Bay Leaf

The food is AMAZING. We had the lunch buffet which is very reasonably priced, fresh, and stocked to the brim. There are also multiple awesome vegetarian options. The service was very warm and friendly, and the atmosphere is nice and welcoming. I will definitely be making this one of my regularly visited restaurants!

Tried Bay Leaf for the first time and was not disappointed. We came for the lunch buffet which offered an abundant amount of choices. Everything was delicious. The staff was very nice and attentive. Will definitely be returning for more!

Very yummy! Deff will go back. Just wasn’t too happy when the waitress touched our naan to put it in the «to go» containers.

Best Indian food I have ever eaten!!! The service isn’t fast but they are very nice!

Service and food were absolutely perfect! Portions are petite, but priced to match, so order extra if you’re feeling very hungry. Or, save room for delicious desserts. Can’t wait to go back!

OMG. I hope this place never leaves. Indian food is the best and they do it perfectly! They are also the nicest people ever! They have such great customer service! I go all the time!

DISCLOSURES: Best Indian food that we have had in the US! Seriously, if you like Indian food or feel adventurous then you’ve got to visit this place. If you’ve lived in New Bern for a few years and haven’t eaten here then you’re really missing out. Before we decided to give these guys a shot we were very hesitant because of the reviews regarding quality of service. However, we were BLOWN AWAY by both the food and the service. I emphasize up front that these guys offer some of the best Indian cuisine in the world! Highly recommend checking them out.
We walked in shortly after 6 pm and were the third guests of the evening. With that said, service was excellent. The waiter was very attentive from beginning to end. We ordered the vegetable samosa, garlic and cheese naan, butter chicken, lamb roganjosh, mango lassi, and chai.
The vegetable samosa and the sauces were outstanding; comparable to the best we’ve ever had. In line with the best we’ve ever had. The sauces were the best ever!
The garlic and cheese naan was different. It was more like a pizza. That’s new. Usually the cheese is placed inside the naan not on the top. Texture and consistency wise, terrific. Very good. Also some of the best naan.
The butter chicken was incredible. At a spice level of 7.5 stars, this thing was exploding with flavor. Really outstanding curry! Everything about it was epic.
The lamb wasn’t really my thing and the husband agreed that my curry may have been only minimally better than the lamb. It was still packed with flavor but the lamb could’ve benefitted from about 20 minutes more heat to soften a bit more.
We needed two plates of basmati to get all of the curry down. The spice level was perfect. Maybe even a 6.5 would’ve worked. Both curries were a 7.5 but felt like the butter chicken may have been an 8.
Mango lassi is a no go. Too thick for our taste. More like a smoothie really.
The chai was a true star. Best chai award goes to these guys. Oprah and Teavana need to try what real chai should taste like.
NOTE: the place began to fill up beginning at 6:30/6:45. Perhaps showing up early would yield the outstanding service? No complaints on our part.
$ 50 and absolutely worth every penny.

This is a nice place, especially for a small southern town. Many have talked about the food and the staff, all of that is true. The service is slow-​ish (by impatient American standards), the food is good and worth the wait. They ask you what heat/​spice level you want and I think that is a nice nod to American palates.
The flavors are complex. My wife and I were talking a few days later and both admitted that perhaps its one of those things where our ability to taste the «nuance» of all the complex spices isn’t quite mature. We are going to remedy that by having Indian/​Nepalese cuisine a little more often.
Let me take a moment though to celebrate the courage of the immigrant community. I cannot personally imagine packing up my stuff, traveling to some small town in another country where I may not be fluent in the language and setting up the pulled pork joint (a dish I am good at). Those who would want to build walls or other barriers are perhaps simply afraid of competition. I would instead prefer to enjoy the fact that these folks are here and contributing.
Of course I don’t want to «give» anyone a handout, regardless of where they are born. I do however prefer a world of opportunity to make their own way. Our restaurant options are all the richer because someone from somewhere else took a big, big gamble.

We got there around 2pm and had the buffet and also a couple things from the menu to try. Some of the buffet food was cold and didn’t taste all that fresh but even with that, it still had quite delicious and balanced flavors. I hope to go back soon and will make sure to go closer to the lunch opening time.

First let me say that the food was awesome. Now the rest of the review. Service was a bit slow. This restaurant was completely packed. So packed that we were forced to eat at the bar which wasn’t a big issue for me. We waited for about 10 minutes before any one came take our order. We waited for 55 minutes before our food came. I would probably come again but only for the lunch buffet.

All I can say is the staff is always nice, professional and most importantly make you feel welcomed and like family. The food is awesome, our server recommended our dishes and they were outstanding. Perfectly prepared and I highly recommend this restaurant to everyone. Great place.

Tried Bay Leaf based on Unilocal reviews while visiting New Bern. Honestly, I was skeptical, as we live in Raleigh with no shortage of awesome Indian restaurants. Bay Leaf is small, but well staffed & the personal attention we received was top notch. Serviced is slow, but well worth the wait! Have a beer, relax. You can tell the food is freshly prepared, as you order. It has not been siting around for 2 hours waiting for you to arrive. We had saag paneer, butter chicken & garlic/​cheese naan. Each dish had a depth of flavor we have not found in any Raleigh restaurant. Prices were on par for other downtown New Bern establishments, and we felt the quality of the food was well worth the price. Now, I’m sad Bay Leaf is 2 hours from home! Awesome restaurant, great night out.

First of all, I think that the food there is amazing! I was a loyal customer and did not mind the prices on their food, which are pricey, about $ 18.00 a dish. I had been there about 7 times before and would have probably eaten there another 7. However, on my most recent visits, I noticed that their customer service began to drop. On my last visit, which will be my last visit, I asked if I can have more rice and the older lady there, I believe she is either the manager or owner, said NO. I was confused and shocked when she said this. Her response was, 1 dish only rates 1 side of rice. I have never had this issue before, so I was surprise when she said «NO». She was rude and very disrespectful, in my opinion, because I paid $ 18.00 for a dish, $ 4.00 for bread, and $ 7.00 for a beer and I couldn’t have a bit more rice. ARE YOU KIDDING ME! I was not alone during this dinner and our total bill was almost $ 100.00. They definitely lost a loyal customer, all for a bit more rice. That’s why they get 1 star and hopefully they get their s#@t straight.

This is an excellent place to have authentic indian cuisine. I love the beef byriani and my fiancé always gets the beef curry. Both dishes are so delicious I haven’t even wanted to try anything else. We did try the lunch buffet one afternoon and we’re a little dissapointed after having their dinner. It was okay but not as good as ordering off the menu.

Order was wrong. Attempted to explain it to Ruby. She stared“just try it”. Eat it. You’ll like it. Just eat it. Very dissatisfied No effort or attempt was made to make things right. I will not frequent them agaob

The food was good but we had to wait over 1.5 hrs to get our food. The service was awful. No one greeted us as we came in and were unsure where to sit as it was fairly full. It took 10 mins for someone to acknowledge us. We were there for 2 hours and only ate for 20 mins of it. Next time, I will try the lunch buffet which should be quicker service.
Overall: Food was good, Service was bad!

Food is amazing, but the service needs some help. There is 1 server in the whole restaurant. 2 helpers, but they are not allowed to do anything but give water or clear a table. This makes it a bit difficult with a full restaurant to get anything done. Other then that, food/​flavorize I highly recommend it

Excellent service and great quality food. If you like spice, start with the medium because mild doesn’t have much of a taste. I highly recommend the weekend brunch. I haven’t found a dish disappointing — the chicken tikka masala, biryani, naan, paneer, samosas were delicious

My family and I went to Bay Leaf for their lunch buffet.
We are vegetarians and were very pleased with the variety of dishes that were available on the buffet line. The food was excellent, I was particularly impressed with the Palak paneer, which was tangy and flavorful.
The restaurant venue was clean and inviting.
The only thing holding me back from a 5 star review is that the service was a little slow and that the buffet was not ready until 11:20 despite the restaurant opening at 11:00.

Never been there, but just tried to make a reservation for my husband and I for our anniversary. The lady said they don’t take reservations for two, which I tried to explain makes no sense. After some begging and pleading, still no dice. Granted, I wasn’t very nice when I hung up. The lady called me back to thank me for my call and hung up on me mid-​sentence.
Anyway, something seems off about this place. If the people are that rude, I wouldn’t want to eat there anyway!