Passage To India Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Charlotte

So... I was in Charlotte on business. I was early for my appointment at UNCC so I decided to have lunch at Passage to India. I have been there before so I am no stranger. Upon entering a middle aged gentleman greeted me at the door smelling of alcohol. That was my first turn-off. I said I was dining alone and he told me to "Sit right here." Since there were other tables available I asked not to be seated in front of the door to which he said "This is my section, if you want to sit somewhere else you have to ask one of those guys" and he pointed to the other waiters. (Second turn-off) I asked and sat away from the door. I looked at the buffet and did not see much of a choice for me (I am vegetarian) so I asked to order from the menu. The younger waiter who seated me said "So you don't like buffet?" and hesitated to bring a menu. I sat and waited... the menu came... then I sat some more.... and some more... no one came. I got up and went to the dessert section of the buffet and got some fruit mixed in a sweet creamy sauce. Immediately the same waiter came rushing over asking "Are you going to pay for that?" I said yes. I was offended. Did he think I would eat and leave!!!!???? (Third turn-off) I went back to the table and finally he came over to take my order. The meal was okay. Nothing spectacular but I was just killing time. I asked for the check. One gentleman came over and brought it. He noticed something odd on it and asked if I had the buffet also. I said I had the dessert. He said "Okay, I will adjust the bill." The waiter who seated me and asked if I will "pay for that" rushed over to him and told him not to change it. He had charged me for the full buffet!! Okay, so I mentioned before that I am no stranger to that place. When i ask to be seated they would bring some papad or ask if you'd like to order some appetizer. Not this time. Had that happened I would not have needed to go get something myself. Conclusion, I felt scammed. I did pay the bill, not because it was right but because I have a clear conscience that I ate and I paid. However I won't go back. That evening I took my team out to dinner to another place. Passage to India was closer but it was the farthest place...

Excellent food that is consistently delicious. Portions are great as well. Highly recommend

UPDATE: My family will no longer be spending our money here nor will we recommend Passage to any more clients, family, or friends. We ordered over takeout as we often do. We have IBS issues so we always order mild food which can easily be shown through our door dash records. While at home eating, we discover that a dish is extremely spicy hot, so we call back to figure out our options. A young lady answered the phone who took the original order and was informed of the situation. We were told with an unprovoked attitude that "we will have to order that next time." We were shocked and in disbelief as we couldn't believe the response. We repeated our dislike and asked for a better option. We were met with the same careless energy. So I drove back to the store with the single dish and told the same rude young lady to have a manager come refund me for the item. With an attitude she got assistance from someone who offered to remake the food but I refused. I quickly showed this man my order history through door dash which showed my frequent orders about 4 min orders per week of $40-$60 avg/order and also showed my consistent ordering of mild dishes. That man with all that just ran a refund and went about his night back into the kitchen. No apology no accountability. Like any other business, we will not fight to spend our $$ for anything or anyone that lacks basic customer service. This happened almost 2 months after my initial positive review and we have saved upwards of $1200+ by refusing to dine at Passage. It sucks to know that a $10 dish has cost this restaurant thousands of $$ because of lack of simple customer service and...

I am not sure why this place doesn't have higher reviews. However, as of now, I am very impressed by this place! In fact, this is the the best Indian food I have yet to have in the Charlotte area.. I would say the food is exceptional and quite authentic. The restaurant seems to be enjoyed by both Hindustani (Indian Subcontinent) and local people alike. The owners and cooks appear to be Nepali and seem to have a firm handle on the spices and authenticity of Northern Indian dishes that seems to be missing from other places that specialize in South Indian cuisine. This is the first Indian restaurant in the Charlotte area that could actually give me Roti that was not flaky and overcooked. Indeed, the roti here is excellent, chewy and cooked to the perfect consistency. I know good roti as I spent quite a bit of time with Punjabi people in Seattle and use to eat fresh Roti in Gurudwaras when I would visit.

Another great point to make the affordability. The prices here are very reasonable and the portions are great! Most other Indian restaurants in the area charge more and give you smaller portions. I like this restaurant and will be coming here most often for my Indian/Nepali food fix.

Just so people know, I just moved from the Seattle area, a place with a large Indian/Pakistani population and I am well versed in Indian cuisine. In fact, I would go to many of the higher quality authentic Indian places on the Eastside, such as in Bellevue and Redmond. I will say this restaurant rivals them all and is even more affordable than most of the ones I went to in the Puget Sound...