Anil’s Maharajah Lounge

The restaurant appears to have changed name to Anil’s Maharajah Lounge. The group I hung out with nearly two weekends ago happened upon the place and decided to check it out. Apparently, we were not only in time for happy hour with some appetizer and drink selections half-​price, but also for the restaurant’s second day operating under its new incarnation. I must say, what did transpire did take away some happiness from happy hour, namely, our server not knowing completely how the specials worked, and worse yet, not being able to keep on top of everyone’s orders. She only rubbed salt into the wound by making excuses for this being her first time to work in an Indian restaurant. I would think of this much differently if she had just apologized and went on to rectify things (which she did anyway, but with the excuses).
However, despite the service challenges, Anil’s promises so much with great, great flavors, and nice combos. I had a small plate of grilled shrimp, along with a white wine – one of the Australian selections (if I’m not mistaken, it may have been a Wolf Blass Riesling). For the table, we had a mixed variety of samosas, tandoori fish, among others I can’t recall. One friend ordered a blue crab curry, of which I had a really awesome taste. Other folk had the Taj Mahal bottled beer (I believe that was part of the happy hour special), and other dinner selections I can’t remember either.
Truly, I wish I could give more for this establishment, star-​wise. The already good cuisine, along with a smoothing of the service issues should be the hope for some great Indian dining experiences to come in downtown Santa Rosa.

This is *thinks for a moment* yes, my favorite restaurant in Santa Rosa. I love the décor and the food. The owner, Anil, is very involved and checks on the tables to make sure everyone is doing well.
It’s just great Indian food. It’s not as cheap as some of the other Indian restaurants in the bay area but it’s also classier.
I hate that it’s closed on Mondays and Tuesdays now. Without fail every Tuesday I get a craving for it but oh wait, it’s Tuesday.

In there for 20 min, and left after they told us we are short handed. Really bad service… Do not go…

I hate the food!
2^nd review: how weird Anil (owner) replied to my review commenting re what i wrote. As a Unilocaler, i wrote accdg to my experience there, and still 1 star. I did not like their food! Dont expect all positive reviews about your resto mr. Anil

I had been to KaCH for the erstwhile lunch three times, and found the food to be very tasty and satisfying. The staff was very attentive and pleasant, advising us on the different dishes. I understand that the lunch buffet was part of their marketing program when they first opened and was not making much money, but I thought that was pretty common in the industry. I’m sure it would be great for dinner, but is a bit too pricey for me to consider except for once in a great while.

I just found out that lunch is no longer served at the Kabab & Curry House. Times are tough…

Does anyone find my review of this place rude? Its interesting that instead of the owner or manager taking our thoughts into consideration, he actually wrote me a rude letter. Another owner reviewed a different review and he actually thanked me for coming in. Some people’s ego’s sure do get bruised. But its his rude email that will definetly never take me back.

We were here for my son’s birthday. The food and the service were both excellent. We had a large party, so we ordered quite a few dishes. They were all delicious. It is a little pricey, so we wouldn’t choose to eat here every day, but for a special occasion, it was a good choice.
They have a very interesting cocktail menu, too. We only had beer, but I plan to go back and try some of their drinks.

Hmmm. One star. I must be in a generous mood today.
I had lunch yesterday at Kabab & Curry. Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of Indian food. However, I am always willing to try anything several times when it comes to food.
I arrived at the rear entrance of the restaurant and was greeted by a flickering light that one of my co-​lunchers quipped was enough to trigger a seizure. That may have been the high point of the meal.
After looking for something good on the menu, I ordered the prawns marinated in some sort of lime thing. After the waiter was done mocking my pronunciation of the order, he was quick to tell me that yesterday was a good day to order it, as the marinade happened to be fresh that day. Lucky me to get fresh food! Yippee! I really don’t expect it when I go out.
Well here’s what I got for my $ 15.00 order.
Three shrimp, not prawns, that were so grossly over cooked that we can safely call them vulcanized.
A few leafs of some sort of greens with a sickly sweet dressing on them.
An ice cream scoop of some sort of rice that smelled and tasted what I would imagine long unwashed pubic hair would smell and taste like.
So how’s the atmosphere? Well, I was treated to some man in a hair net looking like an extra from Colors lecturing other diners on how he was the first person ever to offer home loans online. I would assume he was the owner. Perhaps he should have stuck to that business.

This was the first place I had ever had Indian food & the experience was the greatest. The staff was super friendly & willing to answer all of my questions & the food was outstanding as well as beautiful to look at. The restaurant is gorgeous and the outside seating is great for people watching.

I, too, enjoy the food here. The lamb is good, the rice is done perfectly, the chicken is moist… but the PRICE. Uggh, I just can’t afford the food. I really enjoy the upscale atmosphere, and the great music. And the service is rather slow here.
I agree with Sarah T, the food is just basic. The naan is not up to par with other indian places I have been to. If they would lower their prices then I might feel better about eating here.

We’ve been here a handful of times and have watched it simply deteriorate in quality since it opened. At first, we thought it was a matter of inconsistency because it seemed that chefs were coming and going at a rapid pace. Unfortunately, our last experience was the absolute worst and considering the hefty price tag, we simply can’t justify going back or giving it yet another chance.
It seems the owner, Anil, has good intentions and is making some changes to the layout of the place to attract more customers– but until the food improves, I can’t see how these otherwise «superficial» changes will pack the place. The food should speak for itself and if it’s memorable (in a good way), folks will come– meaning, the will come even if you don’t have a «happy hour» and cheaper small plates.
I wanted desperately to (politely) tell Anil the truth about the meal we had– but I knew it wouldn’t go down very well; he’s protective of the place to the point of being pushy and I couldn’t imagine him actually interpreting my criticism as constructive. There’s nothing more enticing than the thought of a fantastic Indian restaurant in Downtown SR… and so, like any owner/​manager reading Unilocal reviews in their spare time, Anil must understand that folks aren’t going to complain or contradict him out of spite; we want good restaurants in our town and get in front of the line to cheer them on even when they aren’t excellent. Our last meal was so terrible that I could actually rank it on my top 10 «worst of» dining experiences– and mind you, I eat out a lot. Clearly, if I went there knowing what kind of money we’d have to drop, I didn’t want or plan for this scenario. Simply put, it was an utter disappointment and I feel very sad about it.
As far as Unilocal,I wanted to go into detail about the foods we actually had and how stunned I was with the poor quality– but I think a few general words will suffice: reheated chicken «tandoori», soggy, over-​dressed, tasteless salad– basically, the so-​called «shortcuts» are showing in the food quality and they would certainly benefit from having an Indian chef once again.

Maybe people’s reviews are based on their Indian food experiences. I think for Santa Rosa, this place is alright. However, I have lived in Berkeley and San Francisco, and I fear I’ve been changed forever — I have a higher expectation of what good Indian food should really be.
This place is not amazing Indian food. It’s basic. It’s VERY overpriced for what it is.
And even though Anil makes a nice attempt at being present and attentive, I still wasn’t impressed by him.
I’ve been there twice and both times thought things took a little too long. I was disappointed by what I got for the money I paid. Finally, I was just plain disappointed by the food. It wasn’t bad — it just wasn’t «WOW THIS IS SO GREAT.»
So…eh. I’ll pass. I’d rather go to Sizzling Tandoor.

My fiancé and I were looking for a nice restaurant to go to after tasting wine at Ledsons. Our travels took us to Downtown Sonoma, where we wandered into Kabab & Curry House. We were greeted by a very well dressed staff, that was kind, courteous, and pleasant.
We ordered some delectable treats including chicken masala, lamb kabab, and tandoori. Everything was to die for delicious! No wonder they have received so many awards for their food and wine.
The chef and owner Anil came out and greeted us, and we had a wonderful time chatting with him. Such a decent hard working man — you know, the ones that don’t get the accolades they deserve often enough.
Don’t let the bad reviews fool you — some people just have bad attitudes.
This restaurant rocks and we highly recommend it for some of the best Indian food and kind hearted staff that we have come across.

I just got back from Kabab and Curry House and wanted to let folks know about something really weird about this restaurant.
We ordered a meat dish and a vegetable dish, naan and raita. At the end of the order, the witer stated, «Would you like rice?». We sais yes — because, of course, all indian food includes rice. I actually even stated, «Just basmati would be fine.» so there would be no confusion that we wanted fancier rice like Biryani.
The food came and it was excellent, including the rice that was very mildly spiced. We were commenting that this was a find and that we would be coming back again. Then the bill came. On it was Palao for $ 9.00. We called the the manager over and said that there was an item on our bill that we did not order. «Oh no, that is the rice. It is made with saffron and that is why it is expensive.» 2 orders for $ 4.50 each — 2 orders equaled less than a cup of rice. My husband replied that we have saffron at home and we know what it costs.
The finest 1 cup of rice and the best saffron in the world would not be $ 1.00 in ingredients. I asked the waiter if he didn’t understand me when I asked for just basmati race. «We don’t serve plain rice, this is the only rice that we have.» Well, wouldn’t the time to tell me that would have been when I ordered it? The waiter preceeded to to whisper, twice, that we weren’t the first people to complain about the rice price. Which makes the whole thing even more ridiculous. How easy is that to fix.
When restaurants work so hard to get people through the door, the idea that rice in an indian restaurant would be the price of an entrée and that wouldn’t be explained to you when you ask for plain rice — well, let’s put it this way, the advertising dollars they spent to get us through their door was wasted. We won’t be going back. When they are out of business in a year or two, my husband and I will know why.
So to sum up — excellent food, priced on the high side with a real zinger of a price on ok rice. And no apologies from the manager or waitstaff.

Decent food, friendly service. Our waiter, bless his cute heart, was a young male who must have memorized the menu and everything about it. He was knowledgeable to the point of the being rehearsed, but I appreciated it.
For decent Indian food in SR (albeit a bit pricey), check this plate out.

Avoid this place at all costs. The food is overpriced, a la carte so you barely get anything, and it’s VERY mediocre. It’s kind of sad this is considered by many to be the best Indian food in Santa Rosa — it’s by far the most average Indian food I’ve ever had. I gave it one star only because it was okay — just over poor.
But the real issue was with the owner and manager, Anil. What incompetent and appalling behavior he displayed to us.
We were a party of 8 people, with advance reservations. Upon the arrival of the first 3 people in our party, we had two bottles of white wine and asked for ice buckets at the same time they were seating us. The other 5 people came within a few minutes.
Unfortunately, the ice buckets did not come after 15 minutes, so we asked again to ensure our wine would be drinkable by the time dinner was ready, if not earlier. 10 minutes later, we still had not received ice buckets from our second request. So we asked again. And again. And again. Another 15 minutes went by (45 minutes since our first request for the ice buckets), and finally the server brought them — but with only about an inch of ice — not nearly enough to chill a couple ounces of wine, nevermind an entire bottle.
As we already had our appetizers by this point, and obviously could not drink the wine with those, we asked for more ice to ensure we could drink them with dinner. 5 minutes later it had not come. So we asked again. And again. And again (notice the pattern?). Eventually, after asking the server and the owner twice EACH for more ice over a 15-​minute time period, we asked a busboy and he finally got some for us.
By this point, we already had our food — and had JUST gotten the ice to BEGIN chilling the wine. The owner of the restaurant very rudely came up to us in his attempt to save face by pouring the wine after the nearly HOUR wait for the buckets and ice, but of course we could not drink it — it wasn’t cold and we told him this repeatedly. And any «fine dining» establishment (as he mistakenly referred to his restaurant as) would know this is horrible wine service, nevermind being in Sonoma County. So then he tried to turn the tables — «well apparently you don’t want the wine poured so why are you complaining»? We couldn’t believe our ears, that he would be so ignorant and quick to shift the blame to us rather than taking responsibility.
By this point, we were all getting fairly riled up, and let me tell you, we are GREAT customers. Cool-​headed, we’ve all worked in Customer Service (restaurants, tasting rooms, Retail, bartending, you name it we’ve done it). ²⁄₃ of the way through our dinner the wine was finally drinkable. When the manager returned, I politely asked that he reconsider charging us the $ 15/​bottle corkage fee that is typical of BYOB wine service. Considering we didn’t actually GET wine service, we felt it was incredibly unfair to pay them a DIME for the wine we brought in ourselves and could not even be served for over an hour. The corkage fee is for the work the service staff does to ensure your wine is poured with your meal — so obviously this did not apply to us whatsoever.
Well, the owner became irate that I would ask them to waive the corkage fee. Honestly, he was embarrassing himself. Not wanting to ruin my friend’s birthday, I went to speak with him at the bar instead of at our table. Whether it was because I was young (23), or female (which obviously changed his attitude towards me), he became angry, defensive, and downright rude — to a CUSTOMER.
I’ve never seen such a horrible display of customer service in my life — all from a man who has «been in the restaurant industry for over 30 years and has worked all around the world». I was embarrassed for him by how cowardly, condescendingly, and disrespectfully he spoke to me — a customer that was part of a party whose total bill came out to $ 300 — making him quite a pretty penny. He only waived one of the corkage fees — «to get me out of his face» and only as a «favor» to us — he never felt he should have to waive the corkage, and never apologized for our repeatedly ignored attempts to help get our wine open and drinkable.
Sadly enough, the restaurant was practically empty — only 4 tables, and 2 servers. It was not busy in the least, and still to this day none of us can figure out why they flat-​out ignored our requests!
At the very least, we have all very openly told many people of our experience and the thousands of dollars that Anil will lose in his business far outweighs the $ 15 corkage that he so adamantly refused to reconsider.
Furthermore, a few of us there work with one of the most well-​known restaurant critics here in California — and a slew of other wine & food pairing educators that were even more appalled by the service than we were. They’re helping us spread the word to avoid this restaurant. No self-​respecting owner would treat customers as such.

Driving through downtown Santa Rosa after a day of wine drinking erm… tasting, we spied the kabab and curry house close to the corner and adjacent from the Plaza. Parking was a little more ridiculous than I was expecting it to be (nothing but paid spots and 90 minute parking lots). But make a right on the corner and park (illegally) in the Plaza parking lot opposite from the tattoo parlor. You’ll need the two block walk to work off some of the calories that are inevitably going on after dinner.
They have an outdoor section for patrons so-​inclined, but it was a bit windy that evening and we didn’t want to chance it. After drooling over the promise of lobster kababs, in we went. And immediately we were greeted by the old world décor reminiscent of the rajahs and the east india company — complete with paintings of medieval indian scenes and a solid wood paneled bar with lots of glass everywhere. Tables on one side, booths on the other. Pleasant enough ambiance, was my take on it.
They have an upstairs section as well, but that seems to be for large parties of people. A musician (more like a DJ the night we were there) is in attendence as well, and what looks suspiciously like a spittoon recommends that patrons tip him. Since I couldn’t figure out who the musician was, that suggestion went unheeded. Later I discovered it was an older gentleman who (I was informed) normally plays the sax — but that night had forgotten his instrument and was instead playing a CD player with some pseudo indian music while he rang a temple bell and played some buddhist cymbals. That whole scene had the feel of hippies in the 60s doing the hare krishna thing, and the best I can say was the music was mellow enough that I didn’t take umbrage.
The menus were well appointed with only a single typo — that identified a «fried» item as a «friend» — giving us some mirth. I was pleased to see that the menu included a goan shrimp curry in addition to the many tandoori dishes and so thats what I went with. We had the assorted Kabab platter for an appetizer, while my friend ordered the changezi (lamb) kabab. We had a rice pilaf and garlic naan on the side. For desert I ordered the Rasamalai.
The waiter wasn’t the most knowledgeable about the differences between fennel and fenugreek, or the deal with cardamom. But he did make a valiant effort and kept asking the chefs — with pretty decent results. In any case, we avoided his suggestions and went with the aformentioned. When the food showed up it was of excelent quality, piping hot, and the meat was fresh and succulent. As a carnivore, I was quite happy. There were some veggies as well, which I potated as we went through the meal. The shrimp was the kind I’m not allergic to, so that was a good thing. And it was definitely flavorful. It was just the right level of spicy as well.
The meal wasn’t cheap — about $ 50 per person, and the drinks were unimpressive for a place with a full bar. My friend got a glass of wine, while I stcuk with the Makers and Coke. Note to restaurants — when a man orders a M&C, get out a manly glass. Those stupid ice-​cream float glasses are unacceptable, and how am I supposed to taste the bourbon with that silly fluting?
On the bright side, with those prices they have to take plastic — so they do: apparently everything including Amex. And they’re quick to clear the table and switch from course to course. Silverware includes curved knives — perfect for cutting meat and fit the ambiance well. Stoneware plates complete the ensemble.
All in all, a place I’d recommend for a nice sit down meal — but go family style instead of individual entrees. And make sure you ask how spicy the food is going to be. Plus order more food since the portions aren’t very big. Just what the doctor ordered after a day in Sonoma.

Gourmet Indian food at its finest!
Don’t let the name throw you off, it doesn’t do justice to the quality of food they turn out.
I’ve eaten here a dozen times already and every time the food is excellent, super fresh, and the wait staff thouroughly professional. They grind all of their own spices on premises; their mango lassis are to die for; and they have a better selection of excellent desserts than any other Indian place I’ve ever been to.
Prices may seem high but it’s only because most Indian places don’t serve food on this level. Despite the price I find K&C House an excellent value.

This restaurant has excellent Indian food. So far, it is the best in Santa Rosa that we’ve come across.
The ingredients are fresh, not overly oily, like some lower end Indian restaurants I’ve been to.
We usually order medium hot dishes here. The waiters are attentive, the owner is always around and usually introduces himself to each table.
Although the name of the restaurant sounds like your regular cheap and greasy Indian food dive, it is completely the opposite. It has excellent reviews from Metroactive, and many people say it is the best Indian restaurant here in Santa Rosa.
It’s more expensive than the usual Indian dive, but that’s because the ingredients are fresher and it’s not greasy.