Been going to Utsav for the past 5 years - since I came to New York from India and the food is delicious. I don't eat Indian food often but when I do, it's usually at Utsav. Utsav makes authentic Indian food and the menu has practically everything you would fancy eating at an Indian restaurant. The menu explains everything very well and the staff is extremely helpful with choices and recommendations. Someone is always present to help you with additional orders, to make sure your food is what you expected and to answer any questions. The food quality is superb with fresh, well picked ingredients. The owner of the restaurant seems to be very involved with the everyday activity which is a positive sign and is friendly with all the guests of the restaurant. When you make a reservation, you usually don't have to wait for more than a minute to be seated and they try to accommodate you even if you don't have a reservation. In New York, Utsav is definitely one of the few places I would recommend to eat authentic, well priced Indian food! read more

Very mediocre place. Cannot recommend one thing here. They cannot keep track of the orders. Preparation was mediocre. Table was shaking and they never fixed it. Water kept spilling and glasses kept falling. When we ordered drinks they served two and forgot one. They forgot one of the dishes. The ones we asked to be mild was hot and vice versa. All this after one hour of wait to be served. Btw they don't give any white rice with the main course. Cannot recommend. I personally won't be back there read more

My coworker recommended this place. The food was alright but I don't know that I would come back. We had a really long wait time. There was a party of over 10 people who came in after us (2 people in my party) and they got served before us. There were a lot of servers/workers on the floor and I don't know what they were doing. read more

The best Indian I've had in Times Square. I'd give it five stars but it is not the best value. Lunch buffet is pricey, but the food is really good. Tandoori chicken was a bit dry, but all the other dishes were excellent, very light in spiciness. Chicken tikka is nice and moist, and vegetarian dishes were all great. Eggplant was cooked really well, I sat there thinking, "Wow, this is excellent!" read more

I don't like Indian food. But this I like. I think I am getting luckier each time in finding high quality versions of the crap I've been eating all of my life. Utsav is a high end joint with a generous buffet. Perfect for a quick or long lunch. The spinach is bonkers. read more

This was hands down the very best vegan Indian food I have ever eaten. To be honest it may have been the best eating experience as well. My taste buds were so moved that I felt compelled to kiss the chef. read more

Amazing upscale lunch buffet conveniently in the theater district. We ate upstairs, lovely and relaxing. Excellent vegetarian options. So delicious! read more

We absolutely loved this restaurant. Great spice and flavors. Ate at lobby level bar. Super friendly staff, great service (we didn't go upstairs to restaurant so can't speak for that area). We will definitely be back next time we visit NYC. read more

We went to Utsav for the lunch buffet. Decor was nice and the space was clean and spacious. The location was perfect for a before-broadway show meal which was also a plus. The food, however, was disappointing. We came right when they opened at noon, but the food was not hot and some of it (the rice especially) tasted stale. It wasn't authentic or flavorful. We were initially very excited seeing the reviews, but left feeling very disappointed and dissatisfied. read more

I ate at this place a few years back and it was great. Unfortunately, they've lost their touch when I visited again. They had the BEST paani poori (sp ?) and that was on my mind as soon as I stepped into the restaurant. Alas, when I tasted it again it was no longer the same. On the other hand, the chicken vindaloo and the nan bread with potato was awesome. But that paani poori just ruined my overall experience. They were great but now they're just okay. read more

Great Indian food close to Times Square. A bit prices but worth it.

This was a recommendation from one of the staff at the Marriott Marquis, and boy were they right about it. Delicious dishes with quality ingredients. The restaurant looked nice but we did a togo order, and only had minimal wait. I try to stop here every time I'm in the area. Very good Indian cuisine. read more

1) AMBIANCE & SERVICE... WHAT A MESS. Worst service I've ever experienced at any restaurant in NYC. I'm a local and don't expect fantastic service in most NYC restaurants, but this was disgraceful. You walk into a lower-level bar area with no one to greet you, except a strange bartender too busy doing shots with the tourists to offer any assistance. Eventually, you meander upstairs where you're greeted by an indifferent host and a gaggle of diner-hopefuls (like yourself) staring at one another in confusion. At some point you're seated by a grumpy hostess. Then neglected. Then completely ignored. Then angry and bitter with yourself for booking a reservation at Utsav. Then you're trapped because the place appears empty of any employees, and even though payment for your meal was unearned by the Utsav staff, you feel a sense of responsibility as a decent human to pay the bill instead of just walking out. The recommended attire reads "Smart Casual". Not exactly sure what that means, but given the level of service and food quality it must mean "flip-flops and whatever you woke up in on the subway platform this morning". 2) 18% gratuity was added to our bill for FOUR people. (This was especially disappointing because there's no way I would have left 18%, which I assume is purposely built into their policy to compensate for the terrible service.) I wish I had taken photos of how trashed and disgusting our table was after this mess of a dinner so you could appreciate how unearned the 18% gratuity was. No one could be bothered to bus the table. The filthy remains of a watery drink brought from the bar at 7:30pm was sitting there at 10:30pm as we were trying to leave. 3) Food was mediocre. Probably goes without saying, but do not be fooled by the flashy photos on the website. There's no shortage of decent Indian food in the city, so I ADVISE NOT EATING AT UTSAV. I did not get sick from the food, but given how badly EVERY ASPECT of this place is - how shabby the decor, how awful the service - I shudder to imagine what goes on in the kitchen. WHAT GOES ON IN THE KITCHEN!?? WHO KNOWS??? BOTTOM LINE: THIS SUCKY EXPERIENCE TOOK OVER THREE HOURS OF MY LIFE. Conclusion: Utsav is a Midtown all-you-can-eat buffet pit under the delusion that it's a respectable dinner establishment. The owners should convert it into a cafeteria already - just need the plastic forks and styrofoam plates. If you bother to read this and decide to go anyway, I wish you the best of luck. read more

As Utsav is located very near to Times square most people come because they are tired, hungry, want to use rest room or escape cold, and last thing would be food. Ambiance, service, location, are good but quality of food and taste are just okay. This is an North Indian restaurant well maintained. But have to caution you food is just okay nothing great, not tasty, spicy, eat here if you have no other option only. Even simple dishes were not up to the mark, we tried out only VEG curries, nans, biryani and desert all were average for dinner. We dint have buffet here so no comments on that. "If you are tried and have no other option then eat at Utsav" read more

Mostly recommended for lunch or pre-theater, given there were all of 5 people for dinner including us and the waiters. Having said that, the food was not bad. Sure, a mildly spicy, watered-down American version of Indian food, but the naan for one was fluffy and crunchy to the right point; the sea bass drowning in coconut soup was actually surprisingly good; and the channa masala was kind of like getting close but not quite yet still a valiant attempt at emulating the real thing. Overall solid. read more

Service sucks. They dont respond. Takes them hours to even fill our cups. They arent helping and very rude. However, the food was ok. I wouldnt recommend this place for tourists. We asked for a fork but the waiter brought coke (even after explaining to him that we want a fork and not a coke), it took a while and a few stares to get us a fork. My family was totally disappointed. read more

Let me start with one thing. Its way expensive. I know its at Time Square, but very expensive for the service we had been offered. The restaurant looks upscale but not the service is down scale. We were four people and a kid, no a baby, baby who is hardly two. when the bill arrived, i saw that the gratuity of 18% was added to the bill automatically because they consider 4 adults and a baby as 5 adults or party of five. i'd be ok with it, if the service is at that par. to begin with they dont have high chairs for babies. none at all. atleast thats what we were told. like someone mentioned, initially we were offered good service but then they just forgot us just after the food was served. no one was checking on us for water or if the food was good or if we needed a dessert menu, none. i think they dont have enough staff for the crowd that arrives at Time Square. That's not my problem 'cos we paid a 150 $ bill for three curries and bowl of naan and a bowl of appetizers and 3 desserts. i'd say, the food is ok but service is poor. i am not new to NY restaurants and the service and the prices. read more

This is the very first Indian restaurant I tried during my recent trip to New york. We went in for dinner around 7:30. Ordered Samosa, which turned out to be cold. We waited for waiter to request to heat it up. But server disappears for next 10 minutes. Food takes another 20 minutes. This restaurant employees lot of young people who are not serious about their jobs. I saw bunch of employees just hanging around as if they were in the park. Every time we would try to call him, he would ignore us. Food was too expensive for its quality. Do they already add gratuity to bill? It was far off than I had expected. DO TRY IT only if you are VERY RICH. Location is good, but I wouldn't mind walking few more blocks looking for better restaurants. read more

Delicious dishes and nice size portions. The Mango Mojito is really good. One of the best Biryani I had in NYC, really flavorful and not greasy. Chicken Tikka Masala was also really good, spicy but not too hot. Again I really appreciate the fact that the food here is not very greasy like most indian places. read more

The food was good. We were already late so we really appreciate that they gave us time to order. We were like 15 odd people and everyone liked the food. They have varieties of food and it was well cooked. The ambience was cool as well. Definitely a family restaurant. We would to be happy to come here again. read more

Really good Indian restaurant in Manhattan . It's close to time square. Nice view and good food. Try bread and panjabi sabji and masala papad. Speciaus . No reservations. Worth to go one time. read more

- Clean place - Staff is very nice - Their lunch buffet is pretty good ($16.95/per person). - Some dishes might take up to 30 min to prepare read more

A bit pricey compared to Little India and Curry Hill, but definitely worth it if you are stuck in Midtown and craving Indian. The restaurant is pretty and seating is nice and roomy. The buffet lunch has many options for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians and I had a little of everything. The standout dishes were the naan, chicken tikka masala and the sweet and sour fish dish. I also always love the rice pudding as well to end my meal. Definitely the place to go in the area for your Indian fix and you will be quite full at the end of the meal! read more

Nestled between two office buildings between 6th and 7th Avenues, this restaurant is easily missed unless you look for it. The restaurant is on the second floor suspended over a plaza that passes through from 46th to 47th streets. They have a lunch buffet for around $20 that had enough options to keep everyone happy. Some of the dishes were colder than I would have preferred and not exactly the best Indian I have had in NYC. The wait staff is relatively attentive, keeping the glasses filled with water. I wouldn't mind going back to try ordering from the menu. For me, the location is convenient since I work next door. It was mostly full at 1:00 the day after July 4th, so they do a decent lunch business. 3 stars because I kind of expected more spicy options on the buffet, but I think it's worth going back to try some more. read more

Amazing lunch buffet with tons of options! Great for a quick, easy, delicious Indian meal on the go!

Had gone here for a family n friends dinner recently. These guys are usually pretty lrofessionals but not today.we orderd a paneer makhani and chicken tikka masala.. Guess wat they gave me 2 chicken dishes with different gravies.. My friends who are vegetarians to the core ate chicken because of their mistake.. This was disgusting..we did not create a scene out there just oredered another paneer.. But thought we shouldnt spare them so easily.. read more

I eat here for the lunch buffet and only once for dinner. It's an excellent option in midtown for lunch, we have a weekly Friday lunch here. The buffet doesn't change too much, but everything is always dependably good and satisfying. My only criticisms are that I wish they used dark meat in the tikka and the fish in the curry is sometimes not as fresh as it could be. The ambiance is nice and relaxing and the staff is great. read more

if i had to order off the menu, this place would probably lose a star. however, my experiences are limited to lunch buffets which have always delivered consistantly up-to-par indian dishes. the highlight would have to be the mango mousse. if you don't try it, you'll never know what you're missing. read more

good drinks, nice ambience. A pretty good restaurant near the times square. Love the samosas. However, there is still more room for the improvement when it comes to chicken. I had a sensitive stomach after having butter chicken unfortunately. I loved veggie side very much. read more

Buttermilk was good. Ordered two curries: Malai Kofta and the paneer with pepper curry. The koftas were stale in taste. The other curry didnt taste too good. The food looked good but didnt taste good. The roomali roti was not as soft as it should have been. Just the contrary. I am well versed with Indian food and wanted to try this restaurant but wont be returning when I visit the city again. The seekh kabab was decent in taste. I have to give points for service. Our host was pleasant, great in service and treated us well. read more

Tried their take out lunch buffet. Very oily and the curries tasted below average.

We used to come here every year 5-6 times whenever we were in town. Food used to taste much better. This time Food did not taste no where near what it used to taste. Quantity was much less than what we used get. Service was super poor. We would never come here again. If I had choice I would not even give any star. Very poor service and food. We talk to Manager about the food and service & he pretended to talk to owner, but owner didn't even give shit about it, they did not even have courtesy to apologize. I would not recommend anyone here. read more

Nice ambience and yummy food. I love their lunch buffet. It's everything in great price. Overall good experience.

The quality of the cooking at this restaurant has risen dramatically in the last few years. I am highly impressed by the variety and flavor on their menu, the relaxing atmosphere, and the friendly wait staff. My only complaint is with the prices of their lunch buffet. I would eat lunch there *more often* if the buffet did not set me back $25+ (including tax). If it cost $15 then I might come here once or twice a week. Instead, it's a treat once a month at most. In general, I love that there are lot of non-generic dishes on the menu. The chef has a lot of exciting ideas. My favorite appetizer would have to be the Shakarkandi Kaffir Lime Chaat. What an inventive, flavorful chaat! And it seems healthier than the usual Indian appetizer. Amazing. I do hope they get better samosas though. I was surprised how lame they were in contrast. As for dinner entrées, I discover something new here every time that's great. I heard the chef's favorite is the Sea Bass Rasa. I understand why after trying it. Scrumptious and flavorful. My only complaint about it is that the portion is too small. Come on guys! I like that they have some Kerala-inspired items on the menu (including that sea bass). And I look forward to trying more entrées, even the wacky-sounding ones like the Paneer Chilli Relleno. For now, it's a great place to bring family and friends once a month. If they lowered their prices on the lunch buffet, I'd personally eat there much more frequently. Instead, I've started to eat at Bombay Grill's $12.95 lunch buffet on 49th. But the food there can't touch Utsav in terms of quality. read more

This is a very good option when you are around the Times Square area, excellent food, the food ordered for kids came with a perfect spice level. Also very tasty..the fish was amazing as well. The Biryani portion was very generous and very tasty... read more

Arrived at the restaurant around 8:30 pm on a Tuesday evening and it was quite busy. Got seated and 15 minutes later no server had come by to take drink or food orders. Finally got up and asked the hostess if anyone was working my table and only then the "manager" came over. Side-note - even the hostess was giving dirty looks and rolling her eyes because I dared to question their non existent service. Their was no smile, no discussion, no greeting, just a "what do you want?". The rude, insincere behavior continued the entire visit. Could not get anyone's attention to get more drinks or anything else. Had to get up and find the manager multiple times. If he's the manager and setting service standards, it's no wonder the employees don't care. Food was terrible. Papadums were burned beyond recognition. Chicken Tikka Masala was ok but bland. Hyderabadi Shrimp was not worth the price and definitely not tasty. Got charged for extra food (naan bread) that was not ordered. Overall a terrible experience with lousy, uncaring service, and far too expensive. They could do much better. Not sure how long they can stay in business with these problems. read more

Had Lunch Buffet with my wife and her parents on her dad`s birthday. Her Dad recommended the restaurant based on his prior excellent experience during his working days (about 2 years back). As far our experience goes, this was one of worst experience we had in New York. Staff wasn't interested in providing service and food was creamy and didn't taste Indian at all. We are all suffering from stomach upset after the meal. Her dad says food doesn't taste close to what he had experienced several times years back. We won't visit here again. read more

My wife and I have just finish a delicious meal at Utsav. Everything was excellent. We started with samosas and chili shrimp - both great but I especially liked the nuts in the samosas. For entré I had sea bass in a light yellow curry source - amazing!!! My wife had lamb vindaloo which was succulent, melt in your mouth tender and delicious. We recommend this restaurant for the amazing food. read more

Food is good. Service was the worst I have ever had. Took 10 minutes just to order drinks, didn't get said drinks for another 15 minutes, which was after our appetizers arrived. The restaurant was not even half way full. No one ever checked on us or refilled our glasses. Check also took forever to get after we finished. Never saw the same server twice. read more

Pros: Great food, great ambience Cons: Upscale, service a bit slow, but maybe because they make fresh food:) Read my full review at http://funnfud.blogspot.com/2007/11/utsav-festive-indian-restaurant-new.html -Mansi http://funnfud.blogspot.com read more