Taara - Pan Indian Resto Bar — Restaurant in Ottawa

Visited on a Thursday evening, there were a couple other tables but otherwise not very busy. Ordered chicken tikka masala, rice, dahl rice, and a non-veg thali. Was told that they're not serving the thalis and when I asked why not the server walked away to speak to a manager maybe and then came back and said they don't normally serve thali in the evening because it's too busy. I looked around at the two other tables, looked back at her, and she said "but we'll make an exception for you". I had originally ordered chicken nuggets for my son and was told they weren't serving nuggets, but the rest of the kids menu was just fries and dahl rice. So I ordered dahl rice since it was the only thing that seemed like an actual meal. Dinner took longer than I would've expected but not super long. My partner was served first, then a few minutes later I was served, then almost 10 minutes later my 5 year old was served his dahl rice. Would've been better if all the food could be served at the same time or at least not 10 minutes apart. The food was good, not great. I wasn't told what was included in my thali but I was able to guess that it was chicken tikka masala, dahl makhani (I think) and another chicken curry that I couldn't figure out. The dahl rice and dahl makhani had a lot of curry leaves but tasted good, and the naan was also good. Would've been nice if it were buttered but that's okay.

The big thing that I couldn't get past was the bathroom, it looked like the sink hadn't been cleaned in a week and there was a sign to not flush toilet paper down the toilet and instead throw it in the garbage. The bathroom had a very strong lemon scent but when you go to throw anything in the garbage the stench of poop fills the air. I don't know what's wrong with the plumbing that it can't handle toilet paper but that should...

Brought my sister for her 57th birthday. Had a fabulous time. The manager/server, Ram was very courteous with us. It was our first time here so we wanted to try some new dishes. He described the new dishes for us that we wanted to try. The new dishes we tried were Paneer 65, Apollo fish, Paneer Naan. Loved them all. The Paneer 65 I think is done in a tandoori style. The fish had a mildly spiced sauce and delicious. For appetizers, we tried the tomato coriander soup and chicken samosas. Both had lots of flavour. My oldest son really liked the Paneer 65. For our main dishes we had 2 orders of butter chicken, (whose sauce was great for dipping our garlic Naan into), Chicken Tikka, Chicken and Rice noodles, Malabar fish curry, chili chicken and Tandoori Shrimp. The Tikka was flavourful. I gobbled up the shrimp. This will definitely be something I'll order every time. The chili chicken had a mild-medium kick and was another hit with my son. We also had 2 orders of the Biryani rice. All washed down with Mango Lassis. The perfect drink accompaniment. Next time we will have to try the Mutton/Lamb and goat dishes. One of my favourite dishes is Aloo Matar, which wasn't on the menu. Ram talked to the fantastic chef, Avinash, who agreed to make me a special batch. We had so much food, Ram and I had to move another table over. The only downside was that parking is very limited on the restaurant grounds, but there is a side street right across the street. All in all my 2 teenage kids, my sister and I had a great time and very satisfied bellies! Looking forward to going back soon. Thanks again Ram and Avinash for helping my sister...

I recently visited this new Indian buffet and was extremely disappointed with both the food quality and hygiene standards. The idly was hard to digest, and the dosa was even worse—so bad that I couldn’t even take a full bite and had to leave it untouched. The vadai was overly hard, almost as if it had been fried twice, while the pongal was relatively better but still not great.

To make matters worse, the restaurant allows customers to refill their plates using the same used plates, which is a major food safety violation. In Ottawa, and in any proper buffet setup, new plates must be provided for refills—this is basic hygiene. Surprisingly, the owners seem unaware of this critical health standard.

Additionally, the server brought pooris without tongs or utensils, and I had to ask if he expected me to use my hands to pick one. This lack of proper food handling was quite disappointing.

Overall, the food was well below average, and this might be one of the worst idly and dosas I’ve had in Ottawa in over 30 years of trying Indian restaurants. Given the poor food quality and unsafe practices, I will not be returning and cannot recommend this place. It’s disappointing to see a restaurant operate with such low standards, especially when good Indian food options are already limited...