Babu Ji

Really fantastic. We got the tasting menu, and just about everything was really excellent — I don’t think there was a single item that wasn’t the best or among the best of that item that I’ve ever had.
Among the most memorable were the gol gappa (crispy balls with yogurt and chutney inside), Colonel Tso’s cauliflower, scallops in coconut (?) curry, chicken tikka masala, and what I think was a smaller version of their tandoori chicken. The papadi chaat (basically something between a salad and an Indian version of nachos) also stood out in its own way, as did the kulfi for dessert (a popsicle-​like thing made from milk, cardamom, pistachio, and honey).
It is definitely expensive, and I’d say it’s somewhat Americanized relative to some other places, and those are both qualities I tend to steer clear of with Indian food. However, the food here was so good that it overwhelmed any potential negatives. Really, really impressive.

I have mixed feelings about this place. The food is good and the service is varied.
We started off on a bad foot. We had a reservation for 5 people at 630, and because all of us were not present, they gave our table away at 630 on the dot. Everyone was present by 638 but it was too late. The host gave us the option of sitting at a table for 4 which was very cramped, or waiting until 650 for an actual table for 5. When I said we would wait until 650, he was very taken aback and tried hard to get us to reconsider. But we didn’t, and a few minutes after 650 we were seated at a table for 5. It was an odd beginning.
We did the tasting menu, which was very good. One of us didn’t want lamb, and they had no issue making that accommodation. Our waiter was great and the food service was good. My favorites were the scallops and the dal. The tasting menu also includes an ice cream dessert, which was nice.
All in all, the food is good, but not amazing, and the experience was mixed.

Definitely the best Indian restaurant I’ve been to in New York. There might be a bit of a wait (maybe to make the experience feel authentic?) but the tasting menu exceeded my expectations. Not sure why it’s getting the lower ratings but the food plus the service was great. Will definitely be bringing my family here

Bringing Indian street food to a new level! Every dish was above par and the highlight was the ice cream. It was a little bit on the heavy side but what else you can expect if it’s true Indian street fair.

I wish I could give it even more stars!!! Not sure where to start. From the lovely welcome or straight to food. Well I guess it should be the food. This is hands down the best curry I’ve had. Coming from the UK we know a good curry, but this is now my firm favourite. SO fresh! There’s no butter, oil or ghee in anything. That isn’t even advertised– you would never guess– the chef explained that to us!
Stand out dishes for me were the lamb chops and pakora starters. INCREDIBLE. If you can just go with the taster menu and settle yourself in. You’re in for a treat! The little amuse Bouche balls are bursting with flavour and can’t be missed!
Aside from the food this little place in avenue B is way bigger and better than it looks from the outside, it’s no frills (you can go grab beers yourself from the fridge!) the service is fantastic! If you need to wait you can get a little token to get drinks at maiden lane bar a block down and get a text when they are ready and they will make you feel more than welcome!
We can’t wait to go back!!!

Babu Ji is a mixed bag. To start with a positive, on the night I went, they created about as lovely a waiting experience as possible for a place with no bar and a wait well over an hour (it was a Friday night, so no surprise). After waiting in like outside, I put my name in with the lovely iPad wielding host, who gave me a card for a few bucks off drinks while I waited at the nearby Maiden Lane. I LOVE Maiden Lane, so this was a lovely surprise. The negative, well, there are a couple things. As everyone and their mom has mentioned, the prices are really high. The atmosphere is also almost alarmingly packed, which makes for a somewhat frantic dining experience.
Back to the positive though, the food is excellent. My favorite dish was by far the scallop curry — raw scallops, coconut-​y yellow curry — it was fresh and creamy and not unlike cevice, honestly. Also high on my list was the Colonel Tso’s cauliflower. Crispy and covered in a super tangy sauce, I could have eaten about a pound of the stuff.
Great selection of beers in the serve yourself beer fridge, and although my companion and I didn’t explore the wine there were a fair number of diners with cold buckets of white on their tables. At first I thought the portions are alarmingly small for the price, but by the end of the meal (we shared the cauliflower, two entrees, rice, and garlic naan), both of us were stuffed. Is it worth it? I really don’t know, but if you have a passion for Indian food and buzzy restaurants, you might as well give it a go.

Food was quite tasty but overpriced.
We paid $ 60 for the tasting menu, hoping we’d get quite a bit of food. Each of the appetizers was nicely spiced (and spicy) and delicious. We had 4 appetizers.
But then the main was a thali, which is a large plate of a bunch of small bowls of curries, etc. the issue was that each of the bowls is so small that you get 2 – 3 tablespoons of each curry. 4 – 5 curries, a little rice, ample naan, a some papad.
The a la carte seems to be a better, although at $ 16 – 25 per entrée, I would expect the food quality and ambience of Junoon. This place is much more casual and a tight squeeze of people.
Service was great! Get the prices more in line and I’d be back often.

Had tasting menu last night service was excellent very attentive staff Owner Jennifer very personable genuinely caring
They do need to find a larger space long lines even at 10 pm
Food is elegant true to taste and very well cooked reminder of very good old Delhi restaurant
Highly recommend it !!

My wife and I have been curious about what all the hype around this place is all about for quite awhile now. After finally getting through the door we get it. Perhaps the most flavorful Indian food in the city! We arrived at 6:15pm on a Saturday night (January 2) and there was already an hour wait. We put our name down and went to a bar a block away. We received a text just over an hour later that our table was ready and rushed over to claim it. When we got about at about 7:15pm the host at the door was informing new arrivals that they were filled up for the night and no longer taking names. We were seated at our table and though they were packed with a full waitlist we were not rushed at all. We both ordered the Chef’s vegetarian tasting menu and the food just came coming. Every item was packed with flavor.
Can’t wait to go back.

Now that Winter has actually kicked in, in NYC, you probably crave comfort food. And, if you’re like me, you want comfort food that’s hot and spicy too, because, extra warmth. I love Indian food, which pretty much checks these marks for me, so, I was off to Babu Ji in Alphabet City.
A mix of modern elegance meets local deli kind of sums up the aesthetic of this contemporary Indian restaurant. You’ll find striking, large print photographs framed on the wall, along with a projecting Indian movie, and, a stuffed peacock on top of a self-​serve beverage refrigerator. But once your food starts coming out, you won’t even be paying attention to what’s around you, and only what’s in front of you. Not only are the dishes all visually captivating, they’re insanely delicious. And, the entire staff here was so amazing, attentive, courteous, and, if you’re a crazy food-​picture-​taker like myself, you’re in luck, because one of our servers asked a few times if I’d like him to provide some additional light from his phone. What a gem! Ok, food, let’s get into it. Get some Naan. It’s warm, soft and pillowy, but still has a nice chew to it. The flavors are delicate, but give the dough a little pizzaz.
All of the appetizers sounded amazing, so, I started with a couple to share. First was Papadi Chaat (chickpea, cucumber, pomegranate, tamarind, mint and yogurt chutney). They describe it as the motherland’s version of nachos and salsa, a must try. And, they’re 100% right, this dish was unbelievable. First off, it’s stunning to look at, but each ingredient is so fresh and dynamic, and you can really taste all of the flavors individually, while going so wonderfully all together. Texture wise, you really have everything here, you’ve got crunch from the slaw and the chips, creaminess from the chutney, and all of the other elements in between. It was really fantastic, and you must order it.
Ok, so, before I even start about the second appetizer, I need to take a breath. Ok, breath taken. This was possibly one of the best things I’ve eaten in a while, and definitely my favorite thing from my meal here. I had their Colonel Tso’s Cauliflower (Indo-​Chinese style cauliflower in a tomato chili sauce, sesame and onion seed, chives). So, they killed it in the immitation department, replicating General Tso’s Chicken from the outside. But, take a bite and this vegan dish made out of cauliflower tastes crazily similar. Everything about this dish was pure perfection, from the sweet, tangy, and spicy sauce, to the airy and crisp breading around the tender and flavorful cauliflower. I wish I could go on forever about this, but, my fingers will get too tired from typing. So, let’s meet up for a plate of Colonel Tso’s Cauliflower and I’ll talk your ear off about it.
For my main, I ordered Baingan Bartha (Spiced and fire roasted eggplant curry with green peas). Again, presentation on point. And flavor wise, excellent. The eggplant is pureed into a consistency in between a spread and a paste, making it very substantial. There’s a really nice kick of heat, and the freshness of the peas and shaved veggies on top help to cool your mouth a little bit and add a nice textural component.

Actual Rating: 3.5 Stars
This place has so much hype. I came here with college friends for a reunion a while back. We were a party of eight or so and we didn’t have a reservation. The company was great, the restaurant experience was okay.
My friends and I split the goat curry, squash curry, butter chicken, rice, and naan. We went family to style to make sure that we could try a few different things on the menu. They all were tasty but there wasn’t nothing standout about the dishes. There are a lot of interesting things on the menu and if you’re with a group that adventurous enough, I recommend just going for it.
If you want a beer, you walk up to the fridge and get what you want. The wait staff will calculate what you drank and (hopefully) bill you correctly. Our group went one round in and the staff was pushing us to get more to rack up our tab… chill out man.
The service is really subpar. We scheduled our dinner earlier for a reason — we knew we would try to snag a table and we were willing to wait. I got there a little later than everyone else but my friends that got there earlier all had various awkward experiences with the staff. Someone even told a friend that we weren’t able to get seated at all. Overall, the staff seemed to want to get us and in and out of the spot as quickly as possible.
The vibes are trendy like the newer places in Alphabet City. It’s kinda dope if you wanna make your post-​dinner exit through the giant window (though not recommended since I almost fell out…) It coule be a nice date spot if you’re into the trendy yet lowkey kind of vibe — and can score a reservation ahead of time.
As much as it can be a pain, this is really a spot where you want to go with at least a party of four so you have a shot of getting variety. It’s a catch-​22 situation but worth trying at least once.

I have been trying to track down a decent curry since moving to New York & Babu Ji is the closest I have gotten so far.
When we arrived at the restaurant (around 6:30pm on Wednesday evening) we were told there would be a 1 hour wait. They take your number and text when your table is ready. We went to a bar across the street and got a text about 50mins later.
Now to the food– to start my husband and I shared the beetroot paneer, which we loved! My husband said it was the best starter he has ever had and the highlight of the meal for him. I thought it was delicious and plenty to share.
For our main courses I had the unauthentic butter chicken, which was sooo good! It was right consistency, right flavoring, it was so delicious I could have licked the bowl! My husband had the southern India lamb curry. He thought it was ok, he thought it was a bit runny and the taste was overpowered by cloves. It was all he could taste. We shared a portion of rice also, which was sufficient to share between two. We also ordered a plain naan, which was nice, not fluffy enough compared to what I usually like, but I would have liked a bit more, maybe we should have got a portion each?
I had heard about their desserts, so we had to order their kulfi, it’s like a milky type ice cream. My husband enjoyed it and found it refreshing after the curry. I wasn’t a huge fan, it was a bit creamy for me and didn’t sit well after eating my curry. I can say I’ve tried it, but probably wouldn’t have it again.
Overall, I loved my meal! The service was a bit intermittent, but it was fine. The place was full the entire time we were there.
The only negative was the overall cost, although I loved my meal, our cheque for 2 of us came to $ 120 inc tax/​tip (with 1 alcoholic beverage), which is expensive for a curry. Maybe I’ve been spoilt from eating curry in the UK for so much less? If it wasn’t so expensive I would visit here regularly, but I couldn’t at those prices. I can’t complain as I enjoyed it, but it is a bit pricey.

We went to Babu Ji for the first time tonight and loved it.
Unpretentious, homey, really excellent service. There were 8 servers and 3 bussers for approximately 20 tables. Everything flowed effortlessly.
Suggestion: Order the tasting menu! It was fun and interesting the entire time.
Atmosphere, perfect.
The appetizers were spectacular, as was dessert.
Ice cream: milk, honey, cardamom and pistachios.
Order the chai tea, as well, a perfect dessert.
Don’t miss this place. Reserve early. Tables go fast. We were the first ones there at 5:30. By 5:45 you couldn’t see the front door through the crowd of people.

KenScale: 8.0÷10
Babu Ji is a new Indian restaurant from chef Jessi Singh with his wife-​partner, Jennifer, in the quiet corner of Alphabet City. They started out in Australia before moving to NYC to open this restaurant. Overall, I liked the modern Indian cuisine coming out from the kitchen.
The menu at Babu Ji is more on the concise side, and you can see modern tweak here and there all over the dishes, mostly to positive effects. I don’t know how they pulled it off, but the Indo-​Chinese style cauliflower in a tomato chili sauce didn’t taste like cauliflower, but more like a well-​prepared General Tso’s chicken in the texture department. I also enjoyed tandoori prawns which were big and succulent, accompanied by yogurt, mustard, ginger, garlic and lime marinade. I had very high expectations for beetroot paneer (cheese in Indian cuisine) as I’ve tasted dishes that used beetroot to awesome effects elsewhere, but this dish turned out to be a disappointment, with funky flavor that I couldn’t quiet get. On the other hand, butter chicken in tomato, ginger, garlic and fenugreek curry was delightful when accompanied by basmati rice and garlic naan. I’m always a huge fan of Indian curry dishes, and the butter chicken was definitely one of the better ones I’ve had in recent memory. There was a bit of a hiccup when we tried to order kulfi (frozen dairy dessert in India) that was quickly gaining fame at Babu Ji; we were told the freezer broke down the kulfi was available only for those who ordered $ 50 per person tasting menu. We pleaded our case on how we had come all the way from Midtown to get a taste of this; chef Singh himself generously came to us and offered the pistachio kulji, which was one of the best frozen dairy/​ice cream dishes I’ve had in a while (my dining companion passionately concurred).
The restaurant doesn’t take reservations unless you get the tasting menu, and it was overflowing with people already when we showed up around 6 p.m. on Saturday. Get there as early as possible if you want to avoid long waits. The restaurant has beer and wine menu (you can choose beer from a variety of options at the freeze yourself). I liked the trendy, Bollywood-​like setting of the dining space, and other than the kulfi hiccup, the services were attentive. Babu Ji is a welcome addition to Indian dining scene in NYC, and I will definitely come back to sample other dishes that looked and sounded so good. And the kulfi too.

I’m going to give this restaurant fourr stars and not five only because everything was amazing from the food to the service except you can get the same great food for a lot less money at other local spots.
My roomie is a fellow foodie and she had been really wanting to check this place out at the reading rave reviews from around town, about how amazing this place was. I will give it that it was a Tuesday night and it was slammed luckily we got a table without reservations.
We didn’t have to wait too long and the service was absolutely impeccable. From the servers to the host to the general manager who came to our table and chatted with us everyone was very thorough in explaining the dishes and really making us feel very welcome in this quaint little Indian restaurant.
My only complaint is that it’s a little bit pricey for what it is. I’ve had the same quality Indian food at other local spots around town for less than what we paid in fact we probably could’ve spent half and even the same amount of food somewhere else.
We ordered the Samosa appetizer. $ 14! It was good but come on it’s a Samosa appetizer!
The lobster Tiki was also good but for $ 16 I expected a bigger portion.
The lamb curry was amazing, but again $ 22 add a side of basmati rice and a side of naan and you’re at $ 30 for a plate of Indian food that you could’ve gotten for $ 12 somewhere else.
At the end of the day it ended up being a $ 50 meal without even 1 ounce of alcohol.
I definitely think it’s overpriced Indian food that you are basically paying for the experience more than anything.
Again the service was amazing and everybody was very welcoming and they did give us free dessert which was very delicious.
I don’t think I’ll be back but it definitely was a nice experience.

I was very surprised to see the restaurant packed on a random Tuesday night. I’ve walked by this restaurant many times during the day and it is usually empty. So if you want to try their food and beat their dinner rush, try to go for lunch. Thankfully, my friends and I came as a big group and kept each other company as we waited for about 1 hour. I guess after waiting for so long the host felt obligated to make it up to us and cajoled us to do happy hour at Rue B. If you wait like an hour like we did, he will kindly give you $ 3 off a drink at Rue B. (Wow what a hard push.)
As for the food, it was very delicious. Is it authentic Indian food? I’m not so sure, but it was delicious. My only complaint was that the portions were too small. Some dishes to try are coconut curry squash and their butter chicken. If you like samosas, don’t get theirs because it is completely not what you expect, unless you want a salad with fried samosa dough on top. They have a great beer selection though!

If I had to rate this place ONLY on food I would give it 3 stars. It wasn’t bad but unless you really were stuck in this area and it was pouring and all the restaurants nearby were full then I really would not recommend it.
We got kind of lucky with the wait because a table just cleared when we got here so we got seated quickly which makes sense because only 5 minutes after sitting the waiter asked if we are ready to order. My dad had a question about the rainbow trout and whether or not it was enough for a main to which the water replied «it is about 8oz) and he kept repeating that to the other questions about the dish so not very helpful.
We got the Papadi Chaat ($ 14) for an appetizer. The menu says it is a must try and I really disagree. First of all, It was extremely sweet. It says it was mint and yogurt but all we could taste ware the pomegranate and the tamarind. Second, it is described as a «chutney version of nachos and salsa» which it really is not. The dish is kind of like a salad with a few nacho-​like crackers on the bottoms. This would be more fitting at a vegan/​vegetarian restaurant trying to do a modern-​healthy tasting take on nachos. It was not horrible. For lets say, $ 8 it would have been ok, for $ 14 I wouldn’t order this again.
For my main course I got the scallop coconut curry ($ 25). It does not come with rice so that was another $ 5 making this dish $ 30. Out of everything we got, this was the best tasting dish though not great and for $ 30 it was really, really small. It was also very sweet. I did enjoy the raw scallops and the rice was good too but this should not have cost so much.
The other dishes we got were the rainbow trout ($ 16) which comes with a whole fried 8oz trout and a very sweet dipping sauce that I did not think goes with the fish at all. The fish was cooked well but a boring dish overall. The Babu’s Daal ($ 14) was super heavy on lemongrass and ginger and you really could not taste anything else in it because it was that assertive. Though the dishes were very small, the Daal was left almost untouched. We also got a side of naan bread which is another $ 4.
Overall, the meal was not very impressive. When I think indian food, I expect well seasoned, spicy dishes but everything here basically just ranged from bland to sweet. It does not taste like authentic indian food at all. Our total was over $ 100 for three people and it was not worth it at all. The only upside to the food here is that it not heavy/​greasy like indian food can be sometimes. In addition to the fact that we did not like the food, the restaurant was SO loud. At one point throughout the meal they turned on the music and it just got louder.
I would say skip this place. Save your money and walk down 6^th street and you will probably find much more authentic food for a third of the cost.

Great new Indian restaurant for those looking for an experience — in the east village. The chef and his wife are so friendly and really give off a great vibe. The really take pride in their food which is why you have to wait a little longer — but because its actually fresh (unlike many indian restaurants). Loved the hipster indian feel and the service was on point –bringing out fresh food off the tandoor or stove.
The Sweet:
Chefs tasting menu — great idea but not worth it for the dhaba like feel. They should stick with just street food and appetizers.
1. Gol gappa
2. Papri chaat
3. Gobi manchurian
4. tandoori chicken
5. kulfi — not too sweet
6. one of a kind dishes — scallops curry
7. Some people would think otherwise but I enjoyed the steel dishes we ate out of.
The Sour:
1. could be more spicy and flavorful for indian food. Good for non-​Indians as the food is a bit on the sweeter side (coming from an Indian)
2. the mains in the chefs tasting were average. quality and time is focused on the apps

Truly Nostalgic. Reminded me of childhood.
You remember the innocent wonderment and delight at the paper plane taking off majestically into the air. The euphoria. The adrenalin… Till a few seconds later the paper plane nose-​dived onto the ground. Dashing your hopes and expectations and reminding you at an elementary level of the laws of gravity.
Not what you expected at nostalgic, eh? Well, neither did I.
Our lunch had started off on a bright note. Srini and I had both enjoyed the Paneer Tikka appetizer, which could have been a tad spicier. But, we absolutely loved the other appetizer: Batata Vada… Crispy, tangy, spicy and the coolness of yogurt. Srini insisted that I try the cardamom tea, which though heavy handed on cardamom (my favorite spice, so no complaints from me) had an appealing taste.
From that moment onwards, the meal nose-​dived. My tea was far milkier than the version served to Srini, and weaker as a result, but the complete unqualified outrage was at the sight of the entrees, which at its most charitable description, represented a Chipotlefication of Indian food. I don’t know why the insistence that all lunch entrees come served on a bowl of rice, but it left us with the suspicion that it had to do mainly with profit considerations: by filling up the bowl with rice, and serving me only 4 pieces of goat meat, surely the restaurant made money — but it seemed penny wise and pound foolish, for they destroyed my customer experience and I left cheated at the inadequate serving size. I understand the need for profit and the right price points, but I can say without reservation that I found the entrée portions extremely skimpy (even though tasteful)
Sadly, a 3.5 star experience over all when it had promised to be 4.5 — 5.0 stars at the time our appetizers arrived. Rounding down to register my unhappiness at the lunch entrée strategy and I hope they revisit the compulsory rice serving. At least when other ethnic restaurants fill the dish with cheap Broccoli as opposed to protein, it’s healthy for you ;)

Babu Ji gets high marks on most dimensions. Spacious and bright setting. Friendly servers. And, most importantly, delicious food! However, there is just one thing that comes in the way of a 4 – 5 star rating … their approach to the lunch entrées. And, to a much lesser degree, their insistence on cash-​only payment for lunch.
Atif and I started our meal with the paneer tikka and batata vada appetizers. Both were recommended by our server and both turned out to be excellent. I also liked their chai, notwithstanding the overly generous use of cardamom. However, the rice bowl with daal was a disappointment and served as a notable inflection point of our experience. The underlying bed of rice takes up 80% of the bowl, and you have no choice in the matter! I have never seen food served in this manner anywhere in India, unless it comes from the one remote village that Babu Ji was raised in.
I will be back for dinner, when I can use plastic to pay, and try the tasty daal without having to contend with the rice.