Having heard consistently good things about Red Pepper, my wife and I decided to give it a try. Neelam. Poojah. You're out!! Red Pepper is in We spent some enjoyable time going over the menu. Always a good sign when I go into vapor lock because everything looks so damn appealing. But, we narrowed down our choices, placed an order with a friendly fellow who answered the phone, and sped down the hill to Scotch Plains twenty minutes later. It was a spicy night for me. Medium means hot! Good, great, bring it on. To start, chili bhajia. Whole green chilies stuffed with a spicy mixture and deep fried. Great heat, light batter. Delicious! Spicy goat curry was next. Plenty of tender goat in a great sauce. But what bread did I choose to mop up the sauce? Chili naan of course!! Awesome. We wife kept the spicy theme going with palak paneer, bayngan bharta and yellow daal tarka. Lots of roti, spicy indian pickle(achar) and some raita to cool things off. I had a fair amount of the daal and it was outrageously good. My wife loved every spicy flavorful bite of her treats. Ok, that's enough with the raves. Just go here and enjoy. We'll be back soon. read more

I like the food here a lot and have gone to the lunch buffet a bunch of times. Today I left 2-bucks as a tip and went up to the front to pay. Owner grabs my tip off the table and I watch him stuff it into the cash register. I said "that was a tip for the guys" and he said "We keep the tips". Seriously??? 5-stars for food. -2 stars for keeping the tips for the house. read more

This is a quintessential Americanized Indian restaurant.They have lunch buffets(I think it was 10/pp)and a la carte as well.Most of the Indian restaurants in Edison area charges ~15/pp for a lunch buffet,and here they charge 50% less and the lower quality of buffet reflects in that lower price. If you like authentic Indian food with reasonable spice level and flavor this is not the place you should go.Their biriyani have green pepper added in them(I was born in Indian and never had a chicken biriyani with green peppers in the 15 states I have travelled in India)The worst part of this restaurant is the ketch up that they add as top up on all chicken entrees especially on take outs.If you order,chicken chilly,you get half a bottle of ketch up free as a topping!This happened to me three times and even if you explicitly ask them not to do it,they still do it.I am completely stopping ordering from here! read more

Thank you fellow Yelpers for your insightful reviews of Red Pepper! I wanted to find a new Indian establishment after becoming jaded with other places (Sona in Maplewood and Palki in East Hanover (RIP) so I had to try this place for dinner after rave reviews! To start, the vegetable samosa was delicious (comes with two hearty pieces, great to split with your date). The spinach soup is really tasty as well as the coconut soup my husband had enjoyed. When we asked for our dishes to be spicy, Red Pepper definitely delivered, where other restaurants hold back on the spice all too often. I had the Sabzi Vindaloo which had a great portion of crazy spicy vegetables and my husband had the Curry Chicken...the meat was tender and the sauce, delicious! Word of caution to the Naan lovers: One order of naan is one piece cut into quarters. Usually, other places provide two pieces within an order which would be more suitable for sharing. Unfortunately, I would recommend ordering two naan if there is more than one of you. The service was friendly, but our waiter was pretty forgetful, especially when the restaurant started to pick up a bit. Each course that was brought out wasn't timed suitably. There was too long of a time gap between appetizer and main course. I had to ask for the check twice, but it still took over 20 minutes to deliver our bill. The decor was modern, atmosphere was buzzing on a Friday night, and the prices were terrific! The strangest part of this place is the "Disney" font they use sporadically on their menu. What's up with that?? lol. Overall, great experience! I can't wait to visit Red Pepper again! read more

I have ordered delivery from this place several times in the past because they are the only Indian restaurants in the area that delivers to Summit. All of a sudden tonight, they have a $40 minimum, which is an astronomical request for a food order for one person and something which was never before shoved into my face like it was this time. The people on the phone have always had a general air of rudeness, but being of Indian decent, I have experience with this type of personality, and usually just let it slide, but whomever it was that picked up the call tonight was over the top rude and offered very poor customer service. He was such an as*hole that I flat out told him I would never buy from his restaurant again. I wholeheartedly recommend you go to any other Indian restaurant, where they are kind and respectful and love what they do. Knowing that there is such attitude behind their product makes it revolting to even consider this place as an option. I feel bad for the chefs, because the quality of food isn't bad, but it isn't just the taste of the food that makes a good experience. read more

This is by far my favorite Indian place in the area. It is actually better than places that are loaded with Indian restaurants (like Edison). I have problem been here about 15 times and I am constantly wanting to go back! The lunch buffet is ridiculously affordable (i think it's like $9) and it is always stocked with a variety of vegetarian and carnivorous dishes. There is not a dish I have tried that I didn't enjoy. (I think I have tried about 1/4 of the menu so far.) The service is also great, empty plates are quickly taken, low water glasses are constantly replenished, and I have never had to wait long for any requests. I know someone who brings Indian clients to this restaurant and they also thoroughly enjoy their meal. I honestly have nothing bad to say about this place. I will be coming here for all my Indian food cravings as long as I am in the area and I suggest you do the same! read more

Just took a coworker here to try and prep her for a trip out to India. Is it as good as the Indian food I had when I was out in Delhi? No. Is it the best Indian restaurant within driving distance of my office? Also, no, that honor goes to Raagini and its bigger selection. But is it a cheap, reliable lunch buffet with quality food that I would go back to? Definitely, yes. Tandoori chicken was tangy and juicy, picking up a satisfying crust from its long yogurt marinade. Chicken tikka masala was a perfectly fine rendition of a classic. Vegetable samosas were crisp and hearty, without being greasy. A vegetable curry (I forget the name) of tomatoes and eggplant was very assertively spicy, and probably the most authentic dish tasted. Textures of the kofta and paneer were both slightly off. Kofta had a too smooth mealy kind of texture, and the paneer was on the dry end. Gulab jamun was a syrupy and over-sweet, just as it should be. A nice cap to the meal. Deductions for some misteps in the service. The waiter gave my friend way too much of a hassle about his request for a second basket of naan. read more

Everything sucked, even the pre-made nan, Im sure they dont have a clay oven as most was served on hot plates. I just dont understand the possitive reviews Ive tried 5 dishes in our party. This place wouldn't last a week in Edison or Iselin. The waiters were very nice. read more

This place is very good! The food is always tasty and my personal favorite is samosas and curry chicken. I love that they use dark meat in the curry chicken dish too. read more

Wow! We have a winner here, folks. I ordered take-out per a recommendation from a friend, and Red Pepper does not disappoint! We're big fans of Raagini in Mountainside, but not only is Red Pepper closer, the food is outstanding. It's also orders of magnitude better than its two predecessors. Because it was our first time ordering, we stuck with the good old stand-bys: Veg. Samosa, Tamatar ka Shorba ("tomato soup"), Chicken Tikka Masala, Punjabi Chhole (which is their version of Chana Masala), Aloo Gobhi Masala, and Tandori Roti and Onion Kulcha breads. We asked them to be 'medium' spiced. We were hooked from the very first bite... The Samosa was excellent - not too crispy or greasy and had good flavor. The two pieces were large enough to share. The Tamatar was creamy and slightly sweet (a little too much for my personal taste, but that's how it's made I guess). The Aloo Gobhi was wicked spicy - the potato and cauliflower really soaked up the flavors. So good... The Chhole was excellent as well (the masala was darker than the Chana Masala that I've ordered from other places or tried to make on my own, but it was still very tasty). Now the best part. The Chicken Tikka was incredible. First, the sauce was creamy and delicious, and had wonderful heat but not overpoweringly so. Which is good because once we got past the sauce, the chicken itself was incredibly moist, and so tasty it could stand on its own. Best I've ever had (except for the leftovers, which I ate the next day!). It was very well done and words cannot do it justice. I'm sad because I just ate the last of it.... The Roti was good but the Onion Kulcha was fabulous. Very flavorful, moist, soft, etc. - the perfect vehicle to scoop up the sauces. I cannot wait to go back there. I'm already reading other Yelp! reviews to plan my next meal there. I ididn't give it five stars because I only had take-out, but I hear the decor looks great, and I'm sure the service will find its groove. Enjoy! read more

Went for the first time with a friend, and the food was really good! Would def be back to try some other dishes! The bread is amaaaaaaaazing!!! read more

Red Pepper - a person sitting at a table with plates of food - Indian Near Me - Scotch Plains, New Jersey

See all

We enjoyed another Friday night dinner at this busy Indian restaurant. Despite the increasing crowd, we were given ample time to read the menu and make our selections. We were served relatively quickly and had attentive servers. We were able to order additional bread partway through our meal and then at the end, we ordered dessert. We were never rushed. We ordered a side of raita to accompany the complementary papadum that my children adore. The cooling yogurt dip goes along nicely with the tamarind, mint and bright red onion chutneys that come with the crisp bread We ordered our 'must have' item - Bhindi Masala (okra, onion & green bell pepper curry) as well as something that we had never tried before, Aloo Ghobi Masala (potato & cauliflower curry). Both were served with rice which was laden with fragrant cumin seeds. We ordered Onion Paneer Kulcha for the first time and the mild cheese paired with the diced red onions were a perfect match to the soft bread. We felt the need to order another, so our standby of Peshwari Naan (soft wheat flour flatbread stuffed with sweetened coconut and ground nuts). We finished our meal with an order of Kulfi, homemade Indian ice cream made with cream, nuts and lots of cardamom. They were kind enough to cut the portion into 6 pieces (there were 3 of us). The flavor was great, but we didn't love the texture. It was a little bit gritty and too frozen, but we were still happy that we ordered it. Red Pepper always has parking since it's located in a strip mall on Route 22. So glad that this is still a 'go to' place for my family. read more

This review is only for the daily lunch buffet! For a great price you can choose from ~8 solid dishes (including salad and 1-2 dessert items). I personally love the chicken tikka masala (chicken is very tender) and the vegetable korma, while my coworkers eat everything! As for the restaurant itself, the decorations are nice, bathroom is clean, and service is quick with the water and table clean up. What more could you ask for? read more

Quality Indian food, great selection, friendly staff. They don't serve liquor but they make up for it with a vast array of delicious menu choices. The garlic naan, chicken tikka masala, mango lassi, and spinach soup were just what I needed! They ask you how spicy you want the entree (mild/medium/hot). I got medium, and it came just right for a white American who likes it a little spicy :) They're great about keeping your water glass filled, and the manager even swang by to ask how the spiciness was. All around great place to bring friends and family for a solid Indian meal. read more

It's still the only Indian place in NY/NJ that can make me cry from the heat. I ask for the food extra spicy and they do not fail. It's amazing. I've been here a couple of times and everything I've ordered (and the person I went with) came out phenomenal. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu. They're pretty nice, too, attentive and there's plenty of seating. Also, it's BYOB so that's a major major plus. read more

I've been here twice now and every time I find the food to be pretty good. It's even better since it has an $8 buffet for lunch everyday! Yehp.. EVERYDAY. Monday- Sunday Lunch special. All you can eat naan, chicken tikka masala and tandoori chicken.. It's also great that everytime I've been here I've been able to try new indian food without having to order and obscene amount, hoping I like it or not. At no risk, I get to try many different types of Indian food but I'm pretty sure that this place is far from authentic. Maybe I'm wrong though, this was my first place having Indian food. The service is also great. For me, the best service you can have is when the waiters refill your water before you have the chance to even drink it all. I'll probably come back here again. and again. and again. It's an $8 Indian buffet! read more

BYOB Indian restaurant. We went as a group for dinner and were promptly served. We ordered multiple things but I would definitely recommend Paneer Mughlai and Chilli Naan. The menu is creative not your typical Indian recipes. read more

Good food and service.. Appetizers are delicious.. a little pricey but food was really good so no complaints there

This is my favorite Indian food right now. Especially the cheese dishes are out of this world. Just the paneer pakora will show you what I mean and the paneer tika masala is outrageous. Liquor store right next door. Friendly service. Cheapest Indian I have eaten in years, too. I love the city Indian but around here and for this price, can't touch it. They look like they are struggling to stay open. Everyone eat there!!!!! read more

I will start by saying that I only had Indian food once before, at a restaurant in East Brunswick, and I barely remember it. So I dont have much to compare this place to but...WOW! Have ordered to take out twice in the last month and it was amazing. The first time, we ordered two types of naan - one plain version and another with onion and paneer. Both were soft as can be and very tasty. We had a cold lentil/yogurt based soup as an app which I was not thrilled with, but the fiance loved. For main courses we ordered a lamb vindaloo and chicken jal frozi, which had a red sauce along with some peppers. Silly me, when the person who took my order asked (mild, medium, or hot) my brain thought of the many chinese restaurants which barely make anything spicy when I ask for extra hot. I asked for the vindaloo to be hot and the chicken medium. Well, that was a slight mistake. Now I like hot, but this lamb - despite being delicious - had my mouth and ears on fire. The chicken was also fairly hot for being medium. Still, we loved how fresh everything was and were eager to order again. This past weekend we ordered again. For apps we tried a chili naan - delicious, with little pieces of mildly spicy chilis jullienned over the bread. We also had an order of samosas stuffed with spiced ground lamb - amazing. And we had an order of paneer pakora, a type of batter dipped cheese square served with a side of chutney. Also delicious, including the chutney. For main courses we went mild on everything and had the obligatory chicken tikka masala, chicken dhansak (marinated in honey vinegar and spices and cooked with lentils) and an order of vegetable korma. These were all fantastic and I couldnt wait to warm it up the following day for lunch. In fact thats why I didnt finish it all that night - so I could enjoy it again the next day! Maybe someone with more experience with this type of food would say they can find better, but I really dont see how. Highly recommended. read more

I've been coming to this place for many years and still find myself comparing EVERY OTHER Indian restaurant I eat at to this place. The customer service is always top notch and the food is exceptional. I've only ever come here for dinner (I'm not a lunch buffet kinda guy) but it's all I need to give this place 5 stars. This place hammers out incredibly flavored food that is always cooked to perfection EVERY time I eat here and I honestly couldn't ask for anything more. If you in the area, stop in and give it a shot... If you're not, make the trip because it's totally worth it read more

The food was good, but pretty average compared to other places we've tried in the area. I ordered the chicken tikka spicy and it was SPICY!!! It was tasty, but I may have shed a few tears in the middle of the restaurant... Beware while ordering! Our dinner was more expensive than expected- around $65 for 3 people w one appetizer. Lots of waiters standing around for only 3 tables so our water glasses were always full and the service was pretty quick. The interior is much nicer than expected from the outside and the lunch buffet looks intriguing for $10. Overall the food was tasty and fresh, but I don't need to be rushing back read more

See all

Ordered delivery and the food arrived on time. Overall taste was so-so, not much flavor flavor in the entree but samosa were good read more

See all

We tried the Lunch Buffet today, and was pleasantly surprised. The spread was very generous and for $10.95 you can't beat that price. The naan was excellent paired with tikka masala. A good variety of vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes. I will try their dinner one only these days. read more

See all

Today was my first time here and it was absolutely amazing! The lunch buffet was delicious with fresh food & the price was just right, $7.95! I don't have a favorite thing to try because everything was a must! The staff was also very nice and helpful! I will definitely be back! read more

The Chicken Korma and Garlic Naan were delicious. It was our first time going here and we will definitely come again!

Small, casual family place. We had Samosas, curry chicken and (of course) chicken Tikka masala. All were delicious; nice spice! Many many good choices but this is one of them. read more

The staff here are beyond rude! We've ordered from them 2x. 1 time a pick up and the 2nd a delivery. The first time I picked up the guy at the counter argued with me about the type of credit card I was using. The 2nd time we ordered over the phone and asked to make an adjustment to one of the meals and he told us "No, order the 2 meals and mix them together yourself in your home". When the guy delivered he demanded his tip in cash before he even handed me my food or receipt to sign. I will never order from here again. Terrible customer service. read more

Arrived for dinner at 7:00PM on a Thursday evening, and there wasn't a soul in the place. Normally, this would dissuade me from sticking around, but positive Yelp reviews convinced me to try it. The paneer pakora (fried homemade cheese squares) were dry and tasteless. The chicken Korma was very tender, and the sauce tasted good, but was visually unappealing. The chicken biriyani looked good, but was bland. The onion paneer was a nice texture, but a little too much ghee made it greasy. I did enjoy the perfectly-made almond kulfi dessert very much. I drink a lot of water when I eat Indian food, and the waiter was refilling my glass with room temperature tap water. Ugh. I should have just asked for some ice, but ordered a soda instead. I would come back for the bargain $7.95 lunch buffet, but probably won't return for dinner. read more

Went there last night for dinner. I have been to this place about 4-5 times and every time it's delicious. Their chicken tikka masala is the best around. I also had the lamb curry which was very good as well. Service was a bit slow at first but there was only 1 waiter servicing the entire restaurant, so considering the circumstances, he was doing a great job. Have never gone for the lunch buffet but it would definitely be something ill have to add onto my to-do list. read more

This place has the best Indian lunch buffet ever. Service is wonderful, friendly and helpful. The buffet selection is amazing, always fresh, hot and they always have different choices. Foods were always at a great temperature. I come here every week with my son. We can't get enough. The flavors are amazing and not too spicy. And the prices are very reasonable. Nice ambiance too. Parking is great. Just brought my brother and his wife today who frequent an Indian restaurant near them in upstate NY weekly and they both loved the food here. I highly recommend Red Pepper. read more

Amazing food. Come for the lunch buffet. It's something like 16$ for all you can eat. Good curries + desert. Unpredictable options, seems to be up to chefs discretion. The waitstaff is all dressed classy - but I get too much of a servant/butler vibe, I guess. I mean they are almost too polite!!! I suppose it's a welcome change from the typical hipster don't give a sh*t attitude/fake "OH HOW IS EVERYTHING? BTW YOU GONNA TIP ME?" nature of most young waiters. The food is really good, guys in the kitchen know how to balance spices perfectly, and it does not break the bank. I feel like I'm ripping them off when I leave, like how did I get to eat that much food for so little? Usually for that price I would get a single entree with some basmati rice, that's it. Here you got everything, plus desert, plus good chutneys. Good chai tea too. Keep it up! read more

I am so furious, I was hung up on by a waiter at this restaurant because I asked him for a recommendation and he told me to read the menu. We used to go there a lot, but unfortunately they rip me off saying they were going to give me a discount because of my experience there, but what they did was just give me a smaller Portions. The food is not bad but they are very rude and they lie I would take my business elsewhere read more

I was so impressed with this place! The chicken tikki sauce was out of this world! Really creamy and perfect taste..yumm! I was glad to read one of the other reviews about the buffett. I will definitely check it out! read more

I used to order from them every week cause their food is just that good! I always order the chicken Tikka masala and it's the best I've ever had from any Indian restaurants. However, -3 stars because of the delivery service. Every Friday night, this weird delivery guy with glasses always puts my food order on the floor!!!! I've complained twice to the store about it and all they said was okay. They obviously did not care which is why the delivery guy does again and again. The weird delivery guy even argued with me once about the price cause he tried to steal an extra $0.90 towards his tip when the guy on phone clearly told me how much the total bill was. No matter how much I love the food here, it's not worth it to deal with this every time. In addition, -1 star because every time I order with them I ask for the chicken curry to be 5x spicy because my husband loves spice and they always give NO spice even though I repeat it to them 10x over the phone and they always brush me off by saying "ok ok ok what else". Definitely never ordering from here again. Sorry. read more

Great Indian buffet. Excellent for lunch. Ran into friends there twice already. Not the biggest Indian food fan myself, but really great place! read more

I have been getting take-out for years from Red Pepper as well as eaten in a few times. Food is a 10/10- consistent and fresh. They have the best chicken tikka masala I've ever had. I recommend their coconut naan, coconut soup and the pada as well. The sauces that come with the pada are my favorite. The wait staff as well as reception are polite, and their customer service is wonderful and very friendly. The restaurant itself is immaculately clean and comfortable when eating in. I live about 35 minutes away and it is worth the drive over. Highly recommended! Thank you Red Pepper!! read more

We had our order delivered and the food arrived promptly and was still hot. We ordered aloo chana papdi chaat, palak paneer, chicken tikka masala, lamb biryani, kulcha, naan and samosa. Everything was delicious, the portion sizes were generous and unlike many other spots, you don't have to order rice separately. It came with the meal. The yogurt sauce for the biryani was especially tasty. We ordered the tikka masala medium spice and we will prob be sticking to mild from now on but it wasn't so spicy that we couldn't enjoy it. All containers were emptied! We will definitely be ordering again. read more

The three stars isn't for the food but for the creepy guy who works there. I had ordered food for delivery from them on multiple occasions and it was the same guy who delivered it each time. The last time I ordered, he delivered it and called me the next day asking me how the food was and blah blah. I found it very weird and creepy. No one calls and asks about your experience especially from their personal phone. I would've been ok if he had done that from the business phone and conducted in a professional manner. I won't ever order from them ever again. read more

Absolutely wonderful, I went here for the first time a few weeks ago for a friend's birthday, then I came back a few days later with my mom for lunch... and then the next week again. Everything is delicious and well-prepared. Also, the entire wait staff is very polite and attentive, and (according to my mother) the bathroom is immaculate. read more