India Restaurant — Restaurant in Providence

Embarking on our journey back to Boston, we stumbled upon the illustrious India Restaurant nestled along Hope Street in Providence. Enthralled by its lofty 4.8-star rating and an army of nearly 6,000 reviewers singing its praises, we braced ourselves for a gastronomic extravaganza of legendary proportions. Oh, how naive we were.

The façade of the establishment exuded an air of grandeur, complete with valet parking and an inviting ambiance. We were greeted with warmth and ushered to a table with a view of the outdoors, setting the stage for what we foolishly believed would be an epicurean adventure for the ages.

Alas, dear reader, our hopes were dashed upon the rocky shores of culinary disappointment as we delved into the heart of the matter: the food.

Opting for vegetarian fare, we were coerced into trying the chana masala, a dish that turned out to be a tragic mockery of its authentic counterpart. Frozen chickpeas languished in a lackluster pool of tepid spices, leaving our taste buds yearning for the vibrant flavors we had anticipated.

But let us not overlook the libations that accompanied this culinary misadventure. The virgin piña colada, a beacon of hope in a sea of mediocrity, proved to be nothing more than a tasteless slushy masquerading as a tropical delight. A complaint led to a replacement, which, to our dismay, was even worse—a watery abomination that defied all expectations.

And what of the mango lassi, you ask? Ah, the mango lassi, that supposed bastion of Indian refreshment. Yet, it too fell short of its mark, offering little more than a lukewarm embrace of mediocrity, devoid of the fresh vibrancy one would expect.

But fear not, dear reader, for amidst this culinary wasteland, a lone hero emerged: the paneer sheesh kabab. Adorned with a side of mushy, cold, and utterly revolting salad, and accompanied by potatoes reminiscent of those found within the humble samosa, the paneer sheesh kabab stood tall as a testament to fleeting moments of flavor in an otherwise barren landscape.

As we bid adieu to this den of dashed dreams, we were presented with unroasted fennel seeds—a final insult to our palates, if ever there was one. In conclusion, India Restaurant, with all its accolades and acclaim, proved to be nothing more than a culinary charade, a mirage of flavor amidst a desert of disappointment. Heed our cautionary tale, dear reader, and steer clear of this gastronomic abyss lest you too fall victim to its...

I am rating 5 stars because I had a wonderful experience while dining here. I was visiting town and I was in the area so I came into the bar. As soon as I sat down, seconds later I was greeted by the bartender. I ordered a chocolate shot and a double Expresso to start off. I'm not a big drinker so I do not know that much about mixing drinks etc. So I asked the bartender if I can drink a coffee along side the chocolate drink and she said yes, which gave me the impression that she was knowledgeable about drink combinations - this made me feel safe while I continued to order drinks.

Also, my food came out pretty fast. I order the goat rice dinner and the mussel appetizer. The appetizer was delicious, the goat rice meal was okay. I definitely like the rice combination (it is mixed with nuts and spices), however, I felt like the goat meat wasn't tender enough. I like my goat meat to be so tender that it falls off the bone (oh yeah, the goat meat in the rice dinner is still on the bone - it mentions it on the menu). Despite the goat meat not being my type of tender, I am still giving 5/5 stars because I was treated well and the food stayed hot (in temperature) for a while, even after I let it sit for a few on top of the fact that I ordered dinner around 8/9 o'clock, which tells me the food wasn't just sitting and spoiling in the kitchen - hahaha.

To add, I was greeted by two other staff members. One named Jonah, offered me a taste of a mango smoothie - it was a significant amount left over from another order and he didn't want to waste it so he asked me if I would like to try it - I thought this was a super sweet gesture and I took the offer. The smoothie was delicious! And the menua has a lot of vegetarian and some vegan options.

Last but not least, before I left I ordered another drink. I wanted a chocolate smoothie but with alcohol. the bartender said they don't really have a drink like that on the menu but she can make it for me and I thanked her. I will post the picture below. The drink was delicious 👌🏾.

All in all, I had a wonderful experience and I will definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone who would like to try authentic Indian...

Let me start off with we know Indian food and have been to tons of Indian restaurants all over the United States, and this is a beautiful restaurant. This restaurant is stunning, actually. The designer should pat themselves on the back. However, this night, I think India had an off night. This place has so much potential and can easily be a five star restaurant. However, tonight, it was not. Some things were off tonight, and they were NOT a five star restaurant, and this was not really fair for the guest tonight. We started off with Aloo Tiki and Papadum and have eaten this hundreds of times. This Aloo Tiki was the best we have ever had, easily. The flavors were rich and so aromatic. The Papadum was excellent. The jars of chutney, however, needed to be cleaned and were all chunky and thick at the opening, like a ketchup bottle that had never been cleaned before. Simple fix, but that is one that needs to be done. We ordered chicken tiki masala and chicken jelfrezi. The tikki massla had phenomenal flavors but had cold spots on the plate. It was almost like it was heated up, or it was sitting off the heat lamp way too long. I can't say what it was, but it was shocking to feel the cold spots on the plate. My jelfrezi was good. Not great. But it was very hot, so it was cooked second or heated up longer. The other menu item we had was the naan. This is where India fails miserable, and it's easily the worst naan I've ever had in my life. This was not cooked in a tandoor oven. Or was left on the heat lamp all day. It had no signature tandoor oven marks. No hot bubbles. No crispy outside. No warm center. It was cold, wet, limp, and tasteless. The server was very sweet and tried to help us out with the Naan, but why would I want more of that. It was that bad. And I love naan. I hope we are able to try India again real soon and review them again as I feel like this was a really off night, but this was the review for this night. So much potential, but didn't...