Great Indian Kitchen — Restaurant in Santa Clarita

We dropped in on Saturday around 2pm for the AYCE which is available everyday from 11-3pm. The food is good, service is good, and its a clean restaurant which appears to be family run. No complaints on the quality of the food or service at all.

However, having been going to another Indian restaurant down the street for AYCE for about 6 years now, I can say that Great Indian Kitchen (GIT) may have a little to catch up on. Again, no complaints about the food, just other factors.

First, they do not have fountain drinks which is a turn off for me. Some don't care, I get it, but I like to have a couple of sodas with my meal and don't want to overpay for cans. Plus, fountain drinks just taste better and its cost effective for the restaurant. This is why 95% of restaurants have fountain beverages. The other Indian restaurant has fountain drinks, and I honestly can't remember the last time I actually paid for it when getting the AYCE. Not saying its included, but I've never been charged when I get the AYCE.

Second, the desert options are not that extensive at GIT. I beleive there was only rice pudding, watermelon and some white liquid thing. The other place had 3 different desert items, PLUS melons, oranges and hot Indian tea which is SO good after you filled up on tasty Indian cuisine.

Third, although both restaurants are clean, the other one has Ballywood music playing in the background and 2 large TV's playing current Ballywood dance videos (muted). The music is not loud but not quiet either. This adds to the overall ambiance and gives the place some life. GIT was somewhat quiet so you can hear everyone's conversations. This is an easy fix, in my opinion.

As far as the food itself, they are both good so you can't go wrong there. The other place has added items on the ACYE menu on weekends, so that's always nice.

AYCE price is the same.

I give Great Indian Kitchen 4 stars because it was a good restaurant. I just feel that a few inexpensive tweaks here and there can improve the place bigtime. But no complaints about the food quality or...

My wife and I have been frequenting Indian Cuisine in Southern California for the last 30 years. What has typically happens is that a good restaurant eventually declines with less care given to the dishes which themselves become more greasy with aromatic spices replaced with salt and too much ghee.

When my family stepped into Great Indian Kitchen after a day at Six Flags, we could immediately smell all the aromatic spices being used. My wife and I looked at each other and knew this was going to be a great meal.

TLDR: It absolutely was.

Our server helped guide us to round out our dish selection. Some classic favorites with some recommendations. She absolutely knows what she's talking about. Understandable as its her grandmother's cooking. I wish I could learn from an Indian grandma... But I digress...

Meal notes: None of the dishes were excessively oily or salty and none had the wildly bright color from artificial dyes. Shahi paneer was excellent; smoothe and creamy The chicken tikka masala and makhani were both good also but pretty similar. We should have heeded the server's advice about them being similar but were worried about the tikka masala being too spicy for your 2 non-spicy kids. The lamb coconut curry was excellent and reminds me of Malaysian rendang. So grateful that it server recommended this. Garlic naan, basmati rice, gulab jamun and homemade ice creams rounded out the meal but I have to expand on the last dish. Began bharta. This is my favorite Indian dish and I was willing to drive down to San Diego for a place that made it well (this restaurant has unfortunately declined in recent years). This was a beautiful melange of creamy, tender eggplant and spices. Absolutely amazing here and my new favorite dish.

Last note: they were able to make dishes not chile/capsaicin spicy for our kids but still retaining the complex flavors from the other spices. I had the bharta "medium" spicy but will ask for more next time.

Needless to say, there will definitely be many more...

We ordered all the classics — butter chicken, garlic naan, tandoori roti — plus the chicken karahi our server recommended, and every single dish exceeded expectations. Truly outstanding. I don’t say that lightly. We go out to eat often, and it’s rare — maybe once every couple of years — that a meal gives us this kind of genuine joy and dopamine rush. I walked out feeling lucky, like we had just discovered something special. Service was beyond Michelin restaurant service. And the reason why is it checked all the boxes, yet there was a touch of family there. There was pride and passion, not just a great experienced professional server you can find at other top restaurants.

Even our 3-year-old — the pickiest eater we know — did his little happy dance after just a few bites of the butter chicken and rice. That’s when I knew this place was legitimately bussin.

It actually took me a couple of days to sit down and write this, because it deserves to be said right: restaurants like this do not come around often, and when they do, they should be appreciated and supported. I’ve lived in SCV for over 20 years waiting for something like this — authentic, flavorful, made with care, and clearly not cutting corners.

Whether you come for their affordable lunch special, the incredible AYCE buffet, or just on a lazy Sunday because a trusted neighbor recommended it — you’ll leave wondering, “How is this possible?” Even the pistachio ice cream stands out. It doesn’t taste like the artificial kind we’ve all gotten too used to — it tastes real. It makes you question whether we’ve been conditioned to accept anything less. This place is a gem. SCV finally has something truly special — don’t sleep on...