Breads of India & Gourmet Curries

Before you read my review, take a look at their Website (
). It’s amazing how deceptive photographs can be, and the ones on their Website are a good example of this.
First, the restaurant, on a Saturday night, was almost empty, with patrons trickling in a few at a time. Never a good sign.
Next, it’s a dimly lit, cavernous, loud and cold room with no homey touches.
The waitress was grim-​faced and very hard to hear, since she spoke in a whisper and was extremely brusque. The busboy/​assistant waiter spoke not a word of English. The service was terrible: Plates arriving after the appetizers were brought to our table, no knives provided, and no salt shaker, either.
(I had lunch at their Berkeley restaurant and, although the food was fine, the service there was also terrible. Seems the owner only hires meek women who can’t be heard to wait on tables.)
The «bar,» so invitingly pictured, was closed; apparently the bartender was hor de combat, so the only alcoholic drinks available were house wines and bottled beer.
Then there was the matter of the entrée I ordered: The rack of lamb. In the photograph on the Website (
), the lamb was a wonderful light pink and the ribs were attractively arranged around a mound of rice. Instead, I was served three sloppy ribs on a sizzling plate, smeared in a non-​descript red sauce. Nor was I asked how I wanted my lamb cooked, as stated in the description on the Website. A gooey mess of overcooked lamb chops was what I got. They tasted and looked as if they had been stewed, not roasted, as a rack of lamb is usually cooked.
Don’t waste your money on this dump, or, if you must, order some bread – it’s not bad at all.
One last observation: The menus were disgustingly filthy. Encrusted with bits of food, smeared and stained.

Had a really good vegetarian dinner here. Their breads and gravies were fresh and delicious!

If this place had a lunch-​specific menu, I’d throw in an extra star. To pay their dinner-​oriented prices for lunch is too much. Food is not terrible but not the best I’ve had, either. Even breads are not as good as they should be. The place is huge and cavernous, so the prices probably reflect the rent the owner has to pay. Don’t come here for lunch. Dinner, perhaps.

I really liked this place! One of the strongest Indian restaurants in Oakland. And yes, I know that Oakland does not have that many strong Indian offerings, so take that for what it’s worth.
The breads were tasty, and they had many creative and unique items on the Menu! I would knock it a star for the mediocre gulab jamoon, but I was just really happy to find a decent Indian place in the middle of Oakland downtown. Couldn’t hold a candle to the South Bay, but ya know, it’s all relative! Also a thumbs up for the ambiance and service.

This is an old school Indian american style restaurant, heavy on the décor light on the cuisine.
It’d be good for a date night or if you are looking to impress someone. The service is impeccable and the interior space is grand.
The food however is why this is a three star rating. Don’t misunderstand me, the foods okay. That’s the problem. It’s just okay, nothing exceptional.
Perfectly middling, and since you are paying zagat five star prices for just ordinary food… three stars.

Good quality meats, great depth of flavor, polite and courteous service.

4.5. Only reason not a 5 is I have had better Indian in London. But BOI is the real deal. I was shocked the place was nearly empty for dinner and I am hoping it is not because of the lame 3 star Unilocal review.
Garlic Naan is on point-​chewy and comforting. Lamb Vindaloo had perfect kick and the meat was so tender, you could shred it with a fork. Tikka Masala was creamy and flat out fantastic. The Samosas have crazy flavor, were super fresh and not greasy. The portions are perfect. Some left over for a midnight snack. Yes, the green salad they give you is kind of lame. But don’t come here if you want salad. Come here for some reasonably priced, amazing Indian food.

Don’t listen to all those out of towners. This place is exceptional. They give detailed explanations of their dishes. The service is excellent. Portion are full sized. Good for next day leftovers. My family of six ate a good sized meal for under $ 130(with tax and tip). AND I’m not from here!

Service was polite and speedy. Food was sub par. The chicken tikka was bland and lacking in flavor. Not sure if is because of the early lunch hour or not but I have never had tikka masala that bland before. Prices are fair for the amount of food. Just need to make sure it’s ready to be served.
I’ll stick with indus village and Everest in Berkeley.

I should’ve read reviews never again. Service is bad the short heavy set lady. Anyway cost to much too expensive and the amount (portions) very skimpy. The taste not all that I had the marsala. Taste like ugghh the garlic Naan bread very soggy.

This is one of my favorite Indian places of all time. The décor itself is a lovely experience, and the service is warm and attentive. The tenoor chicken (don’t quote me on that. the name slips my mind but it is served on a hot pan) is my favorite with a side of garlic naan.

just terrible. I took a coworker here for lunch in April of this year. It took 5 min for us to get seated, which was too long considering the place was only half full. the menus were dirty looking, and I should have taken a cue from that. We were really hungry, so kept trying to flag down one of the 2 men working to place an order and get some water. That took at least another 5 minutes. The food didn’t have much flavor, and despite the fact that both of us were very hungry, neither of us took a doggie bag. I always take leftovers.
Never going back there, and warning everyone I know to stay away.

I don’t understand what all the cranky people here are complaining about. Food was excellent, service was excellent, portions are the right size. The mango lassi was perfect, the samosas were perfect. Main dish served sizzling hot. Dipping sauces were perfect.
I’m clearly missing something, because this place is always empty. I don’t understand why. Oh well. Faster service for me!
If you haven’t been here in a while, I’d say give it another chance.

I learned that at the Walnut Creek location, the workers don’t get their tips if they are included in the credit card. I’m not sure if this Oakland location has the same owners or the same rules, so if you go to any of the B-​of-​India locations, be sure to pay the tip in cash. I hesitate to go back to to any of the Breads of India locations if the owners are going to be so greedy and unethical. I know the Berkeley location is still closed for renovations, but do they have the same tip policy?
It really affects the taste of my meal if I know the workers are treated poorly.
Service: * * * * *
Speed: * * * *
Coorgi Pork: * * * *
Naan: * * * * *
Owners’ Ethics: minus ten

I thought i would LOVE Breads of India in Downtown Oakland because their restaurant in Berkeley is amazing. However I was really disappointed. No one was in the restaurant around 6pm on a Friday night. I guess that’s a sign not to go there. I ordered my favorite dish, Chicken Tikka Masala and my friend ordered a veggie curry. The Chicken Tikka Masala was watery not creamy and luke warm! :(
Customer service: Excellent, warm and friendly
Atmosphere: Beautiful yet empty
Food: Disappointing
Menu– I appreciate the storytelling detail about each dish but it’s hard to read exactly what dish you are getting. It would be better if they separated the description of the dish with the story.
I hope they make the food better! To have a restaurant in Downtown Oakland is pure luck! I hope they make changes and I hope their restaurant survives.
Warmly,
Emma from Oakland

i liked this place.
first let me tell you my favorite part; the samosas. they were so crispy and perfect. and the sauce… OMG!!! i’m more a fan of the green. i never really care about the red but this was AMAZING. i could eat a whole gallon. it was so tangy and spicy. and the way the samosa was so crispy and you could just dip it right in. and then the way you like it so much you get all the last little drops off the plate with your fingers. rar!
oh! and the rice pudding. it was incredible. i could eat a gallon of that too. they serve it with this edible tin foil on top. it was delicious. and the crushed pistachios. it’s some kind of traditional recipe, marinated for days. i’ve never had anything like it.
the chai was also good. i went w/​3 other people. we had the okra, which i liked a lot. we also had the spinach paneer and some lentil thing which i also liked.
so, i didn’t have any meat but judging from how good all the other stuff was, i think their meat dishes are also good. it smelled good.
and the service is just delightful. everyone was so helpful and speedy. it was a very lovely time.

Like others have said, I don’t get what’s with so many low ratings for Breads of India. I’ve eaten dinner here at least 7 or 8 times over the last couple of years and I’ve always had a great experience! The food is flavorful, perfectly spiced and well presented. The service has always been prompt and friendly. I eat at a lot of Indian restaurants and B of I always stands out for me as offering something a little different than so many other places. I usually order from their daily specials menu and the meal comes with rice, a bit of salad and a yellow lentil sauce. And as the name implies, they have a unique selection of various traditional Indian breads.
If there’s anything I’ll criticize about B of I, it’s the salad, which is your standard restaurant supply bag of «mixed greens». Other than that, everything has always been great for me here.

The food was delicious and full of all the Indian flavors I love. The naan suggestions are spot on too. The service was a bit odd but as I have said before, my service standards seem to lower each time I go out.
I cannot recall the name of what I ate each night at BOI. I was traveling and asked the Dr to order for me. I completely devoured each plate. I sometimes dream about their food. Plus our tab for 3 with wine was about $ 50.

Breads of India is a large open space with two-​story ceilings, large chairs, and large chandelier. It looks a bit church-​like with railings around the open «2^nd story» where they might put a choir, but unlike most churches they have a small full bar in the corner.
They have a somewhat short fixed menu of staple dishes like CTM, Saag, and Vindaloo augmented by a specials menu that changes daily (
). The couple times I’ve been there has also been a separate sheet describing their Punjabi Goat Curry ($ 12) made from BN Ranch (Bill Niman) sustainably raised goats which appears to be a permanent addition to the fixed menu. Prices are a couple bucks higher than most comparable spots and there are no lunch specials or buffet.
I ordered the Goat Curry which comes with choice of naan or rice (most of the other specials I saw came with rice. no choice). I like both so got the rice with the special and ordered a extra garlic naan.
The plate comes with a small under-​dressed salad (
) which had a couple of really browned pieces of lettuce (
). The curry itself tasted good and was medium spicy. The goat meat was on the bone, a little fatty, tender, and flavorful.
The garlic naan looked promising (
), but for all those bits of garlic, didn’t have much garlic flavor. Somewhat disappointing for a place who’s name contains «Breads of India»
Service was slow despite there being 4 servers (about one sever per party most of the time I was there). They spent more time chit-​chatting by the counter rather taking a look around to see if customers needed anything.
4 stars for the goat curry
2 stars for the salad
3 stars for the naan

The space is lofty and kind of cold. They tied to make the place warm an inviting, but it just isn’t.
The servers stand around chatting because they obviously have nothing to do… and the food takes SOOOOO long to come out. Waiting way too long, in a big impersonal room for my food makes me grumpy.
But the breads and the curries are serviceable and sometimes really really good. I suggest calling ahead of time and getting the food to go. In general it is a bit expensive for the quality of experience.
Sagg Paneer – Kinda lacking in flavor, but it was edible and healthy.
Goat curry – Reminded me a bit of ox tail. Very flavorful and tasty curry. Lots and lots of weird bones tough. It was very hard to eat this and look graceful.
Garlic Nann – Totally the best part of the meal. The nan was fluffy yet a bit chewy. It was straight out of the oven and smelled and tasted like heaven.
Since it is convenient and clean, I will probably be back. When the company is good, most experiences are fun. But overall, I’ve been to better Indian restaurants, and better Breads of India (Walnut Creek and Berkeley)