Masalas

Went there at 6.30 pm monday evening and they were closed … Though there website does not says that… Disappointing!

Back in January, 3 friends and I decided to try this restaurant after a movie. We’re all from the Wichita area originally, so it was new to all of us. We really loved everything about Masalas. The wait staff was attentive. The round tube bread was fabulous, golden brown, crunchy and tasty while we waited for our entrees. We each got a different entrée so we could taste as many different dishes as possible. We had to box some up to take home because the portions were generous. We wanted to try the mango drink at the end, and it was my birthday, so the waiter brought us each a small taste. It was wonderful! Go and try food from another country. It was a very good experience for 4 of us.
Update: I was slow to post this, and see a March review that says they might be closed. If so, that is really too bad. 4 of us thought it was worth the trip.

Fyi. The place has been shut now for a couple of weeks with no signs of reopening.
The lunch buffet is pretty good apart from the fact that they don’t refill the food from time to time.
You have to wait for a quite a while till someone attends to it.
Also, they sometimes run out of an item and do not bother to refill it for the rest of the customers. To me, that’s a bad sign.
Overall ok food and place, but they had the capability to make it better.

Attempted to order carry-​out but the online menu doesn’t at all match the actual menu. This may have something to do with the old Masalas closure and subsequent reopening. Not sure. So we just walked in to place our carry-​out order. Staff greeted us with a small sample of mango lassi — sort of a smoothie. We placed our order and waited for quite a while. Eventually everything arrived. Servers were apologetic for the wait. Shrimp Biryani I ordered was a most flavorful dish. Would go back in a heartbeat. Just wish they could iron out the takeway menu situation.

After having a few cocktails on a cold day in December, my friend and I were looking for something comforting to warm us up. We were near Masala’s, so we gave it a shot. It wasn’t too busy for a Friday evening, so we were able to get a table quickly.
Even though I eat Indian food semi-​regularly, there were many dishes on the menu that I was not familiar with. Unfortunately, the menu lacked descriptions, and our server had a difficult time answering some of our questions regarding ingredients in specific dishes. I’m not sure if there was a language barrier or if she just didn’t know. We settled on dishes that sounded safe, chicken korma and chicken curry. Both were delicious as well as the garlic naan. The portion sizes were large enough; we both had enough left over for lunch the next day. One thing that was a little bizarre was the music selection. On this Friday evening, an Adele CD blared through the speakers, the entire time we were there. Curious, no doubt.
I have also had the weekday lunch buffet, which was tasty, but lacked the appetizer type selection (pakora, samosas, etc,) that other buffets include. However, when we paid for our lunch which was around 12 $, we were rewarded with a business card that entitles the holder to the weekday buffet for 7 $. That’s much cheaper than the typical Indian buffet.

Food sucks … Poor service … Serving spoiled food … And service is very slow … They don’t know how to treat their customers … But serving spoil food is really bad … If you haven’t tasted Indian food there is no way you would have known that they are serving spoiled food

This was pretty awful. I’ll just go down the list so I don’t write a novel.
–We were seated immediately before a table of 6 and 2. The table of 2 had their order taken. Then the table of 6. Then our table for 4 about 5 minutes later. After waiting far too long.
–No one even asked our drink order.
–The best part of the experience is we were given water immediately. Though with no ice. Luke warm water.
–We could barely hear our server. The restaurant wasn’t even loud. He was basically whispering.
–The table of 2 got their food! Maybe ours was coming soon? Nah!
–The table of six got either an appetizer, or one of their entrees? Just one person has food in front of them. They look as annoyed as we do.
–The table of 2 got a to go box. …and their check.
–6 other parties have been seated over the past half hour… one of them (a table of 4!!) has food???
–They start playing music. REALLY LOUD MUSIC. We can’t hear each other at normal inside-​voices. Someone from the table of 6 gets up to ask them to turn the volume down. I swear to god this is the truth: the host leans in and asks «What?» because he can’t hear the gentleman. Not to mention it sounded like someone was flipping through an iPod and couldn’t figure out which song they liked.
–The table of two leaves. They look happy. That must be nice.
–Oh, and the table that was vacated 5 minutes after we arrived still hasn’t been cleaned up. Half eaten food just waiting around. Gross.
–No one has said anything to us at all about our wait. We leave after about 45 minutes.
–We drive a couple miles down the road to Korma Sutra and have a great meal with great service.
Save yourself the headache and just go to Korma Sutra instead.

I am currently recuperating from my visit to Masalas. Before I fall into a buffet coma I thought I would share my thoughts. This is my second trip to Masalas. The first one was years ago (probably under the prior ownership).
Today was an impulse buy kind of day. I was actually headed to Whole Foods to pick up a lunch when Masalas caught my eye. I thought an Indian buffet would fulfill my lunching dreams for roughly the same cost as the over-​priced/​lb salad bar options I was about to purchase.
Upon arrival I was greeted from two angles by both the host and my waiter. I’m glad everyone was so excited for my arrival but it was a little confusing. I got settled and made my way to the buffet.
There are a few things I must comment on. I’ll start small by saying the buffet layout needed a little rearrangement. The first «plate station» was empty forcing you to get to the other side and start with the soupy items and work your way up to the rice. Yes, I could have walked back to the rice side first but it’s a buffet; I’m supposed to take the least amount of steps possible. I then noticed a hair on top of a salad bar item which probably came from another patron (it is a buffet after all) and just wasn’t yet caught. The last agenda item was the plates at the buffet. I didn’t notice on my first trip but on my second trip the plate I picked up was crusty and the next didn’t look great either. They had both obviously ran through a commercial dishwasher and I understand that can happen but I am certainly glad this didn’t happen on my first trip.
Overall the food was good and the service was eager to please. I initially wondered why some items were not completely stocked until it dawned on me that it was still before noon so this probably helps them keep their food items fresher – Not mad at ya! Also, there was no naan at the buffet which I started to realize once I started eating but before I could ask, a basket o’ naan (that’s the Irish in me) arrived at my table. Every time I made a move I could see my waiter in the corner of my eye looking out for me. He was even excited to help me fill my Mango Lassi cup when I just had a simple ramekin to put down first. The attentive service was laid on a little thick but again, not a bad thing!
At the end of the day I had a great lunch, great service, and all in record time.

Ugh! I think I’m cursed when it comes to receiving ROTDs for Indian restaurants. I think if we had ordered carry-​out (which it appeared a lot of people were doing) this would have given this experience four or even five stars. That’s the only reason why it earned three.
When we sat down and opened our laminated menu, all of the entrees were just listed without any sort of descriptions. Between us, my husband and I have enjoyed Indian food in Portland, LA, New York and London, and we needed to pull out the phone to look up the information for some of the dishes outside of the obvious curry, vindaloo and masala. I can’t exactly remember what we ordered, but it was a lamb curry-​type dish, an eggplant dish and a dosa for an appetizer.
After our server came by four times in the span of five minutes, we were finally ready to place our order. 15 minutes passed… at 30 minutes, a man sitting near the back of the restaurant came up to complain about the time it was taking for his food to arrive. not a good sign. At least they were refilling my water, no papadum to snack on though — a first for me! We asked two different people if we would be receiving our dosa first (as we watched them bring out about six to different tables) and they assured us we would. At the 45 minute mark, the chef came to our table, dripping in sweat, to let us know we would be receiving our food soon.
We did receive our dosa, about five minutes after our other dishes arrived. We were annoyed, but so hungry by this point we just started eating. Everything was good, but not worth waiting nearly an hour for. The place wasn’t even very busy. This is why I think they were just slammed with carry out orders. When they brought our check, we thought at the very least that our naan would be comped for the long wait. We didn’t even get a small apology. Needless to say, our tip was on the low end and I just wanted to give it all to the guy who refilled my water.
My suggestion is definitely to come for the lunch buffet or order carry out. Don’t waste your time dining here otherwise.

Authentic and tasty Indian food. My wife loves this place. Their hyderabadi biryani is the best.

I so want to give them 4 – 5 stars…
A friend wanted Indian so I said, «Let’s try a place close» as I live nearby. It always looks clean from the outside and I used Unilocal to see what sort of reviews it already had. We went in and we were the only table in the place (it was 7:30pm) We had to shout «hello?» to get someone to come out. It was an older Indian gentleman who seemed sweet and was also our waiter. My friend wanted something particular (I know what I like but are bad with the names) that she couldn’t find on the HUGE menu. I was looking for something simple; naan and I ended on something that was fried jalapeño strips. Both were very good!!! My friend got a curry-​ish sauce with cheese cubes in it (again. sorry. no menu on line and I can’t remember the name of it). It was INCREDIBLE! I so wish I would have ordered that! It was also a big portion so we could have easily shared, which we did.
So, if it’s not the food then what was it, you ask? It was the wait staff. Maybe they were short staffed that night but there was a definite communication issue. We did not speak the same language so he couldn’t answer the questions we had about several menu items, what we really wanted, what spices were, etc. I would really feel for someone that had dietary restrictions or allergies.
If you know your Indian food, it’s one of the best. I will give it a try again, without hesitation. As my profile states, I also have a Lap Band so the portion sizes are standard to large but for me, HUGE. Leftovers. yahoo!!!

11 tables were occupied in this restaurant the evening we dined. 9 of them were occupied by Indian people. What does this say to me? This says that this restaurant is well respected by Indian people, which means the food must be good, traditional Indian food.
I really can’t rave enough about my dish. I ordered Chicken Curry (I know, I know — branch out a little next time) and hubby ordered Chicken Vindaloo. They were both amazing. My dish was buttery, with complex flavors, a kick that was very present yet somehow didn’t overshadow said complex flavors, and rich in texture. Our naan was too crispy (slightly burnt), and the staff was overly anxious to please. I know «overly anxious to please» should be a compliment, and in a way it is — but I got the distinct feeling that they were just excited to see a new face in the place. I’m not sure why it isn’t more well– patronized, because the food certainly deserves it. I can only assume it’s the location — 91^st & Metcalf, tucked into a little strip in the Whole Foods parking lot. (What’s the deal with those little shopping carts they got?)
If someone is bored and/​or underwhelmed with the more popular Indian restaurants in town, this would be an excellent destination trip. I will absolutely be returning, and it’s my new go-​to for Indian in town.

We were getting tired of the usual Indian restaurants in KC metro area. We heard that Masalas had opened up again and decided to go there for lunch buffet with my wife and my 5 year old son.
We got there and the host was getting payments from patrons who had finished. He immediately apologized and said he will be right with us. In the mean time the owner saw us and quickly came to help us and escorted us to our booth. The wait staff came right away and filled our waters up and asked if we needed some other beverages.
We walked to the buffet. I started with tandoori chicken, chicken curry and some veg corn soup. All 3 dishes were great. I judge an Indian restaurant by their chicken dishes. They were just perfect. Loved it. My wife got the lamb, some rice and some chicken 65. She liked it all. All she had to say was that chicken 65 could have been a little more spicy. It was all delicious nonetheless. The owner in the mean time informed us that he had brought out fresh hyderabadi chicken biryani. So I decided to go for my second course. I got the biryani and the palak paneer over rice and a little taste of pav bhaji. Yummy! is all I have to say. I was happy and smiling by that time. My 5 year old was all smiles with his crispy dosa and idly.
We all had some fruit salad and gulab jamun for dessert. They were excellent. Gulab jamuns were nice, soft and perfectly warm. Fruit salad was just awesome. Nice fruits with occasional crunch of pineapples. It was in a yellow custard type consistency. It reminded me of authentic fruit salad you get in India.
The owner checked us out and asked us how the food and the service was. He smiled at my son and said you get to eat for free! :-) Masalas will be our Indian restaurant from now on. Can’t wait to try them for dinner. We even got a traditional Namaste from the owner when we were leaving.

My husband and I were doing one of those aimless drives down Metcalf to try to find someplace to eat and we were pleased to note that Masala’s had reopened. It can be difficult for a carnivore/​vegetarian couple to agree on a restaurant, but now we have a new regular place to add to our rotation.
My husband had the chicken tikka kebab, which was served in on a sizzling skillet. The portion size was enormous and he had enough to take some home for a second meal. I had the chana masala and it was amazing.
Our only minor complaint was that we had ordered pakora that didn’t arrive until after our entrees. Fortunately it made a good leftover as well.
I’m delighted with the breadth of the vegetarian menu and I’m looking forward to trying some different dishes next time.

I enjoyed the old version and found this new owner very nice and the food great!

welp, it looks like Masalas is back open. I really couldn’t tell a huge difference between the 2 incarnations, they were both equally delicious. Absolutely amazing food, a large selection, if you’re vegetarian, they have got you covered, and if you like the meats, they got the meats as well. same indian buffet prices, 10 bucks for lunch. I really only had 2 complaints, firstly all the chicked dishes were pretty beat up, i was picking bones outta my teeth for a while, which may be authentic, but i really don’t wanna pick bones outta my teeth. please. also naan is on the buffett, which to me is a huge no-​no. it sits under the light and it gets all hard, so would it kill ya to make fresh naan like most every other indian place in town does? seriously. stand outdishes were the goat (yum), the potato something, and the carrot desert. yum. it looks like now that Chilly N Spice has got some fierce competition for #2 indian buffett now. I just hope they can keep it up. competition is good for everybody.

When I first moved to Overland Park, I was so happy to have an Indian restaurant so close. However, I was disappointed with THAT version of Masalas.
This current incarnation of Masalas is awesome!
The service was very polite. As other reviewers mentioned, the owner did stop by and give us a little history and background.
The inside is pretty nice and very clean. You’ll notice that the kitchen is labeled as the «Masala Factory.» There is a small «waterfall» in the center of the restaurant that, during a less busy time, provides serene background noise to the atmosphere.
We started out with the Samosas and they were great. You will get two in one order and they are a good size. The filling is excellent and of course they come with the tamarind and mint chutneys.
We ordered idlies for our daughter, and my wife and I had chicken korma (I believe) and the butter chicken. Everything was so flavorful and fresh and just tasted real and homemade. The idlies were soft and came with three different sauces of which I wasn’t too familiar but all three were quite tasty. One was a creamier sauce, one was a spicy red sauce, and the other one resembled a soup. Of course, we had naan. It was crisp and chewy and you could taste the tandoori grill. Excellent!
The portions would satisfy the very hungry, but for us we were able to take left overs.
tl;dr: Masalas is open again and has a full menu. It is very good!

Never have had naan this amazing. It was freshly made and so delicious. I had the lunch buffet and found a great variety of vegetarian dishes to choose from. Everything was really delicious and tasty. Wish I had some now!
Everything is self serve, so you go through the buffet, and there is lassi and other beverages you can choose from. I opted for the chai tea, but that did not work for me – at all.
But otherwise, all the other foods was delicious. Would definitely go back for another visit.

Masalas under the new management turns out to be the one of best indian restaurants in Kansas. The food is great and reminds me of the food back home. The best part is the consistency, I have visited the restaurant a few times since it reopened and the service did not go down. Best part of the cuisine is the Hyderabadi Biryani and Chicken Tikka Masala.
If the food continues to be as good, Masalas will turn out to be THE best indian restaurant in Kansas.

I was a fan of the previous incarnation of Masala’s when it 1^st opened but it gradually deteriorated until it was one of the worst Indian restaurants in KC. The New Masala’s is under new ownership and is offering tasty, freshly prepared Indian cuisine.
There are still a few kinks to work out, Masala’s is only offering a buffet for lunch and dinner right now but the owner told me that he hopes to change that in a few weeks.
The owner took the time to chat with me about his restaurant during a recent lunch. He uses recipes and spices from his hometown, Hyderabad. That explains the excellent, delicate, spicy Biryani that he serves. I am a huge Biryani fan and Masala’s serves an excellent version.
I sampled a bit of everything on the lunch buffet. I was impressed with the new owner’s use of fresh chilis, vegetables and spices. The chili chicken has huge chunks of fresh chili which gives the end product a fresh, spicy heat. Many of the meat dishes were served bone in which is the way I always see these dishes when I am traveling in India on business.
The buffet also offered tandoori chicken, chicken tikka masala, veg and chicken biryani, Chana masala, sambar soup, tomato dal, paneer, green bean fry and a goat curry along with several other items.
I’ll be going back in a few weeks to try the Masala’s dinner menu…