Cafe Vaaza

Food was great, but do not expect it to taste like your typical Indian food. It’s Kashmiri food and it has its own distinct taste. I loved the chicken ristas and my husband (Kashmiri) enjoyed the lamb yakhni. He was terribly disappointed that they did not have real ristas, the ones with fat beaten into lamb…
We will probably go again if we’re ever in the area. Apparently, its the only real Kashmiri restaurant around.

Got the flyer in the mail and thought I’d try the lunch buffet for $ 10.95 on a weekday. I was afraid the food would be bland from reading previous reviews but I’m glad I checked it out for myself because the food was very tasty! Seasoning was good, level of spiciness was good, and selection of buffet items was good. There was stewed lamb with lentils, chicken korma, chicken meatball with paprika sauce, and vegetarian dishes that had squash, eggplant, and kidney beans with spinach. They had rice and naan. The only criticism I have was that the naan tasted like commercial store bought naan and was not house-​made which would have been a nice touch. I also had a mango lassi which was delicious. Décor of the restaurant was beautiful and the service was excellent. I think I would only go for buffet because it’s well worth the price. There’s more options to try compared to buying an almost $ 20 single entrée. Highly recommend!

Not at all Kashmiri type! Nope not worth going there ! The service and decoration is ok but you ask for chicken kabab and all you will get it very small two flat pieces of chicken and white rice with lentil. They should name the dish as rice and lentil not chicken kabab. Moreover you ask for onion and they charge for that whereas it is always complimentary in any other Indian restaurant.

Staff — courteous
Ambiance — very nice.
Food — awful!
We did a takeout and tried Chicken Meatball and Biryani and sorry to say its Awful!
—. Food seriously lacks flavor & taste.
i am surprised with so many 4 or 5 stars. I hope they do right representation of food from Kashmir… coz as such food from Kashmir has good flavors.

To preface, the waitress was attentive and sweet. If only I could be so kind about the food.
Originally went because of a Unilocal search for Indian in the neighborhood, so perhaps there’s an unfair comparison here as its labeled Kashmiri (a region whose food I have not yet tried). Likewise, this is based entirely on the vegetarian selections I had.
Everything was extremely dull. To start, we had the lentil soup with green pepper, served with two tiny pitas — which the waitress had called naan. Bland is the only word to describe the soup, along with the other two dishes. Had the palak paneer and another lentil dish (Chana something). The waitress informed us that neither were cooked with spice, but that didn’t prepare me for the boring mush that followed. Maybe my tastebuds just aren’t sensitive enough to appreciate this cuisine, but boy was I disappointed thinking this would be comparable to ordinary Indian.

I have had Kashmiri food in the past outside of the United States. And I am surprised to find Café Vaaza serving food with the real Kashmiri authenticity. The food was real good and the service was great. They offer the dishes at different spice levels without losing the flavor. Though it belongs under the Indian super set, it definitely stands out in the way it is prepared and tastes from all other Indian restaurants I have previously been to.
On a side note, the service is quick and the ambiance is great. I would be a frequent customer going forward! First Checked in: 8÷8÷2015.
Way to go Café Vaaza!

I enjoyed the buffet lunch here so came back with someone for dinner on Saturday. Very pleasant experience. The staff is attentive. The décor is elegant and peaceful. We enjoyed our vegetarian dishes very much. Lots of rice provided (though the naan is excellent too and inexpensive if you are that hungry). Vegetable kebabs with salad was a great addition to the meal. They also have shrimp, chicken, and lamb dishes available. The vegetarian course page is broken up into vegetarian and vegan, so you can bring all your friends here with everyone having a selection available to them!
Nice Kashmiri tea, which they happily iced for me on this summer evening. Dessert was enjoyable. Mango mousse cake and pistachio ice cream.
I would definitely recommend this place. So close to the train station too! BYOB: There is a liquor store about 1 block away on the same side of the street.

Very good food. Please give this place a try. Have been there twice in the past 2 months and the food is very good. Prior to trying it the first time, was a little worried as we never saw anyone else dining there. We gave it a try, outside seating and BYOB. We enjoyed our meal very much. If you like Indian/​middle eastern type food, then give it a try.
July 16, 2015– another great meal. Delicious!!!

The food is very near to kashmiri cuisine. Loved the Yakini and Gustaba. Its made of yogurt gravy and is just awesome. All entrees were served with white rice. Highly recommend it.
The location, ambiance and service is good.

Another desi crap

As other reviews say, I never had Kashmiri food before. Food was great and service as well. They also customized a dish a bit for me as I wanted naan in place of rice. Location is nice, a quiet corner in heart of metuchen. Must try!

It was Friday… The wife and I could not decide on dinner and I suggested Indian. To that we both agreed. We decided to try Café Vaaza. They are really Kashmiri food but it is really close to the Indian food that everyone is used to.
It is not standard Indian though. It is delicious!!! A few years ago I tried Lamb Rogan Josh and loved it. Since then I get it everywhere. They serve theirs not spicy but they were more than happy to add a little kick to mine. It was amazing! I ate all the lamb but the sauce was so flavorful that I took it home. Your typical Indian tastes really good because of all the cream they throw into it. Typically, when you flip the container over when it comes out of the fridge, nothing in it moves. This was different! It was still a liquid! It moved! They made this amazing sauce with a mix of spices… Not cheap throw ins.
Long story short… Delicious quality food with pleasant people serving you and they have a few outdoor tables too!

Himalayan cuisine from Kashmir. The nuanced flavors are complex, aromatic, and exotic – a delicate structure that could be mistaken for bland if anticipating peppery accent.
The eggplant in tomato sauce appetizer is a symphony of
deliciousness. The chicken meatballs in yogurt and paprika sauces over basmati rice were tasty and novel. We will return to try the lunch buffet.

Amazing amazing lunch buffet. Lovely flavors– if best describe as more healthy and light version of Indian cuisine. Aromatic and yummy. The owner and staff are extremely friendly and they even set up a table for us outside. I highly recommend this little gem!

We came here bc we heard ads for it on the radio. My dad really wanted to try it, so we went on a Saturday evening around 8pm, the place was kind if empty.
The interior is nicely decorated, with pictures and traditional attributes to Kashmir.
The staff was nice & attentive.
We ordered the chicken meatballs (as per all the recommendation if other Unilocalers) mutton Kashmiri, and palak channa. All entrees were served with long grain white rice. We had to pay extra for a side of onions.
Overall the food was ok, I know it’s a different kind/​type of food but I felt overall the flavor was lacking. It did not have a wow factor to it. 1 thing I did not like was that they served cold pita with the entrees, just warm it up.

My friend and I had lunch there and we both found the food outstanding. We easily sucked back 2 mango lassi a piece even before our food arrived. Unlike some restaurants that make then thick like milkshakes, these were on the number smooth and not sickly sweet.
I ordered a combo of chicken meatballs in paprika yogurt sauce and spinach with curd. OUTSTANDING!
My friend ordered tomato soup with chickpeas along with an entrée of chicken korma… Again, OUTSTANDING.
The waiter was attentive, funny and an all around nice guy. The food is fresh and you can order as bland or as spicy as you like. For dessert we split a piece of mango mousse cake which was a perfect choice as the cake was moist and light.
Come on folks, give this restaurant a try and expand your food base and have your taste buds explode with new smells and flavors.

I had my first experience with Kashmiri food here, and it was delicious (while not overly heavy with that buttery feel 0.0 like typical Indian food)!
The appetizers and entrees are worth trying, while both are pretty filling individually. And they give white or whole wheat pita with sweet mango chutney dip before dishes come out.
I had the chicken kebabs as an appetizer (which are not on a skewer as they sound) and they were refreshing with the salad, and well spiced! I wouldn’t mind having them regularly for lunch.
Highly recommend the chicken meatballs as an entrée! I’m not usually a fan of meatballs because the idea of rolled up meat irks me a little (and sometimes you get these odd chewy bits in them), but these were seriously amazing, especially in the spiced soup they were stewed in.
The soup that the meatballs came in was good on its own! Would dip pita or eat with rice.
The service was also great – the waiters were attentive and accommodating. It’s nice not to have to feel like you’re annoying a waiter with small requests.
And the ambiance/​interior set up was really comfortable, a very night time cozy feel.

Really liked this place. The food was great and the owner/​chef Moonir was very hospitable and extended us a warm welcome. He himself helped us to select our entrees as we were kind of new to Kasmiri cuisine. I’d highly recommend the Chicken Rista which was awesome. We’d definitely go back to this place again.

After a long flight into Newark and the hectic drive to my hotel, exhausted and hungry, I was ready to settle for dinner at the hotel restaurant. But after perusing the local Unilocal reviews (and buoyed by another Arizona Cardinal win!) I decided to venture back out to try the hot and new Kasmir eatery Café Vaaza in Metuchen.
When I first arrived, I was having second thoughts. It is a small corner restaurant on quaint Main Street Metuchen an on this particular Sunday evening, they were empty. Completely empty. Usually not a good sign.
Now I will first say that I am not familiar with Kasmir cuisine, though I have had my share of Indian food. I started with the lentil soup. It was a bit light on flavor, but it still hit the spot. For my entrée, I went with the signature dish of Kasmir — chicken meatballs in a yogurt sauce, served on rice. Nice plump meatballs, which on their own had a nice, albeit somewhat bland flavor. Mixed with the somewhat pasty consistency of the sauce, however, it left me feeling like I was eating liver. Again, I’m not sure if this is typical Kasmir fare, it just wasn’t what I was looking for.
The service was polite and attentive (I was the only one there).
All in all, a nice place, but I probably won’t come back.

This is a very nice new spot in Metuchen that has a lot of potential. While there are some details that could be refined, the most important piece is in place: the food is very good. We ordered the chicken kebab salad appetizer, the chicken meatballs in yogurt sauce, and the lentils. The food is very aromatic and savory, not at all spicy — it would be an excellent place to go with a mix of adventurous and cautious eaters. Both the lentils and the meatballs were wonderful. The meatballs are large and somewhat dense, but they are far from bland, and the proportion of meatballs and sauce to rice is good (I’d like a little more sauce, but I think it’s a personal preference, not a flaw of the dish). The lentils were outstanding. Seasoning levels on everything was right. We were there with two four-​year-​olds who can be picky at times, especially about meat, and they ate and loved everything.
There are a few things that could be improved, but nothing major:
–The appetizer part of the menu isn’t terribly wide-​ranging — they offer a few chicken dishes with salad, and they all seemed kind of similar. We’re the types to order a few appetizers to try a range of items, but there was not a lot of opportunity for that on this menu. More variety here would be a huge improvement, and offering an interesting vegetarian appetizer or two would be great. The kebabs were solid, though.
–This is a totally picky point, but the music was a little loud, and it was mostly 80s light listening: Richard Marx, «Somewhere out there,» etc. I’m not judging anyone’s musical preferences, but this selection didn’t do anything for the atmosphere, which is otherwise pretty nice. I’d either lower the volume or use something that contributes to the atmosphere more.
–Another picky point: Salt and pepper shakers on the table would be good. None of the food needed any additional seasoning, but the little paper packets feel cheap.
I hope this restaurant makes it. I am looking forward to going back to try some other items! And I suspect that as they pick up momentum, they will only get better.