India Cafe

Not much too say, just ok. Probably won’t go back.

I went to this place for the first time, never having eating indian curry before. Although I have had all other types of curry, never indian. I ordered the fish curry that came with mahi mahi and seriously, it was good. And that jesus bread they gave (you can tell im not that familiar with indian food) was delish! If you want real indian food, hello, go to india! But for having the limited ingredients on this island, im sure they are not going to have all their authentic indian ingredients, its really a good meal and filling.

Although they have cut back on portion sizes and raised the price they have won multiple awards 2007-​silver award best india café from Honolulu magazine’s hale aina award &2009 Hawaii’s best Indian restaraunt — star bulletin & 2009 best of Honolulu –united states commerce association and best vegeterian & 2005 – 2007 Hawaii best restaraunts

I’ve only tried Maharani and this place for Indian food so I’m definitely not the expert. The food was ok. I got the Lamb Masala and actually wished it was spicier. The place is a little small but very cozy. Although the food was okay, the service was AMAZING, and I’m very picky about service. I think our waiter could tell that my friend and I were not big Indian food eaters but were looking to try something different. He brought out samples of some lentil dishes to try and also some chai tea because we were sitting and chatting so long. I didn’t feel that the service was slow. I actually felt like it was very quick. I would definitely come here again and maybe just ask for my food to be a little spicier.

Secret to falling in love with India Café is checking them out at their special buffet lunch and dinner on special occasions like Diwaali, Mother’s Day, etc. and sampling as many dishes they can dish out.
This past Diwaali was just that. With a bunch of friends from SanFran donning Giants are #1 shirts, we were able to feast from a wide selection of delicious offerings, vegetarian alongside their delicious chicken and lamb curries plus some unusual item like spicy noodle. Something for everyone. Bread may not be made from scratch but look at the size of their kitchen!
If you’re seeking heat, dare you to try their eggplant curry without breaking a sweat because that dish is Hot HOt HOT! You’d think I’d be able to bear the heat being a kimchi mama and all but this is a different sort of heat, one that burns slowly internally long after your last bite.
Yea, not your typical Indo-​Pak curry house I overindulged back in the Bay Area but then again, I’m not in the Bay Area anymore :)

The sad truth about Indian food is that there is no in between; It’s either loved, or despised. Many people fear Indian Food by sheer ignorance, while the brave discover the jubilant flavors from a mysterious Asian land.
Fortunately, for India Café, I came wanting to like this place. With so little options of Indian food on this island, compared to mainland cities, I was expecting something decent that would at least give me a fix for curry. Unfortunately, I was left in a state of «eh». A state of knowing what’s awesome, and knowing this is probably the best I can get at the prices I am about to pay.
I was able to enjoy some India Café back when they catered the Wine Experience event, but even then I wasn’t impressed, needless to say I gave it another chance.
The GOOD: no doubt about it, we ordered four different meats and everything came out tasting pretty good. Lamb, chicken and fish were tasty and the sauces were flavorful. You get enough to fill you up and service, the one guy working there, was friendly, nice and helpful.
The BAD: The rice was kind of an insult. I don’t know when it was made, but it was nowhere near when we came in to eat. It was dry and tasted as if it had been sitting a while. A long while. The seating is very limited and the parking it too as well as the menu
Overall: King Special, 4 meats, 2 veggies, bread + other… stuff for about $ 44 + tax… + tip. The service was slow BUT there is only one guy working, you got to give him credit — plus he did it all with a smile. Will I come back… Like I said before, we’re limited on this island, and India Café is one of maybe… four options close to me? I will most likely return, some day. I still want to like this place. I like Indian Food, and I am thinking India Café is high on the short list of places to eat Indian food on Oahu.

I have always loved Indian food since I first had it in Berkeley— since then I have been on a mission to find the best Indian food in Hawaii. Unfortunately, my hubby isn’t a fan, so I am not able to eat Indian too often. I’m so glad that my BFF LOVES spicy food, so of course, she LOVES Indian food too!
So, when we had a whole day together, we decided to check out India Café. I loved the coziness of this restaurant and it was the perfect place for two gals to talk for hours. Our service was good, in fact when we were contemplating on ordering the eggplant, he brought out a sample for us to taste – very impressive!
Here is what we ordered:
Samosas– good, but I’ve had better, I didnt’ think there was enough filling – what was nice was that our waiter gave each us our own plate with 2 samosas and some sauce.
Chicken Curry Plate– BFF loved it and the chicken was REALLY tender, just fell off the bones
Vegetarian Plate– It was tasty, but again, I’ve had better, but their portions are HUGE!
Naan Bread– BIG Disappointment! =(The ones I’ve bought from Whole Foods are better! A tip— unless you’re going to eat a lot of bread, you could just order one side of this– we each ordered it with our meal so we had 4 slices.
Watermelon Juice– ONO and SOO refreshing! We absolutely loved this and it really complimented our meals well.
Our whole bill was around $ 46 – and we both agreed that this was steep, but Indian food usually is. I’d rather buy a plate from their lunch wagons around town – better value for the $$.
So.would I go there again? Sure. There aren’t too many Indian restaurants open for lunch around here, but if I had a choice for dinner – I’d go to another place. And they are only open for lunch on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

No, No, No!!! This is NOT Naan!!! I am so Naan Fetish :) It is frozen Naan… You serve Indian Curry and fake Naan?! Come on!
Well… Shrimp Curry was pretty good, anyway. Do I wanna go back there? … maybe not.

This review is for their food truck, which parks outside Don Quijote.
I feel bad for the 2-​star rating because the workers are so nice! They gave us free samples of everything, including the extremely gamey-​tasting lamb and the immensely bland-​yet-​gamey chicken. They had run out of naan. I felt bad after eating all their samples and talking to the nice dudes in the truck, so I ordered a chicken curry plate for dinner.
I seriously don’t know how they are staying in business. I’ve never been to the actual restaurant, but the food truck food is so bad I couldn’t even eat it when I was extremely hungry. I had to give it to my dog, who had diarrhea after eating it.

Indian Café is yummy place to have a chill lunch with your girlfriends! It’s really small and seats maybe 15 – 20 people. I’ve gone there on multiple occasions and I recommend the combination meals where you can mix and match different types of dishes. It’s a fun way to try out Indian food if you’re new to it or like me, can never remember what you ordered before!
«Uh can I have the potato thing? Oh um I think it had peas in it? Oh you don’t have a potato dish that has peas in it? Well I think it was green. Was it spicy? Mmm probably not because I don’t really care for spicy. But I just remember that it had potatoes. Oh you have 15 dishes that have potatoes in them? Oooo what’s on that table?!»
One thing I do remember and I insist you order are the Samosas. No not the Samoans, but the Samosas! They are these beautifully fried pockets of sunshine that come to your table hot and delicious. You bite into them and they are are perfectly crisp and flavorful. I used to go to the personal training studio next door and would salivate at the thought of them while lifting weights. One more push up and I can have a Samosa!!!

One of my favorite restaurants. Love nearly everything on the menu.

We came here for my birthday tonight. I had emailed them ahead of time for our reservation, corkage fee, and asking if we could bring our own carrot cake. We also used a coupon from the 2009 Entertainment book. Since we couldn’t use two coupons, I gave away our other one to the table next to us.

When India Café first opened at UH Manoa campus I was so happy because the curry was so heavenly flavorable and the chickpeas as well.
However, the kiosk at UH started to go downhill in terms of flavor — I know what India Café’s best is, so don’t expect me to pay more (yep, they increased their plate lunch price!) for blander food. So, I stopped eating there, still pining for the good old days. Oh, I would go at sporadic times when past memories and hope haunted me — but the curry just wasn’t as good no matter how many times I went back.
So, I had the genius idea that if I went to the actual restaurant, the food would taste better! Oh, silly hope! It was the same but more expensive! Almost triple the price! Forget that!

«Would never know it was there if someone didn’t bring me there. Cheap food, pretty tasty — -i recommend the Set dinner for 4 @ $ 69.95. My fave dish was the Chicken curry. Rice pudding dessert was good too»

This is hands down the best indian food on the island. My girlfriend and I love coming to this hidden gem. If you’re looking for a great food at reasonable prices be sure to make the trip to kapahulu — you won’t regret it!

This is one of my favorite restaurants! If you are vegan, this is THE PLACE TO EAT! The food is superb and the service is excellent. And the price is very reasonable!
The potato masala is excellent! I also enjoy the cauliflower curry and veggie masala. The coconut cabbage is also delicious. The mango chutney is my favorite! Yummy!

I LOVE THIS PLACE! In fact, I just got home from eating there: D
Having lived in London for 6 months, one gets used to grabbing a quick heated up samosa at the Ealing Broadway tube stop on the way into the city. Delicious curried potatoes, some peas, you know, an instant meal! You can start to get cravings for certain foods once you get used to it…
So if you want delicious samosas at a reasonable price (2 for $ 4 includes dipping sauce) with some very spicy but oh-​so-​worth-​it shrimp sambal to go with it (12 shrimp for $ 10 or 24 shrimp for $ 17 both come with a bowl of yellow rice) then you’ve come to the right place. All the workers are very friendly & you’ll even see the owner cooking in the back: D
There’s lots of drinks to choose from, like freshly made watermelon juice (made of nothing but pure watermelon) or a fruit flavored yogurt milkshake to help ease the spiciness of the food. Or you can bring in your own alcohol without any charge at all… now who doesn’t love that?!
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i forgot to mention… you get EXTRA Hawaiian Miles when you use your Hawaiian Miles Visa credit card here, 5xs the miles for every dollar! just another excellent reason to eat here =]