Bay Leaf Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Eagan

7.6.23 - update: Verdict - service and cleanliness must be improved! We stopped by for dosa night. This was our first time dining in - we typically get take out on Thursday. We were seated immediately tonight; however, we noticed the table wasn’t very clean - there was masala on the chairs and tables were very sticky. There were numerous large flies all over. We also were surprised to see that the glasses were already sitting on the tables upside down and there weee crumbs around it. Then, when the young lady stopped by with the menus, we asked for water. Unfortunately, we didn’t receive that water until 25 mins later. That too after asking for it twice! Beyond ridiculous! There was also a huge delay in getting our dosas - we almost left. Mine finally arrived about 20 mins later. And the other one arrives an extra 10 mins later. Let me just add that there were only 3 other groups in the restaurant. So it wasn’t that busy! Additionally, nobody bothered to ask us how the food was. And after our meal, we waited very long for the bill. Finally, we walked up to the counter to see what we owed. The same girl helped us and she seemed annoyed. I’ve never seen such poor service at any restaurant! The dosas were delicious, but we will no longer stop by after this atrocious experience. Makes me wonder what the condition/cleanliness of the kitchen is like; if the dining area is in such poor shape! Please speak with your staff! I would like to call out that the young man was helpful and did not have attitude like the girl. Updating to 2 stars from 5.

3.9.23: update. Ordered the hydrabadi fish curry today, and we were very pleased. The flavor was spot on. Thank you, Bay Leaf, for taking our feedback to heart and fixing food flavor issue. :) updating from 1 to 5 stars.

6.16.22: Update. Ordered shrimp pepper fry today, and was very disappointed. Food was so salty that it was inedible - it tasted like eating salt from the container. we pretty much threw $17 down the drain. Please talk to your chef, Bay Leaf. :(

Bay Leaf was our go-to restaurant, especially for shrimp briyani. However, as of late, the food has consistently been extremely poor quality. The briyani rice is beyond dry, has no flavor but cardamom. This was colored rice with boiled shrimp—there was no salt even! Not sure what happened to their food quality, but we will not be returning in the near future due to the consistent lack of quality. Bay leaf, if you are reading this, please speak to your Chef to get to the bottom of this...

(update) Owners did reply to this post which is nice! The food is very good! And worth the trip...I'll make that clear...I just hope they update/clean the interior to match the progress they have made in the food quality! (Original review) This location has switched names and I'm guessing owners/management/staff as well....a few times....this can be a good thing...and it can be a sign of bad things as well.... In this case it's a little of both..... In the past our visits here were ok. Food was not great...but it satisfied our Indian food cravings... The new menu and dishes are a definite step in the RIGHT direction! We have been here twice since the new "Bay Leaf" name change and both my meals were very good! They have switched to a more "Indian/Asian" fusion thing on some dishes...but the Indian dishes I have ordered have been good! There were a few items on the menu that were "crossed out" I guess they no longer serve? Just seems cheap to put an "X" by it to be told "that means we don't serve it any more". The things that could stand to be improved....the interior is terrible! The booth we sat in the last time we were there was beat up...the seat was covered with tape where it ripped...and there was a drywall repair on the wall next to us that looked like it was done by a 4 year old. Plus...the light fixtures were beat up/broken...with cheap bulbs that were of different colors over the bar...and were way too bright! The ceiling fan over our table was off....and it too was dirty/dusty! Not good! With some attention to detail on a few SIMPLE THINGS this place would be so much nicer! Staff seems friendly enough....and again...the food has taken a nice step forward.....but...come on....at least try to make it look like the owners/management are making an effort this time to stick around! This area needs a good Indian restaurant...and by the number of people that were there the last time we were...I think it's catching on....but please spend a little money on the decor and it will pay...

This review is based on Take out experience only and is weighted positively due to the delicious food.

Since moving to Eagan a few years ago we have gotten take out from Bay leaf many times.

The vegetarian food is consistently delicious and flavorful. I ordered a fish dish once and will probably stick to the veggie options not because it was bad but because the vegetarian options are better.

Malai Kofta and Tandoori paneer with Samosas and garlic naan are our favorites. We usually try to get one of those entrees and try something else as our second entree to mix it up. I do wish for a few more Malai Kofta balls in that dish since there’s so much sauce it would be nice to have a few more to go with all of that delicious sauce.

A few things about the online ordering through the Bay Leaf website: it would be great to have full menu descriptions like in the website menu in the ordering software to make it easier to know what is in each dish - I have some must avoid foods and some nice to avoid foods so that would make ordering more efficient. The last time we ordered the site gave us the next available scheduled time and when I arrived to pick it up at that time a gentleman informed me that the food was sitting there done for 20 minutes because they don’t get the scheduled pick up time for the order with the order- he highly recommended calling after ordering online to find out when it will be done. I highly recommend they figure that out and change the system as it’s really not ideal to require online ordering shoppers to call and set a pick up time too! If I schedule a pick up time I expect it will be available and fresh at the scheduled time. If a ASAP option can be added that would be great for folks who aren’t trying to schedule a specific time and then they should be able to message you the pick up time instead of requiring a second point of contact from...