India Cafe — Restaurant in Ypsilanti Charter Township

So I'm driving my new (used) car back to Brighton from Indiana, starving after an 8 hour ordeal buying the car. En route I order from India Cafe because there are zero(!!) Indian restaurants in Brighton, and it's the easiest to reach from M-14. It's near closing but I manage to squeak in to pick up. The friendly owner is sitting there with my order ready to go and asks "What's good today?" I tell him about buying the car and suddenly we're talking about cars in Saudi Arabia in the '80s. It's like we're old friends, and by the time I leave he blesses my car. I'm floored by his friendliness and thinking, "If the food is half as awesome as the owner, this is the only Ann Arbor Indian restaurant I'll patronize." It wasn't half as awesome - twice and then some! Granted, I was starving, but I've eaten Indian from London to San Fran and this was no joke good - flavorful, spicy (I ordered medium), nicely spiced rice, the works! It shows when food is prepared with heart, and this humble spot has heart...

A small store with very homey flavors. The price is fair. The dishes are delicious and seem like something that an Indian grandpa makes at home. That might actually be closer to reality as of all the times I've been, there was only one single older gentleman running everything (chef, cashier, cleanup).

My only two complaints would be 1) India Cafe tends to run behind during peak hours so plan ahead of time and 2) the naan is plain and flat. It still seems to be homemade though. However I might as well make it at home or get some frozen ones. My reason for getting it from the restaurant is for that nice restaurant quality naan, nice fluffy and slightly charred, only feasible from a tandoori oven or whatever...

Good part: The man behind the counter was very nice. He prepared my food fresh, which took time. He gave me rice and naan even though the meal listed one or the other. Social distancing was in place. The restaurant looks like a hole in the wall, which is my preferred atmosphere when eating international cuisine. Bad part: I ordered chicken curry, which is the most simplistic meal. My curry was greasy and had the consistency of thin soup. I ordered medium spicy and it was mild. For some unusual reason, there was cilantro in it. Chicken breasts were used which is unusual as well, chicken thighs are preferable. I feel like the people who give this place 5 stars have never eaten...