Jaipur Indian Restaurant - Dundee — Restaurant in Omaha

Jaipur, if you read this... Please know this review doesn't come from a place of malice, and I am not representing any other Indian spots in the area or any silliness like that. I'm just a simple man who loves good Indian food, and I would love to love your food.

When Jaipur announced they would be taking over Lux's former space, I was ecstatic. Good Indian food is hard to come by in this town, and having spent lots of time cooking and eating with Indian colleagues and having lived abroad, I've been cursed with the knowledge of what good Indian food should taste like. Unfortunately, this ain't it. (That said, if you've never had a real curry or jalfrezi, you won't know what you're missing and the place and service really are lovely.)

I placed an order of two garlic naans, veggie curry, chicken jalfrezi, sides of lentil puree and tomato puree soups, and veggies samosas, to go.

The good: The food was prepared on time and it was very hot upon returning home. The matar-aloo samosas were nice and made with the correct dough, and the yogurt chutney they came with was nice as well The rice was good, seasoned subtly with cloves. The restaurant atmosphere seemed excellent, I was very impressed with the ambience and the decorations.

The meh: The naan portions were small for the price, and they were seasoned with some sort of sweet and tangy something which was not to my taste. I've had a lot of naan, and I know things are done differently in different parts of India, but it was a bit strange to me.

The bad: Price to serving size ratio was abysmal, particularly with the naan. For near $20 per order we expected larger serving sizes OR excellent food. (Spoiler alert - we got neither.) The side soups were poorly executed. The lentil puree was over-seasoned with cardamom and under-seasoned with anything else. The tomato soup was over salted, but would have been nice otherwise. We didn't finish either of them, despite the small portions. The veggie curry included veggies, but the curry sauce was a big miss. It consisted of tomato base with vague curry seasoning and no real depth of flavor. It was obviously not given the time and care needed to craft a quality curry sauce. I hate to say this, but it reminded me more of a bland Mexican tomato salsa with cumin and a hint of masala. I'm sorry you guys but... C'mon. It might be hard to believe, but if the curry was off-target, the jalfrezi was off the entire map. The veggies were nearly raw, and the sauce resembled nothing even close to an Indian jalfrezi. The liquid in the bottom of the container was little more than REALLY salty water with a hint of tomato and spices. I kid you not. The chicken tasted of cloves and looked like it had been marinated in yogurt for a little while, and it was the least offensive component of this dish despite being fairly dry.

Frankly, calling these dishes Indian food is a stretch. The two stars give credit for the food being edible, but for a locally lauded Indian restaurant I expected the food to be... Well, authentic. And tasty.

All of that said, I will be trying again soon to see if things improve because I REALLY want this place to be good for entirely...

Have been on the hunt for a decent place for Indian food and this place came highly recommended. The food was pretty good - the best I’ve had in terms of Indian cuisine since moving to Omaha last year - and the ambience of the restaurant was lovely, but service left something to be desired. Our server was kind, but rather overbearing at times. I ordered the lamb vindaloo, which I was informed was very spicy - a 10/10, as the server described. I love SPICY food and firmly believe if it’s not making me sweat a little, then it’s not spicy enough. I assured her the spice level would likely be okay as is and, that if it wasn’t, that’s on me! Server continued to ask me about it every time she came to the table, at times making a face of disgust or disbelief when I reassured her I was enjoying my entree. It became very annoying very quick and felt a little rude at times. Beer selection was also a bit disappointing, considering the main location supposedly brews their own beer. Would love to try some other dishes, but don’t see myself dining in again. Will likely just get take out. Prices are a bit high, but I’m willing to pay a little more for decent...

Lovely location, great atmosphere and very friendly service. The food is good, but it is pricey. I had the Lamb Korma, which was good, but again, the price would seem to indicate something "above par" and while good, the dish was not great. For those looking for a fiery korma, this one was fairly mild. My wife had the tandoori chicken, and enjoyed it. The portions were adequate. We had the spinach dip with crispy naan for an appetizer and enjoyed that. Our entrees came with a Mulligatawny soup, which was enjoyable, could have been a bit spicier. The bottled house beer was pretty disappointing, no real flavor, and very reminiscent of any number of light beers. I'll try a cocktail next time. In general, this was an enjoyable meal, but again, for the prices on the menu, I think it's reasonable to expect something a little more in the way of preparation and flavor profile. We'll be back and try some...