How nice to have an Indian grocery and food court in Carmel. I always feel welcome in an Indian joint, because people think I'm Indian (I'm not). But I gather that Desi District cares not for all that mess: everyone is welcome. This is a neat spot to grab a hot lunch or stock up on food of the Indian persuasion, like the frozen packages of naan I scored. Initially, I stopped in because I needed a tomato. They have lots of tomatoes here, plus other fresh produce, like potatoes, garlic, ginger, peanuts in the shell, and other things. They also have aisles of packaged food, such as cookies, tea, gelatin (?!? Yeah, they have lots of gelatin here), noodles, spices, seeds, curry, snacks, and lots of other things. Along with the frozen naan, I also got some ice cream treats for my kids. I picked the most obscure flavors (obscure for our American gringo palates), and we ended up loving all of the Indian ice cream flavors we tasted. There's a food court here with lots of seating. I didn't eat any of the hot food this time, but I saw some samosas that looked dang delicious, so I'll have to be back to try them. The people who work here are exceedingly friendly and kind. The person ringing up my purchases called me madam, which was adorable, because who even says madam anymore? read more

Desi District is the hot new Indian Eatery and Grocery in Carmel. We went for lunch today and even picked up a few groceries. The eatery is like a food court. There is a bunch of seating with large tables that accommodate groups and smaller tables. The dining area is bright and airy with interesting graffiti on the walls. You order and pay in the back and wait for your food to come out. The menu offers a bunch of traditional Indian options such as curries, tandoor, mandi and much more. There is a chai station, bakery and ice cream stand as well. There's so much to choose from. We ordered the lunch special Veg Thali, which is a plate containing a mix of little dishes, so you can taste everything. For some reason they were out of rice, which was the main ingredient on the plate so they gave us the option of additional naan, which was fine. We liked all the dishes on the Thali. I especially enjoyed the Paneer dish. The curries were warm and delicious. There was a very spicy hot spread that we loved. I'd get Thali again. We also ordered some garlic naan. The naan seemed to be frozen as the bread was hot on the outside but cold on the inside. We were disappointed by the garlic naan. But the regular naan that came with our Thali was good. We also ordered samosas which were flavorful and filling. An order comes with some 3 Samosas and a sweet dipping sauce. Very good. They must be a little short staffed. Food came out over the course of 10-30 minutes. We purchased a few things from the grocery store prices are a bit steep, but food looks fresh. Parking is adequate in the private lot. Restrooms are available. I'd come back. I love Indian food. read more

I went there with my daughter for lunch and was slightly disappointed. There wasn't a good amount of choices and some of it was dry. We did get some potatoes samosa and they good. read more

Desi District - Indian Near Me - Carmel, Indiana

We had high expectations on this spot after watching it pop up on my for you page on social media. First off the art work was absolutely adorable! It gets you excited to come in. The garam jalebiya drew me in. We came to try them in celebration for my birthday. Unfortunately, only thing I would come back for is the Irani Chai. We ordered irani chai, mango lassi, mysore masala dosa, jalebi and the chole bhature. The bhatura was crispy - this is not the texture of a bhatura. It should be soft. The chole we enjoyed. The dosa I was disappointed in. The only thing warm was the potato filling and the sambhar. The dosa layer was ice cold and fried in an oil that gave an unpleasant after taste. The jalebiya had the same unpleasant after taste. They were sour. We are not sure if we showed up on a bad day but service and product quality should be consistent. I would hesitate to recommend others in the area to come here for the food. We did share this feedback with the cashier as well. read more

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What I Ordered - chicken 65 (spicy); chicken tandoori momos (spicy); order of samosas. Samosa - they were great, crispy and the filling was a mix of potato carrot and peas. Lots of seasoning, there was a lot of flavor. Sometimes samosas can be bland and starchy but these were really nicely seasoned inside. Momos - the filling was pretty good but what got me was the spice paste they were dressed in. Lots of herbs and green chili and a strong spice mix. Really tasty dish. (picture.) Chicken 65 Biryani - marinated chicken - lots of red chili, coriander, curry leaves, bay leaf, cardamom pods, ginger, cumin. Really tasty. Chicken is salty, pungent, spicy and has a slight sour tang to it. I ordered it spicy as well - im a big fan of heat - I'd put this at a 7/10. Definitely spicy but my face isnt sweating. Great flavors, well prepared - counter help was great explaining. Portions are large, worth the cost in size and quality. This isn't a toned down version of Indian food - don't be intimidated if you're new to the food, get in there and try some. Will definitely be back. read more

Desi District - Tandoori Chicken Momos (10pcs) - Indian Near Me - Carmel, Indiana

Excellent choice for lunch and a huge variety of dishes in the menu. Plus attached to a small but very well stocked market. The lunch special thali plate can be ordered either vegetarian or non. The spice level is medium. I look forward to trying their house made dosas. There is plenty of seating inside. Friendly service-- just place order at the counter and pick it up when it's ready. read more

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During our work trip to Carmel for 2 weeks, we ate here multiple times. This place is awesome! It has a food court setting for eatery and is very spacious and well planned. The service is great and the decor is nice too! We have tried paneer burger, paneer butter masala, dal makhani, rumali roti, garlic naan, pastries, tres leches rabdi, masala chai, mango lassi, Bombay sandwich and much more. Everything except Bombay sandwich was amazing and highly recommended. The Bombay sandwich is what makes the review 4 stars instead of 5, it was really really bad. The chai is the highlight and should not be missed. This is the best Indian chai I have had at a restaurant in US! Overall - great spot for Indian food cravings, pricing is right and the portion sizes are pretty good. Highly recommend. read more

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Horrible in every way. Slow motion, dirty. No surprise it shut down. Short lived for good reason. read more

Great place to get authentic Indian food. The menu is huge, as is the norm for authentic Indian restaurants. There is also a connected grocery. read more

Desi District - Indian Near Me - Carmel, Indiana

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Loved the service...food was good too!! Must try! We are glad that they also have a store for the groceries.. read more

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We had this catered into my school for Diwali and every single thing I tried was AMAZING. I've been dreaming about this food. I can't wait to go to the actual store and explore what else they have! read more

I noticed the Desi District as I was running errands in Carmel, and wanted to stop by to check it out. This was the old Vine and Table wine shop location so I wanted to see what they did to the shop. This is an Indian supermarket with an Indian restaurant built into the supermarket. The layout is decent with a separate section for meat. They have a separate room for produce, fruit, and vegetables, which is nice, and they look very fresh. They really did not have anything I wanted, but I did get some lemons and a batch of mint leaves. The staff does not appear to be present and available when you need them, because I had to grab someone to help me check out. For what it is, Desi District is a nice and quaint Indian supermarket. The selection of products is Ok, and the price range appears to be accurate for the supermarket. However, do not expect quality customer service, because I did not get that while I was browsing the shop. I do not know if Desi District will last long in Carmel given what I witnessed, but I hope they are successful. It is just not my particular taste. read more

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the people here were really nice but the paneer tikka masala didn't have that much actual paneer in it. also the paneer was weirdly chewy. the naan was delish though read more

Desi District - Paneer Tikka Masala, Mango lassi, Garlic Naan - Indian Near Me - Carmel, Indiana

Casual vibe. Reasonably priced.Good service. I ordered Rumali roti, chicken malai kabab and mutton Chettinadu. They were pretty good. Loved the sauce of the Chettinadu. It was good to dunk a piece of rumali roti on the sauce. We also ordered onion samosas, dosas, medu wada and Chilli chicken They were decent. We got a sweet lassi that was delicious and Cheekoo milkshake. Service was nice. Restrooms were clean. I got freshly made jalebis. They were crisp on the outside and juicy inside. Perfection. No pics of the food as we ate it as soon as it reached the table. read more

Desi District - Lassi and Chikoo milkshake - Indian Near Me - Carmel, Indiana

This is a new casual restaurant (food court vibes) with an attached grocery. I am half Indian and had my Indian mother with me. Even with her, we were very lost with the menu! Lots of South Indian options which we weren't familiar with. The menu is extensive and doesn't have descriptions. I really hope they add this later even if it's just online bc it was very hard to order. You order at the counter and they bring your food to you. We ordered a lot and didn't receive everything we ordered. The food trickles to your table as it's done. There as a bit of a language barrier when we tried to explain about the missing food. Hopefully this gets sorted out w time. The food we had was all delicious. South Indian food tends to be spicier than other regions IMO (Bawarchi is the same way). So order with that in mind. Even the mild was super hot. Everything we had was delicious. Highlights were the idylli, dosa, and tandoori chicken. The mango lassi and salt lassi were delicious. We will definitely go back but I'll have to do some major googling ahead of time. Tips: They didn't have any diet soda options (or maybe just out) so if you are low sugar and like a soda, fyi. Bring your own water bottle. They have small styrofoam cups and the food is spicy! I had to refill A LOT. Keep your receipt so you can track your food. read more

I got the buttered chicken and chicken korma. The flavor was good but the mild spice level was pretty intense. Service was good and quick. read more

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Placed an online order for yellow curry and was sent a confirmation and charged. On the way to pick up the food, I got a call from Desi District saying that they were out of Curry, and they would not be issuing a refund. I asked if there was any way they could cancel the order and they said no. We are now having to dispute this order with our Credit Card because they did not provide our food, but kept our money. Very disappointing that they allowed us to order items that they did not have and then unapologetically refused us a refund. read more

I ordered online and had never been there before. It passed the first test of all ethnic restaurants by having most of the customers be of the ethnicity. It has a grocery on one side and an informal eating area on the other. You order at a counter. When I got there they said it would be another five minutes and then they came to where I was sitting and said one of the dishes I'd ordered was unavailable and we agreed to a substitution, I intentionally ordered too much food so we could sample multiple dishes. Three dishes were a Dosa, Dal (lentils), and Nan (bread). All were good. A mutton dish was the substitute. It was tasty although maybe a touch salty. I have no way of judging whether the mutton dish they ran out of would have been better. This one had tender meat attached to small bones. The final dish was a spicy shrimp entree. The flavor was excellent but the shrimp were over cooked; perhaps this was because we had to wait for the change in our order but next time I'll order the same dish but with chicken. One final suggestion that I'd make would be a more descriptive menu for non-Indian patrons. The online menu is lengthy and in the store the items were listed on a long sign over the counter. Before ordering I tried to look up recipes online to see what the various dishes were going to be like. It would have been very helpful if the menu contained short descriptions of each item. Perhaps though this is beyond the local place's control as the website shows locations in other states. read more

The food is acceptable, but the advertising is misleading--it portrays the place as some sort of food court, which it is not. It's merely an eatery wedged into an Indian grocery store. If you're expecting a desi fast food experience, you're going to be disappointed. On a positive note, if you're looking for something quick and desi, the food is satisfactory. The establishment itself is clean, with a well-maintained cooking area and a large menu to choose from. Just remember, this is not a food court, it's not a desi fast food joint, and it certainly isn't a proper desi restaurant. Manage your expectations accordingly. read more

We were served cold food. It took 30 minutes to arrive, so we assumed it was being freshly prepared -- but when we finally got it, it tasted like it had been sitting out since the morning. read more

Bad service you have to wait for little order for half an hour or more you have to keep reminding them about what you order they should need to improve their services. read more

i'm so sorry but i have had the chicken tikka masala twice and it really is not good. the rice is just regular white rice and the garlic naan isn't good either. very disappointing! read more

Staff is really nice, but we were disappointed with the looks and the taste of our food, personally as a Punjabi this is not what I'm looking for. read more

I have tried eating here multiple times. Food has disappointing overall. Most of their dishes are extremely spicy and have the same base gravy. The service is not good either with people being rude and dismissive. Won't be going there anymore. read more

Some of the best Indian food in the area. Chicken chettinad is amazing. Lunch plate is good and great value, always have extra food to take home. read more

Wow! Amazing food. Incredible flavor. The lovely women at the register helped me with suggestions. I ordered chicken Kebab and Jalepeno chicken. They provide some complimentary rice. The restaurant has an amazing grocery store and other services available. Don't forget a pistachio or other great pastry for dessert. The food was so delicious I came back the next day before leaving town. read more

Raita was priced for more than $4 dollars but quantity was too small just like a small cup of chutney.

Desi District has great service and really quality food. Give it a try. Next to the restaurant is a full grocery store!