I come to this restaurant regularly, and over time, I've seen the lunch buffet improve considerably. Today, I came on a Saturday for the first time, to try their weekend buffet. It's a bit more, currently at $21.50, but it's definitely worth it. The entire buffet area is filled with numerous meat and vegetable dishes, including several types of chicken (including the all-important tikka masala (really good)), fish, and goat. A small side table contained a cold drink and hot masala chai. There were FOUR desserts available today, one of which was one I'd not seen there before, a coconut mousse. Service and friendliness remains top-notch here too. The commitment they've made to the quality of food you get here shows. read more

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Pretty solid Indian takeaway. The chicken itself was cut into strips which wasn't the best form factor but the Makhani was delicious. The naan was okay, I had gotten the cheese naan which didn't have much cheese and wasn't melted at all so that was a bit of a letdown. All in all a good place for scratching the itch of wanting some Indian cuisine in the area. Would definitely like to check out the restaurant proper as opposed to ordering it delivered. read more

Great Indian Kitchen Restaurant and Bar - Chicken Makhani (Butter) - Indian Near Me - Albany, New York

Have been meaning to try this place and inadvertently stopped in for Sunday brunch on Father's Day while out running errands. The place was packed and I was seated quickly in the front room in a nice booth. The buffet was huge and had a great selection of vegetarian as well as meat & fish options. They had a great collection of desserts that the server said they don't usually have so I got to try out a few different things. They clearly have a popular following in the area. Price was a little higher than expected due to Father's Day. They brought naan bread for the table which was a plus! read more

Great Indian Kitchen Restaurant and Bar - Indian Near Me - Albany, New York

The service was fantastic. The interior was spacious (check out the fish tank!). The "little" nice things- the piping hot and poofy poori, the chilled beer glass, the warmed hand towelettes after the meal, the friendly servers' smiles really made this an experience worth repeating on the regular. read more

Great Indian Kitchen Restaurant and Bar - dining area - Indian Near Me - Albany, New York

Service. The FOOD!! Visiting Albany for the weekend. I love Indian food, and the spices. This restaurant, by far, has been the best ever from every place. I've tried. We ordered items we don't get back home where we live in Pennsylvania and they were all delicious! We had two different non-bread, garlic, and rosemary, for appetizer we had the Gobi Bezule, entrees were Mughali Murg Pasanda chicken and Chicken Dahi Murg. Both were awesome but my preference was the Pasanda because of the sweetness of the almond. For dessert we had the Rasmalai. That was good and that sweet. Highly recommend this restaurant! Oh yeah, it ended with a warm hand wipe!! read more

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Favorite Indian I've had in this area so far. We tried the chicken korma, lamb biryani, and saag paneer with garlic naan. Everything was very flavorful! The lamb biryani had a little kick and the raita with it was great. The saag paneer and chicken korma were the most flavorful I've had in this area. We had takeout so looking forward to dining in sometime. read more

So sad is the lunch buffet, with little variety or interesting spices and flavorings. Fresh naan brought to the table. I was underwhelmed. I prefer Cart & Café in East Greenbush, and Taj Fine Indian in Glenmont. read more

From the outside, the restaurant looks tired and worn. However you'll be pleasantly surprised by how warm and inviting it actually is inside. I happened upon their Sunday lunch buffet and it was tremendous in size and variety. I had the opportunity to try many different dishes that I have never had before. Some spicier than others but all extremely tasty. The establishment was quite busy, but I found the staff to be friendly and attentive. If you're an adventurous eater, or just love variety then you should stop in. Here, you can try many Indian dishes all cooked to perfection. My personal favorite is the tandoori chicken and palak paneer. Palak paneer is a deliciously creamy and fragrant dish made if spinach and Indian cottage cheese, yum! There are several dessert options but their delicious and light mango mousse dessert and their hot house brewed spiced chai was amazing. It rounded out the meal and was very enjoyable. I am told that different dishes are served on weekdays from the weekend. This has piqued my interest and I'll be back on a weekday to get my fill of deliciousness! read more

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The food was decent no complaints. My husband is a biryani expert and he says he had better. Being in Albany where Indian food is abundant. I think I'd try another spot before returning back here. But I'm glad it is in waking distance of the hotel. They were clean and punctual Sauces a little runny. read more

Great Indian Kitchen Restaurant and Bar - Every thing all at once - Indian Near Me - Albany, New York

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Food and service was top notch. They also have a large variety of vegetarian options. One of the best in the area.

Simple, nothing special. Basically rice and vegetables. Still, it tasted good--was satisfying, warming, and easy going (down). Served in a copper bowl. Friendly and efficient service. I ate with my shoes off, and nobody said anything. Thank you for the peaceful experience. read more

Great Indian Kitchen Restaurant and Bar - Veg Biryani - Indian Near Me - Albany, New York

Tried the Sunday buffet. It was ok. The main meat courses were limited to two curries. Most other choices were all vegetarian. Level of flavor was fair to good, depending on which dish. I really expected better variety of spice flavors. The naan bread was great. All the dish choices were pretty basic. In flavor, nothing outstanding. Maybe it's because it's a buffet. I believe the quality level should not be affected the buffet. Best part was the deserts. Oh well, will have to give it another try since it seems to be a hit or miss for quality. read more

Wow Nirvana got upgrade! Ambiance, service, food all improved! Mixed grill amazinggg spices, juicy, sizzling! Lamb dishes -sorry got 3 different types all seasoned well, cooked perfectly! Desserts top flavors! Rocky and Vincent friendly wonderful! See y'all soon! read more

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10 out of 5 stars. The food is Absolutely Delicious. Haven't had Indian food this good since Sitar on Central ave closed down years ago

Great food! Tandoori chicken on a hot plate, creamy Tikka Masala. Terrific service. Highly recommend.

Great food, attentive and very polite service. I came in for a light meal close to closing time. It was perfect. Now I want to come back for a bigger (and earlier) meal! read more

This place doesn't look like much on the outside but inside the decor is inviting, the service is impeccable and the food is outstanding. Even down to presentation which is on par with a finer NY City restaurant. Very clean too which is always a bonus. Love it!! read more

Great Indian Kitchen Restaurant and Bar - Lamb stew (don't recall exact name) and Tandoori Chicken. And of course, Garlic Naan and Basmati Rice. - Indian Near Me - Albany, New York

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After tasting all the Indian restaurants in the area, mostly buffett, I would say there isn't much difference. Lately, the gravy is diluted and not spicy and catered to please the local population, making it lose its authenticity. This time around, the order was a catering order for my twin cousins birthday party, and the menu and taste were no different than what you would find on a regular buffett. The restaurant carries a blend of food from all different parts of India, and if you are a local, feel free to go have a lunch buffet and eat as you please. The price is reasonable, and you get to try a variety of food. read more

They mentioned they are closing at 10:00 pm whenever you call them at 9:00 pm they will never accept your order please and they will tell you right away they are about to close unacceptable if they are not taking any orders at 9:00 they should remove the time they have on maps read more

I loved this place! What a delight. Pleasant, cozy atmosphere, very attentive service, and all of the food was clearly freshly and thoughtfully made, with very distinct flavor profiles to each dish. The menu is huge and includes a bunch of stuff that I've never seen at other local restaurants. This was my first time trying a Keralan dish (the Aleppy prawn curry, which features grated coconut and tart fresh mango), and I loved it. We also got the bagara baignan, which was also new to me (I looked it up: it's from Hyderabad) and my husband couldn't stop talking about how much he liked it -- he really appreciated how well cooked the tiny eggplants were. The naan was great, but the paratha my friend ordered was even better. Even the desserts, which can be an afterthought in a lot of restaurants, were tasty and prettily presented. This is definitely my new favorite local Indian restaurant, and I'm looking forward to working my way through a lot more of the interesting menu items. read more

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Just had an amazing dinner at Great Indian Kitchen! Inside looks really nice.. nice ambiance and very clean. My kids love the fish tank, and the mural with candles at the entrance was very pretty. The staff was great- very friendly, and welcoming. All the food we ordered was amazing. For our main entrees we ordered several special lamb dishes , along with some garlic naan and a chicken tikka masala for the kids. Everything was on point! Lamb was cooked to perfection very flavorful and tender. Chicken tikka was delicious- tender chicken and we asked for mild curry since it was for the kids. They loved it! Garlic naan was perfection- soft with a light crisp. Desserts we had the rice pudding, rasmalai and the shai crème brûlée. Whenever we eat Indian I always order the rice pudding and rasmalai for dessert.. it was very fragrant and not overly sweet- just done right with hints of cardamom. Of course we devoured it all. I want to try everything on the menu. We were so stuffed I literally felt like my stomach was going to explode and it looked like I was pregnant. But I couldn't stop eating. The food was that good and service was exceptional. Truly a hidden gem in the capital region. I wish I lived closer. Whenever I'm in the area we will def be back for sure. Thank you Rocky and Vincent!! read more

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Took a weekend trip up to the capitol area and was craving Indian food. As soon as my partner and I arrived, we Passed this place on the highway and decided to stop in. We were immediately greeted and sat by friendly staff, Started off with the samosa chaat and the hot and sour soup. Both delicious but Samosa chaat came out a bit cold. Would have liked it on hotter (temperature) side. But it was flavorful. Then for entrees we got chicken biryani and Chana masala. Both were once again, very good. The garlic naan was also a delicious addition. You also get ALOT of food for the price so it was a great value. I think the only thing they could maybe work on is the ambience of the place. It had a little bit of a dining hall feel. Sort of sterile and not very cozy. Other wise, great place if you've got the curry cravings read more

Great Indian Kitchen Restaurant and Bar - Samosa chaat, always a fave app. - Indian Near Me - Albany, New York

I feel a need to apologize in advance. This is not going to be nice to hear. I'm a pretty flexible person when it comes to Indian food. Unfortunately, everyone has their base standards and GIK missed even those limits. I ordered chicken tikka masala. What came was hard dry cubes of chicken breast floating in tomato soup. It was probably the worst interpretation of this dish that I've had across dozens of Indian restaurants. This was only the second time I've ever had to return a dish and the last time it was because my meat was still cold (blue!) and had a piece of plastic wrap melted to the bottom. I got the paneer masala as a replacement. It was thin. It tasted like sweet tomato soup. But the paneer offered a much better texture. It was fine but nothing to write home about. Weirdly, my rice had almost no carrots or peas. I didn't realize that they were all in top and not mixed in so I kind of lost my vegetables with my first dish. Bummer. The restaurant dining room looks nice. The naan was very good. The waitstaff was friendly and accommodating. I left a generous 30% tip. Unfortunately, I won't be back. read more

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We tried this restaurant for the first time and LOVED it. Great food. Excellent service. Clean and comfortable. Nice bar.

By far the best Indian food, service and atmosphere. We had two vegetarian dishes and naan - and enough left for lunch. The Tandori paneer was nicely charred and a delightful dish! Can't wait to go back. I've also had lunch buffet - good assortment of vegetarian food, fresh naan made for you put at your table. Excellent service! I would like to see one dish be spicy. read more

Great Indian Kitchen Restaurant and Bar - Vegetarian selection at lunch buffet - Indian Near Me - Albany, New York

Unassuming from the outside, but inside is nice - the place has a huge acquarium as you walk in. Great food, very courteous and accommodating wait staff. They made us off menu salty lassi since we didnt want the sweet mango lassi drink. We ordered mixed appetizer which came as two potato slice fritter, two cauliflower pieces, one samosa and some onion fritters. The pepper goat was fantastic. the chettinad chicken was tasty but not so authentic to the region. The entree portions are good sized. Would positively visit again! read more

We were a very large party so we were glad that they were able to handle us! The service was excellent and the food matched it as well! We had a variety of foods from samosas to chicken and various naans. They do close at 9 pm during the week so just be aware of this closing time. The owner was very nice as well so I say give it a try! read more

Great Indian Kitchen Restaurant and Bar - menu - Indian Near Me - Albany, New York

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Don't let the shabby 1960's exterior deter you. The interior has been updated and is both comfortable and elegant. This place has excellent Indian food. We had Lamb Rogan Josh and Lamb Palak and both dishes were among the best we've ever had. The dishes were properly spiced and generous. The ample lamb pieces were very tender. The naan breads were a bit smaller than we are used to do consider doubling up on the bread order. The service was prompt and friendly. read more

The place had a welcoming pleasant vibe. The food is fantastic wait staff was warm and friendly. I highly recommend it! read more

The place is pretty decent, staff very friendly, food was fresh and tasty. Had the chicken 95, chicken tiki and mango lassi. Well done!

Stopped when in town briefly and staying across the street. Great surprise when we got there. Food is reasonably priced and excellent. Chicken Vindaloo, Saag Paneer, and Chana Masala all had great flavors. Wish it was closer to home! . Hard to find a solid Indian restaurant like this. Service was friendly, and food came out pretty quick. read more

One of my college friends was turning 30 and decided to host a small party with friends and family here at Nirvana. She lives in the Capital Region and says this is one of her favorite places to go. I enjoy Indian cuisine, so I was excited to catch up with friends and see what Nirvana offered. Nirvana has simple decor; the outside is unassuming and the inside has a clean aesthetic with hints of dark red and yellows which add a splash of color. We were seated in a private room and with the food being served buffet style. We were started with two apps: samosa chaat and gobi bazule. The samosa chaat contained chickpea, mint, tamarind chutney, and yogurt; it was delicious and I liked the fact that the dish wasn't too heavy. The gobi bazule contained crispy cauliflower with yogurt, mint, and spices. I don't usually like cauliflower but the spices and texture worked so I actually enjoyed it. There were a variety of mains: aloo gobi (potatoes and cauliflower), chicken malabar, these dumpling-like things with cheese, rice, and of course naan. Everything was really tasty - I especially enjoyed the dumplings and the chicken. The naan had an interesting seasoning on it which added a welcome twist. For dessert, they served rice kheer and gulab jamun. The rice pudding had some nice spices and the gulab jamin has an interesting look and taste - they almost reminded me of strufoli on steroids ;-). Service was very good, and overall I had an enjoyable experience at Nirvana. I don't visit the Albany area too much these days, but I would be totally open to coming here if the opportunity came up. read more

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Food was really good and extremely attentive wait staff. Perfect name for this restaurant.

Nirvana was a must-do on my recent trip to Schenectady. We are having a family function there in June, and needed to make sure the place was good. It is more than good for the purposes of our family get-together, and more than good for the purposes of dinner. Our table of 7 was seated almost immediately. Our waiter came by and took our drink orders. We asked him for his recommendations on appetizers. He suggested a few different things, all of which were amazing. We also ordered paneer makhani, chicken tikka, and a spicy lamb dish, tandoori chicken, and enough naan to feed a small army. The paneer makhani was delicious. I'm a big fan of makhani anyway so I'm perhaps a little biased, but my soon-to-be brother-in-Law, who isn't a big fan, said it was good too. I didn't try the chicken tikka but there wasn't any left so it had to be good!!! The spicy lamb was for my future brother, who likes food as spicy as humanly possible. (He's marrying my sister, who thinks pepper is too spicy, so this should be interesting to see...) The tandoori chicken was perhaps my favorite dish. It came out hot and sizzling on a skillet. Tandoori chicken can be very dry when served, but Nirvana's tandoori was soft and tender and full of flavor. The decor of the restaurant was classy and comfortable, with a few unique pictures hanging on the wall. I loved Nirvana, and would recommend it to anyone who wanted Indian food in the Schenectady area. read more

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I've only been for the lunch buffet. Impossible to beat at $12.95. Very very good food. They always have at least one item I've never tried before. Service is very attentive and friendly read more

Upfront I want to say that, in general, I am not a big fan of Indian food. That being said I decided to give Nirvana a shot (thru GrubHub). Although I am not very adventurous with this cuisine I have to say that their Samosa is terrific. Their chicken Biryani is very flavorful - nicely spiced. The basmati rice is always moist and flavorful and the Naan is also very nice. The Kadai chicken smells and tastes really good - but is a bit on the spicy side for me - that is not at all meant to detract from how good the dish is. They always deliver earlier than they initially project and the drivers are very friendly. The orders are always accurate. Happy to give this restaurant a 5 star review. read more

A lot of sauce, not a lot of protein. Flavors not as deep as we are used to in Indian cooking.

Another fabulous meal by GIK. Love the Shrimp Bagari appetizer, and the Chicken Korma and Chicken Tikka Masala was great as usual. Thanks to all the staff who always make dining in or out a wonderful experience! Jean & Tom read more

We had dinner in this place while on our family visit.Great place to eat out.They welcome us with a beautiful smile and lovely greetings,followed by their unique nonalcoholic drink upon our request, variety of food,like different kinds of Dosa and an order of Mutton Byriani.Four of us got a chance to taste every item we ordered. They served the food very presentable,Warmed and and authentic taste.Food I should say Scrumptious More than happy to promote them A happy Customer.Betty Joy Dallas,TX 06/24/24 read more

Great service, food was outstanding, and the portions are huge! Will definitely come here again when I'm in the area.