Sitar Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Knoxville

Overall comments: I’d like to start by saying I am a person of color from Memphis. The Indian cuisine in my hometown had my expectations HIGH for Sitar, not to mention the 2,000+ reviews praising this restaurant. I know what good Indian food taste like. This was not it. I introduced my boyfriend to Indian food with this restaurant and I wanted so badly to be able to come here and leave a 5 star review about our experience, but that was not the case. Food was bland, NO SPICE, and some of it was dry. It seems as if they intended to tone down Indian food to be more palatable for the locals/demographic of Knoxville.

The service: Service was awesome! I called right on the dot when they opened for the evening and they took my order. Very kind and welcoming when we picked up our food!! If we dined-in, I’m sure the waiter would be great :)

The food: Cost was about $60 for everything. We ordered a lot and our order was perfectly right and even partially labeled. I appreciate the organization and them getting the order correct!! However, the food was near-tasteless and lacked the spice/herb level that we were expecting. If you want further detail on what we ordered see below.

Chicken pakora: this tasted great!! Since it was takeout, they should have poked holes in the styrofoam to avoid the steam making it soggy. Nothing a quick broil in the oven couldn’t fix though.

meat samosas: this taste good but it was DRY DRY DRY. Even after dipping them in various sauces, nothing could save the dryness. It was like eating fried cotton.

garlic naan: this was good, a tad soggy and kinda too thick. And you only get ONE naan for that ~$4 - 5 price.

puri bread: honestly we googled this and wanted to try it. It looks like a crunchy biscuit on Google but we received a thinner, dry, chewy version of naan… wouldn’t have ordered that if we knew what it was

lamb Rogan Josh: this sauce with the lamb was good. However, i ordered the spiciest level and it was TASTELESS. No spice or heat at all. I KNOW they don’t cook like that at home.

Boti kebab: good, but lamb seemed over cooked. It was essentially presented as lamb with red sauce over a bed of onions and green bell pepper. Also not...

We visited this Indian restaurant during our stay in Knoxville, and our experience was a bit of a mixed bag.

On our first visit, we sampled some North-Indian delicacies, including the yellow dal and paneer dishes, and we were absolutely delighted. The flavors were authentic, and it felt like a slice of North India right here in Knoxville. It left us with high expectations for our second visit.

However, our enthusiasm waned on the second visit when we decided to try their biryani - both Veg and Non-Veg. Unfortunately, this was a disappointment. The biryani closely resembled Pulav and lacked the characteristic aroma, savor, and flavor of an authentic biryani. It was a stark contrast to the delicious North-Indian dishes we had the day before.

On top of the culinary aspect, the service left a lot to be desired. Despite the restaurant closing at 9:30 PM, we felt rushed even though it was only 8 PM and the restaurant was far from full. The wait staff seemed eager to wrap things up, which affected our overall dining experience negatively. The constant inquiries about whether we were finished, the premature presentation of the check, and the general lack of attention made for an uncomfortable atmosphere.

In summary, Sitar is a decent choice if you're looking for authentic North-Indian cuisine, but it may not meet the standards of biryani enthusiasts. However, the rushed service marred what could have been a more enjoyable experience for us. We left with a mixture of delightful flavors and service-related disappointments. This place is a bit of a hit and miss, but we appreciate the effort in bringing a taste of North India...

I ordered 3 things 1 an appetizer chicken Laban and shrimp it was over cooked specially the shrimp like rubber. 2 chicken sagge I ordered it spicy it wasn’t and no flavor I was surprised 3 lamb biryani was very good that’s why I picked 3 stars . The servers are standing around you have to raise your hand so they will come to your table not like in general they come and check how was the food ? Is everything tasting good ? Would you like anything els ? The owner trying to fix the wrong orders and take to the table that didn’t like the drinks they ordered I wish he trained them to have better service . I have one advice to the owner I know lots of restaurants that serves authentic food scares to use seasoning because worried about the American customers that might not come back but trust me my friend American people love to taste food that is going to make them say wow in every bite. I drove from sevierville to try your restaurant on the way I was licking my lips to taste Indian food which is very rich with different spices but I was disappointed with the food i ate dining in but the one order I took home has all the flavors I was expecting to taste o will be...