4.2* (out of 5) Food: 4* Atmosphere: 3* Value: 5* Service: 4* Would I go back / Recommend?: 5* (Definitely) Total check/person: $24 07/20/2025 We stopped here just after moving to Urbandale over 4 years ago with our son and daughter in law along with our parish Priest (who is an Indian native) and just took the opportunity to return. We enjoyed it during both stops and would definitely go back. Tonight my wife opted for the Chili Garlic Chicken (see picture) and I chose the Chicken Lababdar (see picture) along with an order of Garlic Naan. As usual, we shared tastes of each dish and while both were very good, the Chili Garlic Chicken definitely had a more flavor and a bit of a spicy 'kick'. This is a solid Indian restaurant near old town Waukee with very friendly service. If you found this review helpful, please show your appreciation with a Like or a Follow. Photos copyright: happyhourdesmoines.com & thefoodanddrinkguy.com read more

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First off, it's a family restaurant, and I'm pretty sure the daughter is the one serving the food. She's sweet, and pleasant, and asks you follow up questions if you need anything. So that's a positive for sure. As for the food, I got the cholle saag and it was quite good. It could've had more garbanzo beans, but I'm not gonna quibble. They do serve alcohol, which is a huge plus nowadays with so many Indian food restaurants not serving it. I got a bottle of Flying Horse and it was wonderfully cold. I did not have any of the other food so I can't say what it tasted like, but I would imagine it's fairly good. Sadly, like most Indian restaurants these days, the naan was almost certainly packaged and warmed up in a microwave. Not even close to authentic naan. The daughter claimed it was made in house, but I don't think so. All in all, it's a nice restaurant with nice tables and warm atmosphere to have an Indian meal. Worth coming to. read more

Indian Tadka - Cholle saag, plain naan, Flying Horse beer - Indian Near Me - Waukee, Iowa

Food was delicious. I think the food could have been spicier but it was still good. The people working there was also attentive and make sure we are taken care of. Could had more rice but still good none the less read more

Amazing food and very helpful staff. My favorite Indian food restaurant in the whole Des Moines area.

Probably the best Indian food I've had in the Des Moines area. Very tasty, lots of classic dishes delivered in a high quality way. Good for both eat in and take out. read more

Decided to try this Indian restaurant, It is located in a little strip kind of hidden but not really since it's a very busy road. Plenty of parking. Just from observation it's family owned and operated. we got Delhi chaat, chicken tikka masala with garlic naan, plain naan, paneer makhni, mango lassi and the total came out to be around $57. Not mad. It was decent however I felt like the dishes had an over powering taste of cardamom. The lady up front was super nice and friendly. Delhi chaat was a bit of disappointed because it became soggy by the time we got home. Just a friendly advice to fellow yelpers if you decide to get the chaat try to enjoy it right away. Overall good experience. read more

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Indian Tadka in Waukee was sooooo delicious tonight! We've been stuck on other Indian places around town, but this one so close to home was an absolute hit. We'll be frequenting this place! Pictures have item names. Chicken Lababdar was recommended to us by the server, and it was great. Level 4 spice wasn't super spicy but good spicy. Chili shrimp was level 3 and it had great flavor. Wasn't what I was expecting but wasn't disappointed by the flavors in this dish. Aloo Gobi (cauliflower) had excellent flavor and wasn't over cooked like some Gobi dishes end up being. Malai Kofta was the biggest surprise for us, in a good way. It's a big cheese dumpling(?) then covered in sauce, but the cheese doesn't melt into the sauce and holds its dumpling form. Excellent option for vegetarians! Samosas were very good. Butter naan was fire, service great. We already can't wait to go back. Don't snooze in this place, their food is solid. read more

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I am obsessed with the chicken curry! It's extremely flavorful and I get a 3 for the spice level which I feel adds a kick but is not too spicy! The garlic naan has good flavor as well but it could be a little thicker. Food: 5/5 I have only taken food to go but it stays warm! If you're interested in eating inside, just know there is limited space. read more

Great food. Welcoming, friendly service. The chicken makhani was really amazing. My only criticism is that it is relatively far from Des Moines. read more

My first time having Thai food - what an experience! Our server was also our cook, he popped out and gave amazing suggestions - we had their chai tea (incredible) and we tried every naan bread they had! I tried the butter chicken and personally ordered the goat curry. I would recommend a thousand times over! He answered all of our questions, was extremely helpful & was more than courtesy when I asked the correct way to eat the food!! read more

Indian Tadka - Goat Curry - Indian Near Me - Waukee, Iowa

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Amazing food!! Sweetest lady served me and was all alone trying to get my business order done!

This was my first time trying this kind of cuisine. I wished the waitress would have gave some more suggestions regarding what we should try. We got the butter chicken and the peanut butter chicken. I would not suggest the peanut butter chicken as it was basically chicken and peanuts in melted peanut butter. We heard the microwave being used quite a few times so I'm not sure how fresh our food was. I also ordered the garlic naan and it was nothing special. Our bill before tip was $48 and I feel that was a little steep for a lunch. read more

Indian Tadka - Butter chicken and peanut butter chicken - Indian Near Me - Waukee, Iowa

I absolutely love this place! It's very authentic and you've been warned about the spice. They have a spice scale of 1-5 , I initially ordered a level 3 for my family and oh boy we still enjoyed it but we are trying the level 1 tonight. The family is always nice and pretty quick with our order. read more

Amazing Indian food, the staff are all very nice and welcoming. I've never had a dish I didn't enjoy. read more

Delicious local Indian cuisine in the waukee area. Cute quaint family run Indian restaurant well worth the drive. I have tried a lot of Indian places locally in Des Moines, and Indian Tadka is the WINNER! I am a korma enthusiast and just purely enjoy the chicken korma here. So fresh and flavorful with great flavors. Their appetizers and naan are so good too! The chutney dipping sauce that comes with the tikki aloo and the samosas had a great spicy kick to it! We love it here! If you appreciate locally / family run restaurants with great menu options you must try Indian Tadka! read more

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We love this little place! Been coming here since we moved to Iowa in 2017. Run by a mom pop and daughter. The food is delicious and the only thing I could eat with morning sickness with my first. Our kids like it too. We've ordered several items over the years and everything is good but our favorites are shrimp Sukka, chicken curry and the palak. Garlic naan is always necessary! read more

I just ordered for delivery online. The store called me to question my note of "extra paneer please" I explained that the last couple of orders I placed, there was only a couple of pieces of paneer and mostly peppers. The owner said they never do that and then I replied well it has happened so as long as this time it doesn't, I'll be happy. A few minutes later, they cancelled my order and refused to serve me. This restaurant has decent food but horrible service and they were insulated that I inferred a prior issue. What business does that in the service industry???? Shame on them. read more

We stopped in at the recommendation of my brother in law, and were so glad we did!! We started with an order of samosas, they particular ones happened to be potato and pea and they were very tasty, two to an order and they come with two different sauces. For entrees we enjoyed the chicken tikka masala and the chicken makhani (butter chicken). Both were fantastic! If I had to select one over the other it would be the chicken makhani, but both were delicious. We also enjoyed 2 orders of garlic naan as well loved the first so much we got a second! Rice came complimentary with the meal which I appreciated. When ordering the server will ask you to select a spice level of 1-5. We chose 2, having not been here before, there was some spice but we could have gone a bit higher. After finishing our meal we were visiting with the family who own and operate the restaurant, really a very nice family and so glad we selected their restaurant over others this evening. Will definitely be back! read more

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I'd been craving chicken tikka masala and this hit the spot. I am a new loyal customer

This is the most delicious Indian cuisine I've experienced in the Des Moines metro. Everything was piping hot and flavorful without being overly spicy. We can't wait to return to try other dishes! read more

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This is a great Indian place in Des Moines! Love the Gobi manchurian! Watch out for spiciness levels if you don't like spicy hot food - these folks make things HOT! I loved it- it is real Indian food. Check it out if you love Indian. read more

The food here was great! I tried it for the first time yesterday and had to go back today.. I had the curry chicken and rice.. price was okay for the food size. Looks like it's family owned and operated which is good. I had a garlic type of bread which was great but I forgot the name.. sorry.. They have my business for at least the next 3 to 4 years! read more

My husband and I were quite impressed with the flavors here but the ambiance is something left to be desired. Please note that they no longer have buffets here. The Service: 4/5 Very, very nice lady. I think she's the owner, cashier, server, and cook. I gave it only four stars because if she was in the back cooking, it was hard to get any help for anything. The food took forever because she was the jack of all trades doing everything. The Atmosphere: 2/5 Definitely could use a big upgrade. Dark and old looking. The Food: Amazing!! Samosa -4/5 the samosas were tasty and the sauces were as well Gobi Manchurian - 4/5 Veggie lovers; this cauliflower, onions and green peppers stir-fry appetizer was very tasty! I just wish it were a tad bit crispier and smaller chunks. But a must try every time! Chicken Tikka Masala -4/5 One of the better ones that I e had in the metro and surrounding areas! Not watery and so flavorful!! Chicken Mahkani - 4/5 the flavor wasn't too different from the Masala so it was just as yummy! I would definitely get both curries again!! All in all, I would order from here again! But I'd definitely just order takeout. The waiting was way too long. Took us over an hour and a half from start to finish and we were there with one other patron who already got his food! She does make the food right though! read more

Have eaten here several times and the food is always amazing! This is a small min&pop restaurant, and the staff is always very attentive. The reason I didn't give 5 is that the atmosphere is meh. However, I think that is pretty normal for most of the small Indian restaurants I have tried. I think they actually have Rogan josh, which is pretty hard to find! Dishes that we have tried and love: chicken makhani, chicken tikka masala, Lababdar, and the curries (fish curry especially). I usually get 2 meals out of my order, but my husband not-so-much (although, he walks out of there feeling much too full- he just can't stop). The naan is sooo good, too! We like spice, so we chose levels 3/4 depending on mood. Not as hot as a level 3/4 Thai, which is good. The Taj Mahal beer was food(not a full bar). Bottom line is if you want good Indian food, give this place a try! read more

Indian Tadka - This is the leftover amount from my order of chicken makhani! - Indian Near Me - Waukee, Iowa

Service here is amazing. While in the area with my vegan we decided to hit this place up. The owners were so kind and came to our table telling us what they could make vegan. I ordered the samosa chat which was AMAZING! For those of you that don't know it's a regular samosa covered in chutney and yogurt. So good! My vegan got the Gobi Manchurian which is very hard to find. It's basically deep-fried cauliflower in a sweet sour sauce. Very good!!! I ordered the malai kofta, (veggie meatballs) which were just ok. The best malai kofta I have had in Des Moines were at curry Xpress . Too much carrot in the meatball for me. Decent enough option but it didn't have the rich flavor that made me mistake it for meat in the better Indian restaurants. My vegan had an ordered of chickpeas stewed in coconut milk (can't remember what it was called). He enjoyed it immensely. The naan here was very good! I ordered buttered naan and it came out puffy and crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. A true naan! My vegan ordered roti which he also enjoyed. Indian Tadka is an above average Indian restaurant in the Des Moines area. If in a larger city it would be a 3 but in Des Moines it's a solid 4! read more

Indian Tadka - Samosa chat, order this! - Indian Near Me - Waukee, Iowa

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Last time I was at this place, the food was nice and hot. This time I came the food was kind of warm, like it was reheated up. My buddy and I came during lunch hour and it wasn't busy so I assumed the cooks would have time to prepare the food well. However that wasn't the case. Don't get me wrong the food was good still, just not hot enough. I will still be back, however if the food isn't warm enough then I will not come back. Sad thing is that I know the owners and should have said something, but it wasn't a huge deal for me. Like I said I'll be back, however I like Laza indo pak much much better! read more

Indian Tadka - Indian Near Me - Waukee, Iowa

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First time here. I had the butter chicken (1 out of 5 spicy), fiance had chicken korba (3 out of 5 spicy). $12 a piece, but I ended up taking half of mine home - enough for two meals if you plan. Also ordered garlic naan. The naan was delicious- 4 good sized pieces for $3. Rice was served for both of us to share. Neither of us ran out and had plenty to take home. Service was good and the prices were fair. We will be back! read more

It's a mom and pop local restaurant. Support local! It's also one of the best Indian restaurants I have ever had. I haven't been to India, but I've had Indian food in London, Japan, Hawaii and in every city I've lived I've tried them all. This is easily the number one or two best I've had. My only wish is that they had garlic cheese stuffed naan. Besides that, this place is the best. You need to give it a go. Butter chicken, chicken vindaloo, malai kafka (sp?), samosas, are all delicious here. read more

Best Indian food around! We have ordered take out multiple times and decided to dine in the last time we went. The service was just as excellent as the food. We had a great time. Highly recommend! read more

Had a delicious lunch here with coworkers today. Ordered chicken curry myself and others ordered some other dishes. This place is more like grandma's old house. Some cheap decoration with service and cooking all done by a nice Indian lady. I felt like I came over to her house and she was making me a meal in the kitchen. So its definitely not a fancy place, but my curry and other dishes were very good. I would have liked more chicken in my curry but it wasn't a big deal because I had plenty of sauce. I will definitely order food to go next time I'm home and hungry. Not sure if I would come with a big group though since service isn't that fast with limited staff. read more

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I greatly enjoyed the Chicken Tikka Misala I ordered and will likely come back to do so again.

Too expensive with miserably less quantity . Not worth trying unless you wanted your pocket empty and yet hungry. No wonder why this place have very less customers unlike you see other renowed Indian restuarants around! read more

I just want to say, this is really excellent Indian cuisine. The family that owns and operates it is awesome, just great people. The quality is high, portions are generous, service is great. read more

Went to this little place as it's next to the pho place right next door. The actual place is a bit run down and outdated. Service was extremely slow and waitress initially was not very warm but did improve with the meal. My soda was extremely flat. Both. My kids ordered Chicken Curry and it smelled and tasted very good. They asked kids to pick spice level between 1-3 and they picked 2 which was a mistake! Very hot for the kids! I got the goat Biryani and my choice for spice level was 3-5 and I picked 4 which was also a mistake. The goat was delicious but the spice level tempered the enjoyment of the meal. The waitress did not really explain the spice levels but we could have asked more specifics I guess. The Naan was pretty average. The food is closer to 4 star but between the ambience and the service overall a 3! If we do come back spice levels will be at a 1!! read more

The Indian food I have had in Des Moines overall is not perfect, but I have better food than this restaurant. The people were very polite, welcoming but I think the dishes I had they need to update their recipe. naan bread- The smallest naan in town Mutton Sukha - good flavor but very spicy Chicken Makhani - Below average, Never Order Paneer makhani - Panner was awesome but the sauce/gravy was bad Masala Papad - That was something I truly liked. read more

We arrived at 5:30 on a Saturday and we're greeted by the owner and steered us to a seat. So far so good. 2 other groups came in and ordered take out and we still did not even have a menu. They finally gave us a menu and never came back, no water, no order, wow terrible service, it really seemed like no one cared at all. I will never go back and you should not either! read more

Indian Tadka is the Best Indian Restaurant in the entire Des Moines area. And that's coming from an Indian. We went there with a group of 8 people on a Friday night. To our surprise, we were the only people in the restaurant. This made me a bit nervous, but I didn't realize that we were in for a pleasant surprise. All of us are vegetarian, so we ordered Gobi Manchurian, Malai Kofta, a couple of Paneer dishes, mango lassi, and a variety of naan. We asked them to make it extra spicy because their regular spice level is pretty mild so as to cater to all tastes. Everything tasted delicious and the customer service was top-notch. The restaurant is run by a family, and you almost feel like you are visiting a warm, welcoming family for dinner. The decor had a wonderful artifacts showcasing classical Indian arts & crafts. The prices were very reasonable for the quality provided. I have eaten at every single Indian restaurant in Des Moines, and the best ones are "average" at best. And I would not recommend any one of them except for Indian Tadka. Indian food encompasses a massive variety of dishes from various parts of India, but the crown jewel of Indian cooking has always been Punjabi & Mughlai dishes that were made famous by ancient Indian kings and Royalty. Those are the most famous and richest of Indian dishes. Yet, many Indian restaurants do not know how to cook Punjabi dishes correctly, or they skimp out on quality because Mughlai dishes often call for exotic and expensive ingredients such as saffron and high quality dry fruits. Indian Tadka does not skimp out. Our dishes had rich, thick gravy, and a good amount of quality ingredients. I challenge you to compare that to the other Indian restaurants in the area, and you will see, or better yet, taste my point. :-) read more

Authentic, flavorful, delicious. Didn't give 5 stars because it's so expensive and the naan was a bit stale.

Wow!!! I've eaten at most of the Indian restaurants in DeMo. Mostly bland buffets with flavorless chicken on them. This is an exception. The owner here is your hostess, waitress and cook. She made us feel welcome and answered ever question I had about the dishes on the menu. My girl who is partially vegetarian order a chick pea dish with a green gravy. It was so delicious with just the perfect amount of spice. I won't hesitate ordering this myself. I ordered the chicken tiki masala with 3* spice. I could have went to 4 maybe 5 spice, but I love spicy food. If you don't go to the 1 or 2 level. To begin our meal our waitress brought us a fried tortilla looking thing with fresh onion and spice on top. It was killer!!!!!! She said it was made from lentils. It's a little divey so no need to dress up. I think they've made the place about the food not the ambiance. This is the kind of place you don't mind ordering vegetarian. Bottom line... No more Indian buffet for me. read more

Indian Tadka - Indian Near Me - Waukee, Iowa

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So delicious. Service is always super friendly and we never are made to feel awkward having our 2yr old with us. Thank you guys! read more