WOW! This place is amazing!! When I came in there was only one guy working. But that guy was busting his ass off! He was working hard and served 3 familys, 1 women, and a couple, us. And our food arrived at our table at a reasonable time! Enough about the hard working guy though and on with the food. We ordered -Chicken tikki masala (spicy) -lamb vindaloo(spicy) -basmati rice -plain nann -garlic nann -water Everything we ordered was great, besides the water, that was a little plain. But really the food was soooooo freakin good. The first bite I took sent me into an orgasmic state and my toes started to curl. The second bite made my eyes roll back and my back arch. By the fourth bite my wife was starting to question if some other woman was giving me a bj under the table! Well, unfortunately there wasn't any women under the table but the food sure was great!!! read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Lunch buffet rice!!! - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

They have a nice, but limited lunch buffet. Chicken Vindaloo (my fav) in the buffet was a pleasant surprise. It was quiet inside but I do eat early. Service was good, staff were friendly. read more

Lunch buffet for $6.95!!! Usually Indian Lunch Buffet are no less than $9 . They don't have a whole lot of variety, but enough to keep coming back. Place is really nice, spacious and clean. Service is good, by both elderly men that are really nice and fill your glasses promptly. Watch your step on way to buffet, I almost trip there every time, because of elevation in the floor. Bookmarked this as our new fav Indian lunch buffet. Coming back for sure! If you need lot of variety or very picky about the food, you might not like it. Food is tasty IMO. Naan was really good too! Update: Been there again for dinner. Same great service and tasty food. Naan bread was the best. My suggestion is to increase curry quantity. Thought its just a little than expected. I will come back for sure !! Update: 02/21/2014 They increased the lunch buffet price. Not really happy about it. Not much meat either. I might not come back very often. read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

See all

I was contacted by the owners after posting my initial review a few months ago, where I had rated Nandini a much deserved 2 stars. The owners asked me to return and even offered me a free meal, which is more than most restaurants will concede these days and was greatly appreciated, but I wanted any future visits to be on my terms, so I cordially declined their free food and promised I would return on a day of my choosing. Well, today was that day. I returned to give Nandini a second chance and took both friends and family with me to gather their opinions, as well. The consensus? In some ways, the experience was better than last time. In other ways, it was largely the same. Compared to my first visit, the food was somewhat better tonight. The Paneer was in cubes, rather than the ground up curds we received the first time. The Makhani, although still seriously lacking in spice and flavor, was far less overbearing on the butter and cream elements, which made it easier to eat and easier on the stomach afterwards. The Tikka Masala was still only "ok", also lacking in spice, but was far better seasoned than the Makhani and one of the better dishes we tried this evening. The chicken in the Tikka Masala was cooked well and there was plenty of it to go around. Additionally, the Naan was made much, much better than before and it wasn't burned. The Garlic Naan had no hint of Garlic seasoning, but the Paneer Naan and plain Naans were as expected. The Samosas Chaat tasted great, possibly the best dish we received, but it was far from perfect. The Samosas themselves were very hard and there was so much sauce on the plate (and so few chickpeas) that it was more like Samosa soup! Nonetheless, the taste was there and the extra sauce, though a bit unattractive and messy in appearance, tasted great on the extra Naan and rice we had left over. Service was slightly better this time, as well. As before, only a few tables came in while we ate and one server was tending to everyone, but the pace was perfectly acceptable and we never felt neglected by our server. Food arrived rather quickly and the atmosphere was much as it was before...plain and casual, but reasonably comfortable. My conclusion... Overall, the prices at Nandini are still quite high for the quality of food and while the dishes were generally more palatable then before, they weren't without flaws. The curries, which were among the most expensive items on the menu, remained very "one-dimensional" in flavor compared to most Indian food I have eaten here and in India. Still, there were enough improvements to the overall experience that I feel I can increase the star rating from 2 to 3 stars, meaning Nandini is "good" in my book, but not "great" and certainly not "excellent". I appreciate the owners reaching out and expressing their concern after my initial review. That meant a lot to me and is largely why I gave them a second chance. As for the likelihood that I will return again...only time will tell. There are certainly better Indian restaurants around, especially for the price. However, Nandini is far from the worst. Perhaps I will return later this year to see if things continue to progress at Nandini. Until then, I hope the owners will take my words to heart and continue to improve the quality, flavor and overall value of their food. read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Paneer Shahi (Makhani), Chicken Tikka Masala, Rice and Naan - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

See all

I made an impromptu stop at Nandini on my way home from work. I love Indian food, I've eaten it all over our great state of Arizona for years. And by far this was my best experience "having a random curry." The waiter was incredibly gracious, as though he were inviting me into his home for a meal. He was attentive without being overbearing or hovering, always encouraging me to take my time and relax. Genuinely friendly! The spice scale is spot on accurate, I take medium and it was medium! Eyes a little watery, sinuses cleared medium! But even through the burn all the spices were alive and flavorful. Mango and mint chutney with papadam start the meal, unlike most Indian joints they didn't offer complete meals and entrees didn't automatically come with rice. Which was nice because the portions are healthy size on their own- my eyes were bigger than my stomach! I'm a sucker for naan and the garlic naan was not only a beautiful piece of food but delicious and light texture- not doughy! I had vegetable soup to start and Aloo Gobi as my main dish. The cauliflower and potato were perfectly cooked, not mushy! So much food! I should have brought a friend! I needed a take home box! Which is a problem because I ride a motorcycle. After finding the first box didn't fit in my bag the waiter brought me an array of bowls!! SERVICE. Twenty dollars later (two people could have eaten this meal and been perfectly satisfied.) I am a happy camper with my leftovers and a handful of anise seed. I just found my dinner spot! It may not be super posh and fancifully decorated but the service and food make this one to add to your hit list for sure. read more

See all

I've had a couple dishes now, and I can say with confidence that this place absolutely slaps and is probably my favorite Indian place in the area. I've had the vindaloo, korma, and tikka masala, and none of it has disappointed. I always get either lamb or chicken depending on what I'm feeling, and it's always so tender and tasty. I'm always satisfied and it's become a staple for me! read more

Upon walking in the restaurant, we were a bit put off. There was a strong sewage smell and the interior looked like it had seen its best days in the early 80's. HOWEVER, we stuck it out and ordered. The food was worth enduring the smell. We ordered chicken biriyani and chicken tikka masala. Both were some of the best we've ever tried. A little disappointed that rice didnt come with the chicken dish and cost extra...but even so, it didnt dampen the experience. Like others we were given a complimentary drink (pink lemonade) and dessert (donut holes in syrup), which was a nice add-on. Service was very good. The gentleman that waited on us was very friendly and quick to help us. read more

See all

Nandini's serves superb Indian cuisine!!! I couldn't eat as much as I usually can because the food was SO EXCELLENT!!! I have been there two times this week!!! I Love Indian food and This restaurant is particularly good!!! Wendy read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Wendy C. - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Fantastic food - perfectly spiced paneer and chicken tika masala. Excellent naan and paratha. Service was friendly, prompt and efficient. Prices were extremely reasonable - portions nicely sized. Hopefully beer and wine will be coming soon! We will be returning for sure. read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Garlic naan was amazing - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Nandini Indian Cuisine is an Indian restaurant with a page of vegetarian options in Tempe. I visited with two colleagues and found the restaurant completely empty at 6:15 PM. We suddenly had fears that all the positive reviews had been about their lunch buffet, and that their dinner was going to be a disaster. That kind of panic was probably premature. I ordered the dal makhani and the malai kofta. The black lentils exceeded my expectation. I would order them again. They reminded me of the first time I ever had Indian food: the spices surprised me a bit. The malai kofta was okay. The sauce was uncomfortably chunky, and each vegetable dumpling was a bit dry on the inside. I generally enjoy malai kofta, but I don't think I would order it again here. However, my colleague really enjoyed the texture of the sauce. The service was fine, but it was a bit awkward that the restaurant was completely empty. The staff waited, watching us eat, from only 15 feet away. If I return, I'll definitely try some of the other items on the menu. I'd also come back for the lunch buffet. read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Dal mahkani (left) and malai kofta (right) - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

See all

This is not a South Indian restaurant but it is a truly Punjabi restaurant with very authentic flavors and relatively mild in spice levels for South Indian palates. Lots of varieties for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians.. Paneer Saag was great, Dhodhi burfee was a surprising choice in desserts. Naan was very fresh and perfectly made. Customer service was great, the cook even came out and enquired about the quality of food. Masala chai is part of the buffet for a wonderful finish to a lunch. Overall loved the buffet and surprisingly it was fairly empty through 1 pm on a Saturday. Anyways, I would recommend this anytime. read more

Drove past this place a million times coming home from work.. decided to go in during an odd time of the day (2:30 PM) It wasn't busy..which is a shame because this place is yummy!!!! I have gone to dozens of Indian restaurants and can easily say this is my favorite one in Tempe / Mesa area . I got my food to go but this would be a chill place to go for dinner. read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Good portions! - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

See all

Very welcoming and kind. Butter chicken was so good! Sister ordered the Shrimp Tikka Masala and the shrimps were big. Chicken naan was also a hit with us. Would definitely go again. Small business needs help and definitely deserves more customers ! read more

Lunch buffet is very good, especially at the price the ambience is pleasant and the service friendly. This is not adventurous eating, very American palate friendly, but the preparation is good. Outstanding paneer dish and moist Tandori chicken. The free chai is unsweetened and they also offer free mango lassi, a big plus. The only criticism for lunch was the nan, which was being cooked too quickly and burnt. Definitely will return to try dinner menu. read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

The restaurant is not clean. Had very limited selection in the buffet. I wouldn't go back there again or recommend it. Rest room maintenance is atrocious. read more

Went today with the family as we were craving indian food. Ending up doing their lunch buffet. They had a great selection of the usual lamb, chicken, and vegetarian dishes. My personal favorites of all the ones I tried was the Paneer Shahi and the Chicken Tikka Masala. These two dishes accompanied by their Garlic Naan was delicious. Very garlicky and not too oily (some other restaurants make their Naan with quite a bit of lard). The only thing that I could really ding this place on was the cleanliness. The linens looked like they hadn't been laundered in years (and were quite dirty) and some of the "clean" dishes I grabbed for on going to the buffet table wasn't actually clean. Overall, I would definitely say give this place a chance based on the Indian cuisine but would really recommend you bring some wet wipes to clean your table beforehand. read more

If it wasn't for groupon, we would have never found his place! We order a lot of food, Tandoor chicken, garlic bread (addicting), garlic rice, Chicken soup, and an appetizer or Gulag. New flavors and new types of food! Can't get any better. The chicken soup was very small it was $6.99 so that took me by surprise. The Garlic bread was addicting be ware!! The tandoori chicken was very good. Had lots of flavors and different spices I haven't tried before. With garlic rice, it was a great combo. Get the groupon for a great deal. read more

See all

This Indian food place was great, we only had 2 dishes, the Chicken Tikka Masala and the Vegetarian Malai Kofta, and both were damn delicious ! The Nan was fresh and soft, the service - I really don't have any comment on that since we ordered to go and picked up our food at 9:20 at night! Im Glad they are open til 10pm! Overall the food was great, the staff seemed nice! I wish they had Mango Lassi, but I guess they were out! But I have a new love for Indian food and I will definitely be back! Real authentic Indian Food! read more

Growing up, I always ate at Indian restaurants with my family, so I have a pretty good idea of what good, fresh Indian food tastes like. I am so glad that I moved right down the street from Nandini because they bring great, delicious food to the table. I first tried this restaurant on August 28th for dinner with my boyfriend. When we were seated we got complimentary pink lemonade and some papadum to share. We ordered the Chicken tikka masala, baingan bharta, naan, and rice. Everything came out in a timely fashion and was nice and hot. The naan tasted like it had just come out of the tandoori oven. The flavors were delicious and right on target. As we finished up, we got some complimentary gulab jamun for dessert. I walked out that night one happy girl. Finally, on September 14th I got to come back to try the lunch buffet. They had all of the classic favorites out plus a few other dishes. Expect to see chicken tikka masala, shahi paneer, palak paneer, chicken vindaloo, dal makhani, among others. You can choose either basmati rice or vegetable biryani. They also have some desserts such as gulab jamnu, rice kheer and carrot halwa. Another plus of the buffet is that they have self-serve mango lassi and give every table garlic naan! What more could you ask for, for only $6.99 a person?!? So inexpensive for such a great deal of food and drink. I have already been there 4 times (3 times in 2 weeks) and don't plan on stopping anytime soon. The owner recognizes my boyfriend and I every time we walk in the door, he is such a nice gentleman. The wait staff are also good, keeping drinks filled and always asking if we need anything. This is definitely my new favorite lunch spot! Recommend to any Indian cuisine connoisseur. read more

See all

My wife and I went there on Thursday, 9/17/20 as we like to eat at Indian buffets and we hadn't tried this place, but it sounded good. We arrived there at 11:15 am and saw the five foot sign in the large front window advertising "Buffet, 11:00 to 2:30", so we went in and a waiter told us the buffet was closed so we had to order from a menu, we asked why they had the big sign there advertising a buffet and we were told "the owner put it there to attract more customers, but it is closed "for the pandemic", this was an outright lie !!!!!!! There is no such law anywhere in America that specifies that 'buffets' have to close and in fact, others in the Phoenix area are open for business, we ordered from a menu and it was mediocre at best, we will not go back there !! read more

I like the service at the restaurant and the quality of food is also very good. Would recommend to anyone looking for an authentic Indian taste read more

No taste in curries and poor quality. There curries were tasteless and watery.the tea was also tasteless. The ambiance was so depressing

This place is absolutely delicious! We've been to the lunch buffet twice now. Everything is so flavorful and the meats are tender. I have to deduct a star because the dining room is not clean-- the windows and floor really need some attention. read more

This place may be having an, "off night." The service was good - the appetizer was fantastic! The Vegetable Biryani rice had shavings of carrots and a few peas but lacked vegetables. It was basically seasoned rice with a light sprinkling of vegetable matter. When we first arrived, the white paper place mats had food stains, the silverware was spotted as were our glasses. The server we had, a cool small-built man with a mustache, switched everything up for us. He couldn't have been better. He gets 5 stars! 2 stars for the main dish, dirty table settings and 4 stars for the service and appetizer. read more

See all

I love this buffet. It is delicious and the price is more than reasonable for an Indian buffet. Over the weekend I went here for my third visit and the owner remembered me. I was kind of impressed by that. The food is consistently good and the garlic naan is amazinggggg! I love their chicken tikka masala. It's always been my favorite Indian dish at any Indian restaurant, though. I also like that they have buffet every day of the week. They are closed between 2.30p and dinner time, I believe. read more

This is my favorite place to eat in Tempe! Staff is very friendly and have great suggestions on dishes to enjoy!

To sum it up - Great food and great service. The garlic Naan was light, crispy and super flavorful. Our family also throughly enjoyed the Butter Chicken and Shrimp curry. The service was very friendly and thoughtful. read more

the food here was really good and affordable!! We got naan, aloo gobhi, vegetable biryani (AMAZING and they brought raita for us), butter chicken, and dal. The staff was friendly and attentive & its a small business so support local! They brought complimentary starters and dessert. And they're open late! truly a great dinner. They've been financially hit by covid so can really use support. read more

Food was great as was their portions. Especially if you go in a group. It's easy to share between people great for family and friends. read more

See all

Did I really forget to post a note for Nandini? I hate when I do that. A+ rating for this little Indian restaurant. Clean inside, friendly staff, and uber delicious food. We could not believe how flavorful (and not too spicy) everything was. Thanks for a great first time trying out some of your wonderful dishes. And the naan bread - perfect. Can't wait to get back and try a few new items next time. read more

Good food, seems like it's family owned. Nice people just make sure to tip your servers directly.

Great service and fantastic quality Indian food. Complimentary mango lassi at lunch buffet is a nice touch. I have never had anything bad here read more

Wanting some hot Vindaloo from a new place my friend and I stopped here for dinner. We had the Chicken Vindaloo with a 5 heat to be on the safe side. That and the smoked eggplant dish which name I can't remember. It was delicious, really they both were. Some Garlic Naan and rice and we were set. The water was always refilled but it took forever to get a soda and beer. Our server spent more time with a table of 20 containing friends than the other tables. So he is 2 stars and the food was a 5 star delight. read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Chicken Vindaloo and Smoked Egg Plant - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

See all

Great Indian buffet! I've tried several in the Valley, and this is by far the best. The staff are super friendly, and the place is pretty relaxed. read more

This is the best Indian food I've ever had. It's a little pricey but absolutely worth every cent. The paneer tikka masala is literally my heaven on earth. I've been many times and it's always 10/10. So bomb and I can't wait to come back. read more

Went for dinner and have ordered pickup a few times, always great quality food and great service. We tried something new tonight getting the chicken Saag and malai kofta, both amazing! It was quiet because it's a week night and because of COVID, but we didn't mind because the service was great. I would definitely recommend trying dine in if you've only done delivery, the naan was even better when super fresh. Will be back for sure!!!! read more

I stumbled across this local gem a few years ago while searching for legit Indian food in The Valley. After coming from the Silicon Valley, my standards are high & Nandini doesn't disappoint! I introduced my boyfriend to them via take-away a couple years ago & he loved it! It's our go-to Indian restaurant... always good portions, reasonable pricing, well packaged for travel, and friendly service! We finally made it in for a sit down meal & were shocked at how empty the place was, BUT all the customers were Indian and we watched several take-out orders get picked up. And, apparently my boyfriend hadn't put it together that this was where we get our Indian take-out, so when he did, the look on his face was absolutely fantastic. He's been ordering from here even more often because he's so excited... and tonight is no exception! We love that we can order online or through the Yelp app... makes life more convenient read more

This is the Best Indian food I have ever eaten in my entire life!! So fresh and flavorful; I was dancing with every bite! The samosas were on a whole other level and you can't go wrong with any of the entrees! The service is impeccable and so friendly. I wish I could post pictures but it was all gone before I had a chance! You HAVE to try this place!! read more

Went in for lunch and the food was amazing! I had lamb it was amazing and my son had tandoori chicken. Spiced and seasoned perfectly. The Naan was amazing as well. So glad we tried it ~ we'll definitely be back! read more

We went around 6pm and were the only ones in the restaurant. Our waiter was very attentive and friendly. He was helpful ordering from the menu. The food was super yummy. It wasn't as spicy as I usually like, but flavor wise it was fabulous. It was reasonably priced for the amount of food we got. I will definitely go back and check out the lunch buffet. read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona