Joey
Reviews written by Joey
For what this place is, hipster employee owned and operated co-op, it's perfect. If you want a fancy sit down, this isn't the place for you. Good food, limited non-breakfast selection, fun atmosphere.
Good food, but smells like cooking meat! If you can tolerate the smell, it's definitely worth it.
By far my most favorite restaurant. They have Vegetarian Pho. My most missed dish since I went vegetarian. :)
Only a few other vegetarian items and I haven't tried them. They make it just how I want it. Service was kind of funky when they started, but has settled down and now makes sense (They would bring me the meat pho, set it down, then say sorry and take it to the back and a few minutes later emerge with my real meal). That happened almost like clockwork for the first 5 or 6 times, but now it's just great. Have to ask for more basil and jalapeno normally, but that's a small price to pay and they are quick about it.
A little more pricey but if you want a nice sit down establishment with good table service. Definitely worth it.
Great, inexpensive food. Quick service. Hard to find a table sometimes. Jasmine 26 is around the corner if you're looking for similar great food at a sit-down restaurant establishment. Easy to do take-out, friendly staff.
Good. Was better the first few times we went, after that no matter how spicy we asked (Even going for "Indian Hot") it kept getting sweeter and more like ketchup for every sauce. No plans to go back, there are better Indian restaurants in the TC but def worth a look, especially if you don't care how spicy the dish is.
Went here for dinner last night. The empty box of Sysco "Vegetable and Produce" in the parking lot was an unheeded omen warning us what would transpire inside. I don't understand where the good reviews come from. This was the worst experience I've ever had. We were served tap water, service was slow, the chai tasted like watered down milk, with no spice, and no tea. The Malai Kofta? A standby of most Indian restaurants, tasted the same, and came with rubbery balls of NOTHING. They were actually empty on the inside!!! They were rubbery, chewy, and everything they shouldn't be. And my Malai Kofta was supposed to be Medium spicy, not Milk.
The Paneer Pakora was also terrible. The paneer was cut so thin it could not be tasted or noticed when eating. It was so deep fried that the fried part was at least 10x the thickness of the paneer. It tasted and smelled like wal-mart fish fry. The Mint Chutney that came with it was the only bright spot the whole evening.
My friend commented his food was tolerable. Not passable, just tolerable. We came hungry, and left very disappointed.
We've been there for the buffet before and it was ok, nothing special, not nearly spicy enough. I'm not a buffet person and from the reviews it sounded like the buffet would be worth a shot. It was not.
I can not fully express my disappointment in this place after reading the reviews and hearing words of great praise. There is a string of Indian Restauraunts up and down central with far more Authentic food, rather than Sysco brand "indian" food. Try one of those. Nala Pak was supposed to be good when it was Udupi Cafe, and supposedly was good after that. I do not know what has changed, but I have never had such a terrible, empty meal. If the food did not taste bad it was just empty and bland. And with only tap water to wash it down? That's just an insult. Home Depot has water filters for less than the cost of our meal. All in all, I would never re-visit this restaurant without hearing that the chef or menu or ownership has changed.
I've never had a bad experience here. Good food, waiters are kind of out of it, not really paying attention, talking on the phone, or other. I get Pad Thai w/ Tofu or the Tom Yum, always comes out the right spicyness. I will try some other Thai places that are mentioned in the reviews though.
Great food. I rarely eat inside, mostly get to-go food which is always quickly accommodated. Nothing is ever plain here. The rice will actually have whole cinnamon sticks and whole cardamon in it, unlike other Indian restaurants where you just get white rice. Could be cleaner inside or more inviting.
They recently had a fire and have not yet re-opened. Went to a different Indian Restauraunt up on central and had a terrible experience, making me miss this place all the more. Try it if you haven't, if you have, go back once they re-open and support them. Good Indian food needs to thrive in this city. I've never had bad food here.
Haven't had the buffet, not a buffet person.
Good, service is slow. Do not wait until you are hungry, eat first, then go. Dishes are hit or miss, try Buddha's Delight.
Feb 29
Few options, only one or two things marked "vegetarian" but you can make substitutions. Confusing, hard to read menu. Service is nice and friendly. Have had weird problems each time, first time the iced tea was spiked with fruit flies, brought me 3 glasses with a fly or two before bringing out the pitcher and then noticing it was full of flies. Another time all the napkins had long hair strands in them wrapped with the silverware. Just had to put up with it because each new one that was brought had the same problem and it was getting ridiculous. (I'm not all that squeamish, but any professional restaurant shouldn't have this problem).
Not as many options as uptown thai chili(the old uptown sawatdee) for vegetarian food. Spicyness level was great, they even took my 3.5 (tounge in cheek) and made it perfect. Food was acceptable, nothing special. Pad Thai is just a noodle dish, no mock duck or tofu. Will try asking for it if I go back.