Ahimsa — Restaurant in New York

The food at this restaurant gets 4 stars. The vegan curries are delicious, made with fresh ingredients, evenly seasoned, and not salty or greasy. The same for the samosas and pakoras. Now to the reasons I gave this restaurant 2 stars and will probably never return. When I arrived with my friends, the rest of our party was already seated, had finished their appetizers, and had ordered their entrees. The newly arrived group, including myself, ordered appetizers and entrees after viewing the menu. There was only one menu on the table. When we asked the server to make the dishes spicy, she insisted that "spicy" would be too much for us and that we should just eat the dishes as the chef prepared them. We acquiesced. When the appetizers came, the earlier group asked the server if he could away the empty plates from the previous appetizer order. He reacted as if this were a bizarre request and we had to implore him to get him to take the plates away. After the appetizers the entrees the second group ordered came and we again needed to ask the server to bus the appetizer plate. However, the worst part was that the server was completely unaware of the entree order of the first group! She asked who had taken the order and one of the people in the first group indicated it was the other server (there were only two working that night). He came to our table several minutes later. Over 45 minutes had passed since the first group had ordered their entrees. The server who had taken their order came to the table, went back into the kitchen, and then came back to the table and said it would just be a few more minutes. It was clear he had never put their order in. It's important to realize that besides our party of 5, there were maybe 2-3 other parties there that night. One of them was large and included a baby who was screaming all evening while her parents walked around the dining room trying to calm it as if in their own home. My friend who was among the first group still waiting for their entrees after almost an hour told the server to just cancel the order. He begged my friend to accept the food and that it would be on the house. My friend finally agreed. By the way while the food was very good, it was not spicy enough for our palette, which is why we'd ordered it "spicy" but it was still tasty. At the end of the meal the server who had forgotten the entree orders brought separate checks -- one for the first group and one for the second. When he handed the check for the first group to my friend he said, "see, I gave you a 10% discount!" My friend was furious and argued that the only reason he had accepted the food was that the server begged him to and insisted it would be on the house. By the way my friend had been so perturbed he hadn't touched the food. Finally the server capitulated, re-calculated the check, and said, "are you happy now?!" Frankly, if not for the food, I would've given this...

Looks like he is your son and that is why you did not read the review. This was the second and not third time we came. Only food was an issue and service was good This time food was better but service was HORRIBLE. Looks like what you are saying is that one should judge all restaurants with first exp and not trust what owner or whosoever rites back on review.

Thank you so much for taking your time for the reply. As I mentioned in my comments below, we will never visit your restaurant ever again.

On the flip side, we did find a real good restaurant the same day for dinner and their service I fabulous as well.

Keep ur arrogant kid in the restaurant. ------++++

2025 - We had better dining experience this time but it all ended when it came to payment. We got the most arrogant, know everything and customer should know everything server (photo attached, he actually posed for Google review and said that I don't care .. pretty cool ... Haan). When I took my card out to give for billing he told me that there is ext charge on credit card. All I said was that you should have told me in the beginning, we would have arranged something. This arrogant server kept on saying that it is in the menu card. You should have known. After his annoying statements when I asked him to shush ... This guy had the audacity to say " u first". I asked him not to come in front of me, there he was every two seconds. One lady server came to help with billing but again "know everything server" punched the bill for credit card without even asking how I am going to pay. Any who ... We paid and I could not believe on top of his lungs he kept on telling people back in kitchen "it is in the menu card" and none tried to calm him. There was no manager on the floor and I was with a 14 months old baby and sr. Citizen mother.

Will I come back to this restaurant, where no one even try to stop this behavior .... NO. Nada. Never.

2024 - Appears to be good with Indo Chinese food but horrible with north Indian food.

It was raining the day we died in. Had to change our seat twice as the rain water started to drip right on our table each time. Good that we were still waiting for the food, so, nothing...

This place has good quality Southern Indian and Northern Indian food in a nice cozy location in the East Village. The restaurant is pretty small inside, with room for a few parties to dine in. The decor is clean, modern, and welcoming. The staff is friendly and accommodating. The menu is extensive, with most of the classic dishes from both regions. The menu is friendly to vegans, with vegan options clearly marked. The same goes for gluten free.

The dosa are served hot, fresh, crispy, and in a traditional huge portion with tomato chutney, coconut chutney, and sambar. The gunpowder masala dosa has a nice added bit of flavor and spice from this red "gunpowder" seasoning they spread on the inside. The dosa here are above average, but perhaps a bit thicker than they should be.

The onion pakoras made for a nice crispy and flavorful appetizer and went well with the tamarind and mint chutneys.

The vegan palak tofu was very flavorful and smooth despite the omission of cream and ghee. Without the cream or ghee, it was not too heavy but rather light and fresh tasting. It was a nice rendition of a classic dish. I ordered it with chana mixed in as well, which added a good component to the dish.

Ahimsa Garden is a great place to get good quality Southern Indian and Northern Indian food in the East village. The dosas are the highlight of the menu. Their ability to accommodate several different dietary needs including vegan, gluten free, and kosher, makes it an ideal option for dining with difficult groups. The vegan options seem a bit healthier than standard Indian fare, owing to the lack of heavy cream and ghee. This place is definitely worth a try if you are...