Banaras — Restaurant in Bellevue

A Candid Banaras Review: Food for Thought

Dear Team Banaras,

I hope this note finds you well and ready for some candid feedback from your recent patrons. We ventured into your establishment with high hopes, fueled by the vibrant allure of your Instagram and google reviews presence. However, our experience, from start to finish, was, let's say, memorably underwhelming.

Let's break it down:

Food: We're starting off generous with a 0.5 star. The ambition was there, but the execution? Not so much. Our culinary journey was more of a tumbleweed rolling through a ghost town - lots of anticipation, very little to show for it.

Ambience: Here's where you've got something going - 3 stars! The setting had promise, a beacon of hope in our quest for a good time. If only good vibes were edible, right?

Experience: Zero stars. A unique concoction of anticipation and bewilderment, served with a side of longing - for anything resembling hospitality.

Quantity: This deserves a special mention - no stars. It's as if you're trying to redefine the concept of minimalism in dining. A tip: maybe check your price tags against those portion sizes? Just a thought.

Onto the heart of the matter:

The food left us puzzled, particularly the avant-garde presentation of paneer with a live charcoal accessory. Risky and puzzling, not the thrill we were looking for in our meal.

Service seemed to be an afterthought. A reminder: water is usually a staple at a dining table, not a luxury. And a little friendliness from the staff wouldn't hurt. Let's just say, the service was as absent as the generosity in the portions.

Speaking of portions, let's chat about that. Your concept of quantity seems to be in line with a tasting menu, yet the prices suggest a feast. If this is a business strategy, it might be time to revisit the drawing board. Skimping on the essentials isn't sustainable. And if change doesn't come soon, I fear your next big crowd might just be the one attending your "Going Out of Business" sale.

A piece of friendly advice: Take a leaf out of Kanishka's book. Quality first, then business. Building trust and affection with your clientele is the real key to success, not just maximizing profit margins.

In a nutshell, this visit was an odyssey - one that we recounted with a mixture of disbelief and humor. It's not every day that disappointment turns into an evening's entertainment. Yet, here we are.

We're sharing this feedback not out of spite, but in hopes of sparking positive change. Consider this a nudge (sprinkled with a healthy dose of sarcasm) towards a better Banaras. We're rooting for you,...

I have been here two times, 6 months apart. My rating of 3 star is an average of both my visits. The first time I was here I had a 5 star experience, while the second time was a 1 star experience.

The first time I was here 6 months ago, all the dishes we ordered I would rate as either 4 or 5 stars. The service and ambience were 5 stars too. It was a great experience!

When I visited yesterday, it was the complete opposite. Quality of food was worse, I wouldn't rate anything more than 2-3 stars, even though we ordered many of the same dishes as last time. The bigger problem though was the service - it was a total mess, even 1 star is generous! Some examples: We asked for a table with a high chair. The staff member sat us at a place where it was very tight to accommodate the high chair. We had to ask to move to a different table. They did move us, but they could have sat us elsewhere in the first place, the restaurant was very empty when we arrived! We were waiting for a long time for our order to be taken. We eventually had to call someone over to do so. The waiter completely forgot about part of our order. He was just standing in one spot, looking around. After finally making eye contact, he suddenly remembered and brought our order out in a rush. Unsurprisingly, the quality of the food/drink he brought out was not good and did not taste fresh! No one cleared our table for a long time. We eventually asked them to clear it because we had more dishes on the way. The waiter cleared part of the stuff and forgot about the rest. I had to remind him to clear the rest. No one cleared our plates before dessert. (They did this the last time we were here.) We had 4 adults in our party, but the waiter only brought our 3 dessert spoons. We had to ask for a extra spoon. (This should be common sense!) In the middle of dessert, someone came to clear the old plates. The staff member seemed unhappy about something and clueless about their surroundings. They were slamming the plates down so loudly and that caused our sleeping child to wake up.

From our latest experience, it seems like food quality has gone down significantly and service quality has become non-existent. That's not what I would expect from a dine-in restaurant, especially not at this price point! Needless to say, we won't be coming back here until there are clear...

I am visiting Seattle and was craving some Indian food. We found Banaras and the food looked amazing so we decided to try it. Let me start by saying that the food was everything I expected and more. It was simply delicious and not something you usually get in the US.

Our first visit was very good and our server was very accommodating. Because of this, I brought another of our friend few days later who was visiting from Canada. Our food was again really good and all of us enjoyed it. However, what happened while we were leaving left a really bad taste in our mouth that no chaat can change.

We ordered more than we could eat and we were okay with that as we wanted to try a bunch of stuff and were planning to take the rest with us. The guy at the front desk did ask us while we were waiting for dessert if we ordered stuff which seemed like he was just checking on us. But in hindsight, it looked like he was just trying to get rid of us. Once we got our dessert he came back and asked whether we needed boxes and I said yes. I wanted to order some naan as this place does not offer rice or bread with their gravies and we didn't have enough for the gravies we were taking with us. As he left hurriedly, I was unable to do that. Once he came back, my friend asked the same and he just abruptly said no they can't take anymore orders and left saying we should have ordered earlier. We were left shocked. I thought the kitchen might be closed but it was another 90 minutes before the restaurant closing time. He then said he was trying to make space for people waiting. He did eventually take the naan order but he had ruined our night by then. It might seem like I am exaggerating but I was completely embarrassed with the situation and just wanted to leave the place. In my 7 years in the US, I have experienced very few of such instances and for the first time in a restaurant where I am paying a couple of hundred dollars. I can think of a thousand ways he could have handled the situation better even if there were people waiting. I would prefer if they mention beforehand that there is a time limit during dinnertime and if you cross that, you will be rudely kicked out. At least people wouldn't bring guests in such cases.

The food almost seems worth it but I personally would like to keep my self respect above my...