Indian food in Philly

[Hungry Hank]

Looking for some advice to select an Indian Restaurant for dinner in Philly. Have tried and enjoyed Tiffin, but we would like to explore some new places in Center City or the 'burbs. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Thanks!

[rabidog]

hey hey hey! all you can eat brunch at tiffin starts this weekend!
http://foobooz.com/2008/12/weekend-br...
...that's really all i need in addition to the regular holiday season overstuffing. :)

[pie22]

i will agree king of tandoor is one of the best places in the city - i have had many things from their menu and everything was fantastic! my fave is the chicken acharya and the biryanis.
as for ekta, i wasn't really a fan - the dishes themselves were fine but the naan was cold and gummy (it was delivered but this is the only place i've had this issue) and the rice was just plain horrible.

[60s Girl]

Another vote for Palace at the Ben. Not the cheapest, but absolutely delicious in a "fine dining" atmosphere.

[bronwen]

We jsut had appetizers and drinks at Palace at the Ben and it's definitely a world-class Indian restaurant, and lovely too.

[oliviasaru]

I ate at Khajuraho last night and it was very good. However, service was appallingly slow. Like, 20 minutes' wait before anyone took our order, another 30 minutes before any food arrived. And once the food did arrive, we had no luck flagging anyone down to order more tea. It was a shame that the subpar service took away from the experience as a whole.

[schmave717]

Minar Palace did re-open. It's at 1304 Walnut. Better decor, same food.

[RichieT]

Though I love it, I am no authority on Indian food. However....I have had some really excellent meals at "Jaipur" which is in King of Prussia. I have been to several other Indian places and so far of what I've had in the Philly area, this one rocks. I had a horrible experience at Khajuraho in Ardmore, which is a place that many people speak of. My biggest problem is that I was turned on to Indian food in London & New York. Both have some of the best Indian outside of Calcutta & Mumbai !!!!

[disarmmyheart]

I also love Palace at the Ben. My sister used them to cater her wedding, and although they were a bit late getting there, the food was great.

Also love Spice on West Chester Pike in Newtown Square. It's a little on the expensive side, but it's BYOB which helps. They are always willing to prepare something to suit your taste, or even make some things that are not on the menu.

Also, a great place for Indian take-out (but also great for dining in as well) is Shere-e-Punjab on State St. in Media.
http://www.shereepunjab.com/

[lauracohenromano]

My husband and I both like Shere-e-Punjab very much. We've only had positive experiences there, both with food and service, and for both dining in and take-out.

We have taken several other individuals and couples there too and so far everyone else has liked it a lot too, unless they're just being polite because we took them!

[croissantanyone]

Have you tried Ekta yet? They were reviewed this week in the Philly weekly. Excellent, interesting dishes, fair prices, and they deliver nearly everywhere.

http://ektaindiancuisine.com/

[rabidog]

i tried ekta - reviewed it somewhere around here a few months ago. long story short, many of the dishes replicated tiffin's except shorted on the ingredients (where was the paneer in my paneer tikka masala?) and the dishes that were new to ekta - or at least the samosa chaat - was so bad it was inedible. i'm willing to give em a second chance, which i may do sooner than later now that i'm kinda over raving about tiffin.

[rabidog]

OK, so i gave ekta another try. i'm still very on the fence but definitely enjoyed it more than my first take-out from them.

i skipped that one dish that was such a turn-off last time (which ironically is usually my fave indian appetizer ever, samosa chat) in favor of the alu aur papri chat (second fave app ever). it was pretty good when we added tamarind and mint chutneys, though i was missing the onion chutney. and i wish there had been onion and cilantro on the dish for some more flavors. but at least it was still relatively crispy, something i realize is hard to do with a delivery order!

we got two entrees: lamb korma (i didn't try this one), and paneer tikka masala (i always get this, can't help myself). on one hand, the spice mix in the dishes is excellent. the paneer tikka masala has taken on a dimension that tiffin's doesn't have. this is perhaps from the whole spices and leaves, some of which still ended up in our food, but i'm OK with picking out a few inedible pieces here and there for that bold spice mixture overall. my SO reported the lamb to be drier than tiffin's, but the sauce was excellent. my paneer tikka masala, as i noticed in my first order, seems to run short on paneer compared to tiffin's, or most other places i've tried. the breads - we had a paratha and a rosemary naan. they are doughy like tiffin's. they are not my favorite part of the meal. someone mentioned rice and i'll agree: both tiffin and ekta could use a new source for rice, IMO. it doesn't look or taste or smell like a basmati rice so i'm going to guess it's not?

got to say, the rice pudding they add to each order is pretty fabulous.

i think king of tandoor is still in the lead (why oh why won't you deliver east of broad?!), followed by ekta which is closely followed by tiffin. subject to change. :)

as far as palace at the ben goes, i'd liken their food to tiffin's in a much nicer (and far more expensive) atmosphere. i still haven't been to minar palace, but hope to get there soon.

[rabidog]

my last few takeouts from tiffin have been lacking. just... underwhelming. not spiced enough? and the naan has never been a tiffin stong point but it was way too doughy last time. has anyone else noticed this?

in comparison, we did pizza + indian + beer night at a friend's house earlier this week, and we ordered delivery from king of tandoor over on callowhill. it was EXCELLENT. not incredibly spicY, but an explosion of different spices hit the palate on the first bite. i was sold. we had a paneer makhani dish that was just to die for. the meat-eaters had something lamb stewy that by the end of the night was featured atop our cheese sticks from the pizza place. fun stuff. :)

[joluvscards]

We're not too experienced with Indian food but we decided to give King of Tandoor a try when they opened in the neighborhood. Agreed it is fantastic. I really like the lamb dish with the pastry top. We often get delivery.

[crazyspice]

Bummer! We passed tiffin yesterday and talked about needing to stop back and give it a try. I guess we will wait until the comments become positive.

[hollyd]

Sitar is my favorite. The interior is not great, but the food is amazing.

[Buckethead]

The only other really good Indian place in the city (at least until Minar Palace reopens) is Palace at the Ben. In the burbs, I used to really love Khajuraho in Ardmore but I haven't been there since Tiffin opened.

[DaisyM]

I second Palace at the Ben.