Swad

Been here before for the buffets and I loved it. As a newbie to Indian cuisine I chose items on the regular menu that I was comfortable ordering and for several times it was the same thing. We decided to come here for dinner again and I wanted something different and the waitress couldn’t give me a recommendation and told me everything was good which I believe but I was expecting some sort of guidance on something different hence the 4 stars instead of 5. So I ordered the same thing. I do ask severs for recommendations as I value their opinions since they deals with customers all the rime and know what people like or dislike. I will come here again but I’ve met another server that I wil request next time.

Came in for the lunch buffet and it was excellent. Plenty of choices including chicken curry, chicken tikka masala, naan, a few appetizers, and dessert! Great service + great food! Just wish it wasn’t so far from me.

The best Indian I’ve had. I had the chicken Shahi korma, the chicken was nice and juicy, the spice was perfect (level 3) and the flavors in the korma was fantastic. Looks like I don’t need to travel to clifton anymore.

Best Indian in Cincinnati. Never thought I would find it in North College Hill, but there it is!

After searching Unilocal and other online review sites, we settled on Swad as our first Indian food destination. Our double date group sampled Saag, Chicken Tikka, and Shrimp Tandoori, and Naan. All of it was served with what seemed like an unlimited helping of rice and was delicious. The portions were large, most of us had leftovers to take home. We had a lot of questions and our server was happy to help us understand the menu. The main reason we chose Swad over the other many options in Cincinnati is the décor and seating. It is a comfortable place to sit in that isn’t overly casual which makes it nice for conversation on a date night. The buffet is only available for lunch and parking is on the street.

Like others have mentioned, it is also our fav Indian spot. The food is expertly prepared and the taste is divine. I have had the buffet but prefer to order individual dishes as I found their buffet to only be average.
Service is excellent and prompt. The naan was great (recommend either the Garlic or Kashir) and my favorite meals are any that have Paneer in them. Oh yummy!
There are usually coupons in the Bearcash/​Citybeat, etc for here and it can help save you some $$.
The outdoor patio is small but great for al fresco dining.

I have been here twice since August and based on my last experience I’m probably not heading back anytime soon.
The first time i went here was for the lunch buffet with some family members, and I’m really not generally a fan of buffets at all. However, everything was neatly labeled (so it was easy to see what was and wasn’t vegetarian) and pretty tasty, so I decided I would come back and give it another go. Had this been my only experience, this would be a three star review.
The next time I came for take out and I ordered the saag kofta, which is vegetable balls in a spinach sauce. On a scale of one to six I requested a five, not being very familiar with how spicy their food is (I normally get five or six depending on the dish at other Indian places) and I found the food to be incredibly bland. I honestly though they must have given me a one or a two, because the dish was not spicy at all.
I was initially excited about this place, thinking it would give me somewhere to get Indian food that wasn’t Clifton. This is not the case! I think I’ll be sticking to places like Deep and Ambar, especially because Swad is relatively expensive for being of a lower quality.

I recently visited with my parents, a favorite of ours in the winter, and we were terribly disappointed. Maya, the woman who used to own Dusmesh and her father, no longer own Swad. Service was incredibly slow and all of our food came out with no spice at all. Incense was burning on the bar and was very overpowering and overwhelming. The quality of the food has also changed and the rice was not aromatic. Another disappointing change was that there is no longer the little donut-​honey balls served at the end of the meal.

Abby and I have eaten here twice now. Since moving west of I-​75, we’ve struggled to find good Indian food, and I’m happy to say that the search has ended! Swad has a wonderful atmosphere. It’s hardly ever crowded (shockingly). When we’ve arrived, we’ve always been seated right away, and our food has come quickly. The staff is very attentive with refilling our waters. They have wine and beer (draft and bottle) as well.
Abby likes the chicken tikka saag. I tried the chicken vindaloo, and it was not as vinegary as it is at other places, so the second time we went I tried the chicken tikka masala, and that was killer! We also got naan both times, and I don’t even want to know how much ghee they use to cook that stuff, but it is delicious and perfectly crispy/​soft. It’s the best naan I’ve ever had.
Prices are comparable to what you’d see at other Indian restaurants around town, but the servings are a little small in my estimation.

** Vegan Review **
I don’t think it’s necessary to draw this review out with a ton of specific details about each meal I have enjoyed here. However, it is important to know that I rarely give out ⁴⁄₅ star ratings.
I’ll just simply say this: When I am craving Indian food, I drive to Swad. I don’t even consider another place.

I found out about Dusmesh late and only got there once before the restaurant changed hands. So pleased that the original owners are not only back, but became the first to open an Indian restaurant west of I-​75. (And they are doing very well! Proving once again that west siders will support good ethnic food, if you just bring it to us!) We had chicken biriyani and lamb korma, with samosas and a terrific garlic nan, and thoroughly enjoyed everything. Better atmosphere than Ambar, which has been our stalwart for many years, and more consistent quality. The menu doesn’t stray far from the familiar dishes (would love to see them add an evening special to shake things up), but no complaints.

This is hands down THEE BEST Indian restaurant in Cincinnati. Newly opened you have to be mindful that they are closed for four months a year. When they are open they have thee best buffet and the wait for lunch isn’t bad. If you’re feeling adventurous try the Naan with potato and chicken stuffed inside I s divine. The service is top notch and the bathrooms are enviable. There are more options than the typical Indian restaurant and the ambiance set this place
apart from the rest. I recommend adding this one to the list.

As others have said, this restaurant is owned by the family that used to own Dushmesh. I was a regular there, but I noticed quite a change in quality after the change in ownership. I was so happy to finally have a chance to visit Swad yesterday with my mother! Their lunch buffet was even better than I’d remembered at Dushmesh! I’d always loved their Saag Paneer, but I also found a couple other dishes that I really enjoyed, including some goat! They also offer garlic naan and khiir, some of my mom’s favorites.
While this location is the opposite direction of where I’m usually going, it’s very worth the drive! The buffet is a steal for $ 8! And you can usually find $ 1.50 off coupons in the Bear Cash magazine. The service is friendly and the buffet is kept fresh. This is definitely a place a miss when I go back to St. Louis!

This restaurant is owned by the family that previously owned Dusmesh in Clifton.
It’s an adorable spot that’s very clean and open, unlike many smaller, more cramped Indian restaurants.
Because it’s the same family that owned Dusmesh, the hospitality is amazing, and worth the trip alone.
The food pushes it over the edge. So far, everything’s been fresh and fast and the restaurant hasn’t been packed.
I’d suggest the Paneer Makhani paired with Garlic Naan.
Swad is worth going outside of the Clifton circle of Indian restaurants. You won’t regret it.

Hands down, this is the best Indian buffet in Cincinnati! It’s $ 8 and all of their food is being refilled constantly because of how much traffic they get. I love that they have both garlic naan and normal naan. The food is hot, and they have a good variety of dishes. Their spice level is perfect! With a lot of Indian buffets, I feel like they go too light with the spice level and the dish just doesn’t feel the same. It also seems like their dishes actually have the chicken and other protein in it! A lot of Indian buffets seem to be all sauce, but not Swad!
I also tried a Mango Lassi for the first time. Yum!
The atmosphere is a little dim, but the service is pretty good.

As far as Indian lunch buffets go, this place is as good as it gets! I came here for lunch last Friday with a few co-workers…We needed to eat quickly and get back to work, and this place was a great stop!
We were seated very quickly, and our waitress immediately took our drink orders. The buffet had a lot of options on it, and everything was hot and fresh. I particularly liked the saag with mushrooms and the chicken tikka masala. The only thing I didn’t really like was the goat curry because I thought the goat was a little tough. Oh, and they had garlic naan on the buffet!
Service was great. They kept our waters full and they immediately took away any dirty plates. They even split our check 6 ways and didn’t even bat an eye. And did I mention that this all-​you-​can-​eat buffet was around $ 8?! So cheap!
This Indian buffet is top notch. I’ll be coming back again when I need some fuel during work!

3.5 stars, really, but I have a strong suspicion that rating will go up on future visits.
We called ahead and made a reservation for the same night, then drove over, parked in the side lot, and walked right in. Having been to this location back when it was Van Zandt, it was funny/​interesting to see what looked the same and what had changed. The front dining room was pleasantly busy, and based on staff/​customer traffic, I think the back dining room probably was too.
We ordered mango lassi (delicious but filling!), an appetizer of fried cheese (sorry I can’t remember the proper name for it), and then garlic nan and our favorite dish anywhere, chicken tikka masala. Everything was *really* good — except the fried cheese. That came out kind of dry and spongy, a definite disappointment. (Hence why I think we’ll like Swad better in the future. Next time: samosas!)
Anyway, this is the first place that I’ve really thought could compete in my heart against Ambar. It’s also much closer to us than Ambar is, and the parking situation is a bit better. (There’s a lot on the side of the Swad building, as well as a good amount of street parking on both sides out front.) Service at both places is good, but *friendlier* here. Pricing seems on par.

A local favorite because their food and service are phenomenal!
I have been here twice so far. I have always heard people rave about it so I tried it for takeout a while back. I got their malai kofta which was really tasty! Very close to what I’ve had in Pune, India. The second time was during a weeknight with a very large group. Our server was very friendly, making jokes and even knowing some of the regulars’ orders. The place was moderately filled outside of our group. Everyone got their food in a reasonable time too!
This most recent time I got dal makhani with some chapati and papardum. I was worried about the size of the chapati at first since I’m used to them being small but it came out the same size as a naan. The papardum included plain and spicy pieces with enough for leftovers. Now the dal makhani, which is made from a brown lentil — AMAZING! Not many Indian places seem to have this dal but it is my favorite! Creamy, earthy and filling! Also don’t be fooled by the small looking containers. It’s a lot of food.
Next time I go, hopefully I can check out their buffet!

I’d give the food 4-​stars, but the service and price earned this restaurant it’s 5^th star. Everyone was very friendly and came over often to fill up our water. We had the buffet on a Saturday afternoon. All of the food was fresh and tasty. I would have liked the food to be spicier, but I know a lot of folks probably don’t want all the spice.
When the bill came, I wasn’t expecting it to be so cheap. For 3 people, the total was less than $ 24. We certainly ate our money’s worth, let me tell you.
I would be here often if I lived nearby. It was fairly busy but not too crowded for a Saturday afternoon. Definitely recommend!

After discovering that Swad had opened nearby, we were fairly quick to place a carry-​out order. In fact, we would have placed an order sooner if they’d been open on Mondays when a random Indian food craving hit. ;-) I was impressed with their food even with just trying the carry-​out. Taj Mahal had previously been our go-​to Indian carry-​out place since it was the closest, but Swad’s food definitely seems like it’s higher quality. There was more paneer in our standard order of Paneer Makhani, and everything seemed more flavorful.
We finally made it in to the restaurant to try the buffet on a Sunday afternoon, and they greeted my husband by name, recognizing that he’d been in to pick up a carry-​out order previously. The buffet area is tucked in the back of the restaurant, and it was roughly half-​vegetarian. The service was perfect for a buffet experience. We were mostly left to eat in peace, but our plates were cleared promptly and the check appeared on the table shortly after we’d picked up dessert. And the total was only $ 8/​person for the weekend lunch buffet, so that’s a bargain!
Besides being open on Mondays, the only slight complaints we could come up with is that their Gulab Jamun was a little bit dry and it would be nice if they had more of an online presence (i.e. menu). We will definitely be having Swad again, and I’m betting it’s sometime soon!