Curry Nights Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Muncie

Curry Nights has been open a week so far when my Mother and I decided to dine inside for her birthday dinner. The last time we both dined in, the establishment was still Sitara.

Curry Nights is a new a restaurant that serves Indian cuisine like it's predecessor. They have overlap with similar menu items to Sitara, but they have different offerings as well.

When my mother and I arrived for her birthday dinner, we saw a crowd of folks outside. They were part of a larger party waiting for seating to be prepared for them. The group told us we should go in, but expect a wait. It was dinner rush, so that made sense.

The host managed to get us seated in a booth a lot sooner than I expected. My mother sat next to a lady waiting for her pick-up order for a few minutes before our booth was ready (she will be a reoccurring character later.)

We looked over the menu for a little while before a waitstaff brought water. Mom and I ordered masala chai. We had almost drank our entire carafe of water before the waitstaff brought the chai. The cup had a ring around where the chai had been settled in the cup for a while. The chai was also cold and the flavor was had a very bitter tannic taste like it had been steeped for a long time. It turned out, our cups came from the bottom of the pot since my cup was a quarter full of tea leaves and ground masala spice mix.

When we got to order our food, my mom wanted some vegetable spring rolls. This item was forgotten entirely since it wasn't put into our ticket at the end.

It seemed like our waitstaff didn't know the menu when we asked questions about what came along with our entrée choices. Once we made our order selection, we waited about 45 minutes for our food to be served. We weren't the only ones waiting from what I observed around the restaurant.

Lots of folks with just water on thier tables. We also witnessed an 8 to 10 person party all get up and leave since the staff only got them seated and never came back to take thier order. It seemed like they made similar observations, and judgment call.

When we received our meals, our server almost forgot the naan we ordered, and he forgot the side of basmaati rice with my meal. He told me he didn't know the menu because he was new. He did bring the rice a little bit later.

The food itself was quite nice. I enjoyed my kofta, the kashmiri naan was delightful and had the right amount of honey. My mother enjoyed how well seasoned the chicken in her biriyani was.

We had to wait for a while to get containers for our leftovers and get the check. The check was in a little booklet, which normally means waitstaff takes your payment and brings it back to you. We waited for a decent amount of time. I noticed the lady my mom was sitting next to before we were seated was still on the bench by the door finally just got her pick-up order. By then, we decided to take the bill up to the front since we were needing to get back home.

We paid in cash. One of the servers didn't have access to the register so, he got another coworker. The coworker opened up the register and noticed there wasn't enough to break change. So, he got the manager. We were at the front counter for 10-15 minutes waiting for our change.

The staff at Curry Nights seem to suffer from a lack of clear instruction on what everyone's duties are despite an earnest effort and good food. Maybe after some time to gain experience, I will try them again.

Edit: I removed my observation about Curry Nights having inherited Sitara's Google Business Page and the reviews and star rating coming from that. I took a moment to think that I don't have all the info to speak on that with accuracy. That didn't seem fair, so I...

I highly recommend Curry Nights Indian restaurant in Muncie for those looking for a unique and authentic dining experience. I've traveled in India and other countries many times and also running my own foreign cuisine catering services so I pretty much have an idea on what is an Authentic meal when I taste it. Indian food at the Curry Nights restaurant is excellent, I can tell by the plate presentation it's prepared clean. The aroma of each meal and the taste is superb. It's a representation of Indian culture with all the spices and truly beautiful unique dining experience. The portion they serve is excellent as well as the affordable price per meal. The interior design of the restaurant is beautiful! With bright contrast colors and paintings on the wall are very inviting and welcoming. The staff from customer services to management and wait staff are polite and professional. I've tried ALL the restaurants in town and having a new unique restaurant like Curry Nights Indian restaurant in town is a breath of fresh air. Something new, something different, something enjoyable to eat. Thank you to the owner of Curry Nights Indian Restaurant in Muncie for the fine dining experience. Thank you to...

The “new” Curry Nights (formerly Sitara) has been a great dining experience. I’ve been there 3x since it opened. The new restaurant bugs seem to be worked out and the new staff and kitchen are on their game. The buffet has delicious options for both meat eater and vegetarians alike, with all of the dishes flavorfully spiced with the heat kept mild. I recommend the greens and chickpeas (Chana Saag) the sweet almond gravy vegetables (Korma) or the hearty tomato sauce chicken (Butter Chicken). The menu has many of the familiar choices but I was happy to see several new items, with several “authentic” dishes that have more heat and spice for the adventurous. For those of us that sometimes want a lighter lunch I suggest a lovely bowl of the lemon lentil soup (mulagatawney) and an order of the naan flatbread. Service is friendly and attentive, and my food has been served promptly and with a warm friendly atmosphere. If you would like to try Indian food but are new to the choices, just explain what kind of meat and veg you like and the staff can help. I’m looking forward to more...