Royal Indian — Restaurant in Bar Harbor

Had to write this review because this may possibly be the worst Indian restaurant I’ve been to…and I’ve eaten at numerous Indian restaurants (mostly in NYC) and been to India.

I was surprised to find an Indian spot in Bar Harbor, and I admit I was skeptical. I read the reviews on both Google and Yelp and this spot has generally good reviews. My family and I have been in Maine for 5 days and wanted something other than lobster and seafood, so we decided to try this restaurant…on our last night in Bar Harbor.

Our table of 8 ordered mango lassis, samosas, garlic naan and 6 entrees. The mango lassis were good and pretty standard; nothing to write home about. Waited about 40 minutes for the samosa appetizers to come out. They were just OK. Curried potatoes and some peas. Not really flavorful. One minute later, our entrees come out. Everything was BLAND. From the Palak Paneer to Chicken Korma to the Saag Mushroom and the Chana Masala. Everyone single person said their dish was NOT GOOD. Lack of salt AND spices. No one really finished their dish. Garlic naan hardly had any garlic and was doughy.

WORST of all the rice was SOGGY. Clumped together (see pictures). I have never been to an Indian restaurant where the basmati rice was like this. We notified the manager and possibly owner about the rice and replaced it for us. The new rice came out a little better but by that time everyone didn’t even want to eat anymore.

Don’t bother coming here unless you want bland entrees, soggy rice and doughy naan. Overpriced for this quality of food. What a disappointing end to our trip...

I wish I could tell you all how good (or not) the food is at Royal Indian, but unfortunately, I’m here to discuss something not related to the food….the service. Apparently Royal Indian doesn’t try to wow you with their food, service and atmosphere unless you’re Indian. My family and I visited on 08/21/25; party of four, Latino. We were greeted very unenthusiastically by their young hostess (woman in her 20’s). She sat us down inside, slapped the menus on the table and quickly walked away. She gave no assurance to a quick return or at least inform us someone would come soon. We sat there for about 10 mins, not a single person came, not even to take drinks order. Lo and behold, an Indian family showed up much after us, and the same hostess QUICKLY brought them water, took their order and submitted it to the kitchen, while we remained seated, unacknowledged and hungry. I told my family to get up and decided to leave. The staff didn’t even ask why. We came here from NJ on vacation and love Indian food, but I will not spend a penny of my hard earned money on a business that does not value their customers, especially if being Indian will guarantee you better treatment. Very unprofessional, rude and prejudice towards their customers. I do not recommend this place and I’ll go find more authentic Indian...

I am so glad we run into Royal India, I know this area is all about lobster, chowders and seafood, but after 2 days of that mediocre $$$ buttery lobster, I want something exciting. So happy to have this place, their tandoori lobster is way more flavorful and served on a hot sizzling plate, their naan was amazing, the garlic naan was even better with meal. I ordered the curry chicken, comes in a medal bowl that maintain the heat for a while so the chicken won’t get cold quickly, the flavor was on point as how curry supposed to be and chicken was very tender. We also ordered Samosa, we asked for some spicy sauce which add even more layers of flavor to the already amazing samosa. The tandoori lobster special, lamb saag, vegetable curry and chicken masala were all very flavorful and delicious and generous portion, the price is reasonable compare to the other restaurants. We had the pleasure to speak with Ria about all different kind of curry, food, India and what she recommend, I’m glad she is patience with us, we all have a fantastic time there. They also have the authentic chai which my friends whose’s chai connoisseur approved. P.S. they are one of the few that serves Coca cola. I really appreciate that!!! Highly...