India Palace — Restaurant in Tulsa

Food was good but the rest of the experience was absolutely terrible. The staff was extremely unpleasant. Any time we had a dish that we weren’t actively eating off of, they immediately took it from us without even asking. It was really frustrating that they would constantly come by and take dishes that we were still using AND food that we were still eating. One of the waiters even took something that we DIDNT EVEN START EATING YET!!! I don’t think it’s right for a restaurant to take food that I paid for without them at least asking first. I would have said something to them but they were taking stuff away so quickly that I didn’t even notice until we got home and I didn’t find it in our leftovers. They also had a rude attitude, giving us the impression that they didn’t want us there. They are not welcoming in the slightest. The whole time we were there it felt like they were trying to get us out. The staff would stand near the table and watch us eat, waiting for us to finish a dish so they could take it from us as soon as we were done. They literally stood right in front of our table as we were putting our food away so they could take every single dish from us the second we were done with them. That was really annoying, and they did it the whole time we were there. At least wait until we leave the table before you start cleaning up! They also filled our cups of water (once), and the water was room temp with no ice. They sat us in the very back corner of the restaurant, even though there were plenty of other tables. Also, don’t go here if you want a peaceful and quiet dinner either. They seated a group of 4 young adults behind us that happened to be quite loud and obnoxious. The people being loud isn’t the restaurant’s fault, but they seated them directly behind us. There was a plethora of tables for them to choose from and they decided to place them as close to us as they could!! The tables are also insanely close together. There was hardly enough room to pull my chair out with someone sitting behind me. Lastly, the vegetable samosas were quite obviously not fresh. They came out seconds after we ordered them and they were only slightly warm. If you choose to eat at here, just order takeout to save yourself from an awful experience. We weren’t even there late. I could maybe understand that kind of service if it was near closing time, but we were there HOURS before...

This is HANDS DOWN the best Indian food in Tulsa. They are typically very consistent, but the food can vary. That being said, it's always delicious. If you're not keen on spice, be careful. I typically call in, and that's usually pretty painful and awkward. They are also not big on customer service attitude, but that may be a culture thing. Their buffet isn't worth it in my opinion, but it's not bad either. I did consider giving them 4 stars just for that, but the food is so delicious that I couldn't! Other than the one buffet experience, I dined in once and, meh. The lighting is horrid and the staff is a bit inattentive, but in this setting I don't mind that. It's more of an informal sit down restaurant like certain diners from what I can tell. Their prices are high, but you should expect that from any Indian restaurant because those spices aren't cheap!!

Typically order by me and hubby: We always get the Chicken Biryani which is usually BOMB (but probably pretty spicy for a normal person) and I love the peanuts inside (I normally don't like nuts in food) it may be my favorite part other than the very flavorful chicken. We got the Lamb Biryani once, but that was certainly a one off thing. Our favorites are the Chicken Tikka Masala (not spicy and SOOO good), Chicken Saagwala (we always get it extra spicy and don't like the base version), Rogan Josh (mild lamb dish that I like, husband is neutral), Chicken Kadaiwala (husbands favorite, pretty sweet to me but I think it's a spicy dish. He says it reminds him of his moms cooking), and sometimes the Lamb Vindaloo (which is a spicy dish as well, the potatoes are the highlight but there usually aren't enough).

Anyways,...

Shifty place

I would like to start that I try to fairly reasonably judge places, for example one night understaffed/too busy doesn’t make a restaurant a bad place. However, one thing that makes me very uncomfortable and turns me away is deception.

Tonight I went here to eat and catch up with 3 other friends. First we ordered our meals and three sides of bread (repeated three twice) and were brought and charged for five. One person ordered tea for himself but we were all brought out a milk chi tea. A friend (who did not order tea) said the rest of us did not order it and asked if we would be charged. We were told no. At this time my other friend and I mentioned we did not want it (we are lactose intolerant) and they said it’s free so just keep it. We did not drink it.

We were given only one receipt and due to an event we had to attend afterwards a friend went ahead and paid for it all so we could go ahead and go. In the car I looked at it and saw not only we were charged for extra bread that we did not ask for but were also charged for the tea which was added to the receipt in tiny writing below the tax.

This place has the same kind of shady vibe as a used car dealership. I’ve never been treated this way (given things I don’t ask for/say I don’t want and still charged for them) except when I’ve traveled to third world countries.

Disappointing because the food is good. The only way I would go again is with take out so I can not accept the food unless I’m given a...