The last time I ate here was when it was still Bombay Palace and it was definitely great back then. I came for lunch today and can't really say the same. The operating hours showed it opens at 11:30am but the doors were locked at 11:52am. A kitchen worker who was bringing out food saw me and unlocked the door. They were late opening for lunch on this Thu but most of the food was already done upon entering. Felt that the service was going to be mediocre off the bat. Another customer asked about naan and no-one could understand what the server said.
The food is where things get interesting. I'm not sure if they serve some dishes from a specific region but there were dishes which I've never seen in all of my previous visits to other Indian buffets, even compared to large restaurants like Tandoori Flame. It was hit on some items I've never had and a miss on some staples. They had 3 soups which I didn't try. There didn't seem to be much for dessert there than ice-cream, which I passed one.
First the good. Butter chicken was actually very good with bone-in pieces of chicken. Dahl, spinach and fish curries were also good. They also had 2 veg dishes which were dry (no sauce) and cooked in spices. One was chopped green beans and the other a cabbage medley; both were really good and I enjoyed these! The naan was a crispy paratha and was good, not too greasy.
Now the bad. They had mutton biryani and mutton curry. The rice was nice and fluffy but the goat in both was really tough, either it was meat from an older animal or just not cooked enough. Either way, not impressed. The goat curry sauce also had a different taste I'm not accustomed too, I can't really say what it was exactly but it just seemed off and I didn't like it. The first piece of tandoori chicken I had honestly tasted like it was from the previous day, it was cold and dry. I decided to try a second piece on my 2nd plate and it was slightly warm this time and a little more palatable.
I don't think I'll be back and that's a shame as that knocks off the list a restaurant within walking distance of home...