Curry in the Box

With how good the reviews are, I thought I would be getting um, Thai food. It has a chain vibe, which immediately made me think «nope… This is gonna be awful» but it was too late to go somewhere else. The Phad Thai I had was cafeteria quality at best. Monotone flavor. No sprouts, onions, spice. I’m fairly certain they tossed some rice noodles with a sauce from a bottle and sprinkled chopped peanuts on top and threw on a sprig of cilantro. The crab rangoon looked and tasted like it came from the frozen food section of my local grocer… I seriously would have gotten more authentic Thai at Noodles & Company.

Tried their chicken tikka masala and was disappointed in the lack of flavor. Only received one piece of the bread option that isn’t nan. Disappointed in a $ 20+ meal. I did use delivery so maybe that contributed.

This place has been on my list for quite a long time. I’ve read great reviews about this place. We dropped the kid off at a place near Fitchburg and decided to check it out. We weren’t disgusted, but we weren’t pleased, either. It’s hard to decide what to actually give this place.
Thai is my favorite food in the world and I’m a pretty harsh critic. We ordered a couple appetizers so we could get a full sense of this place. The first one I tried was the samosa. It tasted like a potato pop tart. I realize samosas are made with potatoes — a lot of potatoes, but usually you can taste spice or some kind of flavor in them! These were not flavorful. Next, I tried my husband’s egg roll. It was doughy. The kind you get in an elementary school lunch line. My husband also ordered a paratha. That was pretty good, but could have been cooked a bit more.
My husband ordered Panang Curry. This is probably his favorite dish at a Thai restaurant. It was much better than the appetizers, but seemed «Americanized» by being way less spicy than it normally is. I tried a Red Curry dish. It definitely had more spice, but wasn’t up as spicy as it claimed. I really liked the flavor, but again, it wasn’t the best I’ve ever had. The dishes both left us wanting.
Unfortunately, we will not be dining here, again.

Delicious curry and padthai! We had the chicken paneng, jungle curry, pad Thai and coconut rice! All were sooo yummy! Loved it!!!

We’ve been ordering from here for years. It’s been hit or miss all over the menu. After calling and talking to staff, we were told that they like to take standard Asian recipes and «do their own thing» and modify it. We’ve tried close to half the menu, and are not happy with their modifications.
The Pad Thai lacks a few of the fresh ingredients that make any pad Thai sophisticated and good. The crab Rangoon we got was completely dry, it’s hard to think of a worse one! Several other curries hardly stand out, and seem to always have too many veggies and not enough sauce. The Chicken Manchurian looked and tasted nothing like any chicken Manchurian I’ve ever seen on a menu, and was bland to boot. When I spoke to the staff, they explained that this is «their version» of chicken Manchurian. Which apparently means the chicken isn’t fried, there’s no sauce, no scallion, no onion, and is mostly stir fried broccoli and carrots.
If you are going to «modify» a standard Asian recipe by removing most of the ingredients and cooking it differently, don’t call it by the same name! We feel cheated, and we are getting rather tired of feeling cheated half the time we order food from here. The Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Curry, and simpler Thai curries (red, yellow) have kept us coming back. Not frequently, alas.

Fast service and delicious food. I had Panang Peanut Noodle… amazing. Good portion size and quick take out service.

Always fast and with fresh ingredients.

One of my favorite Thai joints in Madison! I’ve tried almost every curry on the menu but I tend to always make my way back to the Mixed Veggie Curry with Tofu (& no, I’m not a vegetarian). The yellow curry is sweet with a hint of heat and the veggies are cooked perfectly — big hunks of broccoli, potato & carrots. Grab a roti bread or 2 to sop up the extra sauce — so delish! Add a side of the refreshing cucumber salad and you’re good to go!
If you plan to be a frequent visitor to their Madison and/​or Fitchburg locations, sign up for their rewards card. I enjoy free birthday meals and regular $ 5 off coupons (which I obviously spend on the veggie curry).

Very very poor in quality. Wanted to order Chana Masala (have it on their Menu) but they mentioned it is no longer available, so they suggested TOFU instead chickpeas and it was totally poor in quality. ROTI (paratha) was not made fresh, I guess they used frozen Malaysian paratha or something like that. I would like to give 0 star to this place. I suggest to go for other Indian restaurant instead. This one is total waste of money.

Bland and generic food that doesn’t really make me think of thai cuisine. I can’t think of a reason to ever go back. That being said if you are in the mood for something that has vaguely asian flavors at an average price point, in a normal amount of time, this place is passable.

Great little curry place in Fitchburg! We were skeptical upon entering as there were only a few people inside and the ambiance is a bit drab, but the food is quite good! I would say it is a very good and slightly cheaper alternative to Ha Long Bay and Sa Bai Thong.

I have great news, my loong and agonizing search for tasty well balanced Thai food it’s over! I declare myself a fan of this place :) :)
I had their sweet potato chicken curry and what a quality of ingredients! Vegetables right on point, not hard, not soft, chicken cut thin and so well made! Flavors wonderfully balanced of salty, sweet and spicy. Besides, the dish has the perfect portion size, usually when I ate curries at other places I ended up with a belly like if I swallowed a whole cow! This time I finished with a big smile in my face of such comforting experience :) my hubby had the lamb curry and it had a nice earthy tomato based sauce, I even tasted like a hint of cinnamon. He liked it. The Roti bread ahhhhhhhh… Super yummyy with such an interesting taste like if it was cooked in an open flame difficult to forget! And last but not least, their Thai iced tea, deliciously sweet (not too sweet) finished with half and half on top which, for some reason I loved to discover, it matched perfectly with our food. Very nice staff also, I CANT wait to come back!

I am basing this review on one visit. I will return to Curry in a Box ASAP and post an update.
I love Thai curry. I find that I am often disappointed when the sauce is overly greasy or the consistency of water. I want to taste the curry and feel” the burn” without the overall flavors disappearing in the heat. Curry in the Box hit the nail on the head.
I ordered the Green Curry with chicken. The ratio of chicken, to rice, to broccoli, to bamboo shoots was just right. I liked the rice which was a little firm in texture which enhanced the overall experience.
The restaurant was unremarkable but I enjoyed my sunny table and the gentleman who took my order was kind and helpful. I assumed he was the owner.
Under $ 10… What a delicious deal.

Prices are great, portions are perfect and you can’t beat the deal. Little place tucked in. The sign is very small, so if you don’t know what/​where your looking, you will miss it. The atmosphere is nothing special, but it is comfortable and well spread out. The staff is pleasing, polite, and professional. I recommend this place for a quick bit or take out.

Penang Curry with chicken was very good. Plenty of heat with a sweet, Caribbean-​like flavor. I thought it was very unique and would return for this dish.
The Pad Thai was so-​so. Not enough heat for the maximum spice level.
Friendly service, but pretty high prices for the quantity and the location ($ 9 – 11 per entrée). Given that I felt this place could be termed Americanized Thai food, I did not think it was worthy of the price point. Nonetheless, the Penang curry tasted good– if you go, you should get it!

A strip mall mediocrity with bad recipes and skunky beer. Only highlight was the summer roll. To be avoided unless desperate.
Had the Penang Chicken Curry which had 6 small pieces of chicken and an overload of overcooked veggies including peas and carrots. Do they not know how to make this dish?

Despite sporting a name befitting a West Towne food court stand, Curry in the Box is rapidly becoming my favorite South Madison lunch haunt. With clean flavors, a lunch menu loaded with affordable options and an efficient kitchen that churns out my meal in less than 10 minutes, there a lot to love about this strip mall outpost on Fish Hatchery Road.
I dined in during my first visit to Curry in the Box. The menu is posted on the wall as you enter the restaurant. A floor display lists a set of nine lunch specials, affordably priced from $ 6.29 to $ 7.49. I ordered the Chicken Kapow (Chicken breast, bamboo shoots, onion, mushroom, and basil stir fried in fresh chili sauce) for $ 6.29, paid the cashier, picked my number and found a table in the surprisingly large, well-​lit dining area.
Five minutes later, a smiling server delivered by meal, served in a large white bowl. While Chicken Kapow is a standard Thai dish, the kitchen showed a great deal of skill in preparing this dish, stir-​frying the vegetables to coax a mouthful of flavor in every bite. The cooks applied the chili sauce with gentle hand, using the sauce to complement the other ingredients, not overwhelm them. My only gripe was with the rice, far too gummy for my preferences.
The following day, I ordered the Japanese Pan Curry (crispy chicken breast with diced potato in a yellow curry sauce) as takeout. While the double starch combo of cubed potatoes and rice seemed redundant, the dish delivered clean flavors and just enough heat to warm my bones on a frigid early January afternoon. I felt the serving size provided great value for the $ 7.49 I paid for this meal.
Though not my overall favorite Asian restaurant, Curry in the Box will be a frequent lunchtime destination where I can procure great a well-​prepared meal in less than 30 minutes.

This place was alright though I have very high expectations for curry based on my experience at the St. Louis Anis Hyderabad Restaurant (shout out!).
This is what I ordered:
— chicken sweet potato curry — excellent dish!!! by far the very based of what I tried and worth ordering again and again. the sweet potato was definitely the star.
— chicken pad thai — didn’t really care for this
— tom yum soup — not bad, strong lime flavor
— lamb curry — normally my favorite dish at indian places but this one wasn’t very good, beware the whole spices! they are not a pleasant surprise! :p
— roti paratha — these were pretty good (a little greasy but to be expected since roti paratha is a fried flour tortilla)
— veggie samosa — alright as well, comes with a yummy dipping sauce.
So this place was ok in general though the sweet potato curry is really good. The actually location has really nice bright décor. Enjoyable to visit.

This is my regular haunt for when I’m in a mood for curry!
Nice décor and open dining area, there’s enough space in the adjoining room for a large group.
I love the spiciness and heat of their jungle curry. The Chicken Tikka Masala is a real winner here. I love that it comes in a shredded form instead of The chunky form. The sweet potato curry is also very good with soft morsels of sweet potato. I hate it when places serve hard chunks of sweet potato in their dishes.
I would stick with the curries and pass on the appetizers. The Samosa did not have much filling to it and the egg rolls were pretty standard.

Love this place. They have a nice size menus with a variety of options. Nothing is more than $ 8.95 regardless of what entire you get. I love the chicken karee which is a yellow curry sauce with chicken breast, cashews, cilantro, onions and potatoes served with a nice size portion of rice. Add the roti bread with it for $ 1. Great satisfying meal. As I have read comments regarding portion sizes, I must disagree. It’s curry. You do not want to over due it. I feel they give you good size portions. Everything is made to order so the food comes piping hot. My sauce has always been the right thickness. My only issue is I think the roti bread should come with the meals and not be added on. But it’s worth the extra $ 1. Amazing bread. Highly recommended place. Even for vegetarians and vegans.