Karma Indian Cuisine and Lounge North Spokane — Restaurant in Spokane

EDIT: Unfortunately have to take some stars away from this review after a recent return visit. The food is still amazing, but the service during our lunch-hour visit on a Friday made us feel very uncomfortable and unwelcome. Giving benefit of the doubt and an empathetic lens, I think the language barrier with our server was the problem and they probably meant to no harm. But after finishing our meal and paying, we lingered for a few minutes to chat, and the server came to our table, stood there for prolonged moments, looked at us expectantly, and then walked away. When we didn't take the hint, they turned off the music in the restaurant and repeated this dance several times. They would then walk past our table, stand behind us and stare at us for several moments, and then walk up to our table again. We were the only ones in the restaurant, but it was 230pm nowhere close to closing time, so we couldn't figure out why were being rushed out so aggressively. We weren't able to get an answer from him because he didn't seem to understand English beyond a few trained exchanges. We're used to this at smaller restaurants with non-English speaking staff, so we don't fault the server for the communication barrier. But it was deeply uncomfortable and I think should be addressed in the staff's ongoing training.

We were also charged $.20 for each to-go box used, which I have never seen happen before, and when our portions didn't fit in the small box provided, we asked for a larger box and were told there were no larger boxes and we're charged for additional small boxes. Very strange.

ORIGINAL: Incredible! Easily the best Indian restaurant in Spokane. Indian restaurants in Spokane have been getting better in recent years, and Karma raised the bar. Really cozy comfy space with relaxing low lighting; service was so friendly, polite, and fast. But the FOOD was the highlight. Delicious, packed with spices and flavor, and surprisingly not too heavy after cleaning off our plates. This will be our default...

My wife and ate dinner here Saturday 2/24/24. The food was decent, but the service staff was SUPER SHADY. I'd like to add that I am a life long service industry worker and am very respectful and forgiving when eating out.

We ate two entres and I ordered one beer. When the server ran my card he asked if I wanted a receipt. I said yes (this was being paid for by my company), and he rolled his eyes at me. He took very long to print the receipt, and when he gave to to me our bill was $105. It should have been $45. I brought this to server's attention and he acknowledged the mistake. He decided to hand me a $20 bill and told me that should cover the difference. I asked him to cancel the transaction and re-run the correct amount, and he REFUSED to do it. After much arguing with the server, he gave me $40 cash back and then completely ignored us until we left. I told them I did not want cash back and I wanted the transaction reprocessed correctly. We were completely ignored, and we were still shorted $20 and they kept the $17 tip from the credit card transaction.

I called the restaurant today to speak with a manager before writing this review. I was told there was no manager and was hung up on. I feel like the server DELIBERATELY stole money from me. I will be contacting my credit card company and asking for a charge back if I get no response from this review.

BUYER BEWARE OF THESE...

This is probably my favorite restaurant right now. I've eaten here several times and it has been consistently fantastic every single time. The ambiance is great, the service is very good, and the food is just amazing.

My favorite dish is the chicken Nirvana, its a curry type dish with coconut milk in it. Most of the dishes come with the option of chicken, beef, lamb, or vegetarian. You order your dish with a spice level you'd like, on a scale of 1 through 5. I usually get a three. I get it with garlic naan and tandoori roti. It's amazing every time.

For dessert I like to get the gulab jamun. Its a small dish with these little balls of fried dough, vaguely reminiscent of donut holes. The dish is full of a sweet syrup that they soak in and are dusted with crushed pistachio. It's a really interesting dessert because it has its sweetness, but it's also surprisingly savory, with a really nice cardamom flavor. When I first tried it, I wasn't quite sure what to think of it, but now I find myself craving it occasionally, it is so good.

I highly recommend Karma if you're in Spokane, or India House over in Post Falls if you're in Idaho, they are owned and run by the same people and both equally good, I've eaten at both restaurants at least half a...