Little India Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in Lakewood

Do NOT go if you have any food allergies!!!

I was craving Indian food so my partner and I decided to try this place.

When the server came over for our order, I asked if they have oat milk (and clarified 3 more times) before pointing to the Chai tea in the non-alcoholic drinks and requesting a chai with oat milk. She returned with our drinks, and as the tea wasn't that hot and I was thirsty I took a big drink. I was shocked to taste something extremely alcoholic.

I have autoimmune issues and don't react well to alcohol, as well as take some meds that don't mix well with alcohol. Perhaps more importantly, I am pregnant.

It took nearly 10 minutes to catch anyone's attention, but finally the manager came over and we were able to ask what the drink was. Apparently it is a primarily rum based drink with some chai added. He asked if I'd been carded (I hadn't, and I look to be in my 20s) and apologized, especially when I explained that I'm pregnant. He brought me a regular chai and I asked if it was non-dairy and made with oat milk. He said they don't have any non dairy milk and only use regular, which means I not only was given alcohol without my knowledge or consent, I had also just had a significant allergen exposure that I specifically made the server aware of.

We then asked him to check on the dish I had order to be sure it was both gluten and dairy free, as I have severe allergies to both. He did, and assured me it would be okay to eat. As I was tired and very hungry we stayed and I took some steroids to try to combat the dairy exposure. Regardless, I was shaking by the end on the meal and my tongue was slightly swollen (but thankfully I didn't need to use my epipen as that can risk my baby's life and wellbeing).

We then weren't checked on at all during our meal and had to ask another server for more rice.

When we checked out we had to specifically ask for a discount and were only given 15%. I'll be sick for several days and have had to miss work due to this extremely careless error, not to mention it puts my baby at risk. That was nowhere near acceptable. I'm in pain and my joints are swollen and I still can't swallow quite right.

I'm completely appalled. I've worked in hospitality and food service for many years and am not one to make a fuss, but I also cannot dream of ever treating a guest so poorly, especially after a potentially...

The food was delicious, but after checking the online menu at home, with pictures of the dishes, I'm not sure I got what I ordered. I ordered vegetable masala and expected the sauce to be red and creamy, but it looked and tasted more like a curry. Looking at the pictures for ordering online, it looks exactly like the vegetable curry, not the red masala (the curry is also $1 less than the masala). I didn't think anything of it at the restaurant because it was my first time there, and Indian dishes at different restaurants don't always look and taste similar. Posting a picture for proof.

The staff were attentive and nice. The restaurant and bathroom were clean. If I'm ever in the Belmar area again, I'd come here again.

For the price point, it was disappointing that the meals come with basmati rice, instead of saffron rice like at my more local Indian restaurant, which isn't as expensive as this one. I know saffron is the most expensive spice in the world, so it costs a lot to serve it, but for $15-20 per entree, I kind of expected saffron rice. Not a complaint, just an observation.

My group's only complaint is that each time we stated our entree, we were asked "What bread do you want with it?" And the server pointed at the naan at the bottom of the menu. So having never been here before, we all assumed that we missed where it said that our entree came with naan on the side, and they were just showing us our choices. We were wrong. None of us would have ordered naan had we not been asked what kind we wanted with our meal. So, it was a little surprising seeing naan on the check at the end of the meal. We did tell our server that it was confusing how they asked about it, because it wasn't clear it was extra, and that none of us would have ordered it had we known. We were polite and all still paid for it because we could have clarified with the server instead of assuming; it just was unexpected. Now we know for next time if they ask us "what bread do you want?" we will not order any.

So overall, it's good I've tried many Indian dishes and have liked them, otherwise I'd be more mad about the masala/curry switch up. I'm unhappy that because of the switch up and the naan mistake that I spent $5 more than I would have otherwise. But the food was good, so...

I wish I didn't have to leave such a negative review. We eat at Little India all the time, although this was our first time at this location. We came here for my son's birthday lunch, after watching a movie. The staff was pleasant, not necessarily friendly, but we were seated quickly, as it was not busy. We ordered the buffet and we were right away disappointed in the selection of dishes. Most of the ones we are used to seeing at the other locations were not there but we got a little of the other dishes and hoped for the best! The food was very bland and all tasted the same today, unfortunately. (except the naan, which was hot and fresh!) My 10 yr old son and I didn't even eat more than 10 bites each and both agreed it was not up to par and we would rather eat something else. The server commented that we hadn't eaten anything and I said, "The food really wasn't good today, so we would just like our check, please. We are going to eat somewhere else." He brought the check and said he charged my son as a child since he barely ate anything (not sure why you would charge a 10 yr old as anything else, but ok). I handed him my card and we were charged $23. Pretty expensive for 10 bites each, after we explained the food just wasn't good today. We paid the bill and did let the manager know on the way out that we were disappointed and he said sorry about that but didn't offer to do anything for us. I'm not one to make scene or anything and we did eat some so we paid the bill but I would have appreciated some show of concern or offered discount. My son's birthday lunch was messed up and we had to go eat somewhere else. We love Little India but this location did not make a good impression on us,...