Maharaj Indian Grill — Restaurant in Chicago

Style Over Substance: A Disappointing Indian Dining Experience in Downtown Chicago

Located in the vibrant heart of downtown Chicago, this Indian restaurant has garnered an impressive number of glowing reviews—particularly from Indian diners—which initially raised my expectations. But after my visit, I found myself genuinely puzzled. Have we collectively forgotten what authentic Indian food is supposed to taste like?

Having recently dined at an Indian restaurant in New Jersey that transported me straight to the bustling streets of Delhi, I was hoping for a similar culinary spark here. Unfortunately, that spark never arrived.

Let’s start with the positives. The staff were exceptionally courteous—polite, professional, and clearly committed to customer service. They managed the floor well despite the restaurant’s tight, congested seating arrangement, which, while uncomfortable at times, featured an impressively innovative and creative interior design. There’s potential here—but it’s not being realized in the kitchen.

We ordered Malai Kofta, Daal Makhani, and a Mango Lassi, hoping for classic North Indian comfort fare. Instead, we were met with a trio of dishes that lacked character. The flavors were flat, the spices muted, and the textures uninspired. There was no richness, no depth—just food that felt generic, and frankly, forgettable. For a cuisine celebrated for its boldness and complexity, this felt like a bland compromise.

One of the most jarring aspects of the visit, however, had nothing to do with the food: the air conditioning was non-functional. As it turns out, the restaurant operates beneath a university building, and when the university is closed on weekends, so is the A/C. In the middle of a humid Chicago evening, this was far from ideal.

To make matters worse, the restroom situation bordered on absurd. Access is restricted and supervised by a security guard who, for reasons never clearly explained, wouldn’t allow me to accompany my young daughter to the restroom—forcing me to call my wife to intervene. For a family-friendly establishment, this policy felt unnecessarily rigid and frustrating.

All things considered, this was a disappointing experience that lacked the culinary payoff to justify the discomfort. Chicago may boast a diverse and thriving food scene, but based on this visit, I’ve decided to put a pause on seeking Indian food here—especially when places in New Jersey consistently deliver better flavor, authenticity, and value.

For now, this downtown spot feels more like a stylish facade than a truly satisfying destination for...

Absolutely Horrendous Service – Worst Hospitality Ever

I understand that it was St. Patrick’s Day and the restaurant was busy, but that is no excuse for the shockingly poor and outright rude behavior of the host. This review isn’t about the entire staff—just the front-of-house, whose attitude was beyond unacceptable.

First off, on what planet are customers expected to walk all the way inside a restaurant to ask to be seated? In every restaurant I’ve ever been to, you enter through the front door and are either greeted, escorted to a table, or given a wait time. That’s literally the job of the front of house—it’s called that for a reason!

But here? Apparently, common sense doesn’t exist. We had a reservation but arrived early. When we approached the host, she looked at us like we had committed a crime. Instead of greeting us, she gestured—without a single word—to “move aside.” Move aside where? Was I supposed to read her mind? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

We stepped to the side, which turned out to be near the bar, since there was nowhere else to stand. Then, somehow she got offended, acting as if we were bothering other customers (spoiler: we weren’t). She returned with more ridiculous hand gestures, essentially telling us to move again—except at that point, the only place left to go was out of the restaurant.

At this point, my partner and I had enough and decided to leave. Ironically, the back door wasn’t functional, so another worker had to guide us back to that awful hostess. When we told her we wanted to cancel our reservation and just get out, she doubled down on her rudeness. Instead of apologizing for her disgusting attitude, she told us to talk to another host to “sort things out.”

The second host, who was probably unaware of the mess, tried to seat us, but by then, we just wanted to leave that horrid place. And we did.

I’ve traveled enough to have experienced bad service before, but never have I encountered such an unprofessional, hostile, and outright pathetic excuse for hospitality. I can't comment on the food because we didn’t eat there, but based on the service? This place doesn’t deserve a single star.

Oh, and to add to the ridiculousness—apparently, the customers we were supposedly “bothering” told us directly that we weren’t bothering them at all. But this hostess? She kept insisting she wasn’t wrong, trying to suck up to them in the most cringe-worthy...

The decor/ambience. Super cute! Love the charpais love the figurines and the fake well. Super cute. First thing I noticed when I came In was the manager very hands on. Could tell she’s the manager and she looked like she was very efficient. I was only one person and she made eye contact with me and sat me right away.

There were a lot of weird things about this restraunt that put me off. And I have pictures I have attached. There were some random jacket and backpack beside and on the seat of/infront of my table. When asked about it the server said it belonged to the big group of people that were there. So you guys let them leave their stuff anywhere and use empty seats/ charpais as a coat closet?? That was so weird to me. And when the guys took their bags there were clean empty dishes sat on the empty charpai after. Sooo weird and unprofessional.

Pappad came out right away which is good cuz I was fasting. I got the maharaj mixed grill I believe It was and it was a lot of food for one person. Really good price too. Some other odd things I asked the server if the butter chicken was dark meat she said no. I ordered it. It was dark meat. It was sooo weird that the manager and server are trying to gas light me saying all chicken is chicken and this isn’t thigh meat this is chicken breast. And she didn’t understand my preference for wanting white meat over dark meat. You go to church’s chicken fast food and they can tell you the difference. This is an upscale restraunt.

Chicken breast is usually white and fibrous when cooked, whereas dark meat (such as thigh meat) has a more tender, slightly darker appearance. The pieces in my photo appear to have a deeper reddish-brown hue and a different texture than what you'd expect from white meat. It looks more like dark meat or even processed meat rather than pure chicken breast.

The paneer tikka masala was really good. The tandoori chicken was really yummy. The kababs were also dark meat which is weird I’ve never seen kababs with dark meat. I appreciate the manager being very hands on at what seems a very busy restraunt but there were odd things that took me off guard and the server wasn’t very attentive. But such are Desi restaurants.

I would come back again because of the price and the paneer tikka masala was really good. But idk it’s the...