Delhi Diner — Restaurant in Albany

Remarkably bad service and not great food. I have a hard time understanding the yelp reviews... I eat at a lot of Indian restaurants and find most of them pretty good... Delhi Diner and India 4 U in Brentwood are the only 2 where I thought the food was actually not good. One woman that worked there was very nice, but the man who I think is the owner, oh my gosh. He is one of the rudest people I have ever encountered at a restaurant. They have an extensive appetizer list, but I didn't see my favorite, pani puri. I thought maybe I just missed seeing it on their pages long menu, so I asked him, "Do you have pani puri?" He said "No, we have like 30 other appetizers" in an annoyed way. Um thanks, but I wanted pani puri.

I was excited to try their vegan tikka masala, since I haven't had this since becoming vegan one and a half years ago. I also try to avoid tofu/soy, so I asked if I could get it had tofu and if I could get it without tofu. Well, my food came out (finally, after like 30 minutes) and was FILLED with tofu. No other vegetables or anything. I asked him what it was and he said soya. I was like, " I asked for no soy". He got very angry and said, "You asked for no tofu! Tofu and soy are like the north pole and the south pole!!! Totally different!" Actually, tofu and soy are more like the north pole and Santa Claus, or the north pole and polar bears. I am trying to make a point that they are basically the same thing. It was so uncomfortable to be snapped at like that in a restaurant! I guess I should have asked about soy but I had no idea that the events would unfold like this. I do eat soy sometimes, and after eating one bite, it seemed like it tasted ok, and I didn't want to bother ordering something else there and wait for another hour... I just wanted to leave to be honest. I decided to eat the sauce only, and realized that the sauce was actually a weird combination of very sweet but also very spicy. And there wasn't enough salt. Not inedible but not good.

My boyfriend got a masala dosa and he actually liked the dosa a lot, but said the coconut chutney and sambar were horrible (he didn't eat any beyond the first bite to try it) and the sambar was sweet... sweet sambar? That's very wrong. I also got some weird chickpea roti because it's vegan and gluten-free - this was horrible. It was also sweet, it tasted like cornbread but very very bland, flat, dry cornbread. Some interesting ideas, but no idea how to execute properly

Also the food was SO expensive. Our bill came to $49, so like $24.50 each. (at least this amount includes tip, which is automatically included). I have literally never paid that for Indian food in my life even when I got an appetizer, even at fancier Indian restaurants in San Francisco. So it was very annoying to pay this amount for sub-par food where some of it was so bad I couldn't even eat it and was still hungry when I left

Beware if you have a soy allergy since they seem to not really know what soy is, or a rude...

I am not one to review restaurants (based on this rant, that’s kind of obvious).  I’ve done so a couple of times, mainly for restaurants that at the time deserved it (some of them still do). For the same reason, here I am. Writing a review for Delhi Diner.

You know that experience when you take the first bite of the food in front of you, and it reminds you of when you were young! How your mom cooked in her tandoori oven back in the village? Well… I don’t – thought this may be mainly because I am Mexican, and I have been raised in the city all my life. However, Delhi Dinner does have a homey feel to it. The owner, a nice Indian man (who reminds you of that one uncle you actually like) may come to your table and ask how everything is. Unless you have a loathing for great Indian food (which if is the case, why are you even reading this), you will thank him and will proclaim, “The food IS great!”

If food is not what you look for in a restaurant (again, why are you wasting your time reading this?), Delhi Diner has a great ambience. As you first walk in, you will notice the lighting is dim enough to set the scene for most situations. Ranging from dinner with friends, to office parties (which I saw during one of my visits), to a romantic dinner (I have not experienced this, but I am hopeful). To further set the mood, you will see the restaurant decorated with just enough objects to set the feeling of the play. Lastly, there is usually Indian melodic music playing in the background, which completes the mood (which you will specially love if you’re into Yoga and stuff).

Full disclosure – Even though I really like the place, I have only tried a couple of the items of the menu: Spicy chicken, which is an appetizer with … well… chicken with a semi spicy and semi sweet taste (delicious!). Butter chicken (which is like chicken tikki masala), which has a great creamy sauce. Chicken Tikki Masala, which is my favorite dish by far on my humble opinion. The creamy sauce, which is added with rice, creates a great consistency and flavor. Being able to choose the spiciness (how spicy hot you would like it) allows for all to enjoy this dish (I am ashamed to say that I only enjoy spicy hot, for I do not dare adventure into the “Indian” spicy category). All of these foods accompanied (of course) with their jasmine rice (which my sister loves) and a couple of orders of garlic naan  (both which complete the dish!). Oh and don’t forget your large Taj Mahal Beer (I mean, we are all alcoholics here)

In short (well… in medium size review), if you are looking for a nice Indian restaurant, with great food, and even better service, I truly recommend...

My husband and I love Delhi Diner as a restaurant—top notch, fresh, and beautifully prepared Indian food, with great ambiance and service—but this review is about Delhi Diner as a caterer. And it is a glowing one.

We got married about a week ago at Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley. We knew from the get-go that we wanted Indian food, and we searched high and low for a caterer that would be able to handle 200 guests, many of whom were Indian, since my husband's family is from India. Delhi Diner was by far the best and most authentic food we tried. We took many family members and friends there in the weeks leading up to the wedding, and they all loved it.

But would Subhash and his team be able to scale up their excellent food for 200 people? Yikes! We didn't know. We were nervous!

We needn't have been. The food arrived on our wedding day steaming hot, full of aromatic herbs and spices, fresh vegetables, and succulent meat. We ordered chicken tikka masala, roghan josh, chana masala, saag paneer, aloo ghobi, naan, papadam, rice pulao, and condiments.

Our guests were wowed by the food—even all the Indians remarked at how good it was. A few guests even called it the best wedding food they'd ever had.

Subhash was also a very attentive and careful vendor. He pledged to us several times during the process leading up to the wedding that he'd help to ensure it was a night we wouldn't forget. He totally delivered, and we could not recommend both Delhi Diner the restaurant and its catering services more highly.

Bravo, Subhash, and we'll see you again very soon. (And likely very soon...