Masala of India

Right near I-5 in the heart of Northgate, this Indian food place is great for buffet style lunch or dinner and drinks. very authentic

Pros: Cheap, Delicious

Cons: None

Posted 09/08/09

I love this place. I order from them about once a month. I've gotten so many people addicted to this restaurant. Unfortunately, they've set the bar so high with their food that I have a difficult time eating at other Indian restaurants.

I can't really speak to the dine-in experience as I normally order take-out or delivery. These guys know us by name, face, and caller ID. There have been a couple of time that they didn't have a delivery driver. This isn't usually a huge deal-breaker. I live very close and can simply walk to pick it up. There have been a couple of times, though, that I haven't been able to leave the house because I've got a sleeping or sick kid and I can't get away. They didn't tell me so, but I can tell they pulled someone from their other duties to deliver my order. They always take really good care of us. I am going to miss this place when we get stationed elsewhere!

Kim Gebauer

Pros: Delicious food, no matter the dish

Cons: Not always available for delivery

Posted 03/30/09

My wife and I have been to this restaurant 4 times. The food is fabulous. This last time we had a coupon that they send out once a month. As per the coupon we gave it to our server. The food was excellend and the wait staff was great. However after our meal we received our bill which did not include our discount. I told the server about the error and she went back to the manager. The manager was right behind us and said. "If they don't have the coupon in their hand right now, we don't give any discount. Tell them that." I was appalled. Their own coupon says to give it to your server before the meal is ordered, which we did. After some argument they finally "found" the coupon and gave us the discount. The manager then said, "well rules are rules, I'm sure you understand". This ruined our experience and we're telling everyone about how horrible the management is here.

I really hate how these restaurants try this bait and switch with their own coupons. There is a restaurant in Woodinville called Jose's that did the same thing (4 out of 5 times) they would "forget" their coupon. If not for the great food at this restaurant they would be out of business many years ago. Be warned.

Pros: Great food.

Cons: Horrible customer service from management.

Posted 08/03/08

Ive had two experiences with Masala of India. First, some coworkers and I went and each ordered the buffet. Not such a good idea. The buffet did not have the sanitary level as high as I would like; for example, there was a bowl of rice pudding just sitting on the table with no sneezequards and no means of keeping the pudding cold and just not looking too appetizing. The food was okay for what I ate. They had a couple american foods in the buffet along with the rest which kind of confused me but whatev. The second time I ordered delivery <>. Billed me for things i didnt order and didnt include some sauces. That ticked me off. If you want indian delivered, you can find some good ones on some internet delivery sites.

Pros: Decent food, meh

Cons: terrrrriiiiibbbbbllllllleeeeeee delivery service

Posted 06/25/08

THIS IS THE BEST RESTAURANT I HAVE EVER BEEN TOO IN NORTHGATE RESTAURANT HAS GOOD CUSTOMER SERIVCE AND DELIOUS FOOD EVERYONE SHOULD TRY IT

Pros: GOOD SERVICE

Cons: NOTHING

Posted 06/04/08

Heres a description of my last experience (ever) at this restaurant. I'll preface this by saying i'm not picky or demanding with service. I went there with my girlfriend and we planned on using a coupon from the Valpak. The coupon was for a free entree of equal or lesser value to a purchased entree. At first the waitress wanted to run our cards without giving us our check. When was asked to see it first she gave us the check without the coupon added. When we mentioned that they gave us our check with 7 dollars deducted. The free entree was over $11. We went to the cash resgister before paying and asked why we only get 7 off. We were shown a coupon on a "letter" that said the discount should only be $7. ok great, but I asked to see the coupon we gave them and he was VERY reluctant to show us. He held it back in his had and said.."its the same coupon just different color." Ok, treat your customers like they are dumb. Its not the same coupon, the other one on the "letter" says $7 off, the one I gave him doesn't say that anywhere. This complaint is not about the money, since it was hardly much. It's a complaint that the whole ordeal was ridiculous and the manner that it was handled was unprofessional.
so either way both my girlfriend and I will never go back here, I hope it was worth the $4 dollars they saved on that deal.

Cons: horrible customer service, bait and switch

Posted 03/13/08

Let me start by saying I just threw out 3 full containers of food! I have been here a few times in the past for the lunch buffet and pushy service yes stingy with there nan yes food not bad but as usual bland not spicy (I like spicy). Tonight I was over by the Mall and decided to abandon my usual fav place and pick up take out from Masala and get some extras for us to take to lunch tomorrow. Well after I got home and realized they forgot part of my order and called the Restaurant to let them know. I got a well the next time you come in I'll show you I didn't charge you, after I said well you repeated it back to me in my order so I expect it in my order he says I don't know what you want me to do. My usual fav place if they have forgotten something in the past even if it's just a piece of Nan weather they charged for it or not will deliver it to my house free of charge and usually with something free as their apologies. I informed Masala that I'll just go to the Indian Restaurant down the street and order what you forgot since you don't know what I would like you to do. From there it only got worse there take-out menu items were nothing like their buffet items I orders Potatoes and Garbanzo bens with only 3 small cubes of potatoes undercooked and an entire can of garbanzo beans. I ordered Chicken Tika Masala and had about 6 small fatty pieces of chicken surrounded by a pan of mushy raw tasting tomatoes not a nicely blended rich masala sauce, and I ordered Sag Paneer a flavorless pan of mushy spinach and 4 chucks of cheese. I order all dishes on a scale of 1-5 a 4 and they not even 3?s Overall horrible and after their service I'm not even going to argue with them tonight and take it all back. I'm throwing it and my money in the garbage.

Pros: You can be seated promptly for horrible food and pushy service!

Cons: What wasn't a con

Posted 09/01/07

Over the past few years, this has been one of my favorite restaurants. The food is amazing. Tonight I decided I will never eat here again. I wish I had read the other review posted recently. For the record, I agree with every word of it. Just like the other gentleman, I've also had the craziest interactions regarding their so-called "free delivery". Tonight I ordered about $20 of stuff (just for myself) to make it worth their while even though I live very close by. I was told that they don't actually have free delivery like their website states, but that there is a $20 minimum. When I explain that I've ordered $20 worth of stuff, they say that I didn't. After I list everything I've ordered, it's price, and the total, they admit that I have. I'm then told that the minimum for delivery is now $30 and he gives me options of things that I should order to fulfill this. I explain that it's just me, and there is no way I can justify ordering that much. Then they say that if I go back to the $20, they will kindly offer me a $3 delivery fee. I decline. I'm stuck at home injured after a car accident and it's not worth it to me to haggle for my dinner. I really love the food from this restaurant, but the run-around is unpleasant and I just don't feel good about it. Bottom line: Be honest with your customers. They will pay for things you ask for, but don't bait and switch. Not only is it bad for business, it's illegal!

Pros: Amazing food

Cons: Pushy service, delivery bait-and-switch tactic, horrible customer service

Posted 08/18/07

Well, I have no complaints about Masala of India's food. They have really great food. I do have a lot of complaints about their customer service. If you are interested in ordering food for delivery, I suggest looking elsewhere. The gentleman who often answers the phone is rude beyond words. I have ordered from them 20-30 times (each time spending between $60-80 to feed a family of 4), but tonight's debacle on the phone was the last straw, and I'm never going to order from them again. I cannot deal with their inconsistent business practices, even though their food is very good.

They advertise accepting credit cards and free delivery. However, the gentleman on the phone (who is not the owner or the manager) will inconsistently not accept credit, and insist you pay by cash. If you mention that you've used a credit card in the past, and that you've ordered from them several times with no problem, he will continue to be inflexible. One night, he added a delivery fee out of the blue, and without any explanation. When I told him I've never had to pay a delivery fee before, he was again, insistent and inflexible, suggesting that this was not a change.

Additionally, he is incredibly pushy. If you give him a specific list of things you are interested in ordering, after each item, he will badger you with additional items to purchase. I can't tell you how many times I've said to him "No thanks, I'd just like what I've ordered". I have no idea why he is still an employee at this restaurant. He needs to take a course in customer service. He is, by far, one of the most irritating people I've ever had to interact with. It is unfortunate that a restaurant that prepares good food has this guy interfacing with customers.

Pros: Good food

Cons: AWFUL customer service

Posted 08/13/07

OK, it doesn't look that bad outside, but I am always leary of strip mall restaurants. I tried this restaurant a couple years ago and thought it was pretty good, but I still liked Cedars on Brooklyn better. Well, something has changed since then. I have been here twice over the last month and I think that it's better than Cedars, at least in comparison to the same dishes at Cedars. I haven't tried any of the meat dishes yet--only the vegetarian. One thing that I like about their menu is that they list which things are "vegan". This is a big deal to a vegetarian and not many mainstream restaurants do this. I have tried Aloo gobi, Eggplant bharta, Sang aloo, Daal maharani, Spinach naan, regular naan and daal soup. My opinion is that these dishes taste fresher and more flavorful that at the other Indian restaurants that I've been too. In fact, you can actually tell that the Eggplant bharta actually contains eggplant, like they just cook it up fresh for you and they didn't leave it simmering all day and night. In other Indian restaurants where I have tried this dish, it is so overcooked, that it doesn't really resemble eggplant anymore. The other thing that I like here is presentation. The dishes were served in metal serving bowls with tea lights lit underneath to keep them warm. Nice touch. I didn't find their prices out of line with other Indian restaurants. The only thing that I found slightly annoying is that the last time I went here the waiter insisted that I order Naan because you just can't eat Indian food without Naan or bread of some kind. So I ended up saying OK, eventhough I really didn't want bread. And no, I don't want raita with my dinner! Just give me what I order-- I know what I'm doing. And don't insist that I order bread if I say that I don't want it! But other than that, definitely a nice find in an area of town that doesn't feature many good restaurants.

Posted 05/15/07

the first time i went here was about two weeks before thanksgiving. i went with family, and our party was seated roughly thirty seconds after we entered. the restaurant had two of the family members, apperently sisters, manning the front, and they were GREAT! funny, outgoing, and obliged us in our conversation about bollywood. the food was really good, and reasonably priced. people seem to think 9 dollars per person for the buffet is pricey, but considering it included chai (when i went there, anyhow), it was worth it.

they also have a really great thanksgiving buffet that we took advantage of. tandoori turkey was a smidge dry, but the butter turkey was like dying and going to heaven: light, spicy but still full of flavor. I COMMAND YOU TO COME HERE!

Pros: great staff, good attitude

Cons: somewhat far away

Posted 01/20/07

The food, service, and atmosphere at this restaurant is great. This is especially nice, because there aren't too many Indian restaurants in the Northgate area. The big downer is the price. A meal for one person will cost about $20 with tip. This includes naan, entree, rice, soda, and desert.

Pros: food, service, atmosphere

Cons: price

Posted 05/31/03

Wonderful food and the best part is the delivery in the North end area. Very quick service, hot food, fantastic spinich naan, vegetable samosas and chicken tikka masala.

Pros: Delivery, Prices, Taste

Posted 12/01/02