Amaya Indian Cuisine — Restaurant in Town of Brighton

A few years ago, when I was laid up for an extended time after surgeries, I had takeout from Amaya a few times-- and the meals I had then were very good. So much so that when I received an email listing a GRAND Christmas buffet, I talked my boyfriend into our going here after our afternoon hike.

I wish I could say it was as good as I remembered. Sadly, I can't. They hadn't listed what dishes they would serve, and the waiter explained that was because they were varying the offerings throughout the day. Okay, that makes sense when a buffet runs from 11am-8pm. He also explained it was billed as grand as it had several more items to choose from than the normal Wed. night buffet.

However, the selection was lackluster and the sauces tasted as if they had made them bland to satisfy Americans with no taste for real Indian food, or spices in general.

There were 2-3 vegetarian options for main dishes, and 4 meat options. There were plenty of appetizers and breads, including rice, samosas, small dosa pieces, vegetable fritters, and chickpea crisps, along with an occasionally filled plate of tomato, red onion, and cucumber and some fruit.

Granted, we arrived later in the day and perhaps they had a large rush earlier and were low on food, but I heard two other folks discussing the lack of solid food pieces in the sauces, and truthfully, you did have to dig in several of the options to get more than a single piece or two of food along with a large spoonful of sauce.

Also quite disappointing was the saag paneer, which was one dish I always order and was looking forward to-- in this instance, they made some kind of fritter which has small bits of paneer mixed into a breadcrumb like mix. I had ordered this for delivery a few times in my convalescence, and this was one of the dishes I was excited for when they brought it out later in our dinner. The saag (spinach sauce) itself was quite good, but the fritters were bland and crumbly. The chana masala was the most satisfying main course, but I found myself wishing for a hotter pickle or chutney to spice it up. I also like a good raita in my saag, and while a raita was available, there were no condiment bowls for it-- and it had the consistency of milk with only a few little slivers of cucumber, and so it wasn't easy to add it to my food on the flat plates as it spread and ran off the food and to the edges of the plate.

Lastly, they offered very little for dessert-- a single plate with about 20 green grapes, a few orange wedges and a few slices of sour pineapple, along with a small bowl of something they called mango mousse. It had the same consistency as the mango lassi served in small plastic cups --which was tasty, but warm at room temperature. And no kheer. We weren't the only table to ask for the classic Indian rice pudding, as other diners heard me asking and lamented it's absence to me. Perhaps my American side is showing-- but at a grand holiday feast, I expect some dessert options-- at least those which I find regularly at a normal buffet elsewhere in Rochester.

We were told we could order off the menu if we really wanted to, but that the buffet was the special feature for the night-- and afterwards we wished we had. Another table ordered saag paneer, and there's looked to have real cheese in it. Another large party was also eating at the same time, and they had multiple plates of very hot, delicious vegetarian options arrive at their table in addition to the buffet items, and so perhaps we should have felt less guilty about making more work for the kitchen and gone ahead and ordered. Sadly, my boyfriend has no interest in going back, so I doubt I'll discover if the items on the menu are still cooked with the same level of quality as I remember from a couple...

I visited Amaya Indian Cuisine 12/27 at approximately 12:30 PM. I ordered takeout, and specifically ordered chicken biryani, butter chicken, and chicken tikka masala. I was traveling with my wife and four children from the northeast to the midwest. I did not intend to dine in as I had an 8 hour drive ahead and wanted to grab something quick and continue my trip, although it would’ve been more convenient to dine in. I complimented the restaurant attendant on his restaurants appearance, and he thanked me and added that “we do not allow dining in for lunchtime, we only do dining in for dinner.” He stated this after seeing my wife and four children enter to use the restroom. After my family finished in the restroom, I watched as he helped 2 couples to their table who were dining in for lunch. This clearly showed how prejudice he was against families. Just be aware that at this establishment, if you have a family/children, be ready to be refused service and fair treatment. I assure you that I did not even want to dine in, it was just the fact that he lied to me and was caught in a lie which showed how he treats families. In addition, I asked for plastic ware and he gave me very dirty plastic spoons, I had to stop by a local store to buy plastic spoons to eat. The food was subpar. There was minimal amount of chicken in the butter chicken and tikka masala, it was majority sauce. Not spicy, not flavorful. The chicken biryani;was ok, but also lacked flavor you’d expect from an Indian restaurant. It was a very poor experience, please look elsewhere for Indian food. This establishment proved that they do not care for families, they do not value hygiene, serve mediocre food, and to top it all off, their toilet in the women’s bathroom was clogged. Terrible experience. It’s also very expensive for what you get, I spent $70 for the chicken biryani, chicken tikka masala, and the butter chicken with...

We were there on 7/6 for lunch buffet. They charged $8 for an 1 yr old baby who didn't (or cannot) even eat, he was just watching movies on our phone on the high chair. When asked, the waiter said it is the policy whether the child eats or not, to charge half of buffet rate (never heard something silly in our life, plus the management of the restaurant clearly doesn't understand a baby vs a child who eats regular food. When asked to speak to the owner or manager, he said no one else is there and we had to pay. We are not happy and certainly not a returning customer. It's not about the $8, but the feeling of being duped and it's a very unethical practice.

I wouldn't have left the following below but leaving it anyway since I spent the time to write the above.

We just relocated to Rochester only went there based on so many positive reviews, but no one else was in the restaurant except us, the waiter and someone who is working there (no customers). The number of reviews and the actual number of customers don’t add up, unless the reviews are fake or for their bar. A Sunday lunch buffet should have been a busy time for any Indian restaurant regardless of their service or food quality. To have no one means the restaurant must really suck. We should have turned away immediately but decided to eat there. Food had no flavors to it, we at one point even wondered if the so called Indian food is cooked by someone who really knows Indian food or if someone else just followed a recipe. Plus the naan took so long to come even though only we were the customers.

When we went to the buffet table for dessert, there were no plates left on the table (even for main course). The waiter was not there for a long time for us to...