Smoky Hill Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Aurora

I hate writing mediocre reviews, but since we got sucked into ordering by the high review rating and because there are not a massive amount of reviews at this point, I want to give a different perspective since I do have one. I generally review local restaurants on a different site, but since this one is new, there is no listing for this restaurant yet. We ordered via Doordash, and we were really disappointed after some of the rave reviews here. My husband and I both ordered the chicken biryani, and since the hubby is South Indian, we've eaten our share of different biryani all over the world. There are always regional differences but I've never seen peas and bell peppers in any biryani I've had before, and it didn't taste or smell good like most biryani with traditional Indian spices should. I think the blandness of those peas and bell peppers really toned down any Indian flavor. Quite honestly, it tasted like a flavored rice dish of some kind, but not like biryani. Just FYI...the heat ratings are lower than expected if you eat a lot of Indian, so I wouldn't be afraid to order medium if you're looking for the traditional mild for Indian food. Unfortunately, the samosas were off for us as well. Somewhat soggy, and tasted heavy on the peas and lighter on the potato. I'm including pics below as I wouldn't have ordered the biryani had it been pictured with the peas and bell peppers. And I wanted to show the inside of the samosa. I get that I'm in the minority at this point, and it's all good if other people enjoy the taste of the food here. It's just not our thing or to our taste when it comes to Indian cuisine. Because we're always willing to try a new place, we expect to get disappointed sometimes. It's the only way we can find great new go-to places. : ) Three stars because the order was correct, and I'm not sure if that was because of our door dasher or the care taken with the order at the restaurant. Really good delivery by Doordash. Also, we did eat some of the food because we were hungry, so it wasn't completely inedible. Just wish it had been better and tastier. We have better Indian places closer to us so we'll stick with what we know and maybe wait a little longer for more reviews and pics before we try a new Indian...

Just tried this place for the first time tonight. (take out)

We got chicken tikka masala, chicken biryani, butter naan, and carrot pudding so that we could directly compare it with other Indian restaurants we like.

Everything was great but the biryani was absolutely phenomenal. With how intense the flavors were, I was hardly surprised to see a green cardamom husk had been left behind. I don't usually like biryani but my husband does. This is the first time he's ever had to share!

The naan was extremely fresh and just the right texture. Since it was labeled as "butter naan", I thought it might be greasy but it wasn't. You can safely interpret it as "plain naan" (but in a good way).

If you're sensitive to spiciness, definitely stick with "mild". Thank goodness for the raita that came with the biryani! It seemed maybe a little thinner in consistency than I remember (again, I rarely have biryani) but it was really good. The cucumber flavor was very pronounced; it honestly tasted more cucumber-y than some actual cucumbers I've eaten!

The carrot pudding was delicious but it's far less sweet than some people might expect, given that it is a dessert.

I don't want to leave out the masala but I'm not sure how to describe it except to say that it delivered every bit as much as the rest of the meal. The spice blend gave the sauce a flavor that started deep and smoky and tomato-y, rose into a bright garam masala flavor, then up an into the tangy-spicy neighborhood. My only critique is that the chunks of chicken somehow didn't taste like they were part of the dish. (Sorry, I know that might sound weird but it's the only way I can think to describe it. The chicken still tasted good, though.)

As to service, we didn't dine in but my husband said he felt like he received a surprisingly warm greeting and more attention than he expected for just a quick pickup order, so full marks there as well.

10/10 - We will definitely keep this place in mind the next time we decide to treat ourselves to a night...

Such good food. The service is stellar as well. I always appreciate having a server who seems to actually care about my experience. So nice. He even brought us a special sauce that was not on the menu for me to try he said he likes it with vegetable samosas. And it was so delicious. It tasted like a yogurt based sauce but it had a smokiness and spiciness as well. And every single dish was authentic and delicious perfect. The only thing I would have wanted is a little bit more heat not spice but the food itself could have been a little bit warmer. I like my food to be steaming hot. But that is such a minor complaint it doesn't even count I would definitely not take off a star for that. I would travel anywhere to have authentic food. When I want dinner I want it to taste like the cuisine is made in the country of its origin. I want to feel like I'm going on a vacation when I go out to dinner. Unfortunately where I live we do have good tasting food but it is not authentic and it is really overpriced. It's much better to go on a little drive and get better food at an affordable price even if you end up spending the same because of gas haha. I would definitely recommend Smoky Hill Indian Cuisine to anyone who likes Indian food and if you are unfamiliar with Indian food I would recommend it to try for your first...