India Bistro

01/30/2008 Posted by Punkyboo52

We caught the very end of the buffet and I was thinking there wouldn't be much left but it was still fresh and hot and wonderful! They kept it stocked and full with a huge variety, several dishes to choose from. It is the best Indian food I've ever had and the price just can't be beat. AND, you can park at the park and ride and walk up the block. We didn't have to be waited on since it was a buffet but the staff were all very nice.

Pros: Parking, anbiance, great food

12/02/2007 Posted by mikeandcarrie

Highly, highly recommended. You should go here. My wife and I live in Ballard and we are so happy to have this restaurant in our neighborhood. Great food and the service is excellent. The decor is simple so don't expect a theme restaurant. We always have a great time. They are just as nice with to-go orders as they are with dine in. Very nice employees and the owner always thanks us and appreciates the business. The price is very reasonable and you can stuff two people with food and drinks in under forty to fifty dollars. This place is worth your business and they always make the lunch or dinner special.

08/26/2007 Posted by kiwicharles

Walking up to the place there was a wait and I was excited for a great experience. I was prepaired for a wait and was told 20 min, not bad. However they were telling everyone 20 min wait but for everyone it was around 45 min. They need to be more real in regards to their wait times. After sitting down we ordered two dishes, nann bread, and a app. sample. Then the wait began as we first waited 10 min for our app. and then another 30 min for our food. The place is pretty small so the wait should not be that long. Also no servers came up to say how long it will be or they were sorry. All the waitstaff were not very interested in their customers. I hate to give this place a 3 star because the food was very very good and the price was very reasonable but bad service should not happen becuase they are many great places to eat in Seattle. I may try this place again as it was good and maybe it was an off night.

Pros: Great food, cute restaurant, great prices

Cons: Very bad and lazy service, long waits for food

08/08/2007 Posted by ladyheidijean

I've adored the naan, Saag Aloo, (shoot - can't remember, the califlower and potato thing and the spinach and cheese thing) for years. And the bottomless Chai. Surprised to see the bad reviews here. Granted, I tend to order the same things every time but they are delicious and the owner always remembers me.

12/19/2006 Posted by jkollin

This is the best indian food I've had in Seattle, and they aren't usually very crowded so I thought I'd share the love. They actually uses spices here. Prices are reasonable and service is good.

Pros: Food, service

Cons: Parking can be hassle in Old Ballard sometimes

12/02/2006 Posted by terriblethings

My family and I tried India bistro fairly soon after our move to Ballard over a year ago. The meal went down in history as one of the most inedible ever, and we had sworn off the place for good. But after a year of hearing the no, it really is a good restaurant and reading all the positive reviews on this site, we decided to give it another go. What a mistake that was. While the food was better than the last time, it was still the worst Indian food I've ever had. I can only guess that the positive reviews are due to the fact that the nearest competition is pretty far away (relatively speaking). Bland, flavorless, soupy dishes passing for indian food. I really cannot see what people see in this place, it's baffling.

Pros: The only indian food in Ballard

Cons: Just about everything

12/01/2006 Posted by mousie196

Not only was this the worst Indian food I have ever eated in a restaurant, it was one of the 3 or 4 worst restaurant meals I've ever eaten. One dish, chicken pakoras, was quite good. Everything else was really below par. The vegetable samosas were mushy, lacked any type of flavor or seasoning, and the pastry was greasy and bland--I thought that adding some raita might help, but the raita was equally bland and flavorless. The chicken vindaloo was uninspired and lacked seasoning, but was the second-best dish. The garlic naan was very garlicy (maybe too much) but the worst thing was that it was scortched and bitter. And the prawn biryani was actually inedible. It tasted like someone had opened a can of storebought, condensed tomato soup and simply spooned it over the rice. The dish was glutinous and lacked any vestige of flavor or spice. I left the majority of my dinner untouched. Although the negative rating is based solely upon the food, the service was also inattentive. Sip your water and beverages slowly--the staff may never come back to offer a refill. Any, be prepared to hold onto your silverware. I believe that a restaurant should ALWAYS replace used silverware with each new course, but I gave my fork away and was never offered a replacement even though I tried to catch the waitress' eye several times. I continued to eat with a spoon, which didn't seem to cause any awareness in the waitstaff. My husband, on the other hand, was handed his used fork to hold onto until the next course came--how gross is that? Anyway, a bad experience. There are too many other Indian places in Seattle to waste time returning to this one.

06/24/2006 Posted by leisure_lif3

i've gone to eat dinner here several times and have never been disappointed. i've never, ever been the least bit disappointed with their food. however, the space is a little crowded, and is definately not good for big groups. the wait times for a friday or saturday night is usually upwards of 45minutes, but it's just enough time to run across the street to the matador, grab a drink, and get back just in time (india bistro only serves a small selection of wines and no other types of alcohol). for some reason, other people waiting for tables usually give us mean looks when we walk in and several minutes later our names are called. hey.. we were the ones smart enough to make the most out of our time, instead of standing around and waiting for an hour! keep that in mind when you go.

Pros: food, value

Cons: space, parking, long waits

06/05/2006 Posted by lysistrata

It is some of the better Indian food in Seattle area.

Pros: Good Food, Great Prices

04/23/2006 Posted by pramida

It is surprising to see such great reviews. Maybe it was just not my lucky day. Seeing that it was rated as Seattle's top 10 and the fact that we were starving and being Indian havent eaten Indian food for days, we decided to drive 40 mins from our hotel room to check it out. Initially it seemed ok...No matter what I've never hated any Indian place I've eaten until now. Seeing an eclectic mixture of people we requested a spicy meal....and it was as if we slapped ourselves in the because apparantly they had emptied the chilli packet onto the entres. We were sweating and basically barely touched our food. (We've been brought up in Indian amongst the spicies t of food) When we complained to the waitress...she was just rude and accused us of not eating spice in our lives! no compensation...no apologies...we paid our bill and left.