Aab India Restaurant

My wife and I have tried a lot of the Indian restaurants around Columbus, but had never been to Aab before. The food was passable at best and the service with the exception of the man filling everyone’s water was non-​existent.
Next time I hear someone touting Aab as the best Indian in Columbus I’ll make sure to point them to Amul.

Hey management… this is the result of your team/​staff/​manager not being on their game. I love the fact, that when I called out your manager for taking the time to listen to what I had to say, she freaked out. I told her I was going to «blow you up on social media»…physically grabbed my arm and then told me to leave. See below, at facts #1.
Part 1 of my review of AAB. See below. Bottom line, I have a severe food allergy (I told them 4 x about it), and they willingly served me food filled with onions… which wreck my life.
My allergy, I cannot eat any onions. I begged my wife to eat at AAB, based upon all the great reviews, she agreed.
Facts: #1:I cannot eat any onions, or else I will have the worst night of my life. #2 I made my onion/​food allergy clear to the serve immediately. I asked the server 3 times for advice on dishes do not contain onions. It was very clear that she did not understand the severity of my request, so I asked her to consult with the «chef» about what entrée had not onions. The chef/​server recommended a entrée. I ordered the entrée, based on the Chef’s recommendation. We are all huky dory at this point yo… I’m feeling like I’m in love withe AAB. I’m good to go… I expressed my food allergy 4x already.
Just wait for part 2 previe. The manager of the restaurant… she wants to dismiss the fact that her chef served me a plate full of onions. I confront her about my food allergy… loser…She physically grabs my arm… Video later. AAB sucks a big fat…
I’ll post the video in the next few days
NDF

My friends and I have talked about trying out the food here for awhile and we finally decided to go the other day. We absolutely loved it! I ordered the Lamb and Shrimp Curry and it came with Nan bread and rice. The bread was literally bigger than the size of my head and they offered a generous portion of rice (which is refillable). The lamb was succulent and the curry was very tasty.
*****WARNING*****
The spice level ranges from Mild, Regular, Medium, Medium Hot, Hot, Extra Hot
If you can’t handle spicy I suggest you get the spice level at regular or medium. My friend got his at medium (comparable to a ⁴⁄₁₀) and the heat gives the curry a nice kick. I thought I could handle spicy so I got the medium-​hot and boy was I sniffling.
The restaurant is a bit fancy so expect to spend about ($ 15 – 18) on your meal. The portions will definitely make you full so you might have to get a to go box.
I recommend giving this place a try if you haven’t had Indian food!

I love Aab. This is the best Indian food in town, daily lunch buffet (even on weekends) is a total deal and a great introduction to Indian food, because everything is very mild. The restaurant is also a great date spot with table cloths, patio and great cocktails.

I finally made it to Aab for dinner rather than the lunch buffet, and I was pretty impressed. They have a pretty large menu, so that’s obviously one of the main benefits to not grab the buffet, but also, you can customize your heat levels. The buffet is usually pretty tame as far as heat goes, and they stick to the basics (tikka masala, chicken vindaloo, tandoori chicken, etc.). It wasn’t too busy on a Friday night during the main dinner hour, so that’s a plus if you’re having trouble finding a spot in Grandview, since the area gets pretty busy.
We started off with the mixed platter, which has an assortment of appetizers including pakora and samosas. They bring you a trio of dipping sauces that range from mild to decently spicy. The green sauce is like a salsa verde. The samosas and pakora were decent, but I wasn’t blown away. It’s a pretty heavy appetizer, since everything’s fried, so if you’re trying to save room for your meal, you could easily pass on it and not be missing much.
I chose the Lamb Jalfrezi for an entrée, and you can pick a heat level from 1 to 6, with 6 being the hottest. I had to see how hot they could take it, so I went 6. The jalfrezi is basically a tomato based curry, and you’ll defintely get a strong tomato taste with it. The lamb itself was maybe a bit overcooked, but there was enough sauce there that it didn’t matter. It was pretty hot, but if you like spicy foods, you should be fine. Once you mix everything in with the rice and naan bread, you’re good to go.
My girlfriend’s chicken curry was great, and at a 4, I think it was just about as hot as mine. I also liked it a little better than my meal.
If you’re going Indian, you can’t pass up on the naan bread, and I think Aab has the best naan in town. The garlic one, in particular, is so so tasty, and the bread itself is light and fluffy and great for wrapping and sopping up your dish.
It’s been awhile since we’ve been to Aab, but the dinner is so much better than the lunch buffet that I think we’ll be back more often. It’s one of the few Indian spots closer to downtown and the Short North as well, so it makes it much more convenient than all the joints up on Bethel or Cleveland Ave. If you’re venturing out for Indian for the first time, their buffet may be the best place to start. Once you’ve got an idea what kind of spices you like, you’ll have a blast exploring Aab’s extensive menu.

This is a pretty good Indian place, though not the best I’ve had in the Columbus area. I’ve only ever been here for dinner. They didn’t make my food as spicy as I had hoped, sadly, but it’s not the first time it’s happened.
The only downfall is that it is in Grandview, which is pretty far from most places that I’ve lived in Columbus. And parking is a headache in Grandview closer to the weekends and most evenings that I’ve been there. The price is typical for an Indian restaurant.

Favorite Indian spot in Columbus! Doesn’t get 5 stars because I’ve had better (but it’s at a place out of state).
The lunch buffet is the best bang for your buck, and going on a Sunday is the perfect weekend activity. You get your fill of EVERYTHING and it’s a great deal.
However, coming for dinner is great as well. The garlic naan is incredible, as well as the mango lassi for a fun drink. I went for a casual birthday dinner one time and the staff made it really special.
The only thing I’d say is I find their spice levels aren’t consistent. It’s really cool they ask you what spice number you want for your dish, but it’s not an exact science.
Either way, love this spot. So happy they’re in Grandview

I can’t believe I haven’t reviewed this restaurant yet.
Likes: The food is amazing, no matter what you have. The drinks are good (full bar — try the French Flower). They have a great buffet throughout the lunch hour (in case you want to try a little of a lot to figure out what you like and what you’re not crazy about). There’s plenty of parking (especially with the empty Giant Eagle building across the street).
Dislikes: The place is ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS, packed most every night of the week. I live right around the corner from it and I’ve never seen it empty. That can be annoying, but it’s worth the wait. It also gets a little loud in there with all those people. The service isn’t the greatest, but it’s just because it gets so busy they cant’ keep up, but the servers are always polite and helpful.
It’s a little pricey — be ready to drop some cash — but it’s totally worth it. Even my friends from India admit it’s very good and pretty traditional.

I hate how service really killed this review. The buffet was fresh and delicious. They had a good variety of chicken dishes, vegetable dishes, and salad bar. I’ve been to many indian buffets, and this food had good flavor. They were out of naan for a little bit, but they recovered with a naan filled with onions and other seasonings… Out of this world. At lunch time it was very packed, but we were seated right away. We did not see our server after initial drink orders, and waters and other drinks were empty throughout the meal. When the waiter finally came over to give water refills, we were basically done. Sad to see service ruining a review. The food was great, maybe will return outside of buffet hours to see if service improves due to the great food.

Do not eat here! The worst place you can come to eat Indian food. The manager is RUDE!!! They server wrong food– so what the menu says isn’t the food they’re serving you and when I told the lady manager that they’re serving tandoori roti where as their menu says chapati– she tells me that they’ve been serving this for the past 6 years!
She was rude and did not accept the mistake. Also the paneer jalfrezi we ordered was pathetic!
I’d post negative stars for this but that isn’t an option here.

Aab india is the best indian restaurant in Columbus Downtown/​Uptown Vicinity. The curries are absolutely & Tandoori are absolutely delicious. The curries are rich in flavor but not gressy & too spicy.
They have spice level between 1 – 6, 1 being lowest and 6 is max. I choose 5 and it was perfect and not spicy at all. I personally like food which is rich in flavor vs too spicy!
I highly recommend Aab india!

Honestly I was NOT impressed with AAB. To me it was a watered down version of traditional Indian cuisine. The chicken tikka masala had wayyyyy too much cream in it — it tasted like a spicy Alfredo sauce with shredded chicken in it. The rice was entirely too buttery and the garlic nan was burnt. The service was TERRIBLE. our server took our order then legit disappeared. We had to ask another waitress to find our Waiter so we could get our bill. AAB to me has been «Americanized». If you are looking for a real Indian cuisine dining experience travel north to Kohinoor on 23 and 750 in Lewis Center.

I wanted so badly to like this restaurant because I LOVE Indian food, and I knew this place got great reviews. My friend and I tried Aab for the first time during restaurant week. We had pakoras for our first course, naan for the second, and a choice of entrees for the third. I chose my go-​to, the Chicken Vindaloo, which is my favorite dish across the board, and she got the Lamb curry. Unfortunately the vindaloo was among my least favorite out of all the restaurants I’ve been to – it was very acidic, and I’ve had more than enough vindaloo in my day to know what it should taste like. I tried a bite of my friend’s lamb curry and the flavors were better, hence 3 stars instead of 2. The service was great and it was a good price for the deal, but I’m definitely going back to New India next time to get my fix!

I’m giving this place a 4 out of 5.
Don’t get me wrong! This is the only place I will get my Indian fix, for sure! The tandoori chicken is the best I’ve had and the palak paneer is to die for.
The reason I gave it one less star is because as soon as you walk in this location, it smells like Masala Maggi! I told my American friend about this place and she said, «well, I went in there with my husband and it smelled bad as soon as we walked in and then left». That’s not good! Your food is awesome, but you have to pay attention. The second reason I took that star away was because they gave us spoiled food when we carried out! I’m Indian so I just knew by the smell that it was spoiled. I feel like any American would’ve eaten it. I was really disappointed! That is the only two things that went wrong! Other than that, this place kicks every Indian restaurant out of the park!

Our family had an amazing time here. We went for my dad’s birthday dinner and had so much good food. Here’s the detail.
Parking. There’s street parking also, but we parked across the street at the parking lot. The waitress said it was fine so why not? So THUMBS UP for parking!
Store layout. If you’re going during cold seasons, ask for a table away from the door path, if that makes sense. We sat all the way in the back near the kitchen but was lined up with the entrance so every time someone came in or went out, we felt a little bit of the cold breeze. Does that makes sense?
Food. The food was absolutely to die for. I ordered the Tandoori chicken and if you’re into smokey taste, this one’s for you. However, I tried my brother’s Lamb curry and it reminded me of the curry I had in India. I’m definitely getting that when I go back. Their veggies were fresh and crisp, and the food was hot when it came out. Also, their rice was so tasty. It was mildly sweet and savory. I could not have enough of their rice. Their portion was huge too. At first, it didn’t seem like it, but it is. We were so full and ended up taking some home.
One thing, if you like to try their chai (masala), ask if it’s fresh. When we had it (dinner time), the waitress said the taste may be mild because it’s been a few hours since they made it. It was almost like a watered down Chai tea. So I assume if you’re going for lunch or early dinner, it should be okay. If you’re debating to get naan or japatti, get the naan. Japatti for us were a little disappointing, maybe that’s because we were expecting them to taste similar to the ones in India.
Overall though, it was a memorable night for us. We told ourselves that we would be back for a different occasion, soon.

We visit Aab when we come into Columbus from time to time to see family so this was not my first visit. But things have clearly gone downhill in the past year.
Now, we came in for the Sunday buffet so I can’t really say anything about their regular entrée/​side menu. But the buffet ranks in the bottom quartile of literally a hundred Indian restaurants I’ve visited over the years.
Pluses: They didn’t run out (but it was within an hour of opening)
They did serve edible food that could be enjoyed. The breads were very good to excellent.
The tandoori chicken was tender and moist.
Minuses:
1) The choices were painfully slim, certainly one of the most limited buffets I have run into.
2) The setup practically guaranteed long lines (and there were– this remains a popular student go-​to place as it’s all you can eat for 12 bucks)
3) Some of the dishes that passed as entrees were literally terrible– not in taste but in ingredients. The lamb was disgusting– great big chunks of fat and bone and, occasionally, you could find some real muscle! We began to make a game of who could find the worst piece… and the nominees came thick and fast, each worst than the last.
4) The spicing is dumbed down to a level that insults even the American palette. It’s the first time I’ve actually been able to classify the majority of dishes tried in an Indian restaurant as «bland.»
They clearly continue to do a good business. But I’m not that fussy about Indian places and won’t be back. Oh, and by the way, we never saw a waiter so the dirty dishes just piled up and sat until one of us took them to the bar.

I’ve been to AAB a few times. Love that it is in the Grandview area.
I had ordered the chicken tikka masala multiple times in the past, and at times, the flavors can be a bit bland for me. I recently switched it up and ordered the Chicken Tandoori, I am hooked on it. There really is an explosion of flavors and it is not even spicy. For the price that you pay, this meal is HUGE. It even comes with a small bowl of soup. Like most meals at AAB, they’re going to last you at least two meals afterwards.
Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the dessert. I was disappointed in the small bowl for the kheer. That’s one of my favorite Indian desserts, and for the price I had hoped the portion would be bigger.
Service can be a hit or miss depending on who is assigned to your table, but I’ve typically always gotten assistance when needed. I always get a little bothered when they only give the table one rice bowl, even if two people order rice dishes. The rice is packed to the top, but it would be nice for each person to get their own portions, even if it’s smaller individually.
It is a fancier restaurant so prices are pretty steep but the portions are worth it. I have always left with a to go box of my dinner for lunch the next day!
Looking forward to trying the lunch buffet one day!

I like the buffet here. This is not a great Indian restaurant, but it will do when I crave Indian food. I always come for the buffet. It is not that bad of a price, and it has a pretty good selection. The service can be really bad, but the food helps make up for it.

Service was poor and the food was fairly mediocre. The staff was down right rude to my coworker and I and tried to bicker when we asked questions that were commonplace of any restaurant. The service overall left a bad taste in my mouth and coupled with the mediocre food it will definitely not be on my list of places to return to.

Great indian food! I went for the first time for dinner to Aab. The service is a little slow in some aspects, once you get your order in it is very quick from there. But I was in no rush, and the food is amazing. I got the Aab india dinner special and my friend got the chicken tikka masala with paneer naan. They both came out to be the same price, but we both agreed the Aab india special is the better deal. You get 3 appetizers, 3 curries, chicken tandoori, naan, rice, and dessert (gulab jamun). I loved getting to try everything; my favorites in the dish were the: lamb curry, dal matar paneer, naan, rice, and aloo tikki. I cant wait to come back! This is some of the best Indian I’ve had, I would put it in par with the some of the indian food in Chicago. I am glad I have found some good Indian food in cbus!

Got take out and ooooooooohhhhhh! SO GOOOD! coming from Texas where I was spoiled by incredible Indian food this place just took me back to a food nirvana kind of place.
The flavors, the texture and the quality of the ingredients were just perfect!
This place is worth the buck… and will leave you happy all evening.
Highly recommend it.
Can’t wait to take the hubby here. :)
Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Food is always good here. Server is pretty nice.
Host-​bartender man was slightly… less than respectful. He may not have been aware, but when we came in at 9:35 (closes at ten pm) his first gesture was a look at his watch, which is obviously not a great way to make customers feel welcome. We’ll return to Aab, but probably choose the Dublin location more often, despite this one being closer.

I went to the AAB Grandview location today, a Sunday afternoon. My friend and I had the lunch buffet which was wonderful. It was about $ 11 for all you can eat buffet. The food was delicious. There was a variety of traditional and vegetarian food options to choose from and the naan bread was tasty. I had rice, chicken, and naan for lunch. I also had a potato dish (Aloo?) along with more chicken (Tandoori Chicken). I then had delicious ice-​cream for dessert. I highly recommend this place if you are looking for traditional Indian food with great service.

Solid mainstream Indian fare
Aab was my first introduction to the Columbus Indian food scene, and it remains a great destination! The naan is very consistently delicious (especially the Chef’s special!), and I am in love with their mater paneer. The kitchen can get pretty slow when it’s very busy, which is fairly often due to Aab’s popularity. The cocktails are a good choice, as are the Indian beer selection. The lunch buffet is great value but lacks good vegetarian options. So that means mainly I just come for dinner for the mater paneer, which I can’t complain about!

Columbus needed a great Indian place after the departure of the original Taj Majal. AAB fills that void in spades. The buffet is the absolute best. Staff leaves a little to be desired but I don’t care much about that when I am there for a lunch buffet.
A+++++++

Good lunch buffet type of restaurant. It is usually crowded on weekdays which is a good sign, but expect to wait for a while.
On the buffet my favorites are the palak paneer (spinach with cheese) when it is available and the lamb kabab. The dal makhani (lentil) is also quite good and the butter chicken is not bad. The naan is not bad. The gulab jamun are pretty average.
For drinks the mango lassi and the regular sweet lassi are really good. The masala tea is just okay, not great.
It’s a nice restaurant for lunch. Haven’t tried the dinner here yet.

I originally went to Aab in 2011, since then I have had the chance to try many other Indian restaurants. Aab is decent, but when you compare to other Indian restaurants in Columbus, it doesn’t hold a candle to them. I met a friend on a Monday for lunch at Aab since I was in the area. I had the buffet to try different dishes and the buffet was limited. They had pakora and fried veggies (no samosas), maybe 3 – 4 veggie options, and the rest were meat options. They had the typical salad, sauces, rice pudding, and some mango (?) with fruit custard. A number of the «typical» items were not on the buffet. The taste was good, definitely edible, just not as good as other places. For the cost of the buffet, try a place that is the same cost, has double the choices, and taste better.
Personally, this is not the Indian restaurant I would choose.

When your co-​workers are like, «let’s go to a buffet for lunch… an Indian buffet!» At first you wonder if they’ve gone crazy. But then you shrug your shoulders and go anyway because worst case scenario: you get to call off sick the rest of the day!
But it’s a damn good thing you went because Aab’s lunch buffet is amazeballs! Good thing you left early too cuz that buffet line is lonnng by the time you’re finishing your seconds.
Buffet items included favorites such as: Chicken tikka masala, tandoori chicken, saag paneer and just oodles of hot tasty naan. Speaking of heat, they keep it to a truly mild level at the buffet so if you’re not into spicy, it’s all good!
I will definitely be back again!

Amazing and affordable lunch buffet!
I tried everything, it was all so good! The spinach dish was phenomenal!
Some of the naan seemed a bit burnt but the next batch was fine. They had no issues with my friends and I sitting and occupying a table for longer than we should have and the staff was very attentive about keeping our drinks full.
It was a wonderful experience and I hope to be back soon!

How have I missed writing a review for here? I must have chosen to take another trip to the buffet instead. I just went to the new location in Bexley so I was curious what I wrote for Grandview… nothing.
So here’s a quick review so my bases have been covered. LOVE THIS PLACE. I’ve heard it’s Americanized Indian so maybe that’s the kind of Indian I like cause shits delicious.
I can honestly not speak to the menu as I’ve never eaten off it. Why would I? 10 bucks for all I can eat? Done. I normally sit at the bar and have had no problem with attentiveness. Buffet attentiveness. Water, take your plates, ask how it is.

We had the chicken tikka masala, chicken alfrezi, sag panir and butter chicken.
All were delicious, the sag panir stood out to me the most because I’ve never had something life this before and the flavor and ingredients were just perfect together.
The naan and mango lassi are must trys!