Sapphire

The Curry Leaf in Laurel has a much better buffet or the Jewel of India. The buffet is isn’t great. Food seems greasy. The interior is dirty and old. I can only imagine what the kitchen looks like! The place is filthy! Defiantly not going back!

We went here with our family for New Year’s Eve. They had an extensive Indian buffet set up with terrific voices. What they also had, that I usually don’t see at other buffets are little cracker snacks, and a variety of sauces. Their stir fried okra and onions was a favorite. Service was a little slow to get started, because part of our party wanted to order off the Thai menu, but once things got started, all was good.

I came here after work craving samosas and this was the only place open. They were great! I give them a 8.5. A couple of weeks later I came and got some mixed meat kabob, for take out it was good, a little dry, but the staff was super friendly.

I’m not a big Indian food fan, but my mother is. (I like it, but it’s not my preferred food.) Well, whatever one’s mom wants usually she gets, so when she couldn’t find others to join her I followed.
Wow, was I glad I did. It’s not that it’s great food (although it’s definitely good) but the buffet here is AMAZING. So many dishes, from India to Thailand, you have to just slather your plate. Most of it was vegetarian, but they probably have the largest selection of meat dishes I’ve ever seen at an Indian buffet. And let’s not forget the desserts… gulab, kheer, and kulfi, oh my!
Décor and service are average. Nothing fancy, they feel like an old 80’s Asian restaurant. Staff are cordial but just sort of there, which really is all you need at a buffet. Still, even if I’m not in the mood for Indian, if I see an opportunity to take mom here I’ll definitely go!

This review is for the buffet service:
The selection has not changed for quite some time but what they have is good. The sauces at the beginning of the buffet line are have distinct flavors, so try a bit of each. The sauces are next to the salad vegetables and nestled in between is a nice chickpea salad. Soups are also available but I’ve yet to give them a try.
My highlights of the buffet line includes a Thai influenced stir fry chicken that is sweet and spicy. It’s served on a large foil wrapped plate. Next is the chicken tandoori which has a nice red color with some subtle charred edge goodness. Their chicken masala has the nice creamy orange sauce that goes great with the fluffy, white Naan. They also have a fried fish with a somewhat crunchy skin and flaky white meat — they look like fish nuggets. They also have a nice spinach dish with cubes of Paneer indian cheese — very thick, rich and delicious.
The wait staff is very attentive and will try to accommodate you as much as possible. Good place for your Thai-​indian buffet craving.

I used to enjoy their buffet many months ago. Was it gormet? Of course not, it was a buffet. But at least it was decent and hot. Now… I don’t know if it changed ownership or management, but it’s…we’ll gross! Poor selection, cheapest cuts, and lukewarm food. Not to mention whatever was in my water that I had to spit out but was unidentifiable. Oh well, way off my list.

It had been a few years since I’d been to Sapphire and I was reminded that it was around when I was trying to find decent Asian food in Laurel on Unilocal.A few years ago, I remembered it was good and from the reviews felt confident that it was the same place I’d remembered a few years ago. Ugh — bad decision. I went with my safe go-​to dishes: chicken satay as a starter — which was pretty good and then shrimp pad thai and my friend had the drunken noodles — her safe go-​to when trying a new place. I couldn’t even eat the pad thai. I have no idea what they did to it, but it had the WORST over-​limed citrus flavor. The drunken noodles were way to heavy on soy sauce and were passable at best. In my book, if a restaurant can’t even get basic staple dishes down, then fuggetaboutit. I won’t even bore you with details of the slow and lousy service. Don’t stay away for that reason. Stay away because the food is awful. Yuck.

How wonderful it is to find SOUTH Indian food, well made. The sambar was great — tangy and spicy. The dosa was huge, beautifully golden and crisp on the outside.
For those used to heavy sauces and stews of North India, the Southern options are worth trying here. For example: lentil doughnuts with spicy sauce; or idlies, steamed «cakes» of rice and lentil flour, doused in coconut chutney or cilantro-​mint chutney. Sambar is a spicy lentil soup with vegetables. The dosai are large «crepes» of rice and urad dal flour — usually with a spicy potato filling. For the quality, prices very reasonable (not the cheap buffet model). As someone fond of South Indian food, I was in heaven.

The owner is very caring and friendly. The Biryani here is killer and the drink prices are reasonable. I wouldn’t hang out here often, but too go in order take out and drink a beer or two while you wait, ALL DAY!
I came in late one day and the Indian cook had already shut down and I was told by the bartender tat I could only order from limited menu. The owner saw my disappointment when I could not get my staple dish, and he went back and had it made! While I would never ask of that, for it to be done without question is impeccable service. Kudos sir!

Waiter was a really nice guy, but the Chicken Pad Thai was terrible. Too greasy. Their booze is also sold as top shelf, but you can tell it is rail grade. Very disappointed. Table cloth was dirty, ceiling was dirty, yikes. Best not to look too closely.

Wow. The place has really gone downhill since I was here last. I came for dinner this time instead of the lunch buffet. I enjoyed the lunch and should have just kept that happy memory.
Dropped way to much money on dinner for two for something I feel could have come out of my grocers freezer.
Never again. I’m paying my credit card as soon as I get home so I can get the stain of the transaction off my statement.

This place is a gem. All you an eat Indian food, kinda pricy but hey, you get what you pay for. Food from the finest cuisine gurus

I’ll give it to them that the staff is very friendly. However, the food is not. I came here for Thai food and it came out very greasy, I could not even finish eating and had really bad stomach pains after. Maybe the Indian food is better. The atmosphere is very dark and next door is a sports bar — which is the same restaurant actually or same owners. You can hear karaōke singing going on weekends. I didn’t go into the sports bar area. It’s in a strip mall type shopping center.

I give sapphire a solid three stars. I’m not quite as awestruck as some of the other reviewers, but in the context of the desolate world of Asian dining in Laurel, Sapphire probably deserves four.
The décor is clean and pleasant. It doesn’t have that depressing, grimy, fluorescent-​lit aura sported by many of the other aging restaurants in this area. The exterior is off-​putting — it’s the general grunginess of this pathetic little mall that has probably been the deciding factor in my waiting so long to finally try Sapphire. Just forget the dicey looking «sports» bars and liquor stores on either side and take the plunge.
The service was good and the food tasty. I decided to go big and ordered the crispy whole fish off the Thai menu. Our Indian waiter’s facial expression said it all — Indian is the way to go here, in his view. Never mind that. It wasn’t spectacular, but I’ll give it a solid e for effort. We also ordered lamb samosas. The ones we got were vegetable, but they tasted too good to really make a fuss about the error. The naan bread and chicken tiki masala were just fine too, and at 7.00 the big bottle of Taj beer is a good value. Dinner comes with a complimentary bowl of crispy flatbread and three dipping sauces that were fresh and tasty. Overall Sapphire comes in as somewhat less than fine dining but easily ranks as a good neighborhood joint — something sorely needed in the utterly grim Laurel restaurant scene.

I had the samosa and then the mango chicken Ooooo my soo yuummie I could have licked the bowl but I was afraid my pants would give out! LOL they are very attentive and the food is wonderful they even have buffet during the week till 4and on the weekends all day sooo good you have to try!

Have a great buffet on weekends! Good food. Only thing is at night there is a some kind of bar next door that is noisey. Would prefer to just hear the true Indian music in the background:)

I started going to Sapphire about ten years ago, when a State Department neighbor of mine said it was the best Indian food around (without a sarcastic tone). I have moved in and out of the area twice since and I keep on going back.
The first time I went there was for a quick meal on a busy day, so I had the buffet. The selection was extensive, and they had goat curry… who has goat curry on a buffet? It was delicious, with nicely balanced spices and the meat was tender.
I have been there for dinner and ordered off the menu. The wait staff is incredible, and will give you details about the food and how each entrée might meet your needs. This is useful if you are not familiar with Moghul (North Indian) food.
Go there, enjoy the extensive and well-​prepared buffet, order off the menu. Just go there.

Been twice and can’t wait to go back.
We love Thai and especially love Indian, together– AMAZING!
The Indian however is their speciality. Everything is fresh and so tasteful! Each dish different than the next. The Lamb Pasanda is amazing, soft lamb chunks Ina. Creamy sauce, I tried the Lamb Masala while my partner tried the Thai fried rice and we were both, yet again impressed. Thr Soring rolls off the Thai menu are perfectly cooked. The Bullet Naan is amazingggg (never knew so many options for Naan!!) the Chaat was also delicious, I’ve gone to a few Indian places and ordered Chaat and been disappointed, Sapphire does NOT disappoint!
Portions are fair, I wish they’d be a little bit more but either way I’m always stuffed and have extras. Probably because we order 2 or 3 portions of Naan (how can you blame us, it’s made fresh and it’s sooooo good!).
A great touch and something VERY different from other Indian places I’ve been (in DC) is that they actually want your food to stay warm… Burning candles under the steel bowls is an amazing idea and I truly appreciate warm food!
We stopped by on Sunday, unknowing it was buffet night… Although we didn’t get it, it did look great especially for 13.95! The prices are VERY affordable decedent tasteful dishes for under $ 15.
Oh in terms of drinks… The Mango Smoothie (with Milk) is a great dessert!
Can’t wait to go back!

You know you are in for authentic Indian food as soon as you step into the foyer, where there is a four foot statue of the elephant-​headed Hindu deity Ganesha, Remover of Obstacles. Incense ashes, burning candles, and cash offerings demonstrate active worship by his devotees.
The main room’s walls are painted sky blue, with art hung around it. To the left as you enter, a divider separates a row of two-​tops and the buffet line. Beyond that is a windowed wall looking into the sports bar.
Ah, the buffet! $ 9.95 for lunch, $ 13.95 Saturday and Sunday nights. I’ve never gotten past it to the extensive full menu. Chutneys, salad, soup, an appetizer or two, basmati rice and naan are standard, as is the best tandoori chicken I have ever had — tender, juicy, and deeply flavored. Everything else changes day to day, from standards to vegetables like tindora (a thumb sized gourd) I had to Google. Half a dozen vegetable dishes, one or two chicken dishes (the tikka masala is excellent), and one or two of goat or lamb. Three or four Thai specialties are on the far end before you reach the desert table, which always has a thermos of full-​bodied masala tea. Indian beers and lassi are available as well.
Every dish is complexly seasoned, and heat varies from almost none to very hot. If you like heat, vindaloo (if it’s in the rotation that day), the Thai dishes, and the mixed pickle chutney (I love it for its intense, exotic flavors, but always have a piece of naan ready to absorb the fire) will make your scalp sweat nicely. Curries vary, take a taste and see.
So how good is the food? There’s an Indian restaurant within walking distance of my home, but I’ll always drive 20 minutes to Sapphire when I get an itch for Indian.

Why I do I love Sapphire? No surprise here, it’s the buffet. Their regular menu is good, but the buffet is where it’s at — especially on the weekends, when it runs all day (most local restaurants stop running theirs at 3PM). It’s pretty similar on weekdays at lunchtime and on the weekends, but they add a few more things on Saturday and Sunday. The food is consistent, fresh and regularly refilled. I don’t think everything is quite as flavorful as it might be at some of the other local Indian restaurants, but the flavors are still good. Dishes are definitely less spicy here, which is a selling point when you’re bringing a large group and not everyone has a cast iron stomach. (They do handle large groups well, by the way, and this is a popular birthday lunch destination among my coworkers.)
There’s a good mix of vegetarian and meat dishes, as the cuisine here represents Northern and Southern Indian food as well as Thai food. The Thai selections on the buffet are always few and far between, which just makes them all the more out of place. But I enjoy the wide selection of appetizers and entrees, and a really nice chutney bar that has all of my favorites. They bring fresh dosai to your table on the weekend. The tikka masala sauce is creamy and rich, the tandoori chicken is moist and smoky, the raita is nice and thick, and their mixed fruit pickle is the best I’ve had. And sometimes I am surprised by dishes I’ve never encountered before — this weekend, they had a mushroom-​based dish that was delicious.
My favorite thing on the buffet? Dessert. All-​you-​can-​eat gulab jamun and all-​you-​can-​drink masala tea! I always joke that I’m going to start at that end, and eventually I’m going to do it. Sometimes I even pour the delicious syrup from my gulab jamun into the tea, which tastes like sweet victory.