Bhindi Bazaar Cafe

Had the buffet and it was excellent. The curry was just the right amount spice and flavor. They also have a menu, try the garlic naan Yum!

CLOSED
Promising menu listed on their Web site, featuring South Indian dishes that looked very good. Recent positive reviews, too.
But when we showed up, it was closed! The phone is disconnected, so I assume they are gone for good, not for remodeling. Would have been nice if they took down their Web site to let us know. Too bad.
I can only give them one star for failing to offer any items listed on their Web menu.

I had to update as I’ve been a loyal 1 x per week customer now for several months. I pick up food here a lot because it’s on my way home from the T and I have also eaten in on a few occasions. It’s super convenient for me. However, it’s also so so good. The food is always warm, flavorful, and consistently delicious. Everything I have had is good. My favorites so far though are peshawari naan, malai kofta, and chicken navratan. Also, the people that work here are always nice. The woman, who I believe is the owner, is especially warm and friendly. I’d say this place is way up there with India Quality, Mela, or Kashmir.

I’ve been to so many Indian buffets in Boston that all the average ones tend to blur together. Such is the case with Bhindi Bazaar. Nothing is particularly memorable about it. I know I enjoyed my lunch, but it obviously didn’t leave a lasting impression. Oh well, it’s certainly better than Bombay Café down the street.

I think the place opened about 10 years ago– when I was in college around the area and the décor was really modern. And this weekend, I found out that it’s just as good as it was. Whew, because my husband is brown and rightly picky about Indian restaurants.
Bhindi Bazaar has an amazingly fresh and well cooked buffet. You will not find a million stations of different colored oil. And I’m a firm believer of quality over quantity: the staple favorites such as chicken curry, tandoori, tikka masala, naan, rice, pakora, saag (spinach), kheer (rice pudding) etc.
A nice touch was the chai tea, which I’ve never had at a buffet =) Very tasty!
There are little signs asking patrons to use specific dishes/​cups for the kheer and chai tea respectively, possibly to prevent transfer of flavors or colors from the main dish sections.
The service was impeccable. We came in a bit early because we didn’t know the hours, but we were allowed to dive in. So glad!
Very reasonable prices and the bathrooms were spotless.

I have been taken here once and ordered takeout several times. I hate that I have never taken the time to walk in on my own. Stupid stupid stupid me. Not only do they have a lunch buffet special but they also have a student special that can be used any time during the day. $ 9 for any chicken dish, rice, and an abundance of naan. I hate myself for not learning about this earlier. Now that I am moving in 2 weeks I will try to get in there at least twice.
I know that I am not an authority on Indian food but I can tell you that they have a very diverse menu with both Northern and Southern Indian food. My friend who is Indian who was in town visiting said it was very good and authentic Indian food. He is the one who originally introduced me to this type of cuisine and I am so glad he did. I also tried my first Kingfisher here. Pretty solid beer.
This is not a place to be overlooked. Especially as a student in the area.

Went here for lunch buffet,
and I now have to say,
The food was delicious,
and even nutritious
They had all the staples,
from rice to chicken,
they also had tandoori,
and rice pudding worth lickin’
The price was reasonable:
eight fifty per person
any lower
and my obesity would worsen
So what are you waiting for?
Quit reading this song
each second you waste
your doing your tummy wrong

The restaurant was pretty empty and though the staff tried to be attentive, the fact that they were preoccupied with talking on the phone and sorting receipts (between 8pm and 9pm) meant that I had to sit and wait a long time for the check.
I like that they serve papadum with mint and tomato chutney. The tomato «salsa» is very spicy, so you might like the mint for variety (but it is very watery).
There was a student special with rice, naan, and your choice: vegetable or chicken entrée. I selected the malai kofta (it didn’t look like what I’d expected – two fried vegetable rolls, a few peas, and tomato sauce). I would not order it again (on par with microwaveable entrees). The rice and naan were decent though.
I am curious about the weekend buffet ( Unilocalers seemed to like it – did the ownership/​kitchen staff change?) but if forced to dine on that street, I’d probably go to Island Hopper instead.
I would recommend this restaurant for Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares (because the service, atmosphere, and dinner menu/​appearance are in need of updates).
Disappointing, though the location has potential.

I took my mother out for dinner because she loves Indian food. The food was DELICIOUS! There were so many different menu options. The wait staff was very friendly and offered suggestions of different foods to try and gave a good description of each plate. It is a very relaxed place, they didn’t rush you to leave, very comfortable atmosphere.
They were out of most of the wine that I wanted, but I ended up picking one that I liked.
I want to go some time in the afternoon to try the buffet! It looks guuuuuud!

Yummy food, good price, and I can’t say no to an Indian buffet!
And the reason I can’t say no isn’t cause I’m a fat middle American from a fat working class family that does all their shopping on Sunday at the local Wal Mart…
It’s because I’m INDECISIVE!!! Especially when it comes to Indian food. I look at a menu and I instantly want EVERYTHING. Except the goat. No thanks. But I want everything else. However, I know (because of physics of course. S-​M-​A-​R-​T!) that this is not a feasible dining option. This is where the buffet becomes a brilliant solution. I can have a spoonful (or 2 or…8…) of everything I want! It saves money, weight, gastric problems, and is all in all a marvelous idea for people like me who treat selecting lunch food as a life altering decision.
The buffet had all your standards (tandoori chicken, saag paneer, lentils, pakora, samosas, dal, chicken curry) and they were all delicious. I know. I had a spoonful of each. Actually i had more than a spoonful of the lentils and the saag cause those were extra delicious. Especially the lentils. Oh my god the lentils were fantastic! Also extra delicious was the samosa. Everything else was just regular delicious. Still, for the price it can’t really be beat!

Two words: chicken cafraal!
If you like spicy (as in full of flavor *and* scorching heat) Indian dishes, you will love the chicken cafraal. It’s a curry made with a paste of cilantro and fresh chili peppers (along with other spices) that I’ve never seen anywhere else around Boston.
You can get it mild, but it’s just not as good that way. Actually, that statement holds true for most Indian dishes. The spicy peppers they use have a much better flavor than the mild peppers.
I’ve had the buffet, too, and it’s decent, but this place really shines in its a la carte dishes.

Pros: The price.
Cons: Service, lack of selection
The food is not bad — really mild and it’s great to introduce beginners into Indian food. But I’ve had a hit or miss here with the service — sometimes they’ll refill the water and sometimes they’ll remember to refill the buffet. But the pro of cheap Indian lunch reigns supreme. You can’t beat that. If I need a quick Indian fix or with a bunch of «meat and potatoes» newbies, I always head here.

Great Indian food for a great price. The location is so central, and the restaurant is actually decorated with taste & a theme (modern Indian?) unlike those cheaper places around Central Square. I.e. good enough for a nice to casual date.
The food is great. Dishes don’t stand out in particular, you get the typical choices for an Indian restaurant, so you can expect what you normally would from Indian but on the higher end of the quality scale. Although the food’s not spectacular by any means, it’s always good & the location/​décor brings this restaurant firmly to 4 stars.

I’m guessing this place has rave reviews based solely on the buffet. I had take-​out and was less than impressed.
Food was not spicy, just bland. I had the Malai Kofta, Vegetable Korma and a few other dishes. All were lacking any/​all spice. Also, hardly any rice accompanies their take-​out dishes. This may be different when dining in.
Naan was good, but that passes the test at most Indian restaurants. Sk[p this place and check out Rani in Coolidge Corner or Ghazal in JP.

Spice,
Rice and,
Everything nice,
That’s what Bindi Bazaar is made of!
Bindi Bazaar offers yummy dishes that hit the culinary spot when you’re looking for an Indian joint that does not raise the heat to mask sub-​par ingredients and unadventurous cooking. I am a fan of their bhaigan bharata and aloo paratha because it reminds me of my mommy and daddy who make an eggplant, potato, and flour seem like food angels.

Yeah, the price is great, but it really isn’t that wonderful of a buffet. (Although I have found the worst in town – Rani). There weren’t a lot of people dining here on a recent Friday afternoon which should have been my first sign. I agree with Susan D. Cheap array of food.
So, the options we had were saag paneer, tandoori chicken, rice, naan, a salad array and samosas. There was also chicken curry and chicken tikka masala. I am forgetting something else too. But there was never enough naan and I felt like it was a really bad selection of food. Nothing blew me away either.
Service was decent enough but not really worth another visit here for me.

I have only been there for weekday lunch buffet with co-​workers or by myself many times. Good food, excellent value. Staff seems friendly.
Love the rice pudding! They never have enough nam out. Oh well. I recommend this for an authentic, cheap Indian buffet.

For a mere $ 7.50, you can come to Bhindi Bazaar, fill your plate at the buffet over and over and over with delicious and constantly refreshed Indian food and stuff yourself so silly that it hurts just knowing that you have to get up and walk out the door and continue your day.
Not that I’ve ever done that.
You’d be hard-​pressed to find so much good food at such a cheap price in a cute little restaurant. At 1pm, we had our pick of tables and choose to gorge closest to the window to watch all of the Saturday strollers walk aimlessly by. I am quite sure a few of them got an eyeful of me all chipmunk-​cheeked, with a dollop of saag on my chin.
After two platefuls of a sampling of everything up there, I waved the white flag and called it an afternoon. Good thing I had little to do on a my Saturday, because the fullness of my stomach would surely have gotten in the way of doing anything productive!

For a $ 7.50 buffet, this place is coolio but if you come too late you kinda miss out. The first time I came here with lunch buddie Jennie W, we were in around 1PM and they had already started to slow down on the replacement of some food items. I’ve also been in around 2PM and everything was pretty sad looking.
The few times I’ve gone, they’ve switched up their buffet. but what I do remember is their…
.pakoras… pretty dry on the whole. but dipped in that brownish sauce (ya know. the sauce next for the wimps that’s next to the green hot sauce). not too bad.
.saag paneer. pretty delish but I played find the cheese. want the cheese. need the cheese!
.tandoori chicken — was pretty good when I came in around 1. although when I came in around 2. you could definitely tell they were sitting out for awhile and the cuts were teeny tiny pieces of baby chicken. Ahh. yuck. Bad visual. :(
.chicken curry. more mild than I imagined but good…
There was also a vegetarian chickpea dish that was my favorite. don’t know what they had in it, but it was the most delicious out of the 7 or so dishes I’ve seen rotated in and out of the buffet.
Oh. and the naan was pretty good but they weren’t refilling it fast enough! I usually like using naan as a type of spoon/​rice and eat it with everything. When I had gone in with Jennie, she was watching the buffet and talking in code. so that when they did put out the naan, I’d be the first one up there. Sadly, everyone else saw the waiter coming from a mile away. Dang!
I have a feeling if you go during their rush hour, things are replaced faster and the food might be fresher. Still. $ 7.50 aint so bad for a buffet.

DEEPA GOT PISSED.
This was my first time EVER having Indian food and thankfully Deepa was there to show me the ropes.
I really enjoyed the food she ordered on behalf of myself and Daniel, because not only is she an Indian food expert, but an Indian food for white people expert too!
«Let’s stay away from the Dosa,» Deepa says, «I’ve learned the whiteys don’t care for the Dosa.»
:-O
Anyway, the food here is VERY delicious. I’m not quite sure what I ate, but I know that the variety of meats, sauces, vegetables, and breads left me wanting more. Generous portions, decent service, fair prices, and a clean atmosphere all make this place 4-​stars in my mind.
I’d definitely come back here again, but I would have to consult my Indian expert on what to order… I was too busy being yelled at for being a dumb white boy to remember what foods I liked.