5th Element Taste of India — Restaurant in Jacksonville

Dear 5th Element ,

I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to express my deep disappointment and hurt regarding my recent experience with the food I received. As a vegetarian, and particularly during the holy period of Navaratri, I had trusted that my meal would align with my dietary choices and spiritual observances. Unfortunately, I found a small piece of chicken in the dish that was meant to be made with onions and chilies, which completely caught me off guard.

Not only was this a violation of my personal and religious beliefs, but it also left me emotionally hurt, as I never expected this to happen, especially at this sacred time. Additionally, I noticed that the paneer dish I received previously, as well as today, had been treated with food coloring, which is also concerning to me regarding the quality and authenticity of the food. It feels like the essence of what I trusted – the integrity of the food and its preparation – has been compromised. The 5th element, which represents purity and respect, seems to be lost in the process.

I hope you understand the emotional toll this has had on me. I would sincerely appreciate it if the integrity of the meals could be maintained, especially for customers who follow specific dietary practices. I look forward to your understanding and hope for a more mindful approach moving forward.

Warm regards

Dear 5th Element,

Thank you for taking the time to respond and for acknowledging the incident involving the chicken being mistakenly served during my meal on April 2nd.

While I understand that mistakes can happen, I want to emphasize that this was not just a small service error—it was a deeply personal and religious violation for me, especially during Navaratri, a sacred time for spiritual observance. Accidental or not, the presence of meat in my vegetarian meal during such a time was extremely upsetting, and it left a lasting emotional impact.

Yes, your staff did apologize, and while I appreciated that gesture, such an incident should never have occurred in the first place—particularly in a restaurant that claims to uphold high standards and cater to diverse dietary needs. Declining a replacement or refund was my choice, made in the moment, but that does not erase the seriousness of the mistake.

Regarding the food coloring, thank you for the clarification. I believe transparency and customization are important, and I’ll certainly keep that in mind for the future.

I shared my review not out of malice, but out of concern for accountability and awareness. Reviews help both customers and businesses grow. My hope is that this feedback leads to more rigorous quality checks and a more mindful approach when preparing meals for those with specific dietary or religious...

Update! Food still good, but 2nd time in a row the heat level seemed mislabeled. Last time I have mutton biryani ordered with no spice and I was sweating hard. Flavor good but too hot. This time I tried the chicken dum.biryani which has no spice icons on the menu. Portions are generous and flavor was good. BUT, despite the no spice level, I was sweating profusely again. I did notice chunks of unmixed spice clumped in the rice, which led me to believe that was the source of the spice. Chicken was plentiful and fork tender. I wish could eat more at the restaurant, but did take it home. I've enjoyed biryani and two other Indian restaurants and at an afghan restaurant in Jacksonville but never with the level of heat here. Puzzling. Also, my wife had her dish delivered to the table and finished before I started eating mine. I understand prob may have been more involved to make, but it was a noticeable time disparity in delivery time to the table between the dishes. Totally took advantage of enjoying the mango soft serve which is one of my fav things here and the cheese naan is delicious. The mango soft serve def cooled me off from dinner. I would go back, I'll have to find a rice dish that won't make me sweat profusely.

My first time tonight. I love Biryani so I ordered mild mutton version. On the menu it has zero pepper symbols. When it came out, portions were very generous and appetizing. It was served fresh and hot and it had flavor among the basmati, colored in spice. Unfortunately for me, my whole body started sweating as I found it surprisingly spicier than I expected, even though biryani is my go to at other places. No worries, the staff was able to swap it out with lamb korma which was delicious and didn't get me sweating as much. I was informed that even though I ordered mild mutton biryani, the meat mixture was made according to recipe and the chef didn't add additional heat, so it may have been spicy to my tongue by default. The cheese naan was fresh and one of the best parts was mango soft serve ice cream! I've never seen it in soft serve form but it is superior to scooped and I don't think I could have it any other way. I would definitely go back and try more new dishes and top it off with...

I haven’t been here yet but I recently moved into the area. I couldn’t figure out like what is that place. BABBYYYY, when I smelled that curry I couldn’t hardly control myself. I found out they have a buffet , PERFECT. I plan to take my baby boy for lunch tomorrow so he can try different things. He has autism and he is soooo picky but he loves to eat. He doesn’t like fast food but he will eat at a restaurant. I’m sure he is gonna have a blast at this place. I can’t wait. We are gonna walk bc it’s literally right across the street from us. I’m not eating breakfast either. Imma save my hungry for this. I want chicken tandoori 😋😋

UPDATE: I was floored when I came across my own review from 5yrs ago! I sound like a tourist! BABY Them folks KNOW me at that place. IM MONICA! I just literally came home from this place. I think I ate it Monday as well. Ive had everything and there is nothing that I dont like.. I think im burnt out on the biryani as I do not enjoy that anymore as much but everything else YES. I think the cloves are overwhelming me with that dish these days..

A few of my favs just for fun: GOAT(bone in) ,Fish Pakora with extra chutney, garlic chicken, mango chicken, chicken fry, chicken tiki masala, goat masala , peanut fry is a good snack, CHICKEN 65, CHICKEN MAJESTIC (OMG its top tier), chili chicken with garlic naan ( I dip my naan in the sauce, its so good) APOLLO FISH with steamed rice ( ITS A CHEF'S SPECIAL) the tamarind chutney is absolutely delicious but they have a green one as well I believe its mint, its REALLY good but its something about the tamarind, its good.. Their raita is good too! I dont see poori on their menu anymore I always forget to ask bc I pick up alot. the poori is light and it has a fun texture and its simple and delicious. I enjoy poori better than the naan but I LOVE the cheese naan. what else lol their wine is good and the ice is another story. The mango lassi, salty is a treat as well. guys just try it if...