We decided to try this restaurant based on a friend's recommendation. It did not disappoint! We had vegetable samosas, fluffy fried pockets of mostly potato. Both the tamarind sauce and the mint sauce we're great. I had the chicken Tikka masala and it was so tender and saucy. My husband had the goat curry and didn't leave even a drop of the curry sauce. My friend had said to get the garlic naan. Yummy. We were able to take some home to enjoy later Great service, delicious food... what could be better? Nothing! read more

The host was so kind and courteous. I enjoyed the music, and the quiet environment. The food arrived quickly and I enjoyed every bite. I had plenty to take home even. The chicken 65 satisfied my hunger for spices and flavors not typically used in American cuisine. The garlic naan paired well, and the mango Lassi drink was delicious treat. I ate my leftovers before bed last night and all the spices sat well on my tummy. Do not be afraid to try something new Quad Cities! Come try a bite and see for yourself. Also very reasonably priced and tons of vegetarian options! read more

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Probably the third time I've ever had Indian food. It's always been meh for me. I got the buttered chicken and it is now in my top five favorite meals in the QC. Pair that with some garlic naan and you won't be disappointed. I also got the Keemsa Somosas and they were just okay. I will happily change my rating to five stars next time I go and have a good appetizer. read more

This Indian restaurant, in the middle of nowhere, makes the best Indian food in the Midwest. We savored every dish, and absolutely like a home cooked meal. read more

Great service and delicious food. Being vegan is easy and tasty at The Great Indian Restaurant. Don't let the looks of the restaurant put you off (the reason for 4 and not 5 stars), the food and service are exceptional. read more

Perfection. I always order the mutter paneer and garlic naan medium spice, delicious!

So many reviewers write their critique based on environment and service AND the quality of food. In some cases that's not fair when the owners really don't give a crap about environment or service, but they take pride in the food they serve. That's the case upon which I give my review. Great Indian has nothing to offer for ambience or service, but the food is amazing. We enjoyed malai kofta, vegetable vindaloo, cheesy naan, vegetable platter (appetizer), and mango lassi. So the conundrum: what IS eating out if the service sucks and the place is a dump but the food is awesome? You get take-out. read more

This place should be ashamed to call itself an Indian restaurant. I've heard that Indian cuisine is prideful of its seasoning rich dishes and this place is an embarrassment. Atmosphere - first impression when we parked up front, i told my girlfriend that the place looked just like the Brazilian restaurant from bridesmaid that gave everyone a bad stomach. Ran down and not kept up at all. Service - they don't have any servers. I'm pretty sure that was the owner refilling our water. No one picked up our used plates as well during the lunch buffet service. Food - no selection. We had a bunch of tasteless vegetable dishes, chicken curry, egg curry, and rice. At least they got the rice right. Chicken curry was watered down with very little seasoning and taste. By far the WORST Indian curry i have ever had. Floating in water and oil. Then they can't afford pork and had egg curry? It's such a shame. Price - 10$ per head for buffet. Davenport has a better indian buffet for less. It also tastes far better. So at 10$ this was a complete rip off! This place needs to get shut down quick. Also if people will say the buffet is nothing like the per order, maybe it is. But if it the same quality of good, dear lord that's robbery. read more

Visit to The Great Indian restaurant was a mix of hit and miss. More of miss rather than hit. It's an old drive thru which has been changed into a restaurant. When we entered, the entrance to the kitchen was open and the heat was filling up the sit down area. We asked the staff to start the AC. There is limited selection of food but the food was tasty. read more

The Great Indian Restaurant - Buffet - Indian Near Me - Moline, Illinois

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When it comes to Indian restaurants, I always like to try their lunch buffet to get a feel for whether or not I would want to eat during dinner service. Today I finally decided to give The Great Indian Restaurant (TGIR) a try. I read a lot of positive reviews and have to say that I was sort of let down... maybe my expectations were too high. Ambiance: TGIR is located in an old school Taco Bell that was built in the arches and brick adobe style building. The drive through lane and window still exist. The interior decorating appears as a halfhearted attempt to make the restaurant feel "traditional" or "authentic". There were Christmas light hung, orange polka dots painted on the walls, cheap booth coverings... and where there was once an overhead Taco Bell menu, there is now really old, outdated, faded pictures of Indian Food. Overall, TGIR has a sort of odd, but not horrible, even somewhat interesting feel... work could be done make improvements. The ambiance is NOT what you would consider a romantic or fine dining setting. side notes re: ambiance: For half the meal the music was on the loud side and they were playing Indian Pop/Dance music. I felt I had to "move it, move it". The other half of the meal was in complete silence. ?? Normally I wouldn't think to include this in a review, but the music (and then lack of music) was very hard to ignore. In the bathrooms, there wasn't a permanently fixed soap dispenser, just a hand pump of store bought hand soap... and they had one of the old school towels where it's just one long towel that spins around in the box. There was an air hand dryer, but it looked like people were using the nasty hand towel. I hope it wasn't the staff. I'm a bit of a food-safety nazi, so these things slightly concerned me. Service: Friendly enough fellow. It was a buffet, so there wasn't a lot of actual "service".. but when the nan bread came out of the kitchen fresh and hot, he did bring it to the tables rather that just putting it on the buffet. bonus points there. The Food: plain and simple: some of it was really good, and some of it was really bad. And really, more of it was really good as opposed to bad.. but some of the dishes were hard to get past. The most disappointing thing to me was that there were only six dishes to choose from. I guess the place I used to frequent before moving to the QC spoiled me. Part of the problem may be the size of their kitchen, and serving area, it is a little cramped. There were two soups (a Shorpa and a Mulligatawny - both very lack luster) and a small salad bar, with EXCELLENT authentic salad dressings. I actually tried all four of them... really good. The nan bread and rice were good... what you would expect. And as mentioned there were six dishes. Two chicken dishes, four vegetarian dishes. 3 out of the 4 vegetarian dishes were REALLY good... the uttapam was absolutely amazing (i wanted to stick some in my pocket to bring home!) I also had to go back for a second serving of the dal and the potato dishes. Really good flavor. Personally, I would have liked the heat kicked up a bit, but the flavor was so good I didn't mind the milder heat. Where the wheels fell off was the chicken dishes. The tandoori chicken sauce was INCREDIBLE. The chicken itself was NOT EDIBLE. The chicken had started to completely break down where there was cartilage and small bones in every bite. In fact, you couldn't take a bite without having to pull things out of your mouth. I even almost choked on a bone at one point. This was tragic because the sauce was so good; i found myself at the buffet just scooping the sauce on to my plate so i could dip my nan in it. I could have rated this with 2 stars, however, at some point I want to give TGIR another try and sample more of their dishes; because, despite some of the negatives, there were more positives in the food. Now, as far as whether or not I'm ready to try their dinner service, I'm not there yet. read more

The lunch buffet here is addictive! We went once on a whim and we are now addicts! About once a month we just get a hankering and HAVE to go within days. The matar paneer?? is out of this world good (peas and Indian cheese in an orangey colored sauce), the naan is...I don't even have words for how good the naan is, the chicken tikka is perfect, dry ( I llike dry meat) and super flavorful. Always high quality, tastes like it is all made from scratch. My two and half year old loves the sambahar soup and little pancake things with veggies. Price is about ten bucks for a buffet and that is awesome, especially if you aren't sure if you dig on this kind of food...gives you a chance to find out which dish you love. Items offered change but they always have the paneer! Dessert consists of little fried balls of dough? in a syrupy cardmom-y sauce. So freakin' good. Just remodeled, place is always clean, employees friendly and has coooold a/c. Open late for lunch buffet, like two pm or something. Closed on Tuesdays, at least for lunch. :-( read more

Whenever I come to the Quad Cities I have lunch here at least once, usually a few times! So yummy and so reasonably priced. I always go for the lunch buffet though, not for dinner. The samosas are great and so is the saag paneer. **UPDATE** Ok, we went a few times last month, and it's REALLY hit-or-miss. The last time we went, most of the dishes were intensly salty, to the point that it was inedible! I had finally convinced my food-conservative dad and stepmom to have lunch there, and I was embarrassed and disappointed that everything was so over-salted and dried-out. I suspect that the folks at India House/ The Great Indian Restaraunt realize that most Quad Citians don't have many options for Indian, and take their customers for granted. read more

I live in Chicago, and my best friend lives in Rock Island. Up until she visited me summer '10, she'd never had Indian food. I took her to my standard Indian restaurant and she fell in love - she was so happy to discover Great Indian Restaurant! And now whenever I visit her, we go here. The only reason why I don't give 5 stars is that bones will show up in meat every now and then. read more

I love this Indian restaurant. My favorite is the buffet when it's your chance to try a lot of their food. Everything so tasty and delicious. My mouth is getting watery just thinking about it. I love their garlic nan. I'm glad we have a place like this to satisfy out bellies and taste buds. read more

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If you've not been to this little hidden gem, I highly recommend it! The food is amazing, we came in shortly before close (about 2pm) and they still made more fresh naan bread for us as well as other foods. Great price, fabulous food! We will definitely be back! read more

This place is unbelievable. The waitstaff is lame, slow, and lazy. It is hilariously operating inside of an old Taco Bell (the remnants are still there!). The restaurant is sloppy and disgustingly filthy. The food is not worth the wait and is way way overpriced. We came here fooled into thinking it was India House thanks to our GPS. Won't make that mistake again. read more

Was very good indian food. My grandson wanted veggies so the waiter recommended a dish and he loved it.. Thank you so much. I'm very happy. Very friendly staff. Very helpful. Answered questions about spiciness. read more

The Great Indian Restaurant - Indian Near Me - Moline, Illinois

This restaurant got me started on Indian food. They offer lunch buffets which is great for people who are new to this genre of food. The shahi paneer is my favorite dish. I love their mango shakes- perfectly refreshing in the summer. Best lunch buffet day is sunday. I would rather have great food in a boring looking restaurant than great ambience and horrible food. The looks aren't there... but the taste is. read more

When it comes to Indian food in the Quad Cities, this is the place only to go... No, really, it's literally the only place to go. There are no other Indian restaurants in the area! Outrageous! But I guess it's to be expected in the armpit of the Midwest that is the Quad Cities (no offense). I've eaten here a handful of times, but the experience was enjoyable enough each time that I'll go back for more when I have the chance. The Butter Chicken and Tandoori Chicken are on point, I have yet to be disappointed, although the food could stand to be spicier (I'm not sure if I'm supposed to request that when I order or how that works). The naan was fresh and hot out of the oven and buttered perfectly. Be aware though, the meal can quickly turn expensive. Also, I'm not sure if they still have it, but they used to have a tiny little walk-in closet that they had converted into a Indian food store, selling various Indian spices and such. The store was a bit overpriced, but cheaper than driving to Chicago. All in all, the place (combination of staff, food, and ambiance) is about 3.75 stars, but it deserves the extra 1/4 star for being the only Indian restaurant in the area. To the reviewer that commented on the Christmas lights... you'd be surprised how authentic that actually is lol read more

We are recent transplants from Portland Oregon and are always looking for great cultural food here in the Quad-Cities. We LOVE Indian food but had not found a good one (Indian Rasoi, not so good). We decided to try GIR for dinner and was not disappointed! Food was GREAT, had our favorite dishes, and Peter was wonderful! Chef came out to meet us which was a pleasant and welcome surprise. Highly recommend! Maybe with the new management they will add some ambience and new decor which is maybe their only down point and why I didn't give a five star. Warmer paint color and some curtains would go a long ways. :) read more

Extremely rude owner/server and refused to listen to any requests/wouldn't take orders until 45 minutes and was too busy looking at his phone. Only people in the restaurant and still wasn't able to handle the table read more

I have been to this restaurant several times for the buffet - mainly due to proximity (and there's really no "bad" Indian food) - and am somewhat disappointed every time. The curries are bland and the tandoori chicken dry. Something would run out and then take 20 minutes to be replenished. I have visited India many times, and I realize it's hard to duplicate here in the US, but Mantra in Davenport comes close. Unfortunately, it's closed on Sundays. Service is great, and you really can't go wrong with naan and gulab jamun, but I won't be eating here again unless I'm in a pinch and jonesing for Indian with no other alternatives. read more

Excellent for Carryout. You can call ahead and let them know what you want if you know the menu. The Lunch buffet is a good deal. Food is very flavorful. They have a small selection of beer imported from India and few choices of wine. It adds a nice touch. During dinner, they customized our food based on how spicy we want each dishes to be. The server knows the food and would offer advise when asked about the dishes. There is always some Indian music playing, subtle enough to have conversations without raising voice. The restaurant area is very clean and the service is friendly. The Ambiance is not great, but nothing to complain either. I am knocking off one star because the Restroom is absolutely disgusting and I would advise the management to PLEASE take care of it. read more

I pass through moline every few years to visit family and friends. This restaurant is still around and serving excellent Indian food. The selection is great -- with a couple chicken dishes and wonderfully flavored vegetarian dishes. They also serve three desserts, soups, and naan and uppams. The mango lassis are thick and sweet with the perfect mango tang. Great restaurant. I'm glad to see it's stayed consistent through the years. read more

I finally tried this place after months of wanting to. There are some good Indian restaurants in the quad cities (like Mantra and Funky Desi) and I wanted to see how this compared. I ordered my food online on their website and picked it up at the restaurant (I like the order online feature). I ordered the Aloo Ghobi (cauliflower and potato curry), the tandoori chicken, naan and roti (whole grain naan). All were absolutely amazing, definitely the best Indian food I've had in the QC. Obviously the restaurant's atmosphere is nothing to rave about, but I will definitely go back whether I order online again or dine in. Don't be hesitate just because of the way it looks from the outside--if you appreciate fresh and good Indian food, I don't think you'll be disappointed. I'd say this is a hidden gem in the QC. read more

Any time entrees cost less than $8 you know you're in trouble! I had the chicken curry with Naan bread. Tasted ok going down, but I was so sick 3 hours later! Avoid this place! read more

Literally the only place to go in the QCA for Indian, which is a crying shame; other metro areas get to choose between various regional specializations, and we have just one option. Thank goodness it's a good one! Good, solid food; I'm seldom disappointed. Could be a bit spicier sometimes on the buffet, but I've ordered spicy entrees, and found them to have plenty of fire! Samosas are fabulous; I could live on these and mulligatawny. Lobster kashmiri is like a piece of heaven in your mouth, and the saag is rich and flavorful. Some of the other regular buffet items are less stellar (I'm looking at you, egg curry), but it's a buffet; eat what you love. Good, friendly service, with staff who know their regulars. The venue itself is...well, I've eaten at a lot of Indian places around the US, and they all seem to be squeezed into a re-purposed restaurant/ shop/ trailer home, so I guess it's not atypical. In an area with such a diverse population, you'd expect more variety; I'd love to see more selection. But if we only get one, at least it's good. read more

I called this restaurant before going there on a Sunday evening to reconfirm their hours. I was told to arrive before 9PM. When I arrived at 8:55, I was told the restaurant was already closed. I mentioned that I had driven quite a distance to reach the restaurant, but there was no sense of compassion, just a business-like approach. I did not appreciate the misinformation given over the phone, nor the way I was treated upon arrival. read more

If you haven't been here lately... My wife and I live in Muscatine and while we don't get here as frequently as we would like we have always enjoyed the Great Indian Restaurant. A month or so ago we were enjoying the lunch buffet when we noticed something different - in a very good way. We asked our server, the ever-attentive Peter, whether they had made any changes lately. Peter informed us there was a new chef. The change was noticeable and we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch. We highly recommend the lunch buffet. Tonight we went for dinner and had an exceptional experience. My wife had the shrimp kashmiri and I the chicken tikka masala. Both meals were excellent and prepared exactly as we requested. And the service, as always, was stellar--every need anticipated and never an empty glass. We were pleased to see that the tireless Peter was joined by a new smiling face. A young server named Reggie, who informed us that she started only a week ago, was a delight. If you have not been to the Great Indian Restaurant lately, you are in for a treat on your next visit. My wife and I have eaten Indian food all around the world and this place remains a favorite. read more

I love good Indian food, but I wasn't too sure how good this place would be. I mean, I don't even know if I've seen an Indian person in the Quad Cities, let alone enough Indian people to own and cook at an Indian restaurant. But, some friends like it, so I went for the buffet. Turns out, it was delicious. It tasted like it was supposed to, and even though it doesn't look like much from the outside, the place looks like any other reputable Indian restaurant I've ever been to. Clean and nothing fancy. That's how I like it. My only complaint is the lack of spiciness in the entrees. read more

Pretty good excuse for a late Sunday Brunch. Na'an was fresh. The restaurant was roughly half-full, making the turnaround on the buffet pretty good. They've added a portable steam warmer at the end of the buffet line which allowed for two more hot dishes. One was a Chili chicken which was pretty interesting. The normal divey atmosphere was the same, as was the small group of Middle-Eastern men that are usually found seated toward the back of the restaurant, dining in slow motion. Overall, excellent food, questionable atmosphere (used to be a Taco Bell). One thing I love about the place is no matter whether you're upwind or downwind of the place, you can smell the fragrances of the spices from a parking lot away. Yummm. I did notice they have cut their dinner hours down to about four nights a week, and are open for lunch Wednesday through Monday. read more

Outrageously good. Small restaurant and buffet. Don't let the kind of crappy building fool you. Really great especially for vegetarians. I love EVERYTHING they cook. Friendly staff too. And open Sundays unlike mantra. Wish I lived closer. Sooooo good! read more

Best food! Very authentic! Divey good food. Everything is good I like the chicken tikka masala and the paneer tikka masala and love their Saag (spinach) dishes especially the Lamb Saag. Definitely Better than Mantra for sure. read more

What happened?! I have been a customer since they first opened up. They were always spot on with their food until I went this Saturday after not going for a long time... They have lost their passion in maintaining the restaurant and food quality. I ordered the usual which was Chicken Tikka Masala with an order of garlic naan. The garlic naan didn't taste good, very bland, either the recipe was changed or I was given the wrong order. As for the chicken tikka masala, it tasted dried. read more

I have had Indian food all over the world and strangely, this is one of the best Indian restaurants I have been to. After a couple of attempts to spruce up the place it still looks like a dump but some how the food is outstanding. Ignore other reviews who are mad because they showed up at 8:55 for dinner even though they close at 9pm. What a dick. The food is great and you will like it too! read more

This place used to be my favorite restaurant in town. I mean everyone has off days so I've been back a few times hoping... but this place just isn't good anymore. It's very obvious they are penny pinching with the lunch buffet. For example the saag paneer is just all spinach. You'd have to really search for the paneer pieces otherwise you're getting none. The chicken dish is always watery. They used to have a really tasty thick sauce that would go with it but that's gone. The items that are okay still are the pakaoras, naan, and a potato dish, but that's all heavy fried carbs. You really have to go to Iowa City to get good Indian food now. read more

It is really not a GREAT restaurant as the name says. I am a regular customer to the restaurant. They literally charge you for EVERYTHING. The young man at the counter also charges for cracking a smile at the customers. He really needs to learn some respect and treat the customers well. They are not running a charity. We pay for what they give and also for the poor customer service. read more

As other reviews mentioned, this is the only Indian restaurant in town. Unfortunately, I was very unimpressed with the entree. The chicken tikka masala was incredibly bland and the chicken itself was very salty. Also, for the price (dinner portion) it could've been a slightly bigger portion. However, the naan was hot, fresh and tasty and the rice was very well cooked. The ambiance was fairly non-existent, but fairly typical for small Indian restaurants in my experience. I'm going to give the lunch buffet another shot, but as a transplant I'm really missing other cities (no bigger than the QC) who have at least two to three options for Indian. read more

Went for the lunch buffet... and it was pretty good. Lots of flavorful dishes and plenty of naan. Ambiance leaves a little to be desired, but it's good other than that, and it was full of plenty of satisfied customers, yet easy to get seated on a Sunday around 1 p.m. It looks like it used to be a Taco Bell or something... there's a defunct drive thru window on the side of the building. read more

Good food. I only get the lunch buffet though. Highly recommend. Can't believe this place isn't packed at lunchtime.