This place has been a bit inconsistent for me. Sometimes I have a great meal and experience, but most recently I've had food that wasn't as exciting as I was expecting. My most recent experience was at the lunch buffet, which I think is a bit disappointing compared to other Indian lunch buffets. I thought the food lacked flavors I was expecting and the service was pretty poor. I ordered a tea which never came and never saw our waiter after that. I give it 3 stars because I have had a couple good meals here, but I've been met with poor service more than once. For example, I had a great chicken tikka masala off the menu for dinner, but what I had at the buffet was pretty disappointing. I don't know if they make a more bland version of things at the buffet to appeal to people who don't like spicy food, but it seemed very lacking compared to what I've had off the menu. read more

Swad is incredible. The lunch buffet is a gift sent to us from whatever you believe in. This place is just full of delicious food. I'm going to be honest, prior to this place I had a mixed opinion on Indian food. But once I ate here, that opinion quickly shifted to a very positive one. You will not regret eating at Swad. read more

Always a five star dining experience. The lunch Buffett is a MUST TRY and an excellent value. There is so much variety! Everything is so fresh and delicious. The food here is truly a revelation. I wish I could eat every meal here. Exaggeration? Haha... Nope! And the people are great too. I hope this restaurant stays in Monona forever!!! :) read more

Best Indian food on the Eastside in my opinion don't get it a lot because family doesn't care for Indian . Solid lunch buffet good varieties nothing really spicy so for that I order off the menu favorite is the vindaloo curry with lamb good paneer fresh nan . Friendly Service. Quick pick up for takeout orders read more

Great food. We moved to Madison from bigger cities, and I couldn't find Indian food I liked until Swad opened. The food is delicious, the staff is attentive and kind, and the prices are reasonable. The only downside: We were there on a weekday night, and the lights were very bright and the interior felt a little sterile. So if you want a romantic evening, maybe get take-out, head home, and light some candles. read more

Summary: Not good food. Expensive for indian food in Madison. Likes: Nice service, many options in the menu. Dislikes: Gobi manchurian was too sweet and soggy. Paneer burji was very oily. Masala dosa was salt-less. Egg biriyani had too much salt. Expensive. read more

One of the best Indian restaurants I've had in Madison! The best dish had to be the dosa! Wow! And I got delivery but the food was still hot and tasty and I felt like, for the first time in a while, a delivery actually DELIVERED on the price I paid. I am still eating leftovers two days later! WOW! Only issue: the samosa was a little too salty and the dips were not as flavorful as one might expect. read more

Easily the best Indian restaurant in central Madison and Monona, also have the finest chicken momos (steamed dumplings) possibly in Madison. Nice biriyani with East India touch (with nuts and fried onions), and great Korma and tikka masala. Have tried only 3-4 times and stick to my favorites here, and so far not disappointed even once read more

We had been for dinner before but not for their lunch buffet. The buffet is excellent and extensive. They had 2 soups, fresh salad, at least 12 different hot entrees including many chicken and vegetarian choices ,1 beef dish and grilled catfish. They had 6 dessert choices as well. All the food was delicious . The buffet is continually refreshed, no shortage of any dish. You also get warm nan with your meal. The restaurant is very clean and nicely decorated, staff are very attentive and friendly. This is by far the very best Indian lunch buffet I have ever had. Give it a try! Cost is $10:95 a person with a huge selection of food choices. read more

Pretty slow service. Food is also not great. Won't come again. Better to go in Madison for Indian food. read more

It's become our go-to "Indian food place" recently.The food is great..much better (in both quality and amount) than any of the "local" Madison joints. It does take a bit longer to go there, but the food more than makes up for it. Infact, some of the dishes are better than I would get back in India. The staff are friendly..the place nice and clean. Lamb dishes are a favorite. You can actually differentiate between the different curries..Carefully seasoned gravies and well cooked meat. Would definitely recommend it to anyone who's into or would like to try out good Indian fare. read more

We have checked out quite a few Indian restaurants in town, and I continue to come back to SWAD. I would highly recommend their buffet to be able to sample a variety of their offerings. We have our favorites and love to order take out. You are able to choose your spice level and I tend to start mild on a dish the first time I order it and then decide how spicy I want to go - their dishes can vary widely in spicey-ness! read more

I've absolutely adored Swad ever since I first came here. The staff are pleasant and welcoming, the atmosphere is delightful, and the food is wonderful. We frequently attend their lunch buffets and enjoy everything on offer. It's also reasonably priced for what's on offer. Would definitely recommend. read more

There is no dearth of good or even excellent Indian food in Madison, but Swad is the newest star. It's out new place for regular Saturday lunch buffet. The buffet seems to be evenly mixed between meat dishes and vegetarian dishes. Even as a meat eater I still always get the vegetarian dishes, because in this cuisine they star in the show. There is always a delicious Manchurian dish on the buffet. Some other highlights are the achaar on the relish table: a potent salt-pickled lime chutney that my husband loves and we've only seen at Maharajah. The samosas are easily the best I've ever had; a tender, buttery pastry with a filling perfumed with coriander. When I ordered black tea, I was pleasantly surprised to find it lightly flavored with holy basil. A joy. Relatively small place but cosy and brightly lit, and the staff is always very friendly. Go earlier than later :) read more

The most amazing buffet spread I've seen at an Indian restaurant in the Madison area. High quality food and service. Even the coffee was good! read more

Ordered to-go dinner from here last week. The taste was great! Service was good. We ordered cut mirchi - which was okay, chicken Manchuria which my friend loved, kadai paneer which was yummm, veg biryani which was also good but I asked him to make it medium spicy and it peaked to super spicy for my spice levels (though being an Indian!) and chicken biryani which again my friend loved. A good place on the whole. It's a tad bit expensive but good for once in a while. 4 stars for the food. 3 for the price And they gave us free gulab jamun (which tasted meh... But who cares it's free!) read more

Didn't know how to give a 3.5 so ended up with a 3. The food is good as I mostly have liked the food at Amber (Middleton) as the food here gives a tough fight to Amber's, the difference is the at Amber the items that have to be hot are hot unlike here at Swad where tandoori chicken was cold (there were others) and being a non-veg lover I couldn't eat it cold. Of course, if you are looking for spicy (in Indian and love food with more spice) food then Swad is not the favorable place as being in America it had to be Americanized, but overall the taste is good and you could end up in here every once in a while. read more

I ordered takeout tonight and everything was fantastic. I had the Aloo Tikki, garlic Naan, and chicken makhani. The garlic wasn't overdone. I try new Indian restaurants frequently, and it's usually a 50/50 on butter chicken being flavorful or flavorless. This butter chicken was nicely done and I will absolutely go back for it. read more

I went for dinner last night with three of my family members. We ordered the chicken tandoori, chicken tikka masala, shrimp curry and a bunch of appetizers and desserts. Everything tasted absolutely divine. I highly recommend the mango lassi too. I'm taking one star away for the clumsy service. They at first brought out fish curry instead of shrimp curry. They forgot to bring our raita and poori until we reminded them well into our dinner. The server spilled my tea on the table and in the end, they ran our credit card for someone else's check. They were very polite and quick to remedy all of these problems, but it was a bit much. Perhaps the server was having a bad night? Nevertheless, I will be back! read more

Very good food, extensive menu, courteous and efficient service. Convenient location too, close to highway. We had samosa, aloo tikki chat, biryani(lamb) paneer masala, daal tarka and tandoori mix grill. The last item was hands down the best one- great tasting chicken. Also the naan is very good!:) read more

I went to this restaurant in the past and the food was great and with a excellent taste,i was a very good food to try,but today I decide to come back again and i order for to go and I do not complain with the taste because still good but when I was eating i found a pubic hair in the rice that was disgusting after Being eating so comfortable ,im really do not want to go back,i think they need to be more stric with the people that are cooking and with those people that are passing the food,in simple words supervising the hygenic in the kitchen. read more

Friendly and attentive staff. Quick service. Delicious food. Will be back to try the lunch buffet. read more

Excellent. Came for the buffet & enjoyed everything on the line. They offered many Chinese Indian dishes (like gobi manchurian), which are new to me at least, that were really great. Love it. Wish they were open on Mondays!! read more

Absolutely fantastic! The food quality, service, & environment here are top notch. I have been to too many Indians restaurants in my life to count & this is in the top five. The food is fresh & authentic w/ plenty of variety. Our goto place in Madison for Indian food. Give it a whirl!! read more

Amazing food and exceptional service! This place is incredible. I loved absolutely everything that I tried. You will not leave here disappointed! read more

What a great dining experience. We ordered the vegetarian dinner for two. The timing of the courses was perfect, the food was delicious and the service was flawless. Not to mention for under $40 we received an appetizer, three entrees to share, naan and two desserts. I'm seriously embarrassed it took us this long to try it. Eat here, it will not disappoint! read more

Very very good. Nothing about the food was bad. Ordered the dinner for 2 non-vegan. Medium spicyness was hot but not overwhelming. We had about 4 different waiters/waitresses all were very nice people. The place is right on Monona Dr. but i dont think ppl give it credit and try it out. Inside is simple, colorful and surprisingly roomy. An inviting place. Will have to go again no complaints. Food was out in less than 12 minsPrice was average but the Indian food was amazing here I was surprised. read more

I've eaten at quite a few Indian Buffets in my days and I can wholeheartedly say none of them even come close to the quality and deliciousness of Swaad. The food is too notch; always flavorfully​ fresh. The owner and his family and staff are amazingly friendly--- they always remember us and take care of us as if we ourselves were part of his family. What can I say? Don't waste your time and money on Indian food anywhere else in the greater Dane county area. read more

Great food, Awesome people! I have traveled in India and regularly seek out every sort of Southeast Asian food but this is my very favorite Indian food in Madison. The buffet is always stellar and the naan is just out of this world. Seriously, I think I could eat just the naan and still be pleased with the meal. However, it's not just the food, it's the people! The folks here are always super nice and friendly. Recently, I found out exactly HOW friendly and *honest* they are. I stopped in for lunch on my way out of town for a vacation. I apparently dropped my wallet - full of my vacation cash, IDs, credit cards, everything! - in the lobby. The owner found it later that day, messaged me on Facebook, and - when I finally saw the message in my FB "other" mailbox A MONTH later - returned the wallet with all the contents still intact. :D The food is so good, I really didn't need another good reason to make this my Indian Restaurant of Choice, but for great food and awesome people, this is definitely the place to go! read more

It was overall a quite nice experience. It was my first time trying Indian food and I loved it especially their desserts. I'd definitely come back. read more

Swad was an interesting place for trying new foods. I had Samosas for an app, and Chicken Tikka Sag for the main dish. The Chicken Tikka Sag has a smoky flavor that reminded me of burnt spinach, and I wasn't a huge fan of it. I tried my wife's Chicken Mango Curry and it was much better. It had a very distinct mango taste that was sweeter than most curries. The Samosas were amazing and very crispy! The service was quick and the staff were very polite. All in all a great experience! read more

Average Indian lunch buffet. We went on a Saturday , and there were fair number of choices, but many of them were not Vegetarian, or were not classic dishes and just seemed like something they threw together with the leftover ingredients they had from throughout the week. Dessert options weren't exceptionally tasty either, though not bad. Didn't seem like the flavors were that developed, and they used heavy-handed spice to make up for it (and we like spice). read more

So we just picked up some dinner from Swad (Indian food) off Monona Dr!! ITS AMAZING!!! Some of the best Indian food I've ever had! This is what we got and I was drooling the whole time... Chicken Biryani: Boneless chicken & rice cooked with almond, cashew, raisins & spices Peshawari Nan: White wheat bread stuffed with cashew, raisin, almond, coconut, cherry & fennel seed Chicken Mo-Mo: Your choice of steamed or deep fried pasty pockets filled with chicken and a savory blend of spices. Even better the guy working there was really nice on the phone and in person and he new we had never been there and through in a free desert and explained the dipping sauces when we picked it up!!! We will definitely be back!! read more

I love going to Swad for the lunch buffet for the food, service, and ambiance. Alex, usually the front of house, is always so friendly, welcoming, and kind. The buffet has a great variety of dishes; soups, salad, vegetarian, dessert, and more. I especially enjoy the Malai Kofta and the dish of deep fried cauliflower(sometimes broccoli, sometimes mushrooms) that has some sort of red sauce. The buffet main dishes do vary slightly each visit. The servers are very attentive bringing water and naan as often as you need it. I've tried a few other Indian restaurants in Madison, and Swad is definitely my favorite. read more

We came here for the lunch buffet special. Brought my not always quiet one year old and we all had a lovely time. I do think we may have been sequestered in the back room because we had a baby, lol, but I totally get it and I'm fine with it. The staff was so kind and friendly, especially to our little one. Great service, which isn't always the case with buffets. The price is absolutely worth it. I love trying new things, and I'm still trying to find my favorite Indian cuisine go-tos, so a buffet is the best. I'm usually not a fan of buffets, but I felt this one was clean and well managed. Yum. Everything was really good. read more

Probably the best Indian food I've ever had, with service to match. Highly vegan-friendly too, which makes my wife ecstatic. This restaurant may not look like much, situated as it is in the middle of a small strip mall, but the interior is very nicely decorated. I felt a little underdressed walking in mid road-trip wearing a t-shirt and shorts, but that was similar attire to the other patrons. My wife and I started our meal with complimentary papadam, which we were already prepared to order. They arrived promptly with several types of chutney, all vegan-friendly no less. Crisp, delicious and left us wanting more...but not because we hadn't had enough. They were just done perfectly. The rest of our meal consisted of steaming-hot Gobhi Manchurian, Bainghan Bhartha, rice, Chapati for my wife and Garlic Nan for me. It all arrived at once, just as quickly as the Papadam. The battered/fried cauliflower was chewy but crisp, perfectly spiced (we went for hot on both dishes) and paired nicely with my Garlic Nan (also excellent). It was the standout dish of the meal for me. The eggplant was excellent as well, with good roasted flavor. Throughout the meal all the staff was very attentive. Our waiter specifically asked if we were happy with the spice level of our meal. Our water glasses were rarely more than half empty. At the end of the meal one of the staff even brought over steaming-hot lemon water-sprayed towels to clean up with. By the end of the meal we were both nicely full, for a very reasonable price. Just an all around excellent experience. I only wish it had been closer to home. read more

Had to check it out again a few weeks after my first experience. Zowie, just as solid across the board. This time my 12 year old came along, she loved it. Again, don't expect spice in the buffet, it's tame. But, order off the menu for dinner or take out and they can heat it up. What I'm really enjoying is the staff and the owner's attentiveness. They're not perfect, but when the waiter forgot my chai he was very apologetic, brought it right out, and didn't charge me. read more

The worst place to have indian food in Madison area. Not hospitable., you get a frowning face when asked for the limited food variety. There was literally no one in the place and it was ghost town. My votes are for maharani, swagat, minerva and east side maharaja for indian food. read more

What a hidden gem! Usually I like to explore when I'm visiting a new city, but I went here both days I was in town. Lunch buffet was large, and to my surprise, almost completely new on my second visit. Took three plates of food total and didn't leave a crumb on any of them! read more

Swad - Lunch buffet!!! - Indian Near Me - Monona, Wisconsin

I was so excited for this place, but I wasn't happy with my first experience there. First, my Masala tea came out lukewarm. I ordered the Chicken Tikka Sag for my entree, and for spiciness I initially said, "spicy", but the waiter gave me a sideways look, so I clarified to "a 7 out of 10". Perhaps he didn't understand, because it came very mild, almost not spicy at all. There wasn't much meat in it, overall probably a small chicken breast worth, and what was there was dry and fairly bland. Given the 12.95 price, I expected a lot more. I also ordered cheese stuffed naan, which did not arrive with my entree. I think when I mentioned it they put in the order, because it came out several minutes later. This, too was pretty so-so: there was almost no cheese in it at all. I'm willing to give this place another chance -- perhaps the buffet is much better -- but almost everything was disappointing this time. read more