Shalimar

Don’t waste your time here !!! Stale food was served! Once heated up they were all bad

I rarely expand my taste bud horizon but boy am I glad that I did today! Shalimar offers authentic Indian food that any customer can enjoy.
I did the lunch buffet today, and I was able to choose from a large variety of Indian cuisine options. What makes this even better is that it is unlimited! You can fill up your plate as many times as you want.
The prices are reasonable too. For unlimited lunch buffet, it was around $ 8-​$ 9. Totally doable!
I will admit though, the atmosphere is a little strange. Very dark lighting and almost too quiet. It needs more zest to match the zesty food they serve!
All and all, I enjoyed it and I will most definitely return!

Pretty good, not great. I asked for medium spice and got what every other restaurant would call mild.

I ordered takeout yesterday which consisted of chicken tikka masala, naan, mango chutney, and kheer for dessert. I ordered medium spice and the entrée I received was so bland and utterly flavorless that I couldn’t eat it… And this is a dish that I usually love. It was just a red, heavy, buttery mess. The other three items were passable. Service was brusque at best. The location is the only advantage this place could possibly have over others. Indian food in Castleton and Fishers honestly puts Shalimar to shame.

Let me start this off by saying that I (used to) love Shalimar. At my old job, when I felt like treating myself, this was where I would stop in for lunch. Admittedly, a buffet is not a great in itself, but good Indian food is.
This is no longer good Indian food. Last night, for my boyfriend’s birthday, we decided to stop in here for dinner because their food has almost always been good in the past (we went for the lunch buffet a few months back and it was just passable, but before that it had always been great).
We were quickly sat, as there were only about four other parties in the restaurant at the time. The tablecloth was a little soiled at the edges, but vigorous eaters at lunch are excused due to time constraints. We were served papadum and gave our orders.
The samosas were phenomenal. Crispy and flaky dough on the outside with a piping hot with a spicy potato and pea filling. They were served with a few chutneys and a little bit of lettuce (?), and I would absolutely recommend them.
That’s where the good ends. My boyfriend ordered his Chicken Vindaloo extra spicy and I ordered my Chicken Tikka Masala medium (because most spicy things I like are medium). This was a mistake on my part, but they didn’t listen to us at all. There was absolutely no heat to my tikka masala. Like, I don’t even think there was pepper in it, it was so incredibly mild. My boyfriend’s food was medium spicy at best. So after three times of trying to flag down a server (who never seemed to look our direction) and ten minutes of waiting, we managed to get our hands on some of the chile paste used to spice the sauces. All was well in our spicy little world.
The garlic naan was okay. I’ve certainly had better, but I’ve also had worse. Can’t complain too much there.
What really pushed this review down to a three star though was when we paid. I asked for the check. Got it and noted that it was less than I expected, but put my card down anyway. The server takes it a few minutes later, then disappears into the back. A few minutes later he walks out with a stack of checks and comes back and puts a check on the table with no card. I glad him down before he gets too far to tell him that we already gave him our card to pay and he says «hold on» and grabs the check, disappears into the back, and a few minutes later comes out and puts the check with my card on the table. This check is five dollars more than the check he previously gave us.
I want to be reasonable and say «well sure, that’s how much our check was supposed to be,» but I’m having a hard time with that. I feel like it was his mistake, and to charge my card twice for his own screw up was unnecessary. If he had informed me of that, I’d likely have given a tip to make up for the difference. Instead I’m stuck watching my credit card statement closely for the next week to make sure both transactions don’t post, and I ended up giving a not stellar tip. And by that I mean just under 15% (by 6¢ to be exact). Because I’m a nice person. I truly wanted to leave zero tip, but knowing many people in the food service industry, my conscience wouldn’t let me do that.
All of this rambling said, last night was the last time I go to Shalimar.

If I could give this place no stars I would! To start off it was the worst customer service I’ve ever experienced! The waiter was rude and a jerk! He argued about everything and never smiled. Second the food was just as bad! Bland no taste and after one curry and two baryanis the bill was $ 50! Do yourself a favor and never come here !

Shalimar has the worst service (which includes rude servers) in the Indy area. Went here with a group of friends yesterday and were rudely spoken to, no one came to even serve water our hand out menu cards for 30 mins ! Eventually i walked to the kitchen area to request for service and was rudely told it’s a busy night so keep waiting, when not even 3 tables were occupied. He went on to say «why did you not wait outside to be seated» (which we had and were seated by another server).
Had to walk out after this pathetic experience. There are many other restaurants in indy for good Indian food that treat their customers well but this one is NOT one of them. DO NOT waste your time coming over here.

I have dined at Shalimar countless times over the years. Most recently, I had take-​out, thanks to my generous dad, at Christmas as well as this past Monday night. It has become our new Christmas tradition for two years in a row now to pick up food from Shalimar on Christmas Eve and take it with us to my uncle’s house in Cincinnati on Christmas Day.
Everything was excellent back in December, even reheated, but this week most of the food was even more impressive than usual somehow. The food we ordered has provided us with two meals each so far, two nights in a row, with plenty more left. (I can’t wait for dinner tomorrow!) I will note that you probably don’t want leftovers to linger more than a few days or they will spoil, but it is rare that I have anything from Shalimar uneaten by then. We take everything out of the to-​go containers and put into rubbermaid type dishes for better keeping. And while the microwave is fine for rice and sauce dishes, the appetizers and bread do best in the oven at 350 degrees for a few minutes.
The vegetable pakoras and vegetable samosas were delectable! Large, full of flavor and very filling. It is hard not to overindulge on those, but I did want to save room for my entrée. The spice on the outside of the crispy samosa is especially stellar! I also love the three different chutneys that accompany these, but the green mint one is my favorite. This time we only received one container of each, but since my dad eats his plain, it has sufficed for me so far. At Christmas there were so many containers of chutney that they didn’t all get used, not that I am complaining either way.
Since I had not tried it for several years, I opted for the Matter Mushroom dish which has peas in it. It was good, but I did spice it up a bit. We always ask for medium heat, which to me is sometimes a little bland, but I am reluctant to ask for HOT or somewhere in between because of an experience elsewhere. I LOVE heat, but as I age it doesn’t like me so much. From reading other reviews, I am not the only one that thinks the medium is pretty mild so I may have to ask for it to kicked up a notch next visit.
My dad got the Dal Makhani (Lentil) dish and he said it was good. It is usually his go to. We also got an order of the Punjabi Bhaji (vegetable fritters similar to the pakora, in a tomato sauce) to share. Boy! It was even better than usual! It seemed to be even richer of tomato in the sauce this time. Dad said he may go back to getting that as his regular order. And while I wanted something different, I was reminded of just why it is the dish I often go with. Mmm mmm mmm!
One thing I had never tried before, but was curious about was the lentil soup. At first, I had only had a few spoons of it. Upon first looking at it I thought it was mostly broth. Now that I let it refrigerate and reheated it for lunch, it is thicker than first glance. Full of yellow lentils, but pureed or cooked down to where it is not a chunky soup. For 2.99, I felt like the to-​go portion was very small. I was expecting something about twice that size like the other takeout containers. Other than the size, it did not disappoint. It was a very smooth, flavorful soup. I wish I had more of for sure! Kind of a tease. The only other downside to take-​out is not having the wonderful crackers that are on the table, which I believe are the Pappad (Crisp Lentil Wafers) on the menu. I may order some next time. You get two for 1.99.
Even though India Palace is closer to us and I believe is owned by the same family, we make the trek out to Shalimar now as the food is MUCH, MUCH better these days and more akin to what the India Palace experience used to be. I love all types of Indian food that I have tried, but I am partial to the style here. I have even more detail in my previous reviews, but thought it worth noting that they cater to different diets. «Traditional Non-​Vegetarian, Vegetarian and Seafood Entrees. Vegan entrees available upon request.»
Shalimar has a lovely intimate ambiance if you dine in, but I see that we aren’t the only ones getting to-​go orders. You won’t be disappointed either way. They also often have coupons on their take-​out menus and in NUVO, etc. And if you don’t want a vegetarian dish, I suggest the Chicken Makhani under «Chef’s Specials.» My uncle had that at Christmas and it looked wonderful. It is in a sauce very similar to my beloved Punjabi Bhaji.

Not really sure why this place got such great reviews because I was not impressed. Walked in and they seemed to be pretty busy so I was excited. They say us down, asked us what we were drinking, grabbed those and then that was it… Never been to this place before and waited for some menus but after a few minutes of the workers walking past us without a glance, we figured out that we were just supposed to go to the buffet. The buffet was very small and didn’t have many choices. Half the choices were breads/​rice and 25% were salad items. Just a question, why would you put naan bread on a buffet? It was dry and crispy. Not the way I want to enjoy my naan. I don’t think it’s very hard to bring each table some bread… Anyways, with their limited buffet items, we grabbed a menu off the wall and ordered some spicy butter chicken. This was decent. The problem with all the meat was it was tasteless, as if it wasn’t marinated properly. When we were done eating it took way to long to get our check and then have someone pick it up. Workers kept walking past us (and my empty drink) and ignoring us. Long story short, I’ll keep driving the 45 minutes from the south to eat at Amber.

The best Indian food in Indianapolis by far. The lunch buffet is amazing. My personal favorite is chicken tikka. The chicken pieces are very soft and succulent.

No flavor even in the spicy. Unlike others have said we had to beg for a water refill.

Throughly enjoyed each and every visit to Shalimar. The service is excellent and food is very good! I’ll admit I don’t venture far from what I know I like upon ordering. My favorite is the Chicken Chili with a side of Naan bread. The servers then ask how hot you would like your good. Medium has always been my go to. I have been once during the Saturday buffet. It’s an excellent way to figure out which foods are your favorite. My only complaint is that I don’t like coming out of a restaurant smelling like the food that I ate and you will smell like your food upon leaving… that being said the smell doesn’t prevent me from visiting and eating some excellent Indian food.

My hubby and I love all difference kinds of food. We found the Clay Oven on the south side before we found Shalimar, but we’ve quickly become regulars here. The Lunch buffet is excellent. It gives you an opportunity to try everything without committing to something you end up not liking. The price is great. It’s really affordable. For what you’ll pay at Pei Wei down the street, you’ll get way more food.
The space is quaint, very small and intimate and usually tidy and clean. The staff is pleasant no problems there. They don’t really bother you (during buffet hours). They just let you do your thing and clear out your plates as needed.
I love trying new foods, especially those from different cultures and ethnicities. I would definitely recommend Shalmiar to anyone looking for something different for a really good price

The food is good. The lunch buffet is affordable. The service is really good, at least the time I went it was. I wish they would have had goat, and just more options in general. Also a bit more heat would have been nice.

Though the food had Indian touch, we got disappointed about the biryani, which is not the dump biryani style (as found in ‘India Sizzling’ & ‘Spice Nation’). The biryani found here is the north Indian style. overall a fair experience.

Ok. Paneer is tough. Naan burnt on the bottom. Kofta felt manufactured. Sauces not bad, but nothing amazing. Prices are ok.
Tried one buffet (meh) and one dinner (slightly above meh). Non-​professional if well-​dressed service. Pretty busy place, nonetheless. Even the rice was kind of meh.
Overall: meh. Unilocal rating: Meh.

Go to the buffet is really good and worth the money. I really like the fact that the waiters dress up and they’re always nice.

This is the best Indian buffet in town!!! They always have a great variety and I love how samosas seem to always be an option (most places seem to be rather cheap and not put as good as appetizers). Their chicken tiki masala is to die for and their garlic naan is always scrumptious. I always feel a bit let down when I have to go to any other buffet. If you like Indian, this is the place for you.

While the food will fulfill any cravings of Indian food that you may have, the poor service is not worth it. There’s no reason why a server should slam down a plate and glass, along with the silverware, onto the table before hastily filling your glass. When I made eye contact to say «thank you» after his rude behavior, he never looked at me and walked away. This proceeded on for the other two times her stopped to fill out glasses – to the point of leaving messes of water on the table.
We continued eating and still thanked him each time anyhow. When he gave us our check, he never came by to take our payment when he walked past the next few times and avoided eye contact. I ended up having to flag down a different server to help us.
No more Shalimar for us it seems like.

This place is pretty delicious. Will definitely try the lunch buffet sometime as I had quite a hard time narrowing down exactly what to have for dinner. The veg platter was good, I had the Saag Paneer: would have liked to have had more paneer in this dish but quite good otherwise. The hubby had the Chicken Tikka Masala (my choice) in which he had never had: he loved it but would have liked it spicier– our fault. Will definitely recommend to any one that likes Indian food.

After a long refusal to eat Indiana food, grounded in my childhood picky-​ness, I finally gave in and went to Shalimar with my husband. My husband, who was born and raised in Malaysia where Indiana food abounds, insists on getting Shalimar take-​out every time he is in the Broad Ripple area. I always nibble on his aloo parathas, and finally decided it was time to give Indian food another go.
A long-​time fan of vegetarian biryani, my husband went with the vegetarian platter. He was a big fan of the paneer dishes, although the dal was a little bland. Thankfully I settled on the Malai Kofta, another vegetarian dish, over the Dal Makhani. I thought it was excellent. Beyond that, there was enough for 2+ meals for me. It also was delicious on naan. For those of you who like spice, you’ll want to take the spicier options here. I cannot handle much spice in terms of heat. I went with «medium» and could have easily gone for «medium-​hot.»
The restaurant was quite busy at 7:30 on a Saturday. We got seated in a somewhat cramped back table by a station where they wrap the silverware out in the open. That was a little awkward. Music was enjoyable and the service was efficient.
We are looking forward to trying the lunch buffet.

My favorite Indian restaurant in the city. Definitely don’t miss on the lunch buffet. The food is consistently delicious. The staff is always courteous, attentive, and responsive. In my buffet experiences, that’s rare. The price is perfect for what you’re getting. Some of the entrees seem to be standard fare and some seem to be part of a rotating special. I just wish I could be lucky enough to be there every time they’re serving navratan korma.

Good food, great staff and very pleasant dining experience. Their chai masala could use a little work, but it’s certainly not overwhelming to be concerned. And they did keep refilling our chai throughout the dinner, which really made us happy. Also gives you chai to take home if you like.
The staff is very polite and helpful. Their Lamb Biriyani was really good. The right amount of spices, and great on the portion. Had enough to eat dinner, and lunch the following day, and still got some leftover.

For the price, this buffet is excellent! My fiancé and I’s favorite dishes were the chicken masala and the mushroom saag. The service was great, everyone was friendly, and the buffet was extremely fresh. We had a few pieces of naan that weren’t very fresh and the lamb meatballs were slightly dry, but other than that everything was very delicious! We would absolutely come back here again, and likely go out of our way to do so.

My most recent visit to Shalimar was just three days ago, on a tuesday night. I was also here in November for my dad’s birthday. Excellent as always!
It was a full dining room on my visit in November. This time, there were only a couple other tables taken. I liked that it was still light out this time because of the time of year, so the restaurant was more dimly lit. Less lights were on and had some sunlight coming in from the windows and door. Not so dim that you can’t see what you’re eating, just the perfect amount of light for me. =)
My dad had the lentils, as always, and it seemed to be great as always as well. I had the #4 on the vegetarian menu, Malai Kofta, I believe it was. It was good, but not quite as good as the #6, Punjabi Bhaji, which we also got an order of to go. We also had vegatable samosas and vegetable pakora and got more of each to take home, too. Delicious! The samosa is spicy, but not too hot and the pakora could pass for chicken, my dad pointed out, but is most assuredly made of vegetables. Basket of a double order of hot naan. And I just LOVE the cracker-​like things that they set out on the table before you order. I don’t remember what they are called, but I wish they would sell them by the bag full as chips! They are one of the best things I ever ate!
Parking was much easier to come by, probably because it was a tuesday night. I personally feel Broad Ripple is overrated for the most part, but it is so worth it to go to that part of town to eat at Shalimar. My dad also had a card that I think was from his WFYI membership which gave us a discount here. They also stamped his Shalimar card where you can earn a free meal, I believe, after so many stamps.
And just wanted to remind everyone that this is a great place for vegetarians and vegans as well as meat-​eaters. It is a great place to go if your party is a mixture of diets because everyone will be happy. When I was first here in ’96, I had, among other things, the tandoori chicken. Whenever I have someone with me who is trying Indian food for the first time, that is what I suggest if they enjoy chicken. It always seems to be a hit and a good way to introduce people to this fine cuisine.
This visit, I had a Kingfisher which is a quite decent lager. I have become a lightweight so I got a pretty good buzz off that 12 oz beer. They have larger sizes of this and others. I have to say they have a good-​sized beer selection for a small restaurant. Last time I had a Taj Mahal, which is good, but quite large. I just don’t drink that much any more. Maharaja is also a good choice from what I remember when I was here in 2012. Our water glasses were consistently full. My dad also noted that their water must be filtered because it does not taste like tap water. (And Broad Ripple tap water is NOT very good at all from what I remember from my youth…) Also worth noting, they have a nice clean restroom in back, down the little hall behind the fun saloon doors.
We were admiring the dishes our food came in with the copper-​clad bottoms and copper spoons. And the music is quite nice. I have to say I was stuffed and I barely put a dent in my entrée. Our waiter was very attentive and kindly bagged up everything for us nicely. I’m so happy I have so many leftovers in the fridge! I’ve been eating cold samosas as a bedtime snack. ;) Go get yourself some! You won’t be disappointed.

I. LOVE. SHALIMAR. Literally one of my favorite restaurants in Indianapolis. Located in an unassuming strip mall in Broad Ripple, this is an Indian restaurant with a killer lunch buffet that is not to be overlooked.
The wait staff is kind and attentive, always humoring me by bringing a whole pitcher of water to my table, because let’s face it, I’m a weenie and some of this stuff is spicy!
Normally at buffets I don’t waste time on the salad bar — too much other deliciousness to try — but this here salad bar is delicious. Spinach, onions, a chick pea salad that I always use as my salad dressing. I could go on…
In my opinion, you can’t go wrong with anything on the buffet from there, but the garlic naan, vegetable samosas/​pakoras, saag paneer and chicken curry are favorites.
My advice: come hungry and wear loose pants. You’ll want to go up to the buffet multiple times.

Shalimar offers consistently good Indian favorites. The same owners run a number of other places around town, the menus are identical and the quality is consistent based on my experience.
I’ve had many items on their menu and all have been very good. The thalis are particularly fun if you would like to try a variety of items and are hungry! On this most recent visit I had the malai kofta. The dish was flavorful, but medium spice was very mild for this particular dish; when I’ve ordered other items with medium spice, they have had significantly more heat. The meaning of mild, medium and hot definitely seems to vary with the dish. The naan is always fresh and wonderful, and the mango ice cream is a great dessert when they have it!
Service has always been good at this location in my experience. Everyone is friendly and attentive. When we’ve been on a tight timeline, as we were this time because we were headed to a show at Clowes, they have had no problem making sure we were out on time.

Best lunch buffet in Indianapolis. Everything is perfectly prepared, and they change up the menu from day to day. For every ten lunches you buy, you get a free lunch buffet, if you can keep up with your Shalimar lunch card. We have never been disappointed.
Also, the wait staff is very efficient. Your water glass will never be half empty.

Let’s be honest: I had never ordered Indian food before. One day, I said I was going to do it, so I picked Shalimar and made it happen. I was very happy with my choice! It was as simple as looking at their detailed online menu, calling and placing an order, and driving to Broad Ripple to pick it up in under 20 minutes. You really can’t beat that.
I ordered a plentiful amount of food, because go big or go home, right? First, I’d like to point out that they have a decent beer menu and it’s very inexpensive for a restaurant. I started by ordering an appetizer as I was curious as to what it all was. I picked the Aloo Tikki (comes with two), which is a spicy potato stuffing dipped in chick pea batter, breaded, and fried, served with mint and tamarind. Delicious, and filling! I also picked an order of the Naan bread, which is cheap and there’s a lot of it. It’s fresh-​baked! For my entrée, I selected the Lamb Curry, consisting of large chunks of lamb, cooked with curry gravy. The meal was served with rice and onion chutney. It was a large meal and I certainly had enough left over for a second meal, which I enjoyed the next day for lunch. Shalimar gets two thumbs up from me.

It’s a tasty, little Indian buffet in Broad Ripple. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but I was really pleased.
It was a smaller selection that expected for a buffet, but for the price it was pretty good. The curries were tasty, the paneer was good, and the mango pudding was bomb.
If you’re craving Indian, this is a good and really affordable spot.