Haveli Restaurant

So sad to find out Haveli @ Inman is closed.
So there used to be an Indian family whose dad owned Tanjore (I believe) and the kids all owned their own restaurants. I know one owned India Castle although that’s changed ownership. That was like «large menu, North and South Indian food, large space,» and I think they had some Muslim chefs who could handle the beef. A second owned Punjabi Dhaba along a different theme — British roadside Indian fast-​food restaurant /​hole-​in-​the-​wall. The daughter owned Haveli and had it nicely decorated. Good atmosphere and décor. Was slightly more expensive than India Castle and Punjabi Dhaba but it was a nicer experience.
I’m not huge on décor and the food is most important. Food was okay. Nothing memorable.

The food is delicious and spiced well!

Haveli is around the corner from my office in Inman Square so I end up buffeting there often. It’s spacious, nicely decorated, and right in the heart of Inman.
Buffet is small but with an excellent assortment and plenty of vegetarian options. Samosas and pakoras all the time, and that guy who watches you all the time, he’ll clear your empty plate in a heartbeat and zip off to the kitchen to fire off more fresh naan, or whatever it is that you need.
An office favorite and a personal favorite. Make sure to try the chai when you’re up at the buffet.

Probably the worst Indian Buffet in Central Square area. The food is not that bad,(neither is its great); but the service belongs to a different planet altogether. There is one guy to take care of guests who has a constant ‘you owe me $ 100′ expression on his face all the time. He just sits around and looks at your plates to check out how much portions you are taking. He actually goes out of his way to make you feel uncomfortable!
Coming to the food, the non vegeterian selection is very limited for a buffet. On a Sunday we had just stale and cold tandoori chicken which was inedible and butter chicken with dollops of gravy but no chicken. The veg appetizers were supposed to be Samosas and Pakoras which we never saw throughout the time we were there. No Samosas, no chicken, but no one bothered bringing them out.
Punjabi Dhaba next door (from the same owner) is much better. This is as bad as it gets. Stay as far away as you can!

Went here for the buffet recently and was pleasantly surprised. For some reason the food tasted much better this time around. not that I am complaining! Not super spicy or hot. just how I like it!

When The Kebab Factory was too busy for a late-​night party of two, we decided to try Haveli as we wanted more of a sit-​down experience than Punjabi Dhaba.
The ambiance is beautiful, and the traditional décor and music makes the place feel very cozy. It’s a fairly small space, which means it’s intimate and quiet. I was immediately turned off by the obnoxious sponsored cocktail place-​mats (no more paper, Haveli), random pet peeve. The waiters were courteous but spoke as little as possible and couldn’t be pained to smile during the meal.
We ordered the Meat Lovers’ Dinner for Two with Vegetable Samosas and a Mango Lassi/​Chai Tea. Both beverages were delicious and a good temperature. The samosas were solidly average (did not taste homemade), and the soups that started the dinner were very, very bland. The rest of our order was messed up – something the staff corrected quickly, not an issue. However, we realized upon coming home that we eventually received only ²⁄₃ entrees that come with the dinner – so I can’t comment on the Lamb Saag. The Tandoori Chicken was okay – tender and good cuts, but not very flavorful. The Chicken Tikka Masala was more flavorful, but not at all the «spicy» we ordered. It was too mild to even qualify as the «white people spicy» that seems to come out when we order spicy elsewhere.
Overall, I would not recommend this place to friends, and I probably wouldn’t come back without a Groupon.

Ordered delivery from this place when Matt J. and I were craving some Indian food, and the verdict? It was good, but not as good as other Indian delivery options.
Since this is delivery, I cannot vouch at all for how eating in the restaurant is, the ambiance, etc. All I can write about pretty much is the food. The delivery came on time, the driver was perfectly nice, and for about $ 30 total for two people eating Indian food for dinner it was pretty good.
We got their dinner for two meal which included rice, two soups, naan, pakora, tandori chicken and shrimp, two pieces of lamb kabob (I thought there would have been more of that for it being a featured part of the menu), and our choice of a curry so we got fish korma. The tandori stuff was all actually pretty good and the grilled onions and such were great. The lamb kabob pieces seemed a bit dry/​overcooked to us though which made us sad. The chicken soup we got was fine, but a little oily for our true liking, and the fish korma was really rich! We definitely could not finish all of this stuff in one sitting which was great, since we were able to use leftovers the next day for lunch, so that made our meal even cheaper! Yay!
Overall, Haveli was fine, but I think for that area of Cambridge/​Somerville there are other places I might go back to first for delivery, but would also stop by here if in Inman craving Indian in more of a sit down environment than Punjabi Dhaba which is there too. It was definitely the cheapest Indian delivery dinner option, so I guess for saving money it is a winner.

I think this is the best of this family’s set of restaurants (which includes Punjabi Dhaba). I’ve eaten in, and then just had my first delivery experience with them. So good. Somehow their food feels less oily than a lot of Indian. Fresh and flavorful, and great prices.
Saag paneer, which is pretty much my Indian yardstick, is fabulous. Dal, less soupy than Punjabi Dhaba’s but nearly as good. Not a huge fan of their Korma, lentil soup, or biryani (less the star), but it’s all fine – just not as good as everything else I’ve had. Outstanding naan!
Eating in is pretty hilarious, also – chock full of color and shiny and music. I think reviewers who don’t like the service are perhaps just not used to anything but American service… of course, they are running a restaurant in America, but it’s at least in part a cultural thing. And they’re super nice, they just don’t want you to feel pressured.
As a final note: whatever their coconut soup thing is (and it seems to mostly just be coconut milk and coconut), I want to eat it forever.

This is my go-​to Indian restaurant in my neighborhood. We usually order the baigan bartha and the chicken tandoori. The food is solidly tasty and the service is pretty good.
I don’t understand why it’s always so empty because it deserves more business.

This place is perfect for lunch buffets, not so perfect for dinner.
If you ever feel the need for some solid, delicious, and filling Indian food, I highly recommend Haveli’s lunch buffets!.They are 7.95 for the weekdays and 8.95 on the weekends. Okay, I’ll admit it’s not gourmet food — but it’s definitely delicious. They don’t offer a fine dining experience and we don’t expect it when we come. Yet, we keep coming back week after week. in terms of of a fair price and tastiness, Haveli does the job.
On a side note, we came once for dinner via a groupon — the service was slow and the food was just above average. In their defense, they were PACKED and I was comparing the food to the lunch buffets the whole time. i guess what I’m saying is that I’ll stick to lunch buffets there.

Just OK. It is authentic for the service and décor (yes, been in India), but the portion as okay-​ish. The Nan is great bit the rice was disappointing, buttery. Had the korma, which was slightly hot.
Nothing amazing, prices are good too.
I prefer the Indian pavilion, on Central square, very similar menu, but the food taste a bit better.

Now listen, just listen for a minute. Don’t be quick to judge this place.
Don’t judge them because there’s only one other couple eating in the entire restaurant.
Don’t judge them because the décor is dated.
Don’t judge them because there’s a TV playing Indian music videos that kind of switches things from intimate date to… not a freaking intimate date. Listen, I don’t judge them for any of that.
But you know what I’ll judge you for, giving me mild and weak flavored food when you know for DAMN sure it’s supposed to be SPICY! That’s something I take offense to.
So here was our order:
Chicken Shorba — Meh, the chicken was overcooked. The broth was ok.
Tandoori Chicken — nothing special.
Lamb Saag — the Lamb was actually cooked surprisingly well. I’d give it a B+ overall.
Chicken Tikka Masala — Wasted Talent. I had high expectations, but alas, I was led astray.
Rice — It got a Pass
Plain Naan — sadly just PLAIN
Manago Lassi — overly sweet. I had to legit water this down.
I can’t say that I’d come back here. This place isn’t terrible, but if I’m looking for Indian food, I’m looking for flavor, spice and everything nice.

Nothing can beat San Francisco’s Indian food and on the East Coast, few are even decent. I lived a few blocks from Haveli when I first moved to Boston and after trying several different Indian Restaurants I finally went to Haveli and I’m a better person for it.
I’ve been a patron for more than 2yrs now and the staff has remained the same. They’re all very nice and accommodating. The prices are sort of high, but I guess average in the area.
I’ve tried all of their vegetarian dishes, but the aloo ghobi and benghan bharta are my favorite. The onion and mint chutney are the best I’ve had in Massachusetts. Eat it.

Used my Groupon at Haveli this week. Tried the usual suspects when I go to any Indian place — chicken tikka masala, tandoori, naan, etc… Basically, I’m looking for something as good or better than Mela in the South End and this doesn’t come close. Solid 3 stars — if there was another Groupon, I might return.

Haveli features what may be the most lackluster Indian buffet I’ve ever been to, which is both surprising and sad given that they are owned by the same people who run Punjabi Dhaba down the street. The buffet is only $ 6.95, however, and I’m not ashamed to admit that I used to frequent Haveli when I was on a tighter budget.
If I could find a buffet that had Punjabi Dhaba-​level Indian fare for Haveli-​level prices, that would be the ultimate, and I’d probably weigh as much as a baby elephant from dining there so much.

You know you’re in trouble when you can easily get a table on a Friday at around 7pm. But you’re hungry and this place was not your idea. Careful with your beverage order: our waiter sort of waived his hand and scowled when I ordered a simple Mojito. (I know — what’s a Cuban drink doing in an Indian place but they had it on their cocktail list so I thought, heck — let’s see) Not one to ignore staff advice, I instead ordered something more «Indian» — a vodka things with lemon and salt after I determined that this would meet with our waiter’s approval. Mistake. I should have gone with the Lion’s Stout.
That said they did bring me some very spicy lamb as asked (Indians often think we very white northern European types can’t take the heat). I got to taste everyone else’s and I was impressed. So why the «meh» rating? It seemed dirty, sticky and I was a little afraid their health standards may not have been all you’d like. The whole dining room seemed like it needed a good scrubbing.
PLUS, it’s Friday night but around 10pm they practically chased us out of the place. We’d spent a ton of money — 2 or 3 rounds of drinks, appetizers, several breads and multiple main courses. The table was laden with purchases. Think they’d let us hang out with no one waiting for a table? Not a chance. I felt like they gave us the bum’s rush.
With so many other choices for good Indian in Cambridge, I have no idea why you would want to go here.

So it may not have the sweltering hot, funky appeal of nearby neighborhood favorite Punjabi Dhaba, but I’ve been hitting up Haveli for my Indian food lunch cravings ever since I dared venture inside.
Yes, it is always weirdly empty at lunchtime, especially since it’s much, much larger inside than it appears from the outside. Yes, it has a creepy-​looking bar area with 3 seats and liquor that looks like it’s been there quite a while. That’s ok – you’re not here for that.
You are here for the Indian lunch buffet TO GO. Instead of sitting down, ask for take out containers from the friendly and and load them up to your heart’s content. The food isn’t quite as funky as at PD down the street, but at just over eight bucks inclusive of tax for either a very large lunch or two reasonable lunches, it’s an easy sell.
You’re not going to find any new favorites at the buffet, but all your old favorites are there. There’s always hot, delicious garlicky naan, spicy and delicious saag paneer, and the always-​reliable chicken tikka masala. What you are going to get is some great bang for your buck and a delicious and hearty lunch.

they changed the menu!!!
now they have a bunch of curries (vindaloo, masala, etc) with your choice of protein — including tofu, which is really nice! however, this means that they changed the vegetarian dinner for two as well, which used to be my favorite thing about this place (splitting 3 smaller servings of my favorite dishes). now you can only choose from the curries for the veg dinner, which is kind of a bummer.

We walked into this place and it was completely empty. We had the place to ourselves.
After we were seated, we were given two papadams with an onion sauce.
The person taking our order was a little awkward, but I think that’s because there was no one else there.
I received a plate that looked like it had food remnants on it, but I did not say anything to the waiter. Five seconds later, the waiter brought me a new plate.
The Malai Kofta was delcious with the right balance of seasoning. The balls were just right, a little salty, but that was good to me.
The garlic naan was not too dry and was very moist and savory.
They also have a lunch buffet until three. We did not do that, but it’s good to know.
Their bathroom needs to be kept up better. It wasn’t gross, but it was not in tip top shape. Also, the bathroom itself needs to be remodeled.

On a busy night in Inman this past Saturday, Haveli was not, but Dave and I trotted in anyway, because I was starving and couldn’t bear to wait 30 minutes for a seat in Muqueca: sad face:
Despite it’s emptiness, I was excited for a meal at Haveli. The walls decorated in elaborate rugs and the smiling faces on waiters and waitresses lured me to the booth. Maybe I ordered the wrong dish, maybe I had too much beer earlier in the day, maybe I didn’t really want Pakistani food tonight? Well, I’ve eaten tandoori chicken before and it didn’t have the fall-​off-​the-​bone texture I was hoping for. And I’ve had naan, too, but it’s typically served much hotter (temp-​wise) and softer. And there was a serious lack of ecroutrements to bring all the separate, dry-​ish pieces together. What. No green sauce or tamarind or extra chutney?
Boooo to Haveli… I really like Punjabi Dhaba and Kebab Factory (area Indian selections) much much more.