Royal Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Madison

This incident happened some time ago, but it makes me frustrated and I feel that possible diners should be aware of the experience I had as it was unpleasant. I had a curbside pickup order and the online instructions were to call the restaurant and the food would be brought out. When I arrived at the restaurant, I called and no one responded. I called twice and then decided to just pick up my food inside. On the pickup table, there were two bags and I asked this lady (probably a manager) if my food was there as the bags were not labeled. Both of the bags had no paper to indicate the contents inside and no name. The lady told me my order was "there and on the table" and I grabbed both bags. About twenty minutes after I left, the lady called me and was responding to my pickup call and I told her I already grabbed my food. Then she called me again to berate me for taking another customer's food. She said something along the lines of, "How could you take two bags of food knowing that you only ordered an entree?" I told her that I asked her if my food was there and she told me it was on the table. She never specified and only caught the mistake made on her part twenty minutes later. I did not like her attitude as she accused me of trying to take someone else's food. This was my first time eating here and I thought their portions were big as I ordered an entree, rice, and appetizers. Many other Indian restaurants have large portions and usually prepare the food in two bags for me---I thought this was the case. I returned to the restaurant and gave the extra bag to the customer upon her request. I told them I did not touch it as I had just gotten home when the call was received. The other customer seemed okay but I think this is also very unhygienic. For some odd reason, I ended up apologizing to the rude woman even though I was not at fault. If she had been paying attention for just a minute or even attached a paper slip to the bags, this whole encounter could have been avoided. I have worked in customer service and would never talk to a customer in the way that she had spoken to me. If you are looking for good Indian food where the staff are kind and attentive, this is not the place. I wish I could mark this as negative stars as the one-star rating feels too high, but Google will not allow me to do this. I anticipate that this review will not be taken with seriousness from the establishment as they have responded in that manner to other...

I strongly caution against renting out the party hall at Royal Indian Cuisine. My wife and I had an exceedingly unpleasant encounter with the establishment. Initially, we met with the manager to plan a birthday party for our one-year-old son. We reached an agreement in which there was no rental or event fee, and we would solely cater from Royal Indian Cuisine. The only cost would be based on the number of guests, with an additional charge for decorations, which we were considering. We planned for roughly 25-30 people, and the manager indicated a per-person fee of $22-$25, along with an estimated decoration fee of $100-$150. We were advised that we would have to provide drinks, but the manager would provide paper plates, tablecloths, and napkins. We accepted this agreement and selected the food items we wanted to serve.

After a few days, she contacted us to confirm our plans, and we notified her that we also wanted to celebrate our other son's birthday on the same day. She seemed bewildered and so we decided to have an in-person meeting. Upon meeting her, she sternly waved her finger at us and spoke disrespectfully and unprofessionally, accusing us of cheating her. She was unhappy with us wanting to celebrate our other son's birthday and stated that she would not benefit from it. We were bewildered since we had already agreed to a per-person fee, and there was no event fee. We did not perceive adding our son to the celebration as a big deal since it would not affect the number of guest . The only difference would be his name on the cake, which we were providing. She then said "you can only celebrate one birthday or else you can’t have the hall and you can just take the food to go" The manager's unprofessional conduct led us to distrust her, and we decided not to proceed with the event.

I strongly recommend avoiding Royal Indian Cuisine, as the manager's behavior indicates that she is an unethical businessperson who reneges on agreements and levies exorbitant fees. Please ensure that you have a contract in place, or else you may be subjected to...

I ordered takeout for the first time tonight and can't wait to go back. Hands down the best butter chicken I've had in Madison so far! Unlike most places where the sauce is plentiful and the chicken is sparse, Royal's was full of large pieces of tender chicken cooked to perfection. The sauce was darker in color than I'm used to seeing at other places, presumably b/c it's blended with more tomatoes and less cream, and I'm grateful b/c it was absolutely sublime. I would have liked it spicier (easy to ask for next time), but for those who don't it will be perfect.

The rice was fluffy and deliciously cumin-scented, a simple, traditional touch that too many places skip. I also had the garlic nann, which was soft, lightly buttered, and seasoned perfectly with fresh garlic. Another common side that many places simply don't give much attention to, but not Royal. Grateful for both!

My only (minor) complaint is related to the veg samosas. They were large and cooked perfectly, but could have been spiced more. Nevertheless, I'd probably still order them again.

All to-go containers were generously filled (enough for 2 servings, by the way) to their rims and each wrapped in extra foil or plastic wrap to ensure safe travel. My bag was so obviously packed with care, too. Again, little touches that are frequently overlooked yet so appreciated.

Truly some of the best Indian Madison has to offer. I can't wait to return and try more from Royal's menu, maybe dine in their beautiful dining room next time....