Kastoori Grill

Me and my work colleagues went there for lunch, We like it so much that we went dinner the same day. Food there is excellent, very friendly environment. Definitely a excellent place for Nepalese and Indian food

We ordered chowmein, momos, chicken vindaloo, garlic naan and onion naan. Chowmein doesn’t come close to indo-​Chinese version. Noodles were over cooked. Momos were okay but just tasted like dumplings. Chicken vindaloo curry tasted like nothing and looked like (not tasted like) tomato soup. Naan was too thick. Food needs to have flavor for me and I will not be ordering from here anymore.

This is the only full-​service Indian restaurant in the core downtown area, at least since Pabla shut down. Also conveniently located near pike place, it appeals to the tourist crowd.
Since I work nearby, I have come here a few times for their lunch buffet, as well as for a-​la-​carte dinner after work with my coworkers.
I feel sorry to say that it is one of the worst Indian food I’ve eaten in Seattle. Earlier I thought only the buffet was bad, but even the food off their menu wasn’t better. Even though they have a lot of buffet options, most of them are very simple and lack flavor. Only one or two dishes have been even worth eating. If you go toward the end, they food has been out for a long time, and has become cold.
The only reason I’ve given them two stars instead of one is that the servers are very polite and attentive.
Even though they might be gently crowded with tourists and office-​goers, I’d recommend giving this place a skip. I personally will not choose to go back here.

I will never forget the meal I had here. Food is full of flavor and balanced with spices. I live close by and happened to come across this cool restaurant during a stroll through downtown. Kastoori Grill is located downtown at Pike Place/​Post Alley area. So convenient for me! We ordered the palak paneer, basmati rice, and Nepalese chicken dishes. HOLY SH*T dinner was amazing! My favorite was the Nepalese chicken!!! Full of flavor! Like chicken masala with fresh herbs and crème or something like that LOL. Great service and friendly people. I prefer the dinner over the daily lunch buffet. Don’t judge this place by the lunch buffet… COME HERE FOR DINNER and order from the menu. I’ll be back.

Buffet was okay. Not many items. Ambience should have been better. Restroom was filthy.

I really like this place. The people who work there are legit and the food is delicious.
The palak paneer is buttery and flavorful. Not the best I’ve ever had, but very good! The shahi paneer was reamy and flavorful. The garlic naan was great!
The ambiance isn’t overly fancy, which I like. It’s comfortable with excellent service. We’ll be back!

They took our reservation when their restaurant was closed. We were a party of thirteen on Christmas! Totally bad way to run your business!

Would have given one star, but everyone working there was so nice, I don’t have the heart. I hesitated writing a bad review for a long time exactly because everyone is so nice, but I realize that with all the tourists in the market? They’ll stay in business. Let them nab the folks that don’t know the difference. I’d like to warn the folks who do: If you know and love Indian food, take the extra time to go somewhere exceptional, like Chili’s South Indian Restaurant in the Udistrict, or Traveler’s on Beacon Hill, or even Aahaar in Snoqualmie. (It’s a lovely, scenic drive, and the food is excellent!)
The food at Kastoori is some of the worst Indian food I’ve ever eaten. Truly bad. So bland as to be almost completely tasteless, unfortunate textures, and heavy-​handed with sugar, salt and food coloring. My mango lassi was a color I can only describe as «Traffic Cone Orange». It literally made my stomach turn and I had to throw almost the whole thing away. I absolutely /​hate/​wasting food, so I took the majority of what I had ordered home and put it in the freezer. After a few months, I had to admit I just couldn’t face it, even doctoring it up with my own spices! I finally relented and threw it all away. :/​
If you love Indian food and know how it should taste, turn on your heel now and RUN AWAY!

I was hesitant when I heared this was an all you can eat Indian buffet. But… this is one of my favorie lunch places downtown! The fish chilly and the chicken tikka masala (butter chicken) is awesome. Affordable good food. Dont forget the mango ice cream or rice pudding for desert.

I REALLY wanted to like this place because it’s across the street from my office but it was probably the most bland Indian food I’ve ever had in my life.
Service was really good! Naan was perfect. Wish the rest of the food was as good :-(
I hope it was an off day for them and will give it 1 more shot.

Great food. Very home made and still very tasty. not that heavy for Indian/​Nepali food.
The Goat curry was awesome. Khasi ko masu

Incredible Himalayan food, the Aloo Chat is to die for.
Fast service, as if we were the only ones there. Felt like the entire staff was catering to us (which they do cater)
I DARE you to try and empty your water glass, they wont let it happen!
The garlic naan is a must!

One of the better places for lunch buffet in downtown Seattle. Getting fresh naan delivered to table is considered high end buffet experience. Besides a good variety in vegetarian and non-​vegetarian dishes, soups and desert add to the uniqueness. Lamb and goat dishes bring in certain followers to this grill. Staff is friendly, efficient and engaged.
Usual observation of extensive use of half & half and watered down curries found in most Indian restaurant buffets is less pronounced.

Worst food I have ever had in US and worst attitude by the hotel manager and chef! Unilocal didn’t allow me to give 0 stars, else that’s what this place deserves.
The food had no appropriate salt and spice, and the quality was pathetic. On top of it when he called him to provide feedback he says «it’s your choice, you choose to come here» and asked his employee to give us the cheque and asked us to leave.
Will never come here again!

Excellent Indian food at this small restaurant that’s nearly hidden in plain view where Belltown and Pike Place come together. My girlfriend and I dropped in here for an early dinner and we loved it.
Upon entering, the dim light and low ceiling almost gives the impression that some remodeling is needed, but once you get to the dining area it brightens up with warm yellows and maroons, along with many silkscreens decorating the walls. The booths are roomy and comfy.
The menu seemed, to my untrained eye, to focus more on Indian than on Nepalese – not a criticism, just an observation. There were several pages of enticing Indian options; my GF chose the kastoori curry with shrimp, and I got my favorite, mutter paneer, and some plain naan. She also got a house cab and I got a pint of kingfisher beer and a chai tea.
Our food arrived in a quick and timely way, and the entrees each were placed atop little heaters with votive candles to keep them warmed throughout – we thought that a nice touch and rather elegant too.
The kastoori curry was magnificent. The kastoori spice (a rarity from the Himalayas according to the menu) and other ingredients gave the dish a lovely tanginess and rich, deep flavor. The shrimp were a touch overcooked and tough, but they were so delicious, we were thrilled with them. And the mutter paneer was a nice complement – sweet and creamy, with the contrasting texture of the paneer and peas. The naan and rice were perfect, and kingfisher is a mighty fine beer, too.
We got our dishes 4 stars out of 6, a.k.a. «medium hot,» and we both thought it not particularly spicy. This presents a tactical dilemma for our next visit… I’m a little concerned about how safe it is to extrapolate to 5 or 6 stars; if I order spicier next time, will the cooks think, «okay, tough guy…» and give me something that will lay waste to my mind, body and soul? I don’t know, but I am determined to find out.

Nutshell: Super good food, very affordable, excellent service.
There are plenty of places to meet-​drink-​eat in this neighborhood, but we were hungry (and I was getting cranky). We passed by so many places and looked at so many menus, but nothing piqued my interest. Then I smelled something delicious. I grabbed Husband’s hand and said, «This way,» and we followed my nose to Kastoori Grill. We loved every bite.

I saw the reviews for this restaurant and was looking forward to eating here. Family was in town visiting from out of state (I thought it always rains here?) and we were going to plan a day downtown doing all the usual touristic stuff that tourists like to do. I thought this would be a good place to stop and have lunch since they like Indian and Nepali food.
There were 9 of us, including a friend visiting from Korea and two small children. Since Kastori Grill offered a buffet we thought that would be perfect so we could eat quickly and get back to all of the site seeing… (Oh look, the space needle!)
PROS: As far as being able to accommodate everyone they were able to it quickly which I appreciate. They also were good at filling up our water and bringing bread as needed. The staff were very attentive.
CONS:
First of all, I noticed that ALL of the sauces seemed to be runny or not as thick as they should have been. I do not like watery sauces, especially in anything like a curry dish. I noticed that in some of the dishes the meat seemed to be in tiny pieces as if it was possibly shredded so it was next to impossible to actually get a nice chunk. I say there trying to find chunks and was not able to. I could understand this if the food was sitting there for a while but they just brought this out!
Overall I felt the food was bland and watery. It was desperately lacking in flavor. Having been to India and Nepal I have tasted good food and this is not what I expected. This place was a total let down.

My dinner tonight was easily some of the most delicious, flavorful, authentic Indian food I’ve ever had in the U.S. I had the vegetable pakoras and vegetable korma. The décor isn’t super trendy, but it doesn’t need to be. The food is the only thing to need to focus on, period. I don’t have enough good things to say. If you’re in Seattle and aren’t getting your Indian food fix here, you’re messing up.

Came to Kastoori Grill with a friend for lunch during the work week and this was a little gem I didn’t realize was there. Located at the end of Post Alley near Pike Place Market off 1^st & Stewart. Surprisingly, the place was pretty busy with the work crowd which seemed to be a good sign.
Its a $ 10 lunch buffet, but you can order from the regular menu if you want. Good amount of buffet selections from tandoori chicken, curry chicken, veggie pakoras, eggplant something, and a few more different delicious curry dishes. They offer desserts as well such as delicious mango soft serve and a mango pudding thing. Naan isn’t complimentary with the meal but it is served fresh and hot. They just drop it off at your table without you even needing to ask.
Its not the best curry I’ve ever had but a pretty good spot for a lunch and especially at that price point. Service was fine with water refills, removing plates and separating checks which is done at the front. Feels sorta like sitting in a basement but whatever, and my clothes smelled like curry when I got back to work, whatever on that too!
Overall, its a pretty decent lunch spot if you feenin’ for a curry.

Date of service: Dec 15, 2014
Meal: Lunch, Eat in
All Ratings out of 10:
Quality of food: 8
Food to Spend Value: 8
Quality of Service: 8
Overall Rating: 8
I complain regularly about the lack of good Indian food in downtown Seattle. You can go to the east side, or down to Renton, up to U district or Northgate, and even up to Lynnwood and find really good Indian. There always seemed to be a dearth of it downtown, at least until I discovered Kastoori Grill.
Kastoori Grill looks very unassuming from the outside, and it is actually easy to miss. It is kind of on the outskirts of the Pike Place tourist trap zone. I passed by it while walking in the area, checked Unilocal,saw very positive reviews, saw they had a lunch buffet, and decided I had to go. And boy was I glad I did.
The lunch buffet here is amazing. It is well laid out with quite a few options, and the food is hot and fresh. The sauces are thick and rich and full of spice and flavor. They bring fresh naan to your table which is a huge plus. There was a nice variety of vegetarian and meat dishes, including a number of curries, chicken tikki masala, saag paneer, and tandoori chicken. The pakoras were also delicious and very crispy and flavorful. They offered both rice pudding and gulab jamun for dessert, and I naturally had both. They also made a very nice mango lassi.
The food was delicious, hot and fresh, and of superb quality. It is a buffet so there isn’t a ton of table side service, but my water glass was always full, the naan was brought to our table fresh, and the buffet table itself was always stocked and fresh. The price is also right at just under $ 10 for the buffet. I also tend to judge an Indian place by whether Indian people actually eat at it or not, and I saw quite a few during lunch which I also consider a positive sign. I am pleased to say there is good Indiandowntown, and I cannot wait to return.