The ambiance was not bad, but just a bit cramped. Food was tasty and service was quick. Not bad for a lunch along the central valley long road trip. read more

The food here is simply outstanding. The ambiance is rather poor though. It feels like you are eating in someone's garage; unappealing space with rather simple table surfaces where to place really good dishes. So, if you just want to have good to great food, this place delivers! If you want an experience (romantic or more mundane), you'll feel a bit disappointed. My family and I were interested in good Indian food, so we were extremely satisfied! Food: 5 stars, ambiance: 3 stars; Net: 4 stars! read more

I have tried this place a few times, previously at both their mall location as well as a couple of times here and really enjoyed it. Our kids enjoy Indian food so this was a definite treat. We ordered chicken tikka masala, saffron rice, rice biryani and a couple more items. It was all delicious and I would definitely order again. I think on some things the servings had more sauce than and very little chicken or ... which is the only reason for four stars. read more

Good food consistently every time! We've had it door dashed and the people at Avatar go beyond the normal prep for transporting food. Everything is hot when it arrived with extra packaging so no spills. read more

While this place is not where I would take a date, the food is fantastic. I get take out often and friends and family who I've served all agree that avatar Indian grill has amazing food. They have a loyal customer! read more

Had the Lamb Curry. Delicious! Have to say it's one of the best curry dinners I've ever had. They're currently only doing take out, but since I was solo they let me eat in the restaurant. Very friendly owner, at least I think he was the owner, but it was a challenge communicating in English. Pointing to the menu solved that issue. read more

I love Indian food. Avatar is as good as it gets. Better than I have had in Monterey. Their breads are delicious and crispy on the edges, and tasty and savory inside. They are Palak paneer tastes fresh and delicious, like real fresh spinach. Everything is spiced exactly correctly, so flavorful even if you order mild. You cannot go wrong with this gem in Salinas. read more

The owners are darlings. Make sure to take time to sit down to enjoy dinner, or reserve enough time for them to prepare your food. So often I see people coming for pickup getting frustrated with the process. The food is excellent, it's great to support a local small business. 10/10 recommend! read more

Absolutely terrible experience. The only waiter there was this seemingly friendly old man who turned extremely rude by the end of the meal. To begin with, he didn't even give us any water with our meals. Then, when the food came and we complained about the spice level, he just said we should've ordered what we wanted and it wasn't his fault. Instead of other waiters who would be apologetic and offer to swap the meal, he started arguing with us telling us it was our fault. Finally, when we asked to split the bill with two cards, he seemed confused so we told him to ask the owner if he needed help with it. Instead of taking the advice, he got further annoyed and said "you guys can teach me instead if you know how to do it". Overall just a terrible experience and hope the rest of the waiters are nicer than this man. read more

ULTIMATE TEST OF PATIENCE!! But first, the food is delicious. We ordered the butter chicken and asked for it to be spicy, and it was!! We also ordered aloo gobi, dal mahkini, cheese naan and garlic naan. Everything was fantastic, some of the best Indian food I've had from a restaurant. Now, on to the service. . . They don't really acknowledge you when you first walk in. You kind of just gotta wait there in hopes they say something to you. Then you make it to the table and menu. I'd suggest #1 ordering ahead or #2 knowing what you want before you walk in. Then from there it's on to the ordering. . . . I'm sure there are more steps in between that the customer doesn't see but about 40 min later the food comes out. Im not even kidding, we waited about 40 min from ordering, to actually getting food in front of us. Here is what happened when we were there. We did the first few steps. After we ordered, we people watched and we saw about 8 people come in to pick up orders. One guy was standing there waiting for someone to help him. Our food came out, the guy still standing. We ate, the guy still standing. He walked over to the register and told the man he'd like to order. They made awkward eye contact for a few seconds then the man who worked there walked away. LoL it's as if he didn't understand him, but knew he insulted him. I watched as the guy trying to order went on his own to sit down without a menu. A family came in, they got seated pretty quick. The man took the families order, then the guy who was there (now for over an hour said) "Can I order too?" The man made a gesture like "come to the register". LoL idk how the guy stayed. The man that works there is a little old guy. They could use some help in the front, he handles everything himself by the looks of it. I'll be back, but I'm ordering an hour before and taking mine to go!! read more

Best service ever ! Love the older man he is the best person alive lol! He is so sweet and caring he just was awesome and he was so so inviting !!! That's the type of person you want working at a restaurant read more

I'm always around this plaza whenever I'm doing a grocery run at the nearby Safeway. I have got to say that this is one of the best Indian restaurants that I have been to. I'm pretty sure I'm addicted to the garlic naan that comes with the chicken curry. Will definitely be back here for lunch Update: Just came back for lunch today and still as amazing as ever! That naan has got me coming back for more read more

Avatar Indian Grill - Indian Near Me - Salinas, California

The best butter chicken and cheesy nan bread evveeeeeeer. What are you waiting for???? Goooooo here and eat the foods.

Given that this is the only Indian restaurant in Salinas (that I know of) it's a relief that it's actually good! This is standard North Indian fare, with good service and reasonable prices. Their breads and appetizers are very well done, although I found the pakora to use a bit too much flour, making them a bit grainy and dense. Both of our entrees (Muttar Paneer and Malai Kofta) came in the same tomato-based sauce, which shows a little lack of effort. The Muttar Paneer was also a bit light on peas -- the sauce really overwhelmed the dish. read more

Love love love. Great food. Great service. Great business. I am Absolutly love avatar indian grill and would recommend to anyone looking for some great indian food! read more

We actually haven't been to this restaurant yet but after ordering through Grub Hub the first time we have included it in our regular rotation once or twice a week. The Butter Chicken is flavorful but not too spicy, so my wife can enjoy it without concern. The Salmon Masala is out of this world! And their Nan Bread is delicious no matter the flavor you choose. We were so excited to find this quality of Indian food in Salinas, we can't wait to pay them a visit. read more

What a pleasant surprise to find a very good Indian restaurant in Salinas. One doesn't think of Salinas as a "go to place" for Indian food but there it is--Avatar, simply delicious. read more

My husband and I eat here frequently. We love the food and atmosphere. It's near our home so it is easy for lunch and dinner. They will also accommodate the spice of the food if you ask them to: not spicy, medium and hot! If one enjoys Indian food then we recommend this place. Kurt & Anna read more

Avatar Indian Grill - Indian Near Me - Salinas, California

Basing review on takeout experience. I was recommended to this place by local resident as I was here from work. The place the restaurant is in a really nice shopping center of Salinas. I walked in and I was greeted with the wonderful Aroma of Indian food . Not overpowering but definitely inviting. As soon as I walked in I was warmly greeted. Did not feel pressure to take my time to review the menu and place my order. As I waited was also offered water. Ordered the chicken curry as well as the chicken samosa. Chicken curry was extremely flavorful! Was a little disappointed with the chicken samosa. The flavor was on point however due to the design of the Samosa I felt jipped the portion. I definitely will be back next time I'm in Salinas. read more

Great food! Pleasant experience. The owner talked with us and was very personable. It was very clean.

Great spot for vegan Indian food!! We dined here while traveling up north a few years ago on a whim and have been thinking about this place ever since! We got to visit again this weekend and it didn't disappoint. The vegan lentil soup is sooooo good! As is everything else! I love that they have a variety of the staple dishes with vegan options. This is a must try spot! I wish I lived closer! read more

Avatar Indian Grill - Vegetable Samosa L.L. Soup Veg Coconut Curry Aloo Gobi - Indian Near Me - Salinas, California

See all

This place is very inconsistent with their food but when it's good it's BOMB. I don't order from here anymore because I'd ask for my butter chicken to be mild and a few times it was so spicy that it was inedible. I got tired of rolling the dice and wasting my money and I haven't been back since before COVID. Avatar, please please please be better because I loved your food! Taste the damn food before you send it out! read more

The worst chai in the world ever, the masala fries (supposedly masala means spicy) was sweet. The server was the most bored person ever, had no enthusiasm and no information about the food items as well. read more

Amazing!!! We have been coming here for some time! The staff is super friendly and helpful! The food is always fresh and good!! The buffet is also good and reasonable!! Did I mention the server is super friendly? read more

First impression: went in on a Thursday around lunch time. Was seated promptly and offered the lunch buffet. We were able to try a little bit of everything and also got some freshly baked naan. The food had amazing flavor, truly authentic. I would definitely return. read more

Avatar Indian Grill - Freshly baked naan, almost all gone - Indian Near Me - Salinas, California

See all

Individually labelled dishes highlight vegan & vegetarian friendly lunch buffet. Ask them to hold the butter on the naan when you first arrive. They also have Roti bread which is definitely vegan. My only complaint about avatar is that they don't have the traditional Spicy mint chutney and achaar (pickled veggies). read more

The food and service are consistently great. We love both dining in and taking out. Veg samosas, butter chicken, aloo gobi , rice and paratha are our standard fare. It's all good though. The red sauce in one of the three bowls, the others are green and brown, is quite spicy if you enjoy some real heat with your meal. Enjoy read more

Avatar Indian Grill - Brown is sweet, green is well...green and kinda earthy, and the red is spicy hot. - Indian Near Me - Salinas, California

Great food, made in a very timely manner and was treated very kindly. Definitely a repeat customer

I love this place, their chicken samosas are really good and chicken curry doesn't disappoint!

We ordered malai kofta and paneer mutter with roti and biryani. The food is full of artificial red color and everything looks just same. Taste was not as good either. I wouldn't recommend this place for vegetarians... read more

I really enjoy this restaurant. The menu has a great variety of meat and vegetarian dishes. The staff is friendly. It seems to be family run business and I really like seeing what appears to be dad or possibly even grandad helping out in the kitchen and up front. If I lived closer, I would order from this restaurant at least once a week. Occasionally we have ordered lunch from here where I work and everyone loved it, even the people who were getting to try Indian food for the first time. read more

I've never had Indian food before I ate here and I've tried other Indian restaurants around this area since then and I can honestly say this is the best. It's constantly delicious and satisfying. The service is always warm and friendly. The butter chicken is my favorite and I make sure to order double orders of the garlic naan because it's just sooooo good! I would recommend this place to anyone. They have a highly extensive menu so you can find a lot of options to choose from. read more

In Salinas, we'll then you have to stop by here and get some delicious Indian food!!!

Perfect when you order on an app, calling can be quite difficult. Nonetheless the food was great, especially if you crave buttered chicken in this area. I also had the yellow dal and garlic naan, both amazing! read more

It took 1.5 hours for us to receive a single order of paneer tikka masala and two garlic naan. Service severely needs to improve.

I ordered tonight and I felt bad because I put in the order right before closing . I was not expecting the best bc it was 20 mins to close but I was craving Indian and I figured it was still worth it. Oh . My . Goodness. My door dasher got there and had to wait bc they were making it still . It was SO fresh , hot , and delicious . The tikka masala was so good I just closed my eyes and went "mmmmm" for a while when I tried it. The veggies were crisp and well cooked the lentils were comforting and the naan was soft and warm . SO AMAZING. Thank you !! I'm a happy happy girl right now read more

While the food is tasty, it is very spicy. We have eaten there twice and both times asked for very mild to no spice at all. Both times the food was extremely spicy. We won't be eating there again. We love Indian food but other Indian places make it far less spicy. Unfortunately, there is no other option in Salinas for Indian food. read more

We LOVE Indian food and moved from SF to San Benito County about a year ago. We hadn't found a comparable local spot until we tried Avatar! We drove 30 minutes to eat here and it was absolutely worth it! read more

Terribly mediocre. I don't understand the wonderful reviews below-they must have no idea what Indian food is supposed to taste like. The garlic naan was crunchy, non garlicky.. And would have probably been one of the worst naans I've ever tasted. But then we ordered the cherry coconut naan, and that won the worst naan of the century award by a huge margin. Ugh. If you do find yourself in this restaurant -run out if you can, but if that's not an option.. Please be kind to yourself and don't order the cherry coconut naan. read more

My first time here and I now know why they have such a great review on Yelp. Great vegetarian dishes, fluffy nann and the most amazing mango lassi I have ever had. Highly recommended! read more