Curry King — Restaurant in Longview

I’ve been to Indian restaurants all around the world, including in Chennai, India and it would be unfair to compare their food to food I had in India, but I state that only to back up my ability to have an opinion on their food.

I gave them 4/5 stars and here are the reasons why… I’m ELATED to finally have an Indian restaurant here in Longview within a few years of moving here. It was about time someone moved their restaurant here and I’m still happy they’re here. Is it the best Indian food I’ve ever had? Definitely not.. that is reserved for a different northwest restaurants which out of respect for Curry King their names will not be mentioned here. Is it the worst I’ve had? Oh DEFINITELY NOT!!!

They have really good food here. The service has been pretty good a majority of the times I’ve been here and I always offer some benefit of the doubt room for bad days etc…

The atmosphere… so, part of me actually really likes the stark minimalism of this place! If you’re wanting to walk into a total environment Indian restaurant this isn’t going to be that place for you. You’re not going to be enveloped into a dimly lit space filled with Indian handcrafts and antiques, Indian classical music or Bollywood blasting in the background with shrines and delightful paintings of various Hindu pantheon…. It is very minimal which is ok with me, because I understand that sometimes in smaller towns not everyone will be comfortable with other religions And so to keep it neutral I think is playing it safe and in a way, showing a sign of respect for the religious zealots in the area… not just compromise, they’re actually very accommodating and they should be praised for that type of respect shown. ;)

One thing I’m not thrilled about here is the fact that when you google them, they have an image of a Thali dinner as the thumbnail icon for the Washington location website, yet they do not offer Thali dinners at this location, possibly at all…? I haven’t asked or researched the other locations so I can’t say more on that subject, but I’m really bummed they don’t offer Thali dinner here since it’s a great way to taste a variety of different dishes for a reasonable price, including soup, vegetarian dishes and some places offer a small dessert along with it as well. OM NOM NOMS!

Parking is a little tricky sometimes, but that is 150% out of their control, so they can’t be held liable for it. I don’t recall them having a kid-friendly section or American food options but I also Never look for them because I find It appalling when people go to such delightful restaurants offering amazing spices and some creep orders a hamburger or something. Anyways… they could expand their menu… sure. But give them time and I really think this place is worth checking out!!! If you dislike thigh meat, try the Chicken Tikka Masala because if remember correctly it’s always made with breast meat. Also try their Masala Chai, it’s AMAZING and very different than the Starbucks chai, and so...

We loooove Indian food, and because of Covid we had to learn how to cook it. But we are always looking for a new delicious restaurant to try out.. and have been waiting excitedly for the Curry King to open.

So it’s the Grand opening here at the Curry King, in Longview, and when you walk in, the first thing that hits you, is the amazing aromas fill the air… The place is new, so there’s no pictures or anything on the walls yet, but they are a nice calming blue.. We eagerly sit down excited for the meal, and we ordered… * over an hour ago… * There’s 4 in the group, we all ordered together, and we have received one dish Waaaay before anything else arrived… Sadly we were still waiting for all the other meals to arrive.. we have watched other families come in after us, and be served before us… Yes we understand that it’s a grand opening, but maybe being prepared for a “grand opening” would have been appropriate. I just watched another couple who were trying to pay to leave, left at the counter for 20 minutes, and no one helped them… and they left… Come one guys…. They’re very quick at the To-go orders, people come in and immediately are given they’re orders and leave.. So if you come here, order to go, and not in house.. or you get ignored.. This little restaurant was a extremely understaffed and do not have good time management… I’m sorely disappointed, and we’re probably not going to be coming back…

a little side note or fair warning *

Apparently, if you order your appetiser and it doesn’t come with the sauces it should… If you ask for them, the waiter gets upset, rolled his eyes , and then makes you wait for your food for over an hour and a half…. ???

Wow…. Fail…

Edit* So get this.. AFTER an hour and a half we finally start getting some food to the table and the order is wrong.. and at this point my husband is really irritated and beyond hungry, and the waiter began to argue over what was ordered, so my husband got up and asked us (his family) to get up so we could leave, and the waiter assumed he was talking to him and bowed up at my husband.

Congratulations Curry king!!! It’s your grand opening and your staff is the offering to beat up the customers….

Absolutely...

We have been trying for weeks to go to this restaurant, but they always close early and don’t post any signs or anything.

We were so excited that they finally figured their stuff out and we were able to eat here. Unfortunately, it’s the last time we will ever do so. This food is bland! Imagine drinking a glass of water that you accidentally spilled a little spice in. That’s what our food tasted like. I’m not joking.

We ordered two butter chickens, one chicken masala, and an order of papadums. They gave us two chicken masalas, one butter chicken, and some papadums. Though, I guess it doesn’t matter too much, because both entrees tasted exactly the same.

The masala was so red that they absolutely had to have used red food coloring in it, which seems quite unnecessary. There was a good amount of chicken in the dish, which was nice. And the papadums were seasoned nicely, but they tasted stale.

I don’t really have anything to say about the butter chicken except that it wasn’t as red as the masala, but it tasted the same as the masala, as previously stated.

I recognize that we’re not going to get totally authentic Indian cuisine in Longview, Wa, and that’s fine. However, the food has to have SOME flavor to it! My brother-in-law equated his meal to store-bought Indian food. I’ve had store-bought Indian food with better flavors.

I do have to say that all of the workers were very nice, which we appreciated.

This place wouldn’t be worth the price, even if the meals were $5 a plate. In this economy, no one needs to be spending $15-$20 a person on flavored, colored...