| Indian bits and bites at reasonable prices and speedy service |
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 3/27/2007
Rating: 8
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Amber Cafe has been on our wish lists for a long time and glad to make the visit. The cafe is an offspring from the popular Amber India. I'm guessing Amber Cafe is suppose to be fast food approach without breaking the wallet. As Terry noted in his review, the parking lot is backasswards with 1 entrance. You have people entering and leaving, going in reverse, people stalling, the horrrroor. If the lot looks full, do yourself a favor and park on the street.
Ordering process is fairly easy with menus posted on the wall and orders taken at the counter. Visit their web site for more information on interesting dishes served. I went with the lamp wrap combo (images 10,11,12) which comes with a samosa and salad at $8.99.
Taking a quick glance, it sure looks like a 2 roll taco plate with a southwest corn salad. The 2 tacos are actually roti filled with the spicy lamb mixture. Roti tasted like wheat tortillas and the lamb filling had an overwhelming tomato paste flavoring to it. Meat was in smaller clumps and kinda skimped on portions. The overall experience was like eating chunky spicy spaghetti sauce rolled in tortillas. A sloppy joe + mexican wheat tortillas + indian flavorings = a dish to my liking.
The samosa (image 7) was cooked to perfection with a flakey outer shell leading way to mixture of peas, potatoes or chickpeas?, and other spice enhancing ingredients. Definitely worth ordering as an appetizer. Be sure to pick up your chutney next to the counter.
An interesting lunch and I can see why it's a popular place. In comparing to other chaat houses, Amber Cafe is cleaner and offers a modern dining approach. As for being authentic Indian food, some say it's been Americanized and if it is, doesn't bother me enough. I would make a return visit with no hesitations.
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Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 739
Reviewed: 3/27/2007
Rating: 7.5
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I must preface by stating that I am more of an indian buffet eater than the order and wait at your table for the food to arrive eater. I am not a huge indian food connoisseur so I prefer the ability to look at the offerings and make my own selection. Still, it was nice to just walk up to the counter and order the veggie combo (with naan), pay, and sit at the table. The price for my selection was about $8.50 (equivalent to a typical buffet) so had high hopes.
I also bought a canned soda. Sadly their selection was very weak. No diet sodas, and only 2 cans of regular coke today. They had plenty of canned iced tea.
The food arrived rather quickly and I was immediately a little let down as the portion size was a bit on the small side. I wasn't terribly hungry today, but still for the price I paid I was hoping for a bit more.
The naan was VERY tasty. Among the best I have had. Unfortunately I only had 3 pieces of it. The daal dish was largely forgettable, I ate about half of it. The eggplant veggie (in the red bowl) was nice and spicy. I polished this off, dipped my naan in there frequently as well. The tomatoes in it were fresh tasting, and while a bit greasy, it went down well and was quite enjoyable. Sadly, the portions were really small, so afterwards I wasn't completely stuffed.
I found the place to be very clean and actually quite popular. The crowded parking lot was a madhouse of cars waiting to park, people walking to the entrance, etc.
Overall, I was impressed, but not overly so. Prices were high for what I received. I would return with people who want to eat here, but I probably won't return on my own.
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Reviewer: Dan
Total Reviews: 84
Reviewed: 6/6/2008
Rating: 7.5
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The sign in front of Amber Cafe says "Indian Bits & Bites." It is not a lie. Items here come in bite-sized servings. As in little, itty bitty bits. If you are a relatively big eater like me, then you will have to order at least two items (and sometimes three). Consequently I have always spent $10-$15 for lunch here. And on one occasion I spent over $15. Not exactly shocking, but more than I typically like to spend for lunch unless I am splurging on Indian buffet.
That said, the food here is nicely prepared, fresh and excellent. I've never had anything bad here. I just wish there was more of it.
SETTING: The simple, attractive dining room has a nice feel to it. The line to order moves slowly but is usually short. After you order they hand you a number and you find your own table. Seating is usually plentiful.
SERVICE: Not exactly bubbly; It varies from neutral to disgruntled. On one visit, the guy behind the register was mumbling his responses and obviously wanted to be somewhere else.
FOOD: Here are the items I've tried here:
-- Combo plate with lamb wrap, samosa and salad: Actually two small wraps, each twice the girth of a thumb. The lamb inside was tender and flavorful but looked more like the preformed lamb you get in gyro sandwiches. Not what I was expecting, but very tasty combined with sauce, onions and pepper inside. The "salad" was two tablespoons of carrots and peas in a light sauce. Hard to justify calling this a salad. The samosa was on the small side and didn't taste all that fresh for some reason. I finished my meal and was still pretty hungry, so I grabbed a mango lassi for the road (a scandalous $3.50). Total lunch cost came to $13. Buffet territory.
-- Malai Methi Chicken Wrap: This consisted of two smallish wraps (same size as above), plus a small salad of carrots, peas and cabbage. The wraps were delicious and filled with onions and chicken in a mint chutney sauce. Killer. Literally finger licking good since they got a bit messy at the end. Definitely a repeat order, though once again I was still hungry when I finished my meal and so again I opted for a mango lassi to go, bringing my lunch up to over $12. Buffet territory again.
-- Curry chicken special with rice and salad: Though the rice was plentiful, the very tasty curry consisted of only 3 large-sized chicken chunks and sauce. That's it. Guess what? Yep...still hungry. I ordered an extra appetizer, rounding out my meal to over $15. Once again, I could've gone to a really good Indian buffet for this.
-- Samosa appetizer: Two small, freshly-made samosas with a small portion of curried chickpeas. Nice presentation and flavor. I would get this again in a heartbeat. Not bad for $4.50. If I could find one more filling appetizer to add to this I might actually get lunch for $10.
-- Corn Bhel: This looked and tasted like a plate of yellow breakfast cereal with onions and fresh herbs mixed in (including Tamarind). It was interesting and tasted pretty good, but I probably would not get this again. Too airy and cold. And accompanied by the samosa app above, this was still not enough food, so I had to grab a mango lassi again to feel close to sated.
And for those of you who are beginning to suspect I'm just a pig: On my last visit I overheard a guy at the next table telling his friend he was going to grab something else on his way back to work cuz he was hungry. (Hey, it's nice to have backup on these things).
Pros: Delicious, fresh-tasting food; nice atmosphere
Cons: Tiny portions make for a costlier lunch; service could be friendlier |
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