Padmanadi — Restaurant in Edmonton

I want to give 5*. I was there Sat, June 15 2024 for the buffet.

A coworker booked a table for 5 for a buffet. I arrived early and paid our entire bill (minus the reservation fee by debit plus tip - $119) before he and his family arrived. My partner and I left before he and his family did, and I thought had established with the hostess that the tab was indeed paid. My fault for assuming that paying her before seating, smiling and nodding upon leaving after getting a thumbs up, was "ok you're all set to go".

My coworker and his family were charged the same $93 (buffet minus res fee) that I had already paid!

What was meant to be a celebratory dinner for my coworker and his family turned into an extremely frustrating and embarrassing incident for the both of us!

I'm extremely disappointed. I love Padmanadi's, but now I feel I cannot expect accuracy or reliability in the service. The food, however, as always is amazing.

EDIT: Raised to 3* overall, lowered service to 2, then lowered to 1 again. Food and atmosphere are still amazing.

Was not refunded in full, and the biz chose to keep the larger bill. No comped food or meals. Manager Wandy was curt and cold in their email back and even took potshots at me for leaving a Google Review. His wife Angela at the downtown location was rude and stonewalling to me, as well as patronizing. In order to get my coworkers money back, I had to take a day off work to shuttle back and forth between downtown and Southside locations to facilitate communication between the Padmanadi's staff. 24h of efforts in, no money in hand.

DO NOT pay in advance. DO NOT leave before your guests if you do pay in advance. Staff do not know their own process about who is allowed to pay buffet bills and who is not.

I don't think I can even stomach their buffet anymore. I guess time to make seitan protein at...

After a decade of this being my FAVOURITE restaurant, one I go to 1-3 times a month, I have changed my rating down to 2 stars.

It’s really disappointing the downgrade in quality since the other two locations have opened, and the prices have gone up exponentially. You used to be able to get the curry chicken or ginger beef or something similar for… I think it was $12? They are now $18-20. They don’t come with a side of rice even which is crazy to me, but I never minded because it was SO FREAKING DELICIOUS. But the prices are getting out of hand.

Again, I would tolerate the high prices, but the quality is stepping down. I was so dedicated to this place being delicious that even when the last 4-6 times were very… lacklustre, I STILL went back because I told myself they were just having an off night. It’s not though. The Deng Deng is not the same as it was a year ago; it used to be so sweet and sticky and flavourful and now is just nothing. The spicy potatoes weren’t cooked all the way so they were still hard. The curry chicken was not as chewy as it used to be, it was softer, closer to tofu almost. The wontons in the wonton soup used to have sooooo much flavor and are now quite bland. It was the best soup in the world. I’m so sad about it. One of the dishes at yesterday’s buffet was just… corn? I’m confused about that. I can get corn anywhere. I come here for fake meat, elaborate vegetarian dishes with tons of flavor.

So, I think I’ve learned my lesson and will not be going back for a long while. I hope the quality can improve.

The staff are WONDERFUL, the owner seems like a great person, but I think they’re losing focus with having...

This restaurant is simply excellent in multiple areas.

Its layout is ergonomic, with plenty of tables to seat large numbers of patrons without making each table feel like they are breathing down the others' necks. It is very open concept, but the intuitive placement of plants and decor still allow synthetic privacy for multiple sections of the room.

The food ultimately far exceeded my expectations. I am a die-hard meat lover and came to this restaurant years ago under recommendation from a friend. I skeptically agreed and ordered the curry chicken with a side of jasmine rice. Upon first bite, the texture of the simulated [tofu] chicken was virtually identical to that of real chicken. The curry was rich and flavourful, and was very evenly spiced, something which is typically hard to do (many restaurants may use too much masala and cause it to have a very slight, flat, earthy taste). The rice was hot, cooked just right so that it hadn't become pasty (another common trend of any other typical restaurant), and well portioned for the price.

The servers are timely, polite, and always made sure to check on our drink levels, even with how busy the restaurant was at the time.

I would absolutely recommend this restaurant, and I would also encourage any carnivores to pay a visit. I fully believe if I brought someone blindfolded to this restaurant and ordered them a meal, they would almost certainly not be able to tell that it was tofu.

Excellent restaurant, and worth every penny paid.

While I've come to this restaurant many times over the years, I forgot to mention; when you can, try the ginger beef. You will not be...