Bistro India

I came during lunch time on Tuesday. I was the only one, and because it was really nice outside I wanted to sit on the patio. Despite the fact that it was closed and all the chairs were folded, they did sit me on the patio after perhaps 10 – 15 minutes of fixing it for me, that was nice. My server was quite friendly although I can tell that she wasn’t in the industry either for a long time or in any other restaurant. I ordered the Chicken Chettinad dish and a Mango martini. The drink was good, food came in a timely manner considering that they weren’t busy at all. Chicken dish was spicy, which was great and balanced, and the meat was tender. Although I’m not big on salt, it was lacking the proper amount of it. The rice was just plain rice (again, I realize it’s just a lunch time). I was not asked by the staff if my food was okay, so I never had the chance to ask for some salt, but closer to the end of my meal the server did ask me if I wanted anything else. The food was good, the service is what they definitely need to work on. But overall– not too bad!

The food was pretty good. Dosa’s were large and tasty. Butter chicken was relatively good. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this place though. The service was unacceptable. Really the downfall of this place. I would describe it as forgetful, slow, and inattentive. If you like Indian food, come and see what this place has to offer but keep expectations low.

Came here twice. First time was horrible. Second time only confirmed the first time.
Service was incredibly slow. Over an hour for any food. Wait staff didn’t come over more than once every 30 – 45 minutes.
When food finally arrived (over 1.5 hours in), it was bland and nothing special.
Seriously don’t bother. There are so many better places to try in Edmonton.

If you want to pay hefty amount for one of the worst biryani and worst food in Edmonton Bistro India is the only place in town for that!!! Sucha horrible taste, very less quantity and worst taste. Never ever visit this restaurant!!! Not worth for our money!

I really enjoyed the food at this place, I went with a group of friends (5 total) and we all ordered dishes and shared them. The prices for the food were right on par for what they were serving. I really enjoyed the food.
This lost 2 stars for 3 reasons
1.Our waiter was really shy to the point that there was a communication barrier. Super nice guy but so shy.
2. We asked for wine recommendations, the waiter was unable to provide them as he doesn’t drink alcohol, which is something that I completely respect, there are infinite reasons not to drink. However, he should have been able to provide wine recommendations from knowledge of the menu and have been trained is what wines they offer that pair with which dishes (there was some description on the menu) but we got a variety of dishes and we needed more expertise.
3.Service was really slow and the place was not all that busy. It took almost 45 minutes to get our food after ordering and after we finished about a half an hour to get the table cleared. An hour later when we still hadn’t received out bill we finally went up the front to pay so we could get on with our night.
All and all I would recommend this place to anyone and I would like to go back some time soon, or take advantage of the take out option. They do offer delivery but its through skip the dishes so be warned if you are a fellow boycotter of them and companies like them.

I’m sorry to say it was such a disappointment yesterday. I ordered Allapey fish curry and i opted for very spicy. But I couldn’t eat it because of the sweetness. It was tasting like instead of spice they added sugar in that. My Cardamom Crème Brule was totally burned. It was not worth for the money I paid

The Food is amazingly authentic, the prices are good and the service is swell, I highly recommend it.
There Lamp Curry is the best indian meal I’ve ever had.

I feel absolutely ripped off. Almost as bad as being stolen from. 12 $+ for a 6 ounce ladle of vegetarian curry. Shoot me now! The vegetarian Dosa was about maybe 2 ice scoops of potato wrapped in a crêpe to make it look big! Another 12 $ never coming back with remedy just down the street! Or burrito libre! You will never survive more than a year or so… It’s veritable oil and spices! 12 $? Goodbye!

I’ve only been here a couple of times, but I’ve really enjoyed my visits. I ought to go more often but I often forget that this restaurant is here, which is a disappointment.
I think this place shines best when it comes to the Dosa brunch menu on the weekends. While Dosa are on the menu for other times the selection is not nearly so amazing.
This restaurant is located in a picturesque house in the Oliver neighborhood and features both a patio and indoor seating areas (though I’ve yet to try out the patio. Generally when I’ve visited, there haven’t been many staff, so if it was unexpectedly busy, I would imagine poor service, but I’ve generally had good service as well.

I’m sorry to say, it’s just too expensive for everything here. That point made me so disappointed getting take out. Goan shrimp curry is 19.95 and garlic naan is 3.95. For a total of 25.10. I think that’s an insane price unless you are a must visit Indian king. And they are far from that I’m afraid. The food isn’t that bad really. It’s just not worth what they are commanding. There are so many other options nearby. It’s sad, but it’s true.

I got the butter chicken with rice and garlic nann. It was soo good. They gave me tones of rice so I have lots to mix with all the butter chicken. Although in my opinion prices are a bit high, ill end up getting close to three meals out of this because of the portion size, which makes the price not matter.

The specialty Dosa brunch seems to be their forte but having experienced only their weekday lunch I will comment on that only.
They pretty much use the same curry in everything, and it isn’t noteworthy or even payment worthy, though certainly edible. You can get better food at most Indian restaurants.
The service is attentive, ambience is so-​so.
If I crave Dosa and can get myself out of the house on a warm summer Saturday, I might go try it, but not the regular fare again.

I ended up at Bistro India recently because we didn’t want to walk an extra four blocks to another restaurant in the blowing, wet snow. I have been here a few times before, but I rarely consider coming here. This place isn’t bad at all, but there are a few things that make it only okay.
The food here is pretty good. Because this is a South-​Indian restaurant, the flavours are a bit different than your typical Indian restaurant, which is refreshing. I’ve had a variety of the chicken and vegetarian dishes, and while some are very nice, others can be a bit bland and need an extra punch of flavour.
The restaurant itself is in a house. (I call it the «cursed» house because so many different businesses have been here over the years.) The layout is kind of awkward, and I have always ended up sitting in a narrow area, so it can feel slightly claustrophobic, although it also has a quirky «grandma’s house» charm to it, which is kind of cool.
The waitresses I’ve had are super nice, but not always as attentive as I’d expect. They are, however, very knowledgeable about accommodating for gluten and dairy allergies, which has worked out really well.
So while the food is pretty good and the service is not bad, my biggest complaint is the prices and the food portions. The dishes are pretty small, and the prices are pretty high. If they just made the portions bigger or lowered the prices, I’d probably come here pretty regularly. They do have lunch specials, however, and dosa brunch specials. The dosas are fairly delicious and worth a try at least once.

I love the location of Bistro India, which is an old house in the Oliver neighbourhood. It feels like a quirky movie set with lots of twists and turns with strategic lighting. It smelled great when we arrived, and I especially liked that the menu focused on southern Indian cuisine, which is vastly underrepresented in this city.
Good staff — the host was congenial without being obsequious.
Good food — I especially liked the Chicken Malabar, which offered up juicy chunks of fowl bathed in coconut-​cashew sauce. The sauce had a bit of kick too, which was absorbed nicely by basmati rice. We tried a beef dish as well that featured strips of beef with peppers. It was decent, but didn’t make a huge impression on me. Garlic naan was very garlicky (and that is not a bad thing either). It made a good vessel for mopping up extra sauce.
All things considered, a great evening! Next time I would try the dhosas.

On our continued quest to find the best Indian food in the closest proximity to our home, my husband and I stopped in at Bistro India during a walk around the neighbourhood. We ate on the patio, which is nothing fancy– kind of like eating on your own porch at home. The inside of the restaurant looked nicely decorated, and felt like it would be nice and cozy during the winter time.
Before I get any further into my review, I should mention that the two star rating is completely based on food and cost, and not on service. The service at Bistro India was very good, attentive and efficient.
For food, my husband ordered the Kadai Vegetables, Chicken Chettinadu and Garlic Naan. I decided to see what their «Indian Fusion» food was like so I tried the Bistro Tikka Burger.
The food was tasty enough, however the portions were fairly small for the price. At $ 16 for the chicken dish and $ 14 for the veggie dish, I felt like there wasn’t enough food compared to other Indian a la carte restaurants. As well, my Bistro Tikka Burger was served on essentially a Wonder Bun, and when dining at a restaurant I expect something a little fancier.
The garlic naan was delicious, however it was much smaller than portions at other restaurants (I’m thinking Guru or Zaika). At a cost of $ 3.95 for a piece smaller than a dinner plate, I think it was over priced. As well, we were told by the person taking our order that the chicken dish came with an order of rice or naan, only to find it on the bill afterwards, and to be informed by another server that naan is only included at lunch time.
Other than that small mix up with the service, the servers were attentive with re-​filling our water and the food came quite quickly.
Even though the food was okay and the service wasn’t bad, the bill for the meal was over $ 60 (we didn’t have any drinks), and I feel that we could have had a much more satisfying meal at Zaika buffet, or with our favourite butter chicken and naan meal at Guru. For this reason, I don’t think we’ll return to Bistro India.

Went to Bistro India twice in the past month. First time we went for a quick dinner on a weekday. Place was not busy at all — only another table was filled when we were there. Hopefully they are more busy as this place is great and the food is tasty.
The first time we went, we shared three dishes:
— Bistro tandoori platter ($ 26) — pick two vegan and two meat appetizers from the appetizer section. We went with salmon tawa fry (was on the dry side), aachari jhinga (prawns on a stick which were good), samosa stuffed with chicken and peas, and the bhajji (deep fried pieces of onion, potato and eggplant). I didn’t think it was worth the price you pay — expensive for a tasting platter. My advice — just order one appetizer. You can thank me later.
— Hyderabadi mutton biryani ($ 18ish I think) — really cool presentation, comes in one of those Indian style bowls. Good amount of tender goat meat and basmati rice. YUM.
— Coorg badaney chops ($ 12) — eggplant cooked with cilantro and mint sauce. I’m a huge fan of eggplant and this one hit the spot.
Second time, I went with a buddy on a Sunday for their brunch menu (dosas only from 11am-​5pm). We had two masala dosas (two different types of chicken ones) — one was $ 12 and the other $ 13. Came with three dipping sauces (lentil mixture, a butter chicken type sauce and a white one) and the chicken filling had a nice bit of heat to it!
No complaints here. Good food, friendly staff and a nice outdoor patio to sit and soak up the sunshine. Check it out when your craving some Indian.

The best part of this place are the dosas– rice and lentil crepes stuffed with various fillings. Although… the huge crepes aren’t so much ‘stuffed’ as rolled up around a pile of filling in the centre (so that there’s a good 2 – 3 inches of dry crêpe on either side). But they are tasty! I would definitely go back just for another one of their paneer dosas.
Everything else I tried I could take or leave. Naan was disappointing. Arrived at the table cut into 4 pieces and cold. Malabar chicken and Kadai beef were palatable but forgettable. Not much to say about presentation. The dining room is pretty cramped and cluttered and stale; I much preferred the patio but we moved inside as it started to rain. No complaints about the service.
All in all, a pretty decent neighborhood joint serving up southern Indian fare.

My bf and I went to this restaurant last night and we had a good experience. No real complaints for this place. I would recommend it for a group gathering or 4 people as it felt slightly awkward for a 2 person table.
My bf has never tried Indian food and I would recommend this place as a great place to introduce a new person to this type of cuisine. Naturally we got mild for everything and it was in my opinion a perfect spice level to try as much food as we did. My only real disappointment was to go to an Indian restaurant and not see pakora on the menu. I was really sad but gave the South Bhajji a try and it didn’t satisfy that craving but it was still descent. It kind of felt like an Indian version of Japanese tempura.
Of course we ordered butter chicken and we also gave Kadai Beef (veggies and beef) and Bangala DumpaKur (baby potatoes) a try. All obviously had the same base but had slight flavour differences which made this meal dance on my palette (which I did appreciate). The best thing by far was that their curries were thick. None of that watered down crap you sometimes find. They were hearty and if that’s what you love, it’s a good place to try currie!
One thing I noticed and loved (because I have a sweet tooth) is that their butter chicken was quite sweet. That alone made me think Bistro India is a good way to introduce someone (like my bf) to Indian food. IF you’re going there with a noob, remind them not to eat the Star Anise… my boyfriend was munching away on something hard in the curry and didn’t realize it was a spice that wasn’t to be consumed.
A couple reasons why I can’t give this place 5 stars: I wasn’t a fan of their chai. It was very creamy and didn’t have much flavour to it. There wasn’t pakora on their menu and I think their portion sizes were small (but their prices weren’t too bad!).
Other than those, I’d highly recommend this place. I don’t know if I will be going back any time soon because I really am on the hunt for good pakora but I would definitely go back for their butter chicken– thick, spicy AND sweet! Just the way I like it.

The food is here (mostly) pretty good. The highlight is definitely the sauces, so stick to ordering from the Entrees section of the menu. I’ve had several of their dishes, and the only one I suggest avoiding so far is the millagu beef. The prices are also a bit high, compared to other Indian restaurants in town.
The service and atmosphere and just plain weird though. The restaurant is in an old house, so you’re either seated at a very private table in a little room off the main dining room, or in the cramped dining room. Watch out for uneven steps everywhere.
The server I’ve had the last couple times is kind of disappointing. She mostly remembers our order (although she forgot our naan last time), but she wasn’t very friendly and was really not helpful with the menu. We had ordered a few dishes off the menu we’d never heard of, and she neglected to mention that the combination of dishes we were getting was a bit off, and that the portions were probably not enough to feed 3 people. A good server will confirm that you know what you’re ordering, just to make sure. She also knew absolutely nothing about the wine list, and suggested a wine that turned out to be quite sweet when we were looking for something dry.
The owner (I think that’s who is he) comes by to see how you’re doing, which is nice, but he never really introduces himself and he’s a bit brash, which makes things kind of awkward.
But, the food is nice, and I’ll probably be back, but likely just for takeout.

Bistro India is a charming little Indian restaurant. And it’s just two blocks from where I live!!! (not that this matters to you, but it does to me) We’ve been going there since they opened last fall, and the food and service just keep getting better and better.
This restaurant focuses on South Indian cuisine, though they do offer some North Indian menu items that Canadians just love (naan, for example). My favourite dishes here are the Paper Masala Dhosa and the Paneer Dhosa. Both are exceptional dishes (and if you ask, you can even watch them make the dhosas!). The other dishes on their vegetarian menu are also really good. But if you go there, make sure somebody in your party gets a dhosa. And it might as well be you, since you’ll want more than just a bite.
I have tried a couple of their desserts. The kulfi is really good, as is the banana dosa. The cardamom crème brûlée is rather hit-​or-​miss; the first time I had it, it inspired dreams. This second time, it was… meh!
But overall, this is a wonderful restaurant. Nice décor. Lively Indian dance music (but not so loud you can’t talk). Attentive service. And most importantly, great food. Check it out. Just be sure to get a dhosa.
Oh, and this place is very accommodating for large groups. I brought a group of girlfriends there last year, and we had the upstairs to ourselves. We had a blast!