We first stumbled into Lazeez about three months ago in the middle of the afternoon, mostly trying to kill time with a toddler and a stroller. It was an off hour, so we sat at the bar with our daughter on my lap and ordered naan and samosas. The staff could not have been nicer. They brought our daughter a mango lassi on the house, which is apparently all it takes to earn our family's loyalty for life. Before we left, the bartender told us we had to come back and ask for the Punjabi Chicken, an off-menu dish and his personal favorite. We promised we would. Three months later, we finally made good on it. This time we brought the stroller again and discovered it folds up perfectly between the booths, so that problem solved itself. We started with a corn appetizer that inexplicably and delightfully came with an ice cream cone on top. My husband ate the entire cone before our daughter or I could try it, but the two of us gave everything he left behind a 5/5. Then things got entertaining. On the way there, my husband announced that he was going to order his food as spicy as they could possibly make it. He ordered the Chicken Tikka at the "works" spice level. I ordered the recommended Punjabi Chicken medium because I wanted our daughter to try it. Medium turned out to be too spicy for the toddler and not spicy enough for Mommy. Fortunately, she is perfectly happy living on rice, naan and mango lassis. Meanwhile, my husband was absolutely suffering. He was sweating and hiccuping so badly that our waiter came over to offer him more rice while the chef peered at him through the service window for what I can only assume was comedic relief. Despite looking like the Chicken Tikka was actively trying to kill him, he insists he would order it Indian hot again 10 out of 10 times. One last note for anyone coming with little kids: there isn't a changing station in the bathroom, which required a little improvisation mid-meal. But that bathroom was so unbelievably clean that I genuinely would have been comfortable eating off the floor. Not something I anticipated mentioning in a restaurant review, but here we are. The Punjabi Chicken was fantastic, everything we've tried on both visits has been excellent, and the staff is genuinely some of the warmest we've encountered. They made us feel completely welcome when we wandered in with a baby and a cumbersome stroller the first time, and that's exactly why we came back. We'll absolutely be back again. read more

Lazeez Modern Indian Flair - My husband sweating out his decisions. - Indian Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

I won't lie. I love Indian food so I may be a bit biased here. But I haven't had a bad meal in Cville from any of the Indian restaurants. It's hard for me to say this but Lazeez might take the cake too. The Haggat Nihari Raan may be the best Indian dish I have ever eaten. Shoot might be top 5 all time in general. I have had dreams about this dish since I last ate it. The service was spectacular. I wish I had gotten the name of our server because he was friendly, helpful, and hilarious. Our host on the other hand was not. She was quite rude. Asked if we had reservations then rolled her eyes when we said we did not. The restaurant was almost entirely empty. Came close to not even trying this marvelous establishment. Would come again. And avoid the host of possible. read more

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My friends and I came here for my friend's 30th birthday. We made reservations but it wasn't very busy for a Tuesday night. Our server was amazing and recommended a lot of great foods. For drinks, I did the mango mojito which was yummy. For appetizers, we did the Lazeez Papdi Chaat, garlic naan and the fried oysters which were yum. For my main dish I did the Poussin Tikki Masala which was SO good and it comes with a side of basmati rice. One of my friends brought the cake, and the restaurant put candles on it and put it on a nice platter saying "Happy Birthday" which was really sweet of them. Really cute place on the downtown mall. Closest parking would probably be Market Street Garage. I would definitely come back! read more

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The space they occupy on Charlotte's walkable arcade is prominent. It is a Richmond-based restaurant brand, which made me mildly skeptical (and I've never tried them in Richmond; there are plenty of quality Indian places there other than this one, as there are in Charlottesville for that matter). When I walked in I noted that this was the sort of place where all the staff looked to be from the area they are representing. Seeking fiber in my diet, I ordered an okra dish and asked for it extra spicy. It was a fanatically flavored dish; it tasted like they used pickle spice (aachar) and while the burn was considerable, the mix of sweet and sour flavors and the fresh crunch of the vegetables were on point. Ordering a large bread was perhaps excessive for my needs, moreso given that they included a ton of butter with it which I did not eat (though I'm sure it was good). The menu was a bit heavy and had a lot of dairy, and I wish they'd had a thali or a smaller lunch special or something. But there was clearly some talent in the preparation of what I received. read more

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Vegans - proceed with caution. You can get a very tasty, filling meal here but you'll need a little coaching from staff as to what menu items can be Veganized (spoiler alert: basmati rice isn't one of them). Dinner date with my husband and I'm so glad we found Lazeez. We had assistance from our kind and patient waiter to veganize the appetizer crispy collards, pind de cholly and the okra dish. Since the rice is made with butter, he offered quinoa as an alternative base and that was a perfect pairing. The restaurant itself is upscale and simply romantic. Our server was a total sweetheart. Our food was some of the finest Indian cuisine we've ever had, masterfully displayed on unique black pottery dishes. Yes: vegan options read more

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Fantastic all around! Tasty meals of Lazeez Papdi Chaat, Khumb Matar Paneer, Butter Chicken, Butter Naan. Service was spot on. Cleanliness is abundant. Atmosphere beautiful. read more

So..... i echo some of the prior review comments. Food great. -The two dishes we had, rogan josh lamb, and a chole chickpea dish were excellent. A definite cut above the journeyman Indian dishes at some (not all) of the Indian restaurants in town. Far from tinned sauces. Piquant, flavorful, tasted like ground spices. (Garlic naan, a disappointment, definitely skip it.) -The service, still, it seems, a work in progress, on the job training. No drink menu, and I actually thought they didn't have a liquor license until, as the dishes were arriving, I turned left and saw there was a giant stocked bar (!). I called out from the middle of the room to the bartender and asked what kind of beer they had and they were frankly a bit unprepared to answer, so I just threw some names out to them. I hope they get that aspect settled because it's a prime location in the middle of the Mall, clearly capable chefs who understand proper Indian cooking and they're seeking to deliver a higher caliber of delicious cuisine. But they need to quickly get the wait staff into anticipated pro shape.... It should not stop you from going there because, after all, you had it for the taste and it was *very good* . read more

Lazeez Modern Indian Flair - Indian Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

This is a fabulous new Indian Restaurant in Charlottesville. I highly recommend! The service was above par, the food was absolutely delicious, and I love the modern decor and atmosphere. I hope everyone visiting or living in CVille will experience it! It's as good or better than the best Indian restaurants I've been to in San Francisco and DC. read more

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Great Flavors! The vegetable masala and the Chicken Vindaloo were both some of the best we have ever had. Very pleased! read more

Lazeez Modern Indian Flair - Vegetable masala and chicken vindaloo - Indian Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

Very happy that this place opened up on the downtown mall with excellent Indian food and drinks in a beautiful space (with both indoor and outdoor seating). Employees seem to still be training and service was below par (e.g. Our party of 7 had reservations for a Friday night but the table wasn't set up for us on time, despite most of us arriving early and sitting at the bar while waiting for the rest of our party). I highly recommend the lamb biryani and tandoori chicken, both of which were generously portioned and incredibly flavorful. The bartender made a great paper plane cocktail for my husband and I tried the jal jeera, a non-alcoholic Indian sparkling drink featuring cumin and mint. It was refreshing (and very large)! Despite the service hiccups, we'll be back! read more

I have very high expectations for Indian food so I rarely go out for Indian, but I would come back here anytime because the food tastes authentic! When I came here with my family we ordered some staples - Lazeez Papdi Chat, Samosa Veg, Lacha Pyaz Tadka Dal, and Butter Chicken. Everything was absolutely delicious, presented well, and exactly how I wanted it and expected it to taste. I did try something new which was the Makhanphal Tikka Masala, which I expected to be different in my head, but still tasted delicious. I also ordered a Mango Lassi which was just perfect in both presentation and taste. My only gripe and the reason I took a star away is the service. Unless we intentionally bothered a server for attention, we would easily go a long time feeling ignored. That being said, I would still come back here again because the food is worth it! read more

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We really enjoyed the appetizer Lazeez Papdi Chaat (chickpea). Delicious and great texture. For a main the chicken tikka masala and Khumani Kofta (apricot) exploded with flavor. More sauce than we needed but very tasty and great for naan and rice. Service and ambiance were good. read more

Lazeez Modern Indian Flair - Chicken Tikka Masala and Khumani Kofta - Indian Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

this place is so yummy! great selections and friendly staff. our waiter nicco was very accommodating and helped me select between two dishes, and he was right! the butter paneer masala was so delicious. will definitely be coming back :) read more

Solid food at reasonable prices, especially at lunch. The servers are attentive and pleasant.

I brought 2 friends here to thank them for their friendship and help during a tough time for my family. As we do to many restaurants in the area, we brought our own favorite bottle Of wine to share and were expecting to pay a corkage fee. On entering, the lovely hostess had a table ready for us, but the manager or owner saw Our bottle and said per VA law we cannot drink that at the establishment (false). We asked about a corkage fee and he said the state had gotten rid of that. Nope . First and foremost- don't lie to your patrons! Then when we asked our waiter what Cabernets they have ..."sorry sir we don't have Cabernet." Ok. How about Pinot? "Sorry we don't have." One of my friends then ordered a manhattan but they didn't know how to make it. At this point the manger should've come out , talked to us and opened our bottle for us (he wanted to hold our bottle until we left). But we never saw him. Food : main course came before appetizers and the food quality was average. Will never go back here. Here's to waiting for this place to go out of business to try the next restaurant at this location! read more

Wow!! YUM!! 3 of us just had the most delicious meal here We enjoyed the biryanis with lamb, butter chicken, garlic naan, and veggie samosas and that was spot! We potentially could have ordered more but errored on the side of less is more and it was Amazing! Delicious! We could not be more pleased that there is a real Indian restaurant in town read more

Lazeez Modern Indian Flair - Cleared our plates! - Indian Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

I went here for dinner and the food was excellent! My experience was spoiled by the poor service staff. We reached the restaurant relatively early and majority of the tables were empty so we requested for a certain table, which the servers denied us but moments later the table was offered to another guest who also did not have prior reservations. Once we sat down and placed our order, the server never even got back to our table to check on us. Also, they don't serve water without asking for it specifically which i thought was so weird. read more

Went here for dinner one night and the food was amazing. The staff were very friendly and very welcoming. I definitely will be visiting again! read more

Lazeez Modern Indian Flair - Indian Near Me - Charlottesville, Virginia

We had the absolute best experience. The food was top notch I'm pretty sure we tried almost everything on the menu and there was nothing that wasn't good . Our waiter and bartender Viki was incredible. 10/10 would recommend to anyone willing to explore different food options in the Cville area . read more

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The weather was perfect we ate outside and enjoyed the most creative, delicious and delightful Indian food. Try the Collard appetizer! It was awesome! Will definitely return! Thank you for promoting and beautiful service as well. read more

First time here and went with another couple. Can't recall what I ordered but it was okay....i guess. Very different from the Milan Restaurant for food selections and don't think I'll be going back. Service was extremely slow. Since they were in their first few weeks of opening they hopefully have improved on the service end. Give them a try. read more

Service was excellent, mango lassis are amazing as is the cherry coconut naan bread and as always the curry's are superb! Great curry night out! read more

The food was all very good - tasty and well spiced. We had veggie samosas as an appetizer, and then tumeric lemon chicken and maa ki daal (black lentils and red kidney beans) as our entrees plus some garlic naan. The service however left much to be desired. When we arrived at 6:30 on Sunday evening, all the tables were full, and the staff seemed overwhelmed. It took quite a while to get menus, but almost as soon as we got our menus, the server asked for our order including our drink order, and when we asked what beers they had, he pointed to the refrigerator behind the bar. He couldn't tell us anything about wine; it would have been nice to have a drink menu. We got the samosas fairly quickly, but it took a long time to get our entrees, and they apparently forgot about the chicken. Again, the food was very good, but they need to get their act together regarding their service. We would definitely give it another try given the quality of the food. read more

Fast and friendly staff. Easy to find on Downtown Mall. Tasty dinner! Spice level asked for each item so for those that are brave, more power to ya! Nice ambiance. Nice decor and dish-ware and staff dresses I. all black for a modern look. Window seating with downtown view was fun to people watch. A must try if love traditional and new Indian food. read more

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Went on a Friday night and had a wonderful meal (Charlottesville location which opened about a month ago I understand.) The food was interesting, diverse, tasty, with a large menu selection. The fried oysters were wonderfully crispy, with a hint of Indian spice in the batter, and perfectly cooked inside. The Chaat was AMAZING (Frankly the best I've had and beautifully presented.) The Lamb chop small dish with potatoes was deliciously tender and not over cooked. The Shrimp Curry, (listed as a Surf and Turf Curry on the menu) was actually a choice of meats (shrimp, lamb or goat) was tasted like every vegetable in the sauce was cooked from fresh, with the shrimp perfectly (not over!) cooked. We both enjoyed our carbs--I had an unusual naan (coconut and cherry) that was so tasty I had the leftover for breakfast. The other was a Kulcha of Parmesan and mushroom, unusual and delicious. We are already planning a return visit. The young woman waitress we had was superb. She was able to describe every dish, checked the spice levels desired, explained the way the menu was set up, and checked on us and our food throughout the meal. She also displayed a delightful sense of humor with professionalism. (The male servers/attendants did not appear to speak much English, which meant that some questions were not understood--but they were spot on with bringing the dishes as they came out, filling our water glasses, and were attentive.) As of our visit, no alcoholic beverages were served. They have applied for a liquor license, and it is pending, but a variety of traditional Indian beverages, soft drink, teas, and water are available. The one unusual thing was that all the dishes arrived together. Not a problem, but one may want to order in sequence to space out the experience. read more

We try different meals every time we visit. Excellent as usual. A visiting friend wanted to dine at Lazeez again over trying a different place. The biryani is excellent center piece dish. We paired it with a chicken/cashew and a tandoori dish- excellent individually and together. Preparation and presentation excellent. Well done as usual! read more

This is a follow up review. My first time was really good. However this time I cannot say that I had a good experience. The food was Meh, and the service has gone downhill. No wine selection to speak of and a defiant manager who didn't understand the concept of uncorking fee. I may have to go a third time to see if it improves to say that I went at least Theee times. read more

We had a reservation for five people on a Saturday evening, so I expected perhaps a wait or slower service. What we got was a disaster. Our waiter didn't show up for 10 minutes or so, and when he did, he knew nothing about the menu, couldn't even tell us what drinks were available-- in fact he told us that a drink we actually could see at another table wasn't available! We had to point at it and ask him multiple times if he was sure and as it turns out, he wasn't. He couldn't tell us how any of the dishes were prepared. He then left for more than thirty minutes and we got no water refills. I ended up going over to a sink myself! The meals came ONE AT A TIME with a space of at least 10-15 minutes between them and one entree never came at all and he had to go re enter it. It's one thing to have a new or bad waiter but how is anybody ok'ing that entree timing? The manager must have been asleep, which is pretty bad for like the third week they've been open. The food was just okay. My Cornish hen came drowned in sauce and in chunks with the bones in so that I could not eat it with a fork (I'd have to spit the bones out) and it was incredibly messy to eat with my hands. My husband's chicken was dry, the kefta was tasteless and the butter chicken my friend eventually got was bland as well. An absolute disaster from start to finish, would not recommend. read more

Lazeez has great Indian food but poor service and availability. I have been here twice. The first time was when the restaurant had only been open for a week. Everything was amazing and the staff was super friendly. The second time was a bit hectic. Our waiter could not get our order right even after he repeated it a few times. We received extra dishes that we didn't order. He also forgot to charge us for multiple items and had to take back our bill. As we were about to leave, he walked past the table and reeked of marijuana which would explain why he was so out of it. Other staff members seemed to be trying to pick up after him. While looking at the cocktail menu, we tried to order multiple drinks just for the waiter to tell us that they were out of almost everything. We settled for the house cocktail which was way too sweet and a little sickening. My mother has a spice intolerance and was told her dish was not spicy at all but it was so she could only eat a part of it. On top of this, it took around 30-40 minutes to get our food. The food is worth at least one visit if you have patience. I got the chicken tikka masala which was creamy and rich. The samosas, papri chaat, and the collard greens as appetizers were so so good. The interior is very modern and well decorated. I plan to give this place one more chance in the future with hopes of better service and more drink availability. read more

The food was delicious but the waiter service needs improvement as he forgot and mixed orders and added additional items on the bill. The ambiance is upscale setting read more

Waiter did not speak English well and couldn't therefore give information about the menu. Food was good and service was fair. I will give it another try. read more

A group of 6 of us ate at Lazeez about a month ago. The food was excellent. A step up from typical Indian. The service was very slow and amateurish. Nice people but hopefully will improve. read more

We loved everything we ordered for our Saturday night dinner! Each dish was perfectly seasoned, and the presentation is very special.

The best Indian food in the world is in Charlottesville. Yes, Charlottesville. Where to begin, the main courses, the appetisers, even the breads are unlike anything anywhere. This restaurant puts Charlottesville on the map as a destination for fine dining. read more

Yea this restaurant was NOT GOOD at all. Starting with the fact that the owner started arguing with me that there is no such thing as corkage in Virginia( yes there is ). Btw, I was quite willing to pay the corkage fee. Then I said , fine we will have your wine. Lets see the list. The list was , cabernet sauvignon, Pinot Noir and a couple of white wines. I said fine what Cabernet do you have? Response: "Oh sorry sir, we are out of it". Then I said, what Pinot Noir do you have? Response: "Sorry we just ran out of it". Then I said fine we will have a Manhattan. Response: "We don't know how to make a Manhattan". We settled on Cocktail # 1. On to the food order, we ordered a Tandoori Chicken plus some other things. The Tandoori chicken showed up before our appetizers even showed up. The other food was a bit better than an average Indian joint. Absolutely nothing special here. read more

The food was very good, but the service was lacking. They were all very nice, just a little slow and a bit disorganized. I received the wrong cocktail and it took a long time to get our order placed in the first place. The crunchy greens salad was delicious and the chef clearly knows what they are doing! read more

We had lunch today. We had Chicken tika masala and Vandulu. It's was very delicious and recommended! Service was excellent and very thoughtful! Will be back again read more

First meal delicious. We sat outside which was nice. New restaurant so give it a try!

Great food and excellent service. We love the location in Richmond and this new location is awesome as well. Ask for the Aaloo paratha with butter. read more

Got takeout today! The food was simply amazing, and this is coming from an actual Indian person who just went to India. I got the butter chicken, chili garlic naan, seek kebab, reshmi kebab, and mirchi paneer. Everything was 10/10. Can't wait to go in person! So happy to have a great addition to charlottesville! read more