Great restaurant, great food,Great service and very good atmosphere we had a great time at Samudhra on February 18 bdoshi read more

Have been to this place couple of times and it's always a pleasure to enjoy a great dinner here. Very friendly staff and the food is of great quality and nice presentation. Excellent value for money. One of the best fine dining experience in NJ if you don't want to travel to NY read more

Definitely a hidden gem in Central NJ! This is an upscale Indian place with two types of atmospheres, one part is sit down/family style, the second is a very well lit/club type of bar lounge area. Both areas were well lit and the decor was beautiful. My party and I sat at the lounge area and the DJ there was phenomenal (All trendy/recent hindi and english songs, loved the mashups)! Getting to the food, they give fried kecha (fried papad, or whatever you may call it) while you look at the extensive menu. We decided to opt in for the gobi manchurian (or as they call it chapata gobi) and mirchi bhaji. The gobi manchurian was soft on the inside and crispy on the outside, just the way it should be (even after 30 minutes... that is how you know it is well made). The mirchi bhaji was a bit too spicy for me but hey, its in the name itself! We also tried the Mumbai Velvet Margarita, and honestly I'm not a fan of the typical margaritas... but this was amazing! A superb blend of the traditional margarita with the right amount of Indian spices... so we had to order another one as well. All in all, this is definitely a great place to take friends/family/coworkers to! read more

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A group of four of us went to this restaurant on a Sunday evening and the first thing that I was immediately impressed by was the decor. The modern ambiance and look of this place is awesome, down to the last detail. There is a complete private bar area with a large television, and the dining area is quite spacious. We were greeted by a very attentive and kind waitstaff, and our waiter gave us some good recommendations. The cocktail menu looked interesting, so we decided to order a Honey Turmeric Martini, Ginger Grapefruit Martini, and an Indian Summer Mojito. The drinks were good, but the Ginger Grapefruit was definitely my favorite of the lot. The food menu had quite a lot of offerings. For appetizers, our waiter recommended Kodi 65 (chicken), Murgh Aatish Burra (chicken), and Paneer Bullet. We enjoyed all of the apps. The Murgh Aatish Burra is perfect for someone with low spice tolerance like me - it is flavorful without the spiciness. In general, the spice level of the food here is pretty moderate. For the main course, we ordered a Malai Kofta with butter/garlic naan, Murgh Tikka Masala with rice, and a side of Rosemary Naan. We were pleasantly surprised by the large portions of the dishes. The main course was overall good, but not as impressive as the appetizers. We were also a bit disappointed that they ran out of the Hyderabadi Gosht Biryani, but our waiter explained that it was the end of the night and they make their biryani fresh. We had a birthday in our party and had brought along a cake. The waitstaff graciously came out singing "Happy Birthday" to present it. Overall, this is a great-looking spot with decent food and good service. read more

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This is not a family friendly place. Please beware before taking your family to this restaurant. On a whim, they can reject any of your family members to get entry, based on their mood at that moment. They charge in advance for Biryanis even before you come to the restaurant. We had to spend a hour driving to nearest target store to get a replacement for my son's pant. Food quality has declined. Their sea food is salty and not fresh. read more

This specific review is for their lunch thalis - both veg and non-veg. I have been there once for dinner and ordered few dishes, most of them were good and well prepared. With the same expectation made an effort to plan lunch especially to enjoy thali. Sadly, it was very very disappoint. The the lady who took the order got their only once in the entire time we were eating to ask if all was okay, with the sad expression of my wife, she just assumed all okay and left without any conversation. We had to call the servers who were dressed up in jackets to get some addons as were eating, yet we paid 18% tip on a disappointed meal and service. The thali had variations where all the dry food served like fish, kabob and pakoda (veg thali) was all dry and microwaved in oven and served. like you would get in buffet. Even a buffet in Honest Restaurant is so much better and cheaper and good quality. The shrimp was in a gravy bowl that tasted more like water with masala in it. The lamp or goat was so so....chicken was the only thing i could eat and thats what i landed up eating from that entire thali and with couple of bread pieces. In non-veg thali, who cares about a piece of boiled egg with very thin masala around it??!! They had bread choices of only Naan or Puri, so no wheat roti. Dessert was "rice" kheer and nothing great but sweet, would prefer gulab jamun. Veg thali, the spinach was like dal with paneer, neither i could call it palak paneer or palak daal with cream floating - like white gravy. I am sorry to say, in short very high expectation to a total flopped plan of my wife and i planning our lunch between work with my mother (and wearing formals so that they dont have reason to kick us out) and especially getting out there for a sad $100 meal for the 3 thalis and a tip. Now I dont even know if i will go there for a-la-carte. ATLEAST PLS DONT ORDER THALI AND SPOIL YOUR AFTERNOON WITH YOUR LOVED ONES. read more

Our first visit to Samudhra was an amazing delight ! The food was top notch, the servers helped guide us through the menu, the drinks were great and we loved the lounge vibe with the Bollywood video screen. Superbly delicious. My partner was always a little cautious with Indian food, but Samudhra changed that quickly ! We could'nt wait to come back. We came this past weekend and sat a a very comfy, upscale high-top with friends we brought. Upscale , beautiful decor with tasteful accents of orange . A class act right down the street from our home.! Also, like the fact of a "dress code".... The dining room was also beautiful ! A new favorite ! Bravo ! read more

Wow. Wow. Wow. We have eaten curry in various countries around the world and have just had our minds blown by the sheer sensory heaven offered here. The Pasanday Gosht's fragrance and complexity alone was worth the trip, but the tenderness of the bone-in goat was sublime. We also tried the Anda Korma, which featured butter-soft chicken and a rich, well-balanced and unusual sauce. Both were truly remarkable and exactly the kind of food that makes you appreciate every bite. Perfection! There is clear attention to detail in this restaurant - it's even (unusual for NJ) decorated with some flourish, but what we really appreciated was the weight and heft of the cutlery and the quality of the glassware. It's very unusual to find such quality outside of Europe, and we also had very good service, so we absolutely loved our visit. If I could find one area to suggest an improvement on it's the size of the wine list (which is sadly rather limited) - that said, there were plenty of excellent-looking cocktails available, and the wine we did find there was perfectly quaffable, so it's clearly been curated well. We will be back! Compliments to the chefs and owner! Superb. read more

We ordered two virgin drinks, as we don't drink alcohol. They charged us the price of an alcoholic drink. When we asked the server he said, that's the rule in our restaurant. We and our friends will never go this restaurant again. We were very disappointed. read more

The ambiance seemed good. For the ambiance/prices, I would've thought food would be prepared freshly. And I was more surprised about the waiter not being willing to discuss potential vegan options with the chefs until much insistence. When we made the reservation online, we were asked if we had any dietary restrictions and one of the options was to mark "vegan" so we thought samudra would be vegan friendly. My family is vegan and we were initially told the only vegan option is Palak Chaat as an appetizer & Dal as a main course. I came to find out from the waiter that all of the items on the menu are pre-made. Each of the entrees is pre-mixed with cream. Even before I was vegan, I would always ask for certain dishes without cream or less cream. My dad's favorite is "Laccha Parantha" -- we asked if they could make this item vegan through using oil instead of ghee and they refused. We didn't want to only eat Palak Chaat and Dal and they didn't provide any reason for why vegan options couldn't be accommodated except that items are pre-made. Anyways, I don't like the entrees w much cream -- I believe it is much more authentic sans-cream. It makes me wonder... are they pre-made and frozen?? So: Samudra not for vegans / those of you who want fresh food Very disappointed:/ Maybe, this was due to less training with the staff. I'll happily revise my review if someone from the Samudhra team could comment accordingly. Again, I didn't try the food and this review is solely about my experience w vegan options & items being fully pre-made read more

This restaurant is way better than the last Indian restaurant we went. we ordered Kodi 65 and Murgh Aatish burra and It literally melted in my mouth. place is super clean and ambiance is mind blowing. service was super read more

I recently dined at Samudhra Indian Restaurant and unfortunately, I had a disappointing experience. Firstly, the dress code policy seemed unnecessary and restrictive, making the ambiance less welcoming. Moreover, I found the food to be subpar; it was excessively oily and lacked the flavors I expected from Indian cuisine. The quality was not up to par, which was disheartening. Additionally, the staff's demeanor was less than accommodating. They appeared impolite and inattentive, which negatively impacted the overall dining experience. It is very expensive restaurant with no taste I hope the management takes these comments constructively to improve and provide a better experience for future patrons. read more

Was our 2nd visit and came back with mixed feelings. Food was good but they served a cocktail which was too strong in alcohol. On being informed they brought Diet Coke on request and billed us on both. We pointed out to the drink which was not consumed but they were adamant. Bad attitude and not customer friendly!! read more

Finally. Finally found that taste which reminded me of food back home. Living in New Jersey, i feel we have quantity but not quality. But finally found the place. This place is not advertized much i would when you search on google but this should be on the top of the list. Let me start with the ambience- This is a dress up place with a high end classy ambience. They have instructions to dress properly ( no joggers, slippers, sandals). Coming to the food, we started with Palak Patta chaat and Dahi k Kebab. I would say both have been the best have had so far. Palak Patta chaat was perfectly crisp, tangy with the right amount of chutneys which i could eat forever. Dahi kebab wowww i mea what taste, crunch, crispyness and presentation. The only bit is the size of the kebabs was a little big but no complaints. Then for main course, we ordered Tawa Paneer, Cheese Chilly Naan and Plain Roti. At the first bite of having tawa paneer reminded me of tawa paneer i used to get back home. I was literally crying from inside. The most amazing probably the best paneer subzi i have had in the US Tawa Roti was nice crispy. I felt cheese chilly naan could have had more salt but was good. I am definitely going back there many more times. To end, i would like to add their service is exceptional as well. read more

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Went here on Sunday for lunch by booking a reservation again to make sure we avoid any wait. We were quickly greeted and seated. We were assigned Sonam as our server. Except for his service everything else this time was perfect. As soon as we took our seat we were given the drinks menu. We ordered a mocktail and a beer. Till this point our server was okay. As soon as he handed us the food menu - he did not bother to tell us about what the Lunch Thalis are serving that day (I had already seen their FB post - so we knew what would come in it). I order chicken tikka wrap from kids menu for my son - I asked if there was anything like mint chutney or green chilies they would put in the wrap because I wanted to make sure my son would be able to eat the wrap or if I should select another menu item. Sonam did not know but said they put onions and chicken tikka has some spice, it is spicy but not that spicy. Then he went to kitchen and gave some instruction to them to not put peppers. He came back and told us that they will put only chicken tikka in the wrap and that peppers he asked to remove. I told him green/colored peppers are okay - he got confused! My husband asked if by any chance there were jalapenos in the wrap and Sonam said peppers and Jalapenos are the same :). We told him, that make the chicken tikka wrap the way it is made. He rushed to the kitchen and never came back. We ordered one veg and one non-veg thali. Except for rasam in veg thali, I loved everything else. Non-Veg thali was great as well. It is mentioned it is unlimited but our server was busy talking to other tables instead of promptly checking on us if we need anything. We wanted some more appetizers - they were delicious but he was no where around. When he came, he got us different appetizers than what we asked for and instead of coming and putting it on table, he would just kept these bowls from a corner and rush. We had to wait to get more naan's/puris. We had to wait for getting any curries. I observed that every other server was doing their job diligently around their tables. I did order take out chicken biryani and also falooda for dessert. The manager stopped by the table, and he was all friendly and nice. He did ask if everything was good - and to avoid putting the server on spot, I said it was all good. They should train this specific server. I will anyways come back again because as mentioned everything else was great. read more

This is a nice restaurant but the main dining room is very loud with music. One of their signature menu offering call Lagan Murgh was removed and replaced with so so offering. The service is fine but they have to lower the loud music which overshadowed any conversation. read more

Good restaurant but do not make a reservation as we did and then try to cancel. They charged me $160 after we called to cancel the reservation. I had to report it to my bank who refunded me the money. read more

Very very bad service Order food online getting message that it's ready but made me wait 45 min extra on pick up time .giving stupid excuses about food but its not ready .I did not believe this kind of service from there.Very disappointed No star read more

Rude and arrogant staff has brought the best of Samudhra days to an end. Restaurant is people's business, if the staff cannot understand that basic tenet, your grandeur will be in ruins soon. Instead, go to Nalan, a place nearby, for equally good food, outstanding service and a deep care for the guests! (after an irritation at Samudhra, a stop at Nalan was a breeze yesterday)! read more

Go here if you'd like to have stale food from a day earlier! Horrible quality for the price.

My family was asked to leave because my young child wasn't dressed formally, despite looking very neat. I would never recommend this restaurant due to their inconsiderate behavior. Their discriminatory actions are unacceptable. I'm relieved I didn't get in; it makes you wonder how they treat people inside. Looks like a scam! read more

Went to this restaurent with group of 10 people. Horrible experience , the manager is rude . I will never go to this place again with my friends and family . read more

Samudhra - This is the non veg thali you get . - Indian Near Me - Franklin Park, New Jersey

Excellent Indian food in a very nicely appointed set of rooms. Very careful and concerned service.

We have been one of the most loyal customers of Samudhra sinice they had opened the place, which is close to our residence. First of all, the Dress code is very loud and clear on the website, still they follow up with a phone call telling us about what to wear and how flip flops are not allowed to keep up with the etiquette, agreed. You go into the lounge and the music is so loud and in no way relaxing. Samudhra is slowly crossing the line as there's no competition for the restaurant. Finally, when we were clearing a 200$ worth of bill, for 2 people, we requested for an extra PK pan masala packet which is given out while checking out , which is approx 20 cents per packet as my husband wanted to have more of it. They simply said it was against the policy to give out an extra packet of pan masala. The manager was clueless about it And did not try to cover it up at all. I was there was more choice Of Indian restaurants in the area. read more

Had great hope on overhyped thali, but to my shock it's just below average not worth it. As I love the place will try non-Thali order next! read more

Colourful lights and modern Indian jazzy rock greeted us upon entry. Our greeter asked if we had a reservation but it was a Monday, and the restaurant was empty save for one other party. I'm not sure what she asking about. I sat down and perused the beer tap list, which is mostly lagers with a few wheat ales, a list that would satisfy anyone used to drinking mass-produced American piss water ales. American craft ale/micro-brewery drinkers will be disappointed, as I was. Our server was friendly and attentive. The menu has a balanced choice of vegetarian and non-vegetarian appetisers and entrees, including fish, chicken and goat (gosht). The goat (gosht) kabab appetiser was excellent with mint chutney; spicy but just right. For the entree, I had the Hyderabad gosht biryani. Oh my gosh! Delicious. We ordered after dinner chai. We agreed it was one of the best we've had in a restaurant. Homemade by an elderly family member is still the best. I guess my wife had mentioned it was my birthday because I was pleasantly surprised at the end of the meal when the staff brought ice cream and brownies to the table. I have Type 1 diabetes and after a full meal, there is no room in the meal budget for empty carbohydrates. But full points for the trying. read more

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I went here with my friends who are local to NJ and they had visited before. I loved the food especially kodi 65 and Palak chaat and their cocktail options were great! I tried the Zaffrontini and trust me it was very different..something not many people must have tasted before.Loved the ambience and service read more

Samudhra - Kodi 65 - Indian Near Me - Franklin Park, New Jersey

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We were a walk in. Main dining hall was full, so we sat in the lounge. Great ambience, superb food. and the massive screen with Bollywood songs was fun to watch. Service was impeccable. Spoke with the manager. Very nice gentleman. He comped our desserts. Must go there. Highly recommend it. read more

found this gem on Yelp. Did not disappoint! I made reservations for a busy Saturday lunch. (I highly recommend making a reservation) From the initial phone call to reserve a table to multiple calls w/questions afterward, hostess (Shavani) was so nice! I want to bring a cake for my daughter's birthday and they were very gracious about it. The drinks & mock tails were all great! Food, Thali (we got seafood one & non-veg) , naan, chicken tikka masala, everything was flavorful (and being South Indian, I'm picky about my flavors Lol) read more

If I could get them in -2 I would do that.. Booked for 2 pm ordered food at 2.10 and was served at 2.45.. that too I ordered a thali which should have been quick. Food was cold and stale.. Didnot follow the dress code as mentioned on the website.. it's a never to go again place for me read more

Ever since this place popup I have had my reservations and boy was I wrong and I wouldn't be any happier about it. Such a great place and right the corner where I could walk too. The ambiance and service is top notch. Special shout out to Nicole D our server and whoever was working the bar, did not hold back on them pours definitely a 6-7 count as opposed to 3-4 like others. The winner of the day was however the Thali unlimited and truly delicious. I'll be back 100% many times. read more

we went for a casual lunch and they stopped us for dress code for a kid unusual in USA . while women and men were allowed to wear dresses n sleeveless . so they denied us i havent seen in my 20 yrs of my life here in NJ having dress codes for kids amazingly bad customer service. never coming here again read more

Great food and ambiance. They could do without the ask of formal wear. Do get the chicken Golconda . Their Thalis are always a hit.

The food here is absolutely impeccable and so are the drinks! I love the ambiance and what's even more exciting is that it's located off of 27 where it's the first of its kind! The service by the team was amazing and I loveeeee the palak chaat! read more

This was an absolute hidden gem of a place. We had been here for lunch and decided to going with Thali's as the Thali menu sounded appeasing for our hunger, and we were so happy with the Thali. All the dishes were so delicious and everything in the Thali was unlimited. If you are going for lunch at this place Thali is the best option to go with. Deducted 1 star because of poor service, as there were just few waitresses and we had to wait for a long time for them to come to our table to place the order or to refill an item in the Thali. read more

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Finally went to check this hype restaurant after having only take outs (mostly veg). Decided to try the lunch thali non-veg to see if it really holds up other lunch buffet places. Was very disappointed, lunch thali lacks varieties and the food was very bland. Need to update choices but more importantly make it worth the experience. If frozen chicken kebabs taste better than what the chefs are cooking it's time to change your team or menu. Giving 3 stars for ambience but the food is like 2 stars. read more

Samudhra - Non Veg Lunch Thali-not worth it - Indian Near Me - Franklin Park, New Jersey

Upscale Indian place with a cool vibe. Loved all the modern decor of the place! They have a main dining room which is classier and then a lounge which has the bar and music playing. The lounge has lots of little couches and high top tables which would be perfect for a party or happy hour. When we walked in we asked if we wanted to sit in the dining room or the lounge. Not knowing the difference we chose the lounge. Turns out that you can't order dinner in the lounge so we had apps there and then moved to the dining room. A little annoying that we had to move- if they had told us the difference in the beginning we wouldn't have had to move! Food: I would give a 4.5 if I could. Everything we had was very good and the portions were generous so you will definitely take stuff home. The only dish that was just alright was the paneer bullets- they were very dry. It could have used more of the yellow sauce that was on the plate. We also ordered the kobi 65, murgh tikka masala, and methi masala paneer which I thought were all very good. Drinks: 4/5. Their summer mojito (apparently the most popular drink) was okay- very mango-y. The raspberry cosmo and honey turmeric martini were delicious. Overall- very good food but a little on the pricier side. I wish their drinks were a little cheaper as I would love to come back just for drinks and apps. read more

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Amazing food and great ambience. We were a large group and we tried their veg, chicken and sea food thali and some appetizers. Their veg thali is delicious , it comes with panner curry and egg plant curry and butter naan, tomato chutney was delicious and they had dal and pumpkin sambar for rice which was very tasty with some banana chips. Loved the sweet, it was hot jamun and all of us ate it twice. Chicken thali had a chicken and mutton appetizer, a curry which was good and sea food thali had dry shrimp curry which was tasty, I did not like the egg curry,fish curry and fish manchurian. I wouldn't take the sea food thali again. We ordered their gobi appetizer and it was amazing. Also tried their medhu vada and it was good. Definitely a great place for Indian food with very nice ambience! read more

Samudhra - Cauliflower appetizer - Indian Near Me - Franklin Park, New Jersey

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I came here during opening week and it turned out to be a peaceful dinner (less crowd). The hall is very spacey and chic - overall has a good vibe to it. The food was OK, I couldn't find any item to rave about except for the margarita. Mirchi bajji - 3.5. Wayyy too spicy for me to enjoy it. But if utter level of spice is what you enjoy, this will be for you. Chatpatta gobi - 3.5. Wish there was more gobi and spices more than sugar! Murgh burra - 4. Tender and juicy! Portion was small, hence this more suitable for an appetizer read more

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They are in middle of nowhere yet they demand cocktail attire so be careful if you are not wearing business formal you will be denied entry. Can't comment on the food as I have been denied entry 3 times. read more