Spice of India

Place has CLOSED, and is now reopened under new management (and I believe a new name).
Not to be confused with Jewel of India up the Ave, or Taste of India up Roosevelt. Or the four other Indian places in the U District.

$ 7.99 lunch buffet on weekdays from 11 – 4.

I’m not so sure about this place. I don’t remember what occupied this space before Spice of India came here, but I get the impression that the restaurant is fulfilling a certain need. There’s like three Indian buffets north of 45^th on the Ave, and this is the first one that’s opened fairly close for UW students. But it feels like they’re having an Indian buffet just for the sake of having an Indian buffet near campus, and so while I appreciate having a nice all-​you-​can-​eat option without having to walk very far, I think I’d just go to one of the better ones if I felt like eating Indian food.
In the middle of July 2014, this place was hot. Seattle by itself was hot, but this restaurant did little to alleviate that heat. And so the most obvious thing about this place was that a large amount of humidity had to accompany the food and make for an uncomfortable experience. They had no fans, and the only way to cool down was to drink water. If I ever go back, I hope to see this problem fixed.
They have a selection of curries, meats, and vegetables with basmati rice to go along with it. How clean any of this is and how long it’s been sitting out there is anyone’s guess; you kind of just have to take their word for it that this food is okay. But I didn’t get sick after eating here, and I’ll take that to be a good sign. They also have plenty of Caesar salad which is great if you’re a vegetarian, but it’s kind of sad if you go to a buffet and have to resort to eating cold lettuce.
Overall, the quality of the food was just okay. There was nothing exceptional, although they did make me full at a low price. The same could be said about a lot of restaurants like this, though. If you’ve been to one, you’ve been to them all. Be sure to try these desserts they have called kheer and gulab jamun. Oh, and it was kind of funny to see the guy originally working at the copy shop quit that job and work here now.

Finally an Indian Buffett with spicy options! And, as a celiac, I’ve managed to eat here 3 times without issue, so they must be doing something right. Buffett changes a bit over the last two weeks… Veggie dishes and chicken mostly. The mango juice and mango desserts are great.

I happened to be on the Ave and was looking for a place for lunch before I had to go meet with someone. I decided to go to Spice of India since I had never been there before and I was desiring some Indian buffet. When I walked in, it was sweltering hot in there. Even though there was a fan blowing, it wasn’t helping at all. They sat me at one of the bar seats even though there were plenty of tables available. As I go to get my food I notice that half the containers are totally empty. I took my first plate hoping that they would refill the buffet by the time I came back. However, they did not refill any of the containers. I don’t know if they do this on purpose or not. Most of the missing containers were meat dishes. The food that I got was cold and the tandoori chicken was dry and the goat curry was extremely tough like it was old.
I noticed that the owner was mingling with all the other customers laughing and having fun. I also noticed that all the customers were also white except me. I waited to get a refill on my water, but no one came. Other customers had their waters refilled constantly. So as I left to pay my bill, the owner came to the counter and did not say a word to me. He did not even look me in the eyes. He just took my credit card and rang up the bill. Even though they didn’t deserve it, I gave them a 20% tip because I believe servers get underpaid. So I hand him back the receipt he puts away and just walks away without looking at me and no «thank you». I couldn’t help but think there was a chance that he had prejudice against me as an East Asian. I can’t say for sure. However, I noticed he was so talkative and welcoming to the other white customers and then gave me the cold shoulder for some reason. Overall, I had a terrible experience and I won’t be coming back here again. There are so many better Indian restaurants in the U-​District.

Not a place for vegetarians! But my non vegetarian friends said that the goat and chicken curries were good. No raita or green salad and very few options. I will not go back again.

Service was terrible, food was meh. I came for the lunch buffet. I had to ask to get cutlery, and then again to get water, and I didn’t even bother asking for a refill. They were out of clean plates at the buffet, and the staff was very off-​putting when I asked for one. And I’m not a person who minds indifferent waitstaff.
The food was alright, but the pakora was cold and hard as was the naan. I ate quickly and then got out. I wouldn’t come back again. If you just want a cheap Indian buffet, they might have better service when you’re there. But this place is not a charming dive, just a cheap restaurant.

Stopped by for the $ 8.99 lunch buffet. Food was 3/​5, certainly not the best I’ve had at an Indian buffet but it served its purpose. I will note selection was lacking as well — maybe only 6 or so dishes.
The worst part of the restaurant is the owner. Immediately after opening at 11am, several patrons who came in by themselves were asked to at the small, dinky «bar» to reserve the actual tables for larger parties, but there was no one else in the restaurant! Poor business practices.
Spice of India gets ²⁄₅ stars due to its convenience and proximity to UW and decent food. I can’t recommend this place and will likely never come back.

So far I’ve been here twice. I think of this place as an unlimited butter chicken and naan place. I skip everything else. Tandoori chicken is dry. The dishes are usually rotated but tandoori chicken and butter chicken is always there. Try going during lunch time when the food is constantly being replenished. I get good value for my money and end up spending $ 10 with tax and tip and feeling full. Service is a little slow in cleaning up pates though.
⁴⁄₅ would go again.

Excellent food!
Both lunch buffets and ala carte were good. Moreover quite reasonable. Suggestions — palak chicken, dal tadka, Dal makkhni. Enjoy!

The lunch buffet is awesome! I’m a big lover of Indian food, and I think this is one of the better buffets I’ve had. All of the sauces are thick and delicious, including the butter chicken which they have every day. And for $ 7.99 on weekdays, it’s a pretty great value as well, even if you only end up getting one plate. There always seems to be something there for everyone, too. Not just the cheapest/​least popular dishes on the menu either like some buffets have. The staff seems pretty nice, and they always have an Indian MTV-​like network playing on the TV, which can be kind of amusing at times. I’ve also witnessed the owner shoo away the pack of smokers that likes to stand right outside the door, so good for him.
My only complaint is that sometimes the naan and pakoras aren’t very warm, and if you go during peak hours, these items (especially the naan) disappear pretty quickly from the buffet. I’m not a fan of keeping an eye out for a limited supply of fresh naan to be brought out while I’m enjoying my meal, so it would be nice to have fresh naan brought directly to your table (perhaps upon request) like I’ve seen at other buffets. A few more dessert options might be nice as well. Otherwise I always leave this place pretty satisfied. I haven’t been here for dinner, but I’m sure it’s also pretty good.

Uhh… This place has gone downhill since its first few weeks. I came back for the buffet last week, and 3 — yes 3! — of the non-​meat options were potatoes in various forms: 1) Pakoras, which were all potato, no other vegetable 2) a dish of the same potato pakoras in a yellow sauce (no label on many of the dishes, so I can’t give you the name), and 3) fried potatoes. Really?
I had a similar issue with them the first time I was there, when there were two potato dishes, and was made to feel like it was a new restaurant mistake. I got it! But clearly it wasn’t. When my options are limited to half of the dishes (I’m a vegetarian) already, I sure as (beep) don’t want most of them to be so similar.
There was also a huge difference in the staff this time. Only one person appeared the whole time I was there, unlike before, when there were two servers plus the manager. Gone, too, was the feeling of celebration.
Gone, too, am I.

I ordered paneer tikka masala to go and when I got home I found a long, brown stringy object in my rice as soon as I opened the box. I took it back hoping for a refund because there was no way I was going to risk eating the rest of my meal. I believe it was a manager that gave me an excuse that what I found in my rice was just a part of bag the rice came in (I gave him that, but I was still curious that no one saw it before serving it to me because it was on top of the rice). He gave me the new rice and I walked away upset that I paid fifteen dollars for this kind service and food. I threw away the rice and I saved the tikka masala since it was so expensive. A couple days later I go to eat it, and it turns out they gave me pork instead of paneer. I’m a vegetarian. I will not be venturing to this restaurant ever again.

That’s not tandoori chicken.
The goat was horrific.
The butter chicken was merely passable.
The rice was lousy and lacked flavor.
The dal was unfortunate.
I guess they are lucky the other people reviewing this restaurant don’t actually eat Indian cuisine.

Went to Spice of India recently for the lunch buffet — super cheap and student friendly! The staff is very attentive and nice. The food is tasty and the place is bright and clean. Definitely check it out!

My friend and I decided to come check out the lunch buffet yesterday, which was advertised to run until 3pm. We got there around 1:30, and at the time they were running pretty low on food, but they made no effort to refill the trays with food. We also weren’t offered any na’an as with most other Indian buffets I’ve been to.
I’ve been to plenty of these types of buffets, and I get it – they don’t want to waste food so they don’t refill as often towards the latter part of the afternoon, however I’ve never been to a buffet where it was this bad/​awkward. By 2:00 (that’s a whole hour to go until the advertised end of the buffet!), half of the dishes were _​completely_​empty and just stayed that way. It caused some awkwardness because the place still had plenty of customers eating, and when they walked up to get food, there was really not very much to choose from and from what was left, it felt like everybody was shy about taking what little food was left because they wanted to leave something for other people.
Not a very pleasant experience. I will not go back again.

Really good Indian food! Especially the lassi, exactly the same taste I had in Jaipur. The price is fine and lower than the other Indian restaurant on the ave! Strongly recommend!
The only reason I give 4 stars instead of 5 years is that the nan we order was slightly burnt.

Actually it is my first time having Indian food and it is a really good beginning!
My friend and I have a nan, coconut curry, rice and tandoori lamb, they are delicious!
Coconut curry (with vegetable) — really strong taste of the combination of coconut milk and curry. It is better to have the nan and curry together!
Tandoori lamb– lot of lamb indeed! They use special cooking method, making the lamb tasty, thought the lamb is a little salty, it is delicious enough!
Big recommend!

3 ½ stars food with great service!
Checked this cool little spot out last night before our usual thursday night shenanigans. I can’t recall what is replaced but its right there along with all the places I like to go to. It’s kind of small but not small enough to be hole in the wall.
It wasn’t busy at all for a week old. I’d imagine they get busy for the lunch rush though. Came in, got greeted and seated in no time. The girl working there was super nice. That’s a plus. I asked for the chai as soon as I sat: she informed me that it will take about 10 minutes since they’d have to make it fresh. Fine by me! I love fresh things.
On to our food. The menu isn’t overly big at all which I think is great. Focus on few and cook them great. They have about 6 – 7 curry choices and tandoori choices. Vegetarian too but I never look at that last page. The perks of being a grown up ;)
After chatting with her about what I want (something really tasty and spicy with loads of carbs), we found out that they have biryani but it wasn’t on the menu! Yeyyyyy! We got chicken biryani and lamb curry– both with 5 stars spice.
Once we placed the order, the hot naan slathered in pretty puddle of gee came out right away! As well as their rice and of course: my chai. Yummm. After 50 sheeps, the food came out too.
Biryani — they made a mistake and made it with lamb. It was tasty and spicy! Like real indian spicy.
Lamb curry — mild and delicious.
Ate till my stomach nearly burst and chilled out with more chai for a bit here. And the girl gave me chai refills! (My obsession with refills in restaurants: She became my fav instantly)
I want to give it 3.5 stars. It’s almost 4 but I think the biryani needed a little more hydrabadi-​ness to it. I’m not indian but I’ve had enough (several hundreds) plates of biryani to know a great one. This was pretty good but not WOW! That being said, I really enjoyed my meal. I’m still full this morning… Too full to eat my breakfast! Grrrr.
Good chai, good spice and good service. I’ll be back again to check out the other dishes. Definitely better than most other indian places on the ave!

Stopped by for the lunch buffet, on their second day of business. It was pretty packed — the bottom half of the Ave has been lacking an Indian buffet for a couple of years now, and a lot of people are experiencing naan withdrawal symptoms. There are three buffets on the Ave north of 45^th, and a couple more on Brooklyn and Roosevelt, but that’s farther than most UW folks are going to walk on their lunch break. For that reason alone, I expect this place to last longer than the two Thai places that previously occupied this spot.
So, how does it stack up to the competition? Well, you know those ‘average faces’ they make by merging a bunch of people’s photographs? The result looks pleasant, but sort of bland and forgettable. Spice of India is the Average Face of Indian buffets. The usual vaguely Punjabi food*, the usual price ($ 8), the usual ‘90s Bollywood music in the background. Here’s what I remember from the menu:
* Starters: pakoras, chutneys, green salad that nobody has ever tasted.
* Chana masala: stretched out a bit with potatoes. Could have used a squeeze of lime.
* Potato with green beans: probably my favorite dish of the afternoon.
* Palak paneer: fine. Chunky style. Plenty of pieces of paneer; some places just have a tray of paneer-​infused spinach sauce lying around.
* Mint chicken: appreciated. Nice to see an unusual menu item.
* Butter chicken: not great. Don’t think the chicken had been marinated or grilled.
* Goat curry: bone-​in, but good meat-​to-​elbow ratio.
* Masala chai: OK. A little understeeped.
* Did not sample: fluorescent yellow glowing stuff, tandoori chicken, kheer, gulab jamun. They also offered me some fresh naan, but I was already well into the meal and didn’t feel the need.
Things are still a little chaotic, given that the place is brand new. You may need to chase someone down and ask for water and cutlery and such. But I expect that they’ll hire more staff and smooth out the rough edges over the next few weeks, so I’m not docking points for that.
In short: pretty unremarkable, but exactly what this stretch of the Ave needs. I’ll eat here every time I want an Indian lunch buffet but don’t want to walk the extra two blocks to Garam Masala (so, about once a year).
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*The sign says ‘Hyderabadi’, but I saw no Hyderabadi specialties on the menu.