Royal Indian Bistro

inside rio all-​suite hotel… off to the far right and back from hotel entrance. away from everything else and can be difficult to find… beautiful entrance with elephant statues greeting guests… butter chicken and side order of nan roughly $ 35 total after tax and tip with no drink orders… first, mention prices are quite high for indian… but, décor is elegant and sophisticated to justify the higher pricing… in for a quick meal and taking a seat at the bar… full menu provided and order with the bartender… bartender busy filling drink orders for the tables, so taking some time to place the order… ordered and food taking equally long to be served… butter chicken was tasteful in creamy buttery rich mild curry spices and nan piping hot, but an extra charge for nan and not included… decent meal, but have to mention that $ 35 is really steep!

Feel bad giving this place two stars but that’s really where it’s at. Been here in the past and would def give it 5 stars but it’s gone down hill. Came here on Saturday and ordered chicken tikka. Food came out in 10 minutes. Didn’t know you could make chicken tikka that fast. For a $ 30 dish in a small bowl with no presentation… I don’t understand. Sauce was way too heavy and seasoned. They tried to pull a fast one and gave us two bowls of it… charging us twice. Ton of Indian restaurants outside this hotel that are world class… avoid this expensive place.

We had some good food. We ordered the Royal surf and turf, the lamb vindaloo, garlic Nan, basmati rice, a ginger ale and ice tea. The surf and turf was enough for two people. It came with two prawns, 2 double lamb chops, one lamb kabob, tandoori chicken leg and thigh, 5 oz boneless chicken breast cubed. It was grilled therefore no sauce. It had lots of flavor since it has been marinated. The rice was delicious too. The lamb vindaloo was a standard vindaloo nothing special but good. The Nan was tasty, drinks were over priced. All in all it was pleasant dinner.

I found this place just as the lunch buffet was closing, but this was yummy up to the last second. The service was outstanding. This feels like a family operation, even though it sits smack dab in the middle of a pretty dismal casino. The staff were very welcoming in spite of the last minute seating, and they made up a fresh batch of naan, which was just amazing. I went back for thirds on the goat curry, but everything was good… even at the oldest edges of the tray. I can only imagine how good this place is when the buffet is fresh!

The food is ok. Much better than not finding Indian food at all. Their raita is amazing.

I came in with high expectations. I have eaten at a related restaurant in Southern California and expected the food quality to be the same here. I was disappointed.
The buffet offered six items, and the flavors were mostly bland with some items on the very salty side. The rice had been out too long and there were hard bits here and there.
There weren’t many restaurant patrons for The Sunday buffet. It was sad. The owners need to get some recipes from the more successful related locations and consistently implement them here. If they do that they’ll be set.
They have a beautiful room for larger private parties. It was set up, but with the empty boxes and other out of place items in there, it doesn’t appear to be used much.

We had lunch here after checking out of a Rio staycation. They had just opened for the day, it is a very pretty restaurant. The hostess greeted and seated us in a booth, took our drink orders, and asked if we were doing buffet: I auto-​replied «NO!» (well documented case of buffet-​itis, here ;)
But, since my dining companion was going out of his culinary comfort zone to try Indian cuisine, I went and looked at the offerings and figured the buffet would be the best way for him to experience various dishes. I quickly changed my «just ice water» to «Pinot Grigio, please!» and we went for round one at the just-​opened-​for-​the-​day buffet. (somehow this alleviated a bit of my usual germophobe fears)
There was a basket of fresh, hot naan at our table when we sat down. Honestly I’m not sure if this was a large or small offering, but there were a variety of dishes: samosas, pakoras, daal, chicken tandoori, chicken tikka masala, cauliflower, saag paneer, curry, basmati rice, and more. We both thoroughly enjoyed our selections. The tasty naan was perfect for sopping up sauces, and was replaced without asking, water glasses were refilled without prompting, too.
He went for a huge round two, while I was kind of full. The only lackluster part was dessert: I found the carrot pudding too sweet and dry, the rice pudding was A-​Ok.
Another 3.5* experience, service was 4*. I’d absolutely go back for a la carte dinner when in town again.

Between the terrific food, classy atmosphere, and the unassuming location I recommend this place for a fine dining experience at RIO CASINO!
For starters the CHICKEN PAKORA is a must my new favorite! Also, don’t miss out on the tasty chicken curry and awesome Indian Tea.

We ate here quickly before heading into Penn & Teller. I chose Indian because as a vegan, there is generally meat-​free stuff on the Indian menu. The service was stellar, the ambiance was lovely. The food, not so much. I had Eggplant Bhata and though I asked for extremely spicy, the governing flavor was salt. It was nearly inedible. For the value of my few bites, it was a very expensive fail. We would have done better at a storefront Indian place. My sons and husband had just okay food. We don’t need to go back.

This was absolutely one of the most delish meals we had in Vegas. The service was wonderful, the food was INCREDIBLE!!! I would definitely come visit again.

I have been to this restaurant on 3 different occasions with my bday ⁹⁄₂₃ being the most recent and I must say every time I’ve had nothing but top notch service and meals. My guest who accompanied me was even delighted by the different entrees and how flavorful everything was. The dishes were fresh and tasted just as I imagined. I usually eat Indian food once a week in Decatur, GA. Now this is my new home away from home. Its in the casino but once you walk in you forget about the outside setting. The lighting is just right for an intimate or family setting. The beverages were very crisp. They aim to please. I’ve had no complaints not once. I HIGHLY recommend this place. Top 4 on my list of favorites in Vegas. Love the Chicken Tikka Masala, samosa, the roasted wings, the prawns and Kabobs. Those are just my repeats.

Had their lunch buffet and at first was skeptical but it was awesome. Over all the place had great food and the staff were very gracious. Wouldn’t say it’s to die for but really really good…

Delicious food. We ordered the Chicken Thali and Saag Paneer for dinner. Everything was tasty, we loved the generous portion sizes. Anna was a good server. Our bartender and host were also great. We’ll return here on our next visit to Las Vegas.

On a staycation at the Rio! Staff here is GREAT! Ann is terrific. And I have had a few different Indian places and there lunch buffet is superb. The chicken masala is to die for!!! Love it!

I love this place. Every gearbox come to the Rio for a convention and I make a point of eating here at least once.
The food is FANTASTIC and there is always excellent service.

Very Disappointed
We read about this place in a Huffington Post article as rated top four Indian restaurants in the world and decided to go there. In my opinion it falls below even the worst Indian restaurants in the Bay Area.
There was a lunch buffet and the food choices were very limited. Stale salad, stale Gajjar halwa, uncooked rice, powdery Gulaab jambun. For vegetarian choices they had channa masala in onion gravy and mixed vegetables in creamy gravy. I decided to order from the menu but all choices had only one of those two gravies.
I came away hungry and ate out.

We went to the Royal as a special Mother’s Day treat for dinner around 7pm. The reason I waited several weeks to write this review is because I wanted to try out a couple more India restaurants and see if the food and service was average or above par for Las Vegas India restaurants. I’m sorry to say it was below par, so believe the reviews that you read about it.
Ambiance: The restaurant was beautiful inside and out. The tables looked nice but the booth seats felt old. It is set up to look like an upper scale quality restaurant, I’m guessing in order to justify the pricing.
Service: The service was adequate but the food came out backwards. Our soup and bread basket came last, about 15 minutes after the food, and food was served after thirty minutes, lukewarm not hot. The bartender/​hostess was also very pushy about alcoholic drinks. We were asked no less than five times if we wanted an alcoholic beverage. We told them repeatedly that I was diabetic so NO, and my son was driving so NO.
Food: We ordered sparkling water, flavored ice tea and water for beverages. We ordered Chicken Lemon Soup ($ 8) which was delicious but served barely warm. We also had a Bread Basket ($ 12) which was served last after we had almost finished eating. I ordered the Lamb Chop Marsala ($ 30) and my son ordered the Prawn Vindaloo ($ 27). My Lamb Chops were very small, very few and almost cold. Not enough for one person let alone sharing with two. They had little to no flavor and were served first, so I was the only one with food in front of me for about 10 minutes. I shared my dish with my son. Then his Prawns came out. There were about 8 – 10 large size prawns so this was a pretty good serving. We shared this dish also. The Prawns were delicious but also served barely warm. The entire dinner was priced at $ 109 for two people and definitely was not worth it.
I didn’t complain because this was only my second visit to an Indian restaurant. I thought perhaps that was the way Indian food is served — barely warmed. My son, who is an Indian food fan, said afterwards that the food should be hot and flavorful. We received neither for this dinner. To be fair, we only ate here once and only had a couple of dishes so maybe their other servings are better. But we’ll never find out because we will not be back.

You don’t see a lot of Indian restaurants in casino’s these days. Or any day as a matter of fact. Royal may be the only one that I can think of at the top of my head. I bought a coupon for this place and decided to check it out.
Royal at the Rio hotel is located on an obscure corner of the casino, so just keep asking around, and I’m sure you will find it. Once you do, you will notice that this is a really impressive looking Indian restaurant. High ceilings, great décor, the whole shebangabang. After sitting down, I ordered my food, and waited.
Shortly after ordering, I was given a complimentary papadum, a sort of cracker that was made from chickpea flour, with a couple of dipping sauces. This was nice, as I never had this before, and quite nice. I liked the tamarind dipping sauce, but didn’t care too much for the green mint one.
The Vegetarian Thali platter then came out. It was basically a sampling of some of their vegetarian dishes, a side of rice, dessert, and a naan, cut into quarters. When reading the menu, it sounds like more than what actually comes out. The naan was really good, and I do like my naan a little bit more on the «toastier» side. The flavors, I think, were all there, but I would consider it to be a more conservative approach to Indian food. And that is understandable considering that they cater to a lot of people from all over the world. But, at $ 30 for a plate of vegetarian food… there can be better value located elsewhere on the menu. The table next to me ordered the Royal Surf and Turf, and after seeing that, I should have paid the extra $ 2 instead.
The service here was on point. The hostess was friendly and helped me with a lot of my questions. The server was good at anticipating my needs.
If you are craving some Indian food, and don’t have a car rental, and don’t know anyone in Vegas who can drive you around, and stay at the Rio. well, you have Royal. Your paying casino prices for the food, but that is to be expected.

Really nice staff, good food, & good price.
What else can you ask for? :D
not too busy cause its such a hidden spot

I went to the Royal India Bistro for the lunch buffet today. Lunch was very good and service was excellent.
I was the first person here at about 11:30 but several tables were occupied before I left. The server asked me for my drink order. I got tap water which. She then said they had a buffet and I replied that was the reason I was there. She gestured for me to go ahead and start and she’d get my naan.
The buffet is small by comparison to other Indian buffets in town. There are 8 hot dishes, some salad, and achaar. It was a good enough choice and the good taste of the food made up for the limited selection.
The naan was buttered generously and was a welcome addition to the meal.
For my first trip, I got chicken tikka masala, malai kofta, and some basmati rice. The thing I noticed about all of their dishes was they all had a nice spicy flavor. It’s not overpowering for people who like mild food but it had a definite tang and it was not just one dish but all of them. It was the first time I know that I had malai kofta and it was really a treat! The last thing was the vegetable pakora. This was a bit disappointing. I didn’t read the full description because I know what it is. The only vegetable I could see/​taste was potato. It seemed more like it was a pakora made from bread stuffing and some potato.
For the second plate, I had aloo matar, daal maharani, and curry chicken. The aloo matar and curry chicken were good. The daal was OK. The sign said spicy lentils but this was the only dish that was lacking in spice. There were some beans mixed in the daal, too.
For dessert I got some rice pudding and some carrot pudding. The rice pudding was not labeled as kheer and it had a lot of liquid with less rice unlike kheer or rice puddings I’ve had before. The carrot pudding, on the other hand, was very thick and unlike the carrot puddings I’ve had elsewhere. Both puddings were very good – I’m not criticizing them but merely pointing out the different preparation. I wish I had seen the achaar at the beginning of my meal. I didn’t think it would be as tasty with dessert!
Service as I said was very good. When I went for my second plate, my dirty plate was removed and my water glass refilled. The server was very pleasant. The room is quite nice and it was very quiet.
The price is just over $ 16 including tax. For the limited selection, it’s higher than most places. Also, you have to park and walk your way through the casino to get there and it’s right in the middle, halfway between either garage.
Still, I won’t hesitate to stop here and I think I’ll try it for dinner some evening.