Decided to try Sitar. Walked by a few times it looked packed. So instead of looking for reviews we gave it a try. When we came in the restaurant looked dingy, dusty and not clean. Like not cleaned fully since the 1970's. There was no music being played in the restaurant for some reason. Its was Friday night at 7 ... We were seated and was greeted by an older indian gentleman. We ordered vegetable pakora, 1/2 litre of wine and butter chicken and goat masala. The pakoras were very small and not crispy. They didn't seem like they were made there. We then got the butter chicken and goat masala. The chicken in the butter chicken was over cooked and the goat was chewy and also really over cooked. The spices were over powering in the goat masala that you could not enjoy it. I really love spice and its really hard for me to not like it! But the over powering grease and spice together made our stomachs turn. Not sure if the food was even made fresh. I've had indian food and this was the worst i have had. When paying i paid by credit and they had an option for tip being 15% 20% or 25% no dollar amount. So they make you tip! Which is understandable because its in gastown and gastown is where all the tourists come and most of them don't tip! However, it was expensive and not worth the price! The service was mediocre and the food was a huge disappointment! Its been 24 hrs and we have been on the toilet for most of the night! Smh They need chef Ramsay's help! Definitely won't be returning. read more

This place was great on a rainy Sunday night being able to people watch in the gastown square. The decor seems a little outdated but the service was prompt. Naan bread, butter chicken, samosas, tandoori chicken...yum yum yum.....Lots of nice spices, lots of carbs and a food comatose an hr later....did the trick... Prices were in the $50 range for 2, with wine. read more

Great food. The Lasie is the best I have had. The butter chicken and vegetable rice dishes are wonderful. Chai tea is amazing. They do to go orders as well. But I like to sit in the restaurant. read more

food was okay. but they charged me twice. Since I was in a hurry to catch the hop on hop off bus, i paid by my Amex card and ran to catch the bus. The server came running and said they dont except Amex card and my transaction was declined. I went back to the restaurant and swiped my debit card again. Came back home and noticed the transactions on both my Amex card and debit card. Do be careful with this restaurant. read more

Great service and very Nice food. We went in without knowing much about the menu and it was a pleasant surprise. We orfered a vegetable Thali, lamb and chicken curry. read more

My husband and I visited Sitar during a whirlwind weekend trip to Vancouver, and we were really happy to get some honest-to-goodness Indian food! The vegetable samosas were fresh and had a good kick. The jalfrezi, butter chicken, naan, and mango chutney were perfect. I used to live in the UK, and this reminded me of the great Indian meals I used to have there - hard to come by in the States. Another reviewer commented on a dark, dusty decor in need of revamping. I thought it was really nice inside - in fact, I thought it could have been a little darker for ambience. The decor is very traditional - not modern or artsy in any way, but that's fine with me. We had a chat with the owner, who waited on us, and he was lovely. Tried to convince him to come and open a restaurant in Portland . . . we'll see! read more

The service here was pretty goood. The tables were beautiful and the environment felt inviting. The food was average, especially for the price. The restrooms were odd and could use a little updating. Would I come back? Sure. I probably wouldn't choose this restaurant, but if someone else did, I wouldn't contest. If you are looking for a magical Indian food experience, try Maurya on West Broadway in Vancouver. read more

Ordered delivery. Was advised it could take up to an hour, but was closer to 80 minutes. Food arrived warm and tasty, but without a receipt or menu (and a rounded up/down price???). The food was flavourful, but all items were slightly overcooked. Items like Palak Paneer and Aloo Ghobi weren't too affected, but the overcooking did seem to cause the Butter Chicken to adopt a slight rubbery texture, and it also adversely affected the Garlic Naan, which maintained its nice flavour. Still, food was better than many other Indian delivery joints, and prices, while seemingly estimated, were still found to be reasonable. Will order again. read more

We stopped here for lunch and ordered Chana masala, curry chicken and vegetable biryani and garlic naan. Everything was so good. I absolutely loved the channa masala and the veggie biryani. Our server so so friendly. What a great restaurant with a good view of the street. Can't wait to come back here again. Everything was hot and had excellent spices and flavor. read more

This used to be one of my favourite restos in Vancouver, I sadly cannot say that anymore, aside from the very good naan bread, the food quality has really slipped at Sitar. I have been going to Sitar for 4 years, and the last year it has been at best mediocre, at worst inedible. Last night we ordered garlic naan, veggie samosas, a chicken korma and kofta malai, the veggie samosas were mediocre, the korma was 1 dimensional and utterly boring and the kofta (which only includes 3 very small kofta balls in a huge sea of sauce) was actually terrible, usually kofta has at least some nuts or dried fruit or paneer in it, that are then fried to be crispy, these balls were nothing but uncooked chick pea flour, absolutely disgusting. I have given this place a try once every few months to see if they would get their act together, but that is the last time, I won't be back. read more

The service was lackluster. The food tasted somewhat flavorful, but for the price I didn't expect to see the familiar cubed carrots and cut peas of frozen mixed vegetables. This was a turn off for me. Not great. read more

Had the take-out butter chicken dinner tonight... chicken was tender and in large chunks with a really nice sauce. Came with Indian style rice and cracker-like bread. It was fine, hit the spot, but nothing to write home about. Dinner price of $16 is a little steep considering the meal only feeds one. read more

I called in just after ordering and the woman on the phone was amazing - customer service points. Feedback overall: it was okay. Compared to what we're used to quality & freshness for price wasn't there. Likely won't order (take out from here) again. We do remember being in-restaurant some time back (4 years'ish) and the experience being a positive one though. read more

I've now eaten here twice, and will not give it a 3rd time. The curries were bland, the sauces appear to have been watered down, to make it go further, and the Service was very poor. In an area with so many good dining options, these people seriously need to up their game. read more

Pretty good considering it is in the trendy touristy Gas Town area. The portions are reasonable and the food was good. I usually gauge Indian restaurants by the eggplant dishes, and the smoked eggplant was very good. read more

Sis and I found this place one night when I just was not in the mood for Italian. Thank goodness. She enjoyed the Chicken Korma, and I had the Chana Mushroom. We loved the Garlic Naan, and the Mango Chutney. Yum, just makes me hungry all over again. They are open from 11:30am to 11pm daily, so also available or lunch if you are in the area. read more

Im Indian, yes I am, and it may be unfair to review, but I will, because I am still looking for the ultimate indian restaurant in vancouver, and if you know of it, please tell me. Yes VJs is good, but indian food is meant to be inexpensive. Sitar, pretty good ambiance, sitar instrumental music in the background, a pretty large place, and empty. Too bad, but the food is okay if you are looking to get your indian spice fix. Quite expensive for the portion sizes and the quality of food. Also service is slow, i would only go back if I had an Entertainment book coupon. Otherwise Id goto House of Dosas on Kingsway and Knight for their 5.99 dosa special on mondays. I wish it was monday now. read more

Favorite Indian takeout place downtown! Their curries are so tasty and the staff are always very friendly. My only issue at times is that the portions of meat in the curries are quite small if you intend to share. I often save the sauce and add my own protein at home! read more

Stopped in with my wife last week and we loved the food. The service is excellent and the music really enhances the dining experience. If you're in Vancouver, check it out. read more

I ordered delivery for dinner and was really disappointed with what I received. The pakora was not cooked all the way through, they were doughy mush inside. I found the garlic naan flavourless and my masala had a layer of grease on top that way soaking through the cardboard on top. I've eaten lots of Indian food in the city and this was by far one of my worst experiences. read more

We had delivery from Sitar tonight. We ordered Butter Chicken, Lamb Korma and garlic naan. The delivery was super fast and the meal was still really hot when it arrived. The curries were excellent.. In fact my husband went so far as to say they were the best he had ever had, high praise from a fussy eater!! The naan was perfectly seasoned. The whole meal was just perfect! Thanks Sitar, we will be regular customers. read more

I have been coming to Sitar for the past few months for lunch, and have nothing but good things to say. I always have the Lamb Korma ( Lamb is so tender) or Tandoori dishes and they are perfect every time. The service is wonderful and the food is always amazing.. This weekend I booked a party for the evening and went for the first time for dinner. We were a larger group and we shared dishes so i got to try out different items on the menu.. and honestly everything I had was delicious! If you have not tried the curries at Sitar yet i highly recommend this restaurant! read more

The food tasted great and got here on time...what a surprise when I opened the lamb curry and found 11 pieces (yes I counted them) of lamb and a whole lotta sauce. Same with the Alu Mutter (curried peas and potatoes), now this is a pretty cheap dish to make but for $16.00 I certainly expected a few more potato chunks and maybe at least a 1/2 cup of peas, (and again a whole lotta sauce). As I said it tasted good but for the money it's not worth it. I won't be ordering from here again. I will stick to our go to place on Robson for Indian food. Unfortunately they don't deliver. read more

The butter chicken was the best I have ever had in my life, and the naans had such an excellent consistency to the dough. Everything was delicious, and I really enjoyed the food. read more

As mentioned by others, the garlic naan was delicious. We ordered butter chicken, prawns vindaloo, and lamb tikka. The chicken and prawns had a nice spiciness which we enjoyed. The lamb was a little bit chewy, but the sauce and flavours were still good. The main thing that can be improved was the rice, which was a little dry, but nonetheless still nice and fragrant. The best part of the meal was the service. The staff were very friendly and kept our cups filled with water. If we are around the neighbourhood again, we would definitely consider going back. read more

Went here on a Saturday night during the Olympics and only had to wait about 20 minutes for a table... not bad. I loved it, the lamb was delicious, and they served it in a little black pan in which I was able to continue cooking the meat and grilling onions at the table. The rice is fantastic, and my dad had some sort of curry and loved it. The chapati was very tasty too, and we definitely had plenty to eat. YUM read more

I am not exactly the most Indian brownie to carry the Patel name but this place did several things right by me... The chai tea was served with sugar to taste... The butter chicken was piping hot (but not spicy, as requested) and the garlic naan was lathered in garlic... An excellent combination... The service was also excellent, but it was quite empty in the dining area. read more

Our meal was delivered sizzling hot and beautifully presented. Very nice meal and lovely service.

Well, we have ordered from here many times in the past and it has always been really good. This time it was pretty bad. I'm not sure if it's a new owner but I feel like the quality has gone down hill a lot. I gave it a two star review as it did arrive quickly so I have to give them that. Also I feel like compared to other places it is very expensive. Our order with tip was over $100.00 and it all went in the trash. Sad!! read more

We went here for my dad's birthday, we were so pleased with the amazing food. Great flavours and portion sizes. We enjoyed our service and friendliness of our server Keri. He even surprised my dad with a birthday dessert. It was a wonderful overall experience and I will definitely be back! read more

Food is great. Nice atmosphere. Friendly service. Love the lamb korma.

Very bad service and average food. I have been to a LOT of Indian restaurants around Lower mainland but this has been my worst experience so far. Ambience is OK, if you don't mind homeless guys asking you for change near the patio area - nobody in the restaurant cares. Place is a little outdated and messy. Nobody came to take our orders for a long time, food took time, no bill for almost half hour, and we finally went to the desk for paying our bill. They skipped the naan for our takeout (not sure if this was on purpose) and they stapled the takeout bag so we couldn't even check. Didn't get water for loooong time, no napkins till mid- main course. read more

Had lunch. The restaurant advertised a lunch special on the door. But, the angry young millennial serving me was not keen. The lunch special was a generic chicken curry. However, the quality was superior. I would suggest paying $4 more for the specialty curries. I also had a mango lassi (Indian milk shake). Delicious. I will return again. Hope that I don't get the same server. read more

I've been waiting to try Sitar for awhile now, tonight was the night. A mainstay place in gastown I always walked by and was curious about it. Straight and to the point the food was delicious! had the lamb korma, garlic naan and the prawns muhikb and both were dialled. The service on the other hand was not, not communicating very well and just clunky/disorganized - atmosphere could have used some music & more ambient lighting - would have scored even higher but the service was meh. read more

Really enjoyed the butter chicken! Got it for lunch and was happy with the size and flavour. It was kind of quiet, but very peaceful. The person the greeted me was nice and friendly, seemed eager to help. Seemed a little pricey, but thats ok, the food was good. read more

Food is pricey but good. Service is slow for large groups(don't even bother trying to get in and out in an hour with over 5 people). Small groups are fine though. It is quiet and I enjoy going here when I want something yummy and don't have to deal with a noisy overcrowded restaurant. read more

Without a doubt Sitar is my absolute go to for Indian cuisine. Whenever I'm in Gastown it's a must that I go there to get my fix of delicious food. My go to dishes are the Goat Masala, Butter Chicken and Garlic Naan bread. The staff are extremely nice and care about their customers in serving up the very best quality food. There's a reason they've been in business for 25+ years! Dine in or take out you must try it! read more

For a great location I expected better quality, quantity and value. Unfortunately Sitar doesn't live up to it's amazing Gastown location at all! It felt dirty and the service was minimal at best (aside from the one nice girl). This Indian cuisine was probably the worst Indian food I've ever encountered. I ordered Fish pakoras and the Chicken Seekh Kebabs for starters. The pakoras were probably the best order of the evening and even then they were just mediocre. The kebabs were very dry. I ordered it without the rice, I cannot imagine how dry it would be if I ordered them with the rice. For the main course I ordered: Chicken Tikka Masala Curry and naan. Curry was terrible. I had one bite and I couldn't eat anything else. It seemed as if the cubes of chicken were just thrown into the curry. Along with the terrible taste of the food the plating of each of these items was so poor. It may have made eating the food a bit easier if the food at least looked good. Overall, wouldn't recommend. read more

It must have been a very busy night! Fairly crowded...they seated us and then we sat for over 20 minutes waiting for them to bring menus. We sat for another long time before the waiter showed up. He wasn't real friendly and just asked if we're ready to order. We were. The food was good...but; not great! this was another place that had you sign the computer and you were forced into either giving them a 15,20 or 25% tip before it would go through...That sucks! I don't like being forced into anything! Seems like that's a trend...maybe, i'll stop eating out! I hard the Indian food In Canada was better than in Seattle. Not this place. Of course, it was in a tourist trap. Will I ever go back? No, I won't! read more

Most authentic and best tasting chicken biriyani!! I have tried most of the other Indian restaurats in town. I like their food so much that I decided to write this review to let others know of this worderful place. I agree with one of the previous reviewer, the Naan bread melts in your mouth. I found all the food here fresh and great tasting. I would personally recommend this place for its Chicken biryani, Rogan Josh (Kashmiri lamb curry), Paneer mutter and Naan bread. read more