Dakshin Indian Bistro

Disppointed.
We went for weekend buffet. None of the items are tasty and awful. Some items seems older than a day, a fish vereity in particular.

The ambience of the restaurant was good. The menu had all varieties of Indian food. The taste was good too. The only thing that was bothering here is that the food we ordered took forever to reach our table. The appetizer was brought finally and the main course was served late.
Lunch Buffet was like any other typical Indian food. Good restaurant. You don’t regret having good here.

A gem hidden away in this small strip mall on Sancus blvd between Lazelle rd and Polaris. Indian food has recently become a favorite of mine but I still haven’t tried a lot of places due to Cumin around the corner from here being so consistently excellent. I’ve passed this place a million times and decided to give the buffet a try after reading positive Unilocal reviews and receiving a stylish menu with coupons in the mail (shout out to effective advertising).
This is a very small place, casual with great smells filing up the space. When you walk in its kind of confusing because you can’t see the inside and you don’t know whether or not to seat yourself. After getting the attention of a server I was seated. The water and cups are already at your table to pour yourself (plastic cups but like I said this place is casual). My eyes widened as I walked up to the buffet area because they had a lot to chose from for a such a small space. I piled up my plate not knowing what a lot of the selections were exactly but almost everything was delicious!!! I think I tried some breaded chicken that was just ok to me but the one of several amazing things that stuck out to me was a sweet potato dish that went perfectly with my basmati rice. Flavor heaven trying all of these offerings. One day I will try all of these dishes individually but this Indian buffet was perfect.
I ordered some Tandoori Chicken to go and was told it came with rice. When I checked my bag after getting home where was no rice in there. I was annoyed, but my mood changed when I tasted this chicken… it was succulent!!! A spicy sauce with great seasoning and juiciness. Well Done Dakshin. You have a new regular customer.

Tried Dakshin on the recommendation of a friend and went on a Saturday night around 5. First suggestion, make a beer/​wine list. I understand that language barriers can be difficult, so eliminate the problem and just make a list of all your drinks! It took about three staff to answer the simple «what beers do you have?» question. Though we were one of about three groups in the place, our order was probably taken 30 minutes after we were seated. And then the food was just… meh. I’ve read that the buffet is great and I’d like to go back and try it. But it’s probably not going to happen based off this experience. There are more than enough Indian places around that I’m happy to try.

Headed here solo on a Saturday to feed the craving. Would really rate the visit as about a 3.75 if that were possible. The lunch buffet was roughly $ 13 which included Chai, soups, entrees/​sides, curries and desserts.
This was the first time I’ve ever had Indian coconut chutney and it was excellent! Quite a stand out. The sambar and idly was excellent as well. About half the buffet was vegetarian. Chutneys included tamarind, mint, onion, coconut, and tomato. Yum! There were several items I’d not had before and didn’t recognize from normal menus. They were nice to try. The main dishes did seem to lack the intense depth of flavor I’m used to. That’s not saying it was bad, just not quite… enough.
Heat levels were good.
The Chaat was a samosa half with chickpeas for garnish the sauces and the normal (and delish) mix of cilantro, red onion and tomato. This actually stood out the most of the dishes.
Service was fine. The folks at the checkout had Coldstone ice cream, clearly as a worker/​family treat as they were all enjoying it together :) Nice people. Customers were all Indian which speaks well to the food. Several dads in solo with their kids :))))
No glassware, you get a large carafe of water and plastic cups. Chai in styrofoam. Gulab jumun was excellent. The Halwa seemed more cooked and more finely shredded (something???) than I’m used to. It was more sugary and caramelized than the more carroty version.

Stopped in for a bite. My friends and I were treated like family. I had an eggplant Curry that was out of this world with garlic naan, which was delicious. We started with samosas which were huge and beautifully crispy. Would love to come back when they have the large Buffet open.

If there was an option, i would give negative stars or points. We ordered a takeout biryani. After opening at home, shocked to find out it was stale. Had to literally throw it in trash due to rotten smell of the rice and meat. Immediately called the restaurant and they kept us hold to discuss who gave us old food. That itself was good enough to indicate that they gave us that food knowing it was old. Never going to order again and would warn anyone who wants to try.

VERY GOOD! BUFFET! i would have given a 5 star but they didnt refill my water. so with that said its a 5star. i will go back and it will be my only choice for Indian cuisine. the carrot hawlin is awesome. enjoy. its the best Indian restaurant i have every been too.

I came here for the lunch buffet with a few coworkers. It’s such an awesome deal! If you’re open to different dishes and are willing to try stuff outside your «usual» it’s an excellent and affordable lunch! $ 6.99 for all you can eat. They had a few staples like chicken tikka masala, vegetable biryani and daal. There were also other delicious treats like vegetable pakora.
The food was good quality. I know sometimes restaurants will skimp on their buffet food. This was flavorful and delicious! The rest of the menu is kind of expensive, but the lunch buffet is an excellent deal for the amount, choice and quality of food. I’m definitely interested in coming back soon!

Absolutely, by far the BEST Indian restaurant in the Columbus area. I’ve been going here for years and I rarely would rate this place below a B+. Consistently serves A– to A quality food. And that is on the buffet.
Many times, Indian buffets tend to water down their food to appeal to the masses. Dakshin manages to keep the flavor in its food without it being overly spicy (as in amount of spices) or spicy-​hot. Granted, I tend to like my food hotter than most white people, so this might be spicy for people who are not used to spicy-​hot. (If it is, then order some plain yogurt to soothe the senses and keep on eating… you won’t want to miss out!)
The lunch buffet is a good value, but the real star is the Thursday dinner buffet, which is 100% vegetarian and usually spot-​on in terms of taste, quality, and variety. The name Dakshin means «South» in Hindi and there are many Southern Indian offerings on the menu (poriyal, idli, sambar, pongal, upuma) in addition to the normal Northern Indian dishes that most people are familiar with (chana masala, butter paneer, saag paneer). On the Thursday dinner buffet and the weekend lunch buffets, they also offer a chaat (snack station), dosa (rice crepes filled with ghee-​licious potatoes), and a bevy of interesting and tasty chutneys (the ginger chutney is to die for!). I don’t know if Thursday is better because they’re completely focused on the vegetarian dishes or if they have someone different cooking on Thursday, but the food is always consistently awesome on Thursdays.
Though, as I said, the food on other days is good, too, but the quality can be more variable.
My husband eats some meat and he says that the chicken and goat dishes offered on other days are tasty. I broke down and tried the tandoori chicken off the buffet once. It was moist and juicy, not dried out at all.
One time, we really enjoyed a dish and asked the owner for the recipe. She handwrote the recipe for us.
The owners are very good at overseeing service. One man who works there, Jessie, is always on top of things, making sure food gets out hot & fresh and that the other staff are working to keep the place clean and tables bussed. He’s a really nice guy and makes it fun for us to come back since he always remembers us.
There are no TVs blaring in this place. That alone is worth a star to me. Sometimes, the music can be a little loud, but if you ask, they will turn it down.
This place may not be as convenient as other Indian restaurants in town but it is well worth the drive up into Mall Country.
You know an ethnic restaurant is good when you see other customers from that country eating there. Many times, I am one of the few white faces in the crowd — if that tells you anything.
I am married to an Indian man. I’ve been to India several times. I cook a lot of Indian food at home (mostly much better than what I can get at a restaurant.) I’m not bragging, but I mention this because I know good Indian food… and Dakshin is the best you can get in all of Columbus!

Great buffet for the price. Lots of variety with 90% spot on. Would have been a 5 star if the briani was more spiced up and less Americanized. Very clean and priced great. Get here before chase opens their lunch hour either before 1130 or after 1.

Been there for veg buffet dinner. We have about 25 items including 6 chutneys. Live station there was rava and wheat dosa. Whatever been there in the buffet taste really good.
Items are: pongal/​lime rice/​veg Briyani/​upma/​curd rice
Paruppu/​panner tikka masala/​navarathna kuruma/​chick pea masala
Rava dosa/​wheat dosa /​nan /​poori
Brinjal potato sabji
Chat item/​cucumber
6 chutneys
But we miss core South Indian delicacy dosa /​idly/​medu vada … Further they I felt for 14 dollar, itms can be little bit more … No coffee in buffet

Dakshin moved from its previous Dublin home to this new-​to-​them space at Polaris. The interior is split into two parts with minimalist décor. Our waiter was friendly, if distracted, but our drinks, food and bread arrived on time. They have unique appetizers — they look like Honey Comb cereal and taste like papadams. Highly addictive! I ordered a salted lassi, which was quite salty and so thick it was almost like drinking sour cream. I used this drink to cut the heat of my dish, but I did not prefer it.
For dinner, I ordered the lamb hyderabadi, spicy. It went well with the chili naan — quite spicy. The spouse had a mixed biriyani, which I liked as well. Overall, we enjoyed our experience and would return.

I’m a huge fan of Indian food and have tried most of the local Indian restaurants around town. My favorite time to go is lunch because they all have a lunch buffet and it gives you a chance to try many different options. We decided to try Dakshin at lunch time on Friday.
Dakshin has a ton of delicious options on their lunch buffet and even has a vegetarian table and a separate buffet with meat options. I liked it, but didn’t love it for these reasons:
— They didn’t have any items made with rice flour. I’m gluten free and can usually get a few items that I can eat because they’re made with rice flour. Eg: Dosas or idli. Dakshin only has naan.
— I live and breathe for mint chutney. Their version was a huge disappointment. I would consider it a crime to call it mint chutney actually.
— Their yellow dal was way too soupy.
But, I did really like their biriyani. They had a veg and non veg option and would say it was probably the best biriyani I’ve ever had.
I would go back to Dakshin if they’d change their mint chutney recipe. Until then, You will find me at Udipi and Maanas!

The lady at the counter is really rude and doesn’t answer your questions with patience. Always shouting without proper responses.
We were trying to order for a party and took us 3 days to get hold of them and take our order and when asked about the time for delivery. she was like shouting saying that we can’t fulfill everything. Basically no patience in order to talk to the customer.
We ordered for an event again and chicken biryani was so bad it was all watery watery and our stomachs got upset and many people were complaining about the food.

Not a great experience here, and it’s a shame, because it could be fixed really easily.
We decided to try Dakshin for their lunch buffet while up at Polaris running errands, and nearly turned around and left right off the bat. There were no signs to seat yourself or wait for a server, so we came in and waited at the entrance, trying to figure out what to do, for several minutes, being completely ignored by the staff.
We were on the verge of leaving when someone finally came and seemed to realize we were there to spend money at the restaurant, he looked at us, ran back to get someone else, finally took us to a table, asked us what we wanted to drink, and disappeared. A few minutes later someone finally brought us menus and then asked if we wanted the buffet. We said yes, and finally went up to try what they had.
The food was pretty good, especially considering the price, but I noticed that the biryani had very little meat in it, and the various hotel pans and trays were slow to be refilled.
Getting our check was another remarkably long wait, and if I was a less honest person, I suspect it would have been very easy to just stand up and walk out without anyone the wiser.
If the staff put any effort at all into providing decent service, I’d probably be recommending them, but as it is I would strongly suggest you avoid them — there are plenty of other Indian places in the area, and even more lunch options nearby.

First the positives:
The food pretty good. I like that they do not load everything with baking soda like other Indian buffets. The baking soda expands in your stomach and causes you not to eat as much. So there is a dieting tip for you. :o)
The so-​so:
The lunch buffet is a good price ~$ 7, which is a good value considering the quality. The service is spotty at times.
Now the negative:
Or should I say illegal. They appear to have a practice of changing the amount of the tip after you sign your receipt, if they do not think your tip was enough. This has happened to several people that I’ve know. They have tipped $ 1 (14% of the bill), only to find out that they changed the $ 8 charge to $ 10 (43% of the bill).
I do not have an issue with a $ 10 lunch, given the choices and quality of food. I have a serious issue with their immoral billing practices. I would suggest trying their lunch buffet, but I would suggest taking cash if you want to reconcile your receipts with the actual credit card charge.

Still sitting here… Asked for a coke (machine is broken) asked for water with ice (ice machine broken) asked for bottled water (got a warm bottle of water)…
Asked to order from the menu instead of buffet (buffets are not my thing), got a lot of push back.
Let’s see what the food is like because so far this place has awful service.
The food was ok — chicken was rubbery. Best part was the rice?
EWWWWW!!!

The only reason I knew about this place was because the guys show up to our work parking lot in a van, slinging tikka masala out the backdoor. No joke. Not even a food truck, just a van with their name on the side. I don’t know how they chose us on the complete other side of town, and I don’t even know if it’s legit, but I don’t care. Well, I had to look them up and find out where the actual restaurant was, and Wednesday I finally got to try it up near Polaris.
As with Aab, they have a buffet setting, and the there really isn’t any service minus them removing plates from your table. The guy that was there overseeing things basically pointed out a table for me, where they had a big water jug out, and I sat down and dove into the buffet. I’m sure you could probably get a soda or something else if you asked.
Honestly, I was pleasantly surprised by the choices on the buffet. I had read reviews about it being small, but I thought they had a pretty good spread. They had the usual chicken tikka masala, tandoori chicken, chicken curry, as well as authentic biryani, which they were pretty adamant about advertising. They also offered plenty of vegetarian dishes, including an okra selection that was really damn spicy, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.
I think the best thing I discovered, though, had to be the Gulab Jamoon. Oh man. These little dessert balls were essentially warm pancake balls except much lighter, and they were covered in a syrup that was flat out delicious. They straight up melted in your mouth. I went up three or four times for more, and the guy working there suggested mixing it with the rice pudding to get a cool/​hot thing going, and it was the best suggestion I had all day. I actually ate so many I nearly made myself sick, because they are quite sweet.
Apparently the dinner buffet is even larger, but I was fully content with everything they had out, so I can only imagine. Did I mention the lunch buffet is only $ 6.99? Hell of a deal. If I’m in the area craving Indian, I’ll definitely be back. The restaurant is fairly new, so I suggest any Indian food fans, or anyone who just likes good food, give it a shot.

This is such a great find! I have only eaten the buffet, but I have had it several times in a short period of time… which is a sign of great food!
I first met my husband during the week for the lunch buffet, and per the recommendation of a server (potentially the manager if not owner) returned for the weekend buffet.
The weekend buffet is much larger, but this should’t discourage a weekday visit.
They do have the stereotypical buffet options such as basmati rice, naan, paneers, tikki masalas, but they’re all great quality.
They have a lot of vegetarian offers, and from what I have heard, their meat dishes are great as well.
I haven’t had any issues with the service, quite the opposite actually… in my experiences, the servers have been overwhelmingly helpful and on top of it all.
Even though they have recently moved from another location, they are remodeling, and making great improvements.
This has quickly become my go to Indian restaurant.