Sitar of India

I hadn’t been here in quite awhile because the last time I had been, the food quality was terrible and the staff were rude. I decided to try it out again today and I was pleasantly surprised. They either got their act together or they’re under new management. Either way, the food was awesome today. Very fresh and absolutely delicious. I couldn’t get enough of the tikka masala, it was perfect. Just enough spice. Of course everything else was great too. The staff was friendly and attentive. If you’ve given up on this place because of a previous experience, I highly recommend you give it another try. You won’t be disappointed.
Update: I also decided to try this place for dinner, just to make sure I didn’t just happen to get lucky going early for the lunch buffet. Once again, I was pleasantly surprised. The food was just as fresh and delicious. It was just after 8 pm when I arrived (they were closing at 9). I hate to go that close to closing time, but I went when I got off work. I was still greeted with the same friendly service, and treated to delicious, fresh food once again. They didn’t seem to mind a bit that it was near close.
Note: Keep in mind that those who work here aren’t necessarily from here. What could be seen as unfriendly, could just be a difference in culture.

I’ve been here several times before and loved it, but the last time I went something upset my stomach (no one else got sick, maybe it was a spice that my stomach didn’t like). The food wasn’t as good as I remembered. I probably won’t come back– stick with Little India down the road or Nawab in Huntington.

My mother in law used to come here so often that they knew her voice on the phone when she called in her order to pick up. Every time when we would visit, we would always go to Sitar as it was one of our favorite places in town. Sadly, not anymore. Over the past year or more she kept saying that it had gone down hill and she wasn’t going as often which I thought was odd because the people that worked there used to be so great and the food was so consistently good. During our last visit to Charleston we decided to give it another try and wow what a mistake. Now we know why she doesn’t go much anymore. We came in about 2.5 hours before the posted closing time. The gentleman working glared at us and eventually came to seat us. He never smiled. He never responded to anything we said. My husband asked about the beer and he didn’t say a word and pointed at the menu. I smiled at him several times and kept thanking him and he never responded or smiled back. It was so incredibly odd. We ordered 2 orders of chicken tikka masala medium and 1 chicken vindaloo extra hot with garlic naan. The naan came out limp and cold. The rice was horrible… clumpy and cold as well. The tikka masala was not spiced the same as it used to be and was not great. My husband said his vindaloo was ok but different than it used to be. I don’t know what has happened to the chef and/​or management but this is like a different restaurant all together. What happened to the wonderful rice, the delicious chicken tikka and the crisp delicious naan??? My mother in law said the food is now so unpredictable most times and the service is so bad that she doesn’t even bother anymore. And to top it all off, the angry man came back as we were eating and started clearing our table. They were not supposed to close for another 1.5 hours and they literally started shutting off the lights. It was the most ludicrous thing I have ever seen. I told my family that apparently that was the signal to get out so we paid our check and left. Craziest experience I have ever had at a restaurant. Don’t go there.

Owner is extremely rude and the food is stale! Stay away from this horrible restaurant. Much better option at Nawab in Huntington.

I hate to right a bad review but this place just didn’t do it for me. I got a sample of everything. The food was just planned with a lot of curry. There was a huge language barrier there too which is okay, but it made it hard to ask questions about the menu. And for the dessert I had horribly soggy gulab human. Nothing about this place was good really. Even the service was bad. Wouldn’t recommend.

Arrived 1 hour and 20 minutes before lunch buffet ends… Old, stale, picked over food. Asked for fresh, warm rice, was told «no one else complained today, what’s your problem?» HIGHLY OFFENDED.
THEN, the worker pointed to something on the bar that looked full and told me «that warm, eat it.»
I declined, and he walked away.
Went back to my table, he immediately came over, gathered our plates, and told me and my guest that they were closing and to finish up. It was 45 minutes before the posted closing hours.
We didn’t even eat one plate between the two of us, and paid over 20 bucks for this experience.
Bad food, TERRIBLE customer service.
Rude, arrogant… Will never return.
Do not recommend.

Great food. Super cheap $ 9 buffet. Plenty of low carb options. Even more if you are not on a restricted diet.

I usually hit this place up for their lunch buffet. Fact: you are going to get two plates of food. You might say you won’t, but you goddamned will because the food is good. Indian food is everything I want: really deep flavors, vary savory, spicy, meaty.

I typically go for the lunch buffet, where they have a decent little crowd. They have a nice selection, that varies a little by the day. Tikka masala is definitely the star. Love the mango drink, the chai, naan, everything.
The décor is a little dated. But I come for the tikka masala, with the mango chutney. There aren’t a lot of options, so give it a try.

My meal, Chicken Saag, was very good and the Nan was delicious. Recommend checking it out.

Went here for a late lunch today and had the buffet. I like that they give the table a pitcher of water so they don’t have to keep coming back to fill it. At the buffet, I really liked the lamb curry and chicken tikka masala. The saag paneer was really not so great. The naan was delicious. Sitar of India has a great selection of Indian beers for only $ 3.25 per beer. The service was tepid, the interior needs to be completely demolished and redone. The food that was good at the buffet was worth the price. I also loved the Indian music playing in the background.
Sitar of India gets points for a sketchy looking parking lot across the street manned by someone out of a Coen Brothers movie. Nice touch. ;-)

We had horrible service.
Waiters messed up with level of spices and they did not count that we understand their language. They still gave us the food with words «how come he will know, if it is mild or medium».
I strongly recommend to visit Little India instead.
We will never go to this place again. Screw this low attitude and cheap attitude to customers.

I’m a big fan of Indian food. Sitar leans toward North Indian cuisine and has a Great lunch buffet with plenty of vegetarian options. During lunch you can park FREE in the lot across the street. Just get a ticket and have it stamped when you pay your bill at the restaurant.
We sometimes order a few dishes to go and enjoy at home for dinner too. My favorite restaurant in Charleston, WV.

Came here for a late Lunch while in Charleston for business. Considering we were one of only two tables eating at that time, the lunch buffet ($ 9! Cheap!) was well stocked, and very fresh. There were easily 15 different choices, and everything I ate was at least very good, and most of it excellent.
This place is a no-​brainer for lunch if I’m ever back in Charleston.
e.

I really like the food here. Sure, the décor is fairly simplistic/​dated and the lone female server (owner?) isn’t terribly friendly, but when it comes down to brass tacks, I judge a place based on the food. The prices are also reasonable considering the portions… we’re talkin’ two meals for the price of one. Come to think of it, I kind of like how bare and weird it is. It reminds me of the Indian dives I dined in in London. They were also delicious!

Well I was in town for business and this place was in walking distance. When I got there around 7 ish on Tuesday night, there were 4 other diners in the restaurant. I ordered the non-​veg thali which came with Lamb saag (spinach), Chicken curry, tandoori roti, raita, pappadum, rice, tea and gulab jamun. Ordered vegetable samosas as well.
Pros: Staff were friendly and prompt, my guess is they were the owners. Lamb Saag was delicious. Gulab jamun was also good. Outside of samosas was hot and crisp. Roti was also fresh and hot.
Cons: samosa filling was bland and they did not offer any mint/​cilantro chutney but had two others on the table that I do not like. the roti got chewier as it cooled. the rice was dry (like it had been made earlier in the day). chicken curry mostly tasted of onions and lacked any pleasing flavor. and they served the tea before anything else so when i was ready to drink it at the end of the meal it was cold (it is possible they mistakenly thought i wanted tea upfront when i declined to order a drink because the tea was included in the meal).
Total meal was $ 19 plus tip. The entrée prices seemed high to me though I admit I don’t know how big the serving size is. They did not skimp on the portions in the Thali.

I love the shahi paneer korma! My husband gets the biryani. We go there at least once a week!

One of the most painful Indian meals I’ve had. Food was cold, had very little spice. I asked for peppers and onions, they had none. They just missed on the basics of what Indian food should be, lots of spice and flavor and if you want to add some heat you can. I love Indian, but can’t bring myself to go back.

It’s not bad. But if Charleston had other Indian restaurants, Sitar would be in trouble. The staff have always been friendly, but the food is just meh. I’d expect a lot more for the price.

Being a fan of Indian cuisine, I simply had to try the only Indian restaurant in Charleston, WV. While it wasn’t an unpleasant experience, but was hardly what I would have expected for the price.
First impressions are often the most powerful. Much like the impression I likely give when I first meet people, Sitar felt slightly low class and frumpy. The sparse décor and the small water stains on the ceiling served to make it feel more like an Indian grab and go and less like the sit down restaurant it was trying to be.
Excellent service can make up for a subpar atmosphere, though. Alas, this was not to be, as I got the «lone diner» cold shoulder from the staff. It isn’t that they were rude, per se… they just felt like they had better, higher paying tables to serve. They went so far as to leave the pitcher of water on my table, so they could tend to the larger groups of guests while I fended for myself.
And finally… most importantly… the food. The food was… well, it was okay. For the price, I was expecting some delicious, fiery chicken vindaloo and cool, tangy raita. What I got was buffet quality vindaloo with a bit of a kick and what felt like raita made from a mix.
Given the price and the quality, I think I’ll stick with the food that Charleston does well, and I’ll save the Indian for other cities.