I have been a regular customer of Sandalwood since the day they opened in the summer of 2023. They serve authentic Indian food and I am a huge fan. I typically get takeout from them but I recently dined in for the first time in a while and it was a very good experience. My favorite dishes from here is the butter chicken and the garlic naan. Those two dishes never fail to satisfy. I was also very pleased with the chili chicken and the shishito peppers. I would recommend trying to eat these dishes spicy even if you normally aren't a fan. It wasn't overly spicy but gave the dishes more flavor. Just a note about portions, they are all meant to be shared family style so they are bigger. At the end of the meal, we got a surprise dessert that I unfortunately forget the name of. However, it was a delicious cake covered in a sweet syrup, very similar to a rum cake but all sweet. Our dine-in experience was great! Everything came out quickly and correctly. Even though there was plenty of rice, we got a refill in a timely manner. I highly recommend anyone who likes Indian food to give this a try. read more

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We drove past Sandalwood on our way to Wildwood. Seeing an Indian Kitchen in the neighborhood piqued my interest. We called to confirm they were open for dinner (now that it's fall, we're in the off-season and many restaurants are shutting down until spring)... fortunately, Sandalwood is open year-round. We started with the palak chaat and samosa appetizers. The palak chaat ($14) was heavily battered. It gave the spinach a good crunch and didn't eat greasy, but you really couldn't taste the spinach. This is definitely a more basic rendition as there aren't any extra additions/garnishes. I love a palak chaat, but this was not my favorite. The samosas ($10) came with three pieces. They were nicely cooked and didn't eat greasy. They had a kick to it - not overly spicy, but definitely not mild. It was served with their sweet tamarind sauce and mint chutney accoutrements. A solid appetizer and Indian staple. For my entree, I ordered the butter chicken ($23). It is served with basmati and you can customize the spice level. I ordered mild ;). The butter chicken was good - it hit the spot. The chicken was tender (cut into cubes) and the curry had good flavor, though it was sweeter and thinner than I'm used to. That being said, I would be satisfied ordering it again. There was also a generous amount of rice (the biggest serving I've received at any Indian restaurant) and it was super fluffy. I also ordered some butter naan ($4) which was thin and slightly charred, but naan is a must to sop up the curry goodness. We also ordered the fire grilled lamb chops ($25) which were heavily spiced and came out sizzling. The lamb chops were on the small side but were nicely cooked and served with their mint chutney. Service was slow to start, but once we placed our order, food was brought out at a reasonable pace. Service was warm and we were checked on enough. Each table had its own carafe of water to self-serve. We needed a refill, which was brought out promptly upon request. The ambiance was nice - casual but clean and embracing the Sandalwood color palette. There was soft music playing on the TV in the background. If anything, I would ding the restaurant for the restroom situation. The bathroom was passable and not necessarily trashy, but supplies were running low at the beginning of the dinner hour - the mounted soap dispenser was empty, so they had a Christmas soap bottle (better than nothing) and a napkin dispenser as paper towels. This was a little off-putting since it was the same type of napkin dispenser on the dining tables. Overall, Sandalwood provided a pleasant dining experience with delicious and authentic Indian food. read more

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We were craving something different, drove past and decided to check it out. Service was attentive and friendly. Food was FANTASTIC! Lamb Korma was tender and delicious. My wife enjoyed her Chicken Tikka. Best part? It's a BYOB. We'll definitely be back again! Check it out if you're in the area. read more

Sandalwood - Lamb Korma - Indian Near Me - Rio Grande, New Jersey

Food is average. Naans were good. Palak chat was ok. Mustard shrimp needs more shrimp . Daal was good. Chicken tikka was average . Felt more of butter chilled than chicken tikka. Naans were small so order more. read more

Service is always friendly and helpful. They make the meals per order, fresh, delicious and the spice heat adjustable to your liking. Each visit we try something different along with collecting favorites. We always enjoy relaxing, experimenting with new dishes. Nice for solo, couples, groups. read more

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I feel like I've been cheated out of $65. For that price, I got chicken biryani, chicken tikka and garlic naan. The biryani was almost entirely rice and very little chicken. The tikka was two small drumsticks and a few other small pieces. The garlic naan was one piece cut in half. The place was empty when I got there, so I'm glad I got takeout instead of sitting to eat. I can't possibly go back. The price was astronomical for what I received. read more

New place that opened in the beginning of 2025. Owner, Ohm, is friendly and willing to accommodate the food to your taste. Terrific butter chicken and naan. The tandoori chicken was fresh and chargrilled to perfection. Goat curry was full of flavorful and tender. read more

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I order to go here often, but have never eaten in person. Absolutely love the naan, the tikka paneer and the dal tadka.

food and service are outstanding. The new owners are doing a fantastic job. they also have many Gluten Free options which is great as not my daughter and wife are Gluten Free. read more

My sister and I stopped by here for lunch and honestly I'm so happy with the service , the quality of the food. I will definitely be back, some of the best Indian food I have in a long time. Highly recommend for a nice meal out or to order in. Loved the croquettes for the appetizer and mango lassi was on point :) read more

Good tasty Indian food in Wildwoods. We ordered a few vegetarian options and they were all decent. The dish I probably won't order again was paneer tikka masala - a difficult to get right dish anyway. The paneer was on the hard side and the sauces not enough to make it flavorful. Will definitely eat here again the next time we are in the area. read more

Great Indian food. Everything we ordered was delicious with great favors. Definitely will be back!

Everytime I'm at work I order from Sandalwood, they never disappoints from flavor to to quality for money I say I always get what I order and even more. I love eating at this place staff are amazing. read more

Sandalwood - This is their flavored rice with goat curry this is a banger - Indian Near Me - Rio Grande, New Jersey

Went for lunch A little limited. I ordered the sag paneer. Very nice owner. Great service. Delicious food read more

We enjoyed our lunch here very much . Plenty of good options for both meat eaters and vegetarians in our group. Service was friendly and attentive. Plenty of parking. We will be back! read more

I stopped in for lunch, I had wanted to try it for quite some time. Just never seem to get there. I had the curry chicken that came with a wonderful basmati rice and I ordered butterd naam. Everything was outstanding, especially the flavor of the curry and the Naan is the best Naan I've ever had. The service was both prompt and friendly. I found out the owner waited on me. He was kind enough to give me a chicken sandwich that he wanted me to try. It was really flavorful and had Indian spices with ground chicken that was breaded and fried absolutely delicious. The food is well worth the trip and it's one of those restaurants that you would like to see make it in a very difficult environment for restaurants these days. The prices were reasonable, considering the portion size I had enough left over for a second meal that reheated beautiful. read more

This will definitely be my go to for Indian food down the shore! You can adjust the level of spice or no spice that they put in your food. The owner was super nice and helpful. I definitely want to eat in next time. The inside has a nice calm vibe to it. Not loud or super bright so you can actually carry on a conversation with the people you are dining with. The food was very good. I did not care for the chutney, it was a little lacking in taste and a little watery. But of course that's a simple fix. Very flavorful, next time I will order mild instead of like no spice at all. Rated at 4 only beacuse of the serving sizes. I'd like a much larger serving of the paneer. The sauce was plenty, just not the actual substance of the meal. The samosa serving was as expected so we were happy with that. The rice is nice and light. read more

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We are new to the area and recently tried Sandalwood in Rio Grande. Great food and friendly service. The chili garlic naan and butter chicken were standouts. We will definitely return. read more

I love this place. The food is terrific, I tend to get the same kinds of food, like saag paneer and chicken tikka masala, but they're really really good. Reasonable price, good service and the place is very homey. Wonderful Indian food in this area, which is really nice to have. read more

Fabulous! The Indian food is authentic, extremely tasty with all the mixed spices. 5 star plus. You won't be sorry. Om, the owner, manager, chef, waiter is friendly and knowledgeable. read more

Very excited to have an authentic Indian restaurant open here! Not a large menu, but very good selection and reasonably priced. Nice ambiance. Bonus: BYOB! read more

Sandalwood - Traditional Indian food - Indian Near Me - Rio Grande, New Jersey

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I was completely unaware we had a new restaurant in town, and was surprised to find out it was an Indian one! I don't think we've ever had an Indian restaurant here (though there is a local pizza place that offers some Indian dishes) so I was excited to try them. I don't do well with high amounts of spice, so I choose items that I thought were low or no spice. I was wrong. Both items were SO spicy. Even my roommate, who loves to put hot sauce on everything, said my food was very spicy. I got samosas and stuffed mushrooms. When I ordered the samosas, I asked to only be given the potato ones and made it a point to request no jalapeno ones. They gave me jalapeno anyway. I only realized after I had already eaten one and ended up running to my fridge to chug some milk. The actual construction of the samosas was decently done, and they were fried well. Very crispy! The phyllo of the outer shell was weirdly thick, and my roommate commented that it felt a bit like chewing on a small pot pie. The jalapeno samosa I accidentally ate was very spicy, and the potato one was only slightly less spicy. My roommate said the samosas were a 3 out of 5 for them. If it wasn't for the high spice, it would be the same for me. I also got the Tandoor Grilled Stuffed Mushrooms. These were insanely juicy, but so much so that they were a knife edge away from being soggy. These were also extremely spicy. The sauce put on the mushrooms had a very strong kick, enough so that my roommate was even asking for a glass of milk! I scraped off the sauce, but they were still too spicy. These were a solid 3 out of five for both of us. My roommate (who ended up eating the rest because I literally couldn't) said they really disliked the random huge chunks of bell pepper and onion that were included in the box. They said it felt like they added a bunch of plate garnish to hide how many mushrooms you're actually getting. The gulab jamun was pretty good, but a bit expensive for what you get. You get four doughnut holes that have been soaked in a sugar syrup for $7. Again, they were tasty, but not for that price. My entire order, for these three items, was $40. Also, the online ordering system they have is a bit of a nightmare. I originally attempted to make a delivery order using the "Seamless" ordering site they offer and it ended up adding an extra $25 in fees. The delivery option attempted to force a $10 tip, no matter how much or little the order total was. I decided to switch to Pick Up, still on their online ordering page, and it still tried to force that $10 tip. I ended up having to call in my order the old-fashioned way, which was a bit of a headache in itself. I mean no offense to whoever picked up the phone, but it was impossible to understand them. The mixture of them talking too fast and being drowned out by the volume of the restaurant in the background, I was struggling to understand anything they said to me. Overall, all of this culminates in a solid three out of five stars for me. People who love spicy food will like this place much more than I did. I will admit, that I am a bit of an idiot for assuming that anything at an Indian restaurant would have a low spice level. But again, didn't really expect something like stuffed mushrooms or samosas to be so spicy I ran for a glass of milk and ended up drinking the entire quart. read more

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This was our first time at an Indian restaurant. We really had no idea what to order and we let our server know that. Everyone was very helpful and patient with us. We shared samosas, channa masala and butter chicken. Everything was delicious. We definitely will be back to try more dishes. Strongly recommend. read more

For a soft open it was delicious food and quick service. Some things need to be ironed out but nothing I'd take a star away for. (Water and drinks need ice/ chilled) Definitely recommend. Halal as well. read more

We came for a day to Rio Grande. Decided to determine our stop for lunch/dinner (mid afternoon) since sea food is almost the only thing you can find on Cape May, let's find something different. Since we love Indian food, Sandal Wood's brightly colored windows saying "Nama Stay for dinner" caught our eye. The restaurant is uniquely modestly decorated, but they take care to make you comfortable. We were greeted by the most smiley/friendly man and next we ordered. The menu is concise...not 8 pages of things you have no idea what they are. The menu is clearly telling you what you are ordering and it's simplified by one covered sheet on both sides showing selections to appetizers and mains, etc. Tandoor Chicken Tikka Tenders with a shredded cabbage base on a sizzle tray was amazing! I would have been happy with just that for the main meal. The Paneer Butter Masala was creamy, loaded with cheese and had a touch of sweetness which we liked in comparison to other Indian Paneers. The Homestyle Coconut Curry was ok. Not our favorite of all time, but if never had it before would enjoy it. I saved the best for last...the buttered Naan was outstanding! chewy, crunchy, buttery goodness. Thank you for a lovely experience Sandal Wood. One note to the restaurant... as a handicapped person, there were no assistance bars in the restrooms. I spoke with our server and he said that it was his plan to install bars in there. He said it was in the plan but had not been done yet and he thanked me for the reminder. So, if you are handicapped, the restaurant accommodates in everything with exception of the restroom, as of yesterday. If you go today, you may want to call ahead to see if they have installed the equipment. read more

We came here to check out Cape May and it was close to the zoo so we decided to stop here as it also said Authentic Indian food and the food was very overpriced and when we brought our own water and they forced us to throw it away and made us buy the overpriced Fiji water and when we ordered the Chicken Curry which was ok and Paneer which was really sweet and not spicy even though we ordered spicy and then they charged us 5 extra dollars for a thing we did not order but the chicken noodles were good but the portions were so small and Goat Curry was undercooked and you could see the rawness. The atmosphere of the restaurant was ok. Then they charged us extra for the rice as the area where we are from they give rice with every curry. Would not recommend and would not be returning if in the area just go to the Chipotle next door. read more

Very bad experience. Food preperation really bad. Not sure if the restaurant is using paid reviews to get their review up. I dont expect anyone eating from this restaurant will rate it positive. read more

The food was amazing. Customer service was awesome, our server had a great sense of humor. Overall, I really recommend going to Sandalwood if you enjoy Indian food. read more

Rather disappointed. The vegetable dish was all peas and carrots and green beans (I suspect frozen and canned); not even any cauliflower--which was in the picture. $19 for a cups of peas and carrots, essentially. The paneer masala sauce was broken and the paneer was hard/dry. The vegetable pakoras were light, but had no flavor: I have no idea what vegetables were in them and I also don't think they were made with chickpea flour--they're basically deep fried batter. Even the rice was a disappointment: no cumin seeds. $60 in all; all into the garbage sadly read more

Tired something new.... And I'll be dreaming about the paneer mattar for days. It was so good I didn't take a picture, sorry, you'll just have to order it. Might as well get the stuffed mushrooms while you're at it. Lovely staff, beautiful space, yummy food. Can't complain. And it was just the soft opening! read more

The food here is excellent. Came with 6 people, and everyone loved their meals. The spice level was on point. I had the Lamb kebabs were delicious. Chicken briyani was flavorful, as well as the chicken tikka masala, pakora was very good as well. I thought I would have some leftovers, but my co-eaters demolished most of what I had. Will definitely revisit here next time I'm in the area. read more

Food was delicious, with generous portions. Service was fast and friendly. Vibe inside was great as well. We had the yellow daal, veggie biryani, seafood curry, samosas, shishitos, and pakoras. All were delicious, and we had plenty to take home after, even with a party of 5. Will be coming back for sure. read more

The location was clean and music was fun! We ordered the lamb kebab and it was so tender with a great dipping sauce. We also ordered garlic naan which tasted so good along with butter chicken. Best butter chicken I've ever had. Also love that it was a BYO read more

Love! The food is excellent, the decor is lovely, and the owner is gracious. Portions are very generous--always have leftovers, so one meal turns into two (or, for me, three!). A true hidden gem. So happy it's here and open year round. read more

Loved the food- had goat curry and goat biryani with garlic naan, shishiedo peppers to start. Service was very pleasant. You should try them for something different in Cape May County!!! Keep them in business!!! read more

It's so nice finding good quality Indian food here in south Jersey. We ordered the chicken tikka and garlic nan , absolutely delicious. I will 100% be back, and I will be taking everyone who comes to visit me. 10000/10 read more

Excellent Indian food. One of the best Indian restaurants we've been to. Personable staff. Will definitely return. Highly recommended.

Excellent food and very reasonable prices - had the chicken tikki masala - lamb Indian sloppy joe and some garlic nan The spices were perfect- not too spicy and lots of flavor Definitely worth a 2nd trip to try something different Looking forward to trying the Dosa read more

We've only ordered delivery from this restaurant so I have no review on the physical restaurant. The food is awesome and we very much enjoy their nana. read more

Great local spot. Casual atmosphere. Amazing entrees. Friendly vibes. BOYB. Try the butter chicken. Don't skip the garlic naan.