The Mauryas — Restaurant in Plainsboro Township

We hosted a private event with Mauryas in the form of a joint family dinner in the Empire Room for about 45 people, with a set per-head menu of apps, entrees, desserts, and open bar. I will start by saying that the food was amazing, and everyone loved it. However, our experience in doing a private event and working with restaurant management was extremely rough, and operations on the night of were poor to the point of not having enough food come out within the time allotted.

We worked with one gentleman on a contract and were promised the Linus Lounge (bigger private room). However, due to a transition in personnel, contracting took longer, and due to miscomms on their end, the Linus Lounge was no longer available and we were given the smaller Empire Room, which was disappointing given the room layout. We appreciated that we were honored with the same deal on pricing that we were promised.

The restaurant does not do buffet style because they like to keep the fine dining element and want certain plating. I can respect this, but flagged that for an event for 45 people, we would need several of each dish flowing out continuously for everyone to eat at the same time, given each plate only had 3-5 pieces of the vegetable or protein on it. We were assured that food quantities would not be an issue.

On the evening of our event, unfortunately that was not the case. Overall operations were terrible. Courses took extremely long to come out, people were waiting 25-30 mins for replenished dishes that had run out, mains were served 15-20 mins before naan and rice came out, and timelines on food were running so late (our event was meant to be 5:30-9pm but the dessert course only came out at 9:45pm). We had 2 guests (including the groom!) with tree nut allergies, and one vegan plate requested, and these 3 special plates came out at 8:30pm, meaning these guests did not eat almost anything for several hours. We complained multiple times but think the restaurant was short-staffed, when it should have been more prepared for the event.

Bar services were great otherwise. Food was delicious, but wish we were able to eat more of it and enjoy it... If Maurya wants to venture into the large event space, it really needs to button up its operations and business/dining model for...

We arrived before they opened, they offered us a seat at the bar till they opened, and when we asked if they had Chai they offered to make us Chai. The Chai was amazing! For appetizers, we had Ash sweet potatoes and beetroot Galotti . The presentation should be scored 11/10 on these dishes. They were almost too beautiful to eat, but ate them, we did. I have never had ocra prepared in the way they were for the ash potatoes, but they made the dish amazing. For the main course we ordered, Dahi wale aloo baingan, and Paneer Tikka Masala, again, the presentation was just superb. The flavors were excellent. However, for my tastes, they could have both been significantly spicier. I am fairly certain that if I had asked for extra spiciness when ordering, they would have accommodated as the only thing better than the presentation was the level of service. When I say the service was excellent I'm not even coming close to doing them justice. They had a large private party in the upstairs room as well as a fairly good size party in the main dining room, however I felt as if our server was always waiting for the slightest indication that I needed something and was immediately at the table when I gave him the slightest nod, however I never felt he was obtrusive. For dessert we had Lemon grass creme brulee, and Marquis au chocolat, the only disappointment I had with dessert is that they did not have the chocolate mouse with spiced rum as they apparently had run out at lunch. Both desserts were absolutely amazing and just a delight for our taste buds. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing the level of service in this place is there simply has never been in my experience.A restaurant that busy that has provided that...

This lovely restaurant in the nearly vacant Forrestal Village Center is a welcome addition to the many Indian restaurants in the Princeton area. The ambience is more sophisticated than A2B, and there is a full bar. It also has 2 distinct menus, with a very cooperative staff and kitchen. You can order well conceived and well executed American food from one menu. OR order from the very creative Indian menu....either vegetarian or not. Our party of 5 ordered duck, branzino, dal makhani, a brilliant shikapuri lamb, an excellent dahi wale aloo baingan, and jalapeño chicken. Plus assorted naans, wines, beers. Three of our party were celiac. The kitchen was very accommodating, which we very much appreciate. The downstairs dining room is two stories high and gracious. It looks out onto a patio which is a wonderful place for cocktails, lunch, or dinner in good weather. There are also vast upstairs dining areas and rooms for private parties. Upstairs is not handicap accessible. Two of us recently celebrated Valentine's Day at Mauryas. The prix fixe menu was small but lovely. It included a complimentary glass of champagne and a rose for me. The lime flan was outstanding. The downstairs dining room was cold on a very cold night, which they tried to counter with plug-in heaters. The women's bathroom downstairs was freezing. The prices are higher than you may be accustomed to, but not unfair. The atmosphere, the quality of food, and the inventive menus, AND the choice of Indian or America, vegetarian or not, move this restaurant to a higher level. Go here for special occasions and go in different seasons. Or go every month for...