India Mahal Restaurant

I enjoyed eating here for the lunch buffet. The selections was decent and the food was great! I love love love the garlic naan.

I completely forgot about this restaurant for a while. I live closer to Gateway, but honestly their food is more Americanized and bland. At India Mahal you can taste all the different spices, but somehow they still aren’t overpowering or too hot. The samosas are fluffy crusts and great filling, and their chutney is to die for. Yes, it’s a little chilly inside, but it’s family owned and operated, and their food is worth it. The area is a little small and I’d probably not want to go when it’s busy. It’s always the same guy working when I go in, and he’s very funny.

(Takeout experience)
Delicious food! Ingredients were fresh, excellent vegetarian options. Friendly staff. I will definitely come here again.

Ambiance: Could be a bit warmer (heat) inside with better lighting. Décor could be a little more inviting. Would like to hear music that is apart of the culture, rather than elevator type music.
Service: prompt.
Food: the green sauce that comes with pakore is a bit too minty and a little watery compared to others I have eaten. Chicken pakore is good. Mulligatawny is tasty and the Chana masala is yummy.
Price: a bit spendy… Especially for dining indoors with little ambiance.
Overall: I love the food. just a few little tweaks and this place would be wonderful!

Amazing food I had some matar paneer and it was on point just delicious. I had the pleasure to talk to the owner while he was there and he was so very warm and hospitable.
The food was delicious that place was really clean and we got to talk about India and the world I highly recommend this place.

Worst Indian food I have had in a long time, quite possibly ever. The ingredients were not fresh, our Chana masala tasted more like vinegar than chickpeas. Even the Naan we ordered, usually any Indian resaurant’s redeeming quality, lacked flavor and substance and left a tacky, grainy feeling in my mouth. We love garlic naan, but instead of being coated with freshly pressed cloves this naan had been covered in a dusting of garlic powder that made it taste more like frozen garlic Texas toast.
I hardly ever leave a restaurant without getting a takeout box for the extra food, but it was basically inedible. Our waiter (probably the owner), had a strange way of pressuring us to buy more things from the menu and asked us why we don’t like beans when we didn’t eat the Chana Masala (I do like beans, but not those). On this windy and chilly night, inside of the restaurant was cold and unwelcoming, the chairs hard and adding to the overall discomfort of our experience.
Save yourself the disappointment, try one of the very good Indian restaurants in Lacey. It might be a drive but you won’t leave cold and hungry.
Why all the five star ratings for this restaurant? Completely perplexing.

I like that they’re open late. The palakpaneer was a little overdone but oh my god the aloo paratha was so yummy in my tummy. The one thing that really bothered me was the raita, which was super weird and watery and way too salty. I wasn’t into that.

Two stars because The owner is very nice but the food is very very bland, no flavor. And pricey. Really a let down for a 40 $ dinner.

Big disappointment! The food was lukewarm and it didn’t taste fresh. It was expensive and the service was awful. I have never had Indian food that tasted this bad. This is several steps down from what I’m used to. Don’t waste your time and money.

Yum, yum, yum! This place is a treasure that many may not know about. Such good food, and great service! The owner is cheery and sarcastic, which I adore. We ordered family style and totally «rolled» out to the car because we were all so full!
Just a tip, if you love spicy, and I mean, SPICY (I eat ghost peppers like candy), make sure you tell them «not white person spicy, give me ALL you got!» The owner didn’t know what my spicy was and I said 20++/5 but I didn’t sweat. He laughed and told me to be prepared next time. Oh, I will sir, I will.

«A» (owner) is the best! I have taken my children, family and friends to India Mahal for many many years. Good service, GREAT tea and Delish food!

I’m a curry junkie, and I’ve scoured the «novelty» Indian restaurants on Unilocal.Yes, they have the atmosphere and the décor. They tend to be pleasing to my eyes, but not my tastebuds. India mahal is the magical hole in the wall, Narnia-​esque appeal to your mouth. The herbs and spices are pronounced the moment you walk in. Your olfactory senses will be stimulated, and your inner drool will foretell an exemplary experience. Don’t let the ambience and décor ruin your décor ruin your experience. Taste this, and you’ll know what the real McCoy is.

I love this place. It’s close to my home in university place. Hours are super convenient (long). The owner is always there and Is super nice. Food is made fresh and I have not had a dish that I do not like. Garlic naan and chicken tikka Marsala always are good choices.

It’s expensive but worth it. Best Indian food I’ve ever had in my life. It’s addictive. You won’t get an accurate representation of just how amazing the food is by going to the buffet. Buffets are never as great as you want them to be. Order from the menu. My favorites are mater panir and shrimp vindaloo. The veggie samosas are always perfect and the rice is so yummy you could it it on its own. Also, garlic naan. Oh and bindi masala. Don’t get hung up on the hole in the wall environment. Don’t nitpick about the customer service or wait staff or any of that other stuff that doesn’t matter because you aren’t going to a fine dining restaurant. Just shut up and enjoy the food and be grateful this place exists in this obscure suburban strip mall.

Southern California resident visiting Washington.
Not bad. Overall a step below the indian places in Southern California.
Naan seemed just. off. The texture was not good and was a bit more burned than acceptable.
Some of the food didn’t seem fresh.
Also the saag was pretty bad.
However the chicken masala was good, and the tandoori chicken, while kept wet. tasted fine.
I would try it again.

Sometimes I just gotta have it. This is THE Indian restaurant as far as I’m concerned. Try these: Goa chicken, meat samosas, garlic naan, channa masala, Punjabi daal. I’m sure there are other good things, but I love these so much, that I order them over and over again. Everything comes with basmati rice. Take your naan, throw some rice on it, then pour over the Goa chicken, stuff it in your face, then repeat with the lentils and chickpeas. Have a beer on the side .Oh. My. Goodness. You used to be able to have this delivered through 2 go services, but you might not be able to anymore, I’ll have to check on that. Otherwise take out is no problem, which is a little less awesome, but who cares. Because Goa Chicken.

This Indian restaurant truly is as good as it gets. My husband and I were looking for authentic, delicious Indian food. We live in University Place and thought that finding a great restaurant might be hard, given the size of this small town. We were wrong! India Mahal has been here in U.P. for almost 20 years. How lucky for those who live close by. (Like us)
I know exactly where to begin: The aroma. As soon as you open the door to this place you know you’re in for some great food! The amazing smell reflects the amazing food. I had the Butter Chicken and rice. 10 out of 10! The chicken was perfectly tender and the sauce is out of this world. I ordered the garlic naan bread as well. I highly recommend it! Lastly, I had the hot chai tea. Do try all three of these things when you eat here.
The atmosphere is calm and quiet. Just the way I like it. :) My husband I were greeted right as we walked through the door and we had some great conversation with the owner. This is a very friendly, very authentic restaurant. Being a fan of Indian food means I have eaten at many, many restaurants. This place is in my top 2 favorite Indian restaurants. From California, to the Midwest, to Arizona and Vegas, I’ve tried many places! You won’t regret eating here.

Noah S. doesn’t know his ass from a hole in the ground. We’re sitting here dumbfounded that we waited so long to come here. The head chef is very friendly and helpful with the menu, and he seems to be proud of the food he makes from scratch (rightfully so!) Definitely coming back!

We tried this place for the first time recently and loved it. My wife had the vegetable Korma and I had butter chicken. Both were fantastic. The owner is a very nice man, and we enjoyed chatting with him while we waited. He even gave us a complimentary cup of hot Indian Chai Tea, that was delicious.
Highly recommend this place! We will be back… regularly!

Very surprised at the 4 stars ratings! I love Indian food, I’m actually quite obsessed with them but this damn place has got to be the worst Indian restaurant Ive ever visited. Usually you cannot go wrong with Indian food, even with the tv dinners. My sister and I ordered Chicken Korma and Lamb Vindaloo this past Friday and that shit came out looking exactly identical, same sauce and everything. The owner was trying to fool me but unbeknownst to him, I know my Indian food homie. but here’s the worst part. We arrived around 3pm, sat down and ordered our food. a few minutes later, both of our food came out together which was quicker than a muthafucka. Odd, i said to myself, the older gentlemen was the only worker there and he was on the phone all day, so who made the food?.. i took a bite, it was bland but was extremely hot temperature wise, the sauces were even boiling. we tried it again, food were intolerable and unbearable; it tasted off as it were prepackaged or frozen, totally unacceptable. Then it hit me.
As my sister and i were waiting for our food, the phone rang, he answered, went to the back and i heard 3 beeping sound, a closed door and another beep. MICROWAVE…Roughly 6 minutes went by, heard more rapid beeps indicating that the food were ready., heard a stir, the sound of a spoon mixing and stirring, and there you have it, my entrees were brought to the table. After a few bites, i could no longer tolerate the «off» taste. I called out to the owner who was in the back smoking a cigarette (which the place now reeks of smokes) and i confronted him. He insisted that there were no microwave in his establishment whatsoever and that each sauce were different and made from scratch. I explain my dissatisfaction of my experience and that I will pay for the food but will leave it full on the table. He insisted that my money was not needed so we left some tips on the table and exited. Only once in my lifetime have I ever had to leave a restaurant in which the food were just too intolerable and unacceptable (well, make it twice now).Usually, i would just take it as a loss and pack it to-​go but this establishment needed some serious overhaul. I will never consider dining here again… I took one for the team so that you don’t have to.