Ruchi Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Mount Laurel Township

So happy that there is another Indian restaurant opened in south jersey!

We asked one of the owners for a few recommendations for vegetarians and he recommended the theatre samosa which is an egg roll (spring roll) wrapper with onion filling inside. This was actually good. The filling was tasty. The owner did warn us that it will be a little oily. I mean, it’s deep fried so I don’t expect it to be not oily. I would just ask for paper towels and blot it if you are worried.

We were a little sceptical how a restaurant that specialises in South Indian food will do North Indian but we were pleasantly surprised when the dal makhani and naan was excellent and naan was eggless!!!!! We did enquire about the spice level as dal makhani is usually mild. However the owner said try the medium it’s a good amount of spice and if it’s not spicy enough next time you know. Medium was good. We would probably have liked it a little more spicy but the most important thing is that the flavours were all balanced.

As a new restaurant I’m sure there will be growing pains. Few things I would like to point out is that

-clearing the table once the appetiser is done and you bring the main meal.

-I understand the menu is still a working menu so once they have an established menu maybe adding a QR scanner to the tables and paying for a graphics designer/photographer to create a cool website for them with pictures and descriptions of what the menu item is. This not only help the Indians but also the non Indians who come to eat here.

Being South Indian myself from Karnataka (vegetarian) I did not know there were so many different types of biryani in Andhra! Although I am not a biryani fan at all we do like the kofta biryani in east Windsor (which is usually a hit or miss) asked the owner if they would add that and they said someone else also asked for this. So might make it as it’s not very difficult.

The decor is nice. They have used nice brass pieces and lighting etc. the table and chairs are okay but to be honest I don’t care how the table and chairs are as long as they are clean and the food is good.

I also liked the fact that the dal makhani did not have any food colouring. And I hope this is the case for all their food.

Rose milk was excellent.

Price wise. I don’t think any restaurant is cheap anymore. I mean inflation affects everyone so naturally the prices will reflect this.

As long as the quality of the food is maintained I don’t see it being a problem.

Good luck to the team and asking your customers for feedback will really take you a long way in being successful.

As a customer whether you are Indian or non Indian ask questions. If you don’t know what something is ask them what is it. I’m sure they would be very happy to...

The dosa was awesome (onion masala), perfectly crispy with a generous amont of potato and onion. Their chutneys and sambar were very good. Having dosa with chai on a rainy day was such a vibe, and I would really recommend it. I also enjoyed their chicken biryani, which came with my non-veg lunch special of the day (house-choice thali).

I had a lot of sambar and chutney leftover from the dosa so I ordered a few pieces idli and vada to finish it with / use it up. They gave me idli and vada- with even MORE chutney and sambar, so my problem was not really solved, haha... sometimes I found it difficult to communicate with the waitress. However, she is very kind and the food has a quick-turnaround after ordering, which is nice. The idli are perfect, the vada is fine.

The thali combo is great for the price. It's a lot of food, and an awesome way to try many things at once! However, aside from the biryani and mithai, I was not impressed with the chili chicken, chettinand chicken, and Ruchi special curry chicken. They all seemed lacking, which disappointed me a bit. My partner got shrimp Ruchi special korma; he said it was slightly above average, while I liked it more than my chicken dishes. Perhaps the way they cook their chicken is just not to my personal taste.

The ambiance is very casual.

I will probably return for more South Indian tiffin items and to try their other fish/shrimp dishes, and I'm glad to have Ruchi nearby for that reason! Better than driving into Philly. As a suggestion, it would be nice if they offered a seafood thali for those who are pescatarian, because it's difficult to try all their different seafood curries without buying them in large portion...

Update: 11/13/2024 I am updating my previous review to 1 star. I would prefer to give this restaurant 0 stars but unfortunately that is not an option. I decided to place an order for pickup and told a family member to pick it up for me. I had called at 7pm to place the order. The woman told me it would be ready in 20-25 minutes. The person picking up the order was 25 minute delayed. They got there at 8pm and asked for the order and the restaurant hadn't even made the food. They hadn't even started it yet. When I called to speak to them about an update on my order, they kept saying they were busy but there was no one in the restaurant and there were no apologies. We still had to wait another 25 minutes for the food. And they messed up the order. The food was alright but customer service is 0. I would not recommend this restaurant. There are better Indian restaurants in the area than Ruchi. 0/100.

I had heard about this restaurant thru social media. We ordered veg pakoras, which were delicious. They were hot and crispy, not spicy at all. I could have used a little spice. Also ordered masala dosa and sarson ka saag with butter naan. Dosa was amazing. Filling itself was very mild. It could have used more spice but delicious nonetheless. Sambar was very flavorful. Saag was disappointing. Saag was Jain friendly, which means no onions and no garlic. It needed a lot of flavor. I would def go back and try...