Madhurs Royal South Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Farmington Hills

I recently visited this South Indian restaurant to celebrate my friend's birthday, drawn in by the promise of a buffet featuring 50 items. Unfortunately, the experience was incredibly disappointing.

The starters—Punugulu, Mix Veg Pakora, and Sabudana Cutlet—were excessively greasy, setting a poor tone for the meal. The Tandoori Kebab was passable but nothing memorable, while the Hariyali Kebab was undercooked and lacked flavor. The Goat Boti Liver Curry was possibly the worst I’ve ever had, completely undercooked and unpleasant to eat. Similarly, the Telangana Chicken Curry tasted nothing like it should, and the Bagara Rice failed to resemble its traditional Telangana style or even simple Jeera rice. The Lemon Rice was just yellow-tinted grains lacking any real flavor.

Desserts didn’t fare any better—Rava Kesari was an absolute letdown, with unroasted rava, no ghee, and barely any sweetness, making it taste like raw semolina. The live dosa station and chutneys, which should have been the highlight, lacked any authentic taste.

Among the 50 items, the Thalapakatti Goat Biryani and Mix Veg Korma were at least edible, though far from impressive. Ironically, the best item on the menu was the watermelon—thankfully untouched by the kitchen.

At $21.99 plus tax, this buffet is far from worth the price. The owner should focus less on making dosas—which clearly aren't his strength—and instead prioritize quality control and customer feedback to improve the authenticity of the food. Without a real South Indian chef who understands traditional flavors, I won’t be returning.

If you're unfamiliar with South Indian cuisine and just want to try a variety of dishes without regard for taste, this place might suffice!

Update based on Management response:

Thank you for responding to my review, though I’m disappointed by the accusation that my feedback was influenced by outside motives. As a South Indian, I was excited to try the variety of dishes on your buffet, expecting authentic flavors. However, the taste fell far short of expectations, leaving me thoroughly disappointed.

I honestly gave feedback on each item I tried, highlighting specific issues rather than making a vague complaint. If you question whether I disliked everything, I suggest reading my review again. I clearly pointed out the items that were at least edible.

Instead of addressing customer concerns, your response dismisses genuine feedback and discredits an honest review. Expertise should reflect in the quality and taste of the food served, and unfortunately, that was lacking. A responsible business listens to criticism and strives to improve, not deflects blame onto the customer.

I hope you take this as an opportunity to reassess and do better rather than assume negative reviews...

I tried this place recently after seeing it advertised as offering authentic South Indian cuisine with a spread of 50 items. Unfortunately, it was a major letdown. Despite the large variety, the food fell completely flat in terms of flavor and authenticity.

Many dishes were undercooked, and the appetizers were especially disappointing—either soggy, tasteless, or just poorly prepared. What was most frustrating is that the food bore little to no resemblance to actual South Indian cuisine. The spices, textures, and overall execution were far from what you’d expect.

Out of everything, the only item worth mentioning was the watermelon—it was fresh and refreshing, which says a lot about how bad the rest of the experience was.

Quantity without quality doesn’t work, and this place is a perfect example of that. Wouldn’t recommend it to anyone looking for real South Indian food.

Updated based on reply from management: Honestly, I don’t have anything against the restaurant to leave a coordinated negative review. That would be a waste of mine and everyone else’s time who is going to read a review. I am all in for good food and would love to visit again if I liked atleast a few of them. Being a South Indian, I was excited to try the new restaurant in the block and my criticism is based on the expectations I had probably because of all the good reviews which drove me to the restaurant and the food served on contrast to those reviews. Now, should I be questioning if they are paid reviews? I will give a benefit of doubt and consider that this is just one bad day where the food was not good. And comment on watermelon is purely out of frustration but not an effort to spoil the experience for others. I will probably give one more chance in a while and I will be more than happy if proven wrong. You will have a loyal customer, otherwise sorry I will humbly pass and go elsewhere. Note to management: Please don’t throw away negative comments assuming that it is some kind of an effort to defame a restaurant. It would be great if you consider them and adjust the quality of food so that you will not get a negative review. But thank you for taking time to...

Extremely Disappointed – Not Worth the Hype or Price

I visited this restaurant for their Sunday lunch buffet, and it completely ruined my impression of the place. Honestly, it was one of the worst buffet experiences I’ve ever had.

Let me break it down: • Vegetarian options were a joke — There wasn’t a single proper curry for vegetarians. How do you expect someone to eat naan or biryani without any gravy or salan? • Naans were like rocks — dry, hard, and tasteless. Even the papad was better in comparison. • Timing doesn’t help — I arrived at 1:30 PM and most items were already dried out and stale. • Gobi Manchurian was just soggy paste, and dosa was soft and poorly made. If you can’t make dosa properly, please don’t offer it. • I had called on Saturday to check the Sunday buffet menu, and they promised at least 1-2 veg curries, 1 dal, and 2 South Indian items (like idli or vada). What I saw instead? Upma. Who serves upma for lunch at a buffet?! • Mutton biryani was just rice mixed with mutton curry — this is not how biryani should be made. • No onions and no water at the table, even after multiple requests. No refills, no service. They wouldn’t even bring onions in a cup when asked-as there is nothing in buffet tray • Staff seemed disengaged only 2 guys and 1 lady running the whole floor, and most of the time they were just standing near the dosa counter. • Chocolate fountain was cold — they turned the heat off, and it was more water than chocolate. • Only good things I had were laddu, plain rice, and… honestly, I can’t even think of a third decent item.

$49 for two people for this kind of food and service is absolutely not worth it. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone.

Worst of all, I suspect most of the good reviews are fake. Over 85% are from accounts with less than 10 total reviews — and most of them are all posted in one go, with maybe one random review in the U.S. That’s suspicious and misleading.

This place had a lot of potential when it opened, but if this is how they treat customers, I don’t see any...