The Clay Oven

This was out first time eating here and eating Indian food. It was very good. Not spicy and full of a mixture of spices to hide the flavor. The waitress was new. Second day. However she was very nice and informative. We told her it was our first time eating this kind of food. She helped us find a dish. We will definitely be back.

I really do like the clay oven. The food is a good value. I ordered the navratan korma with nine veggies… They were frozen, heated and thawed, but they had that rubbery feel of thawed frozen veggie mix. So that was sad, but the sauce was tasty, rice as well and the potato stuffed naan was filling. I only ate half of what they served. Rupesh is an attentive server.

I wasn’t at all impressed by this place. Some of the food you would think would be hot wasn’t and the taste was just blah

We were driving around looking for a place to brunch after enjoying a brief splash in the Greenfield River (it was 56 F, therefore the brief part). We found this place and came in to try it. Ambiance is warm (exposed brick and a bright orange paint in the wall) and inviting.
Buffett is served everyday including Sundays, for $ 12.95. Buffett is not extensive (around 12 items total, 4 meats) but is delicious. They have a fresh salad (tomato, cucumber, lettuce and onions) plate and naan. They also offer a fresh fruit (it was melon, watermelon and cut oranges when I visited) plate and two deserts.
Service was a little slow, it took a while to remove the empty plates from our table, but attentive and cordial when we were addressed.
I think is a great value for the money, and worth a stop if you are in the general area.

After a terrible experience here a few weeks back we decided to give this restaurant another try because we wanted to walk into town and have some Indian cuisine.
Unlike the last time, the staff was much more polite, our plates didn’t accumulate and overall we enjoyed our dining experience. The only downside today was that it was a bit more expensive because of Mother’s Day, but we enjoyed the food.
If this place can stay consistent then maybe my rating will go up a bit, just need to feel welcomed!

We took our daughter out for dinner here. It was very good. Food and service was good. I had the curried chicken, my husband had the chicken kabob. Both were very nice. My daughter ordered from he vegetarian menu and also enjoyed her meal. We started with a basket of naan. Naan was delish. Its BYOB, so bring your own wine. The server will give you wine glasses and an opener.

Disappointing. The veg appetizer plate was pretty good. Tandoori chicken tikka was oddly flavored. And a side of frozen vegetables? That was awful.
I’ve heard good things about the buffet, so I will try that. The service was great, especially since I was doing solo. The décor was pleasant, too.

My son and I stopped here one day during the time when they were closed yet the owners still joyfully welcomed us. We ordered Curry Chicken, Basmati Rice, Lamb Samosa, and Mango Lassis for our beverages topped off with Ras Malai for dessert.
My first impression of the place was that it’s beautifully and warmly decorated, with lovely handmade pictures transferred onto wood, hanging on the walls. I fell in love with one of the pictures and spoke with the husband of the artist. I loved it so much that he shared her contact information with me. While we waited for our food I was able to chat with the family that owned the business and they were absolutely lovely. Many members of the family work there and they are just as lovely. The Clay Oven is such a wonderful addition to Greenfield.
The food. Mouth watering, delicious explosions of flavors in your mouth food. The Lamb Samosa had a flaky crust that was just perfect with lamb that was delectable. I had never had lamb before but I will definitely be having it again. It was lick your plate good. The curry chicken was the right combination of spicy kick — they offer varying degrees of spice — with a flavorful basmati rice. Simply scrumptious! The Ras Malai never even made it home as my son ate it in the car. He said it was fabulous. Our mango lassis didn’t disappoint and left us wanting more. The portions were generous considering they were for take out and we had enough left over for dinner the next day.
While it was a bit pricier than expected, I will definitely be returning. This is, hands down, the best restaurant in this area.

I really hope these guys make it. I’ve been here a couple times driving through the area. I live in Boston, but anytime I’m out this way for work I try to stop by for lunch. The service has always been great, and the food hot and fresh. There’s a small language barrier and some cultural differences but these guys are trying hard, and deserve to success. If you’re in the area looking for something different, healthy, and tasty give them a shot.

Decent, not spectacular. I visited fairly late one evening to get takeout. They were very hospitable, and they have a nice seating area where I could wait for my order (which didn’t take long at all). The food was fine; my only issue is with the price, which is on the high side for what you’re getting. I’ve been spoiled rotten by Guru the Caterer in Boston, and that’s just my standard, but…$ 15 for chicken Korma with rice and no naan, that’s a bit on the high side.

Unfortunately a «no» for me.
I visited Clay Oven last Sunday, around 1PM. I actually had been craving Thai, but both of the Thai restaurants on Main Street are closed on Sunday.
When I walked into Clay Oven, I was greeted by a woman who also ended up being my waitress. I was asked to choose a table and, after opting for a booth, I sat down. The waitress then instructed me about the serve-​yourself all-​you-​can-​eat buffet, but I was never given the option of a regular menu to peruse. Do they ONLY have the buffet during lunch? all day Sunday? I have no idea, it wasn’t explained.
The waitress then noted the table had actually not been cleaned, and proceeded to wipe it down. About halfway through, she abruptly told me «you need to get up for me to clean this» and motioned to the buffet. No asking me to politely get up. I was still confused as to whether or not I could just order off a menu. Without much time to waste debating this, I got up and trudged the buffet line.
There’s several (probably 4 – 5) vegetarian dishes, tandoori chicken, and tikka masala for your main course options. Also, there was rice, biryani, naan, a small salad and fruit bar, veggie pakora, and gulab jamun (VERY SWEET) for dessert. The buffet looked very clean and pretty well stocked.
I was, however, disappointed that there weren’t more meat options. Again, I actually had wanted to order off a menu, none of these would be things that normally I would eat. But, I loaded up my plate with some different vegetarian options and the tikka masala. More disappointment followed.
The chicken in the tikka masala was dry, like the chicken had been frozen and then cooked all day long. The vegetarian dishes weren’t outstanding; in fact, I found multiple whole cardamom pods in one of the dishes (can’t be chewed easily), and I’ve never seen that in any Indian dish before. The pakora were ok, but only one chutney (tamarind) was offered and I would have preferred another kind.
While I’m trying to enjoy this buffet lunch that has been forced upon me, I realize the waitress never gave me any water. There’s water glasses on every table but mine. I was never asked what I wanted to drink and again, never received a menu. After about 20 minutes of waiting (she was greeting other guests, cleaning, etc), I was finally able to get her attention. She never apologized, but I did get a drink.
Another guest asked for her drink, too, and was told they were basically out of all of their sodas, including major ones like Coke and Diet Coke. All they had was ginger ale, per the waitress. How does a restaurant run out of all of their sodas? Seems like poor management and stock ordering.
I asked for my bill, paid, and left without much trouble, but the damage was already done.
Sub-​par Indian food, blasé buffet offerings, and a flippant waitress: the trifecta for an unenjoyable weekend lunch. Unfortunate.

Disclaimer: I have only been here for the buffet (which I’ve frequented MANY a times!).
That being said, the Clay Oven is my Favorite Indian Restaurant that I’ve ever been to. And I used to eat Indian Food in Queens NY, which is basically the closest thing to the real deal outside of India.
So yeah, do yourself a favor and go here for lunch.

Excellent buffet lunch, especially the chicken in sauce (skip the unsauced chicken).
I have gone back several times for it.

Still no vestibule or screen, walking by. I expect it’ll be just as inhospitable in the winter. Then again, given the other fine restaurants in Greenfield, perhaps there just won’t be any lines for this place anyway.

Kir is yummy but the rest – just ok. I tried lentil dal, a cauliflower coconut dish, mushroom masala, chana saag, naan (even though I’m usually gluten-​free) and rice. Naan was undercooked and had a «mix» smell to it, like bisquick. Nothing was all that flavorful but neither was it bad. Just… meh. I used to date an Indian guy and had his mother’s cooking. I like a textury saag and this was runny. No papadum; no saffron or cardamom in the rice; no samosas (!) though they did have pakoras … Overall, kinda thin as buffets go, and not zesty enough to bring me back. Plus – a dirty white tablecloth. Should’ve been swapped out before I was seated. Likely won’t be back. Too bad.

The best Indian food around! My whole family loves it! The lunch buffet is delicious, easy, and the right price! Everything is anazing

Clay Oven opened up after much anticipation this past winter. Because the place in Brattleboro and the place in Keene closed, this is the only Indian food that’s available anywhere near Brattleboro. So we’ve been down here quite a bit. As you can see from some of the other reviews, service was pretty spotty at first. It took them quite a while to address the problems, but they did. When Andrea and I have been there in the evening recently, service has been good, and friends of ours who have been there recently report the same thing.
The good news is that the food is really good. Genuine, authentic Indian food. The Naan is really good – just the right combination of crispy and chewy, without being dry. The channa is very tasty, as is the Benghan Bartha and the Paneer Tikka Masala (which was new to me). Good samosas too.
The lunch buffet seems to have four good veg items on it, as well as several meat items, which I haven’t tried. They usually have kheer for dessert, and also often have gulab jamun, which they serve warm (the way I like it). The buffet also comes with salad, condiments and appetizers – usually some kind of pakora.
We now go here pretty regularly for lunch, and occasionally for dinner. It’s a welcome addition to the local cuisine, and holds its own in comparison to good Indian food I’ve had in New York and in the Bay Area. Definitely recommended if you are passing through and want something good to eat on the way north, and especially to local folks in search of a good Indian place.
EDIT: we haven’t been coming here as often; I think it’s gone downhill, possibly as a result of the owners opening a second restaurant in Keene. It’s still a decent place to get lunch, and you shouldn’t necessarily avoid it, but I think my previous five-​star review is no longer accurate. Also, they added a meat item and removed a veg item, which means less variety, unfortunately, unless you eat meat.

The food was absolutely fantastic and our server was prompt. The food took a little while longer than I would have liked to arrive but they are a new place and working out the kinks, I suppose. Don’t let that deter you — go, sit, drink and enjoy your company until the mouth-​watering food hits the table! Mmm

Customer service in the front of the house has a long way to go. The décor is ok, nothing to over the top. The flavors were good but I felt that the portions to pricing was way off.
Got some take out and they mixed up a bunch items and again portions were horrible. Missed a few items as well and do not suggest getting the pickled veggies. Service over the phone was lacking if you can even get through.
Good luck to this place, Greenfield cold use some variety and this would be a welcomed addition but not like this

New update at end:
We had a terribly disappointing experience. We arrived just after 5pm. We left at 6:20, still not having received our main dishes, one of which had been out of stock for the evening (the restaurant had no eggplant for it), but no one had told us.
The waitress was inexperienced, having been waiting on tables only 7 days, as she told us. She was incredibly distracted (it was reasonably busy), and didn’t know some basic things, like putting a soup bowl on a liner plate. Instead, she held the bowl near the lip when she carried it over. (Getting the soup took a long time; eventually two different people said that they were waiting for a number of soups to come out of the kitchen.)
A drink was taking forever to arrive, so a busboy went to get it. Sometime after I finished it, the waitress came over with the same drink, only in a glass twice the size. She didn’t realize that we had received one. An order of naan came over without the order of aloo paratha we had also requested.
The people there were nice, but the ones we dealt with were inexperienced and didn’t communicate with one another. And yet, we blame the restaurant more than the staff. The owner sent ill-​prepared people out onto the floor. Some other staff walked around looking lost. The kitchen was clearly disorganized, with a filthy floor (my wife looked through an open window as she walked past). When I used the bathroom, the toilet was backed up.
A coconut and lentil soup had a good flavor, but the oddest grainy texture, as if they used shredded coconut rather than cooking coconut chunks or even coconut milk and didn’t blend the results.
Similarly, vegetable pakoras had a good flavor with an interesting mix of ingredients, but although well fried on the outside, the inside was pasty, like an under-​cooked pancake.
There was no mango chutney available. Dinner did not automatically come with onion salad (something we’ve enjoyed at most Indian restaurants we’ve dined at) or with any tamarind or mint sauces you might expect.
The only reason I’m giving this even two stars is the hope that things will improve after the restaurant gets through this rough period. I’d suggest seeing if you like the food at the lunch buffet. At least you’d have a chance to eat.
Update: We tried the buffet, which was OK. But that was largely because the food was sitting there. Even so, don’t show up until noon, as not all the dishes were available until then. Also, at $ 9.95, the price seemed high.