Palate Garden — Restaurant in Saginaw

RESPONSE to owners reply

I must respectfully disagree with the justification you’ve provided regarding the surcharge.

The fees you refer to on your response is charged by credit card processing companies which are indeed a standard cost of doing business, just like rent, payroll, or utilities. These fees are meant to be borne by the business, not passed onto the customer. The overwhelming majority of restaurants, salons, gas stations, and retailers include these costs in their pricing rather than placing the burden on their customers. It is highly misleading to shift that responsibility and label it as if it’s out of your control.

Also, let’s be honest - no one at your restaurant, whether staff, manager, or owner, has ever mentioned the surcharge during my visits. I have dined here 2 times and 3 to-go orders, and not once was I verbally informed about the extra fee. When that happens repeatedly, it’s hard to believe it’s accidental. It feels more like a deliberate attempt to avoid disclosure, which, frankly, comes off as deceptive - especially to returning customers who’ve supported your business.

I only discovered this practice after carefully reviewing my receipt on my last visit. So please don’t claim you “do your best” to inform customers when that has clearly not been the case. Transparency matters - and this lack of it feels like taking advantage of loyal patrons.

I hope you take this as honest feedback and reconsider this approach moving forward

Initial Review below, Disappointed with Hidden Charges and Overpriced Menu

I recently visited this restaurant hoping for a great Indian-Nepalese dining experience, but unfortunately, I left disappointed.

First, the menu prices are significantly higher—about 20–30% more—compared to other Indian and Nepalese restaurants in the DFW area, including some with better food quality and service. While I understand every business has its pricing model, the value here just didn’t match what was charged.

What concerned me the most, though, was the non-transparent surcharge for using a debit or credit card. My total bill was $19.98, with $1.65 in sales tax, which brought the total to $21.63. However, when I paid with my card, I was charged an additional $0.87—bringing the total to $22.50. This surcharge was not mentioned anywhere on the menu or at the time of payment, and it is not a federal or state tax. It felt like a hidden fee.

FEEDBACK: If you’re going to add card processing fees, please be upfront about it. Customers should be made aware before they get the check—not surprised when they see the receipt. Also, consider revisiting your pricing strategy to stay competitive in the DFW area. A better balance of price, transparency, and value would go a long way toward building customer trust and loyalty.

Until then, I’ll likely explore...

The Indian food is really not like Indian food. It's like someone is trying to learn to cook Indian food and they are a bad cook. Paneer chili had ketchup in it, which just doesn't go into paneer chili at all, and most importantly, NO real chef would ever put ketchup in anything. It goes to show how little the chef knows and cares about food. It also had "cabbage" in it which was clearly plastic because we just couldn't chew and swallow it. The paneer pulao was worse than pulao that a child would make. It literally had bad rice and paneer with a little spice, that's all. The description said it has cashews in it, but we couldn't find any. There were tiny pieces of something which was definitely not cashews. Palate Garden, please stop cutting corners and use Basmati rice for pulao. I have NEVER had pulao made with rice other than Basmati anywhere, not even at anyone's house. It's just not acceptable. The makhmali (velvety) koftas were not even soft, let alone velvety. They were hard and chewy on the outside, and not flavorful at all. This is NOT Indian food. Please hire a good Indian chef, or a chef who loves cooking enough to master Indian cooking. Stop using shortcuts like ketchup in your food and use real cabbage, not plastic. Finally, if you're playing music at the restaurant, it is supposed to be for your guests, not for your staff. I was listening to a beautiful song by Arijit Singh and suddenly your waitress changes the song to a Nepali song. That was just annoying and rude, but I let it go. After the nepali song was over, another hindi song started playing and within a minute, another waitress changed the song and put on another Nepali song. Then it happened a THIRD time, which is when we decided to ask the waitresses to stop doing that. How dare you guys think the music is for YOUR entertainment and not for guests who are paying to come spend time at your restaurant? It's not about Indian vs Nepali music, even if you were playing Spanish music, it would be jarring and annoying as hell if you kept changing songs halfway. Songs should flow from one to the other seamlessly, to make it an enjoyable experience. It was very obvious that your staff kept switching to Nepali songs because THEY wanted to hear them. Wow! That has to be the most unprofessional and least customer-centric attitude I have ever seen, in my life. I have just one suggestion for you - please stop serving "Indian" food and music at your restaurant, stop saying you're serving Indian food, make it a Nepali restaurant exclusively, and then play...

I’m giving it an overall 4/5 star rating. We ordered the chefs special green chicken chili, steamed momo, goat kadhai and naan. The green chicken chili was spicy and just okay! Not a lot of flavor. The momo was good, it’s just what you would expect from a dumpling but the sauce that comes with it is delicious. The goat kadhai was the stand out dish, very generous with meat in it and not just bones. The goat was tender and the dish was rich and flavorful. 10/10!! The waitress Shristi brought us a sauce and some pickled onions to try as we told her we really enjoyed the food. She gave us amazing service! I do fear that people who do not know what Nepali/Indian cuisine tastes like may think this place is too spicy. We enjoyed the spice and punch of flavor so it was perfect for us! I encourage people to try different dishes and ask questions about the dishes if you do not know what they are. The staff are very friendly and we could tell immediately that our waitress wanted to share her culture with us because we showed an interest. To the business, I think getting the buffet up and going ASAP will allow more people of Saginaw who may not have ever tried this cuisine before to try it when there are multiple options on a buffet to taste, to see what they like or don’t like. Also 0/10 do not recommend the chai tea. It’s a shame that the chai is from a packet, not brewed in milk and you do not get refills, just a small cup for $3. Seemed steep to us! Overall very good experience. We are excited to have some Indian/nepali close...