Nirmal's is an authentic Indian culinary innovatior and stands out as a masterclass in original Indian cuisine. My husband and I, both food enthusiasts with a deep love for traditional Indian flavors stumbled upon this gem and were blown away We are both home cooks who love to cook Indian food from scratch. We know our food and work towards cooking up a storm in our kitchen so believe me when I say we loved Oliver's vision of unapologetic Indian cuisine= no fusion gimmicks, just pure, unadulterated flavor. *Standouts:* ⁃ Chicken patiala, sweet and salty just like it should be! ⁃ Mango nojitos, the most delicious non-alcoholic drinks ever! ⁃ In-House made chicken tikka and mutton-pav, generous on the house tastings from Oliver. Loved the hospitality and felt so special! Beautiful flavors! Chef's kiss! *What sets Nirmal's apart:* ⁃ Authenticity that resonates deeply- In-house ground spices, nothing straight out of the freezer ⁃ Passionate owners who genuinely care about their food and what they serve Fresh, house-made ingredients, spices and chutneys ⁃ A chef who understands the nuances of Indian cuisine Seattle, take note: Follow them, visit them and promote them. Their flavors are Chefs kiss! Dining nere is an experience. Love your food and show some love to people who serve you DELICIOUS food! Don't miss their tandoori chicken; it's sublime Thank you, Oliver and Chef, for sharing your love and craft with us! It was a privilege to dine here tonight Will take the masterclass (and lots of leftovers) home with us! Instagram: @scrumptious_recursions read more

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Excellent food. Lovely service. Great menu selection of authentic dishes. I went with friends from the part of India where these dishes are featured and they also confirmed it to be authentic with known local specialities from the region. Lives up to the reviews and hype. read more

Yum!! We really enjoyed our food!! The portions are shareable and there's a pretty wonderful variety of options on their menu.

Enjoyed dinner at Nirmal's. The kebabs were tasty with just the right amount of spice and served with 2 sauces - a green mint chutney and another red one. The pompano was lightly spiced and deep fried. We don't usually see this kind of fish on the menu at Indian restaurants and it was delicious. Kulfi was ok. The servers were informative and pleasant. We really appreciated the unique dishes like the pompano which is not standard indian restaurant fare. The restaurant had an industrial vibe with brick walls and open ducts in the ceiling. read more

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It was so exciting to try different Indian food specialties. You can tell a lot of thought and care went into cooking and plating the food. Beautifully done. Here's what we tried: * Butter Chicken Patiala: cashew curry based. It was so creamy, complex, and flavorful * Vegetable Kofta curry: with spinach and cashew base, also really love this dish * For the side, I personally like the naan better whereas my hubby preferred the roti, so it may be a matter of preferences. To be honest, a lot of the dishes were unfamiliar to us but the server was nice enough to provide descriptions and recommendations, and they were on point. The owner was also friendly and stopped by to check on us. Will return for lunch to try their thalis next time. read more

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nirmal's is a delight start to finish. excellent food, gorgeous spot, welcoming staff. check it out!

Food was fantastic and authentic. Service was great and very accommodating. We had the veg thali and the chicken thali and both were delicious. read more

Great food; good service. We got the pakoras for appetizer; it was good. Star of our meal was the stuffed bell peppers. It was rich and hearty. And delicious. Makki di roti was the softest I'd ever eaten. Sarson ka saag was good too. Portion sized were good here. We were too full so didn't get any desserts. The owner was around; so he came and chatted with us. Nice and friendly guy. The Seattle Restaurant Week menu was not that great for vegetarians. It was comparable to their regular menu. read more

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Great find!! We really enjoyed the authentic food at Nirmals. We went there for lunch and ordered stuffed bell pepper (yumm) curry, roti, paneer tikka, husband ordered lamb briyani (not super masala like other briyani places, this was dum type with all spices gelled well), fish pompenno (which takes some time to prep). The authentic taste and aroma with apt spice level was a great choice. The host was soo nice that he offered some veg briyani and green chilly pickle for us to taste, tbh briyani was very well done (tasted like tawa version). We also tried their jalebi and rabadi. read more

We booked our table weeks in advance, a smart move considering the limited seating at the restaurant. When we arrived, the hostess seated us and swiftly handed over the menus. Our waiter soon took our order, and we settled in, eagerly anticipating our meal. However, I couldn't help but notice that the restaurant's vibe didn't quite match its fine dining label. The cutlery and dishes fell short of the expectations associated with upscale dining, with scratches, chips, and even a dirty plate making an appearance. To add to the quirks, some dishes at our table had curry spills on the sides. To cap off the evening, another waitress accidentally dropped some used cutlery while clearing our table. As someone who appreciates authentic Indian cuisine, I was disappointed by the food at Nirmal's. My party ordered the chicken biryani. I usually prefer goat when it's on the menu; however, when I asked the waitress she said that the goat is not very tender. Unfortunately, the chicken didn't live up to our tenderness expectations, and the biryani leaned heavily on clove and cinnamon flavors. The stuffed bell peppers, intriguing on their own, took a weird turn with the addition of curry and cheese, resulting in an unappetizing taste. While the brown goat curry was the tastiest dish I had at Nirmal's, the meat's chewiness and dryness took away from the overall experience. On a positive note, the garlic naan, soft and adequately garlicky, was a highlight. The chocolate cake with chikoo ice cream for dessert was decent. read more

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We've been hearing about how authentic & tantalizing the food is at Nirmal. The service was friendly, but the food was not as stellar as all the hype. We later learned from a former patron the food quality has declined over time. But the reason I'm reluctant to go back is the location, which has also deteriorated significantly over time. There were several people across from the restaurant that were freebasing cocaine, injecting themselves with substances in mid day(lunchtime). The street smelled fowl. Sad sight. read more

I can safely call Nirmal's a bit overrated. I went with a large group and we had mix feelings. Filter Coffee was too strong while tea was good but they served when it got bit cold. Angare chicken was okay while macchi kolivada was divine. Chicken rasa was interesting and the chicken patiala was superb. Garlic naan was good. We also tried misil pav and it very bad. Definitely not the way you make one. Bottom line Nirmal's doesn't do justice to all cuisine for the price it charges. It's a hit or a miss. read more

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Yummy menu! Easy to order and get a variety of options to try new things. Great space that is perfect for groups.

Nirmal's is the classic Indian restaurant to go to in Seattle. They have high quality food, good ambiance, and lots of options. However it's a higher price point and the food can take quite some time to arrive. Our last visit was during the Rajasthani festival and it had some diner experience errors. We ordered 2 entrees. We ate half of the first one and intended to box the rest for lunch tomorrow. The waiter came by and picked up our first dish and threw it away even though there was obviously still food there. We told them this and they shrugged it off. Then they double charged us for ice cream. We noticed because the ice cream was $10 each. While it was probably housemade, 1 scoop of turmeric or chickoo wasn't worth that much. They should've comped the ice cream anyways considering they essentially threw away our first entree. read more

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Nirmal's is a fantastic, up-scale restaurant with a super unique menu full of Indian fare that I've never been able to find anywhere else. I got a fantastic steal with the SRW ($35 for an app, entree, and dessert!), but otherwise I'd expect to shell out a bit here (~$30 or more per entree). Location wise, it's in Pioneer Square, which means your parking options are a lot that costs 20 bucks an hour at night or hard fought street parking. The owner is an adorable man overflowing with knowledge about different regions of India and just excited to share his passion. Paneer Amritsari (3.5/5): The paneer itself was pretty standard, nice char on the outside. The real highlight of this was the chutney, which is INCREDIBLE. Chutney 5 stars, but the appetizer itself wasn't anything special. Beef Ularthiyathu (4.25/5): This was almost like a beef rendang where the beef is fried to the point of almost pulled pork texture. Super peppery where you don't think it's spicy, but at the end of the plate you're tongue will r e a l l y feel it. Heads up, the roti it came with was more crispy than flaky, but was enjoyable nonetheless. Saoji Chicken Rassa (3.5/5): The chicken drumsticks were actually cooked pretty well, but this dish just wasn't my favorite. This was served with some savory donuts, which were a little dry and dense and a peanut sauce that I thought clashed with the curry. I would've preferred rice or something softer that could soak up the curry instead. Interesting, but I wouldn't order again. Ras Malai (4.25/5): Very mild, fluffy disks of cheese with pistachio bits and soaked in a lightly floral, saffron milk (think condensed milk-esque). Great combination of textures and flavor. read more

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Wonderful food, horrible service. There was only one waiter who was so overwhelmed that he didn't clean our table and barely brought any water. We waited 1 hour for our dishes coming to the restaurant at 7:30 pm and leaving at 9:15 pm and most time was spent waiting for our food. It was not so safe walking back to our hostel due to leaving the restaurant so late and I do blame the service for that. Not recommended at night due to safety and not recommended in general due to the long wait. Recommended for good food which we managed to enjoy under the circumstances. read more

The food was amazing. As someone who grew up with Vada Pav and Misal Pav, they were excellent. The ambience was very nice and we met the owner Oliver. He was a great host and a very warm person. Do say hi to him if you see him on your visit and if it's not a busy evening, plan to spend 15 minutes chatting with him about food and life! read more

Finally writing this long overdue review. Post pandemic they have restarted the state food festival, finished Maharashtrian food festival, and this month it is Kashmiri food. They have special items from Kashmir in addition to their regular menu. For this visit we decided to try all Kashmiri items. We started with Mith Te Golemach (minced chicken dumplings). We loved the dumplings, delicious, and chilli sauce it came with. Then we got Khatte Baingan, Marhcwangan Korma (Goat korma), and Methi Paratha and Pudina Paratha. We loved the Marhcwangan Korma, one of the best goat curries we had in a long time. Khatte Baingan is very good. For dessert, we got Firin, and loved it. read more

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Brought a group of out-of-town coworkers here for a nice meal, had a great time! Generous portions, flavorful spice in dishes (not kill-me-now spicy. Actually flavorful spicy), and an extensive variety of curries and entrees. Most of us got meat dishes but one coworker is lactose intolerant and another is vegetarian, both liked how many options they each had for meals on this menu. The mango lassi drink and the vindaloo were especially delightful read more

First visit to Nirmal's after hearing about it for years. I truly hope this was just an off night, but honestly one of the more terrible restaurant experiences in my life. There were a lot of Indian basics on the menu, so coming to Nirmal's we wanted to try things we don't typically get - we got a special Kerala fish that was wrapped in banana leaf, the Beef ularthiyathu and mutton biryani. The fish was fine - had a kind of fishy smell when first opened but the spices and coating on the fish were good and unique, under seasoned, but fine. The beef ularthiyathu was so incredibly disappointing, the "beef" was mostly just unrendered and inedible fat & gristle. Like whole cubes of fat - completely disgusting and not worth the price at all for the 4 small cubes of beef I got to eat. The flavor was good, but meat quality was probably among the worst ever in a restaurant. We let our server know and he said "I'll let the kitchen know" and that was that. The biryani was very similar, the mutton was full of fat and just seemed to be carelessly constructed. Small fatty and bony pieces of mutton, just incredibly hard to eat - we've had amazing mutton biryani all over the world and this was just underwhelming at every corner. The biryani itself was bland, the "raita" was just watery yogurt with some garam masala in it - total waste versus what we'd expect. The only redeeming parts of the mutton was the random bits of marrow which were tasty. Again, we mentioned this to our server and got the same "ill let the kitchen know" Bill came - basically $90 and I'd rather have a random takeaway curry spot. No attempt to make anything right, no half measures of a free dessert or anything...just lackluster, overpriced Indian food that seemed to be missing passion or care. If you care, there is no conceivable way to put that quality of meat in front of a customer and not even attempt to make it right. Maybe the samosas are good...we'll never know because we won't be back. read more

Food was average, service was good. Price slightly on higher end. Nice ambiance! Finding Parking in-front of restaurant is hard read more

Looking for a place to meet my family for dinner in downtown Seattle, I made same-day reservations at Nirmal's, a cozy and contemporary Indian restaurant near Pioneer Square. We arrived at 5:30 PM, right when the restaurant opened, and the dining room was quickly populated with customers. We decided to order a variety of dishes to share, starting with samosas and mango lassi (which was pleasantly thick and creamy). For the main courses, we chose three dishes: daal makhani, vegetable kofta curry, and a specialty eggplant dish that was offered in honor of the Kashmir festival. The daal makhani included savory black lentils - excellent with rice or scooped up with naan. The vegetable kofta curry was a stunning dish of fried dumplings made from mixed vegetables, covered in a mild and slightly sweet green curry sauce. The eggplant dish was served with a delicious sauce that had a hint of smokiness. The portions were generous and perfect for sharing; each dish could easily be split four ways. Our server was friendly and attentive, and our food was brought out sequentially to allow us to savor each dish. I would definitely come back to try Nirmal's other menu items and re-order the delicious vegetable kofta curry. read more

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I went for lunch while at work. They only have two options , the vegetarian and chicken curry plates among other curries. I was surprised it was delicious. The ambience was sooo different from Pioneer Square. So clean inside. The waiter was friendly. read more

Nirmal's - Chicken curry plate - Indian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Went on Friday night without reservations Was expecting some wait time, however, got the table right away. We ordered one Malai Murg Kebob, Saoji Chicken Rassa with Pudina Roti The ambience is good and classy. However the seats are very close by. I hoped we had some space in between The food was great! The curry was very flavorful and had a kick to it. The roti was soft and tender. The green chutney with kebab was amazing! I do recommend the food. However they lacked service. The service was very slow and not good at all. No one came to take our order past 15 mins after getting seated. They didn't provide any extra cutlery with the main course. If you want good food and don't mind the bad service, you must try this read more

Nirmal's - MURGH MALAI KEBAB - Indian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

I highly recommend this place! I love love love the atmosphere of the restaurant. With the high ceilings it makes the place more open despite all the tables being filled. The place fits a number of groups but because of the layout it doesn't feel crowded or loud at all. FOOD: Goan Prawn Curry - Very flavorful and the prawns were cooked perfectly! A little spicier than the second dish that we got but it's not too bad even for me who has a low spice tolerance. Paneer Makhan Masala - I absolutely love love love paneer and this dish was my favorite. The masala sauce was delicious and creamy. Ginger tumeric ice cream + lychee ice cream - I'm not a fan of ginger but the ginger ice cream worked so so well together. I'm not sure how to describe it but the way it blends in with the creaminess gave it a similar flavor profile to pumpkin spice. But better. It was so good. Same with the lychee ice cream! The lychee is very strong and apparent in the ice cream. I'm 100% coming back. Good ambiance, good service, and absolutely good food read more

Nirmal's - GOAN PRAWN CURRY Paneer Makhan Masala - Indian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

Amazing food, amazing people! Nirmal's Indian Restaurant exceeded all expectations. The owner and staff were so friendly and welcoming and the food was absolutely delicious. A must-visit spot in Seattle--can't wait to return! read more

Food was great. Don't exactly remember what we ordered. There was a vegetarian dish with lentils. I think I had the dumplings in green sauce. No complaints. The garlic naan was yummy. read more

Limited menu but great quality , owner come and ensure you are served well. Ordered chicken dishes and garlic naan

I first came to this restaurant with my coworkers after an offsite meeting and they blew me away with the food. That's why I took my wife here since she loves Indian food and naan. The restaurant is very close to pioneer square and is in a part of the city that some may find uncomfortable in at night. It seemed to be the only restaurant store open on the street when we arrived. There is very limited street parking but a pay parking lot is just around the corner. We love their interior decor. It seems many restaurants in the Seattle area prefer to have this type of decor, perhaps due to many of them in older buildings with brick walls. The service was good and the staff there were very attentive to our needs. We ordered our favorite garlic naan. It was good but I wish I had a little stronger garlic taste. The other dishes were a lamb and beef based which I don't recall the exact name. One of them had a special side pita type of bread and it was very tasty. Overall I highly recommend this place for anyone who loves Indian food. read more

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We came to try this restaurant during Seattle Restaurant Week 2023 (runs from 10/22 to 11/4/23). I highly suggest trying dishes from the SRW menu, such a good deal! The food is Indian, but the background music is not. It's an eclectic collection of Pavarotti, musical and movie soundtrack. We even heard Christmas music. We joked that it felt like a Christopher Nolan movie, especially when we were the only guests left before closing. With that said, food is authentic and delicious. I'd put it in my top 3 Indian restaurants I'vein the Seattle area. The dishes were all spice forward, especially the Chicken Dum Biryani (my least favorite dish of the night). My favorite was Beef Ularthitathu (it's in the $35 SRW menu). similar to Beef Randang) - very flavorful, perfect with the flaky roti. The roti is worth mentioning because I've never had a flaky roti from an Indian restaurant before. My hubby's favorite was the Goat dish called Gongura Mamasam (very tender). We will be back to try more dishes! read more

As a Bay Area native who's had to eat Indian food for practically his entire life (because I'm Indian, duh), I can confidently say this was the best thing I ate. I've never said "goddamn" that much. See, this place executes Indian food properly. I'll give them that. However, they go one above by introducing the people to flavors they don't typically get. Screw butter chicken and samosas, try this hara bara tikki. Then speaking with Oliver was nice. I think that shows a lot about the restaurant's commitment to service. He also took the time to explain the reasoning behind pork vindaloo; how it was the original before the British came along and switched it to Lamb. For ambiance, it was nice but the place has a few homeless people. That's just unfortunate placing so I don't blame them. Overall, the place excels in executing Indian food, introducing new flavors, and having good service. read more

A Seattle gem! My husband and I spontaneously chose to stop in late on a Saturday night - reservations are apparently strongly recommended as it was packed at 9 PM - thankfully, we were able to sit in their overflow seating by the bar! From the food to the service, everything was wonderful here! Ryan, our waiter, made us feel right at home with the most personable service despite how crazy busy they were. He took the time to get to know us & to let us know about what goes into making each dish. On top of that, he gave us complimentary chai tea and the most delicious guava ice cream to close out our dinner. Of course we can't forget about the main course - we ordered veggie samosas for an appetizer and Paneer Makhan Masala with garlic naan to share. Everything was so good!! Highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a good place to go w/ friends or on a date while in downtown. read more

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During my trip to Seattle, we were searching for good restaurants around Pioneer Square and we saw that Nirmal's had some good reviews. As a result, we decided to check it out during the early evening when the wait wouldn't be too long. The inside has a stylish and modern interior that's relatively spacious, and we were able to be seated pretty quickly. This definitely would be a nice place for a date spot or for a meal before a night out on the twon. My girlfriend and I decided to get the Mumbai Pav Bhaji as well as the Goat Curry. The Pav Bhaji was excellent, with the warm, crispy buns that went well with the savory sauce that came with it. The goat curry was also well-cooked, and it was my first time eating goat so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. While they made it well and the meat was quite tender, it does have an interesting after-taste that can turn off some people. However, if you are a fan of goat meat then you'll definitely enjoy this dish! Overall, if you're craving Indian food in Seattle then I would recommend checking out Nirmal's! Definitely try and make a reservation beforehand though. read more

Nirmal's - Pav Bhaji - Indian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Food was okay. Nothing extraordinary. South indian food is not their forte for sure. But north indian food is fine.

Wow I have been meaning to write about our great experience cool location and wonderful authentic meal. Loved the veggie options and excellent service. The harra barra kebab excellent ! read more

This review is long overdue, as I've been to Nirmal's four or five times now. I was initially skeptical about fancy Indian at high prices ($30ish for an entree), as this has always disappointed me in other places. Nirmal's does not disappoint. First and foremost, the food quality is outstanding. The spices are great, but they are not just relying on spice for flavor. Cooking techniques are on point as well. Over the course of my visits, I've tried about ten of the mains, and they were all so mouth wateringly delicious. Anything cooked on the bone is highly recommended, with meat cooked to perfection. Spice level seems to vary a lot on my visits, so if you have preferences, be clear about them. Desserts are also authentic, homemade, and amazing. This is extremely rare at Indian restaurants, where you're often limited to a couple of soggy old gulab jamun or something industrial. But food aside, what sets this place apart from any other restaurant I've visited in Seattle is the service. The servers are knowledgeable, friendly, and happy to provide recommendations. Several times I've been there, the owner has personally come around to ask how things were and introduce himself. He is so passionate about the food, culture, and history, and I learned a lot from him in these little chats. Despite the fanciness of the restaurant, I felt so welcomed there by everyone I came in contact with. It's shockingly hard to find good Indian food in Seattle, and I'm so glad I have Nirmal's to rely on. Even the prices are not crazy for Seattle, as the entrees are family style, and one can easily feed two people if you have an appetizer. read more

-1 for the cold atmosphere... it's like we were almost eating outside Otherwise the butter naan which I've never had anywhere else was perfectly airy and had a nice chew. The chicken was delicious and perfectly spiced. Almost like a tikka masala. And the drinks were really good too! Tried the curry margarita and the one with coconut cream. Good balance to have both... cause curry margarita was spicy! Will come again and bring others to try. read more

Nirmal's - CHICKEN PATIALA - Indian Near Me - Seattle, Washington

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Had such a delightful dinner at Nirmal's with some friends on a Friday night! Although this restaurant does not have air conditioning and recon it's been 90°+ degrees this week in Seattle but there's a few fans if you are seated indoors. They also have outdoor seating as well. Us 3 girls ordered the following, below is also ranked from 1 to 5 being the best dish: - Lamb Sheekh Hussaini 4/5 - Chicken Patiala 5/5 - Side of Garlic Naan Bread 5/5 - Chicken Dum Biryani 5/5 They also provide crispy bread with amazing (spicy) dip! Loved it. We were very impressed by the flavor depth of all the dishes. I cannot recommend it more and am so happy it's located in Pioneer Square! Our check was $110 including 3 drinks which is fairly good deal! Can't wait to go back! read more

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Nirmals was an incredible experience! The reservation process through yelp was super easy and my coworkers and I were excited. We got the chicken and veggie appetizers and all the flavors were very well blended. The staff was very helpful in picking the entrees and som complementary sides. My favorite was the goat biriyani- Very scrumptious and the rice and meat were very aromatic. 10/10 for food, ambience and courteous staff. read more

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I liked their saarson ka saag and makki di roti very much! Misal Pav was okay, was very spicy so couldn't finish it. Overall great vibe and menu in the heart of Seattle read more

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