Begum Authentic Indian Cuisine

Great buffet lunch at great price! We have gone a few times and it was nice to see a different selection as opposed to most Indian buffets we go to where you seem to get the same thing every time. Nice décor, and whenever we go it’s usually pretty busy, but never loud and noisy which is nice. Very lovely staff and management who checked in quite often to make sure everything was ok. Thank you to the chefs and staff for a great lunch spot!

A good Indian restaurant with very friendly service… I love the lunch buffet with so many dishes… including various chicken dishes, and lamb… I don’t do hot and spicy but most dishes I can handle easily… so it fits my taste… the vegetable dishes are very good… I love the lentil soup… I highly recommend this restaurant and the prices are very reasonable especially the lunch buffet is a great value…

My mother, fiancé and I just had dinner here this evening, and it was excellent! By far the best meal that we have had there. The new owner is very pleasant and accommodating, as are the servers. And the food was phenomenal! It seems that the dishes are prepared more authentically now than before, as we ate a ton of food but weren’t too full at the end. Also, the flavors and preparations really brought is back to our trip to India. Great times, and we will definitely be back.

My friends have a small car restoration shop in Chatham. I like to visit because the always have cool old cars in for repair. They have taken me to Begum several times and each time, I have come away smiling. They, like many local Indian cuisine restaurants, have a one price buffet that includes salad, soup, main dish and dessert. Yesterday, I had lunch and decided I had enough experience with this establishment and the cuisine in general to write a useful review.
First, the owner is on the premises. That is key to non-​chain eateries because an owner is always going to be thinking about making the customers happy and coming back. Next, the room is spotlessly clean. That is very important too as, I think, it tells you what’s going on in the kitchen. Add in that we were greeted by a friendly and professional waiter and the environment earns full marks.
The buffet had just about every classic Indian dish you could want. My friend is a vegetarian and I’m an omnivore, but we both found more then enough offerings to fill our plates end then our tummies!
This is wonderful local find. Fair prices (I think the buffet is a bargain), a delicious buffet and excellent service mark this in town gem.
I’m taking my wife next week!
Recommended…

AMAZING… first visit to the begum palace… they won our heart… we were told by friends to try this place… went for lunch Buffet… nice selection of food. sadly there was no vegetable Korma on buffet. manager sonny especially made a dish of Korma for us. he made sure we were enjoying everything. personal touch and great food. I AM DEFINITELY COMING BACK.
THANK YOU BEGUM PALACE

So it’s important to know that the management of this place has changed since January 1^st. And it is noticeable in a very good way. I do not believe the menu has changed yet.
My girlfriend and I frequent this place — because she loves Indian food and they are located down the street from us. The food here has always been good, but during our visit last week, I noticed that the chicken was REALLY good. And so were all of the sauces. It was then that I noticed that the décor had changed. It is much better lit, and more tastefully decorated. I confirmed with one of the employees that management has changed.
I will DEFINITELY be back soon! For anyone who loves this place, you won’t be disappointed. And to anyone else, definitely check this place out for some amazing Indian food!

Particularly well/​richly seasoned food, and lunch buffet better and more varied than typical. The vibe is a bit dark/​worn, so not for first-​date impressions or vibe-​setting. But once past that, this place gets the job done solidly

My wife and I visited Begum Palace on a recent Saturday night. The restaurant is pleasantly decorated and the atmosphere was quiet and relaxed. When we were there, the restaurant was busy but not crowded.
We ordered mulligatawny soup (very good), chicken tikka masala (very good), kaju paneer (very good), chicken-​stuffed naan (good), basmati rice (very good), yogurt (good) and mango chutney (too salty). We skipped dessert, as we had a tickets for a concert and were running a bit late. Overall, we thought the food a bit above average for Indian restaurants in northern NJ. Note that the main courses were not very hot (spicy), even though we asked that they be prepared hot. When I commented about this to our waitress as we were leaving, she said we should ask for hot sauce next time, so I take it that they just don’t prepare their food very spicy.
Service was very good and prices were average (with tip, we spent about $ 60).
We would recommend Begum Palace to those who enjoy Indian food and plan to go back and try some of their other dishes.

I’ve been coming here a long time with my family and we always enjoy our meals here!
The food is solid, and consistently good. We often get chicken tiki masala, lamb saga, lamb vindaloo, okra, naan, poori; and we also frequent the buffet. You won’t ever go wrong with the buffet food, although if you like very spicy food you’ll need to ask for a side of chili peppers as it is spiced for a pretty white audience. (As to be expected in suburban NJ)
The décor is what you would expect from a typical Indian restaurant, which I enjoy.
The lady proprietor is very nice and always makes the rounds of the tables to see how your meal is going whenever she is there.

The food at this place is actually pretty good, but the customer service is so bad, you won’t even notice. Long story short, I went with my mom awhile back, ordered a lot of food, and to our surprise when we went to pay, the head guy who’s always floating around told us that the credit card machine had been broken all day… Let me repeat that last part: ALL DAY. Were we told that prior to sitting down? Was there any kind of sign? No and no. We didn’t have any cash on us so we had to drive to the ATM, and the dude wasn’t even remotely apologetic!!! Wonderful conclusion to our dining experience.
Then, stupidly we returned about a week later around noon to be greeted outside by the same aloof owner (I assume) who told us they had to close that day for renovation. :/

Ok Indian restaurant, but nowhere near the level of places in Iselin/​Edison or Mehndhi in Morristown. Nothing was bad, but nothing was very good, either. Standard menu and nothing is outstanding – or bad.

My favorite Indian place in New Jersey (and there are many, as you might imagine!). My favorite dishes (so much that I rarely stray) are the mango lassi, vegetarian samosas with amazing chutney, garlic naan, saag paneer, and malai kofta. I’ve also had saag aloo, aloo gobi, and Chana masala — all fantastic. My family has had the Rogan Josh (or as they call it, Josh Groban), and they think highly of it too.

Bad food… Too oily… no flavor. It would be good if owner and chef read the reviews.

This was my 1^st time ordering from Begum Palace and will also be my last. I had checked out the menu online before I placed my order and didn’t see my favorite dish (chicken jalfrezi) on the menu. The lady who answered the phone said that it’s not on the menu but they could easily make it. Great, I thought!
I got home unpacked the chicken jalfrezi and garlic naan and got to work. The first thing I noticed was that the garlic naan was very bland tasting. Not a good sign! The second thing I noticed was that the chicken was very slimy and was mostly dark meat. I ordered the chicken at the «medium» spice level. Not only was there no spiciness but there was no taste whatsoever! This was the blandest Indian food that I have ever had. The worst part of the meal was the quality of the chicken. As I said, it was very slimy and some of the pieces had hard chunks in them (I’m not sure if they were bones or not).
I ate about half of the meal and threw the rest away and won’t be returning there

This is an overpriced mediocre Indian restaurant. Almost gave it four stars because it is he only viable option in the area.

Gave them another shot.
The food was really good, but they don’t listen to you.
We asked for it to have medium spice level and we got bland tikka.

AMAZING AMAZING FLAVOR AND VARIETY!
I am a health expert and registered dietitian/​medical nutritionist.
I give this 5 stars bc not only can you actually eat healthy when you eat out by visiting Begum Palace, the owner (Raj) actually tailors the meals to your nutrition needs. Gluten-​free? sure, No cow dairy, they have that!, no red meat options, vegetarian. the list goes on and on. Also a BYOB, oh yea, and prices are unbelievably fair. Finally, they actually put a lot of work into the meals and make them from scratch. One of the best is the potato patties with chickpea flower. Unreal flavor. I would def recommend my patients to visit this place to still eat while eating out!

The inside of this restaurant is pretty much what one expects when eating at an Indian restaurant. The only unusual thing was that the chairs and booths are covered in a soft fabric. I kept wondering how in the world they get curry stains out…
The prices seem a bit high (as do all prices in Madison) considering what you get. Many of the pictures show a main entrée with rice and naan or another Indian bread. The bread does not come with the meal and must be ordered as a side item which you will do because what kind of Indian meal doesn’t have naan or roti?
The food itself is just ok. I found my chicken tika masala to be fairly bland in a tomato soup with a dash of curry powder way. None of the wonderful complexities of spices were present. Portions were just fine. They do look like you will not have enough food but at the end of the meal you realize there was plenty for a single person.
If you are not well versed in Indian food this will probably be fine for you. The food is not bad, it just isn’t as delicious as it could be. Maybe it is done that way on purpose to appeal to the taste buds of Madisonites (Madisonians?) but it is a shame if so because people could be experiencing something much better.

Awesome Indian food! Delicious lamb korma (with plenty of succulent lamb!) and some of my favorite samosas! One small complaint, the papadums were not good at all…
We’ll definitely be back, and the owner was so nice to us!

Begum Palace does Indian food right!
The owner herself is the hostess and waitress… she provides great service and lots of conversation. She gets to know the people who come to her restaurant.
The food is quite good. We started out with the PAPADI CHAT (wheat crisps boiled diced potatoes mixed with fragrant spices and herbs). The crisps remained crispy. A nice start to the meal. Entrees were split between: CHICKEN BALTI (Boneless pieces of chicken cooked with potatoes, capsicum and onions. In a spice flavored gravy and served in a traditional balti style) and MURG TIKKA MASALA (Tender boneless chicken pieces broiled in the tandoor then cooked in a thick tomato, onion and green pepper sauce). Both were traditional but made right. The chicken was very tender. Of course an order of Garlic Naan was used to dip into both sauces.
Their prices are reasonable.
Some notes:
*It’s a BYOB
*Lunch buffet served everyday.
*Dinner buffet only on Wed & Sat’s (Naan included).
ENJOY!