Shanti — Restaurant in Boston

We ordered delivery from here last night, ordering a variety of appetizers and entrees. Of everything we ordered, there were very few highlights worth noting: Corn Bhel and Channa Masala. The quality and taste for the majority of other items, detailed below, missed the mark and were just bad, especially given the premium price point. Here is what we ordered:

Corn Bel: Similar to bhel puri but not the same texture. It was a bit soggy but we good enjoyed the savoriness of this app.

Papri Chaat: Very, very soggy. also very sweet, which was unexpected. The dish lacked the savory flavors of tamarind and mint chutnies that you'd usually expect with chaat.

Malai Kofta: This dish had so much potential but ultimately did not work. The gravy was nutty and spicy (as ordered). However, the koftas were not cooked all the way and felt like they were added to the dish after being frozen, which didn't allow for the sauce to be absorbed. It is the one dish I order from every Indian restaurant because how time consuming and challenging it can be to make at home.

Paneer Tikka Masala: This dish was bad. It was very, very sweet, which was not at all expected. Additionally, there was far too few paneers, and the paneer was rather hard, not soft and squishy as you'd expect. Would not order again.

Channa Masala: This is a dish we got for free for ordering so much and turned out to be the best entree. Chickpeas were cooked well. The tomato based sauce was spiced well and delicious.

Naans (Garlic, Onion, and Cheese): Ehh. Not the best, not the worst. Garlic naan was solid. Onion naan was fine. The cheese naan barely had any cheese, which was disappointing.

It is hard to assess certain dishes being ordered through delivery and would result in loss of integrity of the dish, i.e. chaats. However, with the exception of the corn bhel and channa masala, there were not enough dishes that would make me want to try it again. Save your money, take a trip outside of Boston to find better...

The butter chicken here is great - it's rich and has the right flavor and taste.

The garlic naan has a certain doughy and chewy texture that I don't find in a lot of other Indian restaurants. It is very buttery and crispy, but heavier than garlic naans from a lot of other Indian restaurants. I personally like both types of garlic naan (light and crispy vs. heavy and cripsy), and this place does the heavy and crispy type very well.

The appetizer they serve is not the regular kind of papadum that I see in other Indian restaurants, but a unique one with something like chili powder (?) on top. I do not know what these crackers are called, but they come in various colors. They are pretty tasty and give for a unique dining experience.

I drank their mango juice at least two times and it was okay. Not exceptional, but not bad. Managing mango juice can be hard because the right balance of coldness (often provided by ice) is needed - but the melting of ice can often ruin the thick texture of a mango juice. This place did not excel in doing this, but I...

I had come here twice before for dinner, and have ordered take out from here since, but no more. I am done after this latest insult.

Partner and I came for dinner the other night, we had to walk past the host/servers outside smoking on our way in. They definitely saw us.

We get inside and there is no one to greet us. We realize they are outside smoking. We wait for 5 minutes. Still no one.

We decided to leave and go to another Indian restaurant. There is no point giving this place a chance when there is so much competition for quality Indian food. Especially when the employees see you and know you are waiting to be seated, yet continue smoking outside without even so much as an acknowledgment.

As we left, we saw them all still outside smoking and didn’t say a word. Genuinely shocked by the level of disregard for willing customers. So...