Raj Palace Restaurant

Good breakfast to go to an informal lunch with co-​workers. Spicy food, but good buffet

I was here recently for Sunday lunch. The lady I came with had been raving about this place but I had resisted her invitations; being South Indian (SI) myself, I knew that any SI fare would pale in comparison to home cooking. Also, my mom owns an SI restaurant as well, so my standards are high.
First off, I thought the prices were for idli, vada, dosa were all way too high – $ 7 for 3 idlis?! What! Anyhow, we ordered idlis, a veg. curry and the fish fry (pomfret).
The idlis themselves had good flavor and a nice pillowy texture. But the sambar and coconut chutney were terrible. Both were runny and lacked flavor. The condiments are really the crucial to enjoying idlis so this was a big disappointment.
The pomfret was quite tasty and, at $ 17, a good value. You get the whole fish – head to tail – so it’s perfect for sharing among 2 or even 3 people. Pomfret itself is a yummy fish and the bold seasoning really enhanced it. I would come here again for this item.
The vegetable curry lacked salt and flavor – a totally forgettable dish. And you had to pay extra for rice! This annoyed me but the people I came with didn’t share my outrage; they argued that paying for rice is standard practice these days. I guess I’m old fashioned then – a curry needs to come with rice or bread.

Chai wasn’t all that great but SI-​style coffee was excellent.
I guess for people who don’t get SI food often in Calgary, this would be an okay choice. But if you are ever in Southern California, then check out my mom’s restaurant Jeeva’s Kitchen for the best SI food in the Inland Empire!

As a good southern boy, I love good idli, dosa, sambhar and vada. Three years ago this place used to serve good food. But, the quality of food went downhill with time. Service is usually terrible. I personally prefer their country hills branch in which they sell ala cart. Calgary needs good south indian outlets.

Fabulous experience! The food was flawless and next time we want to try a hot dish to get on the Wall of Fame!
Take-​out available. :)

Lunch buffet review:
Being that this was a South Indian Restaurant I was hopeful that it would be vegetarian/​vegan friendly. Not really. For the price of $ 16.99 it is far to expensive if you’re not eating the meat too.
I came at 1 pm (in an attempt to avoid the lunch rush) and it was absolutely dead. The buffet was picked over, and it was clear absolutely no new food was going to be brought out.
I’m not sure why they are open til 2:30 for lunch then.
This is what I can remember was at the buffet, I may have missed one or two items.
Salad bar:
lettuce and cucumbers
cold chickpea salad
old pink watermelon slices (not edible)
cantaloupe cubes
Chutney’s and dips:
coconut (watery and bland)
tomato
mint
tamarind
and a few others
Hot items:
Indian rice with peas — almost gone, only a tiny bit left and no new rice brought out
Masala dosas — gone, had to ask for fresh ones
Naan bread — few pieces left
Idly — gone
papadams — a few left
Sambar soup
Beef curry
Butter Chicken
Okra curry
Potato curry
Chickpea Curry
Dessert:
jello
flan
something that looked like bread/​french toast in cream
For the price, especially since most of it was not fresh and not refilled after the rush I did not see any value. And what’s up with not bringing out any new rice? A little hard to eat curry with no rice.
The curries are very spicy, which is to be expected but all the veggie curries have pretty much the same flavor. Nothing really stood out. Even the masala dosas were rather bland and the coconut chutney was pretty sad. Just watery and plain.
If you like Indian buffets you may like it. But I don’t see any reason to come back for my needs. I’ll be on the hunt for a better vegan friendly Indian buffet. The receipt said they had a Sunday veg buffet and I asked about it and the server said they don’t do it anymore.
Sad Calgary. Vegetarian Indian food can be good, but it seems to be losing out for meat based curries and is left as an after thought. Boo.

Great food items here. My first time in. Was not exactly sure what I ordered, but it was great. I will surely return.

Not a really bad place, but nothing to write home about either. The Chicken tandori was quite standout and worth it, but the rest of the lunch buffet was mediocre at best.

Decent buffet selection plus Wonderful service! The waiter was very attentive n friendly (explaining the food items n how Indian ppl eat them). I had a buffet dinner on a quiet/​relaxing Wednesday (today) n truly enjoyed my first dinning experience at Raj Palace:) Oh I really liked the Indian music they played there even tho I didn’t understand the lyrics :)

Raj Palace is becoming one of my go-​to spots for lunch in downtown Calgary. The service rocks, the buffet is always full of hot, tasty Indian food and the price is right at around $ 15. There’s usually a person or two at the front waiting for takeout as well.
There’s plenty of seating available if you’ve got a large group of folks headed out for a meal. Say, like, 20 some odd people-​or find yourself a table along the wall or by the window if there are just a couple of you.
I’ve never eaten off of the menu here, just had the buffet. But I can’t walk away from that buffet without a helping of butter chicken. Yummers!

I don’t usually eat Indian food because I can’t handle all the spice. But based on a recommendation, we decided to try this restaurant. The décor when you first walk in is very nice. Most people probably eat the buffet which was reasonably priced at under $ 14. There was a variety of food including a salad, curry vegetables and meats, rice, and potatoes. They also bring fresh naan and dosa to the table and it’s yummy. My colleague said it was good south Indian cuisine and my stomach and pocket book both agreed.

Good south indian food. If you are a lover of masala dosa (crêpe) and idli with sambar and chatni (pickle) then this is worth paying a visit. Chicken here is not so tasty but the fish curry is. Rest of the curries are just upto the mark. Rotis and nan are good here. We can find very few south indian restaurants in calgary and I think this is best of all those I have visited till now in calgary with much reasonable price. Best thing about this place is that they offer buffet even during dinner time and no other indian restaurant in downtown during weekdays at so lower price (as far as now).
Saturday buffet stands my fave day here. They serve hyderabadi chicken dum biryani, fishcurry and lamb curry too which are just sooo yummy!!!
If you like dosas here, don’t hesitate to ask for more which they serve free during buffet and you can eat as much as you can!

We went on a Saturday at lunchtime and the place was totally deserted. We went for the buffet even though the price was a bit high ($ 15.99) since my wife had never experienced Indian food before. The atmosphere was pretty nice but the service was slow to get to us despite the fact that we were the only customers.
The food was mediocre. It was a bit cold and I’ve definitely had better indian food but overall it was a decent place to eat. I probably wouldn’t go back but there is nothing I particularly didn’t like. The buffet was fairly large but it lacked some things that I would have liked to see, especially for the price.

Thursday — my fave day at Raj Palace! Why? It’s Fish Curry day! Delicious! The other Fish Curry Day is Saturday. As it was a warm day, I also had the Mango Lassi — a mango yogurt drink with ice cubes. Aaaaaahhhh!
I noticed right away when I entered the restaurant that it’s got new oblong and round tables and chairs. The booths are done away with. There is only one half-​booth right up the front by the bar. It’s actually opened up the space in the restaurant.

The Raj Palace is enticing because of the buffet, but buffets are painful for me. I love them, and I can’t stop. My plate gets piled high, I don’t want to miss out… Basically, I lose my mind for the duration of the lunch hour. Indian Buffets are particularly challenging for me because I think they are the best way to sample tons of food without a huge group, and because they are super spicy. I can’t handle the spice.
I really liked the atmosphere. It was bustling, and they used up most of their space. The service was quick and efficient, everyone was super nice and it looked a little classier inside.
So it was with some trepidation that I headed down to the Raj palace for lunch. 12.95 for the lunch buffet. They had a good selection — quite a few veggie options, a salad and fruit area, paneer and tandoori and a little bit of everything. The butter chicken was so-​so, but the naan was super fresh and everything else was nice and tasty… I 100% ate too much. I’m pretty sure people were giving me the look, I ate so much.
The desserts were a touch suspect. The sweet noodles were delicious but the crème de caramel (why in an Indian restaurant?) was over cooked. I’ll definitely be back, especially because I got a coupon with my purchase! Yay!

Okay, I’ll admit it. I’m a dosa girl. No ifs, ands or buts about it.
Mysore Palace is a wonderful South Indian Restaurant that is decorated nicely and the food is quite delicious.
I ordered the Onion Dosa, along with chai. Both very good. The service was good and the prices were reasonable.
My only criticism is that it could use a bit of a better clean. We sat by the windowsill and there was a collection of dead fruit flies laying there. It didn’t help my appetite, but let’s just say I had no problem polishing off my plate regardless.