Desi Spice Indian Cuisine

We had a great experience at dinner last night. Staff was super nice and the food was great

I’ll start out with the positives:
— The food is outstanding. Very good, and generous portions.
— The initial beverage service was lightening fast.
— Food prices were decent, and I say food because I’ll get to the beverages later.
Now for the cons:
— We ordered three glasses house wine, which cost $ 20
— The food service took forever
— Our order was wrong, and when I brought this up to the owner he said «What you got is better than what you ordered»
Probably won’t be going back again. It’s not worth the aggravation.

Located in an upstairs spot in Midtown Promenade, near the Landmark Theatres. I visited here on a date. I ordered the chicken tikka masala. This was a bit too sweet for me. Needed more spice! Our waiter was very attentive but was making bad attempts at jokes throughout the night. It was very off-​putting. I like the outdoor seating option.

Horrible! Instead of changing the table cloth, I watched the waitress scrape the crumbs off the table from the party that had just left. She then placed the glasses top side down on the soiled table cloth. Health code violation? I think so. Yuck! I am sure she was instructed to do this because the owners were watching. It makes you wonder what else is going on in the back. The samosas were cold in the center. The chicken korma was sweet and had what tasted like apples and bananas in the masala. It was bland and even pushed the limits of what could be called Indian food.
The naan was doughy and did not appear or taste like it was cooked in a tandoor. The vegetable masala was crunchy, had no flavor, and looked like it was frozen vegetable medely from a bag. The lamb curry was slightly sweet as well and lacked flavor as was mentioned by several previous reviewers. Calling it bland would be euphamistic. The mango lassi was syrupy, too sweet, and served on ice which was odd relative to the countless other Indian restaurants I have eaten at.
Finally, I asked for chai, as in masala chai, and I got a puzzled look and was given tea with cinnamon flavor, no cardamom or other spices. I have eaten at dozens of Indian restaurants throughout the United States. I have also been to India many times. What Desi Spice is doing is cutting corners to the extreme and taking their customers for ride. A meal for two cost over $ 50.
Desi Spice needs to be bring their recipes in line with the norms of Indian cuisine. The table cloths need to be changed after each customer or remove the table cloths and wipe the table with health code compliant bleach water and soap. They need to invest in a tandoor, put real mango in their lassi or at least a higher grade purée and do not add ice. And very important, when people ask for chai, ask if they want masala chai, because odds are this what they are asking for and serve it hot and fresh. Unfortunately, I will not return again.
Because I mentioned seeing a table cloth not being changed between customers above, I am providing the Food Service Inspections for Desi Spice below. It would be nice to see grades of «A» in the future.
Desi Spice Indian Cuisine (Food Service Inspections)
931 MONROE DR ATLANTA, GA 30 308
August 16, 2013 Score: 84, Grade: B
April 10, 2014 Score: 66, Grade: U
April 24, 2014 Score: 84, Grade: B
July 24, 2015 Score: 78, Grade: C
August 10, 2015 Score: 88, Grade: B
Scoring and Grading:
A=90−100
B=80−89
C=70−79
U=69 or less

Every piece of the puzzle fit in to place last night at Desi Arnaz Spice.
I’ve been to this Indian place a bunch of times with various pals. It’s convenient and a good atmosphere. Last night, though, everything clicked.
My friend and I sat outside in the corner spot overlooking some of the skyline, and the weather was perfect for an evening of cutting up and chit-​chatting about life and business.
Other than those perfect factors, the owner and his staff were attentive and super-​friendly to us. They’ve always been nice, but tonight everyone was in a good mood and we never waited for anything.
The food last night was the star of the show, though. We started with the samosas, which were really awesome. you must get that in your belly ASAP. I had the chicken tiki masala which is quite literally some of the best I’ve ever had. We also ordered the garlic naan and the puri, both of which were stellar. But the puri was the star of the show: beautifully cooked and with just a hint of sweetness that will blow your mind.
Speaking of blowing your mind, yes, that was a Lucille Ball reference.
Highly recommended for folks who don’t want to go to L5P or elsewhere for Indian.

Everything we ordered was extremely bland and dry The Tikka Masala tasted like coconut rather than spices, Tandoori chicken had no flavor and very dry. The biggest disappointment was the price vs the quality of the food.

The lunch specials here are generous, eminently satisfying, and a great value. This is a good Indian restaurant for Atlanta, and I’m not surprised to see them sticking around year after year in a very happening Midtown location.
The tandoori wings are so crispy and flavorful, a must as an appetizer. I love the tikka masala and vindaloos for mains. And the sweet and surprisingly light cheese balls are the perfect desert to round out your afternoon feast and cleanse the palate. Don’t forget some naan or chapati on the side for sauce mopping.
They have a decent, if small, side patio, and the service is also quick and professional. It’s still a strip mall-​ish vibe – if on the nicer end of that spectrum – so don’t expect a lot of frills. Nonetheless, all around I’ve found Desi Spice to be a consistently pleasing experience and a good value for lunch time indulging.

I really wanted to like this place more than I did, because the owners and servers are a family and seem very friendly/​hard-​working. The food tasted fine — maybe catered more to a mainstream white taste since nothing was that spicy and everything was pretty sweet. The prices are also high — $ 13.95 for a small plate of chicken tikka masala with nothing on the side. Rice and everything else is extra. But the location is really convenient. All in all this is a solid, but not spectacular choice for dinner before catching a movie at midtown art.

One of my go-​to lunch takeout places. Love the Lamb Vindaloo!

I tried Masala Bhindi, Dal, Roti.
Food get ⁴⁄₅ stars but quantity of food is very less for price !

Yum Yum Yum. Between everyone in my family, we’ve probably tried over 75% of the menu with NEVER a sour note. Good solid Indian food! A great ViHi neighborhood stop! Their lunch prices are very good and on a nice day you can eat outside.

This is my favorite Indian restaurant in Atlanta. You cannot beat their lunch special. An appetizer, entrée, and dessert for $ 6.99. Crazy!!!

My favorite Indian restaurant in Atlanta! Excellent food and great service.
I am not going to pretend to be a chef or an expert on authentic Indian food. I just truly enjoy dining here, and they deserve this review.

Unfortunately, my opinion of Desi Spice has changed and not for the better.
Maybe it’s because since my last visit I dined at Atlanta’s #1 rated Indian restaurant (as rated by Unilocalers) and now Desi’s doesn’t compare. Or it could be that the quality of food at Desi’s has declined. Not sure which, not that it matters.
This time I ordered my usual favorites: Mango Lassi, Lamb Curry with Basmati Rice and Garlic Naan. Nothing was extremely bad but the food was just really bland. The Lamb Curry needed to be cooked down for longer to intensify its flavor. The Naan didn’t taste as good as it looked. It could have used more garlic and another shake or two of salt.
Although I didn’t enjoy my food I’m giving two stars for the dining experience. Of all the Indian restaurants in town I like Desi’s dining setup best. There was a generous balcony area off the front entrance that would be perfect for eating outside on sunny days.
Inside, the tables were clean and dressed in rose and white colored cloths. They only had tables so they could easily reconfigure seating for large parties. Everywhere I looked there was something interesting to see.
Festive, brightly colored decorations hung from the ceiling. There were cool velvet paintings on the walls. Nearby was a bottle inscribed «Share a Coke with Desi.» They even had two flat screen TVs mounted on opposite sides of the dining room so every customer had a view of the Bollywood movie they were playing.
The service was extremely attentive, to the point where I wondered if they hadn’t mistaken one of us for a celebrity. Several employees stopped by at various intervals during our meal – whether it was to refresh our drinks, drop off our food or to inquire if everything was ok. They made sure we never wanted for anything.
Low rating aside, because of the level of service we received I would consider dining at Desi Spice again. Hopefully on my next visit I’ll have better things to report about the food.

Chicken tikka masala!!!
I can’t speak for how authentic it is, because I feel like it is sweeter and milder here than other Indian restaurants I’ve been to. But it is still so good! It is not spicy, creamy, and very sweet. Wish it was spicy, but I can’t get enough of it.
Honestly, the other dishes and curries on the menu are good but not great. The garlic naan is my favorite, fluffy and crunchy, with the coconut one as a close second.
Go for the lunch special. It’s a better deal, and you get dessert. The rice pudding is pretty good, not the best I’ve had but satisfying. Otherwise, chicken tikka masala with rice and naan for dinner is big enough for me to split with someone else.

This is what we got for paying 15 $ for the paneer tikka and 10 $ for dal. Atrocious price for the quantity and when asked about the quantity provided.

Kids menu: n/​a
Kids review: I liked the garlic naan, rice and papadam.
Parents review: Bland and expensive. We ordered the chicken tandoori and lamb tikka masala, with a side of basmati, lentils and spinach/​potato. The flavors were missing somehow. The lamb dish literally had 6 chunks of really tough meat for $ 17. The service was kind and attentive, but the food is not very flavorful and way overpriced.

Food = 5. They have so many yummy Naan options.
Service = 5
Ambience = 4. A little cramped but the décor is amazing.

Went to Desi Spice early Sunday for dinner. It is a small restaurant in midtown above the Midtown Arts theater. It is a small but quaint place. We decided not to order appetizers and went right to the main courses. I ordered a half tandoori, chicken, wife ordered a yogurt based lamb pasanda dish. Also ordered Garlic naan and Taj beer. The food came out reasonably fast and was hot. I love the sizzle of the Tandoori! The chicken was a little dry and not as flavorful as some I have had in the past. My wife’s dish was very flavorful and went well with the rice. We ordered it medium hot but it seemed mild to me. Naan was very good as well.
Service was very good and friendly. They took time to answer questions on the menu. I am not a big fan of Indian food and have gone to only one other in Atlanta. I have been to several others in different cities. I thought it was better than my other experience in Atlanta but not the best I have had. I like the atmosphere and the staff. For that reason I would return. Prices were a little on the high side. $ 10 for a 22 oz Taj beer was a little high. We spent $ 60 including tip. Worth a try for Indian cuisine.

I liked the food, but not the prices. This is your typical restaurant that tries to nickel and dime you on everything. They purposely try to fit an Indian stereotype. Because of their prices, I’m rounding down to 3 stars.
We got their Indian dinner for 2. This is a lot of food for 2 people. 2.5 people can probably eat to satisfaction with this. We also ordered the tarka daal with it.
The server asked us if we wanted another Naan because we had 3 people instead of 2. He made it sound like there wouldn’t be enough naan. So we did. This is another example of them trying to squeeze more money out of you. The dinner for 2 has enough rice and naan for 3 people. Trust me. Do not listen to the servers trying to get you to order extras. Just do that later when you find out you might need more food.
They also wanted us to order extra rice because we had 3 people. I’m glad we didn’t because that would’ve been a lot of food.
Like I mentioned, the food tasted good. The dinner for 2 came with 2 huge samosas. Again, the server tried to get us to order an extra samosa. Nope, these 2 samosas can be shared with 3 people. They were big enough. I liked it. It was crispy, and I liked the sauce.
The rest of the dinner came. The lamb curry tasted good. The lamb was tender and moist. I liked their sauce. We ordered medium spicy, and it had a decent amount of heat.
Their kashmir chicken tasted good. It had a sweet taste because of the apples and bananas in the curry. I do think they skimped on the chicken though. I also thought it was too sweet.
I loved their taka daal. Daal is one of my favorite Indian items and this didn’t disappoint. I loved their strong garlic flavor from the daal.
Their veggie bhaji was good too.
Their naan tasted good. It’s big as a pizza. It comes backed and has nice browning and heat blisters from the oven. It’s good naan.
The atmosphere looks intimate and romantic. It seems like a good place for a date. You can even watch Bollywood movies on their TVs.
They are overpriced, but I like their food.