Jo's Indian Kitchen — Restaurant in Cambridge

I was nervous at first because the reviews of this place are mixed, but I took a chance eating in and I'm glad I did. This restaurant is very clean, serves both veg and non-veg predominantly North Indian cuisine, and they vary the spice levels of each dish according to your tastes.

I have experience with high spice foods and have had Indian food both IN INDIA and in the US, and I'd say this place is pretty solid 👌. I ordered samosa chaat, parathas, and goat korma level hot (they have mild, medium, hot, and fireball). The hot was authentic Indian-level heat, but it was a slow burn where you could actually taste the different spices, not just chilies.

The samosa chat included a lot of raw fresh vegetables, the goat korma was probably the largest portion of bone-in goat I've gotten in the US, and the meat was fresh, cooked through, and the sauce was thick and had diced chilies, raw cashews, and chili leaves sprinkled throughout. It also came with a side of basmati rice (I'm not a huge rice fan, but I tasted it and it was clearly freshly made and cooked perfectly). The parathas had butter but it didn't overwhelm the wheat, and again, I cannot emphasize enough how FRESH everything was. There are plenty of Indian restaurants where it's clear that things are old, frozen, or about to turn, and this isn't one of those places.

The restaurant is small with both booths and tables, and they do catering and take out as well. They have a wide range of "Americanized" Indian dishes but also plenty of things if you're 100% veg or missing real heat in your food.

I happened to be eating there when the owner was there, and he was really kind and pleasant to customers. Apparently this restaurant is only about 2-3 years old, so I'd love to see it gain a following. They take both cash and card and have specific lunch and dinner hours. I'm genuinely not sure if certain dishes are not good, or the food is inconsistent to be getting some of these low scores. I plan to go back and try other things and see if the quality is the same.

The one slight annoyance is you have to pay extra for raita and chutney, but again if it's all homemade I wouldn't mind paying for it. The price was also cheaper than other Indian...

I ordered delivery from Curry House today and these were the naans I received. Completely undercooked in the center while nicely burned on the outside. I call them so that they can make this right. The person who answers the phone says that the owner is not there and that he cannot help me except for take down my number and notify the owner. So I call Grubhub, through which I placed the order, and they call the restaurant to resolve this. About 15 minutes later, I get a phone call from the owner. First he says that the Naans are always properly cooked and that I must be mistaken. He insists that if they had cooked them any longer, they would have been burned (See for yourself in the pictures. THEY ARE RAW. YOU CAN MAKE DOUGH BALLS OUT OF THEM AGAIN) He then barks at the cook who supposedly made them and assures me that they were properly cooked. Then the offers me a refund on the Naans, and only the Naans. I ask for a full refund because the Chicken Tikka Masala I ordered is useless with out the effing Naans and that was all i ordered (Chicken Tikka Masala and Naan). The owner then says that the meal is still edible because it comes with steamed rice. I explained to the owner that I cannot eat rice for health reason, which is why I ordered the effing naans. The owner implies that I am lying, to which I tell him to come pick them up and see for yourself. Then he says I will redo the naans and send them to you. I refused because he spent the last 5 minutes giving me the run around and I am not waiting another hour to receive Naans from the same careless idiot who screwed them up in the first place. Then the owner says again that I must not know how they are supposed to look like. Finally, I had to tell him in Hindi that I am South Asian myself have been to South Asia numerous times and know exactly what they are supposed to look like and taste like. To which the owner replied "Do whatever you want!," SO HERE I AM. STEER clear of this place, mediocre food and unprofessional service waiting for the next naive unsuspecting customer. Please don't bother with you meaningless B.S...

I was walking back home through Porter Square and decided to finally try this restaurant, since I always pass by but never stop in. I ordered the vegetable biryani, chicken, masala tea, and spinach bread and honestly, it turned out to be the worst dining experience I’ve had in my 10 years living in Harvard Sq/ Cambridge.

It now makes sense why this restaurant has only 3 stars and is often empty when I walk by. When the biryani arrived, it came in a very small plate and looked nothing like real biryani, it was just white rice mixed with frozen vegetables. I immediately called the server (who I believe is also the owner) and told him that this wasn’t what I expected and that I didn’t want it. He took it away without saying much. When he brought the check, I noticed that the chicken biryani was still included. I asked him to remove it since I didn’t eat it. He refused, saying that because he threw it away, it was “wasted” and I still had to pay for it. I explained that I wasn’t going to pay for something I didn’t eat or even liked..especially when the dish wasn’t as described. Instead of handling it professionally, he argued with me, called me “trash,” and continued to be extremely rude And Overpowering by saying lies!

Then, another woman possibly his wife or an employee came out from the kitchen and started yelling as well, insisting that I still had to pay for the biryani. The entire situation was uncomfortable and unprofessional and both employees were verbally Aggressive.

My advice: avoid this place. The food was terrible, the staff were aggressive and disrespectful, and the biryani was nothing like it should be. I documented everything with photos and videos because I genuinely couldn’t believe how I was treated.

I ended up paying only for my tea and the bread I ordered which was the only decent part of the meal. go to Nirvana next door And you will see how the biryani looks like. I eat biryani in all the Indian restaurants, and I never saw worse than this...