Indian Oven — Restaurant in Columbus

I adore Indian food. I make a point to try lots of different ones in the area and leave detailed reviews, and today I decided to try this one. If nothing else, for the awesome responses from the owner on bad reviews, lol.

My go-to when ordering from a new restaurant is to get the paneer tikka masala in the highest heat level offered with garlic naan, as it's normally a good indicator of their quality (and I'm vegetarian). Something to keep in mind with Indian restaurants is that they will all vary in recipe, and no two are exactly alike - recipes are heavily influenced by individual family traditions, the region the owners/chefs are from, etc. This masala was definitely not like any I've had anywhere else - normally it's just cheese in sauce, but this one was loaded with peppers, onions, and potatoes. It's far more filling and balanced than a basic tikka masala normally is, and the flavor was amazing - hard to describe in words. Portion was very generous, I'll probably get two more meals out of it. Heat was perfect - I love super spicy food, but sometimes it can drown out the other flavors, and this wasn't the case at all. Super spicy, but left all the aromatics and spices intact.

Rice goes two ways - either you get it packed to the brim of the container and make a mess when you open it, or it just fills the bottom half of the container (like most restaurants). This was the latter. I don't have any issue with this - if I need more, I always have basmati on hand at home. The rice was super fragrant and excellent all around. Side note that this is not a restaurant that puts peas in their rice, but you won't miss it!

The garlic naan was easily the best I have ever had. Most places the garlic flavor isn't super strong, but there were loads of minced garlic on top of it. The texture was perfect. I could survive off this naan alone.

I can't say I'll be going to KHAAB again any time soon. Especially since it's so close to where I work, this is my new go-to. Second best Indian I have ever tried, only because the first one I ever had in my hometown has my heart. Best in Columbus I've found so far. And, at least on DoorDash, they are very good at listing dietary restrictions on each menu item - if it's vegan, vegetarian, or gluten free, it's listed as such. Amazing. You have a new regular! Can't wait to try...

The following is an email I sent to the restaurant in on 6/7/25.

I have been eating at Indian Oven since 2008. It's pretty much the only Indian food my family and I eat in Columbus. For many years my family and I got to know the prior owner. Since covid, we have mostly ordered food for pickup or delivery. Unfortunately, our last two delivery orders have included food that was inedible. We generally order the same three entrees every time we order: beef vindaloo, butter chicken and chicken tiki masala. Tonight, when I opened the entrees to served them to our family, I noticed something smelled off. I soon discovered the butter chicken was spoiled or otherwise had something wrong with it, as that's where the smell was coming from. The butter chicken was inedible and we had to throw it out. Our last order had a similar spoilage issue, but with the chicken tiki masala. I would recommend not serving any more of the current butter chicken batch to anyone.

In addition to the food quality issue, it's my understanding the papadam (and maybe naan too) is served with coriander chutney. Because our family likes the chutney so much, I generally order a few extra. In our order tonight, I made sure to order three extra coriander chutneys. However, we only received a total of three chutneys (presumably the three extra I ordered and paid for). This has been a consistent issue over the past year or so in that we only receive extra chutneys we order and pay for (not the complementary ones provided with breads).

At a minimum, I would appreciate a refund for the inedible butter chicken we ordered tonight. I would like to consider patronizing your restaurant into the future, but unless quality control issues are resolved, that may be a challenge.

I didn't receive a response from...

I have to say, I was pretty disappointed with my order from Indian Oven. I want to preface this by saying that all of my previous experiences with Indian food have been in the UK and I know that they have a different relationship with their currys and the availability of certain spices. That being said, this was nothing like I expected.

I ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala because I figured that would be a pretty good, middle of the road gage. I was surprised that it was delivered with tomatoes, onions, peppers, and the odd potato or two thrown into the mix. While I've not seen it served that way before, I was still open to trying it. I like some veg, and I'm not a picky eater. Different does not equate to bad. However, this dish was as bland as can be. The thing I love most about Indian food is the spice profiles, how aromatic and rich everything is. This was lacking all of that. It tasted more like a marinara than any curry I've ever tried and the curry itself was thin and almost sauce like. I'm not exaggerating when I say the rice had more flavor.

Now, I understand that this is Columbus and this city is not exactly known for quality ethnic foods. Maybe I just have different standards than most. The reviews for this place are good, but as I have found is often the case, it just didn't live up to the hype.

I have them 2 Stars only because the delivery was prompt and came much quicker than expected. The dish itself will remain half eaten and will get tossed out

In response to the owners response: say what you will about a traditional recipe, that does not excuse a bland and...