Hot Million Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Calgary

This evening we went to Hot Million and the experience was like no other.

The owner/manager came to our table and engaged in conversation. And by that I don't mean superficial marketing efforts, but genuine, caring engagement. Meanwhile, the server cleaned off the booth that had opened up, to allow us to transition to there from the table we were initially at -- always a help when out eating with a child.

What's more, over the past 3 years we've struggled in finding an Indian restaurant that is able to serve ultra non-spicy food for my toddler. Somehow, they never manage to get it right and he ends up unable to eat the meal. However, this place got it right!

First, he recommended the cauliflower pakoras -- they were a massive hit with all adults AND our young one. Second he was able to get a Chicken Korma, which was also a hit with my little mister. Lastly, he provided a Butter Shrimp meal, which was my boy's delight! We also loved the cilantro/garlic naan -- yes, they use REAL garlic, not the dried up (disgusting) stuff. The cumin rice was delicious. and the regular raita was savory and refreshing - unlike so many places that make it sweet. To end the meal, we had chai (a great portion) and the (divine) gulab jamun. It's clear why the news article about this place, which was on display starts with the heading "I'm stuffed,...but I just can't stop!"

The serving dishes, cutlery and dinnig dishes were good quality -- not cheap knockoffs. The decor consisted of pieces of art here and there, and wasn't cluttered. The music was great, not overly loud. It was a pleasant setting. In fact, I would have loved seeing some bollywood videos! ;)

As a mom that's been to a restaurant where there's no baby change table in the washroom, leaving me with few good options, I pay attention to that...and this place DOES have a baby change table. In fact, noteworthy points about the washroom: 1) smelled clean 2) had toilet seat disinfectant 3) had a handle for people with difficulty sitting/getting up 4) Koala change table 5) the bathroom hardware (toilet paper dispenser, toilet seat disinfectant dispenser, soap dispenser paper towel holder) were actually appealing to the eye and matched.

Throughout the evening, the server was attentive and stopped by a few times, but wasn't intrusive. She seemed to genuinely want to know how things are going and if we needed anything. Really there to provide customer service. To end the evening, the Owner/Manager made another appearance to make sure all was well.

All around it was a great time and not only do we intend on going back but we'll recommend this place to others with the hope that they, too, have such a...

We used to go to this restaurant at least twice a week as this was the best Indian restaurant in town but never going back. We went there 3 weeks ago and ordered okra masala amongst few other things. My kid could make better okra masala than that. When I brought the issue up to the server, she talked to the owner and came back with an answer, “this is our chef’s “recipe” and we can’t do anything about it”. Considering we used to spend at least $150-200/ week there, you would think they would replace it with something else or compensate in some way for a dish that we ordered for the first time and didn’t like. Never ever going back! You’ve lost my entire family’s business and I will be sharing my experience with people I recommended this restaurant to. Please work on your customer service skills if you would like to keep loyal customers. The server (who was very kind and polite) was very apologetic but the owner didn’t want anything to do with it and ran to the back when we went to pay for our food. Please learn how to run your restaurant or else don’t wonder why it’s always so deserted.

Edit: Contrary to the reply from the owner. We only tried 1 spoon full of the Okra dish, left the rest and subsequently were never offered a replacement for the dish (not sure what type of "records" you are keeping or if any restaurants keep such data). Instead of providing a solution, you are accusing me of offering employment to your staff. How would you know who I am if we have never interacted? I recollect seeing the owner/manager quickly fleeing to the kitchen when we came to settle the bill after the issue arose. Too scared to offer a refund on $10 worth of food or too worried to admit that a mistake was made in the preparation of the dish? The staff at least had the courage to acknowledge and spoke to the issue at hand. My expectations were you would have at least corrected the issue right then and there instead of resorting to making outlandish and invalid statements. I wrote the original review to share with other potential customers that they are not valued here. We have easily spent $400-$500 a month at your establishment over the last year or so and this is how you choose to resolve a simple and...

I took 3 stars off because of extremely poor customer service. The remaining 2 are strictly because the food was pretty darn good. I went to this restaurant based on reviews. I had been travelling all day, and when I arrived at the restaurant I decided to get my food to go instead of dine in. It was almost 8:30 pm and they close at 9 pm. They wouldn't even look me in the eye because the annoyance was dripping from them at the fact that they had customers coming in half and hour before they left and, for a moment, I was one of those customers. They actually told me they close at 9 while glancing at the customers. I mean, they were definitely busy, and perhaps they had some place to be, so I just shrugged it off. I left for 20 minutes to grab some ice cream at a drug store came back, picked up my already paid for order, asked for plastic ware and left. I drove back to the hotel got in the room, and between my chicken tika marsala and my girlfriend's lamb vindaloo - there was no rice. I just spent almost 50 dollars there (got a samosa and some naan) and they can't hook me up with some rice? I called them and explained that there wasn't any rice, and they told me it's not included. I've never been to India, but EVERY Indian restaurant I've ever been to has brought out a pot of rice. Otherwise it's just lamb vindaloo soup. I checked the online menu, and it's true - it doesn't say rice is included, but it also gives no indication that isn't. If another reviewer could let me know if I sat down and ate there - would I have had some rice come with it? If it didn't, I would hope they at least let me know. I'd gladly spend the extra money to be able to enjoy...