rev:text
| - I had been craving Indian food for days, and picked Royal India Cuisine after much deliberating over Yelp reviews. Sigh, it was something of a disappointment.
This restaurant was *empty* for dinner. I wish I liked this place better, really, I do. Their prices are fair and their portions are pretty good. But we went here for dinner and the food was just .... mediocre. It didn't hit the spot. The palak paneer (fresh cheese in spinach) was pretty good- silky and pretty flavorful. But the other dish we got, the navrattan korma (mixed vegetables in a creamy sauce) was really sub-par, despite being listed as a house specialty. It tasted like the kind of bagged mixed vegetables you can buy in the freezer section of the supermarket, boiled too long, and then plunked into a mostly flavorless sauce. This dish had the quality of a school cafeteria side dish. Rice, naan, papdi chat and mango lassies were ok, but nothing special. The pappadam and sauce were a tasty complimentary appetizer, which was a nice touch.
The staff was pleasant and friendly, but once we were seated, the service was not very attentive. There were no more than two occupied tables the whole time we were there (and we were the only ones there for quite a bit of the time), and despite there being two waitresses and the owner present, our water glasses were empty a lot of the time, we waited quite a while to order, and then waited a long time for the food, and we had a hard time flagging someone down for the check. The service was never rude and the people were nice, but it sure was hard to get ahold of them.
The decor is quite pretty, with deep red saris over the windows and elaborately inlaid chairs. Though given how tightly packed everything is, I could see how it might be a problem the restaurant gets full. That certainly wasn't a problem for us though.
I wouldn't rule out a repeat visit to Royal India Cuisine in the future, but I'm going to continue my search for the delicious Indian food that I am craving, as this just wasn't it.
|