The Turmeric Kitchen — Restaurant in Fruit Cove

Alright compared to Indian food you would typically find in larger cities, this place is okay. It's not great, it's not bad; it's okay.

The restaurant is very clean, and the atmosphere and service is excellent. However, the food left a lot to be desired.

Complimentary rice: Let's start here since it's a staple in most Indian restaurants you would find. Unfortunately, the rice we were served was dry and contained crusted portions stuck together taking the shape of the container it was cooked in. Best described as what you would find at the bottom of a rice cooker....... Nothing to be upset about considering a normal person would eat the bottom portion out of their own rice cooker. But at a restaurant, as a customer, this is something you don't expect to see.

The main dishes: True to form, but lacking authentic flavor. If you didn't know any better, it would pass as an exceptional entree. However, the dishes we ordered were all consistently lacking an aspect of the flavor we knew too well, such as the distinctive notes of that leave that little pungent bite in the corner of the mouth. In whole, every entree we tried lacked something that would have made it excellent. Perhaps the kitchen is trying to cater for western expectations? Who knows. Portions were good, and every entree was hot, and the spice level could be adjusted on request. Overall the main entrees could be best compared to your microwave version TV dinner. Not bad, not good; but probably not worth it.

Sides: Naan is something we always order. Most kitchens can set the tone of the meal with good Naan. If everything else fails, there's Naan.....Unfortunately, we wouldn't recommend it here. Instead of an expression of love for food, it turned out to be a lifeless afterthought, brought to existence as a crusty, tasteless, almost leathery like texture. Lacking the common fluffy stretch you would find even from the smallest street kitchens.

Since there seems to be tons of great reviews of this place, don't immediately write this place off. The staff is excellent. The house is clean and while the food is lacking, it's not terrible. If you want something "safe" in terms of ethnic food, this place is probably for you. If you're looking to scratch that itch for Indian food, this place will probably do it, albeit disappointingly.

Unfortunately, while it's okay overall, it's probably the best we...

I’m sad to say that we did not enjoy our time here at the Tumeric Kitchen, which is a shame because we love Indian food and we’re so excited to have a great place so close to home. It saddens me even deeper to have to say that the food is phenomenal! I got take out there once, great service, easy to order, I met the manager at the bar- friendly atmosphere! I couldn’t wait to bring my family back to dine in! And we did, a few weeks later. We were greeted instantly, sat at the back of the restaurant. It wasn’t very busy but there were other customers already eating inside. We gave our order, though the waitress had a hard time speaking clearly and was reduced to grunting and signaling with her hands. Odd, but that wouldn’t deter us from eating! We ate, the food was once again marvelous! But we noticed that our drinks weren’t being refilled, no one came over to check to see if we were doing okay. In fact, we watched the manager and a waitress go from table to table, getting boxes, filling drinks, talking and chatting. We were completed appalled when they walked past our table without so much as a nod. It’s not like we were tucked away in another room to be forgotten- we were sitting in the corner booth by the bathrooms and the front windows. Again, both the manager and waitress went to the tables in front of us and to the side of us but completely ignored our looks and empty glasses. We found that odd too, but the food was still great. The waitress did not offer us to go boxes, drink refills, no conversation at all, which was a shame because we planned on ordering more food to go. We’re not sure if we did something wrong, if we enjoyed our food too much or what. I’m unsure if we’ll be back at this establishment which is a shame because food wise, it’s a great place for food- maybe not for...

I had very high hopes for this place. That being said I am usually generous with my ratings. However, I was let down with this restaurant. For appetizer I ordered the samosa which was decent it came with mint chutney, I was hoping for some tamarind chutney as well that normally accompanies this dish. Entrees ordered were the mixed grill, lamb vindeloo and garlic Naan. The mixed grill the presentation was very sloppy. It looked like a plate you would put together at home. The chicken was very bland and dry. The sheesh kabob was descent in taste but crumbled as soon as you touch it. The big disappointment was the lamb vindelo, which is a favorite dish of mine. What came out was what seem to be sweet and sour chicken with bell peppers minus the chicken and with lamb instead. It was horrible. Nothing like what the dish is supposed to be. I'm not sure if this restaurant is going for a fusion style or what, but please stop. The garlic naan was stale with no flavor. We got the check and there were 2 entrees added that we did not even order. The check said $60 for our order of samosas, garlic Naan, mixed grill and lamb vindeloo. We were told it would be corrected. I noticed the same check in error was still there so I went to the cashier and they said it's corrected and they charged $20 and then another $33. We just ran with it and left. When I got home I stayed to think how was the check only $7 difference when 2 extra etrrees were to be taken off. Overall thebstaff was friendly. We did have to ask for plates and silverware after the entrees arrived as well. I am not here trying to bash the establishment, I am just hoping managment hears these concerns and correct it. We have all been dying to have a great Indian restaurant in the area. I do wish...