Cafe Spice Express

I cannot say enough good things about Café Spice Express. I eat lunch here 1 — 2 times a week. It is an excellent value and the food is prepared from scratch with high quality ingredients — all very healthy. I have eaten the whole range of vegetarian and non-​vegetarian dishes. I certainly have favorites, including biryani and chicken tikka masala but the menu sides change up daily so there is always something different to try — you don’t get bored. I have even taken to ordering some of it for delivery to meetings at my building.
In a word — YUM! :-)

Once in awhile, I pop in here for some decent, relatively inexpensive Indian food. For essentially «mall» food, it is superior. When compared to the Platonic ideal of an Indian dish, it is average. The sauces are rich but could be more vibrant. Sometimes the veggies (typically, anything with cauliflower) are over-​cooked and mushy (still flavorful just texturally challenged). As others have observed, the naan is quite good.
Overall, a decent lunch choice.

This place is amazing. Not only did they special order make me palak paneer they knew me from my call ahead request. And the prices are the cheapest of any Indian food I’ve ever had but they do not skimp on quality. The taste is so good and the workers are super friendly too. I will ALWAYS make a special trip here for lunch when I am in Philly. They gained a loyal customer today.

Not amazing, but probably best option in this food court.

I saw the Indian film «The Lunchbox» and have been craving Indian food so I went to Café Spice Express since it is conveniently located in my work building food court. I have had their food before and it is good. They still have combo deals, which is nice, but now they also have mini-​combo where you get your entrée of choice, basmati rice and naan bread. I prefer Vegetarian dishes and tried Dhingri Paneer. It was mildly spicy and very flavorful. The only problem with an express restaurant like this is, there is no given day when they make certain dishes. Whatever ingredients. My favorite Curry dish is Saag Paneer and he said to stop by on Thursday. Ithink their food is flavorful and a good deal for lunch. I think it is authentic too as I see lots of Indians lined up to eat this food. Yes I will be back. It’s a good deal.

I prefer other indian places over this, but for a fast food joint, it’s not bad. I’ve gone here on a few occassions (only during lunch when I’m at work. wouldn’t make a special trip here), and each time, it’s been pretty good.
The naan can be a little hard sometimes, but it’s free so I shouldn’t really complain.
The spicy items they have there have a nice kick to it. I wish they had more items on the spicy menu, but it’s usually pretty standard. Either a spicy veggie or a spicy chicken entrée.
Service — really fast, as they should be. It’s in the heart of a working district in a mall. You go up, tell the lady what you want, and you pay. Nothing fancy.
Dessert — I’ve only tried their free ones and I wasn’t really please. It was waaaaay too sweet. But again, it’s free…
I’ll def be back esp when I’m craving indian during work!

This is the best value for Indian food within prolly at least a ten block radius. The best thing I’ve had is the mushroom paneer curry. I had malai kofta too and it wasn’t bad, but I’ll for sure mix it up next time. Get a couple curries, rice, naan, and a complementary rice pudding (Wednesdays only?) for like 8 bucks. It’s not India cheap but on the other hand you wont end up with a next level stomach parasite for life.
Indian food is my jam, mostly because it’s the best thing humans have figured out to cook, and this slop is legit. As far as Indian goes, this is right about average, maybe slightly below, but that still makes it well above average as far as food in general is concerned. The price makes this a solid 4 star shop.
It’s on the second floor in Liberty Place, right where all the other food is, dummy!

Not a bad place to pick up some Indian food for lunch. I enjoyed the malai kofta, soft tasty vegetarian «meatballs» in a creamy sauce. Also tried a paneer dish in an orange-​coloured sauce and it was just okay. Lamb was not very good; it was on the tough side.

I got the non-​vegetarian combo with chicken tiika masala and lamb pepper fry — Surprisingly good for being in a mall food court

i miss this place a lot!!! i used to work in liberty and i would stop by once a week. now i work a few blocks away so i don’t really have a chance to get back there.
first off the people who work here are awesome! they remember you! they would always tell me what had dairy and what didn’t — just ask them! they have a vegan option every time I’ve ever been there. my fave is the yellow Dal — every time they had that available i would order it. it’s good.
the food is cheap and decent for a mall — it’s not like the best Indian food I’ve ever had — but good enough to keep me coming back and missing them! PS on Friday they give you like a free dessert or something… it has dairy so I’ve never tried it.

If you work or live in this area, this is a good choice for lunch.
I would recommend the Chicken Tikka Masala — which is excellent (mouth watering) — the rice and naan is good as well.
They have a lunch discount card — after a set limit of visits — you eat a meal for free.
The staff is pleasant and sometimes they through in freebies with your order — like a small desert.

While suffering from a rather severe cold with useless tastebuds, I decided some Indian food would probably do wonders for clearing my sinuses and being something I could taste.
Not gonna lie, I was a bit skeptical when my boyfriend pointed me to an Indian place in a mall food court.
I’m also not gonna lie that I’m not entirely sure what I ordered. I got whatever the mixed vegetable was because it had garlic and ginger and the chef’s version of some chicken. Came with rice and naan. Whatever it was, it was spicy as hell and cleared me right up for a few hours. It had some really awesome flavor and was very filling for about $ 9.
It’s pretty good considering it’s like the only Indian spot in Center City. If you’re in the mall I definintely suggest it!

The best curry in Center City. They regularly have goat curry and briyani slow cooking in the back for lunch. Both are excellent — order either and you will not be disappointed. I wouldn’t say that about just anywhere.

Café Spice Express is my top Indian restaurant in Center City. Notice I said restaurant even though this is disguised by being in a food court. It’s all a farce to keep it less crowded.
The lamb entrees are the best unless they have their chicken chili. I love spicy and these guys don’t disappoint. There are hidden menu items that you don’t notice right away, so ask them if they have the bone-​in goat.
Don’t knock the lunch club and coupons they give out which will get you a regular free meal if you keep coming back.
I’m knocking off the last star for not having poori, and having some breads listed that they really don’t make because it’s too slow.

Considering that it’s a food court, I lowered my expectations when I went here. I’ve had two meals here so far and both of them were just about average
The naan is the only recommend-​able item in this place. Everything else tastes like it’s been sitting there for a long time.
The naan plus vegetables were a decent fare for about 8 bucks. The chicken tikka masala was decent. However, I also took a mixed vegetable curry which is the Indian curry version of the chef salad and it was terrible. It left a weird after taste and the vegetables tasted like they were rotten. I would definitely not get that again
The next time I was there, I got the veggie biryani for 8 bucks. Considering that it cost that much and was vegetarian, I expected a decent sized portion. All I got was a tiny sandwich box with two cupfuls of biryani and a small box with some raita (which was good). The portions were so small that I didn’t even feel half full and I had to go out and get another meal to finish my lunch
Overall, the taste of the food is average but worse, the portions are incredibly small and do not justify the price

I’ve seen this place, but always dismissed it because it’s part of the dreaded «food court» food group in my mind. I pictured oily, tasteless Indian but a rainy day and glowing Unilocal reviews inspired me to try it.
Overall, I am pretty impressed. They had a ton of vegetarian choices, maybe even more to choice from than the meat entrees. For $ 7 I got a hefty serving of rice, two veggie entrees, and a giant piece of naan. The paneer was in some kind of creamy, ginger sauce that was sweet and a little spicy. I could have eaten a bowl of it as soup. My other entrée, vegetable vindaloo, was equally as delicious and actually spicy! I am so tired of Indian that is so Americanized for the masses that there is no trace of spice or heat left. They gave me a coupon for $ 1 off my next visit when I paid, so I plan to head back on a Friday to check out this free dessert I keep reading about.
Overall, cheap, filling, delicious, and close by. If Café Spice starts offering whole wheat naan and brown rice, I might just bump this up to five stars.

Swung by Café Spice Express again today on my lunch break and was pleasantly surprised — much better experience than last time. The Chicken Tikka Masala was tasty — slightly sweeter than what I’ve had at other Indian restaurants, which was nice.
The bread was super fresh and the vegetables were well spiced. Rice was still very good. It was Friday, which means they were giving out free dessert! Today’s was a coconut rice pudding, perfect choice to cool down the palette.

I made the mistake of never trying Indian food until today. I lived in London for a summer in a sea of Indian food and, regrettably, never sampled the goods. Today I decided to turn it all around. Today, I decided to venture outside of my lunchtime box (as in, a tupperware container of rice and veggies) and hit up Café Spice Express. Brilliant idea.
I got the vegetarian sampler and for a modest $ 6.75 (after tax), I two decently sized entrees, a bunch of rice, naan, and a free dessert. I opted for, in lay terms, potatoes & green beans and cheese in tomato sauce. So delicious. I like flavorful, stewy dishes and these were just that. When I was in college I went out with a guy for about two minutes that loved Indian food and I always felt out of the loop. I’m glad I can now be part of the Indian food party.
I worked in «the mall» from the age of 16 to 22, so I’m pretty familiar with food court offerings. Extremely familiar. As far as «food court» fare goes, this is pretty good, ranked far above Panda Express and Sbarro’s low-​grade pizza (unless it’s a heavenly Sbarro’s buffet in a rest stop in Delaware that I went to one time) and just below Taco Bell. Four saucy stars.

This Indian outpost in the Liberty Place food court serves up decent, CHEAP Indian food. Not the best ever — but certainly a good option considering the other choices in the food court.
They always have samosas as well as vegetarian and chicken entrees that rotate. (Chicken Tikka is usually available)
Good rice!

If you’re a vegetarian who works in center city, this place just might become your best friend… at the very least, it’s the best vegetarian option at Liberty Place (and if you’re a pregnant lady working in center city with severe indian food cravings that strike at random, it might be your best friend too… but I digress…)
Like Sara, I usually get the vegetarian combo — you get your choice of two dishes (from at least five vegetarian options, which change daily), a large portion of rice, and naan. Personally, I really like the naan but it might be a little too fluffy for purists.
Other stuff: They have a punch-​card reward program where if you buy ten combos, you get the 11^th free. The manager is a really nice guy too and will recognize you after you’ve visited a couple of times. Oh, and don’t be put off if you’ve visited Café Spice in Old City and been underwhelmed — this little sister version is cheaper and has better food.