Any Indian suggestions, Bay Area?

[cpl55]

Looking for somewhere new to try! We like Amber at Santana Row, and Gaylord's in Palo Alto pretty well. Have had good and bad experiences at Amber in Mountain View (last time was a disaster, with abysmally slow service, and when the food finally arrived it was not nearly good enough to justify the 1+ hour wait!)

Is there anywhere you would recommend, in the South Bay area? (Anywhere South of Palo Alto, basically.) Looking for a place to have some really good, traditional Indian food, (and not strictly vegetarian)?

I welcome and appreciate any suggestions!

Christina

[ludja]

Sue's Indian Cusine on Castro St. in Mt. View has been a long time favorite. The food is mainly Northern with a few Southern specialities. Some of my favorites are the vindaloos, mushroom bhajee and green chile chicken.

And for southern Indian dishes I really like

Udupi Palace

(408) 830-9600

976 E El Camino Real

Sunnyvale, CA 94087

Edited August 27, 2007 by ludja (log)

[John S.]

Looking for somewhere new to try! We like Amber at Santana Row, and Gaylord's in Palo Alto pretty well. Have had good and bad experiences at Amber in Mountain View (last time was a disaster, with abysmally slow service, and when the food finally arrived it was not nearly good enough to justify the 1+ hour wait!)

Is there anywhere you would recommend, in the South Bay area? (Anywhere South of Palo Alto, basically.) Looking for a place to have some really good, traditional Indian food, (and not strictly vegetarian)?

I welcome and appreciate any suggestions!

Christina

←

The places you mentioned are considered the best in the area regardless of the style. Amber is way overpriced, but their food is great - maybe the best Northern Indian around here. ludja was correct in assessing Sue's as a good place. They do make a chicken vindaloo and have a lunch buffet. I cannot seem to find a pork vindaloo because most of the Indian restaurants do not serve beef or pork. There is a new one, specifically targeting the lunch crowd called Bombay Garden (at Lawrence Expressway and El Camino - the northwest corner next to OSH - not to be confused with Bombay Oven, another good buffet lunch place on Stevens Creek in Cupertino). They have more selections than any Indian restaurant in the Bay Area. Udupi Palace is also wonderful, as ludja says. It's vegetarian and has great papadum, idli and all that type food. I love the coconut chutney.

This area is rife with ethic restaurants.

John S.

[MaxH]

... This area is rife with ethic restaurants.

John S., if anything, even understates the situation. The south bay and lower peninsula areas include many hundreds of independent, often Asian, ethnic restaurants, reflecting the large diverse Asian immigrant population. Asian in the full sense: Indian, Persian, Nepalese, Afghan, as well as east-Asian. (To say nothing of Vietnamese: one of the largest Vietnamese expat communities in the world centers on San José.) They include outstanding, special-occasion restaurants. Many have been cited here and on other online fora over the years. Afghani House, its cousin Kabul up the street, Chelokababi, several Muslim-Chinese restaurants such as the popular and recently moved Fatima, and the few expert, fiercely independent Japanese-run ramen* houses -- each boasting of its special, trademark broth and noodles made fresh hourly -- are non-Indian examples.

I can't add much about leading Indian restaurants not posted here already (now that the Empress of India is gone -- it had strong local online following for a good 15 years) except that Sue's in MV did do beef vindaloo, and it was dangerous to ask Sue Sista to lighten it up if it was too hot for you (I did so once around 1992 and instead she added extra hot peppers and later came by and asked cheerfully, but with a gleam in her eye, "is the vindaloo mild enough for you?").

*Not to be confused with the unrelated packaged convenience noodles (for anyone who does not know real ramen houses).

[cpl55]

Thank you for your thoughts! I have lived here all my life and I couldn't agree more that there a remarkable number of ethnic restaurants of all kinds... and right now I'm looking for Indian. I guess this huge pool of excellent (often obscure) ethnic restaurants is exactly why I'm asking for information on any great, hidden Indian places! (Strangely, we all seem to know of only the same prominent few.)

Does anyone have any suggestions for somewhere most of us haven't tried or heard of?

Thanks!

[alanamoana]

my experience with indian food is very limited, but we often eat at Shan which is located on Stevens Creek @ Lawrence Expressway. it is across the street from safeway and in the same strip mall as bed bath and beyond. it is a bit of a hole in the wall, but the food is always tasty. but, i haven't eaten at the other places mentioned. this is just our local go to place when we want something spicy and delicious.