India At Times Square — Restaurant in New York

If I could give negative stars I would….this was the worst ever Indian food I had in any restaurant ever! We came from Maryland on a 2 day trip to NYC for a long weekend getaway. After checking out the reviews we decided to go for lunch at the restaurant, thankfully we have the ground rule of trying out and ordering only appetizers first and only if we like it then we order main course. So the order was veg platter, chicken monos and pani puri. Starting with platter plate, the 3 samosas were sure stale n refried and the potato filling just couldn’t get worse, no idea how can u mess up the aloo tiki which has basic ingredients with being tasteless to an extent that we couldnt take another bite from it…pakoras we’re barely eatable n again stale. Coming to the Momos…I have no idea how can steemed momos have a crispy outer side like a pappad! U could literally crack the momos top layer! Pani puri…let’s not get there. No idea who these people are giving 4-5 star ratings! While Maryland has limited Indian restaurants and some not so good but now I feel blessed to have them coz compared what we ate at this restaurant…the ones here are far better. Cleanliness was really bad as well, I believe they had either a party or maybe opening just 2-3 days back n u could see the dirt n decorations leftovers on floor. The highlight was open trash bin kept right where payment booth is……guys get a reality check n have ur kitchen revamped if u wanna continue cooking else soon it will all be gone!

PLEASE...

We paid $500+ for some basic Indian food SMH. Food was average just as you would expect at any other standard Indian restaurant, the service was fine as well. But the owner of the restaurant was there and kept coming to our table hyping the place and food up and putting on a show of hospitality and we were all shocked as to why he was being sooo sooo extra nice, even bowing down at our table and making extreme sort of gestures trying to come off as super genuine. But when the bill came we realized he was really just screwing over his customers nicely. Not only that but he was screwing his staff as well. We had came just a little bit before the restaurant was about to close so all the staff were trying their best to be time efficient and still provide good service too. When the bill came we paid by card and assumed the 18% service fee was the tip for the servers and kitchen staff. But when we overheard the kitchen staff talking in their language about how they had to stay late after closing time and they were not even getting paid to stay after closing we felt bad. He doesn’t even pay his employees properly nor treat them fairly. We gave an extra cash tip on top of the service fee and handed it directly to the servers, they were so thankful because apparently the 18% service fee goes straight to the owners pocket and not to any of the servers or actual staff. He takes advantage of his staff. Steer clear of this overpriced...

SCAM ALERT ‼️ This place levies an extra 18% “service charge” on the bill mandatorily!

The waiter was clueless when I asked him where the 18% on my bill came from. I explained to him that I’ll tip them over the bill separately. By law, it is optional, and the restaurant cannot mandatorily add it to the bill (without even consulting me on the percentage).

The manager/owner lady was RUDE AND RACIST! She said the restaurant levies this charge on all customers, and that they do not take tips. She eventually agreed to remove the extra 18% charge, and on charging my card, the receipt still asked for a tip. I told her that I’ll add the tip there and that the restaurant cannot mandatorily add it to my bill, she replied, “white people pay the service charge and tip as well”!

This needless racist comment made me furious! I told her I’m not going to tip anymore and she can collect all her double tips from white people.

It’s a tragedy that place calls itself “India at Times Square”. It tries to scam unaware visitors who may not be familiar with the culture of tipping or may not read their bill carefully. The owner makes racist remarks against people from her own community.

This place defames India and Indians. I hope the owners read this and feel ashamed of themselves. Please stop scamming people in the name of India.

As for the food: objectively, it’s perfectly average: neither good, nor bad. Service is a little slow but...