Paradise India

Well I regret that this review is coming way too late in the game. Seeing that I have been patronizing Paradise India since it’s inception. But I had not gotten around to writing a review. And today I received word that they are closing shop.
Nothing like the regret, and awareness of a loss to kick me in the pants of motivation to write.
So MY experiences at Paradise India have ALL been positive. I have been fortunate enough to have had some type of interaction with the owner all but two of my visits there. AND I have experienced both the buffet for lunch, AND the ordering from the menu dinner. I normally would likely choose the dinner over a buffet in most situations. But from my experience here, I actually prefer the buffet. Granted, this is all based on circumstances (those of my dietary restrictions).
For ME to be able to actually participate in a buffet is a rarity. My very first visit I still remember because I felt like a little kid. The owner walked me through the entire buffet showing me WHICH items were gluten free & dairy free. It would have been easier if he had just pointed out which ones were NOT. For the first time in years, I was actually able to have choices for my lunch (& a LOT of them that particular day). I know I went home with a stomach ache. But it was not Paradise India’s fault. It was the fact that I went up to the buffet at least a total of four times before finally having to call it quits. I had forgotten what it felt like to be ABLE to eat whatever I wanted (& I took it a little too far with quantity).
Luckily I only did this twice, & the remainder of my visits to the buffet within the next four years all showed at least moderate restraint.
I have dined there WITH non vegan /​non gluten free diners. And in each instance, they, too, were satisfied with their meals.
I still have my favorite Indian dishes, depending on the restaurant. But I really do feel like Paradise India was able to satisfy my Indian cuisine craving. I mean — they EVEN brought me gluten-​free BREAD options (two of them).
So for anyone with dietary restrictions, I would highly recommend going here. They are only open through the end of January 2012 though.
I also feel like perhaps their concept was wasted on the wrong part of town. I never felt like the other people dining were nearly as appreciative of the personal service, and the pride that the owner took in their business practices that I did. Maybe some day they will open up again in a new location?
For now, I am sad to lose a place with potential (& options). But I am glad for the time that I did have to enjoy an Indian buffet once again.

I rely on other peoples reviews so much and I’m not very good at taking the time to post a review myself. But this restaurant was so terrible that I am taking the time to warn people. My daughter and I went for dinner after hearing about this restaurant on check please. She and I love Indian food. Well, I can’t comment on the food because we never got that far… the hostess gave us bizarre explanations on why we should leave and not eat there… from staff walking out on her the night before to only serving people that had ordered take-​out, and she asked if we had a reservation which we did not, but there were only two other people in the restaurant! The menu looked awesome, they had a lot of different naan choices, but we left. We are back to going to Korma Sutra, there’s one off of Metcalf (west side), close to 435, in a strip mall. The owner is funny, kind, they appreciate our business, the food is great, and we leave happy. Go there if you want to have a nice Indian Dinner. If you are North of the River, Swaggat’s in Zona Rosa is also awesome Indian food!

it wasn’t the best Indian I ever had, but by far not the worst. the server/​owner came over and gave us a piece of paper explaining how everything is fresh and made to order.
we decided to do vegetarian. everything was pretty good. it was a little surprising how quickly everything came to our table.
I think our server was REALLY overbearing, but it was amusing to hear him explain what naan was to the table by us.
wouldn’t rush back here (there are much better Indian restaurants in the area) but wouldn’t mind coming here again if I am in the area and just craving Indian. they do have a buffet.

Paradise India aims to tbe the healthy, organic alternative for Indian cuisine. No MSG, No Pre-​Prepared foods, no microwaves… The owner will explain his philosophy on food preparation if you are interested.
The food itself is really tasty, Swadisht is the word in Hindi! The other thing that I appreciate is that you won’t be dehydrated afterwards because salt is kept to a minimum and MSG is not used at all!
The best thing about Paradise India is the naan. I travel to India several times a year on business and Nann is supposed to be thin and crispy, not fluffy and thick… Paradise India has a great crispy naan…
My Indian friends who now live in the US are always complaining about the Naan at most places because it is so thick… I can hear them now… «Someone needs to tell the cook to stop being lazy and to get his hands up in the Tandoori and pound the Naan thin. This thick naan is pure laziness!‘
I don’t do buffets so I can’t comment on the lunch buffet. The thing that I really like is that Paradise India will prepare your meal to order even during lunch. Many Indian places in KC only offer the buffet during lunch…
I really like the owner, he is a super nice guy. Indian culture is different enough from American culture and some people might find his personality a bit odd. Embrace the fact that he has passion for the food he offers and that he wants to make you happy while you are in his restaurant and you’ll have a great time talking with him.

This place has some decent Indian food, but my few visits there have never produced anything worth writing home about. It’s all fairly average as far as creativity… like most Indian restaurants, it has all of the normal dishes you would expect (tandoori, korma, saag, etc.) but nothing that pops out as special or inventive.
The ingredients are good and they taste fresh enough. If you order it spicy, it does come spicy, which is always a good thing! The naan and rice are average… not the best and not the worst.
The service is OK… not overly friendly but efficient enough to make up for it.
KC is not really a mecca of Indian food, and JoCo is even worse, which is why I still do come here. It’s definitely better than Ruchi, but I need to find someplace new. Heard that Korma Sutra was good… must try that one next time.

Amazing food, incredibly nice, attentive staff, owner is a true Gem! This is, arguably, the most amazingly flavorful Indian food I have ever had. I am a huge fan of Indian food — this is a whole different experience. So many layers of flavour, so many nuances, so much high quality food. WOW! Their lunch buffet is outstanding, their menu is excellent. I LOVE THIS PLACE!

I recommend Paradise India to everyone I know. The lunch buffet has a great variety for a great price. Our first visit was during a busy Friday dinner service and we did wait a while for our food, but the wait for excellent, freshly prepared food is always worth it. We try to stop in once a month.

I love Indian food and my very considerate in-​laws are always on the lookout for places with lots of vegetarian options, so this was the place we chose to eat while in town for a concert.
It’s in a rather nondescript strip mall, but the inside is decorated in rich crimson and golds. It’s very clean and definitely looks like an Indian restaurant, except for the host, who was definitely not Indian!
We sat down and gave our drink orders and decided to order several dishes to share family style. There were 6 of us and we ordered 4 dishes plus 3 orders of naan, and we probably should’ve ordered more. We ate every morsel!
The menu is HUGE with a lot of choices, including many, many vegetarian dishes. They also make a point to note which can be made gluten or dairy free. Very good practice with so many people having dietary restrictions nowadays.
The vegetarian dishes that I tried were vegetable biryani (rice with vegetables), muttar paneer (tomato based sauce with peas and paneer, indian cheese) and aloo gobhi (potatoes and cauliflower in a sauce). The vegetable biryani was my least favorite — not many veggies in it, basically like fried rice without the egg. It was a little better with the raita that they served with it. The muttar paneer was really good, not too spicy (we ordered it mild), and with a lot of paneer. The aloo gobhi was perfectly cooked — potatoes and cauliflower not crunchy like they can sometimes be. Very tender and delicious! The naan was good and the portions were generous (I’d order 1 order per 2 people to get a generous portion). Some were a little burned but overall were good. There were a lot of different kinds of naan there to try which would be interesting to go back and order.
The service was impeccable — they had small water glasses and we drink a lot of water, Indian food aside. They kept our glasses filled bymaking at least a dozen trips to refill. We kept them on their feet! Two people came to check on us (maybe managers/​owners) and see how things were.
I’d definitely go back!

What a nightmare! My boyfriend and I went to this restaurant last night for dinner. Before last night, it had always been one of our favorite places to eat.
I had a promotional coupon offer (Groupon) to use but when I informed our server (who is also the manager/​owner) of this he went into a ranting, yelling tirade about how I needed to make a reservation, how I can’t expect to get something for nothing, that he uses Groupon to get new customers (which, admittedly, I’m a regular) and that he has a business to run, etc. He then went into the kitchen and began SCREAMING (in Hindi) at his staff. People at other tables in the restaurant looked very uncomfortable. He wouldn’t talk to me the rest of the night even though he was our server. He would only speak to my boyfriend — «how does it taste, SIR». We also noticed that our dinner portions were considerably smaller than the other times we were there when we always had leftovers to take home.
The last straw (even for my very patient boyfriend) was that after we paid, the manager came to our table, said he’d undercharged us $ 3.00 for our meal (which he did although my version of the menu did not have the taped-​over higher price) and that we needed to leave him an extra $ 3. He also told us that the restaurant requires a tip of at least 10%. We didn’t use the Groupon, left $ 3, no tip, and left.
I’ll never return there. Too bad because I really loved their food. Thankfully, Groupon gave me a refund:)

Service is hit or miss. Food is wonderful — delicious, flavorful and fresh. Preparation takes a while, so order ahead if you are going to take out. If you plan on dining in, make sure you aren’t in a hurry. I personally think that the lunch buffet is larger and offers more of a selection than other Indian buffets in the area.

Really a great restaurant. Lunch buffet, dinner dining out or take-​out, they are a good option for indian in the area.

The dinner I had here last night was very good. Everything is very fresh and spiced perfectly. I don’t like cilantro and the server made a point to make sure no extra cilantro was added to my dish. We tried 3 different types of naan, each one was very good. Next time I will order just one extra type of naan being that you get naan with your dinner as well.
The sign outside said that they open at 5 pm for dinner. Their website said 5:30 pm. They indeed did not open until 5:30 pm.
Overall, great food, great service! And they have a great lunch buffet!

Buffet style, food was average. Service was poor. It was clean and warm so that gives it two stars at least. Atmosphere was that of a strip mall. I wasn’t real impressed. It had the usual selection. Everything was ok, but I’ve had better and the service brought it down to two stars.
I came here because of the reviews but left disappointed. There’s better Indian food out there and maybe the problem is that it deserves better than a budget buffet.

This is one of the few Indian restaurants in the Kansas City area that serves a variety of Indian dishes from the North and the South. My Indian fiancée and I have been wanting to try this place for awhile and was happy to see a Groupon deal for it.
We came here for an early Sunday dinner about 5:30 P.M. as we had skipped lunch that day and was starved. Our first impression was very strange as there was no one in the restaurant. Not even the employees. After we purposely made some noise, they eventually heard there were restaurant patrons.
After scanning the extensive menu and debating what to order, we were excited to see that they offer a thali which includes 2 vegetables that are the chef’s choice, rice, yogurt, 1 chapati, and dal. Unfortunately, they did not offer it that day. We went for the vegetarian dinner for 2 that includes samosas, Mulligatawany soup, garlic naan, 2 vegetable dishes, and dessert all for the price of $ 32.95.
The samosas were huge! I was skeptical at first after the initial bad impression of the restaurant and my previous experiences that large samosas = lots of tough breading and only a little filling. However, the crust was surprisingly thin and the samosa contained a lot of the nicely spiced potato and pea filling. The soup resembled dal (a yellow lentil soup) and was a bit bland. Once we added some lemon juice, it tasted a lot better.
We ordered palak (saag) paneer and something we’ve never heard of called takari diwandi handi — dish prepared with seasonal vegetables cooked in a savory vegetable sauce. Turned out the vegetable sauce was pureed spinach so we ended up with two dishes that contained spinach. The owner noticed and offered to switch out one of the dishes for another. We decided on malai kofta which they cooked for us promptly.
Neither one of us quite understood his long-​winded explanation regarding the restaurant’s philosophy when he started talking about how their food is spicy and not hot. We had ordered our dishes very spicy and it was definitely hot. We did appreciate they make their own spice mix, do not use MSG, and cook their food with canola oil. I wasn’t thirsty after eating like I usually get when I have MSG-​laden food. We also didn’t feel sick after eating which can be common with heavy Indian food.
Overall a strange first impression but they made up for it in the service and the delicious food. I would have given it 5 stars if the soup had more flavor and the garlic naan contained fresh garlic instead of garlic powder and flakes.

Really dislike Ruchi’s…just poor quality. This place is refreshing in contrast. The owner/​manager is very friendly and slightly eccentric, but the food is awesome! We went here during their lunch buffet and weren’t disappointed. I’d definitely recommend it for anyone seeking good Indian food in the Leawood/​Overland Park area.

We pick up from here about once per month. Absolutely love the Lamb Vandaloo — great spices. One point of caution is they are not fast… Be prepared to wait for your order — I guess it’s worth it to know it is fresh and that makes the food taste better — but eating here (or picking up) will take some time before the food is ready

We went here for Valentine’s Day Dinner– the lighting is dim, and the menu was printed too small (my eyes aren’t THAT bad) so we asked for recommendations– we got the dinner for two, with the Butter Chicken and the Chicken Vindaloo– which was good, but the Butter Chicken was out of this world! GOod mix of spices and flavors, and topped it all off with a bit of Mango Ice Cream! They also offer buffets at lunch– I would definately return. It was affordable and a good value.

On a holiday trip I ended up here as a result of a relative’s recommendation.
I’ve not yet been excited enough about a place to motivate me to write a review on Unilocal,although I do use the service to find great restaurants all over the west coast, so its only fair that I contribute something back.
This is the best indian food i’ve ever had, with the possible exception of a home cooked meal made for me once by a coworkers wife, which was on par.
Although the owner does *slightly* over-​explain the food and his philosophy to an audience he assumes has very little exposure to natural food, quality fresh ingredients, and indian food in general, i guess that might be fair for the demographic of the region.
An unusually large, by any standard, selection of vegetarian options. Service so doting we joked that we were at a much fancier restaurant, but it had none of the pretension or the cost of that.
And, yes, the food is deserving of a five star rating. Everything was made with a sort of home-​cooked love. Delicious spices. Great textures while being presented without excess oils so common in indian foods.
I only wish I could bring my Indian friends and coworkers from seattle here to show them that there is some truly fine indian food in the states.
Of particular note were Chana Bhatura, an unusual northern fermented bread puffed up and served with chickpeas. simple, uncommon, very nice.
Vegetable Samosa Chaat, unlike what you would expect from a standard samosa, covered with an exceptional spiced sauce.
Palak Paneer, although I would expect that any of their Paneer dishes would be similarly great. I appreciated that when I was asked how spicy I wanted this, given a scale of 1 – 10, when I asked for a 12, I was only answered with a smile and a very spicy dish. (only do this if you are crazy like me for food so spicy it makes you cry)
Everything else we shared was also excellent.
The Chai is not oversweetened, and is apparently bottomless. Also very nice.
Overall a great experience and highly recommended for those who like indian food, for those who like vegetarian food, and for those who like a meal prepared with love from great ingredients as if being made for you as a very special and personal meal.

Due to the recent economic situation, I decided to subscribe to my Mom’s philosophy of dining where you have coupons, and found myself at Paradise India for the lunch buffet.
Another day, another Indian restaurant for me, right? Wrong. I never read other reviews before I write mine, but I had for this particular location, and since they were mixed, I kept an open-​mind.
The buffet was huge, and I saw warm offerings of my favorites; Korma, tandoori chicken, chicken 65, and then a ton of new options that will remain nameless, because I am not that good (but they were).
I thought everything I had, and yes it was plentiful, was perfect. The brochure I took boasted that they offer lots of traditional Indian dishes, that aren’t necessary American favorites. This was a perfect way to expand my taste for Indian cuisine, and again the reason I love Indian buffets.
The restaurant was expansive and they offer space for large parties.
Overall, my experience was great, and I think Paradise India is a great place to try out different Indian dishes that you may not find at other local restaurants. Also, hit up their website for a coupon, so you can put a little extra gas in the tank to get there.

I just went for lunch today. I have to say that I was disappointed. They aren’t any special than other Indian restaurant in the area. I’d say Korma Sutra was so much better than this one.
The things I like about this place — new and decorated nicely (not Indian like though). Their desserts are awesome, Rita is pretty good too. The waiters are nice and attentive.
Things they can improve on
1. Fix the over dried rice cake
2. Reduce the price on Mango Lasi (3.50 for a tall glass is way too expensive). All other restaurants have it as complimentary.
3. More selections on the items, there’s very little vegetarian items on the buffet
4. Cooler air condition. For me it was ok but for my father, the place was too warm for him. The place was not busy at all so I’d expect the AC works better.
Overall, I am disappointed and I don’t think I’ll ever return again.