I love this restaurant! Any restaurant that takes the time to label the vegan items on their menu is on my good side for sure. Their samosas and Aloo Gobi are the reason I go back. I once went three times in one week, it's hands down one of my favorite restaurants in Austin...and I am picky. I have never been for lunch and I know that is where they lose some fans but dinner has never failed me. read more

All I can think about when I think of clay pit is Yum! This is one of my top choices in Austin. I have never been disappointed in a meal at the Clay Pit. The atmosphere is great. The building itself has a very historic look and you get that type of feeling as you walk in. It varies as to how crowded it is. Sometimes I have had to wait other times walk right in, they do take reservations which is great. They have a pretty great happy hour, which is fifty percent off all appetizers. I highly recommend the mussels. They come in a delicious red wine curry sauce. It is not super spicy and has a wonderful sauce that requires plenty of naan bread to soak up the tastiness. Clay Pit is also home of my favorite drink in town the infused vodka martini. Warning: this drink does pack a little bit of a punch. As far as the main dishes I haven't had a poor one yet. Their tikka masala sauce is my favorite in town and I have tried it in many places throughout Austin. Also notable favorites are the Saag and the Korma sauces. Their buffet lunch is a great value and can give you an opportunity to taste many dishes at once. read more

After I wrote this review, the manager contacted me to apologize and offer a refund. I think that is respectable. They do value customer service, even though my experience with their service was poor. Let me also say their bar staff was very friendly. *************************************************************************** This used to be my favorite restaurant in Austin, so I was excited to take my family there tonight for my birthday dinner. I was extremely embarassed and disappointed at the poor service we received, particularly from the snotty hostess up front. Unfortunately I did not make a reservation, and my family arrived before I did. Fair enough, we had to wait. However, from the start the hostess gave us attitude as if she were the hostess for the best five star restaurant in New York. She was unfriendly and abrupt. Our waiter was not much better, and gave a sarcastic retort when my sister inquired about chutney. The food is delicious, but if I want to be insulted by staff I will go to Dick's Last Resort. read more

We have eaten Indian food in San Francisco, Rome, and San Diego. Our mission is to infuse spice and flavor into our lives. The perfect Indian food will envelop our tongues in flavor and make us mop our brows with the heat. This restaurant did neither. After The Clay Pit, we have agreed to walk out of any Indian restaurant without any Indians and that looks trendy. We now know! But it wasn't all bad. We ordered the Samosa Chaat (consider it a single samosa covered in chickpeas), Chicken Pakoras (which I swear aren't supposed to come out as little Indian chicken nuggets), and lamb vindaloo - my bride wanted a spicy meal without meat bones, so goat was out tonight! The Samosa Chaat was excellently executed, but poorly presented - it wasn't warm throughout. The chicken pakoras were hardly a step above fast-food chicken nuggets. The lamb vindaloo saved this review from something below three stars. The flavor was mostly missing - they needed to add salt. The spice - we ordered (as always) their top spice level - was perfect. It could have been spicier, but considering how vanilla the rest of this place was, we were impressed with the heat. The server (a very helpful Tom) brought us spice paste unprompted to make our samosa chaat more spicy too. The rice was well done - we love our cumin seeds! In short, what the Clay Pit did was encourage me to encourage my bride to learn how to make vindaloo at home so we can never be disappointed again. One note: I'm always impressed when an Indian place has the little bowl of colored spice seeds on the way out. This place did, which also helped earn the three stars (though I forgot to get some on the way out!!!) + spice + service +/- flavor - not well-heated food - chicken nuggets read more

Our waiter was awesome. He was very helpful in helping us to understand the menu and select something we would enjoy. Gave me a sample of a special vodka they have and helped me to choose a nice drink as well. He checked on us regularly but not too regularly. The naan was awesome. We would go again for sure. read more

Clay Pit - Creme brulee and coffee - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

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This place is amazing. I would tell you about all the awesome stuff you should eat, but I have no idea what it's called. I can barely tell the server what I want. "I'll have the... shdu... ku... bal.. sirle... " All you need to know that this is the best indian food in town. Prices are pretty much average for a place like this... 9-15 per plate. It's never overly full if you go early, about 5-6pm, anytime after 7 you're probably going to be waiting, do yourself a favor and get reservations, open table is a good place to start. read more

This is my favorite Indian restaurant in town. I love sitting at the bar and talking to my friend with the dreads. Sorry I forgot his name. I have never had anything I didn't like here. The environment is really nice for a date night. Beautiful old building which is dimly lit with lots of character. This place is stellar! I love the infused vodka with tones of ginger, pepper and mango. It is tasty and spicy. I especially like it with club soda and ice. It's inspired me to make some infused vodkas and rums at home! I love the coconut curry shrimp and the mussels are so good my 13 year old will eat them. The naan melts in your mouth and the service is always impeccable. This restaurant has beautiful private rooms for a big party. Make sure to reserve one for your next event. You will not be disappointed! read more

I've been here a couple of times for dinner, and this place is really great! The Samosas are very delicious, both chicken and vegetable. The chutneys that come with it, are also very good. I've tried a few dishes, and they've all been on point! The Boti Kabob is my favorite. The Vindaloo is also very good. Also, the Goat Saag was very well prepared. All the dishes were pretty spicy, not in a bad way. I felt the spices really brought out flavors rather than overpowered the taste. The Basmati rice is always good, and the Naan fresh. I also recommend the Mango Margarita. I'm not a huge fan of mangos, but I decided to try it and was not disappointed. My boyfriend and I have decided to stop by Austin every once and while just to have dinner here on occasion. The ambiance is perfect for a date night. read more

I like writing reviews as I eat. For starters, the service is a disappointment. The server never came to check up on us and suggested that we were slow at ordering (we were waiting for him the whole time). I have yet to receive a refill on my soda and it has been almost thirty minutes. My food also has yet to come out. Update: the food came shortly after my last comment and I was also given a refill. Regardless service is mediocre at best, and the food was alright. read more

This place is GREAT! I've been to a few indian places before but this felt very authentic. Although it was listed as a "date" place, the tables arent very spaced apart so its not as private as we like but the service and food makes up for it. Our waitress was very helpful in recommending what sides could go best with certain dishes (recommended GARLIC/BASIL NAAN WITH CURRY MUSSELS) and polite and attentive to everything we asked her for, giving no attitude and serving with a smile, from filling our water, to getting our bill quickly when requested, and even taking a couple picture for me and my girlfriend when requested. My only qualm with our waitress is that when we asked for a to-go cup for the rest of the curry sauce (because it was so good, I just can't leave a single drop behind), she poured the sauce herself but didn't scrape off the sides of the bowl WHICH IS PROFESSIONAL but...I want as much o that sauce as I can get because it is to die for... For our entree we had the MALAI KEBOB and we loved the tikki masala it came with. My girlfriend and I split both the appetizer and the entre with was enough for us both. The grilled onions along with the masala on the side complimented the juicy chicken! Slightly loud atmosphere, dont need a reservation, pricey for a date for college students esp. if you're doing more than just dinner for the night. read more

This place is so good!! We enjoyed everything we ordered: Chicken tikka masala, kale salad, wings, lamb vindaloo, garlic naan, mussels masala and samosas. read more

Oh my goodness the food is delicious. I took my friend to try Indian food for the first time in 30+ years and she loved it. The building is beautiful inside too. read more

I'm obsessed with the curried mussels here. Soooo yummy!! It's technically an appetizer but I can eat it as a meal with a side of rice. I recommend! read more

Absolutely first class. Myself and a friend, both originally from England miss Indian food as it is everywhere over there and it's very hard to find decent stuff in the US. We went here on Grand Prix weekend and the service was fantastic from Rod. The naan bread is exceptional as is the coriander calamari. We left with very full and satisfied stomachs! read more

Went to dinner last night. Recommend having a reservation. Service was slow. I think our server was new. She made mistakes. Took forever for food. Had dirty water glasses. Food was wrong. Ordered chicken vindaloo (chicken & potato spicy) had no potato's. Waitress said it was correct tho. She asked manger. He confirmed it was incorrect. He nicely took it off the bill & gave us a free desert with out any prompting. I was impressed by his niceness. My wife had a vegetarian dish which she said was delicious. She absolutely loved her meal. Mine was ehh wasn't the typical vindaloo no taste & was not chicken breast meat as explained. read more

The first time I went to this place a few years ago, we were served raw naan bread, the service was lacking and the other food wasn't anything to write home about. A friend was celebrating a birthday last eve and wanted to go. There was 6 of us in the group. We lucked out and had the best server, without her I doubt the experience would have been so good. The server knew her stuff and had great reccomendations. They have unleavened bread (roti)! This was very exciting for me, as I am allergic to yeast used to make most breads, including naan. We ordered many dishes. The calamari, mussels and batata cham were great starters! I'd stick to the vegetarian/vegan dishes, as the meat dishes was the only thing left on our table at the end of dinner. read more

While visiting my mom and her new husband, we decided to go out to eat in Downtown Austin, a fairly long haul from her home. Since both of them are always full of good ideas, they suggested going out to an upscale Indian restaurant near the UT campus. I had to admit, I was really excited because I love Indian food and my hometown of Chicago is one of the best places to sample it outside of the great country itself. However, I was a little apprehensive because I thought "I am in Texas, do you think they really know how to prepare Indian food here?" I was thinking about a related horror I read in the papers when I guy asked for Spaghetti in a small Midwestern town and received egg noodles and ketchup, and I wondered what my result would be. All of my fears were laid to rest when we arrived in the early evening on Friday. (NOTE: Reservations work wonders and are highly recommended) The restaurant is in an older stone building on Guadalupe Street, a few blocks from a run-down college section of town. We parked up the street a little ways, and I saw two syringes on the sidewalk, but that is neither here nor there. When we arrived, I was surprised to see how modern and swish the bar and dining area were. We had drinks before dinner, I drained 2 G and T's while my Mom and stepdad (?) looked at me as if I was going to be drunk for dinner. Little do they know I can drink anyone under the table. By now, I was getting a tad peckish, and the waitress arrived promptly, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that she was Indian (I was expecting to see a Texan in a cowboy hat, that's how much of a rube I was) and very friendly. She asked if we had ever been here before and began going down the list of what was good, etc. I saw that they had Tandoori Bites (Chicken cooked in a tandoor, subtly spiced and served with soft, warm naan) and we decided that this would be a great appetizer. My only complaint is that we did not get enough naan! I know that we were about to eat and it probably would have filled us up more, but I have to say that the naan I had there was probably the best I have had- EVER. It had a tasty, fluffy texture and I would have ordered just naan and Channa Masala if they had it on the menu... I ordered the Goat Curry, "Desi Hot". This is the "super hot" option they have for spices, as I love spicy food. However, I was not expecting how much kick it had, and the sweat began to form on my forehead as I was eating. My mom and her husband looked at me as if I was a major lightweight, which can't be too correct because they know I eat this stuff all the time. However, my mom's time in Texas has raised her capsaicin tolerance to obscenely high levels- sampling my dish, they didn't see what the big deal was. The meat was incredibly tender, served in a tomato sauce that was purely divine, I sensed Coriander, curry, Tamarind and something else I just couldn't put my finger on. I ended up taking some of it home as I was getting full, and did I mentioned it was spicy? My mom had the Tandoori Chicken, and I believe her husband had the Vindaloo, a chicken-based specialty from Goa state. The scent of the garlic was really making me wished I had ordered both! I'd eat one, and take the leftovers home :) As far as the setting is concerned, the seating is at small, circular "tapas" style table with raised stools, with a lot of modern art on the walls, framed by dark wood cross beams and thoughtfully-placed track lighting. The service was prompt and thoughtful, and the meal was a delight. I can't wait to go back, and when I do, I am going to ask for a box of naan to go- you never know when you will get up at 3:00am and want something tasty to eat! 2 thumbs up! Highly recommended! read more

Clay Pit is ideally located, near the Blanton, UT and not far from downtown. We easily found parking on a Saturday night after going to the Blanton. I had the best dirty martini at the bar along with a pakora appetizer that was delectably smothered in chana dal. The bartender was extremely professional and attentive. The naan was perfectly baked and had an aroma that was addictive. My vegetable tandoori grill was cooked and seasoned well. My date had the goat which was excellent. Our check (not including the bar food) was $39, which was extremely fair considering the beautiful surroundings in the Bertram building. The place was hopping on a Saturday night but you would expect this for a place in a nice venue and good food. Make reservations if you don't want to hang out in the bar for awhile. read more

Lunch Buffet. Best food, best deal, best fruit. About $11 with tip... all you can eat - always good. read more

The menu on the site does not match what they have Wasted my time ordering only to hear back much later that they are out of those items. Sucks! read more

The service sucks, my husband and I had a waitress that was so rude, we told the manager that we wanted to be moved to another table, and that the waitress was so rude, he really didn't care one bit. First time there, we went because of so many positive reviews. Are these people crazy and stupid? Why are they writing all the positive reviews. Truly awful service, We where very disappointed with the food. Very bland curry. This place is awful and disgusting the staff and management actually don't care about their customers, wait staff did not explain the menu and appeared to be unhappy to be there. We complained to the manager as stated, our complaint fell on death ears. There was no formal apology, no attempt to make it right No concern that they lost a customer for life. I'll never go back to this awful place even if the food was FREE!! I really don't understand the positive reviews. We have never been treated so poorly in a restaurant in our lives. Please stay away from this place, there are much better Indian restaurants in Austin serving far more superior food and providing top notch customer service!! Why put up with simplicity and rudeness, I suggest you spend your money elsewhere. We will NEVER go back a waste of $146.00 !! read more

I was there last Saturday Food quality was mediocre and service was deplorable. My waiter disappeared for a while and I have to get up several time and asked other waiters to assist me. Manger listened to my concerned but not very emphatic. Overall poor service read more

This review is not for the food but for Yelp and Clay Pit. We made a reservation for last night and received a confirmation that our table is booked. We reached on time but found out that there was an issue with the reservation system from Yelp and they had not received any bookings at their end. clay pit refused to accept the reservation. So lesson learnt here is to call and reconfirm with the restaurant even though you have a confirmed reservation. read more

Our first experience with the Clay Pit was via Uber Eats in the middle of an insanely busy work day. What was supposed to be a 25-minute order turned into more than an hour. We called the restaurant to check on the order, thinking maybe the Uber Eats app didn't properly put our order through. The manager took our call and apologized as they had been hit with a flood of take-out orders and were working hard to get caught up. We were given a restaurant credit as compensation for the extended wait time. The food was delicious! We tried the Tikka Masala and the Coconut Curry and each dish was perfect. Because we enjoyed the food so much, we decided to visit the actual location and cash in on our credit. The staff was incredibly kind and very accommodating. The food was even better the second time around, and this time we tried (again) the Tikka Masala, the Mirch Masala, and a side of Naan. We met the manager on shift that night and he was very friendly and we shared some great conversations with him. The location was awesome. We were there right before they closed, so it was not busy at all. But the manager recommended making reservations as they consistently have 30-minute wait times, a testament to how great this place is! read more

Clay Pit has a wonderful lunch buffet. Although there are somewhat limited options for buffet (2 or 3 dishes, soup, salad, dessert) it's plenty because everything is delicious! There were vegetarian options as well as meat. It's full service, but still quick enough for a normal lunch because obviously the food already ready. Highly recommend their affordable and delicious lunch buffet. Clay pit has a pretty good happy hour. This place is also part of the austin go local card discount program. read more

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Austin! Huge thank you to Bali who always makes our experience so delightful! Especially for my sporadic birthday drop in! The food is delectable, and the best in Austin BY FAR. It is always consistent and the flavors amazing. You have got to try the mango margarita! The staff knows how to treat their guest and is always on point! Not to mention this historic location has some of the most amazing architecture and design... however I might be a bit bias. ;) read more

Clay Pit - Indian Near Me - Austin, Texas

Decades of being the best Indian food in Austin. Great atmosphere. We go at leadt every other month and when we have visitors.

I love this place. Every time I come here, the service is wonderful and the food fantastic. Tonight I came in with a party of 11 friends as we had a celebratory dinner. Patrick was our waiter and served us patiently and wonderfully. The manager was super friendly and honored a discount for our table and wished us a fantastic dinner. I couldn't be happier with our experience and always know when I want an exceptional dinner experience to come to Clay Pit. read more

Coming from an indian, the chicken tikka masala is subpar. A bit sour and Lacks the kick it needs. The samosa chaat was pretty good tho. And who doesn't toss in the onion plate these days with your food without charge. Killed a tradition. Times have changed. read more

Word of warning, this is a mixed review. The food is 5 stars. definitely worth going. and eating. Naan is a must (three cheese), and then the Korna curry was the best out of the four we ordered. also the atmosphere of the place is great- we saw so many people on dates !!! It's actually huge inside, great for large parties or fams. However, it took a veeeeerrrrryyy loonnngggg time for us to get our food. I've heard this from other reviews. And we made a reservation. The prices are fairly high but it's Zagat rated yatta yatta so they know they're all that. But the wait time + prices diminished the greatness of the food we were tasting. I had a gift card which saved the day and made everyone enjoy the meal to it's full capacity. I recommend getting people gift cards to here. read more

Great service! Great food ! Yummy desserts! Beautiful decor.Will visit again.The gulag jamun was to die for.

My family really enjoyed this restaurant! The food is amazing, even if a bit rich (creamy, buttery and sweet). One downfall is that they're constantly super busy during dinner hours, but you can grab a drink from the bar and sit in the front lounge area while waiting for a table. Be prepared to feel full for a day and a half when you eat here, but it's worth it! read more

Sat at the bar and just had a few appetizers but wow, were they great. Fantastic, unique atmosphere, very good service. I had the garlic and basil naan, the vegetable pakora, and the spicy lamb kabob. Incredible value, great taste on all, but the lamb was out of this world good. Best lamb I've ever had in any preparation. The meat was tender, very flavorful, and the onions, garlic, and peppers were delicious, as well. Can't wait to go back and order off the menu or try the lunch buffet. read more

The portion size for the appetizers during happy hour is incredible, not to mention the flavors are very unique and tasty. They also have infused vodka, which taste amazing. read more

I'm typically the most positive person and I believe in people and customer service and I've always loved Clay Pit, until tonight. I have a masters in this field and run an association where we do many high end events, so my business IS customer service. I even teach the stuff on a collegiate level. With that said, our server was super sweet and food great as normal. But, they had credit card processing issues...asked us to patiently wait while they fixed it. Cool, so I ask for a comped drink while we waited and they wouldn't do it. Gave us a free appetizer coupon. We waited around 10-15 minutes while they resolved it, and I'm shocked they wouldn't comp two drinks for the inconvenience. I know the profit margins on liquor and their issues weren't our fault so comping two drinks seems like a sensible request to keep the customer happy. Oh well. I know this business and I guess repeat business isn't a priority to them. We even returned the comped appetizer card. read more

I feel really bad about giving these guys 3 stars as their food is tasty, their service is great and the ambience, delightful. However, when I say the food is tasty, I must add that they do not serve truly authentic Indian food.. The spice level is definitely toned down and some dishes taste slightly sweet.. In addition, the non veg dishes have far too little meat in them for the price you pay.. Note, everything above is in reference to their ala carte Their buffet is good value for money but I think Bombay Bistro (the South location) and Asiana give them a run for their money read more

Great food and very spacious for meetings or private events. Desi food tasted very authentic and not too spicy!

Tonight was 1. the second time I've eaten Indian food, ever, and 2. the first time I've ordered Indian food of my own volition! A nasty sinus infection left me feeling pretty pathetic so I decided to indulge myself and use the Favor/Clay Pit $1 delivery deal. I did the whole "ordered-what-my-friend-got-that-one-time-and-i-think-i-liked-it" thing and ended up with coconut curry w/ chicken and garlic naan. The naan was super freakin tasty - way better than garaj mahal's and I think it comes with more too. At first the portions didn't look big, but just do what I did and eat the entire order of naan first. You'll barely put a dent in the rice ;) I actually enjoyed the naan dipped in the curry more than I enjoyed the $14 meat that came in the dish, and now I'm wondering where I can sign up for just bread and sauce. Only gripe is that I ordered it medium-spicy (need to clear these sinuses, ya feel) and I didn't taste a bit of spice! Granted, I imagine coconut curry is sweeter than most, but I still expected some more flavor of the heated variety. Oh, and I actually have leftovers. Probably my own faux pas of ordering Indian takeout for one. I can't vouch for how good it'll be tomorrow but pretending it'll stretch into 2 meals eased the pain of the ~$25 bill ($14 curry, $3 naan, $1.75 processing fee, $1 delivery fee, $20% tip) *edit - I'm actually dropping this down to 3 stars. Fulfilling a sick day craving should lead to almost-gross pride...and this just left me with regret for my wallet! Not worth the moneys, in my opinion. read more

Unique and delicious cocktails - especially laal gulal. Biryani was very different. If you are looking for a traditional biryani, you're at wrong place. Excellent interior and service. read more

The food is out of this world delicious. Perfectly cut, seasoned, prepared and presented. The atmosphere is Republic limestone meets Delhi. A must. read more