Great Indian Kitchen Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Town of Guilderland

Food is great, better than Shalimar in Delmar (by far the most popular Indian place in the Capital Region). Unfortunately, it's also considerably more expensive ($17 for an entree vs. $11 at Shalimar), which really cuts down on how often I'm willing to eat there. It's very tasty, but not really worth $6 more for the same portion size. This isn't exactly 4-star dining we're talking about, here.

Additionally, their weekday lunch buffet was at one point a great discount with great variety and solid quality, but has gone severely downhill since right after they opened. About three months ago, after noticing very sparse attendance, I also noticed that they started watering down their chutneys and sauces specifically for the weekday lunch buffet, as well as replacing expensive chicken and lamb based dishes with vegetable ones. Now, there's usually a maximum of one, maybe two meat dishes and the rest are all vegetable. In the past, it was the other way around. You used to get a free basket of 4 pieces of naan, plus a plate of papadum crackers; now, you get two pieces of naan per customer, and that's it. The flavor has also suffered, with everything from the kheer to the raita and the tikka masala sauce dripping like runny water onto my plate. This was NOT how it used to be.

I thought I was imagining things, but after experimenting with both the weekday buffet and the much busier (and more highly priced) weekend buffet and their normal (expensive) takeout food, I realized the more pricey stuff was still the same great quality. At some point the manager had CLEARLY decided that the regulars who came for their $9 midweek lunch breaks weren't worth the effort and expense. That pissed me off so badly I haven't been back since. And that's a shame, because they currently occupy a building that has held no less than 4 failed restaurants since I've been alive. This is not the way to break the trend.

Oh, and their coupons are a joke. "Buy three weekday buffets at the same time, get the 4th for free"? 10% off a minimum $40 take out order? You gotta be kidding me. They really seem to not value individual regular customers and are desperate for huge groups with fatter profit margins. Since there's a growing Indian population in Guilderland, maybe this is a viable strategy, but they really don't offer anything to me that justifies the price anymore.

If money is no object and you don't plan on going there for weekday lunch, Nirvana's a fine bet and you won't be disappointed. But from where I stand, Shalimar isn't as good, but at least they're...

The most disappointed I have been in an Indian buffet in years. Every curry was watery, evidence of them thinning them out to stretch them. The okra curry had a burnt flavor. Chicken Tikka Masala was dry. Tandoori chicken was cold. Naan was buttery but not crispy. Rice was clumped together. The lamb curry was dry.

When I went to pay, the manager asked me how I liked it and I just frowned. She said "Not good?" and I said no. No further questions or probing after that because she did not truly care. Will not return and I suggest others likewise do not waste their time.

Editing in response to Benny Benny, I did not walk right by without slowing down. When I arrived at the counter to pay, no one was there. I stood there and waited for the lady to walk over. On her way over, she asked me how everything was and the story proceeds as I noted previously. The one part I omitted was the lady said ok and nodded her head prior to printing my receipt and putting it down in front of me.

For you to initially insinuate and then plainly suggest I am attempting to hurt your business shows your lack of maturity, failure to acknowledge the issues I raised, and a refusal to own the faults. I am appalled by the suggestion but now better understand why your restaurant and food are the way they are. Your misrepresentation of what transpired is shameful and you owe it to your future customers to do better on all fronts. That includes keeping your food warm because while you have the dishes in a Bain Marie, that Bain Marie is not doing it's job. That seems to be a trend at your establishment.

There will be no future visit, free or not. I encourage you to treat future patrons and reviewers with more respect, your food with better care, and your business with more honesty...

We have eaten Indian food all over the world. Upon moving to the Albany area we resigned ourselves to not enjoying Indian food ever again. It was a sad moment in our lives. One day we passed by Nirvana and decided to drop in and try it. It was a new restaurant and we read a few of the reviews on line and they were all positive (not that you can always count on someone's review). The restaurant is not much from the outside. In fact, if one went on outward appearances you would keep driving by. DON'T LET THAT STOP YOU. We went in and the decor is beautiful. The wait staff was very professional and we were greeted like we had been eating there for years. We were seated in a sparkling clean booth and instantly served drinks. (Order from their bar menu. They have a full selection and everything was made perfectly!) The samosas we ordered were full of flavour and we were served fresh hot papadum with an assortment of sauces. The mint was amazing! The naan was like eating a cloud. Such perfection in a bite I had never encountered before. They obviously have incredible chefs. For the main course we had chicken tikka masala (wonderful and spicy), channa masala, and chicken biryani. We amazingly saved room for desert ad had the Gulab Jamun which was delightful along with both mango and plain kulfi (like icecream only better!). To end our evening we had real Irish Cream coffes. They also give you warm lemon handcloths. We went home with leftovers and a palate truely satisfied. We have been back quite a few times now and bring friends and have never been let down. If you are in the mood for Indian food, this is worth an hour drive! You will not be...