India Grill

01/05/08

Slow service? Try NO service.

by mitchbutch at Citysearch

Once upon a stormy night, my years-long relationship with India Grill came to an abrupt end. My friend ate there with her husband on their first date. I enjoyed many a take-out order there, waiting patiently for the food to arrive. But tonight, India Grill, you are dead to me.

We called in a significant order and provided a friend's name that would be picking it upon. Upon arriving there to get the food, the friend gave his name and was told that there was no order there under that name. The friend then noticed there was an order for a very similar name, took a look at the order, and confirmed it to be the correct order. Obviously, the person taking the order had misunderstood the name when it was given to him over the phone. However, the owner refused to give the friend the food. Did he think our friend was lying? He then told our friend that he had given the food to someone else and it would take an hour to cook a new order. When are friend arrived back empty-handed, he told us the story. We called the restaurant and spoke to the owner, whose story had changed. The food was still there!! He had not given it away. But he would not give it our friend because our friend's name did not match the name that the owner mistakingly written down. Why would he do this? Furthermore, when asked about the situation over the phone, he hung up on us.... twice.

Suggestion to all: yes, the food is good. But don't support this establishment. There is equally good food elsewhere, with much less wait time and significantly nicer staff.

10/22/07

Best Garlic Nahn Bread In Town. Lots of street parking!

by amandamoss26 at Citysearch

Great street parking and always good food. Never a disapointment. Garlic Nahn bread is really good. Soup there is excellent and so is Chicken Masala. Yum. Won't be dissapointed

• Pros: Good Food, lots of parking on street
• Cons: Staff isn't super friendly, but food makes up for it.

09/30/07

Good Food, Terrible Service

by bleumana at Citysearch

I brought a friend with me here for the lunch buffet yesterday on a lot of peoples' recommendations. When we sat down at our table we overheard the wait staff arguing with the table next to us about where they sat. While the customers decided to stop arguing the server continued to be rude and make comments to them (they were two people taking a four top. The resturaunt was not very busy. I understand why the server would prefer them to sit at a two top, but the continued arguing and comments is what got me). After sitting at the table for a good length of time we were finally acknowledged with a "hello" and some water. The server, who looked like he may have been having the worst day of his life (which if this is true I can sympathize a bit,but this seems to be an ongoing thing from what I'm reading), was short and cold with us. He told us he would bring us naan, but we had to ask him again in the middle of our meal for some. We didn't get it until the end of the meal.

The food was good. Not the most spectacular. But good. The service was bad. And I will be looking for a different indian place in Portland.

• Pros: Good choices on lunch buffet.
• Cons: Horrible service.

09/19/07

A Top Choice for Indian in Portland: Yummy, Reliable, and a Good Value

by bluishlips at Citysearch

I don't know why people say India Grill is overpriced. What prices do they expect? It isn't fast food! The prices are quite reasonable. Deliciously delicate Shrimp Shah Jahani has at least 7 or 8 large shrimp for $15.95. Malabar Lobster (same price) has slightly less meat, but lobster is expensive. It's a proper amount of food, and happens to be one of my favorite dishes; definitely worth the price. Lamb Saag ($12.95) is without question two meals' worth of food, and as with other dishes, they spice to your preference. Medium spice is a nicely challenging tongue tingle. In addition to about two fists' worth of tender lamb, the Saag is pure dense spinach heaven. Another favorite is Shahi Murgh Korma: a generous portion of chicken infused with the flavor of its creamy, savory coconut-almond sauce ($10.95). In spite of what people say about getting stuck with the last of a batch or given a hard time with orders, they always make this dish without raisins for me. It seems that would be impossible if everything was pre-made. Daal Thadka ($7.95) is also wonderful: buttery, spicy yellow lentil mash with fresh herbs and the occasional stewed tomato. Yes, the samosas are fried. That's what a samosa is. The meat samosa is studded with peas and too delectable to pass up, even though it's messy to eat. The veggie samosas are even better---a heavenly smash of potatoes, peas, and spices. The chutneys that accompany them are so good I wish I could buy them by the jar. Yes, occasionally there's confusion with breads, but even if you accidentally get Cheese Kulcha instead of Aloo Kulcha, it's all delicious (and that's only happened to me twice). Extra saffron-scented basmati rice is $2, a massive amount, and delicious on its own, so what's to complain about? And most Indian restuarants in the US serve meat, including beef.

I usually order out, but haven't had horrible service there when eating in. A bit low-contact and reserved, but not rude! They seem very friendly to me.

• Pros: consistently tasty dishes, reasonable prices, and I feel they sincerely aim to please
• Cons: eating on-site may be slow, and the decor is a bit shabby (but it's clean!)

08/07/07

Bad Service, Mediocre Food, but maybe I'm spoiled

by captainvscrew at Citysearch

My wife and I went to India Grill last night. We ordered the meat appetizer platter, veggie pakoras, Chicken Tikka Masala (I think it was tikka masala), Navrattan Curry (korma), and garlic naan.

I've eaten there many times past, and the food has always been relatively good. The service, however, has always been bad. Last night was the worst. The Navrattan Korma had absolutely no paneer. Which made it a vegetable curry dish, not Navrattan Korma. When I told the waiter, he explained that it was due to the fact that it was the last of that batch, basically saying I had to be satisfied with the dregs, and had no sympathy for the fact that the dish was simply not as described. He offered no reparation for delivering an incomplete dish.

In addition, the chicken tikka sauce was very obviously made with tomato paste, which made it seem pretty cheap compared to the same dish served at other Indian restaurants. And then there was the basmati rice, which arrived more or less in four or five stuck together lumps. And the garlic naan, which dripped with ghee. And the chutney, which tasted like a cross between bad beer and cheap wine. When I told the waiter that the chutney was quite obviously fermenting, he babbled about how that just wasn't true.

The appetizers were fine. The rest of the meal lacked any kind of quality, and was not worth the menu price. If they want to charge half price for dregs, then they ought to advertise that and do so.

We noticed, however, that the two older gents who regularly run the place were nowhere to be found, so I'm hoping the bad experience was due to the place being left to the lackeys last night. But frankly I want to go back some night when the older gents are in and demand a handful of paneer. I felt slighted. Bummer.

I wish India Oven would repair their stinky bathrooms so my wife and I wouldn't think to go elsewhere.

• Pros: Food is okay when the right people are making it. Good appetizers.
• Cons: Horrible service. Horrible, horrible service. sometimes mediocre food.

04/09/07

Rude Rude Rude Service

by spindor at Citysearch

The service is horrible. I have eaten there before (about 4 years ago) and said that I would never go back because the service was so bad. They took a long time to seat us, a long time to take our order, a long time to get the food to us, a long time to give us the bill, and a long time to return the tab to us and the servers were rude. The food was good, but 3 day old Taco Bell would have been just as good as putting up with all of that disrespect and paying way too much for it.

Anyway, a friend convinced us to get it for take out recently. We ordered and they said it would be ready in about 30 minutes (very reasonable). I got there after about 35 minutes and waited about 15 minutes before anyone even made eye contact with me. Next, I waited about 10 more to get someone to ask me whether I wanted a table or if I made a to go order. My food was ready I paid and left. While there, I noticed that the servers were rude to a customer who wanted a receipt, ignored patrons who wanted to pay their bills and ignored other people waiting for their to go orders.

The food is really good, but I will not return. I would rather move to India for 10 ten years and learn the secrets of Indian cuisine than put up with that abuse... especially since there are many other Indian restaraunts in the neighborhood that about as good.

If you don't mind abuse or utter disrespect, this is the place for you.

• Pros: Food is good
• Cons: Similar food in the neighborhood with friendly service

Housed in an old Portland Victorian home, this sanctuary of spice offers unique environs and delectable eats on East Burnside.

by Contributor at Citysearch

In Short
Couples cozy up at tiny tables for two, surrounded by open windows and the aroma of pungent Indian spices at this venerated Portland establishment. Classic dishes like matar paneer, chicken tikka masala or vindaloo are crowd-pleasers. Entrees are usually paired with a choice of breads, ranging from traditional naan to paratha and kulcha varieties. Private rooms are available for events like graduations and business meetings--accommodating upwards of 150 people.

02/12/07

Best Indian restaurant in Portland area.

by portlandfan6 at Citysearch

Dishes are reasonably priced, service is good and the flavor is just yummy. Eaten Indian food all across the U.S and yes this one tops it all. Try their Chicken Tikka Masala, Matar Paneer and Indian Chai (tea)-you'll know what I am talking about.

02/07/07

Words Can't Describe How Bad...But I'm Gonna Try!

by shinshashino at Citysearch

Okay, some friends of mine recommended this place and as I've been looking for a good Indian restaurant here in my new home of Portland, I thought I'd start here. Whoops! When we arrived the host went over to the table next to us and handed the customer the phone to give directions to someone...they didn't know. "You give them directions!" The poor guy thought it was a joke. We ordered chai. Their version is truly unique--no cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, etc. I think it was cheap black tea, milk and sugar. You only get one cup, no refills. It seemed strange that beef was on the menu. I thought Indians, for the most part revered the cow and didn't eat beef, but whatever. We ordered two lamb vindaloos which arrived in a tomato sauce flavored with curry. I think there were 6 pieces of lamb in mine. Could I have more rice? Naan? Nope. Water? Oh yeah, they left a pitcher at the table...classy. It makes it easier for the waiter to avoid the customer. That is the one thing this place excels at. If you're bored and have some money burning a hole in your pocket, go to India Grill for a truly mind-blowing experience of a different kind. Next stop, Plainfield's Mayur.

• Pros: I'm tyring to come up with one...it's just not happening.
• Cons: Service, food, price.

02/07/07

Never Again!

by newpdxdiner at Citysearch

Unless you're craving mediocre small servings of over-priced food and you like being ignored by rude, unsmiling wait staff, don't waste your time or money here. We were there early and only two other tables were occupied but we ended up waiting a long time before anyone approached our table, even though there were two waiters on the floor. Our order was taken without any eye contact, smiles or "thank you". When the food arrived we were brought one small side of rice to share between two entrees. No one came back to ask if we needed anything else or how our food was so it was a little difficult to ask for more rice let alone our check. When I finally did make eye contact with one of the waiters who was bringing food to a near by table and tried to flag him over, he actually looked away and kept on going! We finally had to get up and wait at the front desk for our check. If the food was delicious or the prices unbeatable, I might consider giving this restaurant another chance but after reading other diner's impressions of this awful, awful place, I realize we didn't just catch them on a bad night...they're all bad nights!

• Pros: Nice view of Burnside
• Cons: Service, Food, Price (what else is there?)