This is the BEST Indian place i have ever been to. They by far exceed the places in wellington that have won a tonne of awards. however i do not recommend eat in as the place has NO ambiance what so ever, and it is definitely not the place to go for a couples night out bright ugly lighting and decor. I would HIGHLY recommend for takeaways though

Saturday September 4th,2010

My wife picked out this restaurant after reading the online reviews. We have so far been disappointed by Indian restaurants in NZ, apart from one superb one we found in Taupo. Well, I am pleased to report that this one serves really good food – and good portion sizes too!

After choosing our seats, we were provided with glasses for our BYO wine and a saucer with a handful of peanuts on. Papadoms or bhuja mix might have been more appropriate?

We had the mixed platter to start and it was served sizzling hot. It was the usual ‘Indian mixed grill’ combo but was very tasty – I particularly like the bed of thinly sliced fried onion/capsicum that the mixed platter was served on.

For mains I ordered the Garlic Chilli Chicken (Indian Hot) and it did not disappoint. My wife had the Chicken Jalfrezi – equally as good.

The complementary rice was fluffy and light but a little on the cool side. My wife asked for it to be warmed through – too late for me because I had already loaded my plate – and we were quickly provided with a fresh, full bowl which was nice and hot.

The accompanying plain naan bread (mine) was nice enough but the Peshwari naan (the wife’s) was a little crisp and fell apart – so she ate most of mine!

Service was a tad slow but not too bad – there was a large group in the restaurant when we arrived so that must have put the kitchen under some pressure. We were in restaurant for two hours (1830-2030) and had two courses and a bottle of wine Wine is reasonably priced in my opinion – we paid $28 for a bottle of Spy Valley sauvignon blanc.

The serving staff were very young and apart from one of them, their dress was a little too casual for me. The young girl who was fetching food from the kitchen was equally ‘dressed down’ – at first I thought she was someone who had come in for a take-out. They were polite enough though.

As for the restaurant itself, it is pretty non-descript and the decor a little bland. There is a line of ‘oriental’ framed prints along both walls but nothing that says ‘Indian’. Call me old-fashioned, but I like the bright colour, decor and background music that one usually associates with an Indian restaurant. There was a plasma screen at the end of the room playing Bollywood Movies – with the sound off – but it seemed totally out of place.

All in all though, I rate the food here as the best I have eaten in the Kapiti area, and I would say it is probably better than most I have tried in Wellington – and I eat a lot of curry!

We will be happy to go back – why not give it a go yourselves?

Last night we had a family banquet and it was excellent. This was the best Indian meal I have ever had with lots of variety and we walked out with a doggy bag as there was no way we could eat it all. The service was friendly and timely. I have no hesitation in recommending this restaurant and the naan bread is to die for.

Dined here on Saturday night. The food and the service were excellent. We had 4 dishes between us, and all were enjoyed. It is fabulous having a great Indian restaurant in little ole Otaki.

I was amazed to read the negative feedbacks for this restaurant. I have visit here 3 times now and would definitely return at any opportunity. The service was first class, on the last visit a group of 6 of us (I raved about this place to many friends) were instantly seated and given menu’s. Drinks were ordered and arrived quickly. We all ordered a variety of dishes so that we could sample the array available, these arrived in a timely manner. Every dish was delicious, the plates were clean at the end of the meal! The waiters were friendly and helpful, as they always are. And to top it all off the prices are very reasonable. Myself and my partner have searched the Wellington region for the last 4 years in search of a decent curry, we have now found it.
Top notch restaurant, I will be back!

The food was o.k. but front of house let the restaurant down badly. Slow service to take our order, 2 ordered chardonnays never arrived and we had to go to the counter to remind staff, then we watched as the young girl on the counter scoured the shelves for chardonnay – she was eventually helped by another waiter who showed her a bottle in the fridge.She poured one full glass and the second glass was three quarters full. Our meals were ages coming as staff(3) were busy bringing take away food out to customers waiting at the counter, walking past our table and totally ignoring us.Eventually one apologised for the slow service & the female waiter. A Valentine’s outing very much ruined – will never go again(do they realise every time a customer opens the front door, a high pitched screech sounds thru the restaurant?

My husband who was facing the front door told me the third waiter of the evening arrived while we were waiting to be served – he walked in off the street, tied on his apron and started work carrying takeaway food to the waiting customers without a wash or brush up, he then busied himself behind the bar touching wine glasses in between carrying out the takeaway orders.