India Palace — Restaurant in Cookeville

First I wrote a review a while back because the place is absolutely terrible but someone got it taken down (probably reported many times) so I’m giving it a 5 star so my word gets out. First off we started with no greeting. Me and my bf walked in and I honestly thought the place was closed until the teen came out and told us to just seat somewhere. When we were sat I immediately noticed that the glass and silverware were completely disgusting, looked as if they haven’t been cleaned in forever. After that i immediately wanted to leave but my bf assisted we still give it a try. We got a WARM glass of water which I didn’t care much for because I honestly felt it was probably something of the Indian community does so I let it be. After some time goes on the lady which I’m guessing is the owner comes out and greets us, but she had her headphones in blasting music which was odd but yet again we are at a self made restaurant so whatever. She gives us the menu, but instead of giving us time to look at it she rushes us to pick something constantly pointing her fingers in the menu and repeating things over and over again. It was really aggressive and disrespectful in my opinion. We finally ordered. We had gotten some drinks (fruiting drink) and they tasted like they had seasoning in it like the glass was left in the kitchen where she cooked and wasn’t cleaned. I didn’t enjoy it even though I felt like i would have if it didn’t taste like that. We get our food and right off the bat I knew I wouldn’t enjoy it. The rice looked so dry and it had no seasoning. We got some sort of Chicken with sauce, we asked for mild but boy that chicken so spicy that even someone like me with a high spicy tolerance couldn’t take it. The only good thing I enjoyed was the garlic bread. I was soo disappointed. I really wanted to give Indian food a try but felt like I was let down by this place and even the reviews. Maybe this place use to be amazing but it isn’t anymore. The lady (owner) was soo mean about us not enjoy our food either. almost had to cuss her out for being so violent when we weren’t even asking for free food which I should have done. $30 wasted on food we barely touched. Could have just went to the Mexican place next door and been happy. Indian food is different in many ways and I could have just not understood the culture that comes within the food but I really do think If I were to have went somewhere else I would have a total different experience. You can gladly try for yourself and have a totally different experience, but don’t let all the positive reviews from years...

One of the worst. When I mean worst, trust me it’s worse than you have been to the worse place. Sure the owner lady is sweet(ish) but when you are running a restaurant, the 1st thing that comes is customer service and Food. Customer service is literally -1/100. The guy who is probably owners son is at the back of the sofa sitting in front laptop and does literally nothing but say sit wherever you want and than forgets he is at a restaurant. Lady came after few minutes and filled us the water. She seems the owner and she is old and to her age she is very hardworking but as HEARTBREAKING as it sounds, food was not edible. My girlfriend literally threwup after taking a bite of the food. We ordered, Chicken tikka, which was not chicken tikka at all. It was more like a wings covered in sauce from wingstop. I am not even kidding and that too which had been sitting in the back of the restaurant for a long time. And also we did hear microwave running so we were not surprised if its tasted stale. Took one bite, threw it. 2nd Chicken Biryani, it was not Chicken Biryani either. It was more like a yesterday’s chicken curry and rice mixed together which Indians and Nepalese do a lot at home leftovers. I am honestly surprised how This restaurant is open till this date. When I saw the exact same kind of review about the ambience of the restaurant and service and all, I felt like I deserved to go there because I should have looked the review before going and had I seen the review I have never took another step to that restaurant. The only edible foods we had there was samosa and Stuffed paratha. Oh and the Indian Chai was 🤮🤮🤮. It was like a soy milk and water mixed with some tealeaves and little sugar. As much as you feel bad for this old hardworking lady, this is no way to run a business and as sensitive as food business. And at the end the lady did not even said anything and charged us 38$ for the food. This was probably the longest review I ever wrote and as much as I feel bad for the lady but food businesses should never run this way. (She was literally taking orders, cleaning plates that was left unattended for more than an hour, charging people at the front desk and taking orders) To the guy at the end of the sofa, you seriously need to go to hell. Sitting there doing nothing and letting all things to be done by...

We arrived at Indian Palace with high hopes, but were disappointed with the overall atmosphere of the restaurant. We immediately noticed that there were no customers, which made the place feel neglected and uninviting.

Upon entering, we were not greeted by anyone. The owner's son was sitting at a table engrossed in his laptop and failed to acknowledge us. He didn't bother to greet us or offer any hospitality, which made us feel unwelcome.

After waiting for about 2 minutes, the owner herself came out from the kitchen and showed us to our table. She handed us the menu and rushed us to order without giving us any time to decide. She wasn't interested in making our dining experience enjoyable and tried to push us to order unwanted dishes.

When our food arrived, the owner placed the dishes in front of us and waited for us to take the first bite. She was standing too close to us, which made us feel uncomfortable. When we asked her to give us some space, she left without saying anything.

To our disappointment, the food was subpar. Every dish was saturated with synthetic colors, which not only made it unhealthy but also lacked authentic taste. We couldn't even recognize what kind of Indian food they were serving. When we expressed our concern about the excessive use of color, the owner brushed it off, saying that it was for appearance.

The restroom was smelly and unhygienic, with no hand soap available. We also noticed mold in the bathroom, which raised significant hygiene concerns.

When returning to the dining area, we noticed a chemical bottle that wasn't food-grade placed too close to the food items. This was a serious safety concern that raised questions about the restaurant's hygiene practices.

In conclusion, Indian Palace was a letdown and failed to meet our expectations for a pleasant dining experience. The deserted atmosphere, lack of engagement from the staff, subpar food quality, and hygiene practices make Indian Palace a restaurant that we cannot recommend to those seeking authentic Indian cuisine...