We went for the lunch buffet. I did like some things--the samosa, mango ice cream, and gulab jamun were excellent--but everything else was mediocre. We live not far from Devon in Chicago, so we are probably spoiled. Still, it was my least favorite meal on our vacation in Madison. read more

This place was very authentic. When you walk in and see the fennel seeds and smell the curry in the air, you know you're in for some savory goodness. I had the Aloo Chole and shared a Mixed Grill. Everything was flavorful and well made. Would definitely go back for the Tandoori Chicken. read more

Went in on a weeknight. Food was okay. Wouldn't go back because food wasn't that great and experience was ordinary.

Three of us showed up at 7:15 PM on Labor Day (National holiday). We were seated at a booth in what was probably the waiting area; not great, but we were happy to find a place that was open. We ordered 3 entrees (a lamb, a chicken & an eggplant) and some naan (bread) to share. It took longer than I thought it would. Our food was finally delivered and the first thing we noticed is that they all looked alike and the portions seemed small. The entrees were tasty, but not distinctive. The service was only OK. But again, they get extra points for being open. read more

one of my favorite places to go on a special occasion or when i'm feeling down. the palak dosai will cheer me right up. mmmmm. the only complaint i would have is that the waiters are TOO good at what they do. they come by the table about once a minute. you have to fight to hold onto your plate, they want to clear it right away. read more

Delicious and plentiful. Love the choices of chutneys, so you can mix and match your own concoctions. I'm not a dessert person but their carrot cashew dessert was surprisingly yummy! Bill came to $14.19 with my ice tea and I am STUFFED!!! read more

The service was really bad. The server seemed like he didn't want us to eat there. And they also overcharged with another dish we didn't order. So make sure you get the itemized receipt and check if they charge you correctly. read more

Recently, I had an extremely stressful and contentious day at work and I could think of nothing I wanted more than to visit the Maharani buffet for lunch. So then I did. That's how good it is. read more

I went to this restaurant today. Great atmosphera, awesome food. I had fish masala and cheese naan ($18.88 with tax). Also, it was surprising that the entree includes also big bowl of rice (they chrge extra in Indian House for 3 times smaler amount of rice).Definitely will come back when visit next time Madison. read more

Ah, Maharani... you might be my new comfort food. Indian food has never really been my thing, but am guessing I've either ordered wrong or been to some pretty bad Indian restaurants. Went for the first time last week with a group of four people, one of whom dines there fairly frequently. Very attentive, unobtrusive service. I've been craving the Butter Chicken & Palak Paneer (spinach cooked with homemade cheese) scooped up with the garlic naan every day since my visit. So much so, that I need to end my review and go get some carry out. read more

Amazing food, fresh, always plentiful. Thy were terrific with kids and attentive in all aspects of service. Would return to anytime!

Cozy atmosphere. Friendly staff, and tasty Indian food. Love the infinite rice! Thank you for not nickling and diming us!

Maharani is always at the top of our to-eat list: the food, the service, the location, the FOOD! all make this a really top-notch Indian restaurant. I know that the dinner menu is great, but we hardly ever make it here for dinner, just because the lunch buffet is so impressive and reasonably-priced (there's a student discount, too). The naan is baked fresh and brought right to your table, the chutneys and sauces complement the food nicely, the samosas are perfectly dense and crispy, and the spices in the main dishes are just right (even though I could probably take it a little spicier). And the waiters are always so attentive--Preet is especially wonderful! I love Maharani! read more

Lunch buffet is delicious and staff is great. The beef curry is delicious and plethora of sauces and spices make the meal flavorful. Many different types of traditional Indian dishes make the buffet great. read more

Good food, quaint location. We usually order take out - butter chicken and a nan. Always hits the spot.

Their chicken Tikka Masala and the lamb byriani were very good and so were the portions.

The lunch buffet is delicious and expansive. Best of all, it's cheap!

Never an empty glass and no one went home hungry. Amazing, truly authentic Indian (sans the tomato soup base used in sub par Americanized locations) built on complex flavors and real ingredients. The menu has so many choices it was hard to decide but every bite was worth the trip. read more

The all-you-can-eat buffet is fun for me as a hardy, yet mainly vegetarian eater. The well-dressed waiters may look slightly disapproving if you attempt to taste EVERYTHING in one lunch hour, but they will not block your path either. Being less familiar with Indian cuisine, I would appreciate more translation of what the colorful dishes were steaming before me. read more

Definitely one of the better Indian restaurants, I've been to. Wider choices and good setting. The place has a good ambiance too. A good bet for anyone new to Indian cuisine and would like to try it. Close to the lake, the Capitol, Downtown and the Univ. of Wisconsin. I for one, will go back again, possibly regularly. read more

Delicious food! We came here for dinner in a Saturday. Panneer was tasty and had a great texture, naan was perfectly cooked. Lamb was tender. Looking forward to the lunch buffet. read more

I've never ate in this restaurant but have had delivery from it a few times and it is quickly becoming when I want Indian and don't want to step outside. Decent food and they deliver when they say they will, what else do you want from delivery? read more

The buffet has so many fantastic vegetarian options. Everything was delicious. Cheesey naan. Nuf said.

One of my favorite lunches in madison! Great variety of Indian food for all you can eat buffet lunch. Nobody judges me for eating several heaping plates of garlic naan and tandoori chicken, and I like that. Trust me, you will leave full and happily sleepy 100% of the time. read more

I wish I could give something less than 1. I thought only the food is worse, their service beats that.. Please don't waste your money here.. read more

Horrible service attitude of the wait staff !! Only one guy keeps running around and the lady who just keep folding napkins and stares at you even if you are ready to order, doesn't care and calls herself a manager. Owners - just don't count on your food , fix your service read more

It's pretty decent Indian food without a lot of expectations. The lunch buffet has a lot of options to choose with. With some options you might be disappointed but overall it's better. Sometimes when the restaurant is buzzing with a lot of customers, the service becomes too slow. Overall, decent food read more

This is my favorite place for brunch. They offer lunch buffet on Saturday and Sunday too.

Maharani is one of our fav. Place to eat on weekends, food quality and selections, price, cleanliness is a 5. Love the mango ice cream.! Some weekends I noticed that some dishes are overly salty. Please cut down on the salt. Or just have the salt and pepper available on the table. Thank you. read more

Normally my friends, family and I opt for a typical take-out experience like pizza or subs. However, my boyfriend and I were ready to broaden our horizons and diversify our taste buds. We decided to order an Indian meal from Maharani Indian Restaurant in Madison, WI. After deciding to try something new for our take-out experience, we logged onto Grub Hub and selected the Indian Food category. Maharani was one of the first restaurants that popped up and we looked through their menu. Instantly intrigued by their descriptions and pictures, we were drawn to try their different chicken curries. We ordered their Chicken Curry, Chicken Mango Curry and their Naan. It was a speedy delivery time only taking about 30 minutes. Our food arrived warm and was packaged in spill proof containers. Normally with take-out I find myself having to warm up the food once it arrives, but not with Maharani. Eager to finally try the curry, my boyfriend I poured our curry over the complimentary rice and had our first bite. We both looked up at each other with wide eyes in shock of how amazing it was! The mix of curry with the mango sauce made for an amazing combination of sweet and spicy. It almost felt tropical. The Chicken Curry was a bit less sweet and had a more filling taste. Both curries were loaded with pieces of chicken which we appreciated as we enjoy protein-based meals. The item that made this experience the best was the Naan. I have never had Naan with curry prior to this meal and it made the curry even better. I would dip the Naan into my curry sauce to let the flavors soak into my mouth. Maharani was an incredible flavor experience and cultural experience. I enjoy learning about other cultures through cuisine and due to the pandemic, I haven't been able to travel. However, Maharani brought the cultural experience to me here in Wisconsin! Overall, Maharani is a great Indian restaurant with diverse flavors and meal options. read more

Amazing variety on the lunch buffet, restaurant was lovely and very clean. Delicious options for everyone!

We stopped by at this restaurant on way from Wisconsin dells to chicago. Food was disgusting, pricey and very small quantity. We ordered chicken biryani which had only two small pieces of chicken and had no taste. Service was also dicriminatory for white and non white people. White oeople will get great service and also a hot towel to wash hands athe end of dinner. Non white will not get that service. to sum up bad food and pricey. You could get better food for that price. We strongly donot recomnend this place to anyone. Sadia R read more

One of the few Indian places that actually made me happy on the spice scale, and pushed my envelope. They gave me plain rice, not basmati, which was confusing. otherwise, great service and quality food. Would go back again. read more

lunch buffet: tasty food, great selection, nice ambiance, decent prices, but hard-to-understand indian waiters who talk way too fast, which means they must make authentic indian food, right? right! read more

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By far, this is the best indian food in Madison according to me. I have been thee 3 times and also had their lunch buffet, it was all good. The place looks decent too. Service is nice. The only downside is that the staff isn't friendly. They are 'uptight', I don't know I don't have the right words. But, at times, it feels just business and no smiling and making the guest comfortable like in other restaurants. All in all, a good combo of everything. Worth visiting ! read more

Went for the Saturday buffet and it was really bad. The food was okay, which is the only thing that prevents a 1-star, but the service was atrocious. The waiters were very rude and incompetent. One of them dropped water on one of our plates and didn't bother replacing them - and this was just one of many problems here. None of the dishes were refilled even upon request and the atmosphere was one where it seemed they were just waiting for us to leave so they could lock and close the restaurant (which they did as soon as we set foot out into the lobby). Horrible, will never go again. read more

In previous years, I've had better experience with Maharani. This time we went for Saturday lunch buffet, and I have to say I was disappointed. The food was okay, though the Chicken Tikka Masala had very dry and chewy chicken. The staff was friendly but inattentive at the same time. I had to ask three times for more naan, and by the time we got some more (~20 minutes, and the restaurant was only half-full), my dish was completely cold. My biggest concern was, however, that they stop refilling dish pans around 1:30pm - despite the fact that they are open until 3pm for lunch. I understand that they don't want too much leftovers, but then remove the empty pans and the name of the dish so the customer doesn't feel like she's been cheated. It's really disheartening to walk up to the dessert rack only to find that out of originally eight options you have only two left to choose from. read more

The huge buffet was awesome for Indian. There were a lot of choices to pick from and was tasty, including a malai kabob read more

Really bad service. I have gone here a few times and each time I am there they treat me like they are doing me a favor. I picked up buffet to go a few times, I asked for a container to carry desert and they declined. At the same time they offered a desert container to another customer. If you are going to discriminate then don't make it obvious read more

I love, love Maharani! I've been there for dinner, lunch buffet, weekend buffet, it's just one of those places where you go with good friends and sit around and lose track of time! I'm not so knowledgeable when it comes to Indian cuisine but I loved what I ate, minus the goat, I hate goat, and my Indian friend said the food was mediocre-okay. So I'm guessing it's not the best in all of Madison, but it's a close walk for me, it fills me up and you can't beat the buffet prices, except for the dinner menu prices-now that's a little pricey!! All in all, I say go!! read more