Curry King Indian Restaurant- Brookings — Restaurant in Brookings

Please try to understand my intent here. It has never been my intention to hurt a business by leaving a bad review, and this review is no exception. However, I also believe that if you can't get even the basics right, you shouldn't be in the business.

First, the service,

It felt like we were constantly waiting—for everything. From getting a glass of water to placing our food order, we had to flag someone down every time; not once did anyone proactively approach us. At one point, we even had to walk near the kitchen entrance to get someone to listen to our order.

We ordered 9 pieces of fried chicken, as we had 9 people. The server/chef/sous-chef never clarified if this was an issue or if we needed to order a different package or quantity. Instead, he kept insisting we try the chicken tenders instead of the bone-in fried chicken we had requested. Eventually, he accepted our order and told us it would take at least 15 minutes. We were okay with that.

While we were waiting (well past 15 minutes), nobody checked on us—no updates, no water, not even basic courtesy.

Now, the food,

It was terrible. The chicken seemed like it had been pre-cooked and then reheated or broiled to fake some crispiness. Anyone who's had freshly fried chicken knows it should be piping hot inside. Ours was merely warm, like reheated leftovers. Worse, it had a bad smell. Four of us each tried a piece, and the rest of the group refused to even touch it.

Then came the final blow,

We walked toward the kitchen and asked someone to come to our table. Instead of coming over, they told us to wait and immediately proceeded to serve another couple—a white couple—who had just walked in. I won’t assume intent, but this treatment felt unacceptable. But I do know that you’re supposed to serve the people who’ve been waiting longest—especially those who’ve been sitting for over 30 minutes.

The icing on the cake:

When we got up to leave without ordering anything else, we were charged for 12 pieces of chicken—because, apparently, they don’t offer a 9-piece option. If that’s the case, why didn’t they just give us the full 12 pieces?

I can say with 100% confidence that this was, by far, the worst restaurant experience...

So happy to have this option in Brookings!

I give 5 stars for the food, as it was very flavorful and authentic. However, I give 2 stars for the service. Although it was very friendly, there wasn’t much in terms of table service.

I will update the review after another visit or two. Please give this location time to adjust, as its flavors and options will surely continue to grow in this community. I believe they have another highly appreciated location in Eureka, CA as well.

First Visit Review:

The flavors were absolutely awesome, and I have never seen this many options in one place, considering the variety of proteins. However, the temperature left something to be desired, as everything was a bit lukewarm. Besides that, with the fresh naan and multiple buffet options/sides, it was still a very enjoyable experience.

Be prepared, as there are no directions when you arrive. This buffet is the type where you grab your plates when you first walk in and find your seat. I expect this may change, but this is how it is on day one. When I asked, the employees seemed a little confused. Patio is open depending on the weather.

The entrance can be confusing to locate, if you are not from the area. It may seem like you are walking directly into a State Farm office, but I assure you that if you keep going, you will find a door further down the corridor leading to some really good Indian food.

Currently, it is set up buffet-style. I never did receive water, although they brought me fresh naan. Water may be self-serve, but again, there were no directions for patrons. Signs would definitely help.

The buffet has a lot of options, featuring different proteins and vegetarian options as well as fried potatoes (similar/almost better than American fries) and...

DONT like leaving bad reviews, but this was kinda bad. Sorry to say it was not a good first impression. We took residents from our place of work to eat there. We waited nearly an hour+ for our food and the waitress never checked to see if we needed anything while we waited. The residents had wanted to try the pizza but when we did not see pizza on the main menu we assumed we made a mistake about what was served there and ordered something else. We later found a second menu with pizza options at the front counter. We were also taken aback when the server answered a Bluetooth call while taking our order. Most of the effort was put into serving a larger party that(I think) was there before us. Although, several other small groups came in after us and were served within 20 mins or so. We finally had to ask our orders be made to go as a couple of residents were getting tired of waiting. I saw a lot of other people left great reviews so we had expected good service , but it seemed like our table was the only one that was not being seen to. I usually like to give new restaurants a couple of tries because things can be a little slow starting off, but I'm not sure if it will be worth it. We only ordered small orders of fried chicken ( these are elderly people who don't eat much) and a couple of wraps, and a side of cheese naan. One wrap was burnt. Maybe they got sidetracked with the larger group, that happens. However, by the time we left some of our residents, and us, were left confused, frustrated and hungry. We probably won't be...