Desi Ruchulu Indian Cuisine - Ann Arbor — Restaurant in Ann Arbor

Excellent service. It's already busy for carryout less than a week after opening. All of the dishes I got were wonderful. I asked for 2 out of 4 heat level and it was hotter than I expected. Next time I'm going to go for "slightly hot - 1."

The dining area is quite small, but nice. It's in a strip mall and it's just one "store width," so it's a pretty small place.

The food is very flavorful. It's not refined in that they have not carefully removed all inedible components. There are whole spices like cloves and cardamon seeds in the dishes, as well as the stems in an eggplant dish and bone fragments in a chicken dish. But this is authentic village/home cooking. It's not fancy London restaurant Indian food. I'm not knocking any strike here. I'm just being up front about what you can expect.

I'll be back again and again if it's consistently like it was on my first visit! The flavors were truly wonderful and not exactly like anything I've ever had anywhere else.

update April 2023 Still very good - consistently. The first time I went I specified 2 out of 4 spice level. They referred to their levels as mild, medium, spicy, and very spicy. Well I thought I like things spicy, and I've been eating spicy things my whole life, but 2 "medium" was right at my limit. Any hotter and it would have been unpleasant. Even 2 was a bit of a challenge. This time I got the items with a heat level option at 1 - mild. It was the right move because the dishes are just a little spicy-hot and perfectly enjoyable, even if I could handle more heat than this comfortably. Everything was quite good. The palak paneer was sweet though. I don't know if that's because I ordered it mild or not. But I was disappointed that it was as sweet as it was. I hope if I order it again at medium heat that it has no sweetness, but that might just be their style. Everything else was great. The creamy white coconut peanut sauce is only a 4 out of 5 for me, but that's not bad at all! The worst dishes here are 4 out of 5 to me. I really like it.

Summer 2023 Be prepared to wait a while at dinner time. I knew this place would get busy and it has. Dining in is an option but it's a small place and there are always people waiting right next to you for carry out orders. The food is consistently good and people have found it now so it's...

First off, the food was terrific and if based on food only, this would be a five star review. But our dine in service experience was really not good, resulting in the three star review posted. Our first visit found the restaurant seemingly very understaffed, with one person juggling hosting, serving, taking phone calls, filling takeout orders, etc. After being seated, we waited considerable time to have anyone even recognize us. It was our first time, so we ordered several starters with our main dishes. After considerable time, one starter came out, quickly followed by one and a half of our three main dishes. We waited longer for the balance of the second dish, and still weren’t given the third, so our son watched as we ate ours. Eventually the second and third “starters” came out, and after we were ready to leave, my son’s dish finally came. We asked for boxes, but they didn’t come. The lone worker, who we all felt sympathy for, made sure not to make eye contact as he passed, as anyone who can’t take on anymore responsibility learns to do. It’s too bad food that was this good was presented in such a unsatisfying manner, but it may have been beyond their control. Will try again and hope for a more...

Extremely Disappointing Dining Experience

I recently dined at this Indian restaurant with 7 friends, and the entire experience was nothing short of a disaster. I'd like to share my grievance with you, hoping that it helps others make an informed decision.

First and foremost, despite placing my order before anyone else, my food didn't arrive until long after my friends had finished eating. The service was incredibly slow, and the food came out in intervals of 10 minutes, which was beyond frustrating. We, as students, had time constraints and ended up returning to our lectures late, which was highly inconvenient.

To make matters worse, the quality of the food was subpar at best. The taste was bland, and it left a lot to be desired. It's disappointing when you visit an Indian restaurant expecting flavorful dishes and are met with a lackluster experience.

The management of this restaurant needs to seriously reconsider their service and food quality. Such an ordeal, especially for a group of students with tight schedules, is unacceptable. I wouldn't recommend this place to anyone looking for a pleasant dining experience. There are far better...