The Uptown Resto Bar Authentic Indian — Restaurant in Russell

I really wanted this place to be an amazing authentic Indian restaurant in Embrun. I don't want this to be a bad review, I want it to be an honest review. This is more for the owners. I'll break it down by stars: 4/5 - When we first walked in, I felt like we had to greet THEM. Friendly of course but their work area seemed to be at the front of house, behind the bar. While we're waiting for our takeout, the ambience was a bit cold. For dine in, I expect fully set tables, maybe with some candlelight, inviting the customer to stay. The lighting was bare 3-5000k LEDs and an 'open' sign that flashed in the window to the inside that was very distracting. The price was quite high for the amount of food we received which maybe wouldn't have been an issue if it was amazing authentic Indian cuisine but... 3/5 - This is not what I would call authentic Indian cuisine. Indian dishes scream flavour and aroma. You can smell an Indian restaurant from down the block. This was not the case here. Each of the 5 mains we ordered didn't have that flavour punch you'd expect from a classic 'authentic' Indian restaurant. I'm not talking spicy, which also, we were never given the option to choose our level from, so we got NO heat. One of our biggest warning signs with any Indian restaurant is when a dish just says 'curry'. Like, yeah, are we talking Madras, Korma, Vindaloo, Rogan Josh....? The takeout format was bizarre. They make each dish separately in different packaging instead of having the naan as one, the rice as another. They package them for each main. I get that for dine in, maaayyybe but 5+ Styrofoam packaging when we could get a whole thing of rice and naan separately? Also, chef's salad at an Indian restaurant without dressing? hmmm. The rice was cold, the naan was store bought and cut into pieces. I hope they could have the authentic style of naan where it's hot and ripping each piece with the layers of goodness crisping off with every tear. :) 2/5 - This is where it went to inexcusable. The butter chicken was disappointing in flavour with the first bite (3/5), until the second and third bite; my wife got two shards of chicken bones. It was not deboned correctly AND it was literally a SHARD of bone. That's dangerous especially when you're eating something that is not expected to have bone.

They claim 'authentic Indian cuisine' on their website multiple times. Even with moderate hopes, this was a fail. I hope the owners can at least go to a good Indian restaurant, even in Ottawa and try it before opening one themselves.

I will definitely go back if I get word they changed...

I was initially excited about the prospect of having a local Indian Cuisine restaurant.

My order was phoned in to the restaurant,  with the employee pleasantly answering all my questions. (Is a butter chicken order a single serving? – Definitely a single serving. Is naan bread included? – Yes, 3 pieces).

On arrival, the food was ready, and I will say that the makeover given to the establishment is noticeable and really tastefully done.

Disappointment set in back at home.  The serving size absolutely was for one, but barely at that. There were 3 pieces of naan bread, however actually it was one-half of a regular piece of naan, cut into three small triangles.

The food was flavourful enough, but for 15$ I would expect a larger serving than 5 small cubes of chicken in an average butter chicken sauce.

In summary, over-priced and underwhelming food.  Hopefully adjustments can be made as I would love to support this local restaurant in the future.   As for now, though, I have no plans...

Ordered takeout. Tried the butter chicken and tika masala, as well as samosa / chickpeas.

The curry gravy had flavour equal or less than a jarred grocery store sauce. Very dull and unimpressive. Chicken was also extremely bland and consisted of poor cuts. It came with naan that was definitely factory produced and not homemade, and advertised as receiving multiple pieces, which actually only equated to a few small slivers of bread. Additionally, it was served with an unnecessary and uncohesive "salad" consisting of lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumber. The serving sizes were mediocre.

The order of samosa was served with a chickpea dish that was actually quite tasty.

Prices were too high for the low quality of food.

Unfortunately, you can make most of what they served at home with ease and significantly cheaper, as well as being equally authentic....