The Indian Kitchen — Restaurant in Mentor

I love their food, this is why I give them a 3 BUT the waitress service is severely lacking. Our waitress never asked if we wanted anything to drink beside just water. Then when we ran out of water, I watched her walk past our table at least three times (sometimes even with a water pitcher in her hand) and did not fill ours. We even pushed our empty glasses to the end of the table. Then she finally filled one of our glasses, but left the other one empty. 3/4 of our food came, and we were told the last meal would be right out. She never stopped again at our table to ask how the food was nor even acknowledge we had a person at our table not eating. We saw her pace the dining room in circles, which made her look busy but her tables were clearly neglected. Finally we flag her down and she got the food admitting she “forgot” about it. No discount on our bill for the fact we were practically done eating our meals while our other dinner guest waited for “forgotten” food (which the waitress failed to notice because she completely neglected our table). We heard her tell another table she apologized their food was so late, but with the ringing phones and being busy (running circles around the dining room “looking” busy) she forgot to put their order in. She is a terrible multi tasker which is a required skill in her line of work.

I am ecstatic we finally have an Authentic Indian Resteraunt in Mentor, by far some of the best Indian food I have eaten. But they need to work on their service and ticket times. Bad waitresses, service staff and long food waits can be the death of a place because that alone can make people not come back, no matter how good the food is. I was also surprised they did not have any hot beverages on their menu. I was hoping for a good Chai tea which would complement their dishes.

So in concluding this review. Great food, bad service. I hope they rectify this so we do not lose this...

I made the mistake of coming here shortly after they opened so I will be following up once they've been in operation for a while to see if things have improved.

I love Indian food and used to have it several times a week when I lived in a city that had dozens of excellent Indian restaurants so I have a high level of expectation when it comes to this type of cuisine.

Our first order from here was takeout. At the time. the online ordering system wasn't up so I had to resort to a phone order.

For an appetizer, we had the vegetarian platter which was disappointing. It contained samosas, batata wada, & a few different varieties of pakodas. Almost everything on the plate was overcooked, almost to the point of being burned and they were dried out with a lingering, greasy flavor. There were also no condiments accompanying this dish. Generally, most restaurants will offer a chutney, a daal, raita, or pickle but, since there was nothing, I was grateful I had some chutney on hand and the makings of a raita.

The entrees were Baingan bartha and chana marsala. Although the person who took my order asked me how I wanted it spiced on a 1 to 5 scale, I ended up with bland food, despite requesting a level 5 for most of the order. On my receipt, which I noticed later, it indicated that I had received 'American - level 1' so I guess they decided that I didn't mean what I said. The portions were also on the small side considering the price.

Finally, I had ordered a side dish of mixed pickles which I did not receive but also was not charged for.

The order took a fairly long time to prepare and there was a mix up with another customer's take out which, luckily, got sorted before they left with my food.

I will give this place another shot to see if things have improved and, hopefully, i can edit my review to reflect...

Tasty food from a humble kitchen. Mentor seems like sort of a random place to find Northern Indian comfort food, but it's worth the trek. We were greeted on a fairly slow night by a brightly lit, clean dining room. The staff let us pick whatever table we wanted, so of course we chose a comfy booth seat by the window, next to the ice cream freezer. Furnishings are simple, and ambiance isn't particularly exciting, but the moment we opened the menu my mouth was watering.

My friend and I started with Chicken Momos, a lovely Nepalese dumpling perfectly spiced and accompanied by a tomato-ey dipping sauce. This was the first time he had seen Paneer Bhurji and Tandoori Chicken Melai Kebab on a menu around these parts, so of course we had to try these. Both were a little different than the ones he's had in Gujarat before, but still supremely satisfying. The chicken in the Melai Kebab is actually already removed from the kebab stick, saving you the work, and much saucier owing to extensive marination in a yogurt and cashew cream, which they then slathered over the meat with various herbs. It was unique, but I actually found the chicken in the Chicken Biryani even more tender. You can alter the spice level of your dishes, but the Biryani still packed the most heat. Their version of Paneer Bhurji is also much more wet, a gravy that is incredibly comforting to eat with rice or their delicious roti, rather than the scrambled egg consistency you might find elsewhere.

We did some considerable damage between the two of us, but still had a decent amount of food left over for another meal. Great value considering the quantity and quality of dishes. Come hungry, and you won't be...