We went to the secret kitchen to celebrate Father's Day. We had a reservation but still there was like 10-15 minutes wait to get seated which was OK because the waiting area even though that was small was very very beautifully decorated the restaurant has a flamingo theme. Our server was very sweet and nice. The ambience was very good. We were seated in beautifully decorated booth. I really liked how they had the cloth, napkins, and plates decorated and customized We started with drinks and appetizers. The drinks were really really good so were the appetizers. The main course was also very good we enjoyed it. The service was amazing. Like I said the servers was very good even we had the bartender come to the table to check. How are the drinks? Very personalized good hospitality And in the end we ordered deserts of which we loved the Rasmalai. We are definitely coming back here again read more

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Don't let the strip mall location fool you. The exterior is stylish but the inside is full of color and stylish with unique artwork, and a playful atmosphere, but the chairs are not very comfortable and feels weird sitting in them, like they are leaning you forward. Everyone in our party made a comment about it. Reservations are a good idea. They offer three seatings at 5:30p, 7:30p and 9p if I recall correctly, and the place was packed. We counted at least four birthdays, so it is clearly popular for special occasions. Their menu has a large variety of veg and non-veg dishes. Plenty to try, especially since portions are small. I did respect one of their wishes on the back page of the menu (some other "rules" are a little odd). Their drink menu of mocktails, liquors, wines and beer are impressive. Seems some of the complaints about their drinks are either exaggerated or resolved. The presentation is impressive, but the food was a little hit and miss for us. Our favorites were the Avocado Paani Puri, Parmesan Cheese Pav Bhaji, Tandoori Veg Momo, and Kadhai Prawn Curry. Portions also felt smaller than stated, so the value was a little lacking. The TSKfied Butter Chicken was creamy and buttery but just meh. The Dum Veg Biryani was nutty, so it was a little distracting. And the Dal Tadka was sweet which caught us off guard. A little disappointing. A table next to us offered up a piece of grilled lamb that I was eyeing and it was off putting and gamey, for my taste. Definitely won't order. Service was efficient, but a little robotic. Though I did get them to crack a brief smile once or twice. We will be back to give it another try and try some of the other dishes. read more

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I visited this place today with my work friends after seeing it on social media. Pleasantly surprised with the location of this restaurant as it is not close to happening area of Schaumburg. My friend got 5:30 pm reservation which was their opening time and as we entered - the decor was so beautiful and welcoming. We got seated in nice cabin type place. I ordered mocktail and I really liked my drinks. Others got cocktails which were also very good. Our first order for apps was lamb chops and those were outstanding. We ordered thechha paneer which was good. Then for our main course - we did awadhi ghost biryani, chicken chettinad, fish curry with onion garlic naan. All items were delicious- flavors of all dishes were hitting the spot. My group talked about coming back again. read more

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Mid size space inside. Reservation is highly recommended as its new. It has time like 5:30, 7:30pm for reservation Service was fast and good. Review out of 5 for vegetarian food. Mango lassi - 3 - smoky look presentations was good but drink was thick. Not super sweet can taste saffron but could be improved. Beet tikki- 4 - taste was good but did not like peanut butter inside. Do not understand need of it Khasta kachori 3 - lacks street flavor Khoya kaju- 4 - liked the curry but would like to have option to add protein Paneer corn yellow curry- 4 - tasty but portion is small compared to the price Vegetarian biryni - 4 - good taste and presentation Onion kulcha - 3- more flat bread vs kulcha taste Lachha paratha - 2 - no Layers Garlic naan - 3 read more

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New modern Indian restaurant in Schaumburg. Tried a mix of appetizers, mains, and dessert and overall it was a decent experience. The avocado dahi puri, parmesan pav bhaji, and onion garlic naan were the highlights for me. The mains were okay but didn't really stand out in terms of flavor. Nothing was bad, just not very memorable overall. I was expecting a bit more punch given the concept and presentation. Still a nice spot to try if you are in the area and want modern Indian dishes, but not somewhere I would go out of my way to return to. read more

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I really wanted to like this place but my experience was chaotic at best. My expectations were set high by limited reservation availability and the wall of award photos of the chef at the entrance. The service was bad. Our server barely paid any attention, even was looking in the other direction while I was trying to place an order. When I mentioned I am Gluten sensitive, she made a weird expression and said "everything we serve has gluten in it" which is not true. We ordered the Chef's special desert, which is $36 and quickly realized it was a big mistake when the server started constructing it table side and probably has zero training to do so. The ingredites of a desert that costs more than an entree were extremely poor. The ice cream was powdery, the chocolate probably was made in palm oil. Horrible! There were theatrics and drama in the presentation of all the food items, but it felt excessively performative since the food taste and quality was seriously lacking. My appetizer Paneer Thecha came out pretty, but cold. We got a dragon fruit slushee, which had multiple full icecubes in it. The bartender stopped by to ask for feedback and when we mentioned this, she said her blender has not been set up yet. Shouldn't they share this information while taking our drink order? Lesuni palak paneer was the only thing that I felt was good to eat here, but the bar had been set very low by the time our entree came out. The ambience was another source of over-stimulation. There were 4 birthdays celebrated in a span of 1 hr and every single time they played the happy birthday song on the speaker system. This place is utter chaos, I am never going back. read more

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My husband and I dined here tonight and loved the experience of trying a variety of dishes from the menu. We started with the paneer appetizer, which arrived beautifully presented on a skewer. It definitely has some heat to it, so just a heads up if you're sensitive to spice--I enjoyed the flavor, but found myself reaching for water quite a bit! I ordered the tomato soup, which was absolutely delicious. For our main dishes, we shared the butter chicken along with the green cheese butter masala with spinach and herbs--both were rich, flavorful, and incredibly satisfying. I also ordered a mocktail made with pineapple juice, and it was stunning. The presentation felt like a little secret garden of flowers, and the bartender even came over to personally present it. Every detail, from the drinks to the dishes, was clearly thoughtful and elevated. Our server, Cristina, was attentive, friendly, and offered great recommendations. She really helped guide us through the menu and made the entire experience even more enjoyable. We also ordered the signature mystery dessert too and the presentation was fun to experience table-side. Hard chocolate shell with vanilla ice cream, spices, chocolate sauce, chocolate candies, and another drizzle of a sauce. read more

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Finally got to celebrate at The Secret Kitchen! We'd been trying to get a reservation forever, so we just called and took a shot and they actually squeezed us in for 8:45 PM. They were super upfront about us possibly waiting since we didn't have a slot, which we appreciated. While we waited, they brought out complimentary drinks and apologized for the delay (they really didn't have to). Honestly, the whole service team just got it, the kind of hospitality that makes you want to come back. The entrance is artistic, picturesque, and perfect for photos whether you're solo or with a group. Everything's clean, well-spaced, and they handle both intimate dinners and big celebrations effortlessly. Definitely Indian restaurant goals for special occasions. The food though, we went a bit overboard with orders. Started with Dhokla fondue, Cheese tikki melt, Avocado dahi puri, and Parmesan pav bhaji. The cheese tikki melt and avocado dahi puri were my personal favourites. The dhokla itself was denser than I usually like, but that creamy cheesy fondue is delicious . The pav bhaji had this amazing croissant-shaped pav, soft and pillowy inside, just crispy enough outside. For mains we got Burrata Makhni, Bollywood Khoya Kaju masala, and a trio of breads (Chilli cheese naan, onion garlic naan, and kulcha). They absolutely nailed the breads, every single one was warm, soft, and light. The Burrata makhni was such a clever twist on the classic, and the khoya kaju masala was rich in all the right ways with loads of cashews. Presentation was beautiful too. We wanted the Chef's signature dessert but it was sold out, so we grabbed the sizzling brownie instead, still great. And then they brought out sparklers and a birthday cake for my husband. I'm usually skeptical about restaurant birthday cakes (they're often dry and forgettable), but this one reminded me of those vanilla cakes with buttercream I grew up with in India. Genuinely delicious. Will 100% be back. Already planning my next visit and clearing my calendar way in advance this time read more

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Had a reservation for an 8:30 PM dinner on Sunday, but there was some wait time to be seated despite having a reservation wasn't ideal. The ambience, however, was great and made it a nice place for celebrations.The service was fast after being seated The appetizer selection was great. We tried the Thecha Paneer Tikka, which could have used a bit more sauce or seasoning. The Peri Peri Prawns were really good,flavorful without being too spicy. For the vegetarian main courses, most curry options are paneer based. We tried the Bollywood Khoya Kaju Masala and Sabz Bahar qalia with lacha paratha and onion garlic naan, but the curries tasted quite similar. read more

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Great ambience and food ranged from good to very good. Drinks were cute. Service was a little slow. I enjoyed it but don't feel compelled to return again and again read more

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The plating is great from appetizers to entrees , service is good but the food is actually no where close to a chef curated plate. The veg dum biryani actually has rice with frozen vegetables green peas, carrots and corn in it. I was shocked to see this subpar biryani at $22 I knew what I was going to pay going in so that was not the issue but I expected chef level meal. The only one decent item was avocado dahi puri but not worth the hype. Disappointed !! read more

I would recommend this place. Attentive service. The avocado dahi puri dish was our favorite. Butter chicken was good too.

The server we had, Supria was very attentive and seemed to know the menu very well. The food was good. Try the lamb biryani which is what I had. We ordered two Virgin piña colada's and they were very good. The bartender came by to see if everything was OK and it was. Overall, it was a good meal. read more

The food entrees are very exotic!! Taste was very good too! Presentation is out of the world!!! read more

It's good spot for foreigners to try Indian food. It's definitely a more upscale place. I would definitely recommend and bring friends there to revisit read more

Worst management and operations. I followed their reservation system and submitted a request 10 days in advance based on their availability calendar, but never received any response. When I tried to follow up, my call was disconnected without any explanation. I was initially excited to visit since it's in my neighborhood, but this experience has completely changed my impression. I will not be visiting and would not recommend it to others. read more

The Secret Kitchen - Indian Near Me - Schaumburg, Illinois

Visited The Secret Kitchen recently and overall had a good experience. The ambience and food presentation were really nice. There was theatrics while presenting certain items, which I enjoyed. I had the Coconut Peach Meloni, which was light, refreshing, and creamy. My husband tried the Sip and Bliss Daiquiri -- it was okay, but could have used a bit more spice. For appetizers, we ordered Rubi Tikki, Paneer Thecha, and lamb. The Rubi Tikki was soft and creamy inside, though I would have preferred some chutney on the side. The lamb was dry. For the main course, we had Matka Paneer with lachha, which were average. The service was also a bit late, maybe because they are new to business and didn't have enough staff. One thing we didn't appreciate was that the suggested tip amounts were calculated on the post-tax total instead of the pre-tax bill. read more

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The food and the service were excellent. I loved the ambiance, beautifully decorated with flowers, and Peacock Throne. read more

Sadly, I can not give a review for the food, because we were turned away from this restaurant, even with a reservation. On May 13, I arrived with two out of town guests for our 9pm reservation, driving all the way from Lake Forest. There were two other parties also in line waiting for their reservation, both were Indian, we are not. Only we were told that there was a water issue in the whole area and we could not be seated. Odd because there was still a restaurant filled with people being served and the ice cream shop next door was happily serving people. But we were told that we would get a complimentary or discounted meal on our next visit and they would mark our name in the reservation book so they would have a record of the incident. It did not appear that they were turning away the Indian people in front and behind us. I called three nights ago to rebook and explained the incident. The person who answered said he was a part owner and he would talk to the other owner and call me back the next day. I have not heard a word from anyone at the Secret Kitchen. So either they have a plumbing problem, which is disturbing and makes me question whether I would want to eat there again, or they have a racism problem against non-Indians which is equally or perhaps more disturbing. read more

Update(5/25): the money taken to make the reservation was NOT refunded or applied to the bill. We were told it would be 4-5 business days to be refunded to the CC. So thankfully we applied for a dispute on our CC credit- such a scam! We made online reservations made a month out for 5:30 pm on Sunday. The online reservation asked for a 70 dollar deposit just to make a reservation. The reservation wasn't even confirmed until a week out from our reservation- feel like this technique is absolutely dumb. Have a credit card on file instead to charge for no shows like every establishment does! (We will see if this is refunded in 4-5 days business days) So we got seated ( party of 7). We were given menus and then the drink menus. They barely gave us time to settle down before asking for the drink menus to take it to another table. We all looked at each other and didn't even get to order anything. FYI. As of May, they got an alcoholic licsebse but only can serve beer and wine at the tables. If you want cocktails- you have to stay at the bar( like what?!) The food was decent, nothing to write home about but the portion size for the main course was small (if you are comparing it to most Indian places). The portion size recommendation from our server was so off and we had to order more food for the table. Of course all of this is with the time crunch of 90 mins. It felt rushed and not enjoyable. We had to ask several times for water to be filled and the table was cluttered that we were clearing the plates and placing it on the edge of the table. After reading reviews, we decided not to order dessert. Instead there is an icecream shoppe that's pretty good next door that you can check out. This place is way too hyped for nothing. We came with our non-Indian friends to explore new dishes( to them) but wasn't the experience we wanted for them. On top of that, the server asked us to leave a review at the end after paying our bill read more

Cute and beautiful restaurant. The chef is very talented, and presentation is spot on. It's not very traditional, rather westernized a bit, so don't expect the dishes to be made in a traditional manner. When we went there was no liquor license, but they allowed you to BYOB. I would suggest the restaurant work on their service, educate the servers on the menu, and they will make the experience much better. read more

The front desk Manager/host is very inconsistent. He takes reservations and then doesnt follow through. He gave us so much crap because apparently were suppose to call to confirm even after he told us what time to come. Took forever to seat us then before we got out menus asked us to leave in an hour and a half. Not to mention then the staff took forever to serve us. Food is excellent but staff not so much. The owner came up to me and stated he would give me his card so this never happens again and never followed through with it. read more

The Secret Kitchen will not be a secret for long. Tucked in a mostly residential neighborhood plaza, don't let the small size fool you. The food and service are top notch. The decor fits the theme of the restaurant. Our party had the Butter Chicken, paneer butter masala, and the chicken Biryani, each one was very good. Make sure to try the avocado dahi puri appetizer, It was incredible. If you are in Schaumburg looking for exceptional Indian cuisine, don't overlook The Secret Kitchen! read more

For a new restaurant still getting their legs I thought they did fabulous, everyone was helpful with the menu selections. The team was kind and smiling. The food was absolutely amazing. We want to just come back again and again and taste our way through the menu. Yes it's priced a bit higher but we all could taste the quality. I would put it up there with Dishoom. The chili paneer sambousek were a table favorite, the schezwan Manchurian were addictive, the Indian fish curry the fish and the curry were beautiful and the fish melted in your mouth. Onion Garlic Naan was beautiful, the Lamb shank Nalli Gosht was lovely. We will be back again and again! read more

We were impressed by the presentation, creative recipes, delicious food and lovely service!

I really wanted to like this place but my experience was chaotic at best. My expectations were set high by limited reservation availability with $10 per person and the wall of award photos of the chef at the entrance. The service was bad. Our server barely paid any attention!!! Having this high rated restaurant thought it would of been better than this!!!! read more

We visited TSK last night. We had high expectations (from Instagram reels we saw) but overall it was not that special. Some items were good, some others were big let downs. Below I will cover our experience from: reservations/wait time, interiors, food, desserts (rated separately), drinks, and service. Reservations/wait time: 1 star They only use an online system (no calls) which is fine. But your confirmation that you have a table does not come for several days (4 in our case). Even with the reservation however, we had to wait about 50 minutes past the reservation time to get seated. They did try to make up for it and served us non-alcoholic cocktails as we sat down. Interiors - 5 stars It is a small place but they did an excellent job with decorations, furniture, music. Food (ex desserts) - 3 to 4 stars We tried several appetizers and mains and they were good quality but not exceptional. The presentation of few of the apps was really good and memorable which is why I put 4 stars for some items. Desserts - 1 star This came at the end and was a huge disappointment! We ordered the Gulab Jamun Flambe for $25. The dessert contained ONE (!!) gulab ball, cut in 4 pieces, over a crumbled Oreo cookie with few cheap chocolate chips around for decoration, and a scoop of plain vanilla ice cream on top. Forget that it was not "flambeed table side for dramatic effect" as the menu reads. This was a shockingly bad dessert for a steep price. The other deserts were also very expensive (between $20 and $35) and not sure if of similar quality. But considering dessert are at the end and what people mostly remember, the disparity between the bad quality and the steep price really did the most disservice. Drinks - 4 stars They don't have alcohol license yet so only served mocktails. We tried few different and they were good. Service - 3 stars Service was ok albeit chaotic. Servers pleasant and attentive. Few staff members came at the end to ask how the experience was or to apologize for the long wait to get seated. read more

Excellent food , service and ambience . Will be visiting it again and recommending it to family and friends .

For a top notch restaurant when they forgot my paratha they microwaved my butter chicken that got cold. I had a party of 10 and the front desk Host/manager is so inconsistent and terrible host. This place gets two thumbs down! read more

Restaurant review- The decor is nice, our waitress supriya is sweet and awesome. We went to celebrate our anniversary but very disappointed to learn that there were no cocktails and Desserts They didn't tell this ahead of time. Supriya tried so hard ang got us a Brownie. They still have to get things organized. Food was good but little on the saltier side read more

The decor was great. The food presentation was pretty good. We were not impressed with the drinks. The food was good but not that much different that you can find elsewhere. Quantity was small for each plate. Due to the price it's a one time visit. read more

Overpriced and not worth the hype. They also charge you a deposit to hold the reservation. They never removed the charge or applied to our total bill. Scam and bad customer service. read more

Too much hype and price for normal food. Dessert was all show and no taste. Drinks were just ok.

Gorgeous setting and good food but they seemed to have opened before being ready and our service kind of ruined our experience. This was last night, May 23. There were NO cocktails (although there was a bartender and we saw many drinks being served which could have all been mocktails but didn't look like it) and no desserts at all (although we saw someone being served cake for a birthday and others have mentioned having dessert here - should add we were there at the 5:30 time so not all of them could have "sold out"). Server was extremely unhelpful and sort of critical/not friendly like she didn't want to be at our table. The food was good but not any better than places with better prices (plus drinks and dessert). read more

Amazing flavor for EVERY dish! Wonderful atmosphere and lovely staff! They have creative entrees and apps!!