India Grill

05/12/08

Bad Service, Terrible Food, Dirty Restaurant Avoid it

by jimdavis7 at Citysearch

I went to this restaurant for Mothers Day. The service was really bad, the waiter never asked how the food was as I am sure he knows not to. The place was extremely dirty, old food and stains everywhere. The worst thing was the food. My Chicken curry was horrible, not spicy , hardly any chicken and tasted old. The waiter had his thumb in my curry as he brought it. My Mom had a veggie dish of spinach and potatoes and it was old tasting and off color. I would really avoid this place as they don't deserve to be in business.

• Pros: none
• Cons: food, service, dirty space

03/14/08

Savory Navrattan and perfect Pekoras, dirty restaurant

by trapizumac7 at Citysearch

I've been searching for a decent Indian restaurant in Portland. Located upstairs in a little house, this hidden restaurant was good. The hot chai tea was brewed perfectly and the Navrattan was exceptional. The only downside is that I saw a few ants and the window sills are dirty. Hopefully, they clean up to bring in more guests.

• Pros: Good food, service was awesome and no wait time
• Cons: Dirty window sills

03/03/08

Avoid it

by ge1029 at Citysearch

Its the worst indian place i've being to. Here is my experince

1. It took 1 hour 45 min to get us food. Am an indian, and looks like they take indians for granted. They kept serving other and dint show up at our table until an hour past.

2. I ordered a dish called briyani, what they did was mix rice and a curry and gave it to me as briyani. I dont mind if they say we dont have that dish avaliable, but its frustrating if they just throw some thing at me and call it briyani on demand.

3. Horrible experince.

4. SUGGESTION: Stay out of this place, there are other nice places with same price in downtown.

• Pros: none
• Cons: all

02/23/08

Bad Experience

by TMaryT at Citysearch

I visited Indian Grill for the first time recently. This was a bad idea. We got there and they didn't have our reservation. After finally getting a table we waited 30 minutes before having our orders taken. Then we waited another hour for the food to show up. The food was OK, definitely not my favorite indian food. The portions were pretty small. I'd like to say the ambience was good but it is a very crowded and loud place. This made conversation difficult. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant.

02/20/08

Horrible

by leahmarie8 at Citysearch

Until today, India Grill was my favorite restaurant in Portland. I frequented it at least once a week, always getting the Chicken Tikka Masala. Even though the prices were high, I loved the food. I got take out from India Grill last night (Tikka Masala and Palek Paneer), and finished it today at lunch. Much to my dismay, my last bite contained a "large insect". Like I said, I love this place, but when I saw this thing with its long antennas and face, it made me sick. I took the bowl of uneaten food back to get a refund for my whole order and asked to speak with a manager. The employee informed me that the manager wouldn't be in until 2:30, and I would have to wait to get refunded. So I went back at 2:30 with the manager still not there. I asked the employee to call him and I spoke with him on the phone. After I told him the situation, and that I just wanted the $37 back for my meal last night, he basically laughed and said there was no way the "large insect" came from his restaurant! I told him I have been a loyal customer for years, and the least he could do was refund my entire meal since I've given his establishment a hefty amount of money. He said he would refund just the Tikka Masala because the "large insect" must have come from somewhere else (aka my house!) which I said was very disrespectful. He didn't even bother to come into the restaurant and look at it! The employee that was there confirmed that there was indeed said pest. I said that $11 wasn't good enough and that i deserve to be reimbursed for my entire meal. I said that word of mouth is very strong in this town, and that I would let people know about how badly he treated his loyal customers. No avail. No "i'm sorry" or anything just $11 and horrible treatment.

Do not go to this restaurant, unless you want bad customer service.

02/16/08

Awesome saag, mediocore everything else

by belmontlover at Citysearch

I've been to India Grill for both dinner and lunch buffet. My first experience there was dinner and my date and I ordered the lamb saag and chicken tikka masala with some garlic naan. We were very impressed with the saag, the tikka masala was enjoyable as was the garlic naan. Although priced similarly to other Indian restaurants, I thought portions were a little small, as we both left still a bit hungry, although the quality of food was good -we both thought the saag was awesome. I like the fact they leave pitchers of water on your table, although service as previous posters have stated is not good at all (or friendly). My date and I tried the lunch buffet today and thought it was okay. They have a very small selection of items, and you basically have to beg for naan. I asked for some before I even got my plate and did not arrive until well after I had eaten it. And our table of 2 only got 3 little triangles of it. The naan was of poor quality as well which was very disappointing. We both enjoyed the navratan curry, but everything else was just basic. The price has also increased to $8.95. I doubt I'll return for the buffet.

• Pros: awesome saag, close to my house
• Cons: aweful service, a bit spendy, you have to beg for naan during the buffet (which didn't end up being any good)

02/15/08

average food, poor customer service

by nomadwanderlust at Citysearch

We have been coming to the India Grill for several years now, and in all this time I have found the food to be tasty but inconsistent in the spiciness(mild,medium, hot), and the majority of the customer service has been poor with a few exceptions. The chicken tikka masala is delicious, but in spite of the fact that we always order mild, with have gotten mild, medium and hot--one time so hot that I could not eat it. The palak paneer is good but very oily--however, the garlic naan is some of the best that I have had, the slightly crispy naan has a lot of garlic and is lightly buttered, and the navratan curry is creamy and delicately spiced. Sadly, the male owner seems uncaring of how he treats his customers, or how long they wait. We have had to wait 40 min. to an hour for our food, with no explanation. If asked the waiter will answer with a shrug.

The lunch buffet, however is probably one of the worst, I have had. As you come up the stairs , a dank and stuffy smell greets you. The lunch buffet food is at best average, and goes down from there.The navratan curry tastes as though it has been reheated, and the vegetables and potatoes in it are mushy. It is surprising how different the Navratan curry at lunch and dinner is. The other dishes all use the same sauce with various different items thrown in --garbanzos for vegetarian and chicken for meat eaters. The pakoras are all cut in half and frequently there will be no vegetable at all in the pakora--just a hard lump of dough. the salad usually has brown edges. Unless you are fortunate to arrive when the naan has just been made, it has a distinct strange odor and a chewy texture, as though it was warmed in the microwave. The chai frequently tastes like there is soap residue in the cup,and the rice pudding often has a distinct garlic and green pepper taste, unless you are lucky enough to get it when it has just been made. The lunch buffet is best avoided.

• Pros: good garlic naan
• Cons: poor customer service, less than friendly owners, inconsistent quality of food

01/28/08

Good Cooking

by invidia at Citysearch

I choose simplicity over contrived ambiance, and prefer unadapted spiciness, so I liked eating at India Grill. However reserved the servers might seem, the flavors and textures here are good. The only thing missing is custom sauce palette, available at other restaurants.

• Pros: Food, Price, Location, Ambience
• Cons: Service

01/28/08

Ditto

by Rico15983 at Citysearch

Ditto many of the other reviews.... So-so food and horrible, unfriendly service. You really shouldn't be in a service industry business, ie. a restaurant, if you hate people, or at least give that impression. I can go downtown and get dirty looks for free and keep the $15 that I dropped on a lunch order in my pocket. Just my 2 cents....

01/12/08

Wonderful food-horribly treated by staff!!!

by natashaahsatan at Citysearch

This is a great restaurant, wonderful food. I have eatten here for years, and had nothing but great expearences. My only complaint is that I was given the wrong order tonight and was yelled at by an employee for calling and was told it was my mistake, not her's. I have never been treated so RUDELY!! Usually the people are very kind.