Khansama @ Little India — Restaurant in Singapore

Food:

The chicken tandoori was a bit saltier than I preferred. The biryani rice was excellent.

The butter chicken was my favorite dish, followed closely by the aloo gobi.

The cheese naan had a generous amount of cheese, which may be a bit much for some palates.

The portion sizes were very generous, and we ended up over-ordering. It felt like enough food for 4 people. We spent around $100 for all that we ordered including 2 drinks.

Mango lassi was great and it was served fast.

Service:

There was a significant delay with the drinks, which arrived almost at the same time as the food. I would recommend avoiding the homemade drinks, such as the lime soda (which we never received) and the honey lemon.

The staff were friendly and welcoming, but they seemed a little overwhelmed and uncoordinated.

The Takeaway Experience:

The most disappointing aspect of our visit was the leftover food. We requested takeaway for about half of the uneaten food, but the amount we received was noticeably less than what we had left over.

Overall:

While the food itself was decent, the service issues significantly impacted the dining experience. There are other Indian restaurants in Singapore that offer better service and comparable and better Indian food.

Response to Owner:

Your response to my initial review was dismissive and sarcastic. This unprofessional response solidified my decision to lower my rating.

Here are some specific points to consider:

A 30-minute wait for a simple drink like honey lemon tea is unacceptable, especially when the restaurant was not even that busy when we arrived. It appeared the order was forgotten.

If your staff are trainees, it would be helpful to acknowledge this and explain any potential delays. This would have been a more professional approach than your sarcastic response.

Regarding the leftover food, transparency is key. If take-away is not an option, informing us politely would have been appreciated. Or if we could pack it ourselves, please let us know. Otherwise, do note that we have paid for the dishes, how we choose to deal with it, is entirely up to us.

We do not appreciate dishonesty and what is concerning for us is if our food is reused and...

The most incredibly delicious Tandoori and Masala I have even tried! Full of fusion spice aroma and packed with tangle flavor! We ordered from Grab just for a random dinner, and was surprised how fantastic it tasted! Me( Chinese living in England) and British husband both agree that this makes all the Similar curry/tandoori/Naan plain. We ordered Dahi Poori( never had this dish in UK so we decide to give it a go) and it didn’t let us down! Little puffy fried crispy meal ball came with 5 sauces/filling combination in various flavor. And even it said “ mutton masala”, the meat’s soooo juicy and tender I 99% bet that mutton was still a teenager😄( given in England when we have mutton curry it’s always chewy) . Oh’ forget to mention the generous big chunk of meat! We, two grown-up, couldn’t even finish half of the masala after munching for quite a long time. ( highly recommend add a rice to go with masala, the curry base rocks👍)

The winner is definitely the mixed tikka tandoori👏 no joking, we thought tandoori chicken means “boring chicken cubes/slice baked in tandoori and colored red” before having this dinner because that’s how it is served in England. This mixed tikka redefined the meaning of tandoori chicken for us as “in-depth smoky flavored and well marinated and generously dry-rubbed tender chicken piece in…. all sorts of color and taste !”

Oh man, can we take the chef away...

We ordered the Gobi Manchurian (Dry) and the Kadhai Paneer with some kulcha and naan for dinner. The waiter (who seemed like he was also the manager) patiently took our special request for crispier gobi.

The food was served hot. Importantly, the naan was well made (though I have had better ones elsewhere). Only the kadai paneer left something to be desired. It was very tomato-ey and not peppery as I expected it to be. Furthermore, the extremely huge chunks of paneer could not imbibe the sauce they are cooked in. So, the inside of the paneer was bland to the taste.

Though the prices were slightly above average, the quantities were large. We had to get some of our food packed and taken away.

There are many vegetarian options as is expected in North Inidan restaurants. However, this establishment likely specializes in non-vegeatarian food. The indoor seating area in Level 2 also smells, like a typical Indian restaurant, of cooked meats, spices and poor ventilation. For this reason, if it's a cool evening, try getting a table in the outdoor space on level 1.

I'd give it a 3.5/5. I chose 4 in order to give it the benefit of the doubt. Not a restaurant I will be running back to urgently but also not a restaurant I wouldn't mind dipping into if I am...