Maharani Indian Restaurant — Restaurant in Madison

Very mixed experience.

Came in and told the host I was there to order takeout. She directed me to the bar, which was empty. The entire restaurant was empty except for one or two diners at tables. I sat at the bar for several minutes before anyone spoke to me. I caught the eye of the server multiple times before she finally came over. I told her I wanted the Tandoori platter for two, to go, with extra sauce. She said, what dessert would you like? I said, what are your favorites? Finally her face lit up and she told me all about her favorite desserts. I said, those sound great, give me those. Did you hear me about the extra sauce? She said, of course.

While I was waiting, she brought me a Masala tea which was excellent!

When I paid, they charged me $2 more than my bill was supposed to be, so I assume they charged me for either the tea or the extra sauce. When I got my food, it appeared to have everything (it was in two bags stapled shut and I did not want to open every container before the car ride home).

Got home, and of course the extra sauce and desserts were missing. Drove back and spoke to the same server. She said, no problem, and fixed me several large containers of sauce, plus a Mango Lassi, which was delicious. I said, what about the desserts? She said, I'm sure they were in the bag. I said, maybe they fell out, but I didnt see them. I waited several minutes before she finally agreed to replace the desserts.

The food itself was pretty average. I ordered medium spice but did not detect any spice. The fried/grilled chicken dishes were tender but somewhat dry and definitely in need of the extra sauce. The lentil soup was pretty much just a broth, and bland. The chicken tikka masala was good.

I havent decided if we...

I am writing this review on behalf of myself and my two friends for the debacle that was our order (To the restaurant, we were the crazies behind the GrubHub order Saturday night for "J C")

The food here is STUPENDOUS. Beyond amazing, and we discovered that AFTER potentially giving the manager/owner/driver/chef a big ole heart attack.

I placed an order with 2 friends. Friend 1 unpacked the food after receipt. Said friend missed a box ("Are we missing something?") and 2 items that were ordered were similar in name but appeared different ("Did we get the wrong thing?"). Friend 2 ordered an appetizer looked different IRL than she imagined.

Do you see where this is going?

Friend 1 (who ordered) called the restaurant back. Said "I think we have the wrong order." They got some details (they were thorough and courteous), and said they would call back. We wait, looking at the food wondering how it could have happened....

They call back in 5 minutes (quick service!) Friends 1 & 2 felt uncomfortable dealing with it and asked me to take the call. I pick up.

As they started explaining I could feel my insides melting into a gooey glob in my stomach out of embarrassment. We had the EXACT RIGHT order - and the missing item was in a smaller, separate bag hidden behind the main one.

Truly, I should have looked through the order myself more closely. (But I don't want to be the jerk after my 2 friends have already looked, right?) I was MORTIFIED after realizing that we gave the manager/owner/driver/chef undue confusion and worry over our stupid, oblivious butts.

So not only is their food SUPER DOOPER tasty (with massive portion sizes!) they will also put up with crazy ladies on Saturday nights.

We are so sorry and thank you for the amazing meal...

Not coming back

Tried year and half ago to get take away. Service was poor but the lamb was excellent.

Tried again couple months later and the people answering the phone were so incredibly rude that we ended up ordering from somewhere else.

Hanging out downtown and decided to give them another chance. Service is among the worst we have ever experienced and it could have something to do with all the different waiters. One for ordering, one for water, one for the food, and one for the drinks. No wonder they had to come back to the table 10 minutes after we ordered to confirm it. My partner ordered white wine and we had to send the waiter away with the red he brought over, then we were charged for the wrong glass and given no apology. In fact the wine waiter argued with us about the order, and we had to show the permanently affixed menu on the table and that there was no white wine for the price we were charged! The waiters would drop the food and drinks and just walk away. No one came to ask how the food was or if we needed refills. We ended up cutting our trip short instead of staying around and ordering dessert or additional rounds of drinks. They lost an extra $30 from the bill and We flat out refused to tip, which We have never done before anywhere. We tried to get the waiters attention and were ignored. They offered nothing off the bill or a gift certificate for next time; they really don't care about their customers. On the way out, I could hear the waitress/hostess arguing with a customer on the phone and telling them that they picked up the wrong order to go. Given our experience, I highly doubt her version of events. There are too many good restaurants that deserve our business. This place is not...