India Gate

Closed for the week the day before Thanksgiving… you have got to be kidding me. Next stop, guru palace. I check it out eventually.

No surprises here at this simple buffet. For $ 7.99 you can pig out on various vegetable dishes, chicken entrees, salad, and sweets like gulab jamun and carrot halwa.
The buffet was pretty basic. They had your standard dishes you’d see at an Indian buffet such as vegetable korma, chicken tikka masala, a saag (spinach) dish, and some dark meat tandoori chicken. They also had a tray of chicken vindaloo, a bright red dish with spicy heat!
Unfortunately, the dishes were lacking in that certain «punch» that makes Indian food, when done right, so remarkable. The vegetable korma was a little runny in consistency, and seemed to consist mainly of potatoes and not much else. Same could be said for the vindaloo. I couldn’t really find any pieces of chicken in it, just potato. The chicken tikka masala was OK, but nothing really too impressive. There was also a tray of veggie pakora and basmati rice. I enjoyed the veggie pakora the most out of all the savory dishes. There were a lot of veggies packed into the fritter, fried until tender with a tasty batter. I also enjoyed the fresh garlic naan brought to the table.
There was also a salad area, condiments such as raita and chutney, and some dessert. Out of the two desserts (carrot halwa and gulab jamun), I liked the gulab jamun the most. It had that nice tender cake-​like texture that the dish typically has, soaked in some sweet syrup.
Soda fountain drinks are $ 1.99 and consist of coke products.
The buffet for lunch is from Monday through Friday. The saving grace of the meal was the price point. Since it was just $ 7.99, I wasn’t too disappointed that my meal consisted of mainly potatoes in various curries, rather than a multitude of various meats and veggies.

OMG! I would have never thought that I would find the BEST Indian food ever in Gilbert AZ.
My husband and I went for for dinner this past Sunday and when we walked into a totally empty restaurant, we were worried. However, our fear was unnecessary. The wait person jokingly referred to himself as «Prince Ali» and could not have been more helpful. He thoroughly explained the appetizers and asked us questions to lead us to the right dinners choices.
We ordered Samosas and some kind of fried cheese as appetizers. They were just fair.
The entrees were something else completely. My husband had Saag Lamb — very tender chunks of lamb in what was more like a spicy spinach sauce rather than spinach as a side dish per se. I can’t recall the menu name of what I ordered but it was shrimp in a butter/​yogurt sauce, with medium spice. Outstanding! We ordered rice with vegetables on the side — basmati rice with bits of veggies and some spices, maybe saffron. You would not believe how delicious it was! Also, don’t forget the naan. Order more to take home for tomorrow.
Seriously, if you are a fan of Indian food, or are trying it for the first time, RUN, do not walk, to India Gate.
Please resist the urge to eat from the buffet. While I have not had it here, my experience is the food is too generic. Read the menu, decide how spicy you want it and get it the way you like it.

I enjoyed the tiki masala. The service was friendly. Not the most kid friendly, but we made it work. I liked the presentation of the food, but it seemed a little expensive for what you get.

I came here on Friday night with a Groupon and no high expectation, and this place turn out really good. I ordered the Tandoori Chicken, Saag Shrimp, Garlic Naan, Basmati Rice and Mango Lassi. All delicious… the food did not take long, but the service was slow. Only 1 waiter so I hope they can hire someone quick you will need to give good service to keep the restaurant running. :-)
Next time I will try their dinner buffet…

Had a great dinner. Kind service and excellent food. Really enjoyed the meal and will be back soon.

It was a different kind of fare, but it was really good! My girlfriend ordered hers spicy (on a scale of 1 – 10, she ordered a 6, I was more conservative and ordered mine a 3).
Megan and I are on a «world food tour» and and this was Stop #2 on our list.
The place is kind of hidden from view, but it is located on Higley and Baseline, hidden right near the Fitness Works in the back of the complex somewhat. The place is VERY clean, and the lady who works there, seems like she is the owner, is VERY NICE! She was very courteous, and was very professional.
I do not know why others seemed like they had so much trouble with Groupon offers, I have used mine with no issues at all, in fact, she said that over 400 had purchased Groupons already, and her business has been doing a lot better thanks to it! She was very grateful that we came in, and she was very attentive to our needs in the restaurant.
Now indian food, isn’t for everyone, it is kind of heavy, and strong, so be prepared. If you know what you’re in for, it is really good. Our food wasn’t cold either like others have stated, rather it was fresh, and hot right out of the kitchen, and very tasty. The Indian Chicken Soup is to die for, and is a great start to the meal.
The only part that is bad would be the fact that the food is kind of expensive, which thankfully we had the Groupon offer to help offset the cost. Without the Groupon, you would be looking at spending about upwards of $ 60 + Tip for a simple dinner for two.
I do recommend this place to anyone looking to try out a new place to eat, and it is definitely good food!

Just got back from dinner, and my taste buds (and endorphins) are still dancing. I’m glad I didn’t read the reviews before I went — it might have prevented me from going. But that said, my experience on a Sat night at 7:30pm was nothing like most of the other reviews.
Granted, I’m something of a newcomer to Indian food. My ½ dozen experiences so far have been The Dhaba (Tempe), Guru Palace (Mesa), Star of India (Ahwatukee) plus some other nondescript place. But tonight, every dish I had was something that I would order again.
As usual to a new place, I had a Groupon. So I settled for their non-​veg dinner option to cover some territory. I ordered it spicy (out of mild, med, hot, spicy). The chicken soup was fantastic: a great chix and lentil broth with about 12 chunks of breast chix.
The combo plate had the saag paneer, dhal, chicken curry, chiken tikka masala, and garlic naan. They also brought me some spicy hot sauce, which I totally devoured. Hot tea and dessert came with it, plus I had a draft (yes, draft!) Heineken, of which I am a big fan.
Everything seemed hot, fresh, highly tasty, and of very good quality. I sweated about as much as I might expect (and enjoy), not so much to be unpleasant or intolerable. Not sure if the «woods will catch on fire» or not. The wait service was relaxed but generally prompt. Eating by oneself tends to add impatience to the experience.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed myself, and plan on going back soon to check out the lunch buffet.
I would suggest that you give it a try, and maybe wait until the middle of the service (lunch or dinner) before showing up.
Oh, and just for the record, the place was about ½ full when I got there, and 2 other tables showed after 8pm. So I do understand the concern about location, but in today’s economy, is anywhere really safe?

Cold food at 11:45 buffet. Will never go back.
Watery as hell Tikka Masala and butter chicken. if you’re used to the chandler location this one is nothing like it. Different recipes altogether.
Skip this is you like Real Indian food.
Might change my review if they actually invited me back for some HOT food. Im upset I did not leave.

It always perplexes me when one restaurant fails and another one comes along and opens the exact same kind of restaurant that just failed in that location. Often, as in this case with the same type of cuisine. My wife and I went here to try out our Groupon deal. The décor is very nice and the food is actually really good. I suspect however, that they will be out of business fairly quickly. We went on a weeknight and when we arrived, there was only one couple there at 7pm. We sat down and ordered but only one other couple came in the entire time we were there. Again, the food was really good. Here’s the problem; the prices, portion size and their ala carte menu arrangement. I have NEVER been to an Indian restaurant where rice and/​or naan bread was not included with a dinner entrée. Not only is it not included here, but they charge $ 3 for a side of either. The lady who waited on us was one of the owners. While she was courteous, she never once smiled, thanked us for coming or tried to engage us in conversation. At the end of our meal, when she found out that we had a Groupon voucher, she was visibly irritated. You can see in some of the photos I have posted the portion size, which in my estimation was about a 4 inch bowl. Quite small in comparison to other Indian restaurants we regularly patronize. My wife had the lamb dish and it was $ 13, while my fish entrée was $ 12. Although the food was good, sadly, we will not return. There are just more negatives than positives.

I decided to get some take out at India Gate during my lunch break. I was really hoping for a great (or even just good) meal since I love Indian food, and it’s so close to my work. Unfortunately, my dish did nothing for me.
Maybe it was my fault for ordering veggie korma since the version at my favorite place, Royal Taj, is sublime. I knew Indian Gate wouldn’t be able to outdo them, but the lackluster version that I had tonight really missed the mark. Korma is supposed to be creamy, buttery, and yellow. This was more like a tomato-​based veggie stew. I really disliked the presence of zucchini and whole cashews in the dish, but it was edible when paired with the not-​so-​garlicky garlic naan.
Final price? $ 14. Way too steep to give it another try.

To sum up the food experience, i have to say that i’ve had better. I went to try out their lunch buffet. The restaurant was clean as it was still showing the Grand Opening sign out front. The buffet options was not very impressive. They had veg. pakora (cold) and no samosa’s. Their meat options were Chicken Tikka Masala which was very dissapointing. It was a tomato base with absolutely no spices. It could have used some garam masala and some ginger and other indian spices. It tasted like tikka masala out of a jar. It just did not give you a sense of any effort was made. The tandoori chicken was also bland with absolutely no flavor. Again, where is the Indian spices? The vegetable dishes were saag paneer and dahl fry which were both ok, but no Aloo Gobi? I have to admit the basmati rice and garlic naan were the best thing there. Another big disappointment was the Gulab Jamun dessert which was ice cold. I prefer the honey syrup to be warm… as if it was frozen and just defrosted. Basically nothing, other than the rice and bread tasted home made. I will definitely not be back!