Kashish

Kashish has good tasty food, but gets only one star because of its poor customer service.
While this has never been their strong suit, today was a new low as a waiter was actually very rude — and I was the only customer in an empty restaurant! Perhaps that’s why it was empty…
while that is not typical, it was unsettling enough that after 13 years I think I will not return…

The food here is pretty subpar. Plus the staff is just plain rude. I was really surprised to have that experience at a restaurant in a very friendly neighborhood. And for the quality, it was way too expensive. Will definitely not be coming back here. There are lots of other great Indian places around.

The food here is quite average, there are several far better options in the area (Punjab in Arlington and The Maharaja in Cambridge) but it’s the atmosphere and service that warrant the low rating. We were the only customers on a Friday night. Our waiter did his job but absolutely nothing above that (no welcome or smile). The food came out very quickly making me wonder if it is simply re-​heated and not made to order. For such a great real estate in Belmont, I wish this were a less depressing option.

Bad service. Rude staff. Food is OK. My experience ordering the food to the house was way better than eating at the restaurant. The owners need to smile more and check their attitude.

Chicken Sag… all day. I get it really hot with a garlic nan. One of the best Indian restaurants on this side of Boston!

North Indian fare isn’t bad. Then food is probably worth 3 stars but the service and ambience at this restaurant will never make me return here.
Our server was rude & eccentric. He struggled to take our order and got us the bill even before we were done with dinner. Also I feel they tend to slow down their kitchen way before the advertised closing time. I will give this one a pass next time.

Dear Kashish:
You are SO lucky you hold a monopoly on good Indian food in the area. New Mother India in Waltham shut down (very sad!) so I am forced to rely on you again for my Palak paneer fix.
As per my previous review: you are rude, you close way earlier than you advertise, and you frequently hang up on me. You also leave me standing awkwardly waiting for my food as you ignore me doing God knows what in your empty restaurant, although you know I am a loyal, very repeat customer.
You get three reviews solely because your Peshawary naan warms my heart.

Service was poor. and the food was disgusting. If your looking for good Indian restaurant with great food and service don’t think about kashish

My family and I went to this for the second time. The first time a few weeks back they had a buffet, which we really enjoyed. This time it was menu only, and since we are not vegetarians we were a bit hesitant. It is pretty easy trying different dishes in a buffet, but a bit of a task for us who were not familiar with the menu. I have to say, once again, outstanding. Loved it. I wish kasish would advertise so the word could get out. MC.

Service is terrible. And once you do manage to order take out, the order is often totally wrong.
Writing this review tonigh because I was put on hold several tims, then disconnected. The phone was answered by a young woman who didn’t even announce the name of the restaurant. Leaving me wondering if I had the correct number.
I was asked to hold several times, when I refused the last time I was told they were very busy. Strange because when we go in to the restaurant it is very often empty!
Too bad, their food is usually fairly good. Bad service can ruin a place.

I’ve been to Kashish a few times and I’m consistently impressed with the quality of the food. It’s rich and always has just the right caliber of spicy heat appropriate to each dish. Quantities are likewise satisfying and I typically come home with leftovers. Their mango lassi is among my favorites in the area.
Service has always been quick and polite, appropriate to the notion of letting the food do the talking rather than trying to sell you on a fun dining atmosphere. This is the kind of restaurant where you go to meet, eat, and be left to it. It’s not much of an experience outside of an adventure for your taste buds. If you want that, it’s great. If not, you will find the service and atmosphere lacking pizzazz.
Not having the lunch buffet makes me sad; it’s the best way to introduce someone to Indian food in my opinion. However, it works for the quasi-​formal feel of the restaurant. And if the place doesn’t jive with your sensibilities, order take out. It does not disappoint.
Bottom line: It’s an Indian restaurant before it’s a cool place to hang out. Enjoy it for what it is and for what it isn’t!

We’ve also been coming here for years. The food is excellent, definitely best Indian in the Boston area. The naan and chutneys are amazing. We are vegetarian — the chana masala and malai kofta are delicious! And if you ask for spicy, be prepared for spicy… (a big plus in my book!)

Terrible service. If you want to be rushed, shorted on food and then be told you can’t order dessert with 30 minutes left before close, then look no further!
The food does taste good, but the service was sadly something I’ve never experienced before at a restaurant. I won’t be going back.

Wow, it really pains me to see the poor reviews that Kashish is getting.
My experience here is vastly different. Kashish has been my go to place for Indian for the last 9 years and while I have tried other places in Boston Metro none compare as far as the quality of food goes and the reason is that Kashish uses noticably fresher spices than most places and they know how to balance flavors.
I have eaten in and taken out. My take out experience has always been pleasant but perhaps it is because they know I love them and recognize my voice. The owner would deliver any order of $ 100 or more for me when I lived on Belmont Hill and they don’t do delivery so that I thought was going above and beyond, They did have a Bangaldeshi man for a while and he was not as pleasant on the phone but in person he was very nice, maybe this is the guy the reviews are referencing,
Service in house has always been good and courteous but again maybe because I am a know client?
The food, which is why we go here, is just fantastic and so much better than anything else the area has to offer. The chicken Saag is the best I have ever tasted and their salmon tandoori is to die for. All my out of town guests get treated to the salmon and every single one, over 9 years mind, has flipped for it. The nan, potatoe, garlic, and plain are all very good. The samosas are good but I have had better elsewhere so I usually don’t order them, but the lamb tikka masala, the cauliflower dish (I forget the name), the lamb vindaloo, and the house biryani are all absolutely delish and fresh.
I hope that the folks at Kashish read these reviews and take on baord what Unilocalers are saying because I would hate to lose them and also more people deserve to try their delicious dishes without bad service. I will bring it up with the owner when I am next in, hopefully my food will still taste as good after I do so!!! Taking one for the Unilocaling team :)

This place runs mostly on takeout, which explains their absolutely terrible service when you stay there to eat. It also explains why it’s quite empty most of the time.
The food is okay. They weren’t able to take out any ingredients from any menu item. Nothing as simple as not adding carrots or not adding dairy. They use frozen vegetable mixes which isn’t great. But honestly, I love Indian food so much, that that’s not gonna stop me. Nothing here is outstanding and nothing is terrible except their service as I mentioned.
When you eat here the waiter will be aloof, rude, impatient, and negligent.
If you want Indian food in Belmont, I highly recommend just getting food for takeout.

Very disappointing. I should have gotten the hint when I walked into an empty restaurant. Their service was extremely poor. I requested the addition of potatoes to my meal and was told that they could not deviate whatsoever from what was on the menu. The waiter did not return to the table even once to ask if we needed anything. I noticed he ignored the only other customer as well. The next time they came to the table was to ask if we wanted the check.
I would definitely not recommend. If you want a great Indian restaurant make the trip to Brookline and go to Rani. The best Indian cuisine ever! They will also modify any dish if you so desire.

I called about 10 minutes before they opened:
Me: Hi, can you please tell me if you have a lunch buffet?
Idiot: Where are you calling from?
Me: I’m in the area and want to know if you have a lunch buffet.
Idiot: We have been here 12 years and have never had a lunch buffet.
A simple no, we don’t would have been the proper response.
With his attitude, I find it hard to believe they managed this long.

Tried Kashish for take out for the first time last night. I ordered lamb vindaloo and lamb curry with an order of garlic nahn. The only thing they got right was the nahn.
I was concerned when I went in and no one was in there at 8:00 pm on a Thursday night. We were starving so we ate the food we got — which I think was chicken tiki masala and some chick peas in maybe a curry? It was all bland, with zero spice.
This caused me to get on Unilocal and see that several other people have made similar comments about their orders being wrong and the emptiness of the joint. Sad but true, I will not waste my time here again.

We ordered chicken tikka masala and it was not too shabby, price was ok. About 15 bucks per dish on average for supper. The food is the reason for 3 stars.
Service gets 1 star (if that). Our waiter was a real prick. No sense of humor and seemed grumpy about everything. He rushed us to take our orders, rushed us to pay, then asked us to leave at 8:55 because they closed at 9, and stood there til we actually left.

We got takeout from Kashish on 9÷18÷13. After reading some reviews on here, I was really second-​guessing our choice, but it turned out to be pretty good. Not my favorite Indian place, but definitely not nearly as bad as some people on here said. Here are my thoughts:
PROS:
The order taker definitely wasn’t rude on the phone when we called, but they weren’t overly friendly either. I can see how if you were asking questions or not entirely sure what something was called, they might be a little short with you. But we didn’t have that experience.
The host in the restaurant when I went to pick up the food was very professional. No rudeness there at all. No problem using the credit card as one Unilocaler mentioned, and our order was exactly right including the vegetarian entrees.
We both ordered medium spice, and they actually gave us a perfect medium spice. In fact, it was almost a bit on the hotter side, which we both loved. So they actually make the food spicy here.
They gave the traditional 3 sauces for the samosas, including what my wife describes as the «best green sauce» she’s ever had.
The food was definitely good. Not the best, but good.
CONS:
Like another Unilocaler mentioned, some of the veggies in the veggie korma were not the traditional Indian vegetables. (I forgot which ones she said, but things like squash, etc.)
The veggie pakoras were just a tiny bit soggy. Not bad by any means, but not quite as crisp as I hoped for. They probably would have been better if we had eaten there instead of taking them home.
All in all, I’ll give this place a solid 4 stars based on our single takeout experience. I’ll update this as we continue to eat there.