Rice N Spice

Man, I miss this place. It’s been closed 7 months and I still look wistfully at the empty storefront every time I walk or drive by. The family that owned it was so friendly, and the food kept improving.
According to the owners, their landlord had refused to renew their lease and was planning to open his own restaurant in that space by September (which obviously didn’t happen). They took down customers’ contact info so they could notify us when they found a new space, but I haven’t heard anything yet.

Sometimes a song says it best:
It’s been six months, eight days, twelve hours
Since you went away
I miss you so much and I don’t know what to say
I should be over you
I should know better but it’s just not the case
It’s been six months, eight days, twelve hours
Since you went away
It’s hard enough just passing the time
When I can’t seem to get you off my mind
And where is the good in goodbye?
Tell me why, tell me why
Goodbye Rice N Spice, we hardly knew ye.

Sadness.
Rice N Spice recently closed. I always hate to see local, family-​owned businesses fail. I really liked the family that owned and ran this restaurant and I wish them the best of luck in the future.
On a brighter note, Kabana from down the street will be opening in this space soon. SCORE!

YES! Finally a place that I can call home. Jk. No but really, this restaurant has the best Chicken Tikka Masala around. I love bringing new people here so we can sit in the booths towards the back with the dimming lights. We keep them nice and low then when the food comes, BAM! We turn the lights up to admire the delicious feast we are about to devour.
I really like how they have free chai tea. And their chai is perfect. I love sugar and I barely have to put any in. It’s already delicious the way it is.
I drive 25 mins just to eat here. I base my trips to Berkeley around coming to eat here! It’s so cheap and so good. I wish they opened one closer to my house.

Friday is my Indian/​Pakistani take-​out day, and I’m embarrassed to admit how much I look forward to it every week. In standard rotation are Rice ‘N’ Spice, Indus Village and Kabana, and today was Rice ‘N’ Spice day.
Or so I thought.
My mouth had already begun to water when I picked up the phone to order extra spicy chicken tikka masala, aloo gobi, palak paneer, and and their delicious buttery, fluffy naan (not all for me…). I dialed the number, and instead of the warm greeting I’m used to getting, I was assaulted with, «We’re sorry. The number you have dialed has been disconnected…» Whaaaa???
My friend Collin and I double, and then triple-​checked the number on three different websites before I noticed the orange box that exclaimed, «Closing May 30^th!» as if that were a happy announcement!
Two words: So. Bummed.
I really loved this place. Their veggie samosas were hands down the best I’ve ever eaten. The crust was perfectly flaky, and the inside was incredibly flavorful — for a change, I didn’t feel like I was eating mashed potatoes wrapped in dough.
Their website claims that they’re just looking for a new location*, but I’m not that optimistic. To all the other fans out there, email Rice ‘N’ Spice and tell them to come back!
*The restaurant was way too big, so maybe rent really was the issue? Please?

We found this place while wandering in an area full of Indian restaurants, and were not disappointed.
We had some lovely vegetable samosas. I wish I knew what one of the sauces that came with it was — it was brown and spicy and sweet and so delicious.
I had the paneer tikka masala and rice, after debating whether to get the chicken. As a sadly former vegetarian, I still appreciate going meatless, and how can you turn down cheese? Combine it with tikka masala and I’m pretty much in heaven.
My spouse had a tandoori chicken leg and thigh. Warning: This apparently takes longer to cook and we didn’t know, so we hadn’t even gotten our food yet when some people who came after us were getting ready to leave. Even so, the tandoori chicken leg was very good — I snuck a bite.
Meanwhile, we also had some really lovely, thick garlic naan that’s so yummy that you could eat it by itself. And indeed so lovely that the spouse, who declared fullness, was able to help me sop up some of the sauce from my dish with the naan when I needed help.
Overall, great food. Liked the décor, and we sat in a window seat, which was cool.
Minus a star for: a) not being told our food would be so much later because of the tandoori leg. b) The sketch quality of the back area where the restrooms were. The bathroom wasn’t dirty, but all the doors in that area — including the bathroom door looked janky and dirty. That’s something you’re glad you don’t see until after you’ve eaten.
But we would definitely go again if in the area. My belly is still happy just thinking about my paneer tikka masala, days later. Prices were very good, too.

My first time trying Indian food!
I was actually shopping at Emeryville and was craving something different.
Not sure if I know what Indian Cusine is supposed to taste like as for authenticity but with my Korean appetite Rice N Spice pleased my tongue with great flavors!
3 very basic dishes I tried were:
Garlic Nann,
Chicken Tikka Masala,
I forgot this seafood fried rice type of thing sorry. –_​– I think I’d get white rice next time with Chicken Tikka Masala.
Samosas 1 of each meat I really enjoyed the veggie one it has like potatoes inside it was really yummy.
Indian dumplings I call it haha.
Garlic nann was so good like a little crispy on the edges and so soft with a touch of garlic yum!
Afterwards my tummy felt a little spicy because a lot of good spices in their food and that’s what I went there for! Haha
I crave their food time to time and will definitely be back and try other dishes.
Oh the service is very prompt. Street parking and they have these booths in the back and you can dim the light it’s really cool.
Enjoy!

This might be my favorite restaurant. We’re there almost once a week now, sometimes more often than that. I can really only speak for the Channa Masala, Daal, and Naan and they’re fantastic. Often spicy but and always flavorful. The Naan is the best around, lightly buttered, fluffy, and delicious.
The owners, who I’m sure must recognize us by now, are always so friendly, we’ve developed a certain fondness for them.
Free chai tea and cozy booths at the back with your own dimmer switch.
So, so affordable. Our dinner tab is always less than $ 15.

PRO:
* really REALLY great chicken masala curry (and a bit spicy!)
* best garlic naan bread I’ve enjoyed in a long time
* very tasty samosa (one of the meat-​filled ones)
* friendly service
* open for Sunday lunch (an unfortunate increasing rarity)
CON:
* no rice with the chicken masala, but it was so good plus I prefer dipping the naan in it so didn’t care
* only saw metered parking, but it was Sunday so didn’t care
* I’m normally a caring guy
ASIDE:
* this was my first time here but think this may be the best Indian restaurant in the Bay Area right now; will have to return and confirm
* some reviewers don’t like the décor but really don’t care; was fine to me
* there was slow but steady stream of traffic despite it absolutely pouring outside — dedicated and knowledgable lunch seekers
* long-​time Cal friend treated for my b-​day, so what’s not to like? (rhetorical query)

We ordered take-​out delivery.
FOOD: Great! What a nice surprise! We were so happy! Take-​out in Berkeley is almost non-​existent. The food was very good. My husband ordered the Tandoori Tikka Kabob and was very pleased. I ordered a chicken curry dish and loved it.
DELIVERY: Well, here is the weird part. WE HAD TO GIVE DIRECTIONS to the guy taking our order. I have never had to do that and it was really hard. After getting off the phone my husband exclaimed: «If you are going to have a business delivering food shouldnt you purchase a GPS device?» Good point. This was a pain but the food came on time and it was worth it.

I have become thoroughly addicted to Rice N Spice. I live pretty close, but I order all the time. They deliver quickly and their prices are very reasonable. The portions are also large and the Naan is huge. Some places around here can really cut corners and skimp on the servings. Out of all the Indian food I’ve ever had, this stacks up as some of the best.
I always get the Chicken Tikka Masala… even if I put it in the fridge for lunch tomorrow. They way they season the chicken just makes this dish spectacular. I also really love their Palak Paneer and Samosas. And we can’t forget the Naan! The best I’ve ever had.
My Indian food for the foreseeable future will all be coming from Rice N Spice. Yours should too!

My sister’s husband suggested we go here for dinner last night. Whenever someone mentions Indian food, my thoughts are immediately, heartburn and garlic naan. So we went… all the while thinking of garlic naan.
We sat in the main dining room and not in one of the private booths. We looked over the menu and I knew that I wanted to order the garlic naan. Anything else was up to them. So my sister placed the order. As the food came out, the smell was great! The shrimp biyrani, chicken tikka masala, the eggplant dish, chicken biyrani, 3 chicken legs, and naan. When the first basket of naan came out, I asked if it was garlic naan. My sister said no, it’s the plain one. Then a second basket came and I asked if it was the garlic naan… no, it’s the beef and potato naan. Not once did she tell me that SHE DIDN’T ORDER THE FREAKING GARLIC NAAN!!! The whole time, she kept saying that it’s something else. Haha! and all the time I was waiting for the garlic naan that I specifically wanted to order. When she finally realized that she didn’t order garlic naan, we all cracked up laughing. Even though I wanted to order the garlic naan, I was too full then.
Service is a bit slow… the food came out 20+ min after we arrived… we were the only ones dining. Self serve chai milk coffee or tea?
I hope it’s not like this every night but it was COLD. The AC was definitely on or there just wasn’t any heat.

SO GOOD!
THE place to go to for Indian food. My 2 favorite curries are the Chicken Tikka Masala and Veggie Korma. The samosas are also really tasty and gigantic! The naans are large and fresh, there is free chai tea, the owners are super nice, and easy to find street parking. What more could you ask for?

It’s a bit crazy for me to order indian food. I work at an indian restaurant currently but I wanted it last night. My girl and I usually would head up to house of curries on college ave. for cheap good indian grub, but I was feeling lazy and I decided I would look up indian food delivery.
So now you know the story of why I’m writing this review!
Rice and Spice, which is a very catchy name I must say, has an easy to use online ordering interface, actually the most simplest I’ve ever had the pleasure of using. The prices were great as well, I ended up ordering about $ 40.00 worth of food, I know you must be thinking that is outrageous! But let me remind you that we aren’t ordering pizza here, this actually takes time to make and is yummy! I won’t go into what I ordered but I’ll tell you that it was all good.
YOU MUST ORDER THE SAMOSAS!!! They are the best I’ve ever had, ever.
So this is an easy 5 stars. Plus they delivered super fast.
Take it from me, I’m Indian!

I was going to give this restaurant 4 or 5 stars because the food was AMAZING. …perfect naan, delicious cauliflower with spices, dal, etc, but I have to take off stars for the disgusting COCKROACH that was scuttling on my handbag at the end of the meal. thank god i saw it at the end of the meal so i could grab my bag and run. My boyfriend admitted that he had seen it earlier but didn’t want to scare me… if you eat here, don’t sit in the back booths if you want to avoid making extra… um…friends.
so, minus two stars for cleanliness… yuck…

Undoubtfully FIVE STARs!
Gotta love the booths… you can dim down the lights and enjoy dinner without the glaring lights of the restaurant-​its romanic, you know!
Now the food… awesome awesome and awesome. The Chicken Pickle was OUTSTANDING! we raved all the way home. Big portions, nice chai tea (free), the naan were awesome, great spice and everything nice!
My wife loved the leftovers and raved it from her school room.
We will be back. Its such a nice find !!!
Good people too!

I was under an intense Indian-​food-​craving spell last week and was on a quest to find my go-​to Indian takeout place. Here’s why Rice N Spice might be it:
— streamlined and user-​friendly online ordering system (even has coupon codes for free dessert if you spend $ 25)
— great selection of veggie entrees, appetizers, tandoori specials, biryanis, and naans
— tasty, tasty food — spicy and flavorful
— large portions
— accepts credit cards. holla!
We ordered the veggie biryani, pakoras, chicken tikka masala, baingan bharta (eggplant with tomatoes and onions in a savory tomato sauce that can be made with or without the cream), a couple of naans, and the free order of gulab jamun (deep-​fried milk balls soaked in rosewater syrup). Everything was great. It was the first time I had the baingan bharta (liked it a lot) and the gulab jamun (a bit too sweet for me but glad I got to try it). And everything was around $ 25! Now if only they delivered all the way to Oakland…

This is the best Indian food I’ve ever had, and I usually eat in SF.
1^st off:
Hats off to the service! Amazing. The owner is very friendly and nice. The first time I came was on 4^th of July just before closing. and the owner and his (wife?) were very nice and didn’t rush us at all! I wanted to try their indian ice cream, but she said that it might not be ready yet (=O it’s homemade!!) so she brought out their Tutti Fruitti flavor. kind of like cherry, which I don’t normally like, but this one was good! and she didn’t even charge us for it.
Now to the food:
Lamb Palak: my god is this flavorful. its perfectly spicy and soooo flavorful! I eat most if it by itself!
Chicken Tikka Masala: if this dish is good here, then you can trust them all. and it was DEFINITELY delicious. Creamy, ooh so creamy!
Biryani: good! and plentiful! The portion of this indian fried rice put chinese food to shame!
Naan: soft, and never burnt – the way i like it. Also, pretty big.
I’ve come here twice since then, and I will be going back again. it’s really cheap for what you get too! It’s about $ 5 – 8 for each Curry dish, and the Naan is only $ 1. I love how this place keeps it at low prices with great service, a big clean restaurant, free chai, and huge portions.

I was in Berkeley, soaking up the beautiful hot weekend weather at Lake Anza. Unilocaled Indian food on the Iphone and found Rice N Spice to be the highest rated in the area. I was a bit skeptical when we arrived because the place was empty; we were the only two people there. However it was around 3pm — that awkward time between lunch and dinner.
The first thing I noticed was how friendly the owner was. He was always smiling and attentive. He was even more than happy to swap the bone-​in chicken in my biryani to all breast meat (I’m not a big fan of dark meat, so I was thrilled that he’d do this for me).
We started with the Aloo Tikki, a dish we’ve never tried before. We usually go with the Samosa appetizer, but decided to switch it up today. The Aloo Tikki was delicious. Essentially, they are these little potato patty’s ground with peas, cilantro, and mint. They’re served with two sauces — yogurt mint cilantro and sweet tamarind. The sauces paired with the Aloo Tikki very well, and we quickly devoured these delicious snacks.
For our meal, we went with chicken tandoori, Aloo Palak (now becoming a standard at any Indian restaurant we go to), chicken biryani, garlic and plain naan. Everything was good. The chicken tandoori was perfect and tender. It was served up with fresh cut tomatoes and onions. I was able to make delicious naan tacos with the chicken and tomatoes, with a little spinach curry drizzled on top. The Biryani was fine, it tasted like most other Biryani’s I’ve had. The exception is that they served it with chicken breast pieces, per my request, which I truly appreciated. The spinach and potatoes tasted fresh and flavorful and the naan was piping hot and soft.
I’ll most likely check out this place again next time I’m in Berkeley. I noticed they offer a goat curry, which I haven’t seen in too many Indian restaurants. I’d be interested in trying that. I also recommend this place to anyone who enjoys a fast cheap Indian meal. It’s a little out of the way in Berkeley, way down on University, but definitely worth the trip.

Located in the Sari District of West Berkeley, Rice N Spice is a relatively new establishment which has quickly become the «goto» spot for many people who like a little curry in their lives. I came here for a post-​golf dinner with Unilocaler, and more credible Indian cuisine critic, Anuj P.
While the dining area is tacky (think fake Indian architecture, busts of elephant heads, images of assorted deities, etc) it is functional, spacious, and clean; so I can’t really complain. Whenever I try a new Indian restaurant, I order the same thing: Veggie Samosas, Chicken Tikka Masala (what else would the white guy get?), and plain naan. My companion had the Palak Chicken and the garlic naan.
Two samosas appeared in front of me rather quickly. They disappeared almost as quickly. Those golden brown bloated triangles never last long around me. These did not disappoint. So often a samosa is filled with a mush, but these had nice chunks of potatoes and whole peas like any good samosa should. After inhaling these, our entrees showed up right on cue. At $ 6.99 for a chicken dish, the price is a little lower and the portion a little smaller than you’d find at other restaurants. I actually think the portions are the right size and protected me from that stuffed feeling that so often follows an Indian meal.
My chicken tikka masala was surprisingly good; not an easy task given the ubiquity of this dish. The naan was the right amount of fluffy and was simply delicious. Anuj enjoyed his palak chicken as well. He gave special praise to the garlic naan for not coming out «too garlicky.» For those of you who have a preference on sauce thickness: Rice N Spice favors the thick stuff. Those of you who want a thin, almost soupy curry should look elsewhere.
Decent service rounded out the experience and both our servers were friendly and helpful. I’m happy to say I now know the difference between saag and palak thanks to our waiter.
If I had the wherewithal to make it down to University and San Pablo any time I had craving for Indian food, I’d be a regular. Unfortunately for me, they don’t offer delivery yet, but they do have online ordering for takeout. I hope to eat here again soon because Rice N Spice is, well, nice.