Nawab Indian Restaurant — Restaurant in Bethlehem

We arrived on a weeknight shortly after Nawab opened for dinner. We found street parking very close on this particular visit. Our server was friendly and helpful. The dining area was clean & tidy, nicely decorated (not overly). To start we ordered: Mango Masala Tea & Strawberry Lassi. Both were flavorful & tasty. The lassi very bright and fruity. The garlic naan was excellent. Small chunks of garlic, fresh cilantro, a very light buttery glaze. Cooked just right. I would swing by and get naan and drinks for a snack-on-the-go any day!

Our entrees were 1) Lamb Pasanda & 2) Chicken Seekh Kabab Masala (ordered hot/spicy). They were served to the table in attractive dishes with a plate of basmati rice for sharing. Everything was hot and arrived in a very reasonable amount of time.

Chicken Sheekh Kabab Masala - rolls of minced chicken in an herbed-tomato based sauce. Ordered "hot" and perhaps pepper, red chili and/or cayenne were used to increase the heat. My date ordered this. I prefer medium, but could handle it. The portion was good, for two of us sharing we had leftover of both dishes. I'm not terribly familiar with Indian dishes, and the form of the chicken was not fully described, so it was different than I expected (rolls of minced chicken), but it was good. The herbs blended well in both dishes. I don't care for dishes that are unbalanced with too much fenugreek or cardamom taking over, and these were Not, they were balanced. I will inquire more about the "form" of the meat next time, as I did like the next dish more and it was partly due to my preference of how the meat was prepared...

Lamb Pasanda - fork-tender chunky lamb slices. Enjoyed the texture, pulled apart. A creamy medium-yellow sauce with a balanced blend of spices. The nuts in the sauces were chopped very small (maybe even ground) and blended well, didn't take over the dish. I did not find the poppy seeds mentioned in the description, but I didn't miss them. I would definitely get this again, or another entree with the same meat.

I preferred the form of meat on the pasanda dish (chunks of lamb, more so than the rolled & minced chicken), but that's just a taste preference. I think a fresh garnish would have made for nice presentation, like a sprig of cilantro, a dallop of cream, maybe some mint leaves, a sprinkle of crushed nuts on the pasanda, of the or a sliced chile on the hot dish. This is just a suggestion, as the flavor of both entrees was very good.

Mango Chutney - First time getting chutney. It would go great with the butter naan (we got garlic). We had it as a "sweet break" to our savory main dishes. We ate it over the basmati rice. It was more sweet (as opposed to tangy). The consistency was sticky (as opposed to syrupy). Mango pieces were generous and varied in size and were firm.

Take-out orders were consistent during our visit. The cost for the above was $60 (2 people) - with fruity drinks, naan, entrees & chutney side. There are few quality Indian restaurants in the area, this one is lovely! I look forward to going again and trying other items, I will continue to use recent reviews...

I’m from Goa, India, and this is hands down one of the most authentic Indian restaurants I’ve been to in the U.S. The food here is incredible — it seems like they’ve recently hired new chefs, and the difference really shows. Every dish I tried was bursting with unique, bold flavors, and the spices used were perfectly balanced without being overpowering. What really impressed me is that each dish had its own distinct taste.

The ingredients are super fresh, and unlike many places that rely on food coloring or too much batter to make dishes look good, here everything tasted genuinely flavorful and no food coloring etc. It’s clear they focus on authenticity and quality over gimmicks.

I study at Lehigh and have been to other Indian spots like Biryani City, Cumin N Eats, and a few others. But this place easily outshines them all. The staff is also very friendly and welcoming, which makes the experience even better.

I ordered: Goat Biryani Paneer Lababdar Lamb Buna Dry Fry Butter Chicken Gobi 65 Nawab Mixed Grill

Honestly, every single dish was exceptional. If I had to pick a favorite, the Paneer Lababdar stood out — it’s one of the best I’ve ever had, even compared to places back home in India. The texture and richness of the gravy were just perfect — which is not easy to get right. But the other dished too are exceptional, so try them. For this quality of food, the prices too are very reasonable. The food is completely worth it for the price.

I’m genuinely happy there’s finally a place near Lehigh that serves such high-quality Indian food. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an...

Unique authentic Indian cuisine restaurant which great food.

A friend of mine LOVES Indian food so when he’s in town we’ve eaten here several times. We were very happy on every visit. The food has great flavor and spice. We ordered the Chef’s Special Assorted Platter. It was very enjoyable though several pieces of chicken were a little overcooked/dry. But overall that wouldn’t stop me from ordering it again. We both had Chicken Tikka Masala. Nothing but good things to say. Spice level was spot on and there wasn’t any left when we finished.

Quick tip. It’s BYOB. There is a PA Wine and Spirits store across the street, on the same block. It’s to the left as you come of Nawab. Also Campus Pizza sells cold six packs of beer. Both serve well if you forgot something to accompany your meal.

I’ll be back to try something new...