Gandhi Indian Restaurant — Restaurant in Portland

I had a really disenchanting experience here that left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I came here alone a few weeks ago… no one was at the counter (not a big deal at all) and a minute or so later a lady came up from back kitchen area. I told her I was low on cash but that I wanted to get some papadom and a chai tea. Right around then a girl with a hoodie on who was probably of eastern descent walked in and stood behind me. The lady helping me motioned me to step aside so she could help her instead. A little taken back I did as I was told… the girl had quite the nice little order to choose. A little bit of this, a little bit of that, 2 potatoes, oh and could she have just a little bit of that too… a few minutes go by and she’s finally finished pushing the boundaries of cost and the woman goes to her register to ring the girl up. And Lo AND BEHOLD, what does the girl say to her?

“Oh. I don’t have any money.”

And what does the lady do???? She says “Ok, that’s fine go ahead and take the food then. Have a nice day.” Great way to enable someone who clearly never intended on paying for her meal in the first place. I’m still standing off to the side thinking “Oh cool, maybe she’ll comp mine too then since I was up front And honest about being low on cash.” Oh hell no. I had to pay full price for mine and she didn’t even offer me anything from the actual food section at all. To make matters even more disgusting, the girl actually had the nerve to ask if she could have a drink too! The lady told her no and pointed towards the door.

What upset me most about this is that because I wasn’t buying enough food she pushed me off to the side to help someone else she thought had money. When this premeditated con artist finally confessed she had no money, she was rewarded with a free meal. I was honest from the very beginning about what I had with me (I actually gave her my last $5 to my name) and I was treated like a piece of trash and given nothing.

I did find it a bit amusing that the person she pushed me aside for ended up being a con artist looking for a free ride, but hey… Hopefully if I EVER step foot in this place again, which will probably never happen again, but if so perhaps she’ll treat me like the customer I was and not push me aside again to help someone she thinks will pay for a full meal and actually leave...

Blandest Indian food I've ever had - by kind of a long shot. Chicken korma was bland but not terrible, veg korma was bland but salty. Channa masala was the best out of the bunch but still pretty plain tasting and the chickpeas were undercooked. The chicken makhani was the most taste-less thing - like they just cooked plane chicken cubes in half and half with food coloring. The rice was not great either - kinda sticky and mushy. I'm paying over $14 for a lunch plate and you can't even use basmati rice? The naan... was totally fine though.

The space was dark but clan looking and the staff seemed friendly. Weirdly seemed like they had some regulars so IDK - maybe to they come for the bland!

In summary, if you are a small child who is terribly afraid of anything spicy, then this place will be...

The food here is reminiscent of my favorite North Indian restaurant back in Kansas City. I haven't had this style of Indian Food in almost five years. I'm here on business and loved it so much I came back again a second time. The chicken was slightly overcooked my second time, but I think I caught them in an off time because of my weird schedule. I can't say enough good things. The staff were extremely accommodating and went far out of their way to make it spicy enough for me and overall it was great. I had Chicken Vindaloo and plain and garlic Naan. If I was in town longer, I'd come back again. I read all the reviews and have no idea how anyone could have thought them rude. These are literally the nicest people I've met in Portland in...