Anarkali Indian Restaurant — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Just got back from India less than a month and I was totally missing great flavorful herbal/spices Indian food. I tried street food, local mutton biryani at old Delhi , Taj Vanarasi Tholi, etc.

so, I was hunting for a good Indian restaurant. This popped up at 4.3 as a rating, so I picked it. I was warned before regarding the service. So, that’s not a surprise. I saw the picture of the decor, as it was as seen. love the arch Islamic Maghul design with beautiful fabric choice and decor despite the bench that I leaned back was off the wall. Please fix it. It’s the right first table as you walked into it.

But the food, oh my Lord, it was a complete disaster. I didn’t have bad food in India, not even at a simple eatery by the road side, or basement of a mall, and absolutely not at the five-star Taj Hotel Veranadi, they are all finger licking good, no, it’s finger licking great coz’ I ate with my fingers!!!. My sister asked me to rate after the lunch, I said I rated 15% of what I had in India if everything average out 100% in India. Grant it, India is huge, and I was traveling in Delhi, Utter Pradesh and Bihar, and your family are from Bangladesh. But, I had many Muslim Indian food/ curry from Malaysia too. And yes, they are mostly Tamils and some Bangladeshis.

We ordered four pieces appetizer, Papadum, mild vegetarian Dinner Feast (DF), mild Marsala chicken DF, mild lamp biryani, spicy Vindalo chicken DF. But, Vindalo turned out so mild. I thought the waiter wanted to correct the wrong so we ordered another regular Indian spicy Vindalo chicken when the waiter asked us how it tasted. But, I was charged for it. The second spicy Vindalo chicken was served very spicy which we were ok with but tasteless. You see, curry requires time to cook and blend with oil, but not water. There was floatering water on the dish. Each chicken dish has probably 5-7 small bite size chicken breast/ tofu. Mango lassi was runny. Iced tea was not the regular one but marsala, herbal, but not in a good way. Anyhow, I can’t get into what’s all wrong in details because I was literally stunned. On the way back, I said that was probably the worse Indian food I ever tasted in my life. No joke, Traders Joe and Costco Indian food is wayyyyyy better. My nephew even had red lip from Marsala chicken, likely the food coloring they use.

Generally, I praised that Indian cuisine is the most delicate cuisine in the world because of its herbs. But, not here. My boss bought me to this Pakistani restaurant, Shanawah, in Artesia years ago and I was like in a heaven. I made my mind to return there upcoming Saturday as Ramadan is done soon and Eid is on Wednesday. I need to get rid of this poor experience.

I sincerely hope that the family can look into the food quality. I don’t blame the Mexican cook. It’s probably the fact that it’s Ramadan and whoever overlook the restaurant can’t taste the food before it’s served. I wrote this with 100% sincerity in hope that you can turn the place around. As many people are world travelers, one can no longer fake it to make it.

It does explain why we were the first ones to be there at closed to 1:30 pm on Sunday noon despite during Ramadan period.

Ps. I did say to the staff/family that I wouldn’t want to leave a bad comments before, but I changed my mind. Because, I do think this is the only way you can get the attention.

Also, it’s 200 for 5 persons out the door.

If you ever want me to rewrite your review after you look into the matter and change, I will come back again to dine with your family and even pay for it because I believe that you had good intention but may have lost the touch after recent 40 years anniversary. Best of...

On New Year's Eve, my girlfriend and I chose to eat at Anarkali as Indian food has a special place in our heart and we had admired the building from the outside many times. 2022 was ending with heavy rain that was quickly pooling in the streets, walking into Anarkali felt as if someone was letting us into their home. It was warm and welcoming unlike the weather outside. With appreciated cups of chai tea and warm samosas, we felt so fortunate to be celebrating the new year in such a beautiful place. We were welcomed by many waiters and the owner himself. How lovely it was to talk and laugh with the owner as if we had been coming there for years. He was kind and generous and it was an honor for us to eat their food and have a seat in such a peaceful atmosphere.

Anarkali’s menu is plentiful with options. Since we wanted to try many dishes, we ordered the vegetable dinner for two. These deals are what we would recommend to anyone. Since for us, sharing food is something very special, choosing three different curries and dessert from a variety of options gave us a lot to try and share with each other. We were also very happy to have generous servings of naan and rice. For us, this was the perfect portion for two and we were even taking home leftovers (so we can enjoy this food all over again the next day).

At Anarkali, we ate palak paneer, matar paneer, tarka dal and rice pudding. Accompanying this was naan bread, pulao rice, raita, and of course complimentary papadum. The three curries gave us a great variety and while we loved all three, the tarka dal impressed us the most! It has a great texture from the lentils and has an abundance of that garlic, butter and lentil flavor. Our palak paneer also tasted rich in flavor. The blocks of paneer cheese and spinach leaves floating in its own sauce was not only eye-catching, but creamy and bold in taste. While we ordered each dish to be mild, I would love to try our matar paneer with more spice. The classic combination of butter and peas with tomatoes, onions, spices and cheese made for a very creamy dish which was my favorite paired with naan. However, this curry offered a more gentle taste and I would love to taste it again with more of a kick. This is something I think we will try next time! When we tasted each curry, it really tasted like it was made with care and personalization of the flavor, specific to Anarkali. I really love being able to taste the personal details of who is cooking, it all the more added to our personalized experience here.

Thank you Anarkali for offering a peaceful and nostalgic atmosphere to truly enjoy remarkable food here in Los Angeles. We will always remember ending 2022 and starting 2023 with an abundance of nourishing food and...

I'll just say these restaurants are unsustainable at this point at these prices its just not worth it to eat out anymore. Much of the food we consume and are overpaying for, we can make at home. The deal with Indian food spots is that not all are made equally from quality to quantity. If I pay for 1 person, $21 dollars for Chicken Vindaloo or Tika Masala or $24 for Tandoori chicken which I love. I'm insulted that they would then charge me an additional $4 for rice. That's like me going to an Italian Restaurant and them charging me separately for the spaghetti and the sauce. Its not a dam meal without the rice. And for $4 bucks I can buy a bag of rice. These places are not concerned with our bottom line so why we continue to waste our money and time on sub par over priced food is quite alarming. Because were heading down a road of no return. We need a boycott of all restaurants for 2 weeks. They need to know how important we are to their bottom line. We are not just people with pockets. We are not just consumers were friends and family. We help send your kids to college and pay for your homes. They should note that many people will pay more for better taste and more food. But if the food is excessively overpriced and is sub-par, the quality is mediocre and the service leaves little to be desired than its an exercise in futility to continue patronizing these restaurants. I was going to take my staff to eat here but decided to get Thai food instead. Fresher better priced and financially prudent. This will be what everyone will start doing eventually. Eating at home or at places where their money counts and they are appreciated. For example it would have cost $80-$100 bucks for 4 people to eat there and get full. We spent $67 not including the tip, at the Thai spot around the corner and had left overs. That Thai tea is like crack. The Indian restaurant's have to get it together they're pricing themselves out of the game. It's a known fact that for ever customer you lose they go to you competition or just never come back at all. For that reason Indian...