India Bistro — Restaurant in Seattle

Some of the best Indian food on the planet! I should know. Though Anglo-American, I lived in India for three years and LOVED the food. When you want authentic Punjabi food, this is it. For those few reviewers I read who thought the food was not "authentic", yeah, this is clean - you won't spend a week in bed afraid to be more than two steps from the bathroom, as you oftentimes do after a wedding buffet in India. This food is GREAT, as well as clean and healthy. The spices are just right (though a little light on the chili for the sake of the gringos). But though the fire is a little light (and I can otherwise eat burning charcoal), the rest of the spices are absolutely authentic and first rate. I wish I could list all of our the fabulous favorites. The black dahl is just like in India. The butter chicken my wife literally fantasies over. The na'an is excellent, the curry chicken fabulous, and when they make their stewed garbanzo beans, it's heaven - ditto for the eggplant. The staff is always friendly, even when stressed by a big lunch crowd. And the owner, Mr. Singh, is quintessential Indian graciousness. Chatting with him brings a lump to my throat, as I last saw India was in 1997 - and Mr. Singh is just the classic Indian gentleman. I've eaten in a very, very few Indian restaurants in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Vancouver BC which were in the same league...but not as consistent, and not nearly as warm and friendly. But although I've been to a very, very few Indian restaurants as good, I've never been to an Indian restaurant better than this. This is as good as it gets. The wife and I left Washington two years ago...but we'll be back for a few months this summer (2021)...and we'll stop on the way through Seattle, before we even get home. And though it's a 200 mile round trip, you can be sure we'll be back again and again for the brief two months that we're back...

Overall: very mediocre Indian food for cheap prices and large portions.

Fair warning: I've lived in India previously and for better or worse, I'm quite judgemental of Indian restaurants and find it hard not to compare to the authentic Indian food I had when I lived there. So take my comments on the food how you'd like.

My order: I ordered the chicken biryani. It was $11 or $12, which is a great price for Indian food in Seattle. The portions were also quite large. Unfortunately, the food wasn't very flavorful and the chicken was dry. I had ordered 3/5 spiciness and it was a bit spicy but not too hot, so I think they got the spiciness right. My partner ordered the chicken tikka masala and it tasted like plain marinara sauce--just way too tomato-ey. The chicken was also very dry in that dish too. The food tasted microwaved, not fresh and flavorful. We also each got chai and it wasn't very spicy. It tasted bland. Even the raita I ordered on the side for my biryani was too thick and just didn't taste quite right.

Service: the waiters were pleasant and filled our waters a few times. No complaints here.

Atmosphere: I was here on a Thursday and my group of 2 was one of just a few tables. It's a fairly large dining area and could likely seat some large groups. It's in kind of a cool building too. The decor was a bit rundown looking, but overall...

I came in for the buffet and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is one of the better Indian buffets in the Seattle area.

When I walked in, I was told I could choose my own seat. There was only one other person there, so I had plenty to choose from. The water refills and dirty dish removals were frequent and prompt. Restaurant was mostly quiet with only moderate conversation volume at the different tables.

The food selection was excellent and plentiful. There were 4 different chicken dishes: tandoori, curry, biryani, and the one with the orange sauce (I don't remember what it is called, masala?). Several vegetarian options and a tasty rice pudding dessert. And what I specifically liked about this buffet was that you got your own naan, however much you wanted. I've been to too many Indian buffets where they bring you massive amounts of naan. It's very obvious what these other restaurants are trying to do, making you waste your stomach capacity on the cheap filler bread so you don't eat the more expensive stuff. And if you're someone like me that will clean the plate off completely at buffets so as not to waste food, it is doubly appreciated.

My only complaint would be that some of the food is quite salty, like the fried, crispy, tempura-like veggie dish.

With tip, it came out to $19, which is a fair deal...