Doli Indian Restaurant — Restaurant in Madrid

Disappointing Experience – Wouldn’t Recommend

My wife and I visited this restaurant for lunch, and unfortunately, our experience was far from pleasant. We ordered cheese rolls as a starter, but they were undercooked. We didn’t complain at first, but even the papadum was not prepared properly.

For the main course, we ordered rice, paneer curry, and naan. Since the starter was disappointing, I decided to try the rice first, only to find that it was also undercooked. At this point, I decided to inform the staff about the issue. However, what followed was even worse than the food itself.

One of the Indian staff members was extremely unprofessional and unwilling to listen to our concerns. Instead of addressing the problem, he was dismissive and rude. Fortunately, another staff member, intervened and took us outside to discuss the issue privately, ensuring that other customers weren’t disturbed. He was polite and listened to our complaint, which we appreciated.

As paying customers, we have the right to expect cooked food and respectful service. Unfortunately, this place failed on both counts. The vegetarian dishes we ordered were below average, and the attitude of the staff made the experience even more unpleasant.

If you’re considering dining here, I’d strongly suggest exploring other nearby options. There are plenty of better restaurants with good food and courteous service. We left feeling insulted and deeply disappointed. Would...

In my opinion, the food here wasn’t authentic. Everything tasted super sweet for some reason (even when the server warned us about something being “spicy”). We got paneer tilwala (it tasted like ketchup and the texture and shape wasn’t as I’ve had it before. It was a bit soggy and in super thin slices instead of chunks). Next we had chicken tikka which because it’s cooked in tandoori, it’s supposed to be super tender and juicy — well it wasn’t. It was dry and hard at Doli. Moreover, we got the traditional butter chicken dish which was INCREDIBLY SWEET. It tasted like honey and left me without desire for dessert afterwards. The bread was good. But otherwise, I didn’t like the seasoning from this restaurant. I also need to know that the portions are SO SMALL! Even the “from the house” appetizer is embarrassing in size. I felt like a pet when they gave me a little cut piece of Indian lentil chip/bread. I’d rather them give me nothing. Usually a bowl of Indian chips is served with the sauces. I’ve travel the world and I’ve had traditional Indian food in Malaysia (cooked by Indians) and I’m friends with Indian cooks. And this place just didn’t meet my expectations. It’s very pretty and has a nice ambiance, but maybe not the place to indulge on traditional Indian food, but more to have appetizers and have time...

After what seems like years, this restaurant is finally open. Upfront, the food and service are phenomenal. The owners have recently renovated the restaurant giving it a classy, elegant vibe with a tall ceiling and gilded interior.

The food was wonderful! There were four of us and we virtually shared everything we ordered. We had the basmati rice, garlic naan, plain naan, buttered naan, buttered chicken, chicken bhuna, and so much more. We even had this one dish that is an Indian take on what I can only describe as a blooming onion (sorry for the raw description). With the different sauces they provide, this onion thing left you wanting more. The chicken bhuna had a spicy kick (for Spain), and if you need, you can make it spicier. They even offered a menu of the day, which is around 30€ but it comes with three courses and each course is a sample of different dishes (not a bad idea if you want to try a little of everything).

The place is clean and the staff is helpful. They speak English and Spanish so there’s no worry there. The wait for a table and our food was relatively nonexistent.

All in all, this is a delicious place with a great menu and fantastic service. Go check it...