chicken, Tandoori Chicken, Beef Bhuna Ghost. Kheer, Gulab Jamun (and what looked like unfried gulab jamun -- tasty white milk balls). A garlic-buttered Naan, cut into 4 pieces, was brought to our table of two soon after we sat down with our first plate of food.

Particularly good were the Samosas, Mushroom Paneer, Aloo Gobi, Butter Chicken, Beef Bhuna Ghost (tender beef simmered with tomato and green peppers). The Tandoori Chicken is much less seasoned than in other places, allowing the flavour of the chicken itself to come through. I don't see this as a bad thing, but it might not be what you expect. The butter chicken is really nice here, but the lunch buffet version is a little toned down in terms of spice.

Stunning, my family raves about the owners cooking. So this week being in the neighbourhood I gave it a go. Boy am I ever glad to have gone. While it gets super busy around noon the food is replenished quickly, and naan arrives fresh to your table as requested.

I'd never had a mushroom paneer saag before, and I have been missing out! I really enjoyed the beef curry dish as it had just the right amount of spice and excellent flavor. The butter chicken was ok, and the tandoori chicken was decent but could have held a bit more flavor. I'd have to say the Taj restaurant still does a better tandoori chicken.

Myself and my partner thoroughly enjoyed our lunch and parted perhaps having enjoyed too much of the delicious food. Came to 31$ for two lunch buffets and two soft drinks.

Recommended for sure! -Ravi Shanghavi, Ottawa

Hey Captain Caper!

Haven't been there yet. I will definitely check it out!

thanks!

Hey Newbie from T.O.,

Never had the Butter Chicken from Little India Cafe but ...

How about the Murgh Makhani from Indian food Express and Sweets ? (Indian Express Food and Sweets)

I'll put that one one up against anyone I ever had in The Tee Dot Oh or most of the ones I've had in England, including the prestigious Zaika.

It was BRUTAL!!! Not at all what a true Murgh Makhani should taste like!! what a disaster!!

Best butter chicken I've had in Ottawa! Very flavourful and creamy.

Very good, with above average spice level.

Good, fresh tandoori naan. Not the best in town, but a welcome addition to the meal. We ordered two last night and one of them had a bit too much blackening.