Ashoka the Great

This India town parking got weird. Now there are paid parking stalls on 186^th and 187^th street and also no parking in the neighborhoods (you need a permit). However, it’s free street parking on Pioneer. I seriously hate going down Pioneer between South and 183^rd but only do it to get my eyebrows threaded and my fix of Indian food.
The Chicken tikka masala was really good, though I wish there was a bit more sauce. Ended up with a lot of chicken left and not enough of those delicious spices. Also got the medium spicy but it was not spicy at all.
The tandoori chicken, on the other hand, was not so great. Typically the chicken is more crispy as it seems to be oven-​baked. This chicken was soft and didn’t have that same oven-​baked feel to it. The flavor was very minimal and I definitely would not order this again.
One order of garlic naan and rice should be enough for two!
The food is typically satisfying and the prices are decent so I’ll probably keep coming back to this place!

Probably the best Indian buffet I’ve had– so many choices for 9.95 $! Definitely can’t beat that:) oh and the price is including weekends also.
They have a variety of veggie and meat dish (including goat curry!), and a very fresh selection of dessert.
Pictures below!

Good vegetarian items and lot of varieties compared to other Indian cuisines around here in long beach

I came here with some friends for the Sunday buffet. The food was great but the service sucked. However, everyone was nice, and the buffet had a great selection of items. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good brunch place.

My go to spot for Indian food in Artesia. Their lunch is okay and cheap, but I’d prefer to dine during dinner and order individual dishes. It’s made better in my opinion when you order it that way. Can’t go wrong with their Karachi chicken and paneer Tikka masala

Great price and bigger selections on buffet — not too spicy and perfectly seasoned to taste — our new favorite.
Drinks at 1.50
Per person buffet is 9.99

I love Indian food. And I really love Indian food buffets. And I really really love when it costs $ 10!
They have a pretty good selection of dishes to choose from. And at least 5 different kinds of curry dishes! Enough to get me full on my first plate, but cmon it’s a buffet… So I had to go in for a second plate regardless of my tummy telling me no! I’ll show this tummy who’s boss!
The staff were kinda… Unfriendly. None of them looked me in the eyes. None of them smiled. Kept bumping into our chairs. Just felt like they were annoyed the entire time. Whatever– I’d still go back.

More like Ashoka the Mediocre. While they do have a large variety of foods I found the flavors to be rather bland. Perhaps I should have ordered my Thali plate spicier. The service was not the best and it took the waiter 20 minutes to bring water and take our order. I normally forgive subpar service if the food is fantastic, but Ashoka didn’t bring the greatness tonight. I like the India Restaurant much better, which is just down the street on Pioneer.

Vegetarian or carnivore, Ashoka the Great caters to them all. While Indian food may not be for everyone, places like this might be able to make you a fan. I recommend the lunch buffet, divided between vegetarian and meat dishes, with a dessert bar full of fresh delicious fruit and other goodies.
I’ve also had dinner here, which if you bring a lot of people, can be just as exciting as the buffet, with great prices for each dish. We had a party of 8 and ordered a dish per person and shared everything. The varieties of masalas and paneers are delicious over rice, with a side of naan.
This is one of my favorite Indian spots in little India.

Amazing Goat curry and Chicken Curry. Their rice is spot on as is their Tandoori Chicken and Masala. The Jamun balls and sweet rice is also delicious. I blend them together everywhere I go and some places it’s either too sweet or the rice is too yogurt tasting. Not here. Lunch is also a great value. All you can eat buffet for two for 20 $

Lunch buffet! Under $ 10 even on weekends! I love that they offer a little bit of everything at such a great price. My favorite thing about the buffet is the goat curry and chicken tikka masala! They also provide garlic naan to your table. Just make sure you pace yourself! :D
The staff is very attentive and are pretty quick in taking away your plates. The overall environment is very welcoming and pleasant. I love eating the fresh fruit they have for dessert!

One of the best places for Indian food and for such a great deal. I would come here all the time if I could for lunch, but I’d probably gain 15 pounds by the end of the month from the all you can eat! Service was amaZing as well!

Went quite late on New Year’s Eve. Place was full. Ordered lamb curry (spicy) and Karachi chicken (medium) to play it safe.
Food was served 25 minutes later. The lamb was cooked well, was a little salty and not spicy. The chicken was not done, salty and no flavor.
In short, when I tried both dishes they both tasted the same! Don’t think I’m coming back again. (I’m from India and have some idea about authentic Indian food).

fast, inexpensive Indian lunch buffet. For $ 8.95, you can load up of rice, paneer, curries, and sweets. they bring each table a basket of naan.
theres plenty of options for vegetarian and/​or meat eaters. they have 3 – 4 desserts too, which are sweet!
parking around the area are mostly metered

OVERALL:
Service is ok, but the great food makes up for it.
LIKES:
Food:
— Food is excellent! Love the chicken thali plate. The portions are HUGE, and I’m a fat kid. I can usually make 2 – 2.5 meals out of the thali plate alone.
— Menu is HUGE: there is a ton of variety!
GRIPES:
Service:
— A-​OK for dine in. They weren’t super rude or anything, but they weren’t super attentive either.
— A little iffy for pick up. I’ve phoned in an order before, and had to talk to 2 people to make sure it was right. Takes a while to prep. They told me 20 minutes and it was closer to 25 – 30, so plan accordingly. Luckily, there are plenty of nearby shops to browse!
Ambience:
— Fairly clean overall, but I had to ask for a new dish since there was some residual food on mine.
Food:
— For pick up/​take out, they skimp on the basmati rice. You get a way bigger portion of rice when you dine in.
— For take out, also make sure you specify the dessert you like. You have to be proactive about exercising your freedom of choice! :)
OTHER:
— Parking: Pioneer Street is under construction right now right in front of the restaurant so getting around is a bit of a clown show, but there is a pay lot close by that is fairly inexpensive.

What can I say? How about exceptional customer service and amazing flavors! My first experience with Ashoka was such a memorable one! When you order for delivery on Christmas Eve and am greeted with a warm smile and huge bag of deliciousness, you can’t help but leave a 5 star review. The Chicken Tikka Masala was perfectly seasoned and had a great consistency, the garlic naan was warm, soft had the perfect amount of garlic and the veggie samosas had a heaping portion of flavor and spice inside and a crispy thick outer crust outside. The staff at Ashoka went above and beyond with their service and quality of food. You now have a loyal customer Ashoka! Thanks guys!

Sunday brunch with friends.
Artesia parking is pay by the space or parking garage.
Small storefront that can seat at least 50. Bar and buffet take up other space.
$ 16 buffet gave access to great food: good rice, carrot pudding, tandoori/​baked/​some other kind of chicken, and mango smoothie.

I came here on a Saturday for lunch and, having been disappointed lately with all Indian buffets opted to just order from the menu. The prices were reasonable and it was definitely worth ordering from the menu rather than the buffet. I ordered vegetable pakoras, bhindi masala, saag paneer, garlic naan and chai tea. The okra was perfect and the saag was good, but a little too creamy. The naan was fresh and squishy too. My pakoras were a little cold though. I couldn’t finish it all and clearly my eyes were bigger than my stomach so I ordered it to go. The food was 4 stars. My main waiter wasn’t friendly at all, although everyone else was. It’s a little chaotic on a weekend on Pioneer as there is street work being done and it’s a single lane.

The food here doesn’t taste bad. My boyfriend and I got their Chicken Tikka Masala and Special Lamb curry combo. The chicken tikka masala has a distinct taste (maybe some sort of spice) to it that is a little different from what we usually had before. Both of us weren’t the biggest fan of this additional taste but the dish was still ok. The lamb curry taste itself was pretty standard but the meat wasn’t that tender. We had kheer for dessert and it was pretty good. However, service wasn’t that great. I didn’t like our server’s attitude because he almost seemed rude. My boyfriend really enjoyed the food here but I would not come back to this place again because after about an hour from eating, I had diarrhea. My boyfriend was fine so I guess it’s not that their food isn’t clean it’s just my stomach isn’t used to the spices they use here.

We recently moved to SoCal and had heard about Little India, but we weren’t sure exactly where it was located. After a few Google searches and talking to friends, we came across this little stretch. My husband was happy and nostalgic to find a home away from home type of place so we decided to have dinner somewhere in the area. Conveniently, one of our friends recommended we try Ashoka.
We went late on a Saturday night an hour before they closed. The restaurant is casual and spacious and they even have a bar at the back. I was actually surprised how crowded it was for the time. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted and shown to our table. The waiter was very kind and went over the menu with us.
We ordered the chicken tikka masala and chicken korma with rice and naan. Let me mention that when they say «medium spice» is technically «very spicy» according to my spice-​o-​meter. We ordered both of our dishes medium spicy and it almost made my eyes water.
Regardless, both the tikka masala chicken and chicken korma curries were excellent. The tikka chicken was tender and the sauce flavorful. The chicken korma was also delicious, thick, and creamy. The only thing I did not like about the korma was that the chicken had not been cleaned and some pieces had the skin on it. Still, it was tender and flavorful.
Concerning the service, everyone I spoke to was very attentive and nice. The food came out in a reasonable amount of time and everything was fresh and delicious.
I would definitely return to Ashoka and try more dishes on their menu. Truly, the quality of food is pretty good for the price. I would also consider trying their buffet sometime.