Sura Indian Bistro — Restaurant in Philadelphia

The experience at Sura was pathetic to say the least, not even deserving a one star rating. I do not believe any of the ratings on here and they are probably fake to advertise the restaurant. Here is a true description of the "authentic" dining experience that I got:

We were seated at a table that was meant to be a 4 person table but was separated into two. Because of their terrible and awkward positioning, we were told to get up several times just so the servers could reach the table next to us and bring the food to our neighboring table. Finding this ridiculous, I asked to switch tables (which we should not have been seated at in the first place). It took them ages to get us a new table on the second floor. This was quite confusing since 50% of the tables on the second floor were empty even though they claimed that they were working at the full capacity. Later, we found out that the manager of Sura was one of the people who kept on moving us to reach the table next to us, and somehow did not realize that the positioning of the tables was on the verge of stupidity and not at all close to the authentic dining experience that they are supposed to provide, especially for such high prices.

It took them 1 hour to bring us the samosas that we ordered...and that is not enough, the samosas were FROZEN. After complaining, they apologized and brought new samosas, still somewhat cold in parts but after staying hungry for that long, I just dropped it and ate those.

We waited for even longer for them to bring the two main course dishes that we ordered, after I pretty much threatened them that we will be leaving if the food is not there in 5 minutes (somehow it appeared on the table after 2 minutes). These $20+ meals tasted like they were coming straight out of the can. The chicken pista korma somehow had 5 pieces of chicken thighs and looked more like a soup. Same with the paneer tikka masala. Also, the $6 naan is a singular piece of naan btw, a very ridiculous price once again. Everything seemed like a waste of my money.

All of this combined, the people running Sura are decently nice but are unaware of how to run a restaurant or what Indian cuisine is supposed to be like. The service is slow and the food is extremely overpriced for what you get. Totally ruined my night. And this was not solely my experience, all the tables around us were waiting for 1+hours to even get a cocktail at their table. I was fully transparent with the manager about this and told them everything that I wrote here. They tried to fix it, offered free dessert, but at this point it was almost 10 pm and I just wanted to get out of there as quickly possible.

Just do yourself a favor and do not waste money...

Came here last night for an anniversary dinner, and definitely won't be back at all.

Food: Quality ingredients and freshness was there, but lack of depth in flavor. Naan was smaller than my palm and half burnt to crisp. It was embarrassing to order 4 separate orders of naan. Menu items didn't pop out, nothing unique or different than other restaurants. It often felt like we had to settle for a dish rather than being amazed and intrigued to order something new.

Quantity: This one was actually pathetic. Felt like they were more focused on presentation than actually having some decent amount of food. I ordered three apps and they were all just way too small. You instantly feel embarrassed and start rationing food with your patrons at that point. It just feels weird. Almost ruins to whole vibe.

Price: If the food isn't special, and the quantity is small, what justifies a high price point? I don't mind dropping some bread for a nice occasion, but make it worth it. I felt like I was scammed, not gonna lie.

Service: The place only had two tables filled. So us and another table, and the service was fine. But no Indian chips for starters with drinks and almost waiting for 25 min for appetizers to come out just isn't it. Like the papad came out after our appetizers and it was "on the house". Everyone knows that's a pre-app/drinks type of thing. Not a post app between main course. I felt embarrassed for them. He was trying to save face and it was too late. I almost always order dessert, especially for an occasion, but I just left, it wasn't even worth giving it a shot after all that.

The Indian restaurant market is hard, I get it. But you need to provide something new and enjoyable to justify your price points and quantity. Nothing was met to expectations. Felt like these owners just haven't been out to any other quality Indian restaurant, and it honestly shows. First impression is your last...

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Sura with three friends for my birthday and I must say, the experience started off wonderfully. The ambiance was warm and inviting, with music that perfectly matched the restaurant's vibe, making it a lovely spot for lunch.

We were all thrilled with the food. For starters, we enjoyed Tandoori chicken, lamb sheekh kebab, and mutton shukka, each dish bursting with flavor. For the main course, we savored chicken biryani, mutton biryani, chicken tikka masala, and butter naan—every bite was delicious! To top it off, we ordered strawberry and mango mocktails, and the strawberry mocktail quickly became our favorite.

However, our experience took a turn when we tried to order additional drinks. We had to call the server three times before the manager came over. Unfortunately, he spoke to us in a rather rude manner, insisting that we should place all our orders at once and not disturb the staff repeatedly as he had to attend rest of the tables(there were only three of them apart from ours). This interaction really dampened our spirits and affected the overall mood of our lunch.

Later, when my friend tried to discuss our concerns with him, he made a disappointing comment about how Indian customers don’t tip, suggesting that this influenced the service we received. It was disheartening to hear such a generalization, as it felt unfair and unwelcoming.

While the food was fantastic and our server was polite and attentive, the manager's attitude left a negative impression on our visit. I truly hope the management can address this, as treating all customers with kindness and respect is essential for creating a positive dining experience.

Sura has so much potential to be a wonderful place to eat, and I believe that with a little attention to customer service, it...