Klay Oven

02/20/09

Okay food, nice ambience

by mkumar at Citysearch

Went there three times, the quality of food varies each time. Liked it first time, but didn't for next visits. Food was undercooked. Bread was subpar. If you really know how Indian food tests, then you will not enjoy this much.

• Cons: quality not consistent

08/19/08

Best Indian food in Chicagoland!!

by premmsn at Citysearch

The food was amazing but the portion quantity relatively was on the lower side. Otherwise the food was delicious, authentic North Indian flavor. Best value for money.

• Pros: Taste
• Cons: Portions quantity was less

06/13/08

Awesome Buffet

by linds26 at Citysearch

Great lunch buffet 10.95. good selection of healthy and the creamy rich dishes. also serve salad at the buffet. Great experience! TRY THE DESSERTS both are great! Trust me give them both a try!!!

• Pros: the dessert, good selection at the buffet

03/14/08

Great food and service, even with large group

by Junereese at Citysearch

Just went to Klay Oven with a group of seven from the office. Did not have that high of expectations but I was wowed. The service was great. The waiter recommended sharing dishes among the table. Asked for our preferences and brought the right number of appetizers, main courses and bread. Everything was delicious and the bill was reasonable. We felt very comfortable in the environment as well. I particularly loved the vegetable Somosas (spelling may be wrong on that). I will go again.

• Pros: Very good food, good service
• Cons: none I could see

11/07/07

Average Indian food; more expensive than indicated on Citysearch.

by fnu_eric at Citysearch

I went to KO for the lunch buffet. Food was decent; about average for an Indian buffet. Two major drawbacks were:

Price - lunch buffet was decidedly NOT the "for less than $10." mentioned on this site. Buffet was $10.95; add tax and the I-feel-obligated $1 tip, and you get $13 for the lunch.

Food selection - and this is largely a personal preference issue. Their curried vegetables looked and tasted like they had just taken a bag of frozen veggies and mixed in some curry sauce. They also did not have any paneer dishes; saag paneer is one item I always look for on Indian buffets and it was nowhere to be found. I asked the waiter if they have saag paneer on different days (thinking they might switch some of the dishes around), but he said that they do not put that on the buffet.

On the plus side, the restaurant was not at all crowded at the height of lunch rush on a Wednesday.

• Pros: not crowded at lunch time; curried chicken was good
• Cons: overpriced; smallish food selection for lunch buffet

09/14/07

Avoid Klay Oven

by joschus at Citysearch

Four of us went to Klay Oven for dinner last week and were not impressed. The service was very slow even though the place was half empty. The food was edible but disappointing. The overall problem with all our food orders was that all the dishes tasted pre-cooked and warmed up. Nothing tasted like it had been cooked to order. Nothing was served hot - just warm. To me, an indication of a 1st class Indian restaurant are fresh tasting spices and sauces. Klay Oven's tasted like from a can. Not going back.

• Pros: It's close to the city center
• Cons: the food and the service

07/21/07

MMMMMMMMM!!!!!!

by phat5088 at Citysearch

Simply wonderful.

05/03/07

Best Indian I've Had

by burbsdweller at Citysearch

The reviewer slamming this place is either dilusional or a disgruntled owner of the Indian place down the street. I've been going here for 3-4 years and have never been dissapointed. I've gone for the amazing lunch as well as dinner on a Saturday night.

Everything is amazing there. I've tried most of the Indian places in Chicago and there's no comparison.

• Pros: Easy in and out for lunch, great service and prices are RIGHT!
• Cons: They aren't closer to my house :)

02/09/07

Simply Awful

by docchicago at Citysearch

My wife and I are foodies and have enjoyed great food all over Chicago. We were eager to find a good Indian restaurant and figured in a city like Chicago, we should be able to find one. I saw that Klay Oven was ranked 1st on Citysearch's "Best of Chicago" site. Based upon that review we headed over for what we hoped would be a great, hot meal on a cold Chicago day. Unfortunately we were sorely disappointed. To be perfectly frank, the food was awful. The vegetable curry dishes- channa masala, a paneer dish and a mixed vegetable dish were all poorly prepared, lukewarm and tasteless. My guess is that these dishes were made days before and simply reheated. The mixed vegetable dish was obviously made from a bag of frozen mixed vegetables (cauliflower, carrots, green beans), they were soggy and tasteless. The channa masala was served lukewarm and tasted "old." The paneer dish utilized tomato paste and some spices, appearing amateurish, not fine Indian dining. The restaurant is dim and the decor as bland as the food. I would note recommend it under any circumstances. How this restaurant is ranked so highly in surveys I don't know, but likely speaks to dearth of good Indian restaurants in Chicago.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Poor quality, taste, value and ambience

11/18/06

Great Place for special occasions

by ashishkanchan at Citysearch

Went there for our first anniversary. nice quiet and beautiful setting in the downtown. Good service and great food! One of the few places where tandoor is used very well.