This place is pretty great! My friend suggested we try it out for lunch and I wasn't sure what to expect just from their website. I knew they had a thali option and had heard Maharaja Bhog described as a "thali buffet" but had no idea what that meant. I can say with certainty that a thali buffet is exactly what Maharaja Bhog offers, and I'm a fan! Two friends and I stopped by for lunch on a Saturday and were quickly seated at a booth. There were thali trays in front of us, which weren't empty for long. Several servers milled around the restaurant, instantly filling our thalis as we began to chow down. The thali was huge and all vegetarian. They offered delicious vegetable options, paneer, dal and other chutneys (I'm not sure of the names of all of them, but they were delicious)! We also received a limitless supply of puris and chapatis. At the end, they offered us jalebi for dessert as well. Everything tasted pretty great and I stuffed myself as best I could! The servers were very attentive and frequently stopped by to ask if we needed refills on anything. I only wish I had been a bit more hungry when I got there so I could enjoy more of the delicious offerings. It was a little expensive for my taste, but given that it's an all you can eat thali spot, the price was warranted. I would love to come back here, but next time I will definitely diet in advance! read more

Maharaja Bhog - Lunch Thali (picture taken before all the trays were filled) - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

A vegetarian paradise for great food but not so great on customer service. That being said, this probably is one of Houston's best vegetarian food place. They do have consistency in their food preparation and I can assert that from my multiple visits over the years. The reception guy may come out to be rude and unfortunately that's pretty consistent as well. This in my opinion makes it a 3 star. Remember, if you are looking for healthy food, this is not the place to be at. Just because it's vegetarian it does not mean it is healthy. But you would not be let down taste wise. read more

Maharaja Bhog - Entrance - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

What a fun way to dabble outside your usual dining options-- Maharaja Bhog is a low key all-you-can-eat thali-style restaurant. You walk in, get seated at a table with plates set up, and servers flock by to scoop out portions of soups, chutneys, breads, and a whole lot more~ It's a feast for your eyes and for your tastebuds too! They serve a buttermilk drink along with water (it's a more of a watery salty rather than a creamy milky flavor, just a heads up!). Let them know it's your first time, and they'll give you a visual guide of what you're enjoying. It felt sort of like dimsum in the sense that servers would stop by and offer you their fare. Loved the variety-- steamed, fried, and grilled breads; lentil soups with differing flavor profiles, chutneys, vegetarian dishes and some with paneer... even two desserts too! A few dishes are spicy (but nothing unbearably so). Servers was nice-- they stopped by often to check on us / for refills. Parking is easy, and we left very full. It was $21.99 per person for dinner, but they also offer thali boxes to go for a few dollars less. It's probably more fun to eat in person though! Not sure how authentic this place is (the roti was suspiciously similar to tortillas), but it's definitely one of my more unique picks I'd return to, especially with friends who've never tried it! read more

Maharaja Bhog - Menu example! If you let them know it's your first time, they'll give you a laminated copy of this so you can follow along :) - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Was in Houston yesterday and went to Maharaja Bhog. I would definitely mention that the standard has gone down a bit from what it was earlier. But service is still great, few of the items were really good like Basundi and Halwa. Overall would say decent place to go with lot of varieties of curries. read more

Maharaja Bhog - Thali. - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

First time coming on a Wednesday night and right when we walked in we were seated immediately by the kind manager and the first thing he asked us is if we had any food allergies to which they are very accomodating to. My friend who has a peanut allergy had a sign displayed on our table saying no peanuts/nuts. This allows all the servers to know not to put anything with peanuts/nuts on her plate. Since it was our first time here, the manager explained in detail each of the curries and everything that was on our plate. I had no idea when coming here, but everything on your plate is also unlimited. So you can just eat what you like and keep on getting it. I enjoyed the two little appetizers on the plate (one was fried and the other was steamed). They also had two different types of naan and one of them was sweet and I never had sweet naan before but it was very good. The plate also came with two desserts as well (the sweet rice and the mango yogurt). read more

Maharaja Bhog - Dinner Thali - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

We had a total blast. If you've never experienced the Indian version of a buffet/plate lunch, you're about to have your mind blown. We've been to India several times and this place is just as good as anything over there. The servers were attentive and food was tasty. Everything we tried slapped. read more

I absolutely love the food variety here. The food is unlimited so go with a big appetite. The taste of the food is quite authentic! read more

Maharaja Bhog - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Pricey- cos not at all flavorful kinda hospital food, they expect us to pay them large amounts of tips. Not worth a bit look elsewhere if you need your money's worth. read more

I always enjoy dinning with my friends at this restaurant! The food is always fresh and I thoroughly enjoy the authentic vegetarian meal in Royal Thali style. read more

Maharaja Bhog - Royal Lunch Thali - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

- limited food choice for dinner and average tasting - just one chaat for appetizer and one mohan thaal halwa for dessert - don't call it basundhi and say there are two desserts. Its the worst item - delays in delivering food without any updates - told five different waiters and the manager on duty but there were still delays - pretty bland in flavors - very expensive (189+ for 6 people thali) - 25 minutes wait time and large crowds Not sure how they are having the rush, it has to be based on memories. I expected more based on past reccos of multiple appetizers, desserts and tasty food. The positive of last night dinner the mohanthal, thats it. read more

Maharaja Bhog - Dinner spread - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Love eating here for lunch - this is an all vegetarian place, so don't go in expecting anything else. It's a thali (round plate) where an assortment of dishes are served, predominantly from northern India - Rajasthan and Gujarat. As a sit-down, table-service restaurant, the servers comes around and put what you want on your plate; if you have any dietary restrictions, please let them know when you get there - they accommodate vegan, gluten-free, and peanut-free options. If you don't know what's what, the staff are super nice and explain things to you, including how to eat it. Their menu also does change frequently, so every visit ends up being almost a new experience. Wen I walk in, I let them know that I don't want dairy dishes and want a spicy thali, so they servers are able to give me the right dishes: - 2 appetizers. - Dal bhati. - 4 curries: Spinach, potato, and some spicy vegetable curry. - 2 different types of dal: One was sweet (my favourite) along with kadhi. - Rotis and puris. - 2 different deserts, salads, sauces and masala chaas (buttermilk). The thali cost us around $23 per person. I like food in general, but well prepared vegetarian food is hard to come by, and this place has always done every dish well. I tried almost all of the food that was served and I liked most of them. The food has always been fresh, delicious, and tasty. The service is always well spaced, with the servers coming around often asking to refill your plate with food. There can be a wait time if you come with a larger (4+ folks), especially on weekends. There's plenty of parking in the parking lot in front. read more

Unlimited potato, paneer, okra, and lentil soup! I've never felt more full in my life. The servers were also nice and kept coming to my table to ask if I wanted more food. Owner was also really nice and asked about my dietary restrictions and gave me an overview of the food choices they have. read more

Our third culinary experience of the trip was Thali plates. Spoiler alert: Thali is completely vegetarian. Warning to Americans who are sensitive: You will be directed as to where to wait, sit, etc. The staff doesn't chitchat. This is not because they are rude. Their culture is to be straightforward. This Thali restaurant is all you can eat. They will ask if anyone has any allergies to help you. They will then come around and ask what you want from their bowls. I recommend saying yes to everything the first time around so you can try it am and decide what you like. My favorite was the dal and paneer. read more

Maharaja Bhog - Dinner Thali - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Zero stars ..Worst service. Manager was very unkind on a Christmas Day at 1145 am when it was not even full. Didn't allow our group with toddlers to wait for 5 mins in the waiting area on a chilly & rainy day. We were visiting Houston and this was in our bucket list. We left this place immediately and instead went to Shiv Sagar for B2B meals..to get quick and respectful service. read more

If someone hold a gun to my head and told me I have to be a vegetarian, this would be my go to spot. Amazing food, served in cute trays, and the restaurant makes you feel super welcomed. I would advise coming early for lunch/brunch since the place is not that big and it's always packed! read more

I found this amazing Indian Thali Restaurant in Houston Texas. From the time we entered, we were seated down and then the meal was served ,it was still amazing. All the servers were coming to our table and placing the variety of food in the little dishes before we knew it was completely filled up. We were pleased with the variety of food and everything was going great! Untill we were unpleasantly surprised by a smell that was outrageously unexpected and it messed up our expectations and experience. Even though it was all you can eat, it costed $30 pp vegetarian Thali we didn't enjoy the meal as we expected to due to the smell. It was a horrible smell which made us to throw up but we didn't and left hurriedly from the restaurant. We were highly disappointed. We won't even go back. read more

Maharaja Bhog - Vegetarian Thali - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

The food is so satisfying and worth it that I have drive multiple times, from Austin to Houston, just for the thali. The business owner/manager (uncle) is way too sweet and friendly, makes you feel like you are in India. The service is fast and as nice as expected in a thali place. This place always has a waiting. Parking is not an issue. The ambiance is nice. read more

this place is a scam! very overpriced, food is not very good, and half the stuff is just different curries and sauces. wouldn't reccomend!!

Been on bucket list if I ever visit Houston. .. miss traditional good quality Indian food in Chicago. My son and I had less than 1 hour to spare before taking our flight back home and we were glad we could experience the variety though we didn't do justice to the huge platter. The staff were hospitable and attentive, had a good experience! Will certainly return if we are back in Houston. read more

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We've been to Maharaja Bhog a few times now. I use to love coming here each time I'm in Houston to get a delicious vegetarian thali. This time around I left with an underwhelming experience. Normally the staff is very engaging and a true delight. The price point of each thali is 28 dollars USD, which frankly speaking is on the higher end. With that being said.. each time around the overall experience is what justified that price point. This time around the food was okay, nothing to rave about and the service wasn't as exceptional as it normally is. Hoping that they can revive the way they use to function. The place itself is clean & consistently busy. If you are going on a weekend expect wait times! read more

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Much more than a restaurant, this is a cultural experience. Excellent food. The delivery is very different from what we are used to. The food selection is varied and quite remarkable. read more

Super expensive for the food that they serve. They used to be good and unique but slowly the price is raised to unreasonable levels. Also most of the time the food items would not be available when you ask them to get it and you would have to wait for a long time to get poori, chapatti. Also they kind of go stingy on the items that are being asked more from customers. read more

I'm that person who doesn't like to pay for vegetarian meals, but Maharaja Bhog is the exception. It's our go to place while visiting Houston. Love the food there. It is always fresh and warm. The only reason for dropping out one star is the inside of the restaurant. The owners need to take care of the air conditioner, probably they just let too many people inside and it's always pretty warm and uncomfortable inside. Also the hallway leading to the restrooms is a "dump" for all their extra furniture, and raw ingredients. read more

Maharaja Bhog - Lunch Thali - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Had a great time! It's a nice experience to have because the food is super authentic and delicious! The whole plate thing is really cool. The service was fast through most of the evening and they explained kindly how to eat the food. The place and the design makes you feel like you're in India! Will definitely recommend! read more

Maharaja Bhog - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

What wonderful service! They keep coming by and asking you if you want more, even though the restaurant had technically closed. Food is yummy gujurati vegetarian fare, but what impressed us most were the service and price. read more

This is a traditional thali vegetarian Indian meal, and for me, comfort food. For those who have never experienced this kind of cuisine or dining experience, it is worth the experience, and I encourage you to come with an open mind and hungry belly! And clean hands! This is not the place to expect frills. I have been here twice now for dinner, and both times, the service is fast and the food delicious. I've seen others on here complain about wait times, but we haven't had that experience, so it likely depends on time of day and size of party. Once seated, there is already a thali plate set up for you, and the servers walk by to offer you different food options, which you can accept or decline. I've only come on Sundays, but they offer different Thalis based on regions of India on different days of the week. Ample parking in the front lot. Will be bringing visitors here for the experience and food in the future! read more

Maharaja Bhog - Sunday Weekend Thali - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

December 2021 Two things are a common theme for this restaurant; delicious food and horrible wait times. Let me elaborate the latter: We were a party of 5 on a Sunday afternoon and were told the wait time would be around 45 minutes. So, we returned after 30 minutes to check the status and believe me when I say this, we waited another 1hr 30 minutes for a table. Yikes! Let's talk about the food, and oh my god, this is a long list. If you've never had a THALI before, this will surely be a different experience and you'd be taken aback by the sheer quantity of food at display. The thali - 2 appetizers: Dhokla and a fried pakora. Dal bhati. 4 curries: spinach, potato, paneer and some vegetable curry. 2 different types of dal, one was sweet along with kadhi. Roti and puri (different types of bread) 2 different deserts, salads, sauces and masala chaas (buttermilk). I tried almost all of the food that was served and I liked most of them. The food was fresh, delicious and tasty. The service was on point and the servers would come around often asking to refill your plate with food. The place was big enough and spacious with ample parking space outside. The thali cost us around $23 per person. My verdict? I'd give an A for the food and modest C- in terms of handling guests and assigning tables. It was a chaotic mess outside the restaurant with people waiting for hours just to be seated. These folks need a better reservation system to handle their guests. The guy handling the list of guests looked frustrated and would definitely benefit with some help. Would I love to eat here again? Absolutely! Would I wait for another hour and a half just to be seated on top of the 45 minutes that was stated before? NO read more

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Totally overrated place for an Indian Vegetarian place. Number of katoras had different versions of Khadi. All watery liquids devoid of taste Gujarati cuisine is known for. $35 for daal, khadi, rotis, ordinary dishes is nothing short of highway robbery. I love Gujarati/Surati cuisine. They did not even have undhiya two times I went along with my few of my relatives and friends out of town. Houston had place called "Thaali" until few years ago. That was thousand times better than this place. read more

Absolutely enjoyed my time here with family! My parents visited Houston after many years and my mom wanted to eat a good Thali for lunch! Took both my mom and dad here for lunch and they absolutely enjoyed every minute of it! It was comfort food for them and also nostalgic as it reminded them of home! Everything was on point from start to finish and great hospitality from staff and servers! read more

Maharaja Bhog - Lunch Thali - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

Let me start with only positive thing: the Food. The vegetarian food,quality, taste is great. That is why we come to Houston all the way from Austin just to eat here. They always have people waiting outside. Big negative is the Rude behaviour of the person taking names and seating inside. I do understand that you have wait etc but only thing I am asking is you can be polite in delivering that information or even turning us down. He shoos people away as if people standing outside are not paying for the food or it's an overbooked homeless shelter. We have loved coming here for food and did not mind driving 6 hours to and fro for good food but guess what not any more. Lunch/dinner is an experience for me and not just filling stomach. And overall experience is not up top. read more

We visited the restaurant for lunch; The venue is in a strip mall and has ample parking. The ambiance inside is nice and welcoming; the hostess seated us immediately and we had the Thali which is the main dish which comes with about 15 traditional varieties of food. We were served by well dressed servers and the quality of food was excellent. The music was soft and the air conditioning was appropriate for Houston summer. Seating was comfortable and the decor was traditional Indian. The pricing was appropriate and service Excellent. 1 star off since the exterior coming into the restaurant was shabby including a messy garbage canister outside which was overflowing. Easy fix I suppose Will be going back!! read more

Good but expensive place for thali. If you haven't had thali it's a great experience to try. Maharaja Bhog is an all vegetarian restaurant where the waiters bring you food little by little so that you can try a huge variety of South Indian dishes. I am always a huge fan because the food changes every day a little bit in terms of what they're serving. It's also ALL YOU CAN EAT! read more

Maharaja Bhog - Thali - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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Second time here, both times the food was excellent and there was a variety that everyone enjoyed. Went as a party of 4 on Friday night, no wait. It got more busy around 7pm. There's likely a wait if you come during lunch on a weekend. Food is thali, so you get your food in small bowls on top of a larger platter. Note, this place is 100% vegetarian, so meat-lovers will have to look elsewhere. Food is slightly on the oily side. Not too many dishes that were spicy, though one was fairly spicy, you'll figure it out pretty quickly! Service is good, huge props to the manager-person, he asked if we were okay throughout and came around frequently, and if we wanted a particular refill, he made sure it happened and they came by within 30 seconds, really really nice. Adding in the less-than-$20 dinner price, Maharaja Bhog is hard to beat in terms of value and variety. read more

Maharaja Bhog - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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What an incredibly memorable experience. While I couldn't say that this is the best Indian food I've had, I can safely say this is the most unique Indian restaurant experience in the United States! To be served at the table, thali style, for an all-you-can-eat is a familiar concept in India but I hadn't heard of in the U.S. The food was good - some items more interesting than others - and the variety was great. The cuisines of India are diverse and this thali explored many different types. read more

My dad LOVESSSS this place so he recommended I bring my friend here who also loves traditional Gujarati thali. We came right at 6 and it wasn't busy. This place is similar to a buffet but they serve you and it's not self serve. The menu changes daily. Tons of food, I could barely finish. Everything tasted great! The owner is so nice and kept checking in on us. The dahi vada was my favorite part. read more

Maharaja Bhog - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

I've had thali before but not like this. The menu changes daily and displayed at the front when you walk in. I didn't know what to expect, but knew that it was all vegetarian. The buttermilk was gross. Other than that, I was obsessed with the lentils that you dip in some broth. Servers came by and kept dropping food and refilling stuff. It kind of felt like a dim sum experience. I was stuffed. It probably would have been better to go during lunch time, so I would have more room to eat. Overall, it was a very interesting experience and highly recommend if you enjoy Indian food. They also offer a to-go option in pretty boxes if you don't want to dine there. read more

Maharaja Bhog - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

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We called you yday about dinner and you said it's open and we drove to location and u posted it's closed ----. Better be clear in ur communication. ....crap!!! read more

Maharaja Bhog - Ur closed resturant - Indian Near Me - Houston, Texas

1. 30 mins wait time 2. Really rude service 3. Over priced 4. Very limited quantity 5. They serve very little and They don't serve or serve too little if you ask more for something that is in your plate 5. Owner is saying he doesn't want to waste food by serving to the customer. They don't care fellow indians This is a community supported business so it is getting 5 Stars. Don't go there, avoid bad experience and save money and time read more

This place is so awesome! It is like an Indian vegetarian Chauma Guache or Fogo, whichever you prefer without a card to tell them when to stop bringing you food so they just keep coming wanting to fill your plate up honestly had no idea what all I was eating but everything was so good I don't even care lol. The place is super clean and smells fresh despite having like 15 employees walking around all bringing food around. Everything was very flavorful and taste so good. I didn't really care what I was eating because it's vegetarian so to me, how bad can it be? It's not like I can accidentally eat something and it turns out to be ... let's say pork intestines. I'd come here over and over again if I have company read more

This place used to be nice when I used to go about 10 yrs ago. This round when I took some colleagues the food was just meh and blah and really nothing to write home about. The varieties have gone down. Food taste and quality of what's provided has significantly diminished. We felt rushed and even before we were done eating, they took our plates and asked if we were done. When we said yes, they asked us to get up and make room for others waiting for the table. Yikes!! On top of it all, my colleague and I were talking while waiting for another colleague to return from restroom before we left and we were asked to leave. So disappointed. This was embarrassing as I'd taken some non-Indian work colleagues raving about their service. We felt pushed out. Foods not worth it anymore. Don't bother going here! read more