| Northern and Southern indian cuisine, lunch buffet, and banquet hall |
Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 1040
Reviewed: 11/19/2005
Rating: 8.5
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Today was the bro lunch for co-worker Dave C. He was going on paternity leave and to disappear until next year. It was suggested to head out to Mayuri in Santa Clara as it appeared to be a favorite among the team. Its an easy place to find and located on El Camino Real in Santa Clara.
The restaurant decor isnt anything special but the place is very clean. There's plenty of tables and ample room to manuever around the buffet line. The menu said there were northern and southern indian cuisine so I pretty much tried 10 different items on the table.
Overall I thought the food was pretty damm good. Some of the dishes were extra spicy and that extra kick earns bonus points for me. I think the standouts for me were the dahl, makhani chicken, and naan (puffy and browned). The kabab was dry and skipped it on my 2nd round back to the buffet.
I thought the selection of dishes on the buffet line was much better than other indian buffets in the area. The food was prepared very well and tasted fresh. Service was friendly and cant of any reason why I wouldnt return. Congratulations to Mayuri for some good ol food.
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Reviewer: Miriam
Total Reviews: 5
Reviewed: 6/20/2006
Rating: 8.5
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Friendly service, with very courteous waiters. Occasionally when someone answers the phone for a reservation or an order, they're English isn't the best, and occasionally, it's fine. I come there so often they recognize me by name and will let me order when the kitchen's on the verge of closing.
I have, shockingly, never been to the buffet, but hear it's fabulous. Generally when I'm there there's a buffet going on but I'm coming to pick up takeout because I'm alone and live a couple streets away. You get plain naan and a generous helping of rice included in your order, and you can alter the naan for $1.00 more.
The place is clean enough of a little outdated, but it serves it's purpose. It is definitely not glam, and you can dress casually, heading there in your shorts and flip flops. You'll see Indians eating here too, so that should lend something to authenticity.
Some of favorite dishes include the biryani dishes, and above all, the malai kofta. Sometimes the quality of it waffles a little but the sauce is my 2nd favorite (my favorite being Amber Indian Restaurant's). Mayuri's is creamier (and thus, seems more decadent) while Amber's is more intense and savory in flavor.
They have a good tandoori menu, a strong vegetarian selection, you can choose thali (with lots of chutneys, soups, etc.), or a la carte. They'll take your order by phone or even fax, I believe, and even doing takeout you're servings are very generous.
Clientele often includes coworkers, friends, and families, so you may be dealing with some loud talking. It's very popular.
Also the restaurant has a room next door that frequently rent for parties on weekends or even weekdays, so even before parking you may here the DJ pumping some Indian music. Parking immediately on such nights is actually kinda difficult, and you may have to drive further down the block to find a spot or park behind the restaurant.
Pricing is good, not amazingly cheap but definitely a good value - you get your money's worth. |
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Reviewer: Stevetacular
Total Reviews: 25
Reviewed: 12/12/2006
Rating: 8
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I came here with my friend yesterday after finding out this place was a minute away from Kababs and Currys. When we first went in there weren't many people in the restaurant and we weren't sure where the wait staff was. However, a man came up to us and asked if we were here for the buffet we replied yes, and he pointed us to our table then handed us a pitcher of water. Right away I notice the pitcher of water doesn't have ice, but I guess you could always ask (it'd just be nice if it came with ice in it already).
Once again because I'm a novice at Indian cuisine I got a little bit of everything. One thing that I noticed that was nice was the tandoori chicken here comes in big pieces (drumsticks, thighs, what have you) unlike at Kababs and Currys where the chicken pieces were smaller. However, another thing I noticed here was that even though the food was kept in metal trays it would have been nice if they removed the items that were nearly empty, but I can't complain.
After we sit down a waiter places a basket of naan at our table. I really liked the naan here because it was nice and puffy, and at points it tasted buttery. I ate the food and to me this stuff tasted great. There was a whole bunch of flavors I couldn't really identify, but everything was nice, silky, and sometimes rich. Again however, I suppose since some of the stuff was out for a while it wasn't as hot as it could be. Also the food here didn't have a lot of kick to it compared to Kababs and Curry. The tandoori chicken by itself was a bit disappointing for all the color and size it had, but the bits that fell in the curries on my plate tasted great.
I only made two trips to the buffet after learning my lesson from Kababs and Currys, but that still didn't prevent my stomach from developing possible callouses. To cool myself down I got a styrafoam cup of soft serve ice cream and rice kheer. The soft serve was a nice contrast to the meal I just had; it was just simple and sweet compared to the spiced food I just had. For all purposes from now on I will refer to rice kheer as Indian horchata. The difference between the rice kheer and horchata was that the kheer had the aroma of ginger as opposed to horchata's cinnamon smell.
Overall this was a nice place to eat, and the wait staff was very attentive too. My only gripe with Mayuri and Kababs and Currys so far is that they leave the water out for you, but why not napkins? So far I've made a terrible mess of myself in both places, but it's forgiveable. |
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Reviewer: Dan
Total Reviews: 84
Reviewed: 3/28/2008
Rating: 7.5
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I have visited Mayuri twice for lunch. Both times parking has been plentiful, and even at peak lunch hour the restaurant was only about 30% full. I suppose that in itself could say something, but I tried to keep an open mind during my meals. On both occasions service was swift and I was seated immediately before doing a U-turn and heading to the buffet.
They have a good buffet selection here, no doubt. The size is similar to Grand Indian Buffet, though the layout is a little skewed, with rice hidden off to the side in covered bins. On my first visit, however, I was surprised to see so few veggie items. All they offered in that category were dal, vegetable korma, and malai kofta. Though on my second visit they redeemed themselves with a good variety of veggie dishes. Naan is delivered fresh to the table (Yay) rather than sitting at the buffet. However I was disappointed in the texture. Naan here tends to be very soft and doughy, not crispy in the least. To me the best naan is a combination of crispy and soft.
Here is a breakdown of items I tried on my first visit:
-- Dal Mahkani: Quite tasty; I had seconds
-- Malai Kofta: Utterly cold due to some heater malfunction; unedible
-- Lamb biryani: got this my mistake when I was looking for rice, but it was damn good, with savory chunks of tender lamb
-- Curry chicken: very tender but short on flavor
-- Goat curry: quite good; seconds on this
-- Vegetable Korma: Way too much cream; Nasty
-- Rice pudding: scalding hot (I like it cold); Didn't look and taste right.
-- Jello-like Pudding (name?): the flavor clashed with mixed-in melon pieces; a sad excuse for a dessert
-- Soft serve vanilla ice cream: Decent, but I would've preferred the mango flavor served by most places.
And on my second visit there were different items to sample:
-- Eggplant Karam: By far the best of the bunch. A savory bomb; I had a generous second helping
-- Lamb Kofta: Little balls of ground, spice lamb in curry sauce; tasted odd; I didn’t care for it
-- Aloo Gobi: Standard preparation; Good
-- Bindi Masala: delicious with lots of heat (naan came in handy here)
-- Chicken Biryani: Tasted like someone spilled the wrong spice in the mix; I ate one bite and left the rest; Yuck
-- Butter Chicken: pretty standard stuff; no seconds on this
-- Dessert: only vanilla soft serve and fruit were offered
Total price for the lunch buffet is just under $12 if you tip a buck. This is at the higher end of the range but not outrageous.
I have to say that the dessert options at Mayuri are the saddest I have ever seen at an Indian buffet. The decor is also depressing, a bad attempt at chic, circa 1982. It is clean but desperately needs a new paint job, if not a new makeover. If you think the green-tinged ballroom look at Grand Indian Buffet is ugly, come check this place out. Even on a nice sunny day it was dark and chilly inside. Though I was considering giving Mayuri an 8.0 after my first visit, I think I'll shave it to 7.5 based on my likelihood of wanting to return.
Pros: Some standout items offered; service is good; Naan is served fresh to table
Cons: Depressing interior; Some food items are misses; Worst dessert offerings I've found for lunchtime Indian buffet |
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