Royal India - San Diego — Restaurant in San Diego

Royal India was a short walk from the I was staying so I decided to give it a try. I arrived a bit early since I was still lagged from my travel, but the crew was waiting and eager to serve. Within 1 minute I already had a table of my choosing (outdoor dining) and water of my choosing. They offer air temp, cold, and iced. I opted for cold and they kept it filled the entire time. Since I'd never been here I opted to start with the hummus and nan [sic] appetizer while I studied the menu. The hummus was well seasoned, though not spicy at all. The naan was light and delicate, scored into roughly 1.25-inche squares, and had a sprinkling of diced cilantro. The scoring made it very easy to eat one-handed to scoop up the hummus. They informed me the menu has just changed so I studied it thoroughly. There was an absence of mainstays like tandoori chicken and combination plates were only offered during happy hour, which I had just missed by the time I ordered. I opted for the paneer aloo mutter masala, which comes with basmati rice. I also added the garlic naan. It main dinner course arrived about 10 minutes later, after which time I had opted to add iced tea to my order. Their "chai tea", I found out by asking the waiter, was actually chai latte. I would have preferred straight up masala chai, but it wasn't an option. They must make it in batches, though, because leaving out the milk/cream seems like a simple request that they could not accommodate. Not a deal killer. I'm from Texas and iced tea is everywhere. The paneer aloo mutter masala arrived steamin hot and I could tell immediately it was carefully prepared as it had the tell-tale oil on the surface around the edges - a very good sign this was also prepared individually after asking for prepared spice level. Just FYI, if it doesn't have that it means they just sprinkled powdered spices on a pre-made dish and carried it out and you can expect heartburn. The proper way is to fry the spices in a little oil and add the remaining ingredients to the pan, which always results in that little spiced oil around the edges and no heartbeat regardless of how hot it may taste in your mouth. Anyway, the masala was a delight. It was nicely seasoned at a medium with a balance of heat and flavor very much to my liking. Are taking so long with my decision other couples and families had started to arrive their dishes also filled the senses. I could see they all had the same care in preparation, though the biryani arrived quickly at a table nearby (no optional spice level perhaps?) and looked fantastic! Mental note made for my next visit. Back to my mutter masala. The paneer was plentiful and cut into cute little 3/8" cubes. The peas were perfect and not at all mushy. The potatoes were larger than the other items by a large gap, but I think they kind of needed to be so they wouldn't disappear into the gravy. This way you could still taste and enjoy the tender bite of the potatoes. Excellently prepared masala! The basmati rice was as you would expect - light, fluffy, and with that ubiquitous basmati flavor. Nothing out of the ordinary. The garlic naan was very nicely seasoned and prepared. It was slightly thicker than the naan that was served scored with the hummus and had both a generous portion of minced garlic and sprinkling of seasonings. It was served in it's own basket inside a towel to keep it warm without losing its tender crisp crust. That amount was excessive for one person, though I still would have opted to try dessert if there had been kheer - a personal favorite.

My overall review is this restaurant is a glowing 4+ stars. I would like to have seen combination options for the non-regular traveler like myself, but it was all so carefully prepared I understand why they wouldn't offer that. Probably best to bring a friend and share. Better yet bring a group of friends and enjoy a properly cooked meal served by a...

FOOD: food not authentic but own creation. Like Butter Chicken is not how it is supposed to be. Service: was the worst of all. Very ubfriendly water. Who really didn't want to help us from. The moment we entered the restaurant. There were three other tables occupied. It was around 5:20 PM. Atmosphere: cold, Dry, not lively.

For a restaurant t showcasing it awards or recognition its not worth it at all. I am South Asian and know the dishes as well as how they are supposed to taste and how the are not supposed tobtake. There was nothing buttery Bout the butter chicken. It was watery and didn't have the correct taste. Looked like either out of the correct ingredients or just not trained on how to make a butter chicken. The samosa wasn't tasty. There was less filling. The salade on the Lamb curry plate with was a Happy Hour dish. It was not worth the price. Filling the plate with rice and white cabbage and a small cup with a few pieces of lamb isn't a lamb plate. Naan bread was tasty.

The water really didn't want to work or didn't like us. I still wonder. We were two adults and three kids. Youngest slept all the time so only two kids at the table. He put us at the back and on a table set up for three persons. He He want to help us with the menu made faces and was getting annoyed. When the other serving waiter came with our food she latterly slammed the food on the table and put everything athe the corner of the table where she could find empty space. You can see in the photo how she put the Naan bred at the corner of the table and the plate half tilted. It could fall. After she left, we had to put every dish properly and neatly. Whe the waiter came back asking if we need anything else, I asked him if I could also get a plate and cutlery as there are FOUR people at the table bot three. He just picked up from the side table and asked me if this was OK? Ther were were helped by an older lady who was somewhat friendlier than the guy. But she was in a hurry to take the empty plate from the table. We felt like dispite paying for our food we were not welcome. Rush to take our plate away seemed unnecessary and push for us to leave.

When the waiter came asking us for tea or desert I asked for Desi tea and he said sorry, we are out of milk. 1: it was 6pm. It wasn't even busy but they ran out of milk. So that was a lie. But there are 7-Eleven and other shops around. It's not a big deal to complete your kitchen if you have ran out of anything. We skipped the extra order and asked for the bill ( cheque in the U.S.). I asked if I could be cash $100 bill, he said sorry we don't have change. Then I said I will pay with credit card. Do you have a credit card machine so I can swipe. He again said, sorry only cards with a chip are accepted.

So we paid with a card with a chip.

He took the payment and left.

I see that the awards are old so, I guess the daily operations of the restaurant now are no longer important.

Our experience was...

By far the worse service I had ever received. If you like having hair in your food and particles that aren't supposed to be in your food then feel free to enter this place but there are a lot better options in the Gaslamp district than this place. You can easily go to Blue Point Coastal a block away and get better wine options and exceptional food. After having the employees call the owner I have realized that the management for Royal India just does not care.

The owner knows that most people that enter this place are tourist and if they complain it will not matter because the assumption is that you will be going home in a matter of days, never to be seen again. So the only thing that matters to the owner and the employees is your pocket book.

My guest had a blond hair in her food and their excuse was that the green onions have blond strings... Hello!!! It is green onion, How in the world is that supposed to be blond?? Secondly, How about the black hair I had in my plate of rice?? Is that from the green onion too?? I can easily see that coming up with excuses for this establishment is their number one means of getting away with bad habits.

Their is not supposed to be any particles in my plate of food other than the food I ordered to eat. I recommend everyone to think twice about this place before you enter and go to the Blue Point Coastal restaurant a block away. The service I received from Blue Point Coastal was exceptional and their food was also exceptional, the wine selection even better. The wine at Royal India taste like vinegar and they did not want to open a new bottle even though the previous bottle was already open for some time. I am a wine connoisseur so I know when a glass of wine taste like vinegar. You should never have to pay for that.

In conclusion, look at other options first because the Gaslamp district has a lot to offer with a lot better service. Like I said... The Blue point Coastal is a much better environment, classy not tacky like Royal India and the service was some of the best I had in this district. I am also noticing that the responses the owner has given everyone is "what food did you order??" It doesn't matter what anyone ordered, what matters is that they get what they asked for with the service they...