Minar Indian Restaurant

I love their Rava Dosa and Idly. Sambar is not typical South Indian but you can eat. Good place.

Minar has pretty decent Indian food, not the best or the freshest. If you go for lunch you might get a good batch. Around dinner you’ll just be getting cold food that’s been sitting on the buffet line all day.
The chicken vindaloo here was my go to for a while but the prices have been going up (I know it’s already cheap but if the prices are up the food quality shouldn’t deteriorate).
Why one star? Because I can’t put none and I really want people to know this: I recently witness that the management here treat their delivery staff like crap and I just can’t stand that. They are hard working individuals that should be treated with respect. Will never order from here again based on that alone. Order from Basera instead it has high quality food.

I tried chicken Tikka Masala meal for $ 8.95 plus tax and it comes with your choice of either rice or 1 piece of naan, a «salad», and little cup of yogurt sauce. You order here as if you’re in a cafeteria, where you pick stuff that is sitting out in hot trays while someone scoops it out for you.
The sauce of my chicken tikka masala tasted okay, a tad more on the salty side rather than buttery tomato side but passable. But man are they ridiculously STINGY with portions here. If you get the meal entrée they put it in the pint size plastic container for you. The lady scooped only around 5 bite sized pieces of chicken in the container and then just kept purposely scooping sauce in to fill the rest of the container… Okay… And their salad is also kind of a joke. It’s a literally a few pieces of raw lettuce and onions wrapped in tin foil. It really isn’t worth the almost $ 10 you’re paying after tax.
I’m willing to give it one more try to see if their other foods are any good, but otherwise I’d recommend pay a few dollars extra to go to an Indian lunch buffet elsewhere. Also the place is kind of dreary looking, but I guess that’s not particularly important for a place like this.
But the perks of this place is that they take credit card and there’s absolutely no line even at lunch rush hour at 12:30pm, what a surprise…

Got the onion cheese masala dosa. Would not get this again. Cheese totally flavorless. But staff were pretty nice and the dosa fulfilled the minimum requirement of stopping me from being hungry. Other food looked good so I may go back & try other food. If you are eating there and can’t finish your food, they’ll give you a to-​go container for 50 cents :(

Did you know that minar Indian restaurants all get there food made in warehouse in Astoria Queens? I personally love Indian food, but when I see minar and a saffron thread vans loading up pots of food made in a very unsanitary environment, it sickens me. Why? My only thought, that precious A rating the city gives to clean establishments cooking to code. If your not actually cooking it on premise then no mess. Absolutely Disgusting, I reported this to the city a year ago and still nothing. Enjoy people, enjoy food proclaimed fresh cooked on premise that is actually cooked in a warehouse in Queens.
Unilocal executives, what can be done?

Oh Minar. You hurt me so. I walk by and see your empty restaurant and it hurts my heart because your food is so tasty and plentiful. But I’m going to have to drop a couple stars because 1) I rounded up in my first review and 2) You are skimping out on me every time I come by. I always get the non-​vegetarian combo that includes rice/​naan, two meats, 1 vegetable, 1 salad, and 1 raita sauce. Now, their «salad» is kind of sad. It’s literally some cabbage/​lettuce pieces and raw onions. Like, maybe less than a handful of it. Did I mention it also comes wrapped in a foil tube? So odd. What makes this all worse for me is that even though I have come by multiple times before the same cashier, I have to constantly ask for the things that comes with my meal. Why are you making me fight for a skimpy salad and sauce every time I order? They should know to include it in my to-​go order. It’s not like they could «forget» each time. I don’t understand why they advertise their meal includes something when they don’t provide it. I tested them multiple times to see if they provided it and they never do until I ask. One time I saw an Indian guy get all the stuff included right in front of me when I got nothing. I’m sick of feeling guilty and cheated every time I order, so I don’t think I’ll be coming back anymore.

I go to Minar for the lunch specials from the steam table. There’s the two meats with one veggie option, and there’s the three veggie option. You can get one meat and two veggies, but you’re paying for the two meats.
I’m not a vegetarian, but I’ve found that the vegetables are more reliable flavor-​wise than any of the meats. I’ve had the chicken cilantro there come out so salty as to be almost inedible. The dals, however, are always good.
My only regular grief with the lunch specials is that the women behind the counter are usually pretty skimpy with the portions. Each portion is a scant ladle, and you’re really filling up on the rice. I ordered the naan lunch once, and it seemed I got more per selection. I wouldn’t go there for dinner, but it’s fine for a quick lunch spot.

Decent indian place with reason/​cheap prices.

The best Indian Restaurant in New York since 1987. The price is reasonable
and the food delicious. My favorite is Chicken Makhani, Rice Spinach,
Paratha, Keema with Peas, Cauliflower and Potato. A clean cafeteria
setting.

A mainstay in the lunch arsenal… Great dosas, tasty veg plates and nice people.

Macron Café on 36^th Street has great salads…
I never got my order and they called my boss accusing me of keeping the food!
I’ve ordered many times from seamless and everything’s been great… Until yesterday when they lost my patronage for good! I placed an order, called 1hr afterwards to check on the status and was told that the delivery guy had left 2 or 3 minutes ago and was on his way. So I gave him 30 more minutes before I called again. I was then told the delivery was about to be here an second. When I questioned this fact I was rudely hung up on. 10 additional minutes later (coming up on 2hrs now) I finally called seamless to cancel the order. Good, great, all done now right… wrong! After eating a new lunch my boss received a call from Minar. She had placed an order many hours before, gotten her food and enjoyed it. They asked her why I kept the food if I cancelled the order! They continued to press her about my order finally hanging up after she said, «I saw him get and eat a salad! What do you want me to do about it!» My salad from Macron Café never tasted so good!
Dear Minar,
If there is a problem with someones order and you take issue with something perhaps you should reach out to them and not someone else who has recently ordered. In addition, certainly do not accuse the person of keeping food they never received.
Sincerely,
An Ex Customer.

Two reasons I choose this place over the other nearby places. they take credit card and I find that the food is tastier.
I always get veg options. Never disappoints.

REALLY AWKWARD EXPERIENCE!!!
This place is just steps away from my apartment, so I would sometimes run in and grab take-​out quickly if I didn’t feel like having dinner. The food was okay, but I never had a horrendous experience like I did the other day.
I ordered from grubhub, where a 15% tip is automatic, and given that I have worked at a restaurant, I ALWAYS make sure to tip more. However, when I ordered from this place, the food took about an hour to arrive, and then when I opened the door, the delivery man handed me the food, and then just stood there. I said thank you, but then he asked for a tip??? Super awkward given the fact that I already given one! When I told him that it already went through grubhub, he YELLED AND GLARED AT ME, and then stood there again before I finally eased the door shut?
Literally an entire 1.5 mins later later, he finally took the elevator down, and I was TERRIFIED. I tried to contact the restaurant, but they didn’t care. I was really scared — this guy knew where I lived!
I was pretty shaken after this, but I crawled back into my room (locked the door), and saw there was TWO TINY CUBES OF CHICKEN in my little «chicken tikka masala» that I had opened. FYI, The chicken tikka masala tastes as if you’ve taken a chicken breast, boiled it for far too long, and then soaked it in tikka masala sauce. Also, the «salad» is just an onion and lettuce wrapped in aluminum foil.
I don’t review on Unilocal for any reason but to help others. Order from here at your own risk…

I order on
because it’s easier for me to place my order.
This is my favorite place to order from when I’m craving Indian food during work. My co-​workers and I go crazy after the shahi paneer… We just love all the flavor and bold spices with the soft and yummy naan… It’s hard to stop yourself from eating.
During lunch we get the lunch combo– which consists of one veggie and one meat dishes or two veggie dishes served with naan and rice. Because it’s so much food, my co-​workers and I share the meal… You get so much food with the lunch special.
When ordering online you can request white meat if you want the chicken tika, they are good with that.
I do have to mention that if you are ordering for lunch… You need to order around 11:30 — 11:45am because the delivery takes about an hour. Also, if the building you are in requires ID for deliveries… Make sure you state it in the notes or tell the person over the phone. The guy doesn’t carry his ID with him.

Ordered delivery via
Food was expected to come within an hour, it took over an hour and a half for the food to be delivered, and I work only four blocks away.
On top of that, I called twice asking about the status of my order and was ensured both times that it would be there within five minutes… I got my food over ten minutes after the last call.
As for the food itself, it was ok, nothing special. Oh and I forgot to mention THERE WAS A PIECE OF A PAPER TOWEL IN MY RICE. Yeah so I got half through and tossed it. DISGUSTING!!! Be wary when you order from here.
My food was cold when I got it. And the chicken curry I ordered was all sauce and no chicken.
Welp… Now I know.

Solely on Seamless orders:
Sometimes I would order three times per week. Sometimes my colleague and I would order together. Sometimes I had it yesterday and was craving them again today. It’s safe to say I LOVED Minar and their awesome lunch specials. Chicken tikka, chicken makhani, naan, rice, salad. I no longer work close enough to order from them — which makes me mildly depressed every time i crave indian. … I’ll have to stop by and sit in.

My co workers enjoy this place but I don’t… Maybe I’m ordering the wrong things. The only thing I like here is the dosa which is still not as good as ones you would get in queens … But for midtown lunch, it’ll do.
Their lunch hot foods aren’t as great as some of the other Indian places closeby. I find their tikka masala to be dry and meh. The lamb was tender though. I have also heard good things abt the biryani. Other than that food price is on par with lunch in this area and seating area is not very large.

I don’t know how long the food had been sitting in the steam trays when I came in, but it did the job of filling my belly relatively cheaply. I got the non-​veg platter with minced lamb and chicken tikka. For veg item, I got the aloo-​gobi, by far the best thing in the plate.

Veggie lunch platter special is the winner! $ 12ish bucks with tax and tip on seamless. Can’t go wrong and there’s so much food.
My go-​to is aloo gobi and aloo muttar. love that aloo, baby!

Ordered Minar through Seamless last week mostly because I wanted something other than my usual salad or sushi for lunch. Delivery took 45 mins, which was within the estimate but I was hoping it’d be faster since they are only 3 blocks away from me. I had the chicken tikka masala lunch with samosas and overall the meal was OK but clearly flawed in a few ways.
They give you a heck of a lot of food for $ 12! Got a good-​sized portion of the tikka masala with plenty of chicken, a big piece of toasted naan, 2 samosas with 3 different dipping sauces and a side of lettuce & peppers. The samosas were pretty yummy! The sauces were really good: there was a sweet brown sauce, a yogurt sauce (which was a little watery but otherwise OK), and a green sauce that was my fave, pretty similar to a Mexican green sauce. The naan was fine (but it’s hard to go wrong there).
Now on to the negatives. The food arrived pretty cold. The masala sauce was very watery (it’s supposed to be thick, no?) and the chicken inside, which usually should absorb the sauce flavor while cooking, was bland and underseasoned, as if it were an afterthought. HOWEVER, when I ate my leftovers for dinner, the chicken was much better & definitely benefited from chillin’ in that sauce for 8 hours. Another big problem: they let you specify whether you want mild, normal or extra spice when you order. I asked for hot & spicy, but it was mild at best.
I think I would order again when I get bored with the standard lunch fare & want something with more flavor, but I’ve definitely had better Indian food.