Minerva Indian Cuisine

This place has awesome Biryani! The best in Madison. We also love the different variety of dosa. My personal favorite– egg dosa!!! So yummy. Every time I crave Indian, Minerva is our go to place!!! The service is a little slow though… Just have to have some patience!

Vegan choices abound!
This is my favorite restaurant in the Madison area — Indian or otherwise. The food is excellent. I have very strict diet (vegan, very low/​no oil, gluten free, nightshade free) and they accommodate! The menu is extensive with several meals and appetizers that can be adjusted for me. My favorites include hot and sour soup, pappadon (thin cracker), dosas, uthappam, and gobi — manchurian and pepper salt.
I’m really looking forward to trying Amber, their new restaurant, that is opening the end of 2015 or beginning of 2016, in the Willy West shopping center.

Minerva has the worst service I have seen in a restaurant. These guys really need training in treatment of others.

The food was mediocre at best. Dosa and vada were so oily. The Pongal and veg manchurian tasted fine. We did get the biryani to go after reading the reviews. Hopefully it tastes as good as it smells.

A little out of the way in a strip mall, but Minerva has really good food. In particular, they had an Indo-​Chinese type chicken (chicken 65 maybe? The name is escaping me.) on the buffet line that was really enjoyable.
The buffet selection is a little on the small side, but it’s all well done and tasty. Also a little bit on the expensive side for the lunch buffet.
I agree with some of the comments here that sometimes it feels a little bit like you’re imposing when you come in the door and that the staff is a little… tentative? Is that the word? I dunno.
Enjoyable place, will definitely come back from time to time, but it’s not at the top of my list.

3 star for food and 0 star for cleanliness. Not consistence with quality of food, not at all a good place to dine in and if you are ordering for take out then please make sure to call 45 minutes before and if you are lucky enough then only your order will be ready on time, if you have catering order then be ready to pick it up because you might get call 10 minutes prior to your scheduled delivery time saying that they can’t deliver due to blah… blah issues. Make sure to double check everything before you pick it up, chances of error is only 99%.

5 star for food — 3 star for ambience
Best south Indian restaurant in Midwest far i tried biryani, noodles, paneer 65, veg manchuria, dosa, idly etc., none of them have disappointed us so far. Their food is an authentic Indian food. All other indian food places modified for non indians. But here you’ll get 100% indian food. Wish the place was a little bit bigger and have good ambience. No other restaurant in Madison can beat minerva for south Indian food.

I really want to like Minerva like many of my family members who have not had experiences similar to ours while there. The food is pretty good compared to the other Indian restaurants in town. My favorites are Haveli and Swad.
To give them a fair chance, my spouse and I have been to Minerva three times for the lunch buffet on the weekday and weekend at least an hour to an hour and a half before the buffet was to close. Each of those times, we did not feel particularly welcome or that our business was appreciated. Frankly, we felt like we were imposing. I thought it was me and did not say anything until my wife made the comment after we had left the first time. Our next two visits were the same.
On all of our visits, our table was cleared reasonably promptly so there’s no issue there. It has always been upon entering and exiting that we get these blank stares with barely an acknowledgment. I have not heard this from other people so suspect it could just be us although I am not sure why since we are pretty affable and well mannered. A simple hello, thank you and a smile or nod would suffice.
Their buffet selection is on the small side and is just OK quality and taste wise. The space is a little cramped. If there were any more than a few other tables of people, a wheelchair bound guest could not be accommodated readily. All told, there are more comfortable and welcoming settings with better food.
But for the lack of pleasantness and difficulty accommodating our more physically challenged brothers and sisters, I would give them 3 ½ stars.

My family and I ate at Minerva on Sunday, June 21 2015 as part of a Father’s Day outing in Madison. The restaurant came as a recommendation from a co-​worker and it didn’t disappoint.
We sampled three dishes, not including naan and rice: Idli Vada, Chicken Madras, and Bhagara Baigan, none of which are typical Indian restaurant fare. All choices were delicious but the Chicken Madras was outstanding. I really appreciated the variety of dishes available, especially since I am not that familiar with Southern Indian cuisine.
Price-​wise, I thought dinner was a good value: Around $ 41 for all the food listed above plus 2 mango lassis. I am very much looking forward to going for the lunch buffet, especially after reading previous reviews.
Overall: 5 stars for the food and 3.5 for ambiance. It’s location in a strip mall doesn’t help but I think they could spruce things up and be attentive of piles of things strewn around. This didn’t really bother me but my family commented on it. This, in no way, should detract you from visiting for lunch and dinner. The food, like I said, was outstanding and a great addition to a great food town.

Ridiculously good! Quaint! Cozy!
Lost one star only because — Lil Lacking in True Indian Atmosphere.
— Food is teriffic! That’s what matters!

The lunch buffet had a great variety! A highlight was the Bindi Masala okra dish… delicious and unique, definitely recommend! Go here and try a little of everything to find your favorite Indian dish.

Go here! Incredible service and incredible food.
A friend and I enjoyed samosa chat (my favorite of the day), vegetable chettandu, and bindi okra. And obviously, naan for days. She had a beer, and I had a mango lassi. Our okra was a bit mild, and when we asked for more spice, the owner (I think) gladly added the heat!
The service and food were so great, and I liked the small-​medium size of the setting. I am absolutely going to return!

Yet another excellent meal. Even the standards like the vindaloo and tikka marsalas and especially the garlic naan is just fantastic!

Four star food, two star experience.
So the food is delicious, and the wait was not long. Host/​owner was very friendly and talked with me while I waited for my chicken curry. The chicken in my chicken curry was moist and spicy. Rice was cooked well. The bad aspect of my meal was how the ingredients were misrepresented.
I asked what dish didn’t have dairy, and I was told to get the chicken curry. Definitely my fault for not double checking the ingredients, but I assumed the owner knew best. Absolutely amazing curry, but gave me the worst stomach pain after. I almost had to call in sick to work the next day. I do not think the owner had ill intent, but I think he just pulled a suggestion from the menu and claimed it was dairy free.
Previous reviews are correct: this food is great, and the spices are so delicious. But my goal is to find and review dairy free food, and I was misled to think this place had dairy free chicken curry. I will return, but next time I WILL be skeptical and not take any suggestions (and probably read every ingredient on the menu)

Small venue, but an extensive south Indian menu with fair prices.
We made dinner reservations for a large group, and they were very accommodating. Service can be a bit slow but a little pro-​activeness will ensure your needs are met.
Their idlis and vadas were soft and well textured, a typical starch, so bland in flavor. The sambar (lentil soup) was a welcome accompaniment. Their dosas are also a nice addition — they have the crispy crêpe formula down — if a little lacking in stuffing.
I will be back and would recommend Minerva to fans of Indian cuisine looking to sample a more southern-​inspired menu.

Yummy yummy lunch buffet! And a great value at $ 8.95.
There’s about 4 large buffet carts set up in the corner of the restaurant, and they offer a large variety of Indian offerings. I think I tried just about everything and couldn’t find one I didn’t enjoy! Their Chicken Tikka Masala is so amazing… I probably could’ve had 4 plates of just that and been happy. I also loved their Chicken 65. I’ve never had anything like it before and it was delish. They also offer garlic and plain naan, as well as a sampling of many different chutneys and sauces.
Wasn’t too busy when I was there, I was one of about 5 people dining in. But the server was constantly taking plates and refilling water glasses!
I think I can say that I’ve had better Indian food, but this place offers an awesome lunch buffet that I will definitely be back to enjoy again!

Indian food is spreading like wildfire, of late. For me, that’s a darn good thing. Last night’s food was right on the top of the list along with Dhaba.
My sweet Pakistani beau showed up at my house with takeout. I was cold and tired from walking outside getting ready for a 5k. Putting me and 5k in the same sentence is crazy. Anyway, the food from Minerva was just what the doctor ordered.
We ate the Hyderabadi Dum Chicken Biriyani and the Fish Curry.
I loved both dishes equally. The heat level was «medium» which for me was perfect. The rice in the biryani was lovely and perfectly prepared. Each grain stood alone. The chicken was on the bone, tender and plentiful. The fish was excellent, not overcooked and really enhanced by the curry sauce.
We had both plain and garlic naan. They were fluffy and tender even after reheating. We dipped the bread in the curry sauce not leaving behind even one drop.
The servings sizes were generous and today I revisited the biriyani for lunch. Glad I didn’t have to share that last portion.

5-​Star because it is the only restaurant that offers really South Indian food in Madison. It adds much diversity to Madison’s food scene.
We tried Dosa and Uttapam. They are REAL! Get a Ghee dosa. It would be both a month-​opening and eye-​opening experience if you have never tried it before.
Fish curry was a very memorable dish. We also tried things under the «Chettinadu» category. Good stuff.
They have a incredibly long menu. It will take maybe 10 visits to savor the full selection. For first few visits, I suggest sticking to things you can’t find in other Indian places in Madtown.
Based on our two dinner visits, both food and service is pretty good. I hope this new establishment on the west side will thrive in the coming years.
CAUTION: The «Hyderabadi Dum Chicken Biriyani» is insanely spicy. I like spicy food in general and take on very spicy dishes. But this dish will be over the limit to most people. Consult before you order.

I am going to come right out and admit that I’m not an expert on Indian food. I infrequently visit Indian restaurants and the totality of my Indian cooking experience is baking a couple batches of naan bread and cobbling together a presentable chicken tikka marsla. So if you are looking for the definitive review on the authenticity of the cuisine served at Minerva, this is not that review.
With that said, I felt my lunch buffet experience was A-​OK. I thought the quality of the food was above average by buffet standards. The staff members were hard working and extremely cordial.
Things I liked:
* The $ 9.95 lunch buffet offers an abundance of options. It took three trips to the buffet to sample everything (including the desserts). The lamb curry, the chicken tikka marsala and Aloo Gobi were standouts for me.
* The staff was constantly replenishing the buffet trays, so the food in the buffet stayed fresh. (It helped that the restaurant was at capacity for lunch service.)
* LOVED the caramel custard dessert — that dish alone has me jonesing for a return visit
* There always was a staff member near to the buffet to answer questions and to offer suggestions for dishes to try. The servers were extremely diligent about keeping beverage glasses filled and clearing dirty dishes.
Things I didn’t:
* The naan bread was a let down — it was too dry for my liking. I also did not care for the watered down coconut soup.
* The Spartan interior of the restaurant is nothing to write home about. As Corey D mentioned in his review, it definitely will not transport you across the ocean to India. In addition, the buffet is wedged into an alcove and it was difficult to maneuver through the other diners.
* Sitting near the front door during polar vortex season subjects you a cold breeze every time someone walks through the front door.
* For a cuisine known for its extensive use of spices, I thought the buffet food was timidly seasoned.
* It can be hard to understand the servers
Other observations and ramblings:
* There was a line to get a table by 12:15, so come early to hit up the buffet.
* Why is an Indian restaurant named after the Roman goddess of wisdom? Is it just me that wonders about things like that?

Read Corey’s review earlier today and decided to revisit with a group of coworkers.
Amazing how well the business responds to feedback — kudos to them!
+ Tables wiped down with cleaner after each diner finished; saw it happen every time
+ Looks like they’re cleaning-​up the last little bits of leftover construction stuff; much better than yesterday
+ Food was once again SUPERB. I tried an entirely different round of items and loved every single thing. The buffet is not only a bargain, but it is delicious!
+ Service was excellent — quick refills on drinks, plates cleared, buffet well stocked, and everyone was so friendly.
So, huge props to the folks running this place — keep up the great work, and I can’t wait to go back and visit again (and I’m sure I will).