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Mela on Tremont Street has been open since 2006 and after one visit it is very easy to understand why it has stood the test of time. Whether you are a student, a local or just someone in the South End and Back Bay area looking for good affordable Indian food in Boston, this place consistently delivers. Worth mentioning upfront for students -- Mela offers the weekday lunch buffet for $11.99 with a valid student ID, available through March 2026. The regular weekday buffet is $14.95 and the weekend buffet is $17.95. For a full Indian buffet in the South End Boston that is genuinely one of the better deals you will find in the city right now. The ambiance was warm and inviting, the kind of place that feels comfortable the moment you walk in. The owners were friendly and you could tell they genuinely take pride in what they do. We started with the aloo tikki chaat which was really well done. The balance of spice and sweetness was spot on and the depth of flavor made it feel thoughtfully prepared. It is one of those dishes where every bite feels complete and it set the tone for everything that followed. The mango lassi was just as good. Thick, rich and satisfying without being overly sweet. It felt authentic and filling, not the watered down version you sometimes get at other places. For the main we went with the vegetarian dinner for two which is one of the best value options on the menu at this South End Indian restaurant. It comes with soup, two gravies, basmati rice, naan, raita and two desserts, so you get a full and complete meal rather than just a single dish. We chose the malai kofta and saag paneer. The malai kofta was the standout, creamy, rich and deeply flavorful in a way that genuinely reminded us of food in India. The saag paneer had a fresher and lighter taste that balanced the richness of the kofta perfectly. The naan came out hot from the tandoor, soft and slightly doughy, and worked beautifully with both gravies. Everything on the table felt cohesive and well thought out. The desserts were the highlight of the whole meal. The malai kulfi is made in house and you can taste exactly why that matters. Rich, smooth and perfectly sweet. The gulab jamun came out warm and soft enough that it melted the moment it hit your tongue. Both were outstanding and the kind of ending that makes you want to come back just for dessert. If you are a student at Northeastern, BU, Berklee or Emerson looking for affordable Indian food near campus, Mela is exactly the kind of place you want in your regular rotation. The student buffet deal alone makes it worth knowing about. Between the food quality, the warm atmosphere and the strong vegetarian friendly options at this affordable Indian restaurant in Boston, it is easy to see why this place has lasted nearly two decades. We featured our visit on Instagram @bostonvegeats where we cover the best vegetarian and vegan friendly spots around Boston and Mela earned its spot on the page without question.
I like how the plates were meant to be shared. I thought the main dish were flavorful, but the chicken was honestly pretty dried. I was able to add chicken to the Gobhi Charchi for the same price as the chicken tikka masala. The vegetarian appetizer platter was a miss...flavorless and mushy and tasted like it was straight from frozen. The space was small, servers were quick and friendly. I really did enjoy the flavor of the Gobhi Charchi, I think I try to come back and try other protein options though.
This is a small little restaurant on Tremont street, down a few blocks from Back Bay train station. The buffet on a weekend was $18 per person and has an adequate enough variety. They offered garlic naan upon seating and it is included in the buffet. I'm not sure if refills are allowed or not, we didn't not ask for more. Nothing stood out as particularly good or bad...it's about what you'd expect for $18 per person Indian buffet. The offering is definitely not going to be remotely close to the variety and quality of a place like Godavari that costs about $25 per person...but given the choice, I'd pick Godavari. It was still good to try a smaller local place, though. Parking was very touch on Tremont street. Many were either short term 10-15m max limit or just not available. We had to park several blocks away. The staff were friendly, but interaction was extremely limited. The place looked clean enough, too.
The décor is lovely, one of the nicer interiors in an South Asian restaurant that I've experienced. The feeling is a little cramped though, I don't like being this close to other diners. They clearly cater to Gora clientele, the food is a little mild for my tastes. Prices are fair for the area and the classy atmosphere, an easy bus ride from downtown hotels.
First time trying this place, and overall, it was a mixed experience. The tadka daal and butter chicken were flavorful, and the goat curry was tender. However, the non-veg platter was disappointing--dried and rubbery. We mistakenly received naan, thinking it came with the entrees, but were charged $4 for it, which seemed excessive. Staff were mostly friendly and we had to ask them to refill our waters.
Honestly, a hidden gem in Back Bay and maybe my second favorite Indian place I've been to of all time (I've been to quite a few along the east coast too) Veggie pakora (8/10): the vegetable were well seasoned and warm, pairing super well with the tamarind sauce and mint (?) chutney that was complementary. Personally, I like my pakora batter a little flakier, less heavy, so I was expecting something less heavy so I could have more room for the main entree, but it was still amazing. Eating a couple of these would make me as full as having one samosa (but I could have more of these so that's a plus) Goat korma (10/10): literally SO tender, juicy, fatty, gamey, meaty, all in the right proportions. there was a good amount of goat in my bowl, so do not be fooled when you see a ton of curry hiding it all. I love goat bone-in because those cuts are usually my favorites of goat, but Mela does a fantastic job of not skimping on portions and giving you more goat than bone itself. I asked the waitress for hot as possible, and for me, it was pretty hot, but it could be hotter. nonetheless, still amazing. probably my new korma place in boston. lamb korma (8/10): my friend is a bit of a copy and got the same curry with different protein, ordered medium; I tried it, and it was great (goat is still superior). I didn't get the taste of medium hotness to it, but the lamb was so tender and fell apart in your mouth, it's hard to deny how great this dish was. garlic naan (not pictures, 9/10): so warm and fluffy! came out just in time with our curry. comes in 4 pieces. I feel like the garlic could've been incorporated better (it tasted like it was just brushed on), but maybe that was the best way. Still, so good, a must-have staple during any dinner. masala tea (not pictured, 6/10): I wanted to like this, because I love chai and I make it at home, but I feel like it was missing a signature punch. If you like a more cardamom/clove heavy spiced chai, this one has that taste but much lighter. It also came unsweetened so you can sweeten it yourself, which I thought was neat. I think what brings this review down is the fact that it was lukewarm when brought out. Gulab jamun (10/10): by the end of the dinner my friend and I were SO full but I love Indian desserts and had to get gulab jamun. When I tell you they were so fragrant and warm and soft, soaked in a deliciously sweet cardamom-rose syrup, I almost caved and got another. I could eat 5 plates of these if I hadn't eaten dinner. Service was great! The people are young and sweet; I had a lot of requests and questions and they answered with ease and sincerity. The restaurant is beautifully decorated, large enough to handle a small dinner party and intimate enough to take friends/family you haven't seen in a while or a date there. Will definitely be making the trek back to try their other desserts.
Delicious food. Kind staff. Wonderful night! We had a good time together as a family and the restaurant made sure to stay open a bit past their hours to accommodate us which was very considerate and we were very grateful!
With all the various awards on the windowpanes, you'd think the food would be excellent. However, the lackluster meal left me thoroughly dissatisfied with the experience. I give out a 1-star rating only ~2.4 % of the time, so you know to earn a 1-star, you must miss the target by such a wide margin, you don't hit the backstop. I haven't had food this bland while dining out in over five years. There were two things I did like: one was that the rice was cooked nicely, and two that the prices were reasonable. The half-portion of Tandoori chicken I ordered cost $13. This looks fine on the surface, but eating it made me not hungry yet gave me virtually no pleasure. To start this deserved lambasting: there is a tiny side salad of lettuce, tomato, and onion. The veggies themselves were fresh, but they had not been dressed (not even oil), and to add insult to injury, they weren't even salted. My mother taught me to eat my veggies, but salt brings out the flavor, and fat carries it. Without either, I might as well eat crisp wet paper! Then there was the disgrace carrying the name Tandoori Chicken. This chicken went wrong in every direction imaginable. First, despite the seemingly flavorful red coating, the marinade was so bland it might as well have not been there. Second, the tomato-based sauce provided on the side had a muted flavor lacking any oomph at all. Third, other than one tender drumstick, the meat was astonishingly dry. Fourth, especially being a person who does not like to eat with his hands, all but one were neither wing nor drumstick. Getting the meat off the bone was a wonky experience. The service was appropriately fast, and the location was small and cute.
We got Mela takeout for lunch one day. They don't have individual-sized entrees or bowls, so it's not a great place for takeout if you're looking for a quick meal with co-workers. Three stars is not a bad review in my book. Fortunately, we had tons of plates, napkins and utensils at the office to make the meal work logistically. All of the takeout containers are messy and oily; there was one major spill in the bag we got. In general, dumping a hot and oily curry dish into a small plastic container and then transporting it for any distance isn't a great idea. Mela doesn't label its vegan options, unfortunately. I shared a gobhi charchi ($15) which I assume is vegan by default. It was tasty but oily. The shahi bhindi ($18) I also assume is vegan by default. It was fine but nothing amazing. I wouldn't go out of my way for Mela. It's not memorable or different from any other North Indian restaurant. But it's not bad.
I had a lovely time visiting Mela with a friend. We each ordered a dish and so they brought us one giant cowl of rice to split. We also split some garlic naan. I had the lamb vindaloo, which was quite good though very tomato centric. I asked for it spicy and it was delightfully so. The garlic naan was very standard. I wouldn't call this the greatest Indian place in town or anything but it's definitely good and will satisfy your craving.
Mela's Sunday lunch buffet is still $14.95, however, there is no more juice at the buffet line. Sadness. They do instead have a milky tea, which, once sugared, is quite nice. The sambar soup was spicy. I think everything else was made mild for American taste and general buffet line consideration. New to the buffet line up were chicken samosa, Chinese style springrolls, and a dense mini savory donut labeled Medu Vada. I preferred the vegetable samosa over the chicken variant despite their far greater size. The goat in the curry was tender, the chicken in the tika masala rather tough. I always enjoy the large cheese cubes in the palak paneer. Definitely go with the garlic over the plain naan. They filled up over the lunch time hour, so reservations are recommended. For dessert, I took some of each: watermelon chunks, kheer, gulab jamun, and think I over did it with the almost bowlful of the rice pudding.
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I used to work here as a server 10 years ago. When I visited Boston a couple of weeks ago, I decided to come here for lunch with two of my close friends who were also my Mela colleagues back then. We ordered the non-vegetarian platter, butter chicken, chicken korma, mustard lamb chop, and some naan. All the foods were fresh and delicious. I am glad they still have the tamarind Margarita on the menu which happens to be one of my favorite drinks of all time. Not a lot of restaurants that I know of serve this type of margarita. I happened to drink two of those during this trip. It is sweet, refreshing, and gives you that buzz that you are looking for. Lychee martini is another cool drink that they serve here. For our dessert, we got some kulfis and a coconut sorbet (which is actually served in a coconut shell...mind-blowing, right?). We were glad to see Jatinder Paji (who used to be the manager when we used to work there) still running this place. He came every now and then to check on us and also agreed to take some pictures. He also introduced his daughter who was helping him in the restaurant. Jatinder Paji is a nice human being and we are glad that his daughter was very friendly as well. This place brings back so many memories and will always have a special place in my heart. I am glad the quality of the food has stayed the same over the years. Keep it up, Mela Fam! read more
I honestly don't know why this places review is not so great, because the food, drinks, service, and ambiance are all excellent. We got veggie samosas to start, an order came with two over a plate of salad, and they were big and yummy. We then got two curries (duck tikka masala, and a veggie dish sabji jalfrazi which was our waiters favorite), and both were fantastic, 10/10. There was a lot of food and enough for another meal of leftovers. The prices were more than reasonable, especially for a restaurant on tremont street with beautiful interiors. Our waiter was super friendly, food arrived really fast, overall will return soon because this was the best Indian food I have had in boston! read more
6 years ago
Food was ready early. Great. Pick up was easy and no contact. Awesome. I Ordered enough food for two-three people... or so I thought. Portion size was disgusting. The Chicken Tikka Masala in the pic was $17... I ordered two sides of rice because the menu I used said nothing about the side of rice that comes with it. Regardless. Looks like they stiffed me on the one of the two sides I ordered. NO UTENSILS or NAPKINS... Haven't even started eating and my lunch is ruined. Had to send my girlfriend back to her job to get them... By the time she gets back we'll have 15 minutes, at best, to eat. Haven't even tasted to food yet... So much for that place... read more
Business owner information
Surinder F.
Ricardo, I'm sorry to hear you were not satisfied with your order.…
5 years ago
10/5 stars. Tasty naaan, great entrees, cheap drinks, and friendly service! we absolutely love the chicken coconut curry and malaai kofta ps. best rogan josh of your life. absolutely had to go back for more read more
2 years ago
5 years ago
Mela was delicious! My boyfriend and I thought that it deserves a higher rating on yelp. We got the chicken tikkaMasala, lamb curry, and garlic naan bread. It was all very tasty. The service was great. Everyone was very nice. The interior was cute good for a night out with friends or a date. read more
2 years ago
Good customer service. Brought the manfriend here because I ate here once in college with my roommates. Thought it was interesting that they have the hot stone grill so wanted manfriend to give it a try. :) That was basically what sets apart this Indian restaurant from the rest. They are aiming to be "modern". I thought the seafood hot stone entree with salmon and scallop was great. Very fresh to the taste. read more
I was here for an interview supper, and I was very happily met with awesome staffing and wonderful food. I ordered the chicken saag, and I found it to be pretty enjoyable, though I felt the texture was a little too mushy. I was disappointed that it wasn't really spicy at all. There was a huge diversity of different dishes, and they all looked pretty good. The plates I tried did taste a little bland however, and I wasn't sure how the other dishes tasted. I'd really like to try this place sometime again and really try out their different strengths. Their mango lassi was definitely a table favorite as they were ordered multiple times with many refills. The appetizers were also quickly gobbled up. It's definitely a good place to have food with friends! read more
4 years ago
Cute Indian food find in Boston on my family weekend trip up here with fantastic food. We are vegetarian and this spot had great veg options. This place had a decent bar menu including Indian beers like Taj Mahal and kingfisher, as well as crafted cocktails. The food was very good. We ordered medium spice as a family that is used to spicy food and we still felt the heat. Definitely level down your spice when ordering. Service was fast and efficient. I would recommend this spot. read more
3 years ago
16 years ago
Mela was one of the first restaurants we ever went to when we moved out to Boston. It's in a nice location, a close walk to Copley Square. We were intrigued enough to try their version of hot-stone cooking because we tend to like that sort of DIY restaurant experience. The hot-stone cooking surface was a big, lovely slab of rock. I thought that for the price (over $20 for four little pieces), the tiny portion was a little unfortunate, but for a novelty experience, it was cool. It wasn't a problem, because not only are the dipping sauces delicious, but we ordered another dish (chicken tikka masala) and some garlic naan to accompany the hot stone lamb. The chicken tikka masala was very good. Their decor is so nice, it's a lovely place to have a date, and the service is good. read more
7 years ago
Good Indian food with good ambience. That is a rare combination around here! We ordered chilli paneer, it wasn't like a Indo-Chinese paneer but still good (soy sauce based thick gravy with mushrooms and green bell pepper and cubbed cottage cheese/paneer), typically paneer is deep fried but it wasn't in this dish. The Samosas and the chutney was standard, raita was good (cucumber shavings with thick curd). We also ordered naan (yumm) and the malai kofta (korma) the gravy was to die for.. I am sure you gain a few pounds after eating that rich gravy ;) but totally worth it. We asked for spicy and it wasn't spicy for my taste. The desserts, rasmalai was good and the gulab jaamun was a bit too sweet for my taste. Overall a good experience and I would return back! read more
Business owner information
Surinder F.
Sonika, when you come here for a meal you can always expect delicious…
7 years ago
Came for dinner with my boyfriend to fix our Indian craving before a show. We ended up getting the vegetarian dinner for two, which included samosas, soup, naan, rice, 2 vegetarian entrees (we got the paneer and peas curry and vegetable korma), side yogurt sauce, and choice of dessert! It was a ton of food and all was cooked well, came hot and timely, and was very flavorful. - Service and ambience: 5/5, quiet enough to hold a conversation - Food: 4/5, everything tasted very good and was at a good spiciness level at medium, but there really wasn't much paneer in either of our dishes even though one of them had paneer in the name read more
Business owner information
Surinder F.
Sharon, there's nothing better than satisfying a craving with…
Lunch buffet review Mela has been a staple in my diet for several years. Located in the south end, Mela provides excellent Indian cuisine. You can order garlic ma'am which is made fresh and the buffet dishes are a rich blend of spices and flavor. Service is excellent the price is reasonable for a lunch buffet. Overall, I love this place and will still periodically dine here. If your looking for some Indian cuisine in the south end, Mela is your place. read more
3 years ago
7 years ago
Business owner information
Surinder F.
George, there's nothing better than being at home and enjoying some…
4 years ago
5 years ago
Mela you've done it again with the rogan josh. amazing naan, great service, good prices. highly recommend! read more
7 years ago
Business owner information
Surinder F.
When you're craving authentic Indian food, Simon, there's only one…
6 years ago
They had a nice outdoor setup with heaters and good service (provided hand sanitizer and water bottles instead of tap). I ordered the Lamb Coconut Curry with medium spice level: the coconut was a pleasant surprise & the lamb was good quality too but the curry sauce was very mild with no spice to it (so if you're looking for a little kick def get Hot). The Chicken Tikka appetizer was okay: not too dry but it was just a chicken kabob, nothing spectacular. Now the GOOD stuff is the Vegetable Samosa and Garlic Naan: really nice crunch and flavor. Overall, it was a pretty decent meal/experience. I'd maybe come back to try something else if I'm in the mood for Indian. read more
Business owner information
Surinder F.
Danie, thanks for joining us! Our vegetable samosa and garlic naan…
3 years ago
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5 years ago
Delicious, consistent Indian food! Great for takeout, too! Highlights are the naan and all the curry dishes. Love! read more
4 years ago
More info about Mela Modern Indian Cuisine
578 Tremont St
Boston, MA 02118
South End
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(617) 859-4805
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https://melainboston.com
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