Priya Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Chicopee

Terrible Experience on Mother’s Day – Rude Staff, Unhygienic Food, and Possibly Unsafe to Eat

I usually don’t write reviews, but this one is necessary to warn others. Our recent visit to Priya Indian Cuisine was by far one of the worst dining experiences we’ve ever had.

We were a group of three families visiting on Mother’s Day, hoping to enjoy a nice lunch. Unfortunately, from the moment we walked in, things went downhill. There was no one at the reception, and we stood waiting for at least 10 minutes before a waiter finally showed up—not to greet us, but to rudely ask, “How many people?” with visible annoyance.

We politely mentioned we were three families dining together. Instead of helping us find appropriate seating, he crammed us at a small round table meant for seven. When we gently asked for another table to accommodate everyone comfortably, he snapped back with, “I don’t know,” in a dismissive tone—almost like we were a burden for even asking.

Then came the shocking part: when another family member arrived and we again requested a little more space, the same waiter snatched a plate out of our hands and aggressively told us to “Go eat at some other restaurant.” The disrespect was appalling—not just towards the men, but even towards the women and children in our group. And this was on Mother’s Day.

Looking for help, we asked for the owner, but he was nowhere to be found. A manager eventually came and casually told us that the waiter had a history of bad behavior and many complaints against him—yet he’s still working there. Although the manager offered new seating, the damage was already done.

As we reluctantly continued our meal, we noticed multiple issues: • Plates were dirty—clearly not washed properly. • Paneer had hard particles (like small stones) in it. • One dish had a strand of hair—my wife found it in her food. • Spinach dishes had a gritty, sandy texture—as if not cleaned properly. • The dessert area was a hygiene nightmare—sweets were falling back into the communal spoon tray, contaminating everything.

What’s worse? The next day, multiple members from our group reported health issues—sore throat, stomach upset, and diarrhea. That’s three different families. This raises serious concerns about food safety.

Also, here’s something strange we all noticed—after eating the buffet, none of us felt hungry until late night. And it wasn’t because we overate. It felt unnatural. One can’t help but wonder if the food has something added to suppress appetite—especially during a buffet.

In summary: • Rude and unprofessional staff • Terribly unhygienic conditions • Possibly unsafe food • Negligent management • An experience that ruined our celebration

Do yourself a favor: avoid this place. Dining out is meant to be a joyful experience—not something you walk away from feeling insulted, sick, and regretful. This place needs a serious inspection by the health department and a complete overhaul of its staff behavior and...

I hate leaving a bad review but I'm getting tired of going through the same thing at this place. The tables are clean. Food is usually good. A few of my orders have been wrong in the past but I think it's due to a language barrier sometimes. The floor in the dining area is always sticky and has been in need of some deep cleaning for quite a while, but I can live with that. I usually take my food to-go.

For some reason, whenever I come in person to dine-in, I end up waiting too long to be seated. Today was no different. I walked in and stood where it says please wait to be seated. A couple walked in behind me. We waited to be seated. An employee came from the kitchen, grabbed menus, and asked the couple behind me if it was a table for two. They said yes and followed him to a table. This employee walked pass me, made eye contact, and went in the kitchen. He came out of the kitchen and stood in front of a register. I looked at him waiting to get his attention and he would look up periodically but kept doing something on the computer. He then walked over to check on different tables. Two other staff members (who looked like waiters) walked out of the kitchen and to the dining area to attend to other patrons dining in. I scanned around the dining room and noticed there were way more empty tables then occupied ones. I waited for almost 10 minutes before I finally left. Even a gentleman who was at the entrance waiting for his to-go order noticed.

I have never, ever, had any issues or arguments with any of the staff ever, and I am a very generous tipper even for to-go orders, so I know it's not personal. I just think they prioritize larger parties. Because this is not the first time this has happened to me, I think some of the staff at this establishment could use some customer service training. They need to work on their attention to detail and respect all customers that walk through the door, irregardless of who they are or how many people are in their party, and not pick and choose. Common courtesy when staff see someone waiting, is to let them know someone will be right with them. That has never happened to me here. I just get odd stares. This literally happens almost every single time that I dine-in. I thought about calling and speaking to a Manager but I really doubt they would take it serious so maybe this review will get them to notice. Fortunately, there is another Indian restaurant nearby in...

I choose this place for a weekend buffet based on 4.3 star google review! May be I'd gone wrong for the first time or I wonder the reviews were old and doesn't reflect the current status. You don't want to go this place ever unless otherwise you know personally something changed; for more details read below...

I pity the owner, don't know if they are new or they are running the place for a long time (in that case, I don't pity the owner, I only pity the consumers) - they have no idea for the food quality/taste. First thing, there is vinegar in every dishes, I really wanted to meet that stupid chef who adds vinegar in every food item which is a terrible idea. Next thing, you don't keep the rice items (biryani, rice, veg. fried rice etc.) on thin plastic sheet which can be only seen in really low class restaurants. I tried every single item on a weekend buffet, nothing taste good or felt fresh at 1:00 PM where such a nice ambient restaurant was literately empty except few white folks who probably has no idea for the quality of the Indian food. Next lesson learned, when you visit a new place make sure you have people who knows the quality of food in the restaurant, in this case not a single Indian at 1:00 PM on a Saturday which is usually feast session for Indians.

Except Tadka Dal every other item was terrible; mango lassi was sweet, chicken 65 tasted like terrible Chinese chilli chicken (++ vinegar), Biryani was cold and tasteless, rasam was so sour, chicken kabobs were cold and not fresh; dal vadai was hard and not tender (means not fresh), veg fried rice - sour due to extra vinegar, goat vindaloo - again full of vinegar, gobi was soaked in oil, gobi manchurian - again full of vinegar.

If you think Priya is south Indian veg cuisine, this is NOT. neither they are Punjabi food nor the Indian Chinese food; rather I can tell that it's terrible food overall - best avoided; I wish they close the place or change the owner since the owner has no idea how terrible the...