India's BBQ Nation — Restaurant in Naperville

I went here with a few friends on a Sunday afternoon and describing my experience via bullet points below:

Ambience is pretty good. The restaurant was well lit and aired, no odd smells lingering. We settle at our table, placed the order for the buffet which includes the pre-cooked, skewered meat / paneer / vegetables, etc; the real fun started The staff brought out the "grill" and inserted it into our table center; then, we waited...waited...waited The first round of "grillable" items arrived 30 minutes AFTER we settle down, by which time we had already tried our hand at the uninspiring buffet Their counters are oddly set up and lack space which makes it a challenge to actually take food into the plate Aside from the grill food, their buffet line consists of foods which are not as described (If it's palak paneer, where is the paneer? If I'm helping myself to butter chicken, where is the chicken in the whole equation?) I'm still waiting for the "grillable" items We grab ourselves some items from the main buffet counter hoping to get started on the subzi and roti, lo and behold, there is no naan. Now we're waiting for the naan as well At this point, we're carrying on uncomfortable conversation while anxiously looking towards to kitchen, hoping to see one of their staff members finally come out with freshly cooked roti (which we'd have to eat with cold subzi) Our waiter FINALLY arrives at our table with a few skewers of chicken and paneer; now our grill is stone cold after 45 minutes of nothing. While all of this is happening, I looked at a waiter who was walking with a few skewers in his hand towards a table he was serving. He coughs right on the food (*facepalm) We then tell our waiter that the grill has gone cold to which he enthusiastically replied "I'll get you a hot one right away!" .... He arrives with another one after 25 minutes. At this stage, we're playing with the hot grill (because there is no food on it), we're toying with our food, talking about Mayweather vs. McGregor, and filling up on water

This experience costed us $21 and we STILL did not get the naan

Conclusion: Definitely a pass. Take the money to Cuisine of...

We were big fans of this place when it was under the name of Green Chili. When it abruptly closed a couple years ago we had to make a longer trip to Indian Harvest on the other side of Naperville. We had been seeing the new sign of "BBQ Nation" for about a year now, and it seemed like it was never going to open. I decided to call this past weekend and was pleasantly surprised to hear someone pick up and confirm that they were open for business! We also learned that it is owned by the same family who owned Green Chili which was great because we had gotten to know them pretty well since we were regular customers.

We had our first dinner this past weekend (they are still doing a "soft" opening) and we were very pleased with the selections and the amount of food you get for $16. The other great thing is that the buffet is offered during all business hours, not just lunch time like all the other restaurants. You can also choose from the menu if the buffet is not your thing.

Having been only the first time, things were a little confusing for us at first. Each table has its own personal, built-in grill where they bring skewers of veggies and/or meat to your table (all included in the $16 buffet price!). However, when we first approached the buffet we were told that it is typical to begin eating the skewers as an appetizer before going to the buffet. After eating what they brought to the table, we had very little room for anything else. They bring a very generous portion!!

The only minor complaints we have is that when you first walk in, it smells like a traditional BBQ restaurant, not a typical Indian restaurant with all of the fragrances that one would expect. Also, the grills on the table are a bit smoky and so we left smelling like we had been working the backyard grill. They have fans/ventilation units above each table, so not sure if they were fully functional yet. Perhaps this will be addressed as they continue to work out the details leading up to their grand opening. We will...

This restaurant is nothing like the BBQ nation back in India, of course that’s a franchise chain and these people have tried to replicate it but still, it’s nowhere close.

We were a party of 12 and were there on Saturday night for a friend’s birthday dinner. Considering the fact that we are12 people we were given two tables, joined obviously but there were a total of 2 grills on the table which I feel was less compared to the number of people. I would have had them give us 3 tables so we could sit a little spread out and enjoy quicker snacks. I do not understand them bringing out skewers with just two small pieces on each skewer.

It is evident that there are 12 people and you need more than that and you have the option to fit more pieces on each skewer. When I asked the person delivering the skewer that if he could add more he gave me a stupid answer that “there isn’t much space” which to me was like “dude are you high?”

I personally will not recommend this restaurant. The mean on the skewers did not taste fresh, was very chewy, lots of food color and lots of salt. We had to ask for items such as mushrooms/paneer/chicken and then the waiter brought it to the grill. You won’t be served all items till the time you ask for it. The buffet was very ill managed. I went to get some biryani and chicken curry just to see there was no rice left in the biryani, only some bits and pieces and the chicken curry had only the curry left. It is not my responsibility as a customer to let the staff know that the items have exhausted. The staff has to keep an eye on what is left and what needs to be replenished.

It costs you around $24 per head for the buffet and I think it’s totally not worth the money.

P.S. see the image attached with this review and explain to he how it is not possible to add more pieces to the skewers. If it’s not possible to add more skewers i will stop writing...