Large Indian restaurant serving up a modestly sized buffet.
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1020
Reviewed: 11/4/2005
Rating: 7.5
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We had tried to visit Banjara months ago but had no luck finding parking. Things have changed and they opened up the giant parking lot in the shopping mall. Parking is a breeze now and with a ton of restaurants in the area, I think we'll be making more visits.
Banjara appears to be some type of old school restaurant/bar/lounge. They have a large bar, wooden floors which probably used for dancing, and the old throwback booths. Ahh...things are finally clicking together, Banjara would be a good candidate for a banquet hall...aaahhh.
Ok, for lunch we headed straight for the buffet. Im sure you can order off the menu but $8 buffet is a tough deal to beat sometimes. I like trying all types of food.
daal - good
saag paneer - I dont think I know the difference between good and bad saag because I always like the stuff?
makhani chicken - sauce was rich and creamy but thought the chicken could have used some work. It didnt taste too fresh.
naan - no complaints here
rice - ok
tandoori chicken - heres another one of those plates that I cant seem to find any problems with. The chicken is super tender and probably marinated for hours. I can only guess the chicken is cooked in a tandoor oven filled with the fancy smancy charcoal make my chicken taste so good.
Overall the experience at Banjara was pretty good. Service was better than the food and the buffet could have used more dessert items. For $8, its worth checking out.
Reviewer: Terry
Total Reviews: 738
Reviewed: 11/5/2005
Rating: 7
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Banjara has been sitting on the wishlist for a long time and finally we got up the nerve to give it a try. Thankfully they recently opened up extra parking recently so we were able to visit Banjara with a minimum of fuss.
We enter the restaurant and it is MASSIVE. There is a big bar on the back wall and a big dance floor - I can imagine this place can get hopping for special parties they throw here.
For lunch, however, I was a bit let down. The buffet selection was actually fairly small for such a large place. The menu was also not too varied. There were like 3-4 chicken selections and a few curries out there, but otherwise I found that for a buffet Indian place, it was one of the weakest showings. To their benefit, however, I notice they do offer a menu you could order dishes from. If we had more time, we probably would have selected a few other items to supplement the relatively weak buffet.
The quality of the buffet was decent - what was there. The bread was by the numbers (which is a good thing - it tasted delicious) but the rice (both types they had today) were a bit on the bland side and didn't appeal to me. The spinach sauce was good (seems difficult to find a place that does this bad). I tried one of those donuts (next to the yogurt in the picture above). It was a bit fresh tasting but I just couldn't finish it. The flavor didn't appeal to me.
And thats about all I ate here. If I worked near Banjara I would probably return, but as it is, I probably won't as there are better buffets to be found closer by.
Reviewer: jsatre
Total Reviews: 74
Reviewed: 9/14/2006
Rating: 8
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Things at Banjara have recently changed. A LOT!
They no longer off a lunch time buffet Im sad to report. They do however offer a lunch express menu where you order items ala carte, find your own table, and they bring it out to you. Looks like the change happened on Sept 12th. They posted a sign in the entrance indicating they have a new chef and are offering healthier options.
Place looked pretty deserted today when I walked in at 12:50 pm. Only 4-5 tables had guests. This is a pretty large place and in fact there was a whole other section of the restaurant that was empty.
I walk up to the bar and am handed a menu. I see prices for entrées range from $4-7. I have no idea how big the portions are. I was looking forward to sampling several dishes from a buffet but my wallet couldnt handle ordering each ala carte. I decide on the Vegetable Pakora, Basmati Rice, Chicken Roti and plain Naan.
I find a seat in view of the projector TV. Ah, the sound of nasally screeching Indian ladies in daisy duke shorts and raunchy outfits fills the wall. A few of the music videos featured wannabe rappers complete with Lakers jerseys. Silly really, but it kept me entertained.
My meal was brought out 6-7 minutes later. But heres the kicker – no silverware, no plates, no tamarind sauce for the pakora, no napkins… ODD! I noticed a table by the bar and picked up utensils, sauce and such. Its like incomplete table service. Maybe they havent gotten the knack down yet? I wonder if they do this for dinner too. Why not pick up plates/silverware on the way to the table?
Enough about Banjaras odd service… hows the food?
-Naan – Excellent! So fresh and delicious. No joke, this was the best Naan I have ever had. Slightly chewy, full of flavor, crisp from flat grilling, yet still thick and fluffy. I ate the entire thing, and it was probably 12 inches in diameter.
-Vegetable Pakora – Delicious and a hefty portion size. I had to take ½ home. This would easily satisfy 2 diners as a starter. The flavor was quite good it would have been seasoned better. My all-time favorite Pakora still comes from Royal Taj in Campbell.
-Basmati – fluffy, flavorful and scented lightly with cumin seeds. Very little saffron rice mixed in, but I enjoyed it quite a bit. Again, the portion was big. It could easily feed a lunch sized portion to 2 people. The extra went in the to go box.
-Chicken Roti – I was tempted to order the chicken tikka but the lady at the bar said the Roti was just as good and boneless. It comes to my table and again the portion was bigger than I expected. Large chunks of tender, moist breast meat in the tell-tale red-orange paste marinade. Excellent flavor, excellent quality. It came with thinly sliced white and red onions and a lime to squeeze. I couldnt finish by 2/3 of it. The to go box has enough food for dinner.
Bill came to $12.97. As the service was inattentive and I did not like having to pick up my own silverware I didnt feel a tip was deserved. Sorry, bash me all you want. I only saw the waiter when food was delivered and had to flag him down for a to-go box.
Value – Overall, for $13.00 I think the value is good, but a buffet at the same price would have been better. Again, sampling dishes is half the fun. Shame I missed it. I would return with a buddy to share dishes and the wacky Indian music videos again.
