Punjabi Tadka Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Indianapolis

As someone who takes Indian food seriously—both culturally and culinarily—I have to say this was one of the most disappointing dining experiences I’ve had in the Indianapolis area. My opinion isn’t casually formed; I’ve eaten extensively at local favorites like 1947, Incredible India, and Chowrastra, not to mention the authentic home-cooked meals I’ve enjoyed thanks to my wife and mother-in-law. Compared to those experiences, this restaurant simply doesn’t hold up.

I ordered the Gobi Manchurian, Papri Chaat, and Paneer Tikka—three of my favorite vegetarian dishes—but each one fell flat. • The Gobi Manchurian tasted like it had been made earlier in the day, then reheated. The sauce was an underwhelming blend of tomato purée and chili paste, completely lacking in the depth, spice, and wok-charred flavor that makes this dish— It was like eating a cheap TV dinner version that was reheated and served. • The Papri Chaat was equally forgettable—something I could have easily made at home, and quite frankly, better. It lacked freshness, tang, and was just gross. • The Paneer Tikka was not grilled at all. Instead, it appeared to be lightly sautéed and dumped onto a bed of onions—so many that it felt more like a fajita plate at a chain Tex-Mex restaurant. There was zero smokiness, no depth of marinade, and barely any seasoning.

But as disappointing as the food was, the service was almost worse. On a Saturday evening , the restaurant had only two staff members for the entire floor. Despite it not being crowded, we had to repeatedly ask just to have our order taken. They forgot to bring basic items like plates, glasses, and silverware. My wife asked for ice—never arrived. We ordered food for our son, and they forgot to bring his meal entirely until we reminded them.

And to top it all off— An automatic 18% gratuity for parties of four or more—despite the subpar service and mediocre food. That level of entitlement is astonishing.

If you’ve dined at any of the other restaurants I mentioned earlier, you’ll know exactly what I mean when I say this place simply doesn’t compare. I rarely leave reviews, but this experience deserved to...

We went for the lunch buffet ($14.99) on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The interior is very nicely decorated, very bright and well lit, with comfortable tables and booths. There were several other people when we arrived, and everyone seemed to be doing the buffet. There was a nice variety of food, including sauces and desserts. The Indianapolis metro area has been seeing a continuous rise in the number of Indian restaurants, so each one that opens will need to find some way to stand out. Most of the items on the buffet were above average for local choices. We did not care so much for the saag (spinach) and some of the pieces of chicken in the Butter Chicken seemed "off" (rubbery, maybe fatty or processed?). The goat curry and chicken curry were both very good, and the butter chicken sauce was excellent. All of the staff we interacted with were very friendly. However the young girl who seated us, and then later brought the bill, was a little aggressive in getting the payment. There didn't appear to be any reason to be so rushed. Overall, we really enjoyed it and will certainly come back again. A note for the management... The ventilation system (probably the exhaust hoods in the kitchen) was creating negative air pressure in the dining room, so every time the doors opened a lot of outside air was sucked in. Today wasn't that cold, but as we get into winter that would have been a very unpleasant experience. We were not even seated that close to the door, but the breeze of cold air was unpleasant. It also would have been blowing across all of the food on the buffet. I would suggest they consider putting up a temporary exterior entry to provide a second doorway for the winter. Several other restaurants around town have done this very...

When a restaurant is new and trying to make their mark, you expect them to have good service and good food. This place lacks all the ingredients to make a successful business.

To begin with, there was no illuminated sign outside in the dark to find this place except a bunch of Diwali style lighting hanging off the front. Once inside, we were offered a seat but no one checked on us for 20 mins. When we finally placed an order with the rude lady with 0 personality, then arrived our fish pakoras which were old over fried (probably refried) and barely 6 small pieces that had mostly batter and no fish. With maybe 3 teaspoon of chutney! Then we ordered okra and also ordered saag goat. Saag goat had no flavor and barely 3-4 small pieces of goat which was extremely bland. Okra was extremely salty and had primarily all the inedible parts and onion. After saying something about the okra as I couldn’t even chew, they took it to the back and within 5 MINUTES brought it back the same exact thing leaving me to believe this was a pre made batch so they couldn’t make it again leaving them to serve the same thing. The naan, we ordered 2 garlic naans and one butter naan. The garlic naan was cut into tiny bite size pieces to hide how many naans were actually served. I can assure you that was one naan and not two.

I will NEVER be returning and I will make sure to let all my friends and family know not to go there. They are rude, untrustworthy, and clearly not good at making food. I would rather go to INCREDIBLE INDIA down the street and get my time and...