Beautiful restaurant and very friendly staff. Our waitress Alex was so sweet. We truly enjoyed our meal tonight. We ordered three small plates, chicken tikka, naan and cocktails. Our favorite was the tandoori lamb. It was moist and full of flavor. Probably the best lamb we've ever had. The calamari was tender, crispy on the outside and the dipping sauce paired perfectly. Broccoli char was a bit too much char. Our usual order, chicken tikka masala was just ok. 5-6 pieces of chicken to split between us and the chicken was on the verge of dry. I do wish we had received our naan with the 3 small plates we ordered but it came out with the only main dish. read more

Clay Pit - The Peacock, Indian Nights and Calamari to start. - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

The best part of this place is the 170-year-old building. As a restaurant, it's all right, certainly nothing wrong with it, but also nothing special. I don't think I've ever been to an Indian restaurant where I saw zero Indian staff. The menu length was adequate--again, adequate, nothing special. It's pretty short compared to probably every other Indian restaurant I've been to. If the question is, why would I eat here vs. a different Indian restaurant?, the answer would be "If I'm downtown already and want Indian, and don't want to leave the downtown area." read more

Went back to this Indian restaurant for my birthday after ten years--and I have only one question: WHY did I wait so long?! The food was so mind-blowingly delicious, I'm convinced seven Indian grandmas flew in from Mumbai, rolled up their sleeves, and said, "Tonight, we cook for this man's soul." Every bite felt like a warm hug wrapped in spices and butter. My whole family was in a blissful food coma by the end. Easily the best Indian food I've had--maybe ever. 10/10 would come back again. read more

Clay Pit - Drinks - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

Food is very solid and one of my go-tos around UT Austin. Good variety dishes with some interesting ones that go beyond the most "standard" indian restaurant dishes. And wonderful options for both meat and vegetarian eaters. Not fully authentic and slightly Americanized but not in a bad way. Austin prices. Everything I've had here is pretty tasty. They have a large space so I've not had to deal with waiting in line. Excellent and inventive cocktails. Note though that the spice level is definitely reduced down for the western palate -- at a more authentic Indian restaurant I would go for mild-to-medium, here I barely felt medium. read more

Clay Pit - Dahi puri - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Tried Clay Pit and loved it! We ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala and the Chicken Korma bowl--both were delicious, but the Korma definitely stole the show. Even my picky child really enjoyed it! The atmosphere is cozy but still casual, making it a great spot for a relaxed meal. Our waitress was awesome and even let us sample the chili paste they use to spice up their dishes. Overall, a great experience! read more

Clay Pit - Chicken Korma bowl - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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I've been here many times before and loved it. I hadn't been in a while and was in the area so decided to try it out again. The moment I was seated, the server was there - which is a good thing, I suppose, but I hadn't even had a chance to look at the menu. I made a hasty drink selection, an espresso martini, and said I needed to let ok at the menu. After deciding, I placed my menu aside to indicate I was ready. And waited. The drink runner sloshed my drink a bit but what's a little espresso on a table if you have one light colored shirt. Eventually the server returned after two drive by promises that she'd return after getting water for other tables. I ordered pappadum and goat curry. The curry came out and a little bit into it, the server came by and asked if all was well. I motioned to the goat and asked for extra napkins (because if you've ever had Indian goat, it's bone in and if you want to enjoy it, you have to use your hands which can get pretty messy.) And I told her to cancel the pappadum since my meal was there. She looked surprised but had she been paying attention, she would have realized my order wasn't complete. Of course, it's not her fault the food runner didn't bring it but then she mentioned that someone else probably just took it. I honestly didn't care. I just didn't want to pay for it. A few minutes later, she did another drive by and dropped off some cocktail napkins she said she got from the bar. Ummm okay but they are going to be messy. Oh well. The goat curry was alright, at best. I ordered it medium because Indian hot is fire. But it had zero spice level, in my opinion. Perhaps they have started catering more to the out of state guests. The next time I saw her was when I paid. I would have liked to have looked at the tab to make sure I wasn't charged the pappadum but when a machine is thrust toward you, guess that's out of the question. And now that I did the calculation, it wasn't. I know it's only $4. But... it's $4. I suppose this experience just left a sour taste in my mouth. There are other Indian options in town with much better service... and food. read more

Clay Pit - Espresso Martini - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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I'm honestly obsessed with Clay Pit. One of my co-workers worked here way back when and had great things to say about the food, so I was excited to try it. Folks, she didn't lie-- the food was genuinely exceptional. For the quality I was also surprised to find that the prices were fairly reasonable, particularly considering the beautiful historical building that the establishment was set in. It definitely has a bit of a higher-end college restaurant feel (the type where parents bring their kids when visiting campus) which I know deters some non-UT affiliated locals, but I didn't find it to be too bad. Overall super solid experience. read more

Clay Pit - The spread - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

Came here with a 10-person group on a Friday. I didn't eat a single thing that I didn't like. Everything was flavorful and came out in a timely manner. I highly suggest the Mumbai Mule for alcoholic beverage. Ordering family style is definitely the way to go to try many dishes. My only downside is 1. The desserts are a little small and none of them blew me away and 2. Sometimes there was confusion on place settings (server/busser only bringing 8 spoons or 7 small plates for a party of 10). read more

Clay Pit - Dahi puri - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

Was happy hour hopping and decided to make Clay Pit one of my stops -- and wow, I'm so glad I did. Sat at the bar and from the jump, the service was amazing. Big shoutout to the bartenders Adam + Peter, my guysssss!!! Great vibes, great recommendations, and great small bites. I just had the samosa since I was snacking, but their whole menu looked and sounded delicious. They were really selling it to me too I'll definitely be back for a full dinner soon. Also -- they have this homemade vodka that's infused with either ginger, mango, or peaches (I forgot which one because I was too busy enjoying it haha) but it was sooo good! The vibe here is super romantic and intimate, perfect for a date night, but also chill enough to pop in for a drink or lunch. Oh, and if you're into haunted stories like me -- apparently the downstairs area is haunted by a lady who got trapped in the tunnel Of course I had to go check it out lol. The lights were dim, the energy was moody, and honestly I'd 100% eat down there next time. All around such a cool spot with great energy, great service, and even better drinks. Definitely adding Clay Pit to my Austin favorites list! read more

One of the best Indian restaurants in the region. Modern and cozy atmosphere. Great for a romantic night out, girls night, boys nights, or business dinner. Generous portions from appetizers to entrees. Server was helpful and attentive. Great for sharing or left overs. Want to try the entire menu! Definitely a must visit for the curious foodie. read more

Clay Pit - Generous portions of fluffy and tasty rice - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Been going for years... love it. Always enjoyed it. Great ambiance and great food. Hope they keep it up and maybe create some festive or weekend cultural performances or indian movie nights. That would be really nice. read more

The service,food, and atmosphere are good here. If you like Indian food then you'll definitely enjoy this place. Come give it a try

Have been hearing so many great things about Clay Pit and had to try it. The inside of the restaurant is pretty cool and very big, great for both small and large groups. The Peacock cocktail came with a candied straw and was really good, so was the mango margarita! We ordered the vegetable samosas, curried mussels, chicken vindaloo, and lamb korma. Everything was really tasty and flavorful! The appetizer menu definitely sets this place apart from other Indian restaurants in Austin, so much to choose from! The drink menu is also pretty large and had a lot of things that looked good. The mango cheesecake somehow tasted exactly like mango lassi in the best way. We had reservations and were seated immediately. Our server was very informed about menu options and gave great recommendations on how to make the most of our experience here. Great place to try! read more

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Came on Independence Day for lunch. The place is big and pretty. Ordered Dahi Puri for appetiers. They were delicious, and the plating was beautiful. We went for the lunch bowls menu and got Shrimp Korma Bowl and Chicken Nariyal Bowl, both hot on the spicy level. Korma tasted more spicy, it was creamy but also nutty and had the grained nut texture to it. Nariya curry had a very good fragrance to it. Both curries were very good. We also ordered the garlic naan, which unfortunately I may not recommend. It was garlicky but the dough didn't feel risen enough, and the middle of the naan was completely crispy. The host was very friendly; she offered to get me a sample of the ginger-infused vodka from the bar (from Jay?) when I was just looking at the jar curious. I'm not a ginger person, but the liquor did have a very strong ginger taste that would warm you up really quickly during cold weather! read more

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An iconic Austin staple in a truly cosmically magical location, clay pit really exceeded my expectations. Incredible Indian staples in a beautiful historic setting. Real sweet staff. Was seated for our anniversary, given complimentary dessert for the occasion which was out of this world, and somehow ended up on a ghost tour. Great spirits happily haunt these walls and I truly can't wait to return. read more

Clay Pit - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Have been visiting the Clay Pit since I was a teenager. Love this place. They have new items on the happy hour menu and have renovated the bar area. Happy hour is every day 3pm-6:30pm. The updated bar is so comfortable and we loved the new taquitos on the menu. An Austin staple that always impresses. read more

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Clay Pit is a classic Austin establishment. I'd recommend eating in over dining out, but man it was cold last night!! We got: -Chicken korma -lamb saag -garlic naan We flip flopped between which one entree we liked better over the course of the meal! Not related to this specific visit: I came here for my birthday years ago with 20 people and they were more than happy to accommodate without needing deposits or a per seat charge. read more

Clay pit is one of my staples whenever I'm in ATX. Although it's not required, I strongly recommend making a reservation. It's quality Indian cuisine. Get the Naan bread...you won't regret it! read more

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We have been a few times and have enjoyed everything we have tried. The most recent time we didn't have a reservation in a busy Friday so we ordered takeaway and had some cocktails while we waited. We had the samosas, saag paneer naan, raita, plain naan, and chicken tikka. Everything was delicious and we will certainly be back. read more

This was my first time at the restaurant, enjoyed the ambience, drinks, and dishes. I had Nariyal curry with paneer read more

Clay Pit - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

Great place for Indian fusion, don't come thinking it will be very traditional. We enjoyed the calamari and crispy brussels sprouts, would recommend. Good chicken tikka masala. The khuroos e tursh is very popular and was different and tasty. Friendly service and a nice atmosphere for a sit down dinner. read more

Clay Pit - Tikka Masala, Khuroos-e-Tursh, Cheesy Garlic Naan - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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This place is amazing. The vibe and atmosphere is perfect for the downtown Austin setting and the food was delicious and very reasonably priced! I highly recommend the curry mussels and cucumber salad. The service was also excellent! Big shoutout to Alex for making our night special! The coconut curry with lamb, paired with garlic naan was fantastic. If you're looking for some authentic Indian cuisine in Austin, this is your place! read more

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If you are looking for super heavy oily Indian food, this isn't it. It's all thoughtfully prepared without over doing oil/butter and whoever is back there in the kitchen knows how to use spices. The rice is boiled with cardamom and cumin and is delicious, though ours was just a smidge on the gummy side. The cilantro mint chutney is crazy good, I wish they would've given us a bucket of that. The butter chicken was really nice because it wasn't super heavy with butter and cream but tasted all homemade and with very generous portions of white meat. One thing that took me by surprise was the naan. We got the garlic naan and it was epic, some of the best I've had and I feel like I've eaten a lot. The cocktail I got was really good too and very reasonably priced, a mango margarita. Not too sweet thank goodness, with a spicy rim. Ambiance was really pretty, and quiet so you could hear your conversations, a plus for my old ears. Service was perfect. Menu is not expansive and not the most creative, but there were specials and I think it's better to concentrate on less dishes that you can execute well vs. a menu book. If you're in the mood for Indian food, I doubt you'd be disappointed here. Also- dessert menu looked really good which you don't see much at Indian restaurants, but didn't get any. read more

Truly one of the most flavor packed meals I've had in 2025! Great food, perfectly prepared lamb vindaloo, chicken Jess'a saag, and mixed tandoori grill, with crispy cauliflower over hummus as appetizer. Great service and atmosphere too read more

Clay Pit used to be a staple, especially when family visited from out of town. Unfortunately, the quality has deteriorated considerably in the past year. I didn't want to write a review after one poor experience but now it's been so consistently. The service is stubborn, the chef apparently has zero flexibility, undercooked breads are supposedly the gourmet recipe, and a simple request like some green chilis on the side are met with not possible responses right away. There is no concept of customer service and the food quality leaves much to be desired. read more

Very good food! Lots of vegan options for me. Loved the place so cute! We got seated right away. Wish their naan was vegan, but the roti was really good as well. read more

We went on 10/27 for my boyfriends birthday around 8:30. REALLY good food and the host and manager Hayden who was our server were both super nice, especially considering it was close to close. Would definitely come again and it's super pretty and well lit inside. They were super sweet to my boyfriend and gave him a dessert for free plus a card. Great service and food especially for the price. read more

Clay Pit - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

We love the clay pit! Get the muscles and order extra pita on the side to soak up the sauce. They have a great happy hour too. Service is usually fast and really good. read more

Tasty lunch menu but skimpy on the protein that you can add to the "bowl" options. Also left feeling bloated and exhausted without eating that much. read more

Fabulous as always !!!!! Kuroos-el-tursh was absolutely delicious Very, very tasty !!!! My wife had her usual tikka masala and thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a great restaurant and if you haven't been there yet GO !!!! Make a reservation as the word is spreading. The lobby was crammed when we left We LOVE the Clay Pit read more

Review for takeout only, food is flavorful and includes generous portions of meat and vegetables with complex sauces. We ordered the tikka masala as well as the vindaloo and jeera saag. All enjoyed their dishes, especially the jeera saag. Option to select spice level of sauces was also an added bonus. Looking forward to enjoying these meals at the restaurant in the future. read more

This is my new favorite Indian restaurant in Austin now. I can't believe I had never been here until now and I'm so happy that my friends introduced me to this place. My friends and I came here to celebrate a birthday and had a wonderful experience. We ordered an array of appetizers. The pakoras were a highlight and were cooked to perfection. I ordered the lamb korma at the recommendation of our server and was not disappointed. It was a rich and creamy dish with lots of depth. I am also in love with the rice- it is perfectly cooked and seasoned. If I could eat this rice three times a day, I would do so and never grow tired of it. If you're into paranormal things, this place is a haunted hot spot. Ghost tours will give you the 411 on the hauntings of this place. The building itself has a vast history that is intriguing to learn about, My group was overall highly satisfied with our experience as a whole. The waitstaff was very kind and helpful and management was extremely welcoming. I highly recommend this place to friends and family! read more

Clay Pit - Lamb Korma - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

The Clay Pit has been operating for 26 years which is impressive for Austin. They have plenty of table seating and a nice bar area just near the entrance. The service was super friendly. I had a great conversation with the bartender which is nice when you're on your own. The food was delicious and came out fairly quickly. The chicken tikka masala was excellent. I asked for hot but probably could've gone for extra hot. The palak paneer naan was dangerously tasty as well. I could've eaten a double order! Great food and also fair prices. I'll be back on future Austin strips. read more

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We had lamb korma, garlic naan and calamari as an appetizer. Calamari was fresh and was good. I've had a better but it was good. The lamb korma was spot on for my taste. Manager was waiting our table and was attentive and professional. I ordered extra hot spice level and he brought out some extra chili sauce for me without request. I enjoyed having a little more spice to add to the korma when I chose to up the heat level. Naan was good, I've never had bad naan. Met expectations. Front end of house more attractive than the back room we were sat in. Place is a little dated over all, could use a little painting and sprucing up. But not a big deal. Overall hit all the feels, tastes and was delicious. Recommend. read more

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Grabbed lunch with a friend and had a solid experience. Hadn't been to Clay Pit in a few years, when I used to be a big fan. I was surprised to learn that the famous lunch buffet was no longer a thing, but was still glad to still order a la carte. The food was solid, but maybe slightly didn't live up to my memories of it. It was also about $28 for lunch, which is a bit pricey and I wouldn't say necessarily warranted without any other aspects standing out to justify the cost. Edit: I'm actually feeling Glutened now too from the lunch, which is very serious as a celiac. I've been here a handful of times without it being an issue, so this is surprising. I was a bit scared of the fact that the waiter put down my meal, and then put down the basket of naan literally overlapping with my dish, while being aware that I was Celiac....I actually wouldn't be surprised if that alone caused cross contamination. I'm actually pretty frustrated at this development, as the safety is a huge factor that had me choosing this location and now I will be having symptoms for multiple days read more

Clay Pit - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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Finally got to check this place out. My daughter and son in law got me a gift card about a year ago and finally got to use it. Excellent food. My daughter got the chicken tikka lunch bowl, I got the Lamb vindaloo and my wife got the fried calamari. Also got the crispy cauliflower. All was excellent read more

Both my date and I got sick from the dinner we had. He had food poisoning and I had an allergic reaction to something that got put in my tikka masala read more

3.5/5 I had lunch at Claypit today after reading some rave reviews online, which suggested it was better than other Indian places. As an Indian myself, I found the food to be Americanized, but I still enjoyed my meal. We had garlic naan, chana masala, rice, and tandoori broccoli. The broccoli was juicy and quite enjoyable. The garlic naan was good, though a bit dry around the edges. read more

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STEPH JUDGEMENT: Delicious Indian food with a creepy cellar. We were in the mood for some Indian food while in Austin and this place really hit the spot! We ordered: Paneer Tikka Masala (lunch portion), Palak Paneer Naan, paneer Achari Kebob, and Batata Cham, and it all tasted great. They were quite busy during lunch so service was a little slow but since we weren't in a hurry we didn't mind. We didn't notice until leaving the entrance to their creepy cellar--which I guess is supposed to be haunted? At any rate, the ghosts must love Indian food too, because they're not messing with the kitchen. read more

Clay Pit - Paneer Tikka Masala (lunch portion), Palak Paneer Naan, paneer Achari Kebob, Batata Cham--everything was delicious! - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

This is one of my favorite Indian fusion restaurants and it's been a while since I've been there. Had a nice time with friends this eve. Food was good. Service was a bit slow as we had to wait a while to order and for them to bring to go boxes. Food arrived fairly quickly. There may have just been 2 wait staff for our area. It was a bit loud inside so we had a hard time hearing each other speak. read more

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