Maitreya Authentic Indian Cuisine ( Bar & Restaurant) — Restaurant in Midland

We ordered for pickup, was really excited to try their food as we have passed their restaurant many times and finally today was the day to try. So glad we didn’t order it as a dinner, and only got it for a lunch, because the portion sizes were absolutely ridiculous in comparison to past experiences with other restaurants, and in comparison to the price. We were left hungry after eating. A lot of what we ordered was thrown as it was inedible. So much food waste and so much waste of our money. I thought for the price of the main, that the rice would be included. But you must order it separately. The naan, usually in my experience is an added cost at most places so I wasn’t surprised by that- however once again, the size of the naan… tiny. The quality of the garlic naan (I was expecting fresh, buttered, fresh garlic, fluffy/pillowy, like you can find at most Indian restaurants) reminded us of a frozen option that you can buy at a grocery store. It was tough, tasteless and seemed like cheap quality.

I will make note that the lady at the front was very friendly, very welcoming, there was a slight issue with interpretation, she had a difficult time understanding what I was requesting via phone but eventually it was figured out. We were told 40 minutes for pickup, we arrived about 10 minutes early just to make sure there wasn’t a line so that we could pay on time and pick it up before it got cold- but it was such a shock to walk in and we were the only ones there. No one was seated, it was really run down looking, outdated, it looked like it could use a good clean. It wasn’t a good first impression walking in based on the atmosphere and the lack of other customers, which made us worry about how the food would be. Sadly, the look of the restaurant reflected the quality of the food. But what doesn’t make sense, is how expensive the food is. You’re not at all getting value for money, you’re not getting what you pay for, and the portions are so unreasonably small, yet so expensive.

You cannot see inside of the restaurant from the outside, the windows are covered entirely. You also cannot see inside the kitchen, as they have a curtain covering the doorway as well as other decorative pieces (fake flowers etc) covering what’s happening in the kitchen. Something we didn’t really like as it’s nice to see the cooks, your food being made- and HOW it’s being made/prepared etc. It was only two people working, one chef (who we didn’t see but heard in the background) and the lady at the front.

They also didn’t have a few things we wanted to order, we assumed it’s because they are so busy due to maybe the food being food.. but they do not seem busy.

The fish in the fish curry was overcooked and tough, the chole channa masala was bitter, almost burnt tasting, and all together not what I expected (I’m a huge fan of Indian curry, I order the same things from various places regularly and this was not up to my expectations), the naan was bad, the rice I wished we had just made our own basmati at home and saved ourselves the $5.95, and the pani puri with watered down tamarind juice was absolutely vile. We threw the entire box away, wasted the entire $8 worth right there.

To order two small sized “mains”, one “large” regular rice, one garlic naan, pani puri (absolutely disgusting) and spend $50 ($47.90 total with tax to be exact) was mind blowing. We were hopeful before seeing it, that we’d get decent sized portions at the least, but we were absolutely gutted by the portions. So disappointing, huge letdown and we definitely will not be returning. So sad about this as it’s local and seemed like a good idea. We feel robbed! We do not recommend this restaurant and will not be...

I was a little skeptical that we would find good Indian food in a small town but honestly, the food was all really delicious and they had very diverse menu items. I wish we lived here so we could try more dishes! Especially the dhokla, which is something I’ve never seen offered in Canada.

My parents are from India and they were also both very impressed with the flavour and quality of the food. We chatted with the staff after and they were really friendly.

We had the chicken fry, pani puri, mutter masala, aloo gobi, mughalai chicken, and butter chicken. Also naan and vegetable biryani. There were six of us - three Indians and three locals. We all enjoyed it and it wasn’t too spicy for anyone.

The two things for improvement are that the dishes all came out one by one, so the vegetarians in the group had to watch the meat eaters for some time before their dishes came out. Also, the vegetable biryani’s flavour was a little too overpowered by rose flavour. Other than that, it was all delicious. I was pleasantly surprised by the butter chicken! Very complex flavours in a dish that can often be bland. Well done chef! The mutter masala was my personal favourite.

We will to be back the next time we...

For 3 people for dinner the bill was $70 including tax.

I got the prawn curry (which says large prawns) and when my dish came out it was tiny, extremely overcooked shrimp. Spice level and sauce was good. Rice was a little tasteless but mixed together was okay.

The chicken samosas are not worth it either, the insides were dry and crumbled and very over fried. They were about the size of a large spoon as well.

The tikka masala was good with pepper and onions. The chicken vindalo was good as well.

As many others said, the dishes came out separately. First 2 dinners, then the third dinner 5 minutes later, then 5 more minutes got two rice and then a third rice arrived. Server, which I think was also cooking, was very direct and unhelpful - hopefully just because she was busy & overwhelmed.

Personnally I wouldn't come back here. Maybe if you order the right thing (and order naan and rice because they dont come with your dish) then you...