Something has clearly changed here, based on the number of stars and the quantities of reviews. It is not possible that we are speaking of the same establishment. I went into this restaurant because my business moved to the area and I waited months to take a few colleagues here because Indian cuisine is their favorite. What a disappointment. The windows in the front of the business are full of bugs - stuck between the booths and the glass - that haven't been cleaned out in months if not years. If this is an indication of what's going on inside and in the kitchen... and the fact that every employee walks past it, several times a day.. We ate because there was too many of us to try to chose an alternate, we will never go back. Sad read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Bugs to great you as you walk in. - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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My partner and I aren't huge Indian food eaters, but this place had us wanting more. The place is unassuming and we wouldn't have found this place without yelp and google maps. Hole in the wall/family owned restaurant vibes. The tandoori was served piping hot and super moist. Butter chicken was flavorful and tender. The rice and naan are ordered separately. I'd love to try their garlic naan next time. read more

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Our first trip to Nandini was during the Covid shut down period, when restaurants were only doing take out. It took us a while but we finally went back for a dine in experience. I was having a bad day at work, dealing with idiots, and wanted to get some excellent food in my mouth to wash away the bad taste left over from an eight hour day. Nandini was a great choice! The parking lot is great, plenty of spaces to choose from. There was only one other diner that came in so we had the place to ourselves. Such wide selection of choices I kept having to ask the gentleman server to come back because I couldn't make up my mind. He was great about it though and didn't lose patience with me. We ordered a couple different meals, as well as a couple different types of naan. Holy smokes, the naan was piping hot and the meals were, too. Heck, the serving sizes were gargantuan! There was so much food leftover I had Nandini for lunch for three extra days. What a treat. If you haven't tried Nandini, you are missing out. Go. Now. read more

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Don't let the New Management sign fool you, the staff is just as friendly and the food is just as good as it was before! Super welcoming atmosphere with amazing workers behind the counter. Highly recommend the $12 lunch Buffett! read more

Amazing food and staff! One of my favorite places for Indian food. The butter chicken is awesome, a must try spot!

Me encantó la comida muy fresca y sabrosa yo la recomiendo y unos dueños súper buena onda

My family visited this restaurant yesterday night and were blown away by the dishes served. Karthik took care of our requests meticulously and was even able to deliver a dish not in the menu as per our request. The owner made it a point to make sure we were satisfied with the food served. We will be visiting it often from now on. read more

This place is amazing. Been awhile since I've had Indian this good. Lamb korma was good but not out if this world Chicken tikka masala-Amazing, probably the best in the U.S. I've ever had Butter chicken-Out of this world, so good! Samosas-Amazing, reminded me if my 10 cent samosas in India Mango Lassi-Ok, but I've had better Basmati Rice-Standard Garlic Naan-Best I've had in U.S. so good! read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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Everything here is so wonderful. I shouldn't eat at buffets cause stuff myself but it is so worth it. The staff is super kind also.

Literally the best Indian food in Arizona. The service is great. I think it's family ran but it's just such great food. I will definitely be coming back. I also order a lot from DoorDash from them. read more

I was in the mood for Indian food for lunch. So I did a search on Yelp and found this place which had a lot of positive reviews. No I consider myself an Indian food connoisseur as I have eaten Indian food all over the country and in Japan and Thailand. And this place is not very good. The chicken tandoori had a sauce on it which is not the way it is supposed to be and it had a not very good flavor to it. I also tried the chicken tikka masala and the sauce was not very good and the chicken was chewy. The garlic naan was good and all the food had a little kick to it which probably saved it from me rating it lower. Also, this place is not very clean inside. It's old and runs down and looks dirty. I can't recommend this place and I don't know how it got so many good reviews. read more

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I really really wanted to like this restaurant. I ordered butter chicken, plain naan, and paneer tikka. The good: The naan was fresh as was the paneer. The bad: The butter chicken tasted nothing like butter chicken and tasted slightly like coconut milk. Also the chicken had quite a bit of gristle and bone (it's supposed to be a boneless dish). Lastly the paneer tikka was swimming in oil, and had sautéed onion and peppers in it. Paneer tikka is just supposed to be skewered grilled paneer. It's unfortunate because I was really looking forward to this meal after a long day but was very disappointed. Not even remotely authentic, and too oily. read more

I am 100% positive that this family restaurant pays a farm of illegitimate 5 star reviews. If you are a human, not a bot, and actually want to eat here PLEASE take a close look at their cleanliness standards in the dining room and bathroom beforehand. If you do and that didn't convince you, check out their D rating for health code violations. So sad because it didn't use to be THAT bad. Every 5 star review is fake. I'm sorry to all who actually want to support a local business (and not get sick in the process). To Nandini: instead of paying for FAKE reviews, spend that money on a cleaning service! My heart is broken having been so loyal to you in the past. Will never return. read more

Nandini holds a special place in my heart for having bomb-af Indian food. The spice complexity is perfect. Everything comes out in a timely manner and of course, it's just GOOD. The pakoras are a must for appetizers. Order rice and garlic naan too. If you're not feeling adventurous, you can't go wrong with chicken tikka masala. I also def recommend the saag. Creamy, spinach-y, it's the veggie dish you need. Only caution: portions can be on the smaller side and if you're lactose sensitive lol bring some lactaid. read more

Husband wanted me to drop it to a 2 today, but I don't agree. The vegetable pakoras, as I mentioned were greasy, but they were so greasy he's spent the last day and a half feeling slightly ill read more

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I ate at Original Indian Kitchen for the first time today. We had the buffet. It was EXCELLENT! There was even a tray of fresh cut veggies but with all the savory, spiced main dishes and side dishes I decided to pass on the veggies but what a great option for those wanting to fill up on low-fat, raw vegetables. The buffet included a table of vegetarian options (not sure if any were vegan, most seemed to have either cheese and/or butter) and a table of tender chicken dishes. There were several delicious deserts, chutneys, chai and mango lassi. Naan bread was made to order and included in the buffet. The owner Irma and the hostess came to check on us and were so friendly and personable. What a great place, so glad it's nearby. Decorative metal hangers hold the lids as you scoop your food from the copper pots that kept the food warm. I highly recommend the buffet so you can taste a variety of their excellent dishes. read more

Came here one cold night. Dinner time. wasn't too busy. parking - easy and spacious. service - quick, and server doesn't have much welcoming feeling, but nonetheless to the point They give complimentary some form of chip ordered: chicken and lamb tikka masala. Spicy on both. Side of garlic naan and regular basamati rice. **1 order of basamati rice is quite a lot** Able to share half. I did order a second rice, not knowing they gave a lot of rice. Taste on chicken / lamb - similar flavor as expected, Definitely spicy. Tons of flavor, chicken wasn't too dry, but by no means moist. Lamb was decent. about half way in the masala, you might get full especially if you're eating the rice and naan. Togo the rest, and another meal done for the next day. As for price around $12-15 Lamb was more expensive. Rice was $2 garlic Naan was like $3 I did have a coupon, which made coming here a sweeter deal Would come back in future if craving and around the area. read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Chicken Tikka masala. Garlic naan - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

This place offers a lunch buffet every day which is nice for those who work on weekdays. It costs about $16.50 per person as of April 2024. We went on a day that wasn't very busy, so the waitress and manager were very attentive... to the point where it felt a bit uncomfortable being there. It felt like we were being watched with every move we made, from going to the buffet to eating the food. The manager seemed like he was training the waitress, but was speaking in such a rude tone to her that it made us feel uneasy. He was scrutinizing every move she made too, and seemed very bossy and demeaning when telling her how to do things. The food was average, it was spicy but did not have a well-rounded flavor palette. We ate as quickly as we could and headed out. I would also like to point out that the "A" rating outside their door is from 2017, and the one inside is not current either. read more

Great flavor. I ordered two different dishes, one chicken and one lamb both with amazing flavor.

Delicious Indian food! I really like their tiki masala, and butter chicken I recommend ordering takeout or delivery read more

This place has been one of my favorite Indian restaurants in the valley for some years. I haven't been here in over a year and was excited to try it again. Let's start with the good. The best change is that now rice is included with the purchase of a main dish, before it was separate! The flavors were good as usual and the garlic naan was crisp and perfect. A few things were different than before that make me want to give a 4/5 instead of a 5/5. They didn't give us the complimentary papadum with chutneys like before. Not sure if they just forgot, they no longer serve them, it's now something you order, or if it's a COVID temporary change. Either way I was sad because that's one of my favorite parts of getting Indian food. And I also feel like the basmati rice was a bit more moist than before, and mixed with the sauce that makes it extra wet. I'll definitely be coming back in sometime soon to see how it is going forward, because either way the food is to die for! My favorite dishes are the Chicken Saag, Butter Chicken, and Chicken Tikka Masala! read more

This has been my go-to family run Indian restaurant for decades. That was not a typo, I said decades.

excellent food and service, food was so tasty and great atmosphere. this going to be my regular spot

I had been craving Indian food for a while now and when Karen W. suggested this spot for our lunch, I was immediately onboard. It faces Broadway Road, east of McClintock, with ample parking. I walked inside and was greeted and even told that my friend had already arrived and been seated. I'd never been here before but the tables are setup with silverware and water and the plates are at the beginning of the buffet. They also have mango lassi and chai which was an unexpected but pleasant perk. The mango lassi was thick and sweet, and I enjoyed it but would like to try it with a stronger tart, mango flavor. I started with getting both the white basmati rice and the biryani and then surveyed the choices of dishes. There was good variety and a lot of veggie options to accommodate vegetarians. I tried basically everything, including the chicken tikka masala, spiced chicken, and chicken drumsticks. They had the classics like paneer, palak, aloo, curry, daal, pakora, etc. Salad was available but it was your basic iceberg, tomato, cucumber combo so I passed. Hot garlic naan was brought to our table once we got our plates as well. I liked the pakora, paneer (cheese) and the palak (spinach), surprisingly since I prefer spinach raw. But it had a bit of heat to it, which leads to my one main complaint about this place. I would've liked to see spicier selections as everything was pretty mild. Maybe so that it can cater to more folks, but mama likes her heat. They had mint yogurt and tamarind sauce, which are soothing, and a pickle sauce I didn't try. The dessert selection was nice, I tried gulab jamun (I bit into it and was surprised that it was hot!), carrot halwa, and the round sugary circles. They also had some sort of yogurt, which I did not try. Nandini was a lot of food at a great value. I really appreciated that the drinks were included in the buffet and that the owner/manager let me wrap up the leftover naan to take home. I would definitely come back and inquire about modifying the spice level on my plate. read more

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We ordered the samosas, Chana masala, and vegetable korma. I really liked the pastry dough on the samosas, but I wish the green sauce had been more tart. The Chana masala and vegetable korma were oilier than I am used to, but they tasted good. I wish the menu showed which dishes are vegan and which are vegetarian. I thought the vegetable korma would be vegan but it had dairy in it. I liked the garlic naan. When ordering takeout everything was wrapped in saran wrap very thoroughly so there no spills or leaks. read more

delicious food and drink! great service! i tried all their dishes and they are all great and fresh! the naan is freshly served to your table, and mango lassi is superb! 10/10 i would definitely recommend checking this place out. AND its only $32 for 2 people to eat at the buffet read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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I ordered lunch for takeout. Staff was friendly. Order was completed on time. Checkout process was fast and efficient. Food was great. I ordered the chicken tikka masala and garlic naan. Chicken was cooked perfectly. I really liked the sauce: more tomato based than creamy based like other restaurants. The naan serving was enough for one person. The order came with a side of basmati rice, so there is no need to order a side of rice unless you want a specific flavor. read more

I went to Nandini based on a recommendation from an ex colleague at work who was Indian and based on the good reviews on Yelp. I wasn't working yesterday and thought it would be a good opportunity to try their lunch buffet. We walked in and the restaurant was pretty empty with only about 3 tables occupied. The place is sizable with plenty of tables and a bar. We were seated immediately & they provided us with a high chair. I went to the buffet first. They had 2 electrical cookers with rice in them. They had 1 with white rice and 1 with biryani rice. I put a some of each. I then went to the main buffet. They had a couple of veg items and some non-veg. There was dhal makhani, chicken vindaloo, chicken tikka masala, and a potato curry as well as palak paneer. There was a sign that said pakodas but I'm not sure I found them. They also had egg curry and another chicken dish. No mutton or lamb dishes were in the buffet. The gulab jamun and a carrot based dessert were also part of the main display. The second section of the buffet had some chutneys and kheer and some lettuce. I got a few of the curries and returned to the table. I also got some mango Lassy which is included with the buffet. My husband got some food for him as well and after we sat down to eat, the garlic naans came out. The food was average. The white rice was actually cold which was disappointing. The curries had a good kick to them but were a little too salty for my liking. Amongst all, the chicken tikka masala was the best. There were 4 pieces of naan, the first 2 were cooked perfectly and tasted great. The second 2 were not completely cooked and parts of them had a bit of rawness to them. The mango lassy was ok. When we finished eating, I had 1 piece of gulab jamun and it actually was delicious. The bill came out to about $21 before tip. For the price, the options are ok but the experience was very underwhelming. I would rather pay more and have better quality food and more variety. read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Lunch buffet - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

I had the buffet at Nandini where they served basmati rice, veg biriyani, cottage cheese, chicken vindaloo and lamb curry, fresh Naan was brought to the table. For dessert there was Kheer and gulab jamun. The options are not as extensive as some other Indian restaurants but the food itself is nice. I have also had take out and delivery from them on numerous occasions the quality of food is consistent they use fresh ingredients. Portions are generous and quite reasonably priced. Service is slow if you dine in and even during buffet. Overall a decent selection of food check them out if you're in the area and want to try some Indian food One of the few Indian restaurants that stay open until 10:00 the lunch buffet is VFM for under $11 mango lassi included. Cheers! read more

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My husband and I have been wanting to try Indian food for the longest time and we are so glad that we chose Nandini to go to! The food was so delicious. I've never had such a flavorful meal that wasn't too spicy for me! The service was great, and our waitress was very pleasant! We really appreciated the table set up and the whole ambiance. read more

I enjoyed the chicken korma with a med/spicy flavor and it delivered. I'm from out of town and was looking for a good meal and found it. Would definitely recommend. read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Chicken Korma, Basmati Rice, nann - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Picked up some terrible take out. Was craving tandoori chicken, and anyone who has eaten Indian cuisine would likely know tandoori chicken is dry. Placed my order for paneer Tikka, tandoori chicken and butter chicken. Specifically asked if paneer Tikka was dry, like cooked in the clay oven, and I was told yes. I didn't ask about tandoori as o never imagined it would be anything but tandoori chicken. Drove 30 mins back home after pick up to find they were both floating in oil, and a stir fry or onion and peppers. I called to ask why tandoori chicken was not dry, and got rude answers and that the menu has the description and I should check before ordering. Ok well. I will post a picture of the menu from their website and the unfortunate tandoori chicken I picked up. Flavor was bland on all 3. Food coloring was extreme on all 3. Never going back. read more

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My husband was craving Indian food and we came to Nandini for dinner. We were not disappointed! We had the vegetable samosas to start, then the Chicken Tikka Masala and the Chana Masala. We also had both the garlic and butter naan. I washed all of it down with a Mango Lassi!! Everything was delicious and we took home a lot of leftovers :) Reasonably priced, especially when you take into account the portion sizes. We will definitely be back!! read more

Original Indian Kitchen - Chicken Tikka Masala, Chana Masala, & Garlic Naan Bread - Indian Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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We came here twice in 2 weeks as not to lose our Groupon Value. So glad we changed up our old Indian restaurant in Tempe. The place is big, plenty of tables, service is very good along with the food. We came the first time on a Saturday at 7 and a weeknight at 7, both time there was open seating. We ordered King Fishers (beer) and snacked on complementary Papadom while perusing the menu. We started with the Vegetable Samosa. Entrees were the Boneless Chicken Vindaloo, Tandoori Chicken, Basmati Plain Rice, and a Garlic Naan. On the second occasion we opted to try the Boneless Chicken Tiki Marsala. All the dishes we requested on a 1-10 in spiciness ,a 7 and 8. The Samosas were the best I've ever had. All the chicken dishes were very good, perfect heat at 7 and 8. The Tandoori Chicken portion was huge. The Naan was fresh and perfectly crispy/soft. Glad to find a new place for us, food and service a winner. read more

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The food here is excellent! I ordered the samosas for an appetizer and they were delicious!!!! The chicken korma was wonderful and the sauce was had the perfect amount of spices. The naan was soft and delicious and perfectly complimented the rest the rest of the meal. I ordered takeout but I am definitely going to dine in next time to get a feel of the overall service! read more

This is our favorite Indian restaurant. Chicken tikka masala, chicken korma Butter chicken, aloo gobi, paneer masala. This is our go to order and all of the dishes are amazing and full of flavor. We order medium spice and it tends to be a hotter spice than most places. We don't mind it The gentlemen are always kind when walk in to pick up the order. We eat here once a month sometime twice. Thanks for the great dinners. read more

Ordered to go for 12 people on my moms 70th birthday. The food was awesome and everyone was please with the food. Would recommend the following: Vegetable biriyani-rice dish Chicken Curry Shrimp tikka masala Chana masala-Garbanzo beans cooked with onions, tomatoes and fresh herbs Palak paneer-Tender chunks of Indian cottage cheese cooked in a spinach sauce. Plain naan Vegetable samosas Sweet mango chutney Raita read more

The food here is incredible, the vibe is great, and they make you feel right at home. 10/10 will definitely come again!!

This is my new go to Indian spot in Tempe! So so good, and fast service too! All the flavors taste like a home cooked meal. If you love spicy I recommend asking for extra spicy, so good! read more

Not for the food but I called to ask if they have a dinner buffet and I couldn't understand the man who answered so I politely asked if I may speak to someone else. She got rude and hung up the phone. Not a nice way to treat a potential new customer. I will NOT try it now. read more