Heart of India

I went there at 7:30pm on a Tuesday night and was the only person at the time eating there. Usually that would rise some concerns to me but I was craving Indian food for some odd reason and after reading the reviews, I figured that the fact that it’s empty, shouldn’t be turnoff for me.
Food was good. I ordered the mixed grill and naan bread. The bread and all of the meat was beyond delicious. I’m still surprised that I finished all of it because it was a lot of food. But beyond delicious. I’m giving 4 starts because the service was on the slow side even tho I was the only customer. Besides that I noticed that their phones kept on ringing some 15+ times while I was there (45 – 50 min) for food delivery. So I assume I wasn’t the only one that loved their food.

The food is classic, tasty New York City Indian food — very homie, filling and nutritious. I especially liked their lamb dishes and the chicken tikka massala. The mango lassi is very sweet (if you’re into sweet things, I found it a little too sweet for me).

This is the best Indian restaurant on the East Village.

My friend and I regularly go to Heart of India for lunch. We love the lunch special, which gives us so much delicious food for $ 8.95. There are vegeterian and non-​vegetarian options.
The lunch special comes all on one tray with an appetizer (samosa or pakoras), a salad, two mains, rice, naan, and rice pudding dessert. At least that’s what we’ve encountered so far! The restaurant likes to change up the lunch special menu so that the regulars can experience variety.

Typical Indian Food, is all I can say about this place for now. I went to the place around 2pm and it was pretty much dead. The staff here is very nice and attentive, he made sure that my party was comfortable and enjoying our foods. My friends and I ordered the lunch special of the day, which you have the option of having 2 main non-​veg options or 2 main veg options. I opted for the non-​veg options of the day which included one lamb and spinach dish, 1 chicken curry, 2 samosas, a little bed of salad, rice, and dessert (I do not remember the technical name of the dessert, but it is a sweet rice pudding); the lunch special was totaled $ 8.95. I also ordered a mango lassi ($ 4) because who doesn’t order mango lassi when they go to an Indian restaurant LOL.
So first off, let’s talk about the mango lassi. It was okay… nothing special, I’ve made my own at home and it honestly tastes better. They most definitely had used canned mango purée because the mango taste was not fresh, and the color was more orange than what a real mango is supposed to taste like. They also barely put any yogurt in it, it was mostly milk and therefore the lassi tasted too liquid-​y for my liking.
Now to the food, I guess it was okay. The meats were not as bland as other Indian restaurant’s lunch special that I have eaten. The Samosas were good too. I don’t have any real complains about my food but I wouldn’t say that the food was exceptional! But to be honest, how exceptional can most lunch specials be right? LOL In conclusion, I don’t hate this place, I left happy and full, and I will probably come here again, maybe next time I’ll try one of their main dishes instead of just ordering the lunch special.

My friend ordered some chicken. It was not edible so he had to return it and got chicken tikka masala which was ok.
My Tarka Dal was bad. The menu said it is made of lentils. Now, i’m vegan for 15 years or so, so I know my legumes. On top of that, i live in an Indian neighbourhood. This Dal was not made of lentils, it was made of chickpeas (chana dal — cut dried chickpeas). The owner came and asked me, so I told him. He kept arguing and brought some examples from the kitchen. When I proved him wrong, he left to his seat, searching youtube for proof I’m wrong. I heard it on his phone. A quick wikipedia search will present the difference between chana dal and lentils.
Bottom line: don’t argue with customers, especially with those who know what they want. If you run an Indian restaurant — know your legumes.

Dont eat here u will fall sick. I saw rats and the manager was in denial. It’s not even Indian food. It’s Bangladeshi food. Take care of yr health and avoid this place.

Wonderful staff that are incredibly accommodating and helpful.
They have a lunch special that is a great deal $($ 9!) for a HUGE portion. The lunch special also includes a variety of sides which allows one to explore different Indian dishes, even if you normally stick to chicken tikka masala.
Love this place and would go back again.

Wow! I came in here with my wife for lunch the other day and was blown away by the quality and price of their lunch special. I’ve been searching for a great Indian food restaurant in lower Manhattan for the last year, and Heart of India is the first that makes me want to return again. The space is quite large compared to most other local restaurants, and it has charming details on the walls and ambient lighting, which make it a great date spot. The service was great as well. :) I highly recommend!

I have ordered from here about 4 times and it is excellent. I love how the food is consistent in taste and quality every time. I also appreciate the $ 18 seamless deal with appetizer and entrée and naan. I love the veggie samosas and chicken tikka masala. It’s wonderful that they give you all of this for a great price and deliver quickly. Please try this restaurant and to heart of India, keep up the wonderful food and delivery service. Thanks!
Edit: on their seamless menu, they no longer have the entrée and appetizer combo as an option. Please bring it back!!! Still love the food!

Ordered delivery from here and it came at a decent time. However the food was one of the best Indian dishes I’ve ever tried! The vegetable biryani was so flavorful and the portion size was good. I definitely would like to try eating at The restaurant because I’d delivery was yummy it must be better getting it fresh from the kitchen!

This place is absolutely the best. Ive eaten here twice now and it has not disappointed. Everything is fresh, flavorful and delicious. The waiter even gave me free rice pudding which tasted like a whipped cream wonderland. I absolutely love Indian food and I will be back. ¹⁰⁄₁₀

My new favorite Indian restaurant in the East Village. Everything I ordered was on pointe and absolutely delicious — chicken tikka masala, lamb vindaloo and vegetable curry. They even threw in a free rice pudding.
You could tell that they marinate the curries overnight for hours and even the vegetable curry was amazing with lots of onions for flavor. The meat dishes had high quality meat. I will definitely be ordering from this restaurant again.

Solid delivery. Portions are big, delivered hot, well packaged and ingredients tasted fresh.
I got the dinner special with appetizer, main, rice, dal and naan. Great value for $ 18!
Lamb Korma had lots of tender meat, curry was creamy and mild. Chicken Tikka Masala also had lots of meat, was chicken breast which is the only meat I eat from the chicken so I was happy about that. Curry was also lovely and creamy and thick.
Veg samosas were big with tasty potato filling. The tamarind and green chilli dipping sauces that came with it were amazing!
Naan was thick, fluffy and soft, I wish they had brushed a little butter on it though for extra flavor. Paratha was on point, crispy and layered as it should be.
The one gripe I have is that the curries were underseasoned. I added some salt and all was good.
I have to make it noted that on their website it states they have a commitment to try and make their food healthier without sacrificing flavour. I must say it’s nice to get a curry that isn’t swimming in oil, they are keeping their promise. All in all it’s a reliable Indian joint to satisfy the cravings.

First off, I like the décor/​ambiance. It’s a quiet place, service is good. I can’t speak for the meat dishes, since I’m a vegetarian. The veggie samosa was tasty (with a slice of onion as garnish? lol) I had the malai kofta, that was flavorful and yummy as well. The garlic naan was good too. They gave us a complimentary rice pudding, which was nice. I would def come here again, it’s a good place for dates too:)

Had 14.95 dinner specials which are really good, super good price. Mango lassi was really good too!

Food was just ok. Had delivery or chicken tikka masala — entrée special.
The CTM was a good consistency (thick) but had too much nutmeg. The rice was over cooked /​too soft /​mushy. The naan was good — very fluffy.
Nothing terrible but I wouldn’t order from them again :|.

Pros: plentiful portions, real white meat chicken is served without weird pieces or ambiguous bites, the staff is kind and eager to please
Cons: my meal as a whole wasn’t very flavorful at all (in my mind, Indian food should have complex flavors and be spicy!) & the naan was much thicker and denser than I’m accustomed to.
*These are observations from a to go order.

Overall the restaurant has experienced a lot of wear and tear as evidenced by fraying rugs, not so glistening plate ware and bathrooms with dirt around all the crevices.
The staff was nice and accommodating.
The chutneys were not remarkable and in an unappetizing serving dish that seemed to have old and hardened chutney caked obtain the outside of the dishware. It grossed me out. My wife however liked the contents.
The lamb korma was delicious! The sauce was a nice blend of spices, cream, tomato sauce and heat.
The greatest disappointment was the vegetable biriyani. It was served in a small dish, perhaps a ½c of rice with spices and frozen veggies with a cover of dough, as in pot pie– I have never seen a rice dish like this and was stunned to be served such a small entrée for $ 11.
The salad was subpar, wilted shredded iceberg lettuce and carrots drowned in lemon juice with a lemon slice garnish. Horrible.
The chai and spiced teas were robust and served in smaller thAn usual tea cups. No Splenda.
Comfy seats. fast checkout. Complimentary rice pudding.
Not the worst, not the best. Just a so-​so experience. But they aren’t hurting for customers, their seamless delivery orders were ringing in at a steady clip. Perhaps we just dined on a night where they didn’t bring their A GAME. It happens.

My stomach was very upset after eating this.
Chana masala — I love chickpeas! It’s very oily though.
Vegetable vindaloo — it’s not even spicy. Vindaloo is suppose to be spicy! It’s 85% potato.
Garlic naan — Where is the garlic? I don’t even see pieces or smell garlic.
Kashmiri Naan — this is what I ordered but they gave me a regular naan instead. I was not a happy camper. I was too far away when I realized it so I figured there was no point.
Chana Poori — I loved the sauteed chickpeas but not the poori. It was so oily and my first experience was poori was fabulous. This on the other hand, was soggy, oily and just gross.
Lemon cashew rice — the cashews are diced! I was wondering where they were hiding. I was expecting whole pieces. Is that an chinese thing? Well, I wasn’t wowed by their rice either but I love that they have this option. It was basically yellow colored rice with diced cashews. But what do I expect?

Just ordered some Indian food from «Heart of India» and I must say it is the best Indian food I have eaten in a long time.
The delivery was very fast and I ordered it spicy. It was spicy but not spicy spicy so you don’t taste the actual food. I have ordered Chicken Tikka Masala and some beef Samosas and I got a nann bread with it and four different sauces. So yummy! It all tasted very fresh and authentic. The chicken tikka masala sauce was very creamy and you could really taste the fresh tomatoes. Definitely going to order again!