Kinara Lounge

The food was not great, decent at the best. There was tandoori chicken and veg pakoda as starters. But surprisingly they were placed rather haphazardly, mixed with other main course items. There were 4 veg items — paneer, cabbage, eggplant and mixed vegetables — and these items were better compared to the 3 non-​veg items — goat curry (smelt a bit), chicken tikka masala (chicken was stiff, not soft) and chicken biriyani (a complete let downer). They had mango mousse as desert which is by far the best item. But it was again placed wrongly — right at the beginning of the buffet with salad and raita.
There was only one guy taking care of the buffet and there were 3 – 4 customers. The guy was pretty good and sober. The items were pretty full and there was no requirement of refilling them at any time. I went there around noon so don’t know how frequently the buffet items are refilled a bit later during the lunch hour.
I had a Unilocal coupon which brought down the price of lunch buffer from $ 15 to $ 10. Had it been the original price, I would have definitely given it one star less.

We went to their lunch buffet on Saturday. Very happy with both the food and the service. Instantly my fav Indian buffet in the neighborhood!
Something different were fish masala and an egg dish, both a pleasant surprise and felt like a treat. All the chicken dishes (biryani, tikka masala and tandoori) were tender, succulent and flavorful, which is an achievement because we all know those can be dry at buffets. The biryani was unlike all others I’d had, kinda had a tang to it, very appetizing. The tandoori may be the best I’ve had in years, texture just perfect with that welcomed hint of smokiness. Some parts so silky and smooth, it ate like pâté.
Also really enjoyed the side of potatoes with mustard seeds and veggie pakora (crispy and fresh). Also can’t beat the fresh salad and chutney — go so well together! Finished off with a mango mousse dessert (haven’t seen that elsewhere), not too sweet or thick, just right and plenty of fruit, a perfect ending without filling up with, say, a mango lassi, and still hit the spot!
The vegetarian dishes (saag paneer, malai paneer, etc.) were okay; did not shine as the aforementioned, but solid.
All in all very satisfied. I enjoyed the quiet but hope they have better business during the week and at night, as I hope they stick around!

Yay for Indian buffets — we went pretty early, so no lines and not a lot of people there. (But it filled up pretty fast around noon) Great customer service, delicious chicken tikka masala and tandoori chicken. Very flavorful Indian food, and omg the naan is so fresh and
! After eating two plates of food, the boyfriend and I just kept eating that. The ambiance is great — would be nice for a date night, but there were quite a few families there. Not too loud either. The mango mousse was yummy (though I don’t think as great as people describe it on Unilocal,but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t good!) I would definitely come back again, especially since it’s not expensive either!
This place would be a little hard to find if you weren’t looking for the Best Western Inn. Highly recommend.

The food here is pretty good. Not mind blowing but good and consistent.
I usually come for the lunch buffet and its on the smaller side but priced accordingly at $ 10.99 per person. All the staples are there. usually chicken masala and tandoori chicken is always available.
They bring fresh naan to the table and service is generally consistent. It was a bit slow for us today but i am not too much of a stickler as long as its not rude service.
I got the groupon deal @ $ 10 for $ 15. I paid for 2 adults and 1 child (kids are half off) plus a mango lassi. Total with what i spent for the coupon was $ 28 plus tip. Not bad.
Overall this place will satisfy your indian food craving.
3 stars

Went for dinner which does not have the buffet. I was surprised it was located in a Best Western Inn Plus.
It’s actually a cute place with a bar and outside patio seats. The ambiance is great!
We started off with an order of samosas: 1 order comes with 2 pieces. They were really, really good… a bit on the spicy side but good.
After our appetizer, it took forever and a day for the rest of our food to arrive. Our order:
Tandoori platter: comes with lamb, chicken, tandoori chicken, and shrimp. This is a big platter, even split between 3 people, it was more than enough. Everything on the platter was delicious however the lamb was a bit on the salty side.
Naan was warm and fluffy. I couldn’t resist and took a few bites as soon as it came out and it was just amazing.
Butter chicken was average. Good, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Lamb masala was on the salty side. I just couldn’t take anymore bites after two.
Chicken biryani was good, but we asked for regular biryani and the guy brought out the chicken one which was more than double the price.
Service was outstanding. Our water was never half empty, picked up our plates and gave us new ones for our main entrée’s, and I’m guessing this was the owner, went around to tables making sure everything was okay.

Fantastic flavors, outstanding ingredients. Friendly staff and a plethora of dishes and flavors highlight this off-​path dining spot.
We had a large variety of dishes from curried french fries to grilled lamb, chicken masala, and goat curry. the ingredients were fresh, dishes were very well prepared and featured distinct well thought prep. We enjoyed a combination of chicken, lamb, and goat and each meat was done justice. Desserts were wonderful as well.
Enjoyed a wonderful multi-​course meal at Kinara. Don’t be fooled by the off-​path location. The food is outstanding and it is accompanied by great service.
This place should be at the top of your –places to visit– list.

This is a capital «Meh.»
The food was… fine, I guess, I had the lamb vindaloo, and my dining companion had a Chicken Tika I think, though the vindaloo lacked any significant spice, and had a good, but not especially complex flavor.
Small portions, and not quite what was described in the menu — the vindaloo was half lamb half potatoes. Potatoes weren’t mentioned in the menu listing, and so messed up what I thought was going to be a low-​carb meal. Without the potatoes, I think the meal would have been about as filling as just grabbing the patty off a burger. Seriously, not a lot of meat there.
With so much really great asian food in Milpitas, don’t bother with this place — head over to Barber.

Good Indian food with layered flavors and lots of spice! The dishes are made with different cooking techniques like braises and clay ovens so the meat comes out tender and some are saucy while some are dry. Dino, the owner was really nice and hospitable. He suggested some great dishes based upon a short Q&A of what we liked.
Jhinga Masty:
The shrimp was awesome. Perfectly cooked with a ton of spice and nuttiness.
Mirch Masala Gosh:
The lamb was mild and got better wih every bite. The meat was lean, cooked separately from the sauce, and the dish had layered flavors.
Hydrabadi Goat Curry:
The goat was tender and fatty and fell of the bones. It was spicy and my absolute favorite.
Bread:
The naan was better than the roti, more chewy, but not that different in flavor. One was flour and the other was wheat. A good break to tone down the spiciness or dip the sauces.
Dessert:
The mango mousse was a perfect ending. Creamy and sweet and wiped the palette clean.
We’ll be back again!

This would have been a 3 star review, but here’s why it’s 2.
Pros:
Lovely, warm, dining environment. Like they turn on the heater!
Decent service and food came out quickly, but not too quickly where you’re eating your app and dinner comes.
Generous portions.
Cons:
Food as described in Menu is not what it is.
Poori is bit oilier than other restaurants’.
Tad bit pricier than other Indian restaurants throughout San Jose and Milpitas.
Appetizer was supposed to have been Chicken 65, but for some reason, Paneer 65 was brought out to us. While it wasn’t bad, we had wanted chicken. Appropriate dish was brought out later. All is good.
I ordered Chicken Korma because I wanted a creamy, mild chicken curry. Even on the menu on their site, their Chicken Korma is «Chicken cooked in creamy sauce with almonds and dried nuts, mildly spiced.» NOT what I received. What I got was regular chicken curry. I’ve lived in India, I’ve also had Chicken Korma in the UK, USA, India, etc. What I got was NOT chicken korma — it was plain chicken curry. There was no creaminess, no almonds and dried nuts… it was flamin’ hot. The chicken curry was ok, but it was no korma.
My naan was ok — if a bit overcooked and slightly too burned for my taste. Rice was fine, too.
I’m a bit annoyed because when we used to come here, I always got chicken tikka masala or butter chicken. I wanted to do something different… and when I got something different it was so different from what I normally get I wasn’t too thrilled.
Will come back here and get chicken tikka masa

Want country and western music accompanying your Indian food?
Want to eat inside a Best Western motel that looks like it’s a lounge in a Best Western motel?
Want to enjoy a smaller than most yet very tasty selection of Indian food in a lunch buffet?
If you can answer «yes» to any of the three questions above, come on down!
The setting and ambiance were almost surreal, but the food was tasty, service was good (it should have been, the place was almost empty) and they left us alone as we chatted and caught up without any pressure to finish up and get out.
Given the abundance of really good Indian buffet places in the vicinity, this place wouldn’t be my first choice, but it’s definitely not a bad choice, especially if you like country and western music.

3.5 star for this unassuming restaurant right next to Best Western.
First of all, the music offers a lounge feeling, which is a nice start.
The service is courteous and the owner came over to each table to say hi, which is hospitable and desirable. The waiter double checked with us on the spicy level of acceptance since we have a baby and we want it non spicy at all.
The food tasted better than the ordinary Indian restaurants. The chicken masala is really creamy, but the chicken doesn’t taste like it’s marinated before, so a bit lacking the flavor. The garlic bread is tasty and the rice is yummy. The tandori shrimp is much more spicy than I was expecting, so after 1 bite, I lost most of my taste bud capabilities, so be warned!
The only thing we were disappointed is that the order didn’t come with rice, so we had to order rice seperately. But with Unilocal’s $ 10 for $ 15 offer, it wasn’t that bad overall. I just wish there’s more food that my baby can eat, probably because I don’t know enough about the menu or Indian food.

This place is a solid 4.5 stars. Went here for a team lunch buffet on a Friday. Reservation was simple… even after we had to increase the number of people to 20, they were able to accomodate us with a banquet hall type room. It was an odd mix of a restaraunt and lounge/​bar but it didn’t seem to clash at all.
Food was excellent and the servers were very attentive. Only downside was the quantity of dishes — around 10 or so depending on how you count them.
BTW, it’s in the Best Western.

Momo E. and I have been to Kinara 3 times total now. The first time being very enjoyable. So we decided to bring my family to the lunch buffet. The selection was not huge but the food was very good. My only complaint here is that only some of the dishes are marked to what is what. I am not Indian by heritage so I really have no idea what some of these dishes are. However I would like to try everything that I can but if I don’t know what it is, I am less inclined to try it (MAYBE THIS IS A PLOY… or a conspiracy…).
On our latest visit to Kinara our experience started out good. I was especially inclined to get the Veggie Pakora because our first time here is was delicious and it did not disappoint this time as well. However, Momo E. and I had initially wanted to order the Amchari Bhindi Masala but they didn’t have okra… It is a early Saturday night and you don’t have okra the key ingredient to a dish which is listed on your PERMANENT MENU?!? This to me just screams bad especially since it is suppose to be delicious (as stated by the owner). If this is one of your best dishes why would you purposely deny your customers by not stocking okra? And why would you tell this to a customer whom you just told that dish is unavailable. Just… doesn’t…make…sense… Besides all of this, the non-​okra state of our meal was not the biggest issue. Our biggest issue was with the service.
Kinara supposedly prides itself on being a lounge with excellent service and both times before service was good. The first time we went our waitress was very somber and looked like someone was forcing her to be there against her will. However, she WAS very attentive despite her depressing attitude. The second time was a bit more crowded the usual and lunch buffet is self serve clearly but the owner was still attentive to all the tables including ours. This last time Momo E. and I were literally waiting for our check for AT LEAST 30 mins. I timed it because I was getting so pissed. Despite this being a Saturday night there were literally only 2 other parties in the entire restaurant. There was no reason what so ever for us to be ignored for that long. The owner had stopped by and taken our empty plates already and I believe common sense would imply dessert or check is ready to be had. Neither of these were asked or given though, so Momo E. and I were forced to watch the owner meander around the restaurant diligently serving the other two parties while he ignored us despite us trying to get his attention for what seemed LIKE DAYS… okay now I am being melodramatic but forreal we just wanted an easy dinner but Kinara turned it into an irritating experience. Next time Naan & Masala it is. Goodbye Kinara we are never coming back.
*Note: It also does not help that the prices at Kinara are quite a bit more then you will find at other casual Indian places not only in Milpitas but in the greater Bay Area.

Came here for the lunch buffet with a coworker, saw all the great reviews and we had to give it a try. The variety is sorta limited because its all chicken curry dishes and a few veggie curry dishes. The tandoori chicken was pretty good as well. Decent price for buffet lunch. Awkwardly located in a Best Western location though haha

the lunch buffet was very good, and then using our groupon made it excellent!
tandoori chicken can often be dry but theirs was really moist. I’ve also had less than fresh chicken in many other buffets but their chicken tasted very fresh! the tikka was very good, and the cauliflower was great. the only lackluster dish was the spinach paneer. the mango lassi was not watered down but full on! the naan was well made and plentiful (other places you have to ask repeated times after the first batch disappears). last but not least the service is fantastic. for a buffet, you get very attentive service, more so than a regular sit down service. our server was just the best.
so despite being in a best western, in a nondescript part of milpitas, an oasis of good food at an excellent value. we’ll come again!

The servicing is bad. We went here on a Sunday night and there is only guy serving but he is very late to respond. The food wasn’t good either. 2 star only for the $ 25 gift card for $ 10 that this restaurant offers.
I wouldn’t recommend this place

We’re new to area and had friends from out of town visiting one weekend recently. We went here on the strength of the Unilocal reviews, and were a little worried when the place turned out to be embedded in a Best Western; but wow, am I glad we stayed.
We shared a few different appetizers and breads with our guests. The samosas were well-​seasoned and had a very delicate crust, and the naan and poori were top-​notch.
My wife and I had our old standbys: saag paneer and chicken tikka masala. The spice was just right (we asked for hot, we got hot, but balanced so you could still taste more than just the heat).
They have a wide selection of bottled beer: we tried a couple of local brews that were new to us. Wish there were drafts, but you can’t have everything. (They’re applying for a liquor permit.)
The proprietor came out a few times to check in and had some very helpful suggestions on what to get.

Short form: Smallish, out of the way setting doesn’t detract from flavor, value, and service. Friendly staff, good prices, and delicious dishes. Serves both meat and vegetarian dishes — plus, they’ll do take-​out!
Long form: Kinara is right across the street (for the most part) from my favorite local eatery (Tayyibaat, look ‘em up!), so I’m not quite sure why I haven’t eaten there before. I regret waiting so long, let me tell you.
Firstly, unlike most of the other Indian eateries in my area, they don’t keep odd hours on Mondays. Point in their favor.
Secondly, their location is a bit out of the way, but that is actually in their favor, as it means their parking is always ample, and their service is faster than it might otherwise be. Second star.
Thirdly, the staff is very friendly and answered all of my questions about sizing, ingredients, allergy concerns, and the like. Third star.
Fourthly, all of their meat dishes are Halal, and they have a HUGE variety of vegetarian and fish dishes, so I can bring my friends here, regardless of their meat concerns. Fourth star.
Finally, I let the owner (manager? chef? I don’t know rightly, but he was very nice and very very helpful) know that I needed to feed four people — so I ordered two each of two of the chicken dishes, two orders of rice, and two orders of naan — assured this would feed four people. What came out was each of the chicken dishes broken into four single-​serving containers, enough rice to make sure that each single-​serving had ample rice to go with it, and two generous pieces of naan wrapped tightly in foil (and thus piping hot when I got it home!). This gave each of the four of us eating it what amounted to two generous helpings of each dish, plenty of rice, and delicious, warm, wonderful naan. Fifth Star. EASY.
I really think the next time I work from home and have a chance, I’m going to take a walk around the corner to these guys and hit their lunch buffet. If it’s half as good as what I brought home last night, I’m sold.

My husband and I had a groupon deal for this restaurant and were quite impressed with the quality of food and portion sizes, which were pretty generous considering we both made a full meal out of leftovers the next day.
We had the unfortunate timing to be seated next to the most obnoxious group of 3 I have ever come across, who probably have a 2 star review below complaining about service. However, one of the gentlemen of this classy party told the owner to take back the food because the dish they ordered «wasn’t a curry». Which it was. Because it was on the menu listed as a curry. The most amazing part was that he spoke fluent hindi, so pretty sure he knew the difference between tandoor and curry. They were also complaining that the food was «late» even though they ordered food at two different times during the course of the meal, which of course meant that the food would come at two different times.
Anyway, I give this restaurant 4 stars because the food was great despite slower than usual service. But I’d rather wait for good food, then to get my meal in a flash and find it inedible. The mango lassi was freshly made and the chicken biryani was equally amazing.
Dino, the owner, is very sweet and would personally visit our table to make sure we were enjoying our food. Great choice in old Bollywood tunes that day as well. People were singing along and bobbing their heads. Would definitely visit again.

First off so you don’t get lost, you have to turn in onto the street between the 7 – 11 and gas station, and it’s located beside the lobby of the Best Western. The interior is one of the nicest I’ve ever seen for an Indian restaurant. We had to seat ourselves, and wait a bit for the menus to come to us, but I didn’t mind too much.
Other than that, service was excellent. We came on a Sunday night, so the owner himself was serving us. He was very affable, asked me what I liked, refilled my water without me asking, and very sincerely asked us a few times if everything was okay or we needed anything else. He also seemed to note when there was a lull in the conversation or we didn’t have food in our mouths to come over, so he wasn’t interrupting — which I really really appreciate!
The food was good, but not the best Indian I’ve ever had. I ordered my dish to be the spiciest possible, and on a scale of 1 to 10, it was only a 6.5. The pricing is higher for dinner and than other Indian places, but the portions are generous accordingly. The naan is the best I’ve ever had though: incredibly creamy but with a hint of smoke from the tandoor.
There’s a full bar and a tv screen that they put sports on, and happy hour with drinks starting at $ 3 and interesting appetizers (masala fries?) for half price. It seems like the main draw to this place is the lunch buffet.