Alachi Masala

Ate here for the first time today with friends who live around the corner and come here all of the time. You can bring in your own alcohol with no charge, amazing. The food is so good, and the restaurant is small and intimate. Would recommend this place to anyone in town or as a destination.

Great Indian spot on the upper West side. BYOB and they are happy to provide glasses & open your wine for you. Service was great — even at dinner on Xmas day! Very attentive at refilling water too.
Lamb vindaloo was spicy but balanced — being a Brit, I’ve had some top notch curries in my time so I was happy. Bread basket is a must. Prices were fair. Nice atmosphere — cozy but busy.

Try the Poona Special Kacchi biriyani. No idea what’s the heritage of that dish but it’s really good.
The lamb vindaloo is hot but will not make a whole in your stomach.
And if you go on site, definitely order the vegetables pakora, they are delicious but don’t travel well for delivery because they lose their crispiness.
Also the place is great because it’s BYOB. So easy to go as a large party.
And there are always table available because most of their business is done through delivery.
Service is good.

I’ve done takeout here before and was pleasantly surprised but dining in today for dinner was anything but.
What I ordered:
Chicken Tikka Masala: really bland. Tasted like tomato soup.
Butter Chicken: they took the Chicken Tikka Masala and melted some butter on top of it. QUITE LITRRALLY. I was beyond furious but did not complain.
Garlic Naan: Was pretty good.
Mango Lassi: Also decent.
Chai: cmon guys, the carts in Jackson Heights make it better.
Service: I prefer not being bothered after I get my food, but they didn’t even give me a chance to let me express my thoughts on what they did with the Butter Chicken. I’m Pakistani for crying out loud. Who are you trying to fool? However they were very nice and probably would have replaced my food if I did complain. I’m not one to complain after having such a beautiful day.
I’ll go back, but they better get it right next time.

I’ve only had their lunch special, which at ten bucks is a pretty good deal.
You get two types of bread, samosa, most any entrée and rice. My samosa was overdone, but everything else was quite tasty and filling.
The service was efficient but utterly unfriendly. Not a single staff member said a word to me between taking my order and wishing me goodbye after paying the check. Also, I was the only person in the restaurant at the time, and there was no music in the background, so it was like a funeral parlor in there.

Good food. BYOB is awesome. You save a lot this way. Always happy after each meal. Have fun!

Really, really good food. The staff is friendly, but a little quiet. They’re happy to stay out of your way, but sometimes I think they stay a little too out of your way. But other than that, the service is good, prompt, friendly. I’ve had the lamb, seafood and chicken dishes, all were very, very good. And it’s BYOB so you don’t spend an arm and a leg for a night out.

Went there for lunch today. I’m an Indian food lover and the Chicken jalfreze was simply extraordinary. What a find!

What a find!!! Everything about Alachi Masala is just what you want in a neighborhood joint! Great food, excellent service, modest prices… and NO CORKAGE. Let me say that again – you can bring any liquor in you want and there is NO CORKAGE!!! We will return again and again!

Pretty good, especially compared with other Indian restaurants in the area. I suggest the Chicken Tika Masala and the Nan.

Just back from a snowy Sunday dinner here. Overall the food was quite tasty. I had the Kadai Shrimp– the shrimp were big and the sauce that it came in was very nice. I got mine extra spicy so it had a nice kick to it. My husband got a similar style lamb curry which he thought was nice. The only real thing was that we both would have liked more sauce with our dishes to go with the rice. But in general, this has been our favorite Indian on the Upper West Side so far and the fact that it’s BYOB is a major major plus. We will definitely try this place again.

BOYB and no corkage fee at this UWS neighborhood Indian restaurant. We always get the $ 18.95 app and main course deal. I love the chicken chat and the lamb bruna. The waiters are great. They kept filling up my water. I need a lot of water at Indian restaurants. We look forward to returning soon.

The food is bland, nearly tasteless, across the board. If you’re a fan of Indian food, this will look like Indian food, but it surely won’t taste or smell like Indian food. I once had Indian food in a backward inbred hick town called Van Horne, Texas. That was the worst Indian food I ever had. This is the second worst. Lucky for Alachi Masala, they’re not a *close* second worst… but still second worst.
Delivery is sloppy. No utensils and no napkins, what cheapskates! It’s not like their food is cheap. The delivery guy shows up with a credit card receipt, but no pen. Come on, guys! Snap out of whatever coma you’re in!
And while you’re at it, please make better food.
Appetizers
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Papadum: C–
Our papdum was burnt. I didn’t even have to taste it. It LOOKED burnt. And then when I ate it… *munch* *munch* … yup… totally burnt. How could they give us obviously burnt papdum?
Meat Samosa: A
This was actually excellent. Light flaky crust; might have been homemade. Meat flavored and spiced well; nice consistency.
Vegetable Samosa: B
Your standard samosa. Extremely delicious, but very much like every other samosa (I consider «B» to be average.)
Chicken Malai Kabab: C
Chicken Wing marinated in ginger and garam masala
Do you think I’m STUPID or something? You really don’t think I know a chicken wing when I see it? This ain’t no stinkin’ chicken wing… IT’S CUBES OF CHICKEN BREAST! Puh-​leez! It was juicy but like all the other food, completely and utterly bland. And it was chicken breast, not chicken wing!
Crabs Bombay: D
Apparently they pureed the crab because I didn’t see any crab, and they didn’t use enough crab because I couldn’t taste any crab either. My wife says she can detect a veeery small crab aroma, but personally, I didn’t. Too sweet. And too aromatic given the amount of crab they used. If I purchase something with «crab» in the name, I want to taste at least a hint of crab. If they don’t want to use more crab then they should cut the aromatic spices to let the crab flavor shine through.
Lasuni Shrimp: D
Yuck! It tastes like Chinese sweet and sour shrimp.
Chicken Specialties
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Chicken Korma: C
Soft meat, but tasteless. The sauce texture was more of a gravy, less of a cream sauce. Wasn’t creamy at all.
Tandoori Specialties
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Chicken Tandoori: B–
Slightly dry, slightly tough. The tandoori flavor is very weak. The chicken suffers from not being marinated nearly enough, which would’ve helped with the dryness, the toughness, and the weak flavor. Still, tasted good and not completely dry, so I give it a B-​. Let’s just say it’s not the most impressive tandoori chicken I’ve ever had, by a long shot.
Tandoori Fish Tikka: C
The description says «salmon marinated in subtly flavored spices». Next time please marinate it grossly, not subtly, because I could detect no marinated flavor except for the mustard you put in your marinade. Yeah, that’s right, biatch. I totally saw right through your mustard. Next time, turn up your spice dial and turn down your mustard dial on this dish! The salmon was juicy, which was nice, but it was totally bland, and it had a slightly fishy smell, which salmon should NOT have.
Chicken Tikka: C–
Some nondescript fish. Could’ve been tuna, I suppose. Can’t tell because the cubes were so small. Other than a slightly fishy aroma, it was nearly flavorless. It was juicy, so at least it had something going on.
Meat Dishes
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Lamb Rogan Josh: A–
After all the food disappointments, I was actually pleasantly surprised that the rogan josh was so good. The lamb was soft and flavorful. The sauce was aromatic and complimented the lamb quite nicely. Like Earl Grey, rogan josh is not everyone’s cup of tea (har har!) but if you enjoy this flowery aromatic dish, then you’ll probably be somewhat impressed by this one.

I’m visiting from Miami and I was craving chicken tikka masala, boy I got what I wanted and more. The dinner special has it everything for you to feel more than satisfied. Portions and taste were exceptional. This food was worth every penny. Staff was friendly and always checking if I needed anything else. I’ll be returning in my next my trip to NYC for sure!

Really good Indian on the Upper West Side. We order from here and eat in.
The staff are so nice — even when we bring our kids here. The atmosphere is nice — typical New York City Indian restaurant… small with regional décor. Worlds smallest bathroom.
BYOB — which is fine and expected with Indian restaurants.

This place is perfect for what it is – a BYOB Indian food restaurant on the UWS. I’m glad to have it in the neighborhood. You’re here for the ambiance and price.
We came here as a group of 7 on Saturday night (we had a reservation). The service was great. The waiters were nice and the food came quickly.
I also used the Unilocal 10% off check-​in, which was totally worth it.
The food is good, but if you’re looking for genuine and differentiated Indian flavors, I wouldn’t recommend this place.
If you’re looking for reasonably priced food and a great place to catch up with friends, make a reservation here and have a great time!

We got takeout from here: chicken tikka masala, chicken mahkani, and naan. The sauces were too sweet and the chicken a little tough, but the order came very quickly and was completely accurate. If you like sweeter sauces, definitely come here.

Roy’s Top 5 Things to Know:
1. Food was great actually. Their chicken tikka masala and garlic naan were on point!
2. They kept our water refilled which was the highlight of our service.
3. Parking is metered around $ 3 an hour outside, free on the streets instead of avenues.
4. Another Indian Restaurant with the long narrow layout, not too fancy, casual spot.
5. Waiter checked for his tip right away which I found to be very rude. Also spent a long time with my credit card closing out the bill.

I use to get take out from here every now and then. I would always have to take time and go into the establishment to get an itemized receipt as they do not provide one unless you ask. I want to make sure that im being charged what the menu says. that has been a problem in the past always. they over charge but if I did not have enough money to pay for dinner one day, I would not be eating. its annoying.
ps…the food is over priced and not that good. check your receipts so that you are not overcharged.

These guys are artists. Make no mistake about it.
In my personal classification system, restaurants have three kinds of food artists in the kitchen:
1. Those that ensure that there are bold flourishes in the food (in terms of taste and texture)
2. Those that play on subtlety, hinting at flavors, notes, and contrasts
3. Those that excel in extracting all flavor out of a dish, so that the eater focuses on nutritional content alone — avoiding the debilitating side effects of an addiction to tasteful food.
The food artisans at Alachi Masala work diligently and consistently in executing per the third category, though they may occasionally slip up and confound your taste buds with a whiff of what you can get elsewhere.
No. No. They haven’t given up trying after all these (7+) years, nor are they simply going through the motions. They are executing per a thoughtful strategy of differentiation.
Having long marveled their consistency, I could perhaps be excused for trying to see how other Indian restaurants in the neighborhood were faring, and so had not been here in the past 5 years. But, recently my resolve weakened and I thought of giving them another opportunity and ordered delivery. The Chana Bhajee with Poori truly surprised me. Not for the fact that the Poori looked nothing like one, but for the fact that I actually finished the Chana Bhajee! Amazingly, their consistency had not wavered in the intervening years and neither did my inability to fully appreciate their art. So, I had to deal with generous leftovers remaining from all 5 dishes that I ordered: Chicken Salimar, Chicken Xacuti, Lamb Chili, Gosht Bhuna, and Emlyka Murg. Now, I trust you’ll appreciate that I am not getting into the details of the individual dishes because as their intent is to extract all flavor out of a dish — it would be pointless to focus on any flourishes or ingredients.
Sadly, one can’t award these guys a wooden spoon signifying their relative merit compared to other Indian restaurants in the city, for you do survive their food without bowing your head to the white deity in the bath room. Still, credit must be given where credit is due.