LaZeez — Restaurant in City of Albany

I came to Albany in fall 2006 and the first place I tried Indian/Desi food was Gandhi (they have a different name now) and it was absolutely horrible. I also didn't try any Indian food for the next year. I came across Curry House and they were much better.

Fast forward to 2017, and there are some awesome, AUTHENTIC Indian restaurants that have opened up to cater to the large community of South Asian folks here such as Bombay Bar and Grill, Dharani. I found some existing gems such as Karavalli. In the last 11 years Curry House and Ashiyana have stepped up their game big time if u are on a budget. They're representing the cuisine superbly.

But then there are places like Lazeez and Latham Biryani, which are still stuck in that time when there was no competition... I ordered from here because of the 4 star rating.. and here's the thing, if u don't know much about Indian/Desi cuisine Lazeez may taste just fine and you might just end up with a visit to the loo.

If you are remotely familiar with how South Asian cuisine tastes like, plz AVOID LAZEEZ. I ordered Chicken Vindaloo which had chicken pieces the size of small palms, uncut, fat untrimmed. Boiled potatoes. The Curry base was the kind of amateur stuff that my wife's friend trying to cook chicken curry for the first time made... my wife ordered Chicken Biryani which was a wet mixture of chicken curry mixed with over cooked rice. It also says a lot about the owner who allows this as long as they're making some money. He samosas were super greasy and smelled of old oil. We spent $33 on ordering and we threw $25 worth of that food. My only regret is I ate the amount that I did because every part of my digestive system is hating me.

TLDR: AVOID LAZEEZ. ITS NOT EVEN THE MCDONALDS OF INDIAN/PAKI FOOD. ITS THE EQUIVALENT OF GAS STATION TAQUITOS OF INDIAN/PAKI CUISINE.

IF UR SHORT ON MONEY, TRY ASHIYANA OR CURRY HOUSE. IF YOU CAN SPARE A FEW MORE BUCKS TRY BOMBAY BAR AND...

My group of 7 which included 2 kids went to eat here. We ordered a wide selection of items on the menu and everyone sampled whatever they wished to from all the dishes, which were served in metal bowls with serving spoons. Everyone had their own plates and flatware, real napkins to lay on the lap. I would say the quality of the food ranged from decently good to really good. We were not disappointed with any of them except the sheesh korma. That one, no one liked; its texture was very crumbly and soft, almost a paste. It didn't really have any flavor. So avoid that one unless you are an elderly person with no teeth and no working taste buds.

I was impressed at the skill of the waiter. He knew when to come to the table and when to stay away and give us time to discuss the menu. He didn't try to up-sell us. If you ask him which foods are their best cooking, he knows the answer. We were not kept waiting longer than necessary for our food to be served. Our glasses were kept refilled. And he didn't look flustered even though he was also handling the phone calls for food orders for takeaway/delivery. I'm sorry to say I did not catch that...

I've ordered from Lazees restaurant for pickup more than any other Indian restaurant in Albany. The food is always good, most of the time it's great. I decided to get take out last night. I called as they were about to stop delivering, but the owner graciously said they'd still take my order. Took a while to get here (maybe not, I was Hangry) and when the driver arrived, the order he had was not mine. He was very apologetic and said he'd be right back with the correct order. I called to make sure that my food would be prepared correctly. The owner answered and promised that he'd get it here quickly and with same quality. I work in restaurants. Mistakes happen. Lazees made a mistake, as does every restaurant anywhere. But why I keep coming back is the way they handled it. They were truthful, truly apologetic, and quickly corrected the mistake. They also included a gift certificate in my order. The food was better than I remember. It's not the mistake that counts, but how it's handled. They absolutely went above and beyond what was necessary, and i wish all businesses would...