So my wife and I saved our Sunday night out to go to this place as we were in town only for one weekend. We saw that it closes at 9 pm on Sunday. So instead of dining someplace near the harbor, we headed up and entered at about 7 pm. The place was full and there was no hostess at the door, so we went straight to the bar and asked the bartender girl if we can get a table. She said "we have a private party today. we are closed". That was surprising, because the "Open" sign outside was lit as bright as day. And there was no sign outside saying "closed for private service". So we stepped out and we saw that there was another entry door a little ahead up the road. We went in and asked one of the waiters if the place was open. "Yes ! he said. It's open. Please sit". So while we were trying to figure out where to sit, the bartender girl came back and looked at us with a sign of shock as if to say "I told you, we were closed". Seeing that look on her face I said "But the other waiter, he asked us to sit" to which she replied "No ! Its closed. that other guy doesn't know". And then she walked away. No apology. We then headed out feeling really bad and humiliated. Thanks Lumbini. I'm never coming there again and am not going to recommend you to anyone. Please learn how to treat your customers well. read more

So I just got into Baltimore and went with the yelp reviews to find a good indian place that delivers, and ordered Garlic Naan, Keema Curry, and Plain Rice. This was through GrubHub. This split itself into the Good, the Bad, and the Neutral: The Good: Keema Curry was delicious and interesting. I love lamb, I love chicken, I love curry, and I love trying new things. They got exactly the heat level I want (mild to medium--just enough heat to be pleasant but still snarfable for a hungry girl), and I really enjoyed it. Sliiiiiiiightly dry on the meat, maybe, but within the normal variation of a restaurants output, and so easily it could have been an anomaly. The Bad: The Garlic naan was...terrible. Just, awful. It's usually my favorite part of Indian places. It was poorly seasoned and had alarming radioactive green...things (peppers? I think?) all over them. I tasted more pepper then garlic. Bleh. The Neutral: I ordered plain rice because I wasn't sure that the curry came with it--didn't say anywhere on the online menu that rice was guaranteed. I didn't want to find out this is one of those places that screws you and makes you order a separate portion, even for something like curry. Turns out it was not, and rice came with the meal, so I had two things of rice. So, you know...learn from me and don't order extra rice. read more

I. Love. This. Place. I have had their lunch buffet on one occasion, and it was well-stocked with a variety of vegetarian and meat dishes; it was even on the later side of the buffet hours, around 1:30pm, and everything was still being restocked and freshened up. If you haven't had Nepalese before, the buffet is a great way to introduce oneself. Beyond that, I've gotten take-out, and could not have been more pleased with the Butter Chicken, Hyderabaldi Lamb, and, my most recent discovery, the Chicken Korma, a spicy, sweet coconut sauce with massive chunks of chicken. Also, I had the Katchumber Salad recently, which is a spicy cucumber salad with fresh diced tomatoes, onions, and cilantro. Very refreshing, and made a fantastic appetizer for the main event, the aforementioned, ever-so-delightful Chicken Korma. Other places may cost less, but it is worth it for the quality and portion size. Long Live Lumbini! -Ken Jordan! read more

A quick bite to eat was the last item on our list before leaving town after a weekend work trip for my husband and I. Much to our surprise, our delicious dinner at Lumbini was the best part of our trip! The service was friendly and attentive, the food was fast and fresh, and the atmosphere of the place was intimate. My husband and I agree that anytime we're in Baltimore, dinner at Lumbini is a must! read more

I love this I try to eat here at least once a week. The food is excellent, Great courteous attentive customer service. The energy and ambiance is incredible. One of my favorite restaurants. read more

I visit Lumbini almost every Thursday now. One of my friend recommended me to try Chicken Tikka Masala. So, I went with my friends few months ago and I have become a big lover of Lumbini. Before this, I used to go to Kumari and Akbar only by seeing the reviews but I found really good taste zone right now. Waiters are really polite and service is greatly admirable. They also offer buffet until mid-day but unfortunately, I can't manage time except at evening. I really love their free appetizer ( I forgot exact name - I think "Paapad") Their garlic naan is really great. I think they have made some hybrid with indian foods to make tasty. Mmmmhhmmm... read more

So I had a taste for Indian food and this place did not disappoint me. I dined at this restaurant at around 1pm on a Wednesday. It is located on Charles Street in downtown Baltimore. There was no wait to be seated and I went with the lunch buffet that is priced at $10.99. I can't remember the actual name of all of the dishes, so bear with me, the buffet offered: fresh cucumber salad, fried egg plant, naan bread, tikka mushroom, savory chick peas, cabbage, creamed spinach, curry fish, curry chicken, chicken masala, carrot pudfing, white and yellow basmati rice pudding and honey soaked pastry. I did not try everthing, but liked what I did eat. The curry chicken gravy was on point, however beware of the sneaky little bones. I also want to point ot that this restaurant is bigger than you would expect from the outside appearances. I think they have a seperate room that can accommodate a larger group. This place definitely satisfied lunch on borrowed time needs. read more

I have not seen any restaurant as irresponsible as this place. I went down on a Thursday evening for dinner. While ordering, I specifically asked if the entree had any peanuts. They guy confidently said no. When the food arrived, the curry was made of a paste of peanuts!!! I could have had an anaphylactic shock if I'd have tasted the food before my fellow guest. Anyways, when I told them about it, they wanted me to take the peanut sauce home and pay my rest of the check. I had a groupon, which was good for only one go. I I told asked them for a replacement entree. It was 9:15 and they wanted to close the place. Even though the place was supposed to be open till 10pm, I thought they must have had a long day, and agreed to carry out. On getting back home, the food was like a punishment. The color of the curry was bright red, it was made in chili paste!!! And no salt or any other ingredient. No rice with the curry too. I feel like I should have filed a complaint for such traumatizing experience. Felt like The crew was being spiteful coz I wanted to buy food from them, when they preferred going home. My few cents--- keep the restaurant closed if you don't want to serve food. Don't ruin someone else's evening and dinner! read more

So this is the first review I have ever written and it sucks that it should be negative but I feel like I'm doing a service as far as educating people on this place. I want to first Make it clear that the food is awesome!!!. I love everything I have had from there. I am a supervisor at powerplant live and and our entire district ordered from here up until last week. I added all of my Eat24 past orders from here over the last couple months and they totalled over $200 so you can see how much i grew to love the food. Two Sundays ago my staff decided to get food from here so I used my eat24 app once again. I called after that to confirm that they got the order correct because I made a couple modifications so I wanted to clarify so it wouldn't be any confusion. I ordered four items and I got one of them. So I got one thing I actually wanted, two things I didn't, and was missing one item. So I payed the delivery 55 dollars including tip and he left. I didn't know the order was incorrect until he was already gone. So I called the place and explained what happened and i thought we were on the same page and then the guy gives me a new total($29). So I ask him why and he says that's what I owe. I told him thats bullshit to expect me to pay over 80 dollars because you messed my order up. I wasn't even upset about it but the guy was an asshole. He then tried to argue with me , the customer, about what I ordered. But it gets better; he offered to trade food with me in order to get my other food free of charge. Makes me wonder what you were gonna do with that returned food.??? Now because I have worked in restaurants for a long time I know that once food touches a customer's hands that food can not come back across the counter let alone all the way back in a car and to the establishment. What pissed me off was how disrespectful he was and that even though he could see how much of a regular customer I was and how much I spent there but he instead treated me like some prick trying to get free food. I later found out that he is the husband of the owner . It really sucks because like I said, the food is great. I won't spend my money there again and nor will anybody at powerplant live. read more

Food was decent but a bit too creamy and not enough spice. The coconut rice was very oily and portion size was on the small size. We got the Taj Mahal combo to get a variety option since it was our first time. I would give the rating of food a 3 but what through me off was that at the end of meal, my cousin was looking over my shoulder. There was a cockroach climbing up the wall about the size of 3 quarters liked together. I really don't want to be dramatic because my cousin just stated that "it's Baltimore" but coming from Chicago to visit, I just don't see how that it could be justified in a restaurant environment. The waitress acknowledged (Hispanic) but seemed to laugh it off as if it was just a matter of fact type situation. I would have taken a picture but it made its way up and over the balcony area. Sorry to post this but felt it would be a disservice to people for not having this disclaimer as I honestly will not come back. read more

I've ordered out from here twice. The first time was awesome; the second time, not so good. I tried to stick with the Nepalese dishes, and stay away from Indian classics you can get anywhere. In this spirit, the chicken choila and the sekuwa are great choices. The chicken dhania isn't very good; reminds of of a very greasy chicken karahi that has too many whole spices in it that can be a bit unpleasant when bitten into (e.g., a whole cardamon pod). On the plus side, they say the meat is halal, if you care about that. Definitely DO NOT GET the pari pari salad: it was just some lettuce and tomatoes with some papadum crumbles and no dressing or flavor at all--a rip off at $8. read more

LOVED this place. The food was soooooo good. Was in town for a conference, was craving Indian food, did a little yelping and happened upon Lumbini - indian and nepali? be still my heart! It was really good! Particularly the momos... after having traveled to nepal, I've been searching for good momos (fried and steamed) since I've been back. Man! they do momo's right!! The other food was really good too.. think my coworker had lamb saag (nicely spiced and reallyy good), and i had chicken makahni (also really good). Their chappatis were the only thinkg that didnt excite me, but the rest of my food was deelish! Definitely will hit it again next time i'm in Bmore read more

I've had better. The sweet tea was super weird. The food was good but nothing remarkable.

I wanted to try Indian food. The restaurant was not busy. Service was bearable. Very small potions. Ordered basic onion Bhaji. Very oily and greasy. Awful taste. Ordered Hyderabad chicken. The chicken was not cooked well and it was in a sweet creamy sauce. Tasted terrible. Hydrabadi means spicy. The chef does not have a clue how to make it. They tried to blame it on the waiter who did not inform me about the nature of the dish. Terrible experience and awful food. Why call it is a Indian/Nepali restaurant. Shame on them read more

WONDER WHY THE PRICES ARE SO HIGH FOR DINING IN? I had eaten at Lumbini twice before and it was decent, but pricey for the serving size. When a voucher came along (not groupon but a different company), I bought it because it said that it was valid for take-out, convenient. I used the online order page on their website to check prices ($35 total) but called in the order. When I arrived, the total was $35, until I gave the lady the coupon voucher. She said it wasn't good for take-out, dine-in only, even though it clearly said that it was. Then she said that she didn't recognize the company that I got the voucher from. Accusing me of making a fake voucher!?! I even pulled up the voucher on my phone to show her that it was legit. Then she said okay, I could use it, but then she grabs a menu and asks me what I had ordered. She then handed me a bill for $44!!! When I asked her why the total was $9 more, she said that it was DINING ROOM PRICES because I was using a coupon meant for dining-in (which it wasn't). So, my $35 take-out order cost $44 if you eat in the restaurant. Since I had a coupon, I still saved $6, but CLEARLY, THEY ARE OVER-CHARGING DINERS TO COMPENSATE FOR THE COUPONS THEY ISSUE!!!!! If you eat there without a coupon, then you're seriously being ripped off. Clearly no respect for their customers. Makes you wonder where else they're trying to save a few bucks. read more

Horrible food plus Lumbini markets itself on restaurant.com but do not honor their coupon. We dined in this restaurant on July 10th and ordered food for more than $60. The restaurant did not honor the 25$ restaurant.com coupon giving a lame excuse that we ordered only 3 entrees for 5 members that included my 4 year old daughter. It is none of Lumbini concern as to what we order and how much we order. restaurant.com coupon clearly said the bill should be more than $50. Lumbini clearly declined to honor for a reason that's none of their concerns. The owner I who handled this I think was rubina and she made fun of us that we don't offer free chairs to people who share food and don't take their own entrees. read more

I used to frequent Lumbini both for lunch buffet and dinner. It was one of my favorite restaurants. However, in 2013 I noticed that the food and service changed. The waitress had no clue about the foods she was serving, my sister asked for a glass of hot water and got hot water from the tap. The quality of the food on lunch menu is not what it used to be. I just stopped going to Lumbini after a couple of disappointing visits. Fortunately, Indigma and Mughal Gardens are on the same street and both places serve excellent food. read more

Great authentic Indian restaurant. Always make a point to stop in while in Baltimore. Friendly staff and really fresh food. Spicy is really spicy. read more

My husband and I have been going to Lumbini's for the past 6 years - since the time of our second date! Although we miss the days when it was a BYO (can't beat that), we still love the food and service. Great Tika Masala and Chana Masala. You can also save $$ by using Groupon specials or Restaurant.com certificates. read more

Sugar and spice and everything exotically Indian is what you can expect from Lumbini Restaurant. Wait staff are so professional even though this a buffet restaurant you still feel like you are being treated like VIP with such excellent customer service. How about a spread that is filled with authentic Nepalese & Indian Cuisine to fill up your Tandoori, Masala, and Lumbini Bhojan of meats, seafood and chicken. Vegetarian dishes are available the likes of Saag Paneer, Aloo jeera methi, and Chana Masala cooked with mutton curry and slices of potatoes, green beans, peas, chick peas savored with herbs and spices indigenous to Nepal and other parts of India. It's a lunch feast for only $9.99 including a milky treat of chia tea. This is a place where you can relax and enjoy an exotic meal, a place named after the birth place of Buddha. Lumbini has indeed enlightened my senses and has earned a spot on my nirvana location to dine while in Charm City list. read more

I absolutely love this place. We go there almost every week with my husband for the lunch buffet. Let's be clear: this is NOT an indian restaurant, it is a Nepalese restaurant. I love the Djanekho Dal. I love the gulab jamun. I love the chicken mo-mo and don't even get me started on their chai tea. For your information, I think that some of the staff don't understand English too well so please be patient and try to use simple words. read more

I came here with a friend for the buffet on a Saturday. There was a decent selection of food. The set up was nice and they put out fresh food as soon as the trays were running low. Good dessert and chai tea that are included in the buffet. Really affordable for fairly good food. The service was okay and they start to clean up about 15-20 minutes before 3pm. The servers were quick to pick up our used plates but I thought it was slightly annoying how they would not ask if we were done and quickly swoop up our plates. If you go make sure to go earlier so you don't feel rushed for them to clean up, read more

i'd never had nepalese or himalayan food before dining at lumbini's. my experience was pretty much limited to indian cuisine in atlanta, which never impressed me very much at all. the food at lumbini, however, was OUTSTANDING. the appetizer, the drinks, and the main course were excellent and super spicy! both me and my lady really enjoyed dining here. next time we're in baltimore we will definitely be eating here. in fact, it's almost worth a trip by itself! read more

Amazing food. Been here multiple times for dinner. Theirs mommos are out of the world. Ask for their red spicy dip and ask for half of your momos to be fried. You won't regret it. Most of their curries are spicy o's be careful. I am not giving 5 star because a couple of their servers are goofy. They will ask you whether they should take your plate away even if you are working on it. Nonetheless the stars are based on the food and it's definitely worth a shot. read more

I really wish I liked this place since it's so close to where I live and workers seemed nice. Unfortunately, it was mediocre at best. I got the chicken saag and garlic naan. The saag was too creamy and the chicken's texture was weird... The garlic naan was wet and unflavorful. I may give them another chance but it was definitely disappointing. read more

Pros: The food was very good. Our group of four ordered 3 appetizers and 4 entrees, which were all very good tasting. We used a Groupon and had no problem with it. They did serve free papadum and condiments, despite papadum being listed on the menu. Cons: The air conditioning was barely cooling the place on a very hot day. They had to set up fans around the rooms to make it tolerable. The server was new and knew nothing about the menu. Our table of four ordered 3 appetizers and four entrees. The vegetable samosa was typical, but good. The menu pictures 3 samosa on a plate, but two are served, the first misrepresentation we found. There were two cauliflower appetizers on the menu, and the waiter was unable to explain the $4 difference in pricing for them. We ordered the less expensive one which was delicious, but a bit skimpy in portion. The third appetizer was chat papadi, whose description was "Nepalese styled nachos topped with onion, tomatoes and baked potatoes with mild chat spices." What came out was mostly chickpeas in a delicious sauce, with some onions and a piece of potato. It was nothing like the menu description, but it was good. The server insisted that that was chat papadi. If so, they need to change their description of that menu item. Nowhere in the description was chickpeas, and that's what it mostly was! The entrees we ordered were goat curry with bone (lots of bone), 2 orders of lamb saag, and one Himalayan chicken dish that I can't remember the name of, and is not on the online menu. Everybody was pleased with their entrees. The Himalayan chicken dish was mild, but had a flavorful cream sauce. Bottom line: very good food, poor descriptions of some menu items, poor service, poor atmosphere due to air conditioning issues, interesting menu including Himalayan choices read more

The food here is a mix of Nepali and indian food. I think the food is pretty good but definitely on the expensive side. It is worth going here for the lunch buffet as this is 10 dollars per person. When you order take out, it gets pricey. I did this and it ended up costing me 20 dollars for 1 order of veggie samosas and lamb curry. The buffet has some good vegetable dishes on it, good naan, and 2 kinds of rice and good butter chicken. It's pretty cool to find a restaurant that does Nepali food as well, which is definitely a little different from Indian food but still very tasty. It hits the spot when you are craving indian/Nepali food, just make sure to go for lunch! read more

I went to Lumbini for dinner with my boyfriend and 2 friends. It was my first time dining there though another in our party had been previously for the lunch buffet. The food was outstanding. I opted for a dish off the Nepalese section of the menu and was very pleased. It was a combination of chicken with daal and chutney with rice. All of the flavors complemented each other very well and the portion size was perfect. I look forward to returning again and specifically trying the lunch buffet as others seem to have rave reviews. We are thinking of moving into the Mt. Vernon area and this place could easily become a regular spot for us. read more

Love it! We came here for the lunch buffet because I was looking for Aloo Gobi as a buffet option. We were elited to find out that not only do they have many vegetarian dishes for me but also has ALL of my husbands's favorite indian dishes, Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken/Lamb Tandoori and Gulab Jamun, for buffet....and you get all that for $9.99? You really can't beat that! While I find their Aloo Gobi to be mediocre, their other vegetarian options are great! I love their tamarind sauce as well. What adds as a big bonus is sipping their milk tea with the delicious Gulab Jamun for dessert, heavenly~ We'll definitely come back! read more

Best Indian food in Baltimore. Service was great (slow but everyone was very nice) and the food was amazing. Definitely recommend the Palak Paneer. Everything was delish. read more

Used a Groupon with my boyfriend here (only applies to the dinner service). Atmosphere was cozy. Service was impersonal but quick. The food was delicious! We got a couple naan, the tandoori chicken masala and the lamb vindaloo to split. It came with unlimited basmati rice which was good - the naan wouldn't have been enough for both entrees for both of us. Portion sizes weren't great for the price. I'd come back here once or twice, but I don't think my wallet could handle Lumbini as a regular thing. If you manage to grab a coupon for the dinner service, though, I'd go at least once. read more

I ordered Nepalese style chicken chowmein, since I was too lazy to cook at home, so I ordered a take-out. And being a Nepali, I would know a thing or two about this style of cooking, but never did I expect a chowmein with gravy! Literally gravy! It seemed as if the noodles were soaked in vegetable curry and served. I will never go back to this restaurant. There are much better Nepalese style restaurants around the area. read more

dinner experience: food was decent, portions were ridiculously small for the price (authentic serving size and taste, at fancy hotel prices), service was mediocre and slow. now some things that made me cringe... smell of a public restroom in their left dining area (very far from the actual restroom), seeing a waitress pour water from a drinking glass back into the pitcher, take the pitcher across the dining room and serve a table of guests (gross), also had to watch the same waitress fill pitchers with water, then pour water from the full pitchers to empty pitchers. THAT DROVE ME INSANE! why didn't she just take the empty pitcher and fill it directly from the tap? i'll give this place a second chance and come back again for lunch since most people seem to be much happier with that option read more

I was a bit skeptical when there was only one table but this turned out to be a very good meal. The complimentary trio of dipping sauces with poori was unnecessary. Not my favorite part of the meal. However, the Lamb Saag and the Chicken Korma were absolutely delicious. Ultimate comfort food. Slow cooked in delicious sauces with plenty of rice that was refilled by our attentive wait staff. Again, we were only the 2nd table there. The only criticism is that our food took 20-25 minutes to come out. Other than the wait the entrees were awesome! We would definitely go back. read more

I hate this place .... They ruined my birthday dinner. The food is insanely expensive and is not worth it. service is the worst ,the manager is extremely rude to her customers. The food arrived 45 min late after we ordered when I question manager about this she answers me very rudely saying you have to wait 40 more mins . I mean how long does it take to bring food for 2 people. I will never go back and I will never recommend this place to anyone. read more

First off, I'm no connoisseur when it comes to Indian food; however, that being said, this place was amazing! The first time I was at Lumbini, it was for a work lunch event and we did the buffet. In hindsight, this is a great way to get started in any cuisine as you can test out many different dishes at one time. I do like different curries and never shy away from spicy dishes, so maybe I already checked off a few of the pre-qualifications for liking this place, but nearly all of the dishes I tried at the lunch buffet were delicious! So much so that I brought a out-of-town friend and my wife back for dinner the other night. I'm a meat and potatoes kind of person but can venture out of my comfort zone (ie. sushi, thai). The one dish I remember from the buffet was the chana masala, which is essentially chick peas and spices, which I ordered for dinner. My wife got the chicken tikka masala which was excellent as well! If you've never had Indian food, don't let the unknown make you timid and try this place out! read more

The food was really incredible. I ordered a bunch for delivery with friends and everything was delicious. Stopped in the next day asking about a receipt and they were really helpful and patient. Amazing food, amazing staff. read more

Small and cozy with attentive service and a vast selection of Nepalese and Indian. The chicken korma was the best I've had. The garlic naan and poori were perfection. The deserts looked good but we were just too full from a great dinner. Lovely spot. read more

What a nice restaurant with great food and service. Must try the dumplings appetizer. Everything was yummy. Great service.

I love their all you can eat lunches. Food is good and great prices. Fast waiters and I never had any trouble.