Rajput Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Norfolk

I normally don't write restaurant reviews online, but I felt this was needed. To begin with, I've been going to Rajput a couple of years now, and this was where my love of Indian Cuisine first started! The food produced in these facilities is absolutely amazing, tasty, and a lucky gift to have in Norfolk. The only reason that I am rating "3 stars" instead of 5 is because of the terrible service I encountered upon my last visit to this establishment. I work in the restaurant business myself, and am accustomed to long lines, large orders, and the overall chaos that the food industry can often be. However, the Friday night that I went to Rajput, a little before 6:45, wasn't overly crowded and there were plenty of waitstaff that I could observe. I stood by in the front lobby without even being greeted or asked to wait a moment to be seated and wasn't seated for 5 minutes. Someone brought us water after another couple minutes of being seated. After waiting yet another 10 minutes to even get our food order taken, the member of the wait staff taking our order didn't introduce themself, smile, or even apologize or explain any of the wait. I ordered a chai tea that took over 20 minutes to be brought out. When I got it, it was luke-warm and had much more milk than actual chai tea (I've had it at Rajput before where it was a lot better). The worst part was that we waited over 55 minutes for our food. During this time, nobody came to the table to check on us, refill our water, or explain the wait time. When the food finally came, it was a few minutes to 8:00! That being said, the food was delicious and well worth the wait! Loved every bite of it. When I asked the wait staff why it took so long for all of the above mentioned items, they explained that it would take over 30 minutes to receive food when the restaurant was busy. No apology, no smile, nothing. I completely understand the food wait, they had two larger families dining in. If they had told me that before and been the slightest bit friendly and polite to me, my experience would have been much better. I love Rajput and still do, but this experience made me wary to go back. I would like to see customer service that compared to the amazingness of...

I've been coming to Rajput off and on for about 17 years. Let's get one thing straight: the food was always "alright"; at their peak, the food was neither great nor terrible. I've spent a lot of time living in the UK so I've had a lot of Indian food, and I know when it's good. We do not have many options in Norfolk, so I've always been thankful this even exists. However, after living out of the area for several years, this was my first visit in a while. I decided to do the lunch buffet (Sunday) as a takeout order.

The vegetarian selection was nothing to write home about, but there was enough variety I guess. (I thought it was strange they had ranch dressing as an option on their salad bar, but that's another story.) I was shocked when they charged me $23 at the register though! I only had one box of food that was not even full... what a ripoff lol. I'm not sure what their dine-in price for the buffet is at this point, but I suspect it's significantly less than that for all-you-can-eat... so I'd highly recommend you avoid the takeout buffet.

Anyway, I drove home and ate it. The quality has noticeably dropped since the last time I was here. I remember they used to have pretty decent naan, but the stuff they had today was flavorless and served cold. In fact, none of the food seemed particularly fresh or warm, which was... disappointing.

The daal and saag were OK, but the mixed vegetable curry was bland. It was watery with all the vegetables overcooked to the point it reminded me of canned Chunky soup or something (this is not a compliment). Rajput used to always have good spinach pakora and/or onion baaji, but today it was "potato pakora" which was literally just battered potato slices with no seasoning. It just felt like they didn't even try tbh; totally lazy and uninspired considering the premium price-tag.

All in all, I can't say I'm in a rush to return. In fact, the ratio of price-to-quantity/quality is so inflated that it's laughable. For $23, I could have actually had table service, a main course, and a drink elsewhere. I wish I did that instead. If you're new to the area, I'd suggest driving a bit further and visiting one of Nawab's locations. Their food is much better...

Pros: Marked their GF menu items(most Indian food is gf anyway but it was nice they bothered to mark it for those who are unfamiliar) More GF options than most restaurants Friendly staff Comfortable atmosphere Understand use of gf flours for frying, etc. You can order any sauce with any meat/veg/ or tofu of your choice Madras was very good Copperware Overall flavor was good

Cons: Really way overpriced The sauces all taste too similar They add way too much water so sauces are all very thin and leave you feeling unsatisfied According to menu, we should have received a side of rice with each entree, but they only gave us 2 sides of rice when we ordered 3 entrees They had no bartender on a Saturday night They require reservations even though this place was close to empty on a Saturday night They describe it as fine dining, it is not It is described as upscale, it is not They say it’s in Ghent, it is not, it’s in a strip mall close to Ghent, so don’t expect an environment of historic or charm Their Tandoori grill didn’t come out on sizzling platter, as we’re used to Presentation of all meals was poor, very little effort went into plating, aside from the copperware No complimentary papadum with chutney was served

Ultimately, we’ll likely not be back, as we left feeling let down. Indian food is one of our favorites, t we were excited to try this place bc of the buffet. We were informed dinner buffet is Saturday and Sunday, when we called the week before. We got there to find out this information was incorrect, buffet is only on Sunday. We were disappointed, but even more so when we realized the subpar quality of food we were being served for so much money. Our favorite Indian restaurant is located in an area that is typically much more expensive than Norfolk. However, we would have received that same meal for about $40 less, and it would have been with hearty and unique sauces, the correct portion of rice, and free papadum...