Downtown Newark has seen a good amount of new retail and restaurant activity, no longer being confined to Hobby's Deli and other longtime institutions. Masala Cafe offers a very serviceable menu of South Indian items on a side street just off of Military Park. I opted for the egg dosa, which is not frequently seen on U.S. South Indian menus geared more towards the 100% veg Tambrahm community. The sambar was quite nice and went better with the dosa than the nariyal chutney. read more

Masala Cafe - Indian Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

I came here with my boss (from North India, but moved to the USA like 10 years ago), his colleague (who literally just got off the flight from India like an hour ago), and me. We ordered a rava masala dosa (for me), some daal parka, and a paneer situation of some sort. Service is technically counter service, because you go up to the counter, and order your food. However, once you've done that, you take your seat, and they'll bring the food out to you. This isn't a Sit Down restaurant where you're served little plates of papad, or other random things. You get whatever it is that you order, and that's it. Don't think of this as a restaurant in the strictest sense. Think of it more like a cafeteria with seating. There's a few 2-top tables, but most of the space is taken up by large communal tables. The guys at the register are friendly, and patient. They're not trying to rush you while you make your order. Food did take a little while to get to us, as we came after the lunch rush (when they'd likely had to make things fresh, as opposed to having stuff at the ready), which was fine, because we wanted to have a bit of a chat. It wasn't like an hour or whatever, but it was more than 10 minutes. It was fine though. The guy at the counter brought us glasses of water, which we all were craving on that warm afternoon. When the food arrived, it was piping hot, and nicely arranged on the plates. Portions were generous, much like you'd expect from an Indian restaurant. Rice was fragrant, and fluffy, while still being the perfect texture. My dosa was crisp in texture with plenty of fluffy potatoes in the middle, and the chatni and sambhar was lovely on the side. Daal was cooked to perfection: you could still see that the daal had texture (instead of turning to absolute liquid as some places do), but each bean was soft. Spices were well balanced, with just the right amount of masala (ground spice blends) when it was called for. They did NOT have too much garam masala. The issue with many bad Indian restaurants is that they try to hide inferior spices by dumping more of it in there. They have to add so much (because fresh spices only need a little bit to give the taste) that the texture of the dish tastes gritty. It's deeply unpleasant. If you've ever seen an Indian make a face after eating something, and say, "Too much garam masala", you'll know why. It's because we can get that texture of the kitchen heaving on more and more bad spices. However, here at Masala Cafe, the chefs have a restrained hand with the spices they use, and the spices they use taste fresh and vibrant. When I asked my dining companions how they liked their food, the guy who'd just come from India gave me this grateful look, and said that it was exactly like "Ghar ka khaana" (literally: food from home), which is the highest compliment that a North Indian dude can pay a restaurant's food when they order homestyle dishes like daal tarka. Ghar ka khaana is like that stuff you crave when you're out of your mom's house and off to college. It's that stuff that you yearn for when you're stressed out, or going through it. The guy had just been flying for the past however many hours, and had the dubious foods at the various connecting airports he had eaten at, to say nothing of the food in the airline. He was exhausted, and looking rough. Giving him a taste of home cooking at a restaurant basically had him looking and feeling way more energized and happy than when he started. The food was definitely worth the wait, and the service was friendly and relaxed. read more

Food was really good everything just tasted great, it's more of a take out place so not the greatest dine in ambience but ok for a quick bite but it seemed like they were planning renovation so that may change in the future, service was good and our cashier/server was attentive, look forward to coming back read more

Masala Cafe - Tofu Tikka Masala and Channa Masala - Indian Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

We came here for the dosas and absolutely loved them!! I will note that the inside is not the fanciest, but more of a hole in the wall vibe. There's one chef in the back, and since we came during a less busy time he did come out to speak with us, which was super nice. The sambar and tomato chutney were absolutely amazing and the dosas were cooked to perfection. Could not have been happier with our selection! read more

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incredible food and service! fresh and delicious - so many options to chose from. we had the dal, the dosa and the sautéed mushrooms. we will be back! thank you! read more

Can't speak to the ambiance but the food is consistently great. The naan is perfect and pillowy. Basmati rice is perfectly made. Their saag paneer, butter masala paneer and mutter paneer are delicious and filling. Samosas are well made. I order delivery and service is always fast and timely. read more

This is one of those downtown spots you walk by and don't pay attention to unless you are an out of towner like me trying to get his grub on before a wu-tang/Nas concert. I came here solo on Tuesday evening and it was empty. I got great service and they made the food spicy to my liking. Idly was steamed and made perfectly. The tofu kadai (appreciative for the vegans)- hit the spot- excellent gravy and spices. I tried a taste of the veg biryani (lots of veggies and it just rice) and the mysore masala dosa (my takeout) still fresh today. Will visit you all next time I am in Brick city!!!! read more

Masala Cafe - Tofu Kadai - Indian Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

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Mediocre food and small portions. I ordered multiple dishes to try and there were barely any meat in some of the dishes.

I got plain dosa for lunch, which was pretty good. I would rate it a 4, but man that place smelled like a dead rat with a hint of incense.

I stopped by here during lunch with some of the coworkers. It is not the best looking restaurant, and most people will choose to take out instead of dining in We walked up to the counter and placed our order. The guy at the register seemed a bit confused, but we managed. We ordered two masala dosa, one Hakka noodles, one chili chicken, and chicken tikka masala ( it came with rice) Food came out pretty quick- the dosa was terrific, and the sambar was excellent. def a place I will visit again read more

Went there with my lovely lady today... We was craving Masala Dosa.. Never been to this place before.. Servers are nice, the meals were prepped very well. Food was delicious! I had Chicken 365 w/ plain Naan, 2 Masala Dosa, idly with the samba sauce.. Awesome! O and Chicken Samosa... Everything I ordered came out fresh and tasty.. Will go back again very soon with more people... read more

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Unsanitary and rude. They have several operations going on in there and they're obviously stretched too thin. Also beware if you order online without checking if one of their operations are open since they close at will without informing customers or deliverers and not canceling your order. read more

Masala Cafe - Storefront - Indian Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

Amazing food! Friendly staff; well worth the price! Was choosing between here and a few other places, very happy we chose to come here and our food was outstanding read more

Its a decent Indian restaurant with nice North Indian food, slightly pricey and not so bad ambience. Its one of the places I frequent a lot because of the proximity to my work. They serve both North and South Indian food. Their North Indian food is pretty good, however heard pretty negative reviews about the South Indian food. They also have a lunch buffet every day for which you have to pay by weight and is a bit expensive than the a la carte options. I would recommend Malai Kofta, Kadai Paneer and Garlic Naan. The place is pretty vegetarian friendly and has friendly staff. read more

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I have never eaten such bad sezwan fried rice ever. I think Masala Cafe should just take it out of their menu. I ordered Paneer Chilly as well. Was not great either. read more

Masala Cafe - Indian Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

My friend and I placed an order for delivery. I got the paneer butter masala and she got the paneer kadai. We were told it would take around 45 minutes, which I thought was understandable for delivery on a Saturday night. Although the food wasn't bad, it took 2 hours for it to be delivered. Once we received our orders, I noticed that they didn't fill the entire container, which you can see in a picture of my not completely full paneer butter masala. This was not something I would want to see considering my annoyance with the long delivery time. In terms of the taste of the food, I felt like it was too oily and could have used more tomato. I liked my friend's paneer kadai, but felt like it was too salty. I thought was the food was average but even if the food alone was worthy of 5 stars, I'm not sure if I can justify the long delivery time. Perhaps I would have had a better experience if I dined there or got takeout, but I certainly will never place an order for delivery here ever again. read more

How do you rate a restaurant that is so disorganized and rude but that has great food? They WILL forget part of your order and hang up on you when you call to inform them. They WILL harass you via phone/text saying you never picked up the order that you definitely picked up. But the food is very good. My advice, only order in person and check your order before you leave. Otherwise you'll get screwed. *This review is based off of multiple orders I've made here. read more

Good food in an unclean space. There were dead flies on the ground and a cockroach on the counter. If you can get past how unclean the place is, the food is really good. read more

Masala Cafe - The cockroach by the cashier. - Indian Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

Hometown hero's . Bringing the spice to the hood ... Thanks for bringing your food culture and hospitality to Newark.

I highly recommended this place. Their Goat Biryani and Fish Curry very Delicious ! Friendly staff and very generous with their food portions. read more

Masala Cafe - I highly recommended this place. Their Goat Biryani and Fish Curry very Delicious ! Friendly & generous staff . - Indian Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

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Based on the reviews, ordered: Biryani - chicken Dosa - masala Both were delish and very LARGE portions. Thx to my fellow reviewers on Yelp! Had a lot left over; looking forward to having for lunch! While I asked for mild, the Biryani had a great kick to it. So be forewarned, if you don't like spice / heat, choose another. If you like spice, it is delish! The dosa was fabulous. Light pancake, yummy potatoes, masala sauce was a fantastic compliment. They delivered quickly! Within 30 minutes even though the site said 60-70 minutes. The delivery guy was very polite and friendly. Will def call again! read more

This is a great DOSA house! They offer some classic South Indian dishes which is definitely difficult to find in Newark and even parts of North Jersey. The few dishes that I have had been absolutely amazing and some of the other items are less than satisfactory. My top favorites are ALL of the DOSA dishes, tried a majority of them mysore masala dosa is my favorite because it has a perfect blend of spice so for people who like spice, this is a super subtle kick of spice. For someone like me who absolutely loves spicy food, this was perfect and honestly not super spicy. So a DOSA is basically like an Indian crepe that is in this regard savory. So its a super thin crepe that is spiced and in the middle there is a ball of curried potatoes. You eat it all with your hands and can dip a little bit of crepe with potatoes into the mint chutney or coconut chutney that comes complementary in this dish. Usually, this is served with a piping hot cup of sambal (vegetarian stew). Other favorites include this dish that is an appetizer that is fried onions which are also served with a side of mint chutney and wow it's so perfect. Its similar to the Outback blooming onion but it's not in that bowl like shape but fried onion shreds which is soo good with mint chutney. Definitely come back here for DOSA, other dishes like chicken tikka masala isn't good. Stick to DOSA! can't go wrong!!! read more

Great ambience, amazing food and was worth the money! Get the Kothu parotta, Gobi Manchurian, it was amazing and lip smacking! Samosa was also at its best! read more

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Went to this spot and hour and a half before closing. There is a take out section as well as a dine-in portion when you walk in and the seating is very spacious. It was nice and quiet and the waiter was very attentive and accommodating with our requests on spiciness. The food was really fresh and flavorful, the meat was super tender and spiced perfectly. I cannot wait to go back and try the other items on the menu. It is a little pricey but some of the portions are big enough to share. Parking in the area during the day is nearly impossible but at night there is plenty of places to park. read more

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This place should shut down.....for REAL !!!! There is one thing serving tasteless, overpriced stale food !! But serving raw uncooked meat is HAZARDOUS to customer's health. We have ordered chicken biryani and tandoori chicken tikka. When arrived the shear size of the chicken pieces alarmed us, they seemed the size of turkey meat. Next came the taste, we have never experienced chicken taste this bad, the cook did an amazing job to hide the stale taste by putting lot of spices. We ended up in puking our hearts out, and feeling sick afterwards. @Owner-Please pay attention to the quality of food coming out of your kitchen. You are NOT justifying the price of your food. You should not be robbing people's wallet and trust. There are other Indian restaurants (in your vicinity) which serves 7 start food compared to yours with reasonable price. read more

Great customer service and selection of food. Great lunch specials and they were very helpful when I couldn't figure out what papadum was awesome. Out of this world Mango Lassie and very clean for serving and eating. UPDATE: Still the best Indian Food in Newark!! Amazing service, clean environment,tender meet, perfect spices, and great location ! read more

I want to love this place because I have such a big love for Indian Food and I do love that there is a place close to my job. With saying that, I am only rating the buffet. I have been here at least 3x. Everytime, I try to taste something different. 1st try, was great. Food was fresh and they had an array of different veggie and meat dishes. 2nd time, was mediocre. Same array of dishes, but the taste was just off. Like, I compare it to when I cook, not eanting to and just didn't give it my all. Then I noticed, you have to order your naan at the counter with of course a extra charge. 3rd time, one chicken dish tasted like sesame chicken from a chinese take out. I was not happy. I noticed the crowds have subsided in my visits. I hope it gets better because like I said earlier, I want to love this place. read more

They say that the restaurant is in Newark, but I strongly suspect they are located in the Bermuda Triangle. Two hour+ plus wait for a food delivery. When we called the restaurant they had no idea where the delivery boy is. If you order food from this restaurant do make sure that you are stocked up on snacks and drinks or you might starve by the time the food turns up. Very disappointed and extremely hungry. read more

Amazing and just amazing. Me and my husband came on early hours of Monday from a long travel to have a proper lunch. Simply amazing and satisfying food and thanks to the manager and staff for their great service. We will definitely gonna come again. read more

Masala Cafe - Paneer Tikka Masala Garlic Naan Chicken Biryani Hyderabadi Dum Goat Birayani - Indian Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

Masala Cafe the food was great it was spicy and fresh. I recommend it. There is no parking and the decor was nice. My waiter made my food to order. And they deliver. So I will have their food again. #plzbelieveig read more

Masala Cafe - Indian Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

I have been eating at this place quite a number of times of late. Most of the time I had is to go lunch box. They do keep a lot of variety both veg and non veg. I personally like the chicken 555 which they make. The biryanis are good too. Have not yet tried any of there dosa items yet. Suggestion: For breakfast can you start making wada, mysore bajjis, upma with fresh coconut chutneys. Also don't see poori as an item. Would love to have these in the menu for both breakfast and lunch. read more

I went here while in downtown Newark and the food was amazing. I LOVED the buffet. I could chose what I wanted to eat because I am not familiar with Indian food so really can't order them by name. Here I could chose on what looks good. Once I got the food it tasted AWESOME. I just love the spices and flavors. I have had Indian food before so I knew I would like it. The people are friendly and the food taste FLAVORFUL !!! read more

Masala Cafe - I love Indian spices and how the food is flavored. :) - Indian Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

I have been eating here for a few weeks now and can very comfortably say that its probably one of the best Indian restaurants in the newark / Jersey city area. All of the chicken entrees I have tried here have been really good and my favorite one has been the Chettinad chicken. The breads (rotis / naans) are incredible and one of the reasons why I think its one of the better Indian restaurants. If you're a fan of South-Indian food, I would highly recommend trying the dosas here. And if you would like something more, do ask the chef for some south Indian specials! The staff here is incredible and treat their customers like family. I would definitely recommend this place for lunch / dinner or if you're looking to get something catered. read more

Food is alright. Delivery seems poor. 0. Chole Bhatura is really good 1. Paneer Majestic is alright but not that great 2. Fried rice is alright. 3. Quantity is great! 4. Quality is alright Ordered food in for three times and liked the food overall. Also it is the only Indian restaurant close by, so did not have much of an option. They used to deliver to my place without - any mention of a minimum order, maximum distance for delivery etc.,. RANT: On my fourth order, they would object to deliver because they tell me that my house is more than 5 miles far from the restaurant. This was total bullshit. My house is only 3 miles far in the shortest route and 4.3 miles far on the longest route suggested by Google Maps. After arguing that it is not that far, I was told that the minimum order for delivery is $30. I just had to buy extra food to meet the minimum. The person who was taking the order sounded impatient and a little rude. When I reminded him that they had not mentioned these rules on the three prior orders, he tells me that he does not remember delivering to my place before. At first, I did not ask if he remembered (but asked again to see if he would at least account for his poor memory. Nada). Ordered food anyway for the fourth time. Will be eating this food begrudgingly and for the last time ever. To MasalaCafe, 1. Treat your customers well 2. Biryani sucks read more

Amazing food at an amazing prize here in Newark! Clean restaurant, hearty food, and a caring staff. This is my first review on Yelp, so that should tell you how much I enjoyed it here. Their lunch buffet is what I come here for and the price is more than reasonable for what you get. I recommend the tandoori chicken, butter chicken, biryani, and butter naan (all for which i got for less than $15, pictured here but half eaten), but their veggie dishes are just as good! Very authentic food! read more

Masala Cafe - Indian Near Me - Newark, New Jersey

We have ordered lots of Indian food. We took a chance on this one, and it's some of the best we've had, hands down. We got basics: Chicken Tikka kebab, Chicken Korma, Garlic Naan, and Dosa with cheese. Your place was quick, reasonable, and one of the most delicious, Spicy, quality Indian food places ever. We will tell all our friends and keep doing what you're doing!!!! read more

Very nice masala dosa, good coconut chutney and decent sambar. Very fresh. The dosa could've done with a bit more crispiness along the edge, but overall good. read more

The food was ok, a bit off for Indian food for some reason and the samosas were soft and not fresh at all.

The chicken tiki masala w rice was very tasty and well priced. Wish it came out hottee, got cold very quick. Besides that, staff is very friendly I reccomend u check them out! read more

Extremely tasty Indian food ( some of the best I've ever had) , quick and friendly service , very feasible prices. Wish I lived closer so I could come back! read more