Foods from Curries
Comments
2009 Oct 8
I have to agree with Cafe Cool, my lunch here was truly the worst Indian food I've ever eaten in Ottawa - and that's really saying something as I have a low opinion of Indian restaurants here generally! And it was just about the worst food I've ever eaten in Ottawa. I had the misfortune to saunter in here for lunch one day (a colleague had once recommended it). As CC said, every single curry was watery and bland. The chickpea curry, for example, which should be thick and rich, looked and tasted like dishwater. The chickpeas had clearly just been dumped into the liquid instead of simmered for a while as they should have been, because they were flavourless too. The tandoori chicken tasted awful, while the butter chicken was flavourless. The Haka noodles had no flavour, nor did the Chinese rice, and both were topped with raw cabbage strips which interfered with the taste of everything (not such a bad thing...) The spinach curry and the eggplant curry were edible - they were the only things that kept me from walking out. The server was attentive - he brought water regularly and brought naan to my table, but it was flabby and undercooked, so that didn't give him too many extra points in my book.
I had misgivings as soon as I walked in - the place was almost empty, which is a very bad sign on a sunny lunch hour in downtown Ottawa.
I had misgivings as soon as I walked in - the place was almost empty, which is a very bad sign on a sunny lunch hour in downtown Ottawa.
2008 Oct 27
Either the food has changed or the previous foodies have very different tastes than I do. This was not only the worst Indian food I have ever eaten, but it was possibly the worst food period I have eaten in Ottawa.
Lentil soup was watery, bland and unappetizing. They provided me with 3 pieces of cold flatbread, but it certainly was not naan and not prepared in a tandoor. The tomato curry was salty and not curried at all, while the curries were simply unappealing. The flavours were wrong, the food was greasy and very vaguely resembled good Indian food. The only things that were passable were the mango chutney and the spinach and potatoes.
Unfortunately, I was not brave enough to attempt any of the desserts.
Lentil soup was watery, bland and unappetizing. They provided me with 3 pieces of cold flatbread, but it certainly was not naan and not prepared in a tandoor. The tomato curry was salty and not curried at all, while the curries were simply unappealing. The flavours were wrong, the food was greasy and very vaguely resembled good Indian food. The only things that were passable were the mango chutney and the spinach and potatoes.
Unfortunately, I was not brave enough to attempt any of the desserts.
2008 May 7
Stopped in here for lunch today when I had a hankering for curry. I wasn't expecting much and was pleasantly surprised.
The beef curry was tasty and nice and spicy - not bland like the offerings at many of the local Indian lunch buffets. As others have pointed out there are lots of vegetarian options on offer and I have to say that the variety is nice for us meat-eaters too. I enjoyed the different veggie dishes which included a black lentil curry; a mushroom curry; a spicy tomato curry and a few others that I can't recall but that were all quite nice.
Because I was hungry, I forgot to try the chutneys and raita - Doh! Next time.
The service was good too. I never had to ask for my water to be refilled.
Wasn't thrilled with the naan which was kinda crunchy and greasy, but that won't stop me from making another visit.
The beef curry was tasty and nice and spicy - not bland like the offerings at many of the local Indian lunch buffets. As others have pointed out there are lots of vegetarian options on offer and I have to say that the variety is nice for us meat-eaters too. I enjoyed the different veggie dishes which included a black lentil curry; a mushroom curry; a spicy tomato curry and a few others that I can't recall but that were all quite nice.
Because I was hungry, I forgot to try the chutneys and raita - Doh! Next time.
The service was good too. I never had to ask for my water to be refilled.
Wasn't thrilled with the naan which was kinda crunchy and greasy, but that won't stop me from making another visit.
2006 Oct 17
The lunch buffet here has quite a few choices, and many have no shortage of curried sauce. I've been a few times, and the flavours have seemed consistently good. Caveat: I'm not yet a connoisseur of Indian food, but I do seek it out from time to time, as the buffets tend to have more than a token vegetarian option.
2007 Mar 30
I agree that there are lots of vegetarian options in the buffet and usually 2 or 3 are vegan. The staff is knowledgeable and go to the kitchen to double check ingredients if they're not sure. I always ask for a "tour" of the vegan options in the buffet when we arrive. The best thing is that the naan is vegan! Just be sure to ask to have it brushed with oil instead of butter.
Saurian
Does anyone have insider info on what'll become of the place?