06/07/09

Awesome food. Good price. Great Variety.

by zjack

Undoubtedly, the best Indian Restaurant in Chicago Downtown area. Better than India House in terms of ambiance and good hosts :)

Lots of variety in curries and Naan (bread). Can order No Spicy, medium Spicy and very spicy food (many people don't know this).

Jaipuri Aalu, Kofta, Paneer dishes are delicious. Heaven for people who want to try Indian dishes the first time and also for those who have been having it since ages.

Strongly recommended.

• Pros: Quality food. Good price. Lots of options.
• Cons: Not on Michigan Ave :(

06/07/09

Excellent Food!

by xrajiv

Indian Garden is my favorite restaurant in downtown Chicago just because of the food quality and authentic taste. Ambiance and service is great but I don't get a chance to go there as often as I order-in. In fact having eaten in some of the best Indian restauants in DC and NY, I would still rate their food higher.

The only thing with the Indian restaurants is "what you order" and "how you order", unless you specify the hot spice level and the Indian ishtyle, you will probably end up with a bland if not sweetish dish or with Jalapeno Peppers instead of Green Chillies. This tip is relevant for any Indian place you go to, not just here.

In vegetarian, try the Malai Kofta and Achaari Aaloo (recommendation: they can definitely add Methi Malai Mattar to their menu). For chicken dishes, try the Madras chicken (i don't think any other indian restaurant has this dish!) and Chicken Vindaloo. In breads, normally I order Garlic Nan, but their Paneer Kulcha is pretty good as well. Mango Lassi is my beverage, haven't tried their Tea yet. Bon Appetit!

The closest second is Jaipur Cuisine on Randolph and I go to India House only when I need cheaper food since I can use Restaurant[dot]com coupons there :).

• Pros: Best malai kofta and vindaloo chicken!
• Cons: Cant think of one

03/23/09

Not for the true Indian

by Traveler01

The restaurant was nicely decorated in Indian design but the food was lacking in Indian spices. Food was very bland. I asked waiter to make my food extra spicy and was told they could not do this. A true Indian restaurant would do with without hesitation. The rice was even lacking in flavor. I think it is geared toward more American flavor.

10/25/08

Good food and prices. Not great service

by flowersbt1900

I like their food so I go there when I am downtown. The service seems to be not very good when I am there so I am only giving 3-star. It is still worth eating there.

05/07/08

Great place

by velvetgreen

It was a place with very good ambience and good service. The food reminded me of real indian dish. I've been there a couple of times before. We had a party on this place last month or so and it turned out to be excellent. The food was very great. I advice everyone to visit at least once to the Indian garden and try the food. The chicken 65 dish was very tasty.I'm visiting this place again.

• Pros: Ambience, tasty food

03/08/08

Great Food Excellent Ambiance

by 6000

This restaurant was recommended by the Manager at John Hancock tower and we are so pleased that I had to comeback and write something about it. The food is far far better than any other Indian restaurant I have visited in Chicago,and on top of that the Manager knows the food and explain to the fullest with a pleasant smile. I would recommend the restaurant to any one who wants to enjoy a delightful meal with a smile.

Andrew

02/16/08

Horrible service, poor value!

by mfin

While the food is just ok, the worst thing regarding Indian Garden is their delivery and poor service. Worse, the restaurant is down to the level of cheating its customers. I order two entrees for around 15 dollars apiece (20 with tax and everything), not inexpensive by any means, and two things happened:

1) The delivery guy got lost twice and had the address wrong. They do not speak English too well over there. Very poor service and poor communication at the counter. I speak their language and English fluently. Wonder how others deal with this!

2) The containers were half full! They have those tiny 16 ounce containers which were loaded till only the half level. Now when I pay 20 bucks for an ordinary vegetarian dish, I expect those small containers to be at least full. Sadly, this place has gone down as one that just expects customers to keep paying for bad service.

As far as the actual food is concerned, the Goan fish curry is horrible and the food really does not even taste Indian. It is either too spicey or sometimes fake. Very bad experience, not recommended!

• Pros: Ok food, good location
• Cons: Horrible service, bad value, poor delivery, less quantity

02/16/08

Food's great, but...

by medraj

... I wish the experience was better. Let's be frank... a restaurant needs to have good food AND courtesy.

My story:

I placed a phone order for take out. They said "no problem." Then I called back to confirm and a different person sounded less enthusiastic about the pick up order. Then I got there and I could only double park. With cars honking at me I waited for the employee to SLOWLY come out and bring it to me. I already paid over the phone and just needed to sign the bill. After I did that, this guy actually stood by my door with his hand out for a tip. He did not serve me at a table, he did not move quickly to my car. Yet with all the chaos on the street and my obvious frustration, this guy felt he needed a little extra. I paid $78 for take out already. $78 for food that was great, but not mind-blowing. (I'm Indian so I know what I'm talking about.) The food was full of excellent taste and texture, but not worth the price. Not that it was bad.. it was great, but I've eaten better quality at half this price. I don't mind paying but I hate it when I put out almost $80 for someone to drag their feet and be rude. Especially when they know there's no parking and it's hard for a customer to wait there on the street. I can only imagine the pretentious attitude if I actually ate inside. I can go to countless places for the same quality of food. This is why I won't go back.

07/03/07

lousy service

by vikram2101

The ambiance is quite well done. That's the only thing that they have gotten right here at the Indian Garden.

The food is mediocre at best. Quite far from authentic Indian food. Klay Oven, located just a few miles away is way better in all respects.

The service is pathetic. The guy who handles the cash register doubles up at the host. He seated guests in an random order, and when questioned blatantly lied about them have reservations. We cross checked this with the seated guested.

Overall, a terrible experience and ruined my evening.

• Pros: ambience
• Cons: service, service, service, food, etiquitte

02/09/07

Our favorite neighborhood restaurant

by olivshin

Tasty food, and warm and relaxing ambience. Really nice waiters. A nice set of little dipping sauces. A cute view of the street. We've gone there about ten times now (with our families and friends, too), and I've only had a minor annoyance with a waiter, but I think we miscommunicated. I would recommend this place.