How to make India Bistro quality Chicken Tikka Masala - from an Indian: You will need a microwaveable dish: a) take stale meat (cubes of boneless chicken) with no flavor of the marinade that goes into chicken tikka b) take a can of Hunt's - or any grocery store brand - of pureed tomato sauce c) add a bit of Indian spices - say, a pinch of garam masala d) drop the stale chicken cubes into the canned tomato puree e) microwave f) drop a gigantic piece of raw tomato and a slice of lime into this watery mix for presentation g) garnish with a leaf of cilantro h) for the complimentary Basmati rice, make sure the rice was cooked much much earlier in the day, so its NOT warm, moist and fluffy but rather dry, hardened grains of cooked flavorless rice The one highpoint - the plain naan I ordered, which was fresh, buttery and soft. My fellow Seattleits: the buffet in this place is perfectly acceptable, but items from their dinner menu is a hit and miss affair. The waitress was more like an impatient haus frau who slapped food down my table IN 5 MINUTES! That explains why it was so awful. And notice how not many Indians - like myself - have a very high opinion of this place. read more

This is a decent, Indian buffet. I've had much worse, and much better. The service was quite indifferent - the manager fellow seemed to be just waiting for the place to close, and that was at 1pm on a weekday. I was hoping for brighter, cleaner flavors, but it was all just a bit bland. Maybe that's how people like it? I don't know. Anyway - it's exactly the kind of experience and food the three star rating was made for. Not bad, but no reason to go back. read more

I just moved to Ballard and am in the process of finding my new local restaurants in the area. Indian is one that is on the top of the list. I love Taste of India and hoped that I would find something I like just as much...and I did. I ordered the lamb tikka masala, aloo mattar (potatoes and peas in a yummy creamish sauce), aloo chole (chickpeas and potatoes) and the garlic naan. All of it was delicious! The garlic naan had the thicker bits around the edges that remind you of a savory pancake. I really liked the tikka masala. It had great flavor. And both of the vegetarian dishes were great. I have ordered similar dishes at other Indian restauarants and I think these were better than most I have had. I ordered medium on the spicy level and it was perfect. I like spicy food and this was just about perfect - lingering heat but not so spicy you can't taste the food. Might be able to bump up to medium-hot spiciness next time. For the 4 dishes my total was right around $35. Pretty good considering I will get about 5 meals out of it. I ordered it for take out and it was promptly ready in about 15 min. This will definitely be my new Indian spot. read more

Came here for dinner during the week. There was plenty of seating, friendly waitstaff. I don't remember exactly what I had (some spicy, potato, raisin, savoriness that made my tastebuds dance with happiness), but it came to the table fast! Serving sizes were large enough to fill me up. Atmosphere if you are into that is a bit stale. Nothing terribly exciting or charming about it. But I think that the food makes up for it. I will definitely eat here again. read more

I don't consider myself to be an expert on Indian cuisine. My other experiences have been at lunchtime 'buffets' where everything tasted the same. Not so with India Bistro! We did have to wait about 45 minutes (after being told 20-30 mins.) for a table - part of which we spent at a bar a few doors down with the spendiest cocktails I've ever seen or tasted! The rest of our wait was shivering outside the door - the restaurant being too small to have any sort of waiting area indoors. The table the host thought would be available continued to be occupied throughout our meal by a rude quartet, doggie bags at their elbows, who seemed totally oblivious to the waiting masses shivering outside the windows. Regardless to the rough start, we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. My partner ordered a lamb masala, I the tandoori chicken, and our friends shared a huge tandoori sampler. We could have all made a meal on the wonderful garlic flatbread, hot off the grill, and the wonderful sauces that accompanied our meal. We used the bread as scoops, not wanting to waste one drop of the sauce. Thank the gods I wasn't put off of Indian food forever, with only my anemic past meals to judge an entire cuisine by! My only word of caution: make reservations, lest ye be left out in the cold, or don't mind paying $10 for a fancy martini a few doors down! read more

I was initially very disappointed in my experience here, because the establishment is extremely understaffed. We sat for a good 15 minutes before anyone came over to talk to us, for water, wine/beer, anything. That is always a problem for me. I have no issue with 2 hour dinners that are slow and relaxing, giving time to enjoy food, etc... but no waiter coming by at all from the get-go? Not okay. Once we did get service, it wasn't the main waitress, but some other guy who realized we had been sitting there far too long... We ordered a plethora of food and I will say that the tandoor chicken with their secret sauce (if you will) is fantastic, as well as the eggplant bhartha. The nan and roti were a bit doughy for me, and the hot pickles/mango appetizer was a disaster. The veggie samosas here rock. They serve beer and wine and prices are reasonable. I would come back, but it was too hit or miss with the service and appetizers for me to be able to give a higher rating. read more

This is the best place for Indian! I always start off with the amazing vegetable pakoras. The sauces they serve the papdum with are wonderful and I like the pakoras dipped in them just about as much as the papdum they serve you. Then my fiancee orders a lamb dish (that we haven't tried yet) and I always order my standard that India Bistro does the best: chicken tikka masala. The food is always fantastic here, the portions are great, and the service is on the ball. I would highly recommend this place to anyone who loves Indian cuisine or anyone interested in trying it out! The only complaint I'd ever make is that the place is far too small and if it's dinner time you'll likely have to wait a long time for a table. The India Bistro on Roosevelt is usually much easier to get seated in and they have a very similar menu. read more

Personally, the best Indian food I've had in Seattle. With that said, I am NOT an Indian food expert. To me, Indian food from almost anywhere tastes pretty good. HOWEVER - one day my boyfriend brought takeout to his place, and when I tried it I immediately thought to myself: "wow. this is AMAZING". The textures of the sauce (not too thin, but also not too thick), the tenderness of the meat, and the complexitiy of spice! oh my! We had the chicken korma, the vindaloo, eggplant (amazing), and okra (even more amazing). Of course we had naan as well. :) I have not been to another Indian restaurant since. I simply don't care to try another - this place is satisfying as ever. The cashew on your Burfi - they are the FRIENDLIEST people out there. Another reason why I stay loyal to these guys. Thanks for the great food and great service! read more

What an awful excuse for an Indian restaurant. I have eaten here several times, hoping it would be better. I live in Ballard and though nothing will come close to my mother's meals or things I can find my homeland, I always wish there was a quality Indian restaurant in my neighbourhood. No such luck. India Bistro's food is not tasty and it's clear that they don't keep up with health code. It feels like most of their food is frozen and sometime not defrosted enough before serving. Their spices seem stale and I suspect they throw on tons of it because it is losing their flavor, and ultimately, that will be trouble for your belly. I have gotten sick from eating here twice. Also, their mango kulfi is a joke. It doesn't taste like mango and it's served hard as a rock. You should try Taste of India or Bengal Tiger instead. Or even Chutneys! Or just come over to my house, honestly. read more

Darn right delicious. Granted I get the same thing everytime I go (Chicken Saagwala 2 stars with plain naan), and so does hubby (murg tika), but gosh darn it! Sometimes you gotta go with what you love. I'm sure the other food is great. Only downside is that the food is a bit on the salty side, and the waitstaff could be a bit faster with that water... but c'est la vie. Not enough of a downside to lower it a star. read more

This is the only Indian buffet in Seattle I'd drive to even if I don't have any other reason to be in the neighbohood. You don't get as many choices as you do at Masala or Chutney, but the quality of each dish is better and the price is a bit lower. There is nothing particularly unique about the India Bistro, it's just better than the competition, and that's what counts. I've never eaten dinner here, but experiences at other Indian restaurants suggest that it's a good idea to go in a group so that you can get a lot of different dishes to share. read more

This is our go to Indian restaurant and we are lucky it is right in Ballard! The food is really fantastic and it is a really cozy place. Mike the owner loves his people and has taken care of Ballard taste buds for over 10 years and just opened a second place near Roosevelt Ave. Amazing spices and curries. We have only had the vegetarian dishes and they are fantastic. We recommend the Malai Kofta and the Aloo Chole as well as the roti bread! read more

We went on a Saturday night and were they busy. The food was delish and the service was friendly. We shared the Saag Paneer and Murgh Masala and halfway through our meal orderd another side of basmati rice so that we could capture all the tasty sauces. The servings were large, but on the salty side, hence the addtionally order of rice. Only wish I didn't have to have all that extra rice. However. we were quite stuffed at the end of our meal. My fiance didn't have a knife, and when he asked for one, it came not more than a minute later. When we asked for more rice, our waitress came back just as fast. If it weren't for the saltiness, I would give 4 stars. read more

India Bistro - Indian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Nice location, nice staff, good service, good ambiance. Bland food. We got bindhi and chicken and told them to make it spicy. It didn't taste like they even used spices in it. It was a slog getting through it. And we were HUNGRY. We had tons of leftovers and even brought them home, but it was so uninspiring I don't think we finished it. read more

Great Indian food. The best in Ballard. If you want really spicy Indian go to the India Bistro on Wednesdays. That's the night that there's a different chef than usual. read more

Not much has changed since our last check in for lunch. This time I had to ask the greeter if I could use dinner napkin to clean my seat. He brought me another napkin so I could clean the seat myself! Murg masala, chicken tikka, plain and garlic naan were okay. While paying I had to say we didn't eat the food they are charging us for. Wrong check! What else I can say? read more

The buffet was pretty decent here. The rice and sauces were flavorful. The dessert (golub jum), of course, was the best. We even got a free soft drink, thanks to checking in with Yelp. :) Restaurant quaint and cleanly. Lunch for 2 ran under $20...not bad. :) read more

India Bistro - Tandoori chicken, various curries and dessert for lunch buffet. - Indian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I've pretty much always been satisfied when I've eaten here. Cons: Sometimes the portions are on the small side. The restaurant itself can get cramped quickly, and it always seems crowded. Parking is always a hassle in Ballard. Pros: Courteous waitstaff Classy interior The food is consistently excellent. read more

This place is AMAZING! You will not be disappointed if you're in the mood for Indian food, come here! Highly highly recommend the Chicken Coconut Curry and I 100% do not like coconut I was blown away by how you couldn't taste the coconut and how amazing it tasted. Chicken tiki Masala was also great! read more

First visit here was great. Best garlic naan ever! Also the spice score was right on. I had the mango lamb which was great and the service was wonderful. Best Indian I have had in Seattle so far! Update second visit just as good. Spinach naan is pretty awesome also. I got takeout this time and it was just as good as eating there. read more

We enjoy visiting India Bistro. In the early evening hours they aren't too crowded. We also have gotten excellent food delivered. The vegetarian options such as eggplant bharta have a rich deep flavor. The meat options such as coconut lamb curry are also excellent. We enjoy their mixed drinks also, and friendly staff. Highly recommend! read more

I've been to India Bistro 3 times and find their food to be pretty good. Always fresh and tasty. I love the free papadam. Their pakoras aren't the best I've had but their naan is fabulous. Big fan of their Khorma, definitely worth a try. read more

I'm not an expert on Indian food, but I know what I like. India Bistro is pretty good. I frequently get the saag paneer and eggplant bharta, which is saying a lot, because I don't really like spinach or eggplant,. The shrimp and chicken in any dish tend to be overcooked, as does anything tandoori. The samosas are good, but it almost doesn't count because you could deep fry anything and make it taste yummy. I've never had a bad experience with service here. I'm pretty sure the lunch buffet is mostly leftovers from the night before, so I don't do that often. There are limited choices, but it's not as bad as some say and the price is right. read more

I have been eating Indian food since I was 1 year old. My vegetarian friend used to live in Ballard and was raving about this place. I was hesitant upon walking into India Bistro. It was packed but there was only one Indian eating at the place. The ambience is nice but it is really loud on a Friday. The wait was about 30 min when we arrived at 7pm. We ordered Roghan Josh, Chicken Korma, Malai Kofta and Special Naan/Spinach Naan. The Roghan Josh was amazing. I highly recommend this dish. The sauce was perfect. The lamb was good also. The Chicken Korma was a bit boring for me. I would recommend to get it a bit spicy. They Malai Kofta is my friend's favorite but I found it too sweet and not exciting at all. Everyone seemed to enjojy their Mango Lassis. The only real complaint I have is that Naan is a bit expensive. One piece of bread for $3 is a bit much but it is ok considering that everything else is a steal. All the dishes also come with rice. Someone from our party thought the rice was undercooked but I thought it was ok. The spinach Naan was nice but stay away from the Special Naan. It is nothing special. Overall, I have to say that this one of the best Indian restaraunts I have eaten at in the city. On the EastSide I would recommend Kanishka in Redmond or for veggies Udipi Palace in Crossroads mall is pretty good. read more

I love Indian food...but my husband isn't a huge fan so i rarely get to indulge. So when my family raved about India Bistro, i made them take me there when the hubby was away! We went on Friday evening, table for 6. The place is pretty tiny, so we were given a table that was really meant for a 4-top, and stuck two chairs on each end. It was pretty cramped, but we're a close family... We were greeted promptly by our cheery server, and ordered some garlic naan, it was delicious. I ordered the Chicken Korma, 3 stars, which was actually really spicy (looooove the spice). It was SO good, and being the Italian family that we are, we all ate each other's food. I was impressed with all of them, and loved that we each got our own little bowl of rice. Another plus... it was really affordable and i had enough left over to bring home to the hubby! Who, incidentally, actually really liked it! Now that he admits to liking Indian food, we're DEFINITELY coming back for more. All in all, LOVED the food but the interior is a little cramped. read more

Oh my. Went there with my lady and two out of town friends. This was my first time with Indian food since living in the Middle East, where I developed a taste for it, (and rather liked lamb and chicken Biryani lunches) This place didn't disappoint. I had the Murgh Tikka with Garlic Naan, my lady had the Kashmiri Chicken. One of my friends had the Mughlai Biryani, and her boyfriend had the hot Chicken Curry. And we did a lot of trading. The portions were good sized, and all of it was good. While I like cilantro, the cilantro dipping sauce for the samoas wasn't that good. But that was my only real disappointment. The curry was spiced hot for Indian tastes, which did not disappoint. My Tikka was slightly dry, but not overly so. The Kashmiri chicken and Mughlai Biryani were both excellent. Was very much worth the visit. read more

What a great deal for all-you-can-eat Indian food! It's $8.95 daily (including weekends) until 2:30 pm. There's a wide range of items to choose from- varieties of meat like chicken and goat. Lots of vegetables and curries. The naan comes out fresh and hot and is also at an all-you-can-eat basis. The reason for 3 stars? All the curries start to taste alike after a while and 3/5 of the dishes were spicy. If I could, I would have liked the option of adding spicy instead of starting off as spicy- turned me away from eating more (gosh, what a good tactic to stop people from eating more). Also, be forewarned the goat curry contains bones. Lots of bones and not a lot of meat. Not a particularly big place but can luckily seat 2 big parties of 10. This was a great and convenient way to grab lunch with our group of 11 people. We didn't have to deal with splitting the bill, wait staff didn't have to keep track of who ate what and where. Buffets are sometimes just the way to go and we don't see a lot of them in Seattle. Good job, India Bistro, for monopolizing on buffet options in Ballard. read more

Like. Like. Like. Tasty, very accommodating to special requests, we always order the vegi dishes vegan with no butter. Friendly. I go there for dinner and for the lunch buffet and they deliver! What more could one want? read more

I didn't receive my veggie pakora or my mango chutney, and the veggie curry tasted like mustard instead of curry. It was quite horrible. The naan was alright, and the mint chutney was quite good, but not good enough to makeup for the rest of the food being so bad or wrong. read more

Meh! I want to love this place like I once did... but we (me & I.B.) will probably never have another rendezvous again! - absolutely no spice! Spice is one of the best qualities of Indian food, IMO. - price does not match the quality warranted by the dishes we recently ordered. - and the BF got a real bad case of food poisoning from the chicken tikka masala he had (it was the only dish we ordered our last meal here that I did not have, but he did) Do yourself a favor, if you are looking for good Indian food, don't bother with India Bistro. Seek food from somewhere else. And, if you find a GREAT spot - please, let me know! Thanks! read more

I am a fan of Indian food. I love it. Really. This was very good. I loved the fact that they had such a large selection of lamb dishes. What i ordered (can't remember which one I ordered) was spot on delicious. The rice could have been a tad better, but it wasn't bad. Great service and a cute location. read more

Last night, the India Bistro, in Ballard, celebrated its 20-year anniversary, with a free buffet. For any restaurant in Seattle, to exist for 20 years, is a testament to the diversity of its menu, the quality of its ingredients, the fairness in its pricing and the committed attentiveness of its owner and staff. Since its opening, my wife and I have been regulars at the India Bistro. We had just returned from India, when we walked into the old Ballard Scandies. Much to our surprise, we discovered a newly opened Indian restaurant. The food at the Bistro immediately satisfied the full spectrum of our palates. Just as a trip to India is a fascinating assault on the senses and sensibilities, we find the complexity of food, at the India Bistro, to be subtle, exciting and tantalizing. Ballardites are blessed with a wide accessibility to quality ethnic foods, but the India Bistro is where we continually choose to take visiting family and friends. Whether the first time eater of Indian food or the more experienced, the Bistro never disappoints. The variety of the tikas, kormas, masalas and naans create delectable options for everyone, whether your preference is meat or vegetarian. Among our favorites are the lamb korma, chicken coconut curry, saag paneer, aloo golbi, mango lasse and the dahl soup. read more

We get take out from here fairly regularly and have never been disappointed. I typically get the Chicken Korma (hot), my wife gets the Saag Paneer and we always get the Paneer Naan and Samosas. The food quality has always been good and its always been reliable. I occasionally think about branching out and trying something else but the stuff we get is just too good! read more

Our party of five included two picky teenage girls. We entered close to the end time for the buffet but were very graciously seated and told that they would cook more if necessary. (Having just been denied seating at a nearby restaurant, this was so refreshing!) the food was very flavorful and we all enjoyed the butter chicken. The chai teas were fabulous and the naan bread perfectly prepared. Service was wonderful and our water glasses were never empty! We will definitely be back! read more

India Bistro - Indian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

When I have an Indian craving and I don't want to go far afield, this place is perfect. It's not the best Indian food I've ever had by far, but it's pretty good. I usually get the Lamb Tikka Masala which I highly recommend. The appetizers are all tasty and most of the vegetarian items I've had are good. I'm also a huge fan of the chai tea here, and it's bottomless so you can go crazy and enjoy it. The space of the restaurant is good, but not spectacular. It's kind of a standard restaurant but conversation is pretty easy to make and its cozy enough to be romantic. I've never had any problems with the wait staff; they've always been very pleasant and helpful. Overall, this is a pretty good Ballard spot. read more

Went here on a Saturday night with the family. We all ordered mild hot dishes. 2 came out super spicy and mine came out right. They must've mistaken the 'not' for 'hot'. The food was really good. I ordered the Chicken Curry because I had a craving for it and mixed it with the rice. The service was decent, the waitress' didn't check up on us and when we ordered another glass of wine, they didn't come back. The resturant wasn't as full during the beginning, but it filled up quickly. Luckily, we got there early.! read more

I've gotten take out here plenty of times- dined in once. I am definitely trying the weekend buffet next time I get. That would be a great way to learn about dishes I wouldn't normally order. Every time I order, I always get the mango chicken. The chutney sauce is sooo delicious. I'll save the sauce as leftovers to eat with more naan or rice even if the chicken is all gone, it's that good. I also always get garlic naan. The potato naan is my second favorite. Spinach naan is good if you like spinach, but I don't. Portions are a great size- I always have left overs. Other things I've tried are the daal maharani, which is pretty simple. It's not bad, but it doesn't wow me. I've also had the murgh tikka which was a little dry for my tastes, but it could have been a bad day. The vegetable samosas are good, and huge. All takeout orders come with rice, so no need to order it. The naan is huge (probably about 12 inches x 6 inches if not bigger). Staff is always very friendly whenever I come in for take out or the one time I came in for dinner. You can even order online through Eat24, which is a plus. AND they deliver. read more

I think this is hands down my favorite Indian restaurants in Seattle. It's a little cozy and there can be a short wait if you come right at prime dinner time. The outdoor seating is nice when Seattle is fortunate enough to get a warm evening. Food here is generally good all-around. But after trying just about everything on the menu (as my girlfriend and I eat here at least once a week), my recommendation is the Murg Makhani. I'm not claiming to be an expert on Indian cuisine and how authentic it is, but I can tell you we enjoy the food and atmosphere. read more

This is probably the best Indian restaurant I've been to in Seattle (and believe me, I've been to a lot). They just recently started a Sunday lunch buffet, and I think this is the best time to go if you're worried about the crowds. I love the food, I love the atmosphere, and I LOVE THEIR CHAI! read more

Lamb Kashmiri and the okra the best. Don't order chat papri. Food a little sweet as a whole. Good for a group. read more

India Bistro - Wonderful northern India restaurant. Great vegetarian selections. Do not order the chat papri. Odd. Lamb Kashmiri and the okra the best. - Indian Near Me - Seattle, Washington