Love the chicken masala, got it medium hot & it was delicious! Naan bread is fresh and wonderfully backed to perfection. Got it to go, it was ready & the hostess was friendly. Place looked nice, a little more brighter lights would be nice. read more

The service and ambiance were ok, but the food was terrible. Bready samosas, unrecognizable chaat, weirdly spiced biryanis--we were all hungry, but couldn't bring ourselves to eat what we ordered. read more

The vegetable pakora was exceptionally bready, but tasted quite good. The fish Tikka masala was decent as well. Neither was great, but still good enough for 4 stars. read more

Paneer tikka masala tasted like tomato sauce, malai kofta wasn't as flavorful as I've had in the past and the mango ice cream was very freezer burned. read more

Lunch buffet. Great place to get a quick lunch as it was not busy on a Wed afternoon. We, however, chose to order off the menu as we can't eat that much at one time and we wanted leftovers. We ordered the non-vegetable dinner for two. I would have been fine with the vegetable dinner for two but hubby was wanting some meat and chicken is his fav. The meals consisted of Chicken Pakora, Chicken Curry, Lamb Masala, Butter Chicken, Basmati Rice, Naan Bread, Choice of Dessert. The chicken Pakora was bites of chicken breaded. It was plain so the dipping sauces were a help. The chicken was Tender. The rest of the dishes were in sauces and it was hard to tell which meat was in what sauces but they were all delicious with their own flavors. We had the mango lasso to drink. This smooth yogurt and sweet mango drink topped with whipped cream Is almost a meal/or dessert itself. We had ordered our meal medium spicy and at time the drink was just what was needed to calm down the heat. We took our leftovers home and my husband had 4 more meals from the leftovers. We have been to this restaurant several times over the years and the only sad part is that they aren't filled to capacity every day/night. It made for a quiet lunch though. We will continue to come back when we are in Madison and hungry for great Indian food and service. read more

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Ordered takeout with butter chicken, chicken Tiki, garlic naan, coconut soup, aloo gobhi, and roti. A good combination of flavors and I would say the star pieces are the butter chicken and tiki. They also gave us some mango ice creams to go which was a great addition. I would say it was a 4.5 but I ranked down because I think the sauces could have been thicker and the rice we got was hard and not soft--so didn't taste as fresh. It came in clumps--much of this was made up for what we got in return as flavorful dishes. Aloo gohbi is a pass and the roti was ok. read more

Their samosas are my favorite, I can't find them made like this anywhere else. The mango lassi is always a hit and I love all of their food!

Wow!! So good! Food was all amazing. The naan was cooked perfectly, the masala is delicious and it even came with a tiny mango dessert! What a treat!! read more

They are rude staff I completed a DoorDash delivery for them and they got mad and were disrespectful because I didn't drive all the way back to get the items they forgot to put in the bag read more

I was really looking forward to some good Indian food. I usually eat at Swad, but I thought I would give Maharana a try. Decor was nice and service was prompt and friendly. But the food was very disappointing. Rice was probably the best thing. It had a slight coconut flavor. Ordered the lamb curry which was OK if not a little light on spice (ordered it medium). But the tandoori mixed grill...yikes. Every protein tasted like it had been cooked for hours and then reheated...the chicken, shrimp...all proteins were dry and flavorless. And you know how chicken can have that rubbery, unnatural texture to it? That is what our chicken tikka marsala was like. I had to spit it out. Naan was OK if not a little undercooked and the complementary mango ice cream was creamy but had no flavor of mango. I have a feeling this place is best as a buffet only restaurant. Sadly I'll probably not be returning. read more

Awesome find! There was a steady stream of take out orders, and a few tables of dine-in while we were there on a Friday evening. Portions are huge and we ended up taking home enough for the next day's meal! Even though the hubby likes his food super spicy, I make him settle on medium when we are sharing family-style. Medium was perfect for me and although he wouldn't admit it, I heard a few sniffles coming from his side of the table! Our two entrees were lamb jalfrezi and the chef's special biriyani. Both had great flavor. We also had the stuffed naan. I love naan, so I was a little skeptical about having a stuffed naan! Well, it's a meal by itself! So soft and yummy! What a nice surprise to have a little mango ice cream--complimentary! Oh, and hot towels to wash up your hands! Those little extras are such an awesome way to end the meal. Staff was also very polite. One last thing--the meal was out from the kitchen super fast! read more

Lurching out of the pandemic with reviews for restaurants we've had delivered -- this one we've had at least a dozen times 3 years, and they've been our preferred Indian joint. Entrée items have been solid -- butter chicken, tikka masala -- delivery has NOT been consistent as far as spicing (Mrs. T is a spice wimp, so we ask for mild but often get medium). We tend to focus on appetizers and Mrs. T and I share entrees: Their aloo tikki is wonderful, though they sometimes overfry. Samosas -- mixed on saltiness / spicy, also sometimes overcooked. Great paneer pakora [TBH -- we tend to order their sampler cuz it's a cost safer!] Naan? Plain is lovely. TBH, my preference. Ginger? Varies on content day to day for us -- still Mrs T's favorite. Chicken Naan? Just enough chicken to be interesting. The rest are what they advertise. The more ingredient heavy ones are too much. It is my preference but I skip Indian rice; Focusing on the sauce and naan. A BIG NOTE FOR 2022: Their buffet is BACK! Weekends only (Fri - Sun) but I'm digging it. read more

I really enjoy eating here. The food is always so yummy and they have this black tea That's super good. The dining room is very nice and warm and inviting employees were also very awesome. Smells so good in there. I wish my family would go there with me, I'm like the guy there alone,Eating in the corner sad cause I'm already overweight and now I'm eating by myself at a restaurant and That's a Buffay. read more

Maharana Indian Restaurant - That's a sad guy in the corner a.k.a. me eating at a Buffay - Indian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

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It's okay. Very expensive though.. love a good curry.. this place was okay.. hit or miss

We got there when they opened got a seat right away Waitress was very helpful with letting us know what was gluten free .. food was amazing ! They were all very nice .. we will definitely be back! Highly recommended read more

The service here was good, everyone was nice and they made sure we were well taken care of. I had the mixed vegetable curry which was very salty. It also had Lima beans in it which I was not used to in Indian curry dishes. The garlic naan was crispy and had good flavor and the mango ice cream is one of the better flavored ice creams I can remember. read more

Maharana Indian Restaurant - Mixed vegetable curry and garlic naan. - Indian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

This has been my go-to Indian takeout place for a little over a year now. I order here once a month on average and it's always been reliable and consistent. My go-to order is either the chicken tikka masala or the butter chicken, the vegetable samosas (soooo good), and the garlic naan. The vegetable samosas are big and you usually get two per order, and come with three different dipping sauces, my favorite being the red chutney that's a bit chunky and has a nice zing to it. The flavors are spot on, with hints of cumin and a nice texture from the potatoes. The tikka masala and butter chicken are classic Indian takeout recipes executed well. There's no extra bells and whistles than you'd expect, they're just nice solid dishes. You are asked to pick the spice level you want as well. The portion sizes are big and I'm usually able to get two servings per container, definitely enough to split with someone or to have leftovers for lunch the next day. Whenever you don't feel like cooking next, I suggest ordering takeout here for a nice change of pace. read more

Just had dinner from them again. Excellent. Still not the best ambiance but great food

So yummy! Came fast and hot! The buttered chicken and samosas were the best. Will be ordering from here again :-) read more

Maharana Indian Restaurant - two plates of food - Indian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

This is a bit of a complicated review. First off, Maharana has some of the best Indian food I have ever had. I have no experience with the buffet - I am not a buffet person - so that might be different. The service was outstanding with multiple servers attending to us the whole time. You have three options for spiciness - we love spice, but the "hot" option was pretty hot. I would go with medium next time (everywhere else in Madison I find "hot" to be just fine). The ambiance of the restaurant isn't fantastic - it's pretty blah. So if that's a deal breaker for you then you might not be a fan. They do a TON of take out food though. Last time we were there was a Saturday night and there were only three tables occupied, but I watched countless to-go and delivery orders head out the door. Probably consistent with my review of the ambiance. Great food - if I lived closer I would be going for take out or delivery all the time. read more

SO. GOOD. Everything was absolutely amazing. I had the chicken tikka masala and it was simply amazing- super tasty and creamy but not overbearing. The mixed grill and chicken biryani was all super tasty and flavorful as well. Everything was extremely fresh and hot out the oven. Also of note- their COVID precautions are the best I've seen in a restaurant yet. Everyone wore masks, gloves, and they interact with customers behind plexiglass. 10/10 would recommend! read more

Maharana Indian Restaurant - Top row: Chicken biryani and coconut sauce (white), and samosas, bottom row: chicken tikka masala, garlic naan, tandoori mixed grill - Indian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I've had a ton of Indian food in my life and this was by far the worst. There's nothing terrible about it, but it just tastes like they bought some cheap fatty Walmart chicken thighs and got some dry Indian curry in a box from the Walmart shelf, and then they mixed it together with some mediocre rice and a very unrich sauce. The naan was unmemorable and bland too. I didn't know anyone could make such subpar Indian food...I could've just poured a fake curry sauce from the grocery store onto some rice and it would've tasted slightly better. Meh. The lamb masala and the chicken curry were so disappointing - it's really not worth it, even for a late night delivery. Bummer. read more

My chicken tikka masala was super soupy. Oddly, Maharani is always better -- go there!

I was dying for some good quality Indian food... Could not make my mind up exactly what I wanted took the suggestion of the host and was disappointed to find only two shrimp. The food was fair except for the chicken 66. It certainly was not what I have come to expect for the popular appetizer, it seemed more like deep-fried seasoned chicken five. I was not impressed and would not order that again. I was not very impressed with this Indian restaurant, the prices seemed about the same as any other Indian place which I think is quite high. But usually the quality makes up for it. This didn't seem to be the case here and I am reluctant to try it again although I feel most places deserve a second chance. read more

Maharana Indian Restaurant - Storefront. It's what's inside that matters! - Indian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I've never posted a 1 star review, but there's a first for everything. Maharana was one of THE worst dining experiences that I have ever had. This establishment does a shame to south Asian cuisine, and I recommend that you do not ever eat here. The negative experience began immediately walking in when our party of 5 was ignored by one employee and waited to be acknowledged by another 5 minutes later. The waiter who took our order was more excited to rip the menus out of our hands rather than give us a chance to order. Other than asking us back for the menus, I don't think I heard another word from the waiter, who made the entire dining experience very awkward and creepily watched us eat our meal. We ordered chai, which we received reheated chai that was made hours before. The food, we ordered spicy like we usually do at most desi resteraunts was spiced after they cooked it- meaning they simply added spices to the pre heated meal. The spice was unbearable and ruined the entire meal. The atmosphere was synonymous with the service- dark, dreary and full of no life. If you're looking for good south Asian food, head over to Madistan instead which is on the UW Madison campus. read more

Can we score them higher than 5? LOVED the buffet items especially the rich and buttery korma. We'll be back!!!

The beef shahikorma was amazing. I decided to order it spicy and it was just perfect (to me). As someone who really likes hot and spicy food I was delighted when I started sweating and tearing up. I really appreciate the server trying to warn me as this level of spice is not for everyone. My wife ordered the boti kabob and she really enjoyed it, great flavors and and the spices were just right. We have ordered here quite a few times now and you never leave hungry. Big portions and you also always get their mango ice cream complimentary. Best Indian food in Madison. It's also a very cozy atmosphere and the server was attentive. read more

We were just passing through the city. Restaurant was very clean, kind staff, and had a wide variety on their menu. I had the chicken coconut Madra, my family had the tikka masala, chicken tandoori which was a variety we've never had before but delicious. We look forward to returning if we find ourselves in the city again read more

Ordered this during quarantine because i was in DIRE need of some roti and butter chicken. And it did not disappoint. I ordered the butter chicken, naan, garlic roti, and lamb vindaloo(I wanted enough for dinner too). This was ALOT of food. All of the entrees come with rice so it's definitely enough food. However, I think it was over priced. It was around $15 per entree plus the extra naan and roti ended up being around $40. The order was accurate and delivery was quick! Hopefully after COVID19, I'll be able to enjoy their lunch buffet. read more

I usually do the buffet here but for now that is a thing of the past with all Indian buffets .. My friend and I ate inside and ordered from the menu, a brave thing for us, since we don't know the names of most things. We started with a soup that we thought was lentil but was actually a split pea kind of thing with green onions in it. It's called Mulligatawny soup. It was very good. Next was an order of Samosa which we knew. An order is two pieces and enough to share, very good as well. For a combination of small dishes we got the Non vegetable dinner for two. It was three chicken dishes all different and a lamb curry. We enjoyed them all but wished they would drop one meat dish and substitute a vegetable one. They did have an all vegetable dinner for two but not a combination. They should. It cost 49.95$ for the Non vegetable one so it's not cheap. Everything was top notch including the service but with only three tables occupied that was a given. The cook here knows how to cook and we enjoyed it but will be glad when the buffet comes back and we can try more options. read more

I've been craving palak paneer for days and finally ordered it for delivery tonight. I used Eat Street. I can't tell you how satisfying this entire experience was! From the ease of ordering, to the timely and accurate delivery to a place that's hard for people to find sometimes, to the wonderful food, five stars for everything. I was just so hungry and tired I didn't even care what came with it, didn't even check to see. I was so surprised and happy to see three different sauces were included, plus fragrant rice redolent of cardamom and perfectly made. I had also ordered spiced potato naan bread and everything arrived incredibly hot and fresh in 45 minutes. For the same price as a pizza, I have enough food for two meals. Really, really pleased and will not hesitate to order again! I have a very happy holiday belly...oh, and I almost forgot the other thing! They even included a complimentary dessert, some kind of mango ice cream I think, and it was the perfect finish. Thank you thank you thank you! read more

Maharana Indian Restaurant - Joyful delicious Indian food amidst the Christmas chaos. Palak paneer and stuffed naan bread. So great! - Indian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I was making my own tikka masala at home, and wanted to order some sides to go with it. I'd love to tell you about the mango lassi I ordered, but it wasn't delivered. The samosa chat showed up smashed, in an overflowing, soggy, falling apart box wrapped in plastic. The garlic naan was edible. Ordered through eat street. read more

Maharana Indian Restaurant - 7. Samosa Chat - Indian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

Very good and authentic northern Indian food. The buffet was down for Covid but we were brought some fresh naan and some mango ice cream for dessert. Nothing fancy but great service and excellent food. read more

Hands down best naan I've had. Like crispy on the edges soft on the inside best I've ever had. I may or may not be basing my star rating based on the Garlic Naan I ordered. I ordered the Fish Masala. It was pretty standard masala sauce. The fish was just some sort of whitefish. Again, I think it was the naan that complemented this that sealed the deal for me. I wasn't particularly excited about the $14.95 price tag on it, but it was yummy. The servers were nice. They even brought out a complimentary scoop of mango ice cream for us. That was nice of them. I never turn down ice cream. There is always room for ice cream. Always. read more

Soooo disappointed tonight. A complete packaging disaster, paper container soaked and stuck to food, burned, bitter tasting bread and something that wasn't butter chicken. We have ordered takeout before and slowly the quality, accuracy and care has gone to the gutter. Wishing I could post a better review but I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. read more

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I placed my order online and asked for it Extra Spicy. It was ready when we got there and the gentleman at the front made sure to ask me. If I did really want it extra spicy! I said yes I did. That's the best part of Indian food the can make it super spicy without losing the flavor of the dish! read more

Everything was delicious. The service was very friendly. We had Mixed Kebob (Chicken and Lamb),Tandoori Chicken Mixed pakoras (Onion, paneer,Potato etc) Samosa uttapam ,Amritsari Fish as appetizers, They have coconut soup which was more like hot coconut kheer with shredded coconut in it but delicious. For main course,Vegetarian had lot of options like saag paneer , navratan korma , veg manchurian , couple of dals , mixed veg , cauliflower mix etc. However Non vegeterian had just chicken curry and lamb curry. For Desserts they had coconut icecream , mango ice cream , kheer , gulad jamun and ras malai. Mango ice cream was pretty good. For me Highlight was Amritsari fish fry. The fish just melted in your mouth and was very flavorful without any fishy smell. Loved it. Just one recommendation : Not to have a full size samosa in buffet as i noticed a lot of kids/people not finishing their whole samosa or grabbing multiples and then throwing them away. Overall i would definitely recommending this place to people and would love to visit it again . read more

You'll be treated like royalty at the Maharaja. I first came upon this place by chance. I was in town for work and noticed that there was an Indian restaurant nearby. After reading the great reviews on Yelp, I knew I had to try it for myself. I ordered the Chicken TIkka Masala along with Naan bread and a cup of chai. I ordered the food to be Indian hot. The waiter replied, "I like your confidence!" It was very tasty and hot just as I like it. The restaurant was well kept, the staff treat the guests as royalty so the service is wonderful, and the prices are decent for what you're getting. Don't forget to stop by the Indian grocery that is located next door to this location! It has a large selection of items so that you can make your own Indian dinner at home. Will I be back the next time I'm in town? Absolutely. read more

Maharana Indian Restaurant - Chai! - Indian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

I feel compelled to write an additional review for this restaurant because the food I received on my second takeout experience was AWESOME. This time I ordered exclusively vegetarian. To start with the mixed veg appetizer is a great deal. For $8 you get a samosa, 4 spinach pakora, 2 paneer pakora, and 2 other pakora. All of them were excellent, not oily, and curry in the samosa was fresh and tasty. For dinner we tried the Tandoori paneer and paneer jalfrizi. Both dishes were excellent . The combination of the spices with the vegs and the paneer was out of this world. The quantity was huge and one dish was plenty for two people. We also tried a ginger naan which I have never had before. Careful because it does have a kick to it, but I loved the flavor. We also received two complementary mango ice creams which were also very good. Perfect quantity cups for each person. Overall I was extraordinarily pleased with the level of the vegetarian food that we had. read more

Maharana Indian Restaurant - Paneer tikka - Indian Near Me - Madison, Wisconsin

We were pleased to find a restaurant downtown that had outdoor seating and good vegetarian gluten-free options! We ordered a variety of dishes for the table and really enjoyed the okra dish as well as the palak paneer. The food was hot, the service was friendly, and it had better flavor and variety than a lot of traditional Midwestern Indian. It's cleanliness level was comparable to similar locales. We will be back! read more