Thalaivas Indian N Chinese kitchen — Restaurant in Middleton

I had a craving for Chicken Tikka Masala and garlic naan, so I chose to order from Thalaivas because of all their good reviews. I live about an hour from any Indian restaurants so I was super excited about this. There were many issues this day. I ordered online, mistake #1. I don't believe their online ordering system is set up, however I was able to order online from their menu and pay for the order. I was also given an email receipt with the estimated ready time (20-25 minutes). When I arrived at the restuarant 25 minutes later, it was very busy and when I say busy, there were many people waiting for tables and the place was packed full. I waited at the host desk for about 10 minutes before someone asked me what I needed. I told him I placed an online order. He asked for my receipt and what did I order. When I told him my order he wrote it down on an order slip and said it would be about 15 minutes. This was the indication the online order system is not set up, however the payment still went through which I don't understand how that works then. A man also came in about 10 minutes after me with the same situation because I overheard them also tell him it would be 15 minutes after writing down his order. 45 minutes later, after everything in the restuarant started to quiet down someone from the kitchen came out with a to go order. Unfortunately it wasn't mine, but the guy who came in 10 minutes after me. 5-10 minutes after that my order came out. I was offered a free can of soda for my wait. No apology for the wait. No one acknowledged me or the other guy waiting for our to go orders the entire time we waited. For the food. The flavor was amazing. The tikka masala sauce was delicious and everything I waited for. The garlic naan was also delicious. However, I did order Chicken tikka masala and there was only 2 pieces of chicken in the whole container. There were lots of peppers, which were also delicious but I was looking forward to the chicken part. There were also quite a few large chunks of "char", which I'm used to in Indian food, but this was a lot and they were big chunks. Unless they get the online ordering system fixed, I would suggest not ordering online or calling first to see how busy they are. If you are prepared to wait a very long time for your food, then there will be no problems. A lack of communication, correct information, and the lack of care in the food prep among other things was severely...

I had the pleasure of dining at Thalaivas Indian N Chinese Kitchen last night with friends, and let me tell you—it was an unforgettable experience! Every dish we tried was absolutely fresh and bursting with unique, vibrant flavors. You’ll want to savor every bite slowly to truly appreciate the magic happening on your plate.

One standout feature of this restaurant is the freshness of the food. Nothing is precooked, and all the ingredients are homemade and top-notch. The wait time was about 30 minutes to be seated, as the place was jam-packed, and another 30 minutes for the food to arrive—but trust me, the wait was so worth it. The dishes are cooked fresh to order, and you can taste the difference.

My absolute favorites were the Hyderabad biryani and the chicken noodles—I absolutely loved them! The noodles were perfectly cooked, with flavors that had me wanting more. You also need to try the paya fry soup with naan and the masala dosa—the dosa was crazy good! Another recommendation is their soup with plain naan; it’s absolutely comforting. Whether you’re craving Indian, Pakistani, or Chinese food, this place is the spot. Oh, and don’t miss the tea—it’s just like the chai we have in Pakistan.

The service was excellent—the servers were friendly and attentive, and the owner himself was incredibly warm, honest, and genuinely cared about his customers’ experiences.

If I could give this place 1000 stars, I would! The restaurant is hands-down the best! You need to give it a try—it’s a must!! Whether you prefer dining in, taking out, or getting food delivered, Thalaivas has you covered. I highly recommend this gem of a restaurant. It’s one of those rare places where every detail, from the food to the hospitality, is done right.

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I traveled three hours to have lunch at this restaurant, but unfortunately, I had the worst experience. I really love the food they serve here, and this was my third visit. Abdur was our server during all of our previous visits. He was always warm, friendly, and took the time to explain the dishes to us.

This time, we decided to come in for lunch but had a horrible experience with the server (waitress). We asked her if Abdur was working today, and she made a face — not sure if that upset her.

Throughout our meal, we had to call her multiple times. She was inattentive and did not pay attention to our table. We noticed she was busy on her phone, giggling, which we thought was extremely unprofessional. A cleaner even noticed we were trying to get her attention and informed her. Despite that, we waited another five minutes, and she still didn’t bother to come to our table. In the end, the cleaner had to assist us.

We truly love the food at Thalaivas and made the long drive just to enjoy a good meal. What we experienced that day was unexpected and deeply disappointing. The service we received from the waitress was unprofessional and careless. In contrast, when Abdur was here, he always made sure to check on us every five minutes, ensuring we had everything we needed and enjoyed our meal. Abdur is the main reason we decided to return to this restaurant. He made us feel welcomed and cared for which is why we kept coming back.

This time, the waitress was completely disengaged, not doing her job, and treating customers poorly. This is not the kind of experience we expected after traveling such a long distance. We are truly...