Vaibhav Indian Spice Journey

Been here a few times but didn’t think of reviewing it outside my head! Italian décor and Indian food! yes please! two of my favorite cuisines in the world. Great selection, dosa station and any breads from the menu that you want! The only upscale place on Newark Avenue and totally worth it!

Visited weekend buffet. In one word — disappointing. You would think the stellar reviews on Unilocal would paint a good picture but beware! The food is bland, service is abysmal and the setting just isn’t there.
Vaibhav wants to offer a fine dining experience but conducts the restaurant like a street stall. Maybe that’s because it’s in Newark Ave or JC or because they can.
Go here if you have no idea what quality Indian food should be. Otherwise stay away, there’s TOO many other options in JC to revisit.
Management, take note please.

Had a great time here! The staff is super polite and friendly. This review is solely based on their buffet. They have a wide array of dishes and it’s more explicit on weekends. Plenty of choices for vegetarians and non vegetarians. I love their dosa station that they have on weekends and moreover there is a chat counter where chat is made and served personally. The only drawback for me is that the food is served a little cold on weekends which might be due to the larger crowd leaving the food warmers open. All and all good food experience and worthy of every penny spent. If you are looking for a good Indian buffet, this is it people!

Amazing weekend buffet. Went out with 4 of my friends. We used to go to Rasoi very frequently for weekend lunch buffet. But thought of trying out this place. Must say it was a nice find and all of us found it much better than Rasoi. The live chat counter which served Pani Puri, Bhel Puri and Parpdi chat was excellent and so was the live dosa counter which had choices of variety of dosas. Lot of veg and non veg options too in the buffet. Would definitely be coming here again with my friends over the weekends for the lunch buffet :)

worst food I had from an Indian restaurant in Jersey. Chicken lolipop which came as greasy and seemed as of made from left over wing pieces (tiny). Mr chef have you ever had chicken lolipop in India if not just go try one at Akbar restaurant in Edison., NJ.
Then the harabhara kabab, the thing looked delicious but when started eating it turned out to be chewy green ball with some kind of cheese in it. Who puts cheese in Kabab. I also ordered fried rice which were so bland that even americans would say it has no taste.
Sources they gave were 1) mixture of catchup and mayo, and 2) some sweet and sour source (this one was lil better). Finally there was tiny cup of complementory kheer which was the best thing in the order)

Updated review about the weekend buffet:
I found an elastic/​rubber band in my salad. Complaint them about it, the manager came and apologized and said that while chopping the coriander, the chef chopped the rubber band too. Will never ever return to this crappy place.
Loved the Vegeterian kolhapuri. We had ordered home delivery so really cannot say about the service but the food was delivered within 40 mins which was really good.

Had a fantastic time here today! The staff was friendly and the food was delicious.
The waiter was constantly at our side and he was flirting with a friend of mine. Turns out the restaurant have her a free dish to take home and they even gave all of us a piece of gulab jamun.
I hope they didn’t take that out of his paycheck!
Anyways, I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone.
P. S. Don’t let the outside fool you. Once you step in, you feel like ur in a mansion. The place looks amazing.

Stopped here again for late night dinner and were fortunate to have Naresh as our server — besides food (as usual), service was top notch. Ask for Naresh and you will have a fabulous experience :)

Quick Indian food abounds in the Curry Row of Newark Ave but a good place to dine is hard to find. Went to dinner last night at Vaibhav and loved it. While some people commented on the parking, it wasn’t quite as easy as advertised since the signs say the lot isn’t for the restaurant. Let’s get inside though. The dining room is quite large (for the area) and from the minute we entered, we were waited upon very attentively. It’s BYOB so our host opened up our wine quickly and offered soda for our spirits.
Apps: Ordered the Chicken 65 and the Masala Fried Shrimp. The Chicken 65 I thought was the only real «miss» of our selection that night. Many more dark meat portions which had a questionable look/​consistency to them and heavily sauced, with perhaps too much vinegar in the sauce. I’ll try the chili chicken next time. The Masala Fried Shrimp were well-​spiced and not overcooked. I’ll né sure to get those again.
Entrees: For dinner we had the Kashmiri Lamb Rogan Josh, Chicken Tikka Masala, Mutton Dum Biryani, and Garlic Naan. The Lamb Rogan Josh was tender and the curry packed a lot of flavor. Just the right amount of spice. The Chicken Tikka was good but the cream sauce was thicker than usual. Good flavor though and moist chicken. I have to say though that the star of the show was the Mutton Dum Biryani. It was brought out having been baked under a naan which was wrapped over the bowl of biryani. Our waiter then dramatically cut open the naan and folded it back, revealing a steaming, aromatic biryani underneath. The rice had the masala cooked throughout and it was chock full of tender pieces of mutton, no skimping here. I can’t imagine not ordering the biryani here.
My wife’s take on Vaibhav was «fine indian dining at moderate indian prices». I can’t disagree. We’ll be back.

Most reviews seem to be about the buffet. This is not.
Went on Sunday evening and got the place pretty much to ourselves. I like to think of it as a hidden gem because it’s outside the main drag of Little India.
Every dish we had, including appetizers, was phenomenal. Service was good too. This will be where I take people for Indian in JC from now on!

Absolutely love the place. Authentic indian restaurant style food; lovely music and super friendly staff. I usually order online from here but it was my first time to dine in. Ordered paneer makhani and daal makhani, haven’t had such amazing food for a long time. The bread basket had a variety of breads and every piece was fresh from oven. If you’r looking for North indian food, this is the place !

Food was about mediocre.
The food has become mundane as I read the reviews but foolish enough to check it myself. As far as I could remember when it opened it was one of the best buffets.
This time all the meat dishes and appetizers were really bad as if the cook was vegetarian and could not taste dishes that he was sending out or at worst didn’t care.
Shaikh kabob once great was undercooked and was pink inside. NOT good for US food Safety standards.
Meat was also under cooked in the curry so it was very chewy and over powered by cinnamon (not exactly Indian taste). The spinach and chicken were very very mediocre.
The Biryani was the biggest disappointment. Really didn’t taste like biriani.
Dal and Dosa station were good.
All in all this Sunday buffet was not even worth 7 dollars this time around.
ALSO CUSTOMER SERVICE WAS POOR BECAUSE OWNER TAKES ALL THE TIPS AND NO INCENTIVE FOR CATERERS TO ATTEND TO THE CUSTOMERS.
The manager seemed the only person professional looking and attentive.
UNFORTUNATELY I will not advice people to go here until they get their act together again and I believe big part of the problem is staff do not care anymore (about the food that gets out and the service to the customer).

Wow. what a find.
Indian buffet for two people was $ 20 something bucks!!!
This buffet was huge, even had a dosa making station. All different types of currys and loads of vegetarian options!
They give you free nann at your table once you sit down so you could eat it with whatever you get from the buffet. They even have icecream as a dessert option. Probably the most fancy buffet and luxurious set up I’ve seen ever.

The quality of the food here has gone down a bit since my last review from August. This review update is for their weekend lunch buffet.
We were so excited for the lunch buffet because they had about 10 dishes + a dosa station + chaat station + 2 dessert options. However, more is NOT always better!
The papdi chaat was subpar. It was pretty much papdi + dahi + tamarind chutney+garbanzo! There were no onions, sev, coriander or coriander chutney on it! The papdi chaat I make at home is so much better. I can’t speak for the dosas as I did NOT order one. Most of the 10 dishes were very bland. The tikka gravy however was really delicious.
Summary: Average food. Highly recommend the garlic naan & Hyderabadi Double Ka Meetha (bread pudding) as they were just amazing! Maybe ordering a la carte is better?

I am specifically posting this review for their delivery service. In fact, I generally don’t review restaurants, but this requires special attention. I ordered via eat24, The meal cost over $ 50 for two people. I called and included special instruction to include extra chutney; I had ordered a number of times previously, and consistently, they give only 1 tiny… I mean a tiny cup. This time, nothing. No spoons, not even a napkin.
Generally, the portion sizes here are very small (especially for the higher price over the competition). However, the last time I ordered (I really mean the LAST) it reached the crescendo of pathetic. I ordered chicken makhani; I counted 8 cubes of chicken. Fine? For, 13+, not really. There was also an order of chicken tikka tandoori, and the meat was probably about 2 chicken thighs total –for $ 14 and no rice. They also didn’t give my soda that I ordered.
So why have I ordered so many times? Well, the food is unarguably delicious, most of the time. This ‘last’ instance, the food didn’t even taste good. It arrived cold. It has been consistently getting worse in quality and poor value.
I guess I am done with this place. Considering they deliver in an area that is extremely competitive, they need to actually try to give a damn when they deliver food. It really is obvious they do not respect their clients.

Spice Journey Square. In New Delhi errrr —Jersey City
Came here before watching nightmare on elm st at the classic Loews Theater.
With so many restaurants to pick from, Journey does it right. Look at that entrance! Welcoming staff and ready to explain everything in detail. I went with the chicken lollipops to start. Chicken had spicy red batter it had chili powder, and turmeric. The chicken was full of flavor easily marinated for a couple of hours.
My girl and I Shared most of the dishes as it was hefty portions. Half Tandoori chicken and bring on the Naan, The Garlic Naan is my favorite. This warm and fluffy flat bread will be your food scooper. I personally try mixing the curries, the tandoori, lollipops into nice little. Naan kati roll.
Thank Spice Journey for an amazing time.

Best Indian Restaurant on Newark Ave by far. I came here for a week night dinner a couple of month ago and loved it. I’m a huge Indian food fan so coming out to Journal Square is always a good way to get some interesting indian food when I don’t want to make the trek to the East Village.
I had the chicken vindaloo and my husband had the chicken korma. Both were delicious and came packed with tons of flavor! Since the restaurant is BYOB we also were able to bring some of our favorite beer as well.
The service was fantastic and the atmosphere really sets it apart from other Indian restaurants in the area. It is well kept and has a historic feeling with all the original wood. Would definitely stop in again!

With so many Indian restaurants in Jersey City, how do you know which one to pick? Well my friends, I believe we have a winner here!
The ambiance was beautiful, nicely decorated and elegant. The restaurant is large and can occupy a descent amount of guests. Service was great as well. We were promptly greeted and guided to our table instantly.
Lunch buffet was $ 11.99 that included a variety of vegetarian and non– vegetarian dishes. You also get the option to choose between butter or garlic naan. Food was absolutely delicious and tasty! Everything was great, the sauces were made correctly with authentic Indian spices, chicken was perfectly tender, naan melted in my mouth, I couldn’t put it down. All of it was outstanding, if I had the room for a third plate I would’ve. Although they only had 2 selections of dessert, the rice kulfi was good nonetheless, they even had unlimited fresh lemonade as self serve.
Buffets are always a great way to try new foods and be adventurous. This spot is one you shouldn’t pass up if your in the area craving Indian food.
*Make sure to check in on Unilocal for 10% off your check*

Can’t beat the lunch buffet for the weekend price of $ 13.99. Everything on it was delicious and fresh.
The goat was also rocking.
Probably the only Indian restaurant in all of Journal Square that offers parking. The one caveat is they want your keys in exchange for the permit for the windshield. The odometer didn’t suggest they took my car for a test drive while I was dining.
BYOB but there’s a liquor store around the corner that sells Taj Mahal.
Great service and clean.

They’ve got me hooked! I was there about two weeks ago with a group of friends, and we couldn’t have been any happier with our lunch.
We were a table of seven with a baby, and we couldn’t help but notice that several of the other tables surrounding us had babies or small children as well. Vaibhav is definitely a child and family-​friendly establishment.
Also, a fantastic development on the naan front — whole wheat naan! I’d never tried wheat naan, and it was delicious. It doesn’t taste like conventional naan but I do recommend sampling it the next time that you stop in for the buffet. It’s a different flavor but it’s perfect for anyone who’s trying to eat a little healthier along the way.
In addition to the chaat station, they also have a made-​to-​order dosa station during the weekends. The dosas are very generously sized so definitely split it with 1 – 2 others just so you don’t fill up on it. I liked mine with potato and cheese.
Lastly, my friend used to order a side of samosas with her buffet meal. However, I’m happy to report that during my last two visits (on weekends), they had samosas at the table with the chaat station. Be sure to include some sauces from the chaat station to dip them into. They are half pieces instead of whole samosas — perfect for 2 – 3 bites per piece!
As we settled our check, I made sure that I checked into Unilocal to get 10% off. I showed it to the young woman who worked there and made sure to mark «used» in front of her. When she returned to give us the final check, the 10% was not taken off. I spotted the manager and explained what had happened and showed him that the date marked on my Unilocal app was for that same date. He quickly came back with a check that reflected the correct price and explained that I would need to show the 10% discount to him since he approves those. Really good to know!
I’m always impressed by their quick and friendly service, the quality and taste of the food, and the tremendous amount of ease and comfort that the restaurant offers!
Also, for anyone who’s planning a bridal shower, baby shower, birthday, etc., they have an excellent space that you can rent as well. I took a peak and the space looks lovely. Just ask them for further details!