Swad — Restaurant in Monona

4.5 stars!

Have really enjoyed eating at Swad over the years. Very nice restaurant owners -- if you dine in it's not uncommon for them to check in and inquire how the meal is and if you place an online order online they usually send some kind of extra dessert for folks to sample.

We have are now up to about a half dozen dishes we really like rotating between and I'll share those below:

Lamb shahi korma - protein Chicken tikka masala - protein Chicken shah jahani - limited veggies and protein Chicken Sag - another nice mix of spinach and protein Chicken kadai - a great mix of veggies and protein Navratan korma - veggies only

I provided a little bit of a description of each of the dishes above but I will just add a little bit more here: The chicken tikka masala and the lamb shahi korma are both really good options for having quite a bit of curry sauce to go along with your protein if you like getting naan to accompany your meal.

The navratan korma, chicken sag, and chicken shah jahani all can go well with naan but have a little less extra curry sauce compared to the lamb shahi korma and the tikka masala in particular. The chicken kadai has very little extra sauce. Pat, the meal is packed full of veggies and chicken alike. It's the most unique Indian dish that we have found as it has quite a few veggies to go along with some large hunks of tender chicken. The chicken kadai also has a little bit more spice kick than the other dishes on its own.

For naan we used to get the garlic naan all the time, and we still do sometimes, but we also like to get the stuffed on because it has a little bit more substance to it and doesn't dry out as much or get burned on the bottom as easily.

Oh, and I could not recommend the mango lassi more highly! I absolutely love the mango lassi from Swad.

Sorry, no pictures but I wouldn't really say that the pictures would do it justice. Anyway. You just got to try it.

There have been a couple times where the Naan was a little bit blackened on the bottom and some folks we have eaten with mentioned that they think the food is a little bit saltier here. For these reasons, I gave the food a 4 out of 5 stars. I wouldn't say it's the very best Indian food I've ever had but it's consistently very good and it's one of our favorite places...

I stopped in on a Saturday at 8-ish to grab takeout on the recommendation of a friend. I selected the deep-fried chicken Mo-Mo from the appetizers list, and Beef Vindaloo for my dinner, choosing the "hot" option (not the "extra hot"). It was ready in under 20 minutes, and I could tell by the weight that it the two would feed two people easily, so the cost was reasonable IMHO.

When I got home, I had a few of the Mo-Mo dumplings with the included sauce. They were fairly bland, but the spicy dipping sauce (of moderate heat) made them tasty overall. I was very pleased to see that they were only minimally greasy despite being fried.

I then turned to the Beef Vindaloo, which was a bit spicier than I was prepared for, but I pressed on as while hot it wasn't intolerable. It was quite tasty even with the heat, but I was extremely disappointed in the beef. First, there weren't many in the meal, which was disappointing given the price and that the remainder of the Vindaloo is potatoes, sauce, and rice, which are all relatively inexpensive ingredients. Worse, the first few chunks of beef were very tough and chewy, and the third was so gristly I gave up and spat it out whole. This despite the potato chunks being cooked exactly as you'd hope. It occurred to me that Swad's menu highlights their vegetarian options, and so perhaps the meat (and especially the beef) options might get a bit less attention than they need. I'd suggest they consider slow-cooking the beef beforehand, and once slow-cooked, removing all gristle as at that point it should be a trivial process as they'll be the only part not fully tenderized.

I ended up giving up on the disappointing Beef Vindaloo, and instead finished the Mo-Mo for my dinner. My thought is to slow-cook the beef chunks in the Vindaloo sauce (after removing the potato chunks so they don't end up over-cooked) to see if I can make them edible, then re-add the potatoes. Finger's crossed it'll take care of it.

Overall, it was a marginal experience, and not one I'm in any...

“An Experience That Left Me Empty Instead of Full”

On December 31st, my husband and I chose this Indian restaurant as the most convenient spot to grab lunch after his surgery—a day already tinged with exhaustion and vulnerability. Unfortunately, what could have been a comforting experience turned into a moment of exclusion and disappointment that I won’t soon forget.

The owner/manager engaged in a conversation with my husband in Hindi—a language I don’t speak but respect deeply. Rather than including me in the spirit of hospitality, however, I was made to feel invisible. The manager directed a comment at me, suggesting, “You should sit at a different table,” as though my presence at my own lunch was an afterthought. The exclusion was palpable and deeply hurtful.

Restaurants are more than just places to eat; they’re spaces where people gather, connect, and feel a sense of belonging. This establishment failed to provide even a basic level of courtesy, making me feel unwelcome and out of place.

To any business owner reading this: inclusivity and respect aren’t optional—they’re the foundation of hospitality. Guests come for more than food; they come to be seen, valued, and appreciated.

This review isn’t about the food—it may have been amazing. I couldn’t tell you, because the bitterness of the service overpowered any other flavor. Hospitality is about making every guest feel like they belong, no matter their background or language. This restaurant missed the mark in a way that felt personal and profound.

I sincerely hope they take this feedback to heart and reflect on how they treat their customers—because no one should leave a restaurant feeling smaller than when...