Flavor of India

Extremely disappointing food and service. The food tasted bland and there was absolutely no flavor in any item served. I chose to take the buffet and I didn’t like anything. They have a no wastage policy. Maybe if they made tastier food no one would waste in the first place.

Food doesn’t taste like indian at all. although ambience, service and people are nice. Didnt like daal, chicken curry, matar paneer. Garlic Naan is far from how someone should make a Naan at first place .Not recommended if you like to have indian taste.

Had dinner there and it was excellent. Was greeted with professionalism as we entered the restaurant and was quickly seated. We ordered the vindaloo and chicken tikka masala both were very flavorful and tasty the spices were great freshly baked naan bread with fresh salad. Consumer service was done very well with attentiveness towards drinks. Our food was prepared swiftly, looked and tasted great. Would recommend for in town Indian food

This restaurant isn’t located on the busy part of State St. FYI, in case ya think about wandering after.
We walked in Saturday night and restaurant was not too full. However, there was a couple ahead of us waiting for a booth rather than filling one of the four empty tables. Me? I say booth too please!
Not a long wait. Service was great once we sat down. Ordered the assorted appetizer which came with an excellent red sauce. Includes red chorizo-​like sausage, veggie samosa, tandoori chicken samples n lots of fried onions. For main, we got the chicken korma, shrimp saag, plain naan n garlic herb naan. Naans were some of the best. Tasty all, especially the chicken korma – delightful curry, very happening.
Dessert: Rice pudding and Rasmalai (crumbly cheese in sweetened milk). Both were good but rice pudding was divine. Perfectly textured, mildly sweetened.
Skip the iced or hot tea, it’s just a tea bag you’re paying for. Try one of their traditional drinks… Cuz mango lassi n Indian chai tea taste different everywhere.
Service was awesome, they refilled our chai tea nonstop. Lots of people checking your table… they work together and that made for an awesome dining experience.

The food is good, but the service is terrible. I had a mediocre experience my first time there, but my second was so bad that I won’t return. The hostess sat us at a table close to the entrance. We knew it wasn’t a great table but preferred not to wait. Once we sat, we immediately felt like we were in a cold wind tunnel because the front door was kept open, so I asked to be moved. She said ok but instead sat 5 other parties and avoided eye contact. The waiter took our order and never returned. Our food came out quickly, so we ate quickly, so we could leave quickly. Once the food came out, we didn’t want to be moved anyway, but she didn’t check on us or even acknowledge my request for a new table. We would have been fine if got a little attention or the offer of a free desert that we may have refused but felt like they cared.

Seriously the best India restaurant I have been to!
The food is amazing, good price, and the staff is always friendly and helpful. When ever I have guests in town I always take them here.
I definitely recommend their chai tea, tikka masala and garlic naan.

Very Crowded over the weekend. long waiting times. I had some food restrictions and asked them to make me something without onion/​garlic but they said it was not possible, ended up having rice and curd :(
Not a good option for JAIN’s.

Good food. Good service. Mr parents visiting from India loved it.
Docking one star for lack of signs to their parking lot.

Wooohoo! Christmas day was absolutely packed. I waited almost an hour and finally got a table. Me and my GF we both like med-​spicy food. Since, this is a family owned place they will take care of «if you want mild or very spicy food.»
I was 4 years old when I started visiting this place. An authentic place no need to explain in terms of best food, and quality service. I visited all Indian places in town, and found mostly food dishes are buttery (called ghee or oily I think). Food has lot of Masalsa (That hurt my tummy one time). I am recommending you stay away from Masala, that could hurt your tummy too.
If you are looking for home made dishes; I think Flavor of India best place in town. Healthy and non-​Greasy.

Tasteless and stale food… hair found in one of the breads… stay away…
would agree wid one of the previous reviewers that for Bay Area residents this was way below average Indian food… this restaurant can only pull off in places where competition for Indian food is less and Santa Barbara fits that

For a bay area resident this was a pretty ordinary indian restaurant. the tandoori was the only good items. the curry and meat inside the curry was stale and taste terrible. naan was burnt. the paneer saag was terrible.

staff here is fast and amazing! The food is absolutely delicious! My first time here and it won’t be my last!

The Shrimp Tikamasala is the business! So happy eating here! Looking forward to my next meal, good rice, lamb, garlic naan is awesome! Nice staff, comfortable, very attentive, great menu, I want to visit the buffet! Fair pricing! parking is not to good.

Food today at the lunch buffet was a bit heavy handed on the salt, most notable in the daal. Chicken was dried out despite being new from the kitchen.
Saag was good – definitely the star today. Chickpeas were a bit light on flavor. Korma was ok and went well with the rice.
The Naan today was a bit drier than compared to past visits.

First of all the food quality is surprisingly bad in comparison to the India House on lower State street who serves delicious food for the same price. This one Indian Restaurant is way better. And way prettier and cozy environment.
Worst thing about my experience at Flavor of India is that I’ve been asked not to talk on the phone inside the restaurant siting at my table! I was eating alone at a corner table and the restaurant is pretty loud and is definitely not a fancy restaurant… What is the problem here? Very unprofessional water. And the food served is not even good.
I’m usually not picky but this restaurant is a joke!
I definitely not recommend this place. Nothing to do with good Indian food and Service is awful.

Horrible food. The chicken and paneer dish from the dinner thali tasted atleast a week old. Especially the paneer which was so soggy, after being frozen, reheated multiple times. Eating in this place is a big Waste of money!

Very very very bad, for those who put 5 star, I am sure it is your first time to eat Indiana food,
Don’t come here

BLACKLISTED! NEGATIVE STARS! Friends and family, if you are Indian or absolutely love Indian food, do not go here! I was really disappointed to find that Unilocal had rated this place so high. Both my boyfriend and I love Indian food, we could basically be on the Indian Restaurant Commission if there was one. And Flavor of India is a disgrace to the Indian buffet concept. What’s sad was halfway through the experience, we thought the food was the crappy part of the deal here but no, the service was above and beyond terrible… I honestly have no words.
Let me break it down for everyone.
The rules to eating Indian:
1. Walk in and if you don’t see any actual Indian people eating there just leave. Indian people won’t sit for crappy Indian food ever.
2. Chicken tikka masala is a staple, if a place can’t do chicken tikka right then by default all other items are crappy
3. If you have time, actually check the Unilocal reviews (not just stars). If actual Indian people say it’s crappy, then it’s in your best interests not to go there.
Sadly, I ignored these rules today. I am guilty and sad… This will never happen ever again. I’ve learned a good lesson.
First off, we walked in and the buffet lineup was just so PITIFUL. I’ve never seen such a small buffet in my life, especially at an Indian place. I couldn’t go through with it, I opted for a menu item while my bf got the buffet. The shahi paneer I ordered was ok. They brought it out less than 10 mins post order. I strongly think that this paste and other add ins were premade. Gross. We ate the buffet chicken tikka masala, they should be shut down for calling it that… that was effectively chicken served in water. We couldn’t go on after one bite. He ended up sharing my average paneer with me.
He only had a few bites to taste the food, upon not liking anything he tried, we asked to return the buffet option and try to get something off the menu. The manager, an arrogantly rude prick, told us that IT WAS NOT YOUR CHOICE and that we could order whatever we wanted but still had to pay for the buffet option my boyfriend chose. Seriously. I’ve never had such an upsetting dining experience in my life. This lady who was boasting about how well her business was doing was fighting over 9.95 with a potential returning customer. I’ve never seen a restaurant manager giving such horrible customer service. This was unbelievable. I wish I videotaped the conversation so I could post it on Unilocal.
Everyone seems to be bamboozled into thinking this is a good place. I honestly feel that way. Flavor of India does not deserve such a high rating when it serves such crappy Indian food and hands out such atrocious customer service. What they honestly deserve is a slap to the face after being shut down.
P. S. A lot of these reviews are those of family friends of the owner. Beware of the scam…

Primo delicious. Buffet is small but is very delicious.
I like a buffet so I can try a range of dishes.

Best Indian restaurant in Santa Barbara? Absolutely.
The walls of Flavor Of India are cluttered with awards and accolades about how it has the best Indian food in Santa Barbara. It’s interesting but with the pretenders out there I’m glad they’re repping those honors.
Flavor of India is the kind of place that invited regulars. You get that feeling when you eat here — that the people around you are not new here. In fact; you feel as if they come here everyday. The food is good enough for that to be an option. buffet is limited but it is good.
I’ve always been pleased with Flavor of India. If you want a nice place for lunch look no further. Easier than rolling into downtown as well.