Basmati Table

I’m sorry to report that Basmati Table closed in Feb, 2011. However, there is a new owner who is opening a new Indian restaurant at the same location. There’s a new awning up and a worker told me that the place should be open in a couple of weeks. I hope the food there will be as delicious as it was under Marouf’s care.

Ah Yes, Basmati Table — finally an Indian Restaurant within a stone’s throw. Imagine my excitement.
Very Simple Restaurant. Service is adequate but very friendly. I love fact that it’s BYOB. A+ plus on that.
The food is surprisingly delicious. Atleast the times I’ve been there (sorry Dennis Y.) I do have issues with the portions though. I ordered Shrimp Vindaloo and it seemed to be more potatoes than shrimp but hey, that’s my thing.
Overall, it was an fantastic addition to the variety of cultures in our little Sunnyside neighbourhood that I frequent regularly.

What’s up with the rice?! Why would you call yourself Basmati Table if you’re NOT serving basmati rice? I’m pretty sure they are serving parboil rice — completely soggy as well. We’ve been there 3+ times and that seems to be the rice they’d like to serve. Fail.
Fortunately, dishes are generally OK. They taste fresh and quite full of flavor. Not soaked in ghee, which is a plus.
Now, perhaps I should call it a day to get my basmati rice at Sonali or just get a damn bag and cook the rice myself… then order take out from ‘Basmati-​not Table.’

Food — Great. Suggestions: Kurma, Tikka Masala (while I can’t find on the menu but they always make it for me. I could be blind though…) The samosas are really fresh.
Service — They are so nice. I’ve never seen so many smiling restaurant workers. They are so sweet.
Ambiance — You know, it’s really quiet which is a nice break from some of the places that are so full and the music is so loud. It’s a relief. It’s also BYOB and I like that. There’s a liquor store up the street on Skillman. Not so bad.

I love this place. I recently moved to the neighborhood from the Upper East Side and am so thrilled to have a good Indian place nearby.
Note, I like good, homestyle Indian food — fresh tasting, good spices but not too heavy, and Basmati Table hits the spot. We’ve both dined in and ordered out, getting the veggie samasas, chicken curry, saag paneer and more and i liked everything.
I removed a star only because the décor/​ambiance on the inside isn’t too exciting — its clean and acceptable, but not romantic, ethnic or any thing with too much character — I’m sure they’ll improve as they settle in.
Good food, good takeout (well wrapped so it doesn’t leak everywhere) and really cheap.

This review is based on a delivery order I made recently. Just one word — AWFUL! I ordered vegetable samosa and chicken tikka masala. 30 minutes later the order arrived. What I got was samosas that were COLD, and by that I mean not that athey had «cooled off» on their way along the delivery route, but that they were clearly pulled out of a fridge and stuck in a bag to be delivered to me. The chicken tikka masala had… no chicken. It had beef! WTF? Additionally the sauce and rice were just what other reviewers said — boiled bland Uncle Ben’s and sauce out of a can. Zero flavor. I called to complain and the person on the phone tried to fight with me. «No, it’s chicken.» Um, no you jerk, it’s not. After several minutes of arguing he agreed to send out a new order of the chicken masala. This place can’t go out of business fast enough!

Basmati Table is still a baby of a restaurant, so while I have some criticisms, I have faith that in the next few weeks/​months, they’ll make some changes and it will be a better dining experience (hence the 4 stars).
I thought the food was tasty. I’m by no means an Indian food connoisseur so take that as you will. The samosas were delicious as were the accompanying sauces and the chicken vindaloo was very flavorful. The rice, however, is a huge fail. It’s bland bland bland. Seriously, has no seasoning — none — nada.
Bonus? Its BYOB! Sweet. The server was also very nice.
Here’s how they can improve:
–Turn on some music! Without music, it feels awkwardly like your eating in someone’s kitchen… which brings me to my next point…
–TURN DOWN THE PHONE RINGERS! Every 10 minutes the phone rang, and it was incredibly loud and really ruins the vibe. I understand you do take-​out, but keep the phone by the counter and keep it low.
–Spruce up the décor? I dunno, it felt kind of make-​shift and the lighting as uneven.
Like I said earlier, it’s still early for Basmati Table, and I hope they can pull it together and become a successful restaurant — we absolutely need an Indian place in Sunnyside!

I just tried this newish Indian place for the first time last night and was pleasantly surprised. Thumbs up all around. Food was really delicious, fresh, and well-​seasoned. We ordered the Chicken Biryani, Sag Paneer (which comes with Basmati rice on the side), Garlic Naan, and Vegetable Samosas. The litmus test is often the samosa, and these weren’t greasy, although they were a bit heavy on the potato, but it worked. The chicken in the Biryani was moist and tender. The naan had just the right amount of garlic and was perfectly prepared. Portions were big and we weren’t able to finish everything.
A plus was the very friendly person taking the order on the phone and food delivered quickly with a smiling delivery guy. Prices are incredibly reasonable, esp. for Indian — the whole meal only came to less than $ 22 (before tip), even though according to Sunnyside Post it’s billed as: «a high-​end Indian restaurant in the neighborhood.» Also interesting to note — I didn’t realize that the place is co-​owned by the owner of Bliss Restaurant, the neighborhood French Bistro that is right across the street. According to the Sunnyside Post, he decided to start Basmati Table, as «Sunnyside lacked a classy Indian restaurant.»
In perusing the menu, we noticed there wasn’t a huge selection, which is either a downside or an upside depending on how you look at it. But I didn’t like that the Tandoori Mixed Grill was only a combo of chicken and shrimp — usually it’s the whole gamut and would’ve been nice to have some lamb too. Also, kind of a strange inclusion on an Indian cuisine menu — Beef Biryani! I know its tagline is: «Contemporary Indian Cooking,» but still!
All in all, nice to know that there is another good dining option in the area — for delivery or eat-​in.

I’m so glad Basmati Table opened in Sunnyside! I’m not sure why people gave them 2 stars. What makes the food here so great is it really tastes homemade. I love Indian food, but ironically, since moving to Queens I’ve been having a tough time finding a good place. Everything has been too greasy or too sweet (I’ve ordered a kurma from another place that literally tasted like a hot milkshake). When I stumbled upon Basmati Rice, the heavens have opened up. So yummy! My faves are the curries (thick and red), the veggie dishes and the samosas. Usually a solid A. And the prices are just as nice. Check it out!

I’ve ordered delivery from Basmati Table once and I was starving so I ordered an appetizer and 2 entrees :). I had the vegetable samosas which arrived hot, and were very good. I also ordered a fish dish — I think it was tilapia. It was lightly fried in a medium spicy batter and came with raw slices of tomato, green pepper and onion on it. I don’t know if that is typical or not — but it wasn’t a great presentation. I also had aloo gobi, which was about the best I’ve ever had that I can recall. It was really creamy and savory. Unfortunately, I think it may have had too much oil because I had a stomach ache that night and the next day. Comparing to Sonali — since other reviewers had — I actually preferred Sonali because the food was less heavy there and had more distinctive flavors.

This place just opened last week and I noticed the smell of indian food isn’t as strong as other restaurants I’ve been to when I went for dinner. It threw me off and I was kinda skeptical about the food in the beginning. The menu and prices are very reasonable though, veggie curries for $ 6.99, meat curries for $ 8.99 — 9.99. 2 Samosas for $ 2. Very affordable.
The portions tend to be on the small side though, so keep it in mind. But if you eat curry with naan bread like I do (with minimum meat and potatoes), one portion is more than enough for one person.
I particularly like the chicken vindaloo. It lives up to its description of fiery hot. We asked for medium since one of my friends couldn’t handle hot, and it was still pretty spicy. I think I was the only one who could handle the spiciness of the dish, so be warned if you’re not particularly good at hot spices. The dish reminds me of traditional indian curries, with just the right amount of hot!
Will come back for a quick bite again :)

My wife had wanted to try this place ever since it opened, she loves Indian. I have to say, I had my doubts for some reason just looking at it but we were willing to give it a go. Really a big disappointment. Honestly, we think the vindaloo came from a pre-​mix or a can… seriously. The lamb was so-​so but the vindaloo was awful. We’ve come to expect something reddish, spicy with slight hint of a vinegar-​like tang; this was flavorless goo. We agree with the other reviewer who said the rice was blah and the portions were on the small side. Jackson Heights is not that far away, so perhaps the standard is a bit high but we’ve both had way better in Seattle and Virginia.
We both hope they do better but it was almost liked they worked at making bad Indian.

Very disappointing. I was hoping we’d finally get good Indian food in the ‘hood but once again I’m left with hopping on the 7 train or Q32 to jackson heights.
The portions are very small so keep that in mind when ordering. The chicken tikka masala is very rich. My fiancée and I both had upset stomachs the next day which is just one reason I wont be going back anytime soon.
The funniest thing about this place is their name is «Basmati Table» but they gave us what seemed to be good old fashioned Uncle Ben’s long grain white rice along side our meal. Actually my fiancée and her sister were convinced it was Uncle Ben’s. I’ve been eating and cooking with basmati rice for years. This wasn’t it. Not only that but what they served was completely flavorless, no salt, no whole spices cooked with it, just bleh!
I’ve tried Sonali a handful of times and won’t be going back there either. Curry Point is good but can be a hit or miss, and I have no idea how Biryani House is still open. Lets hope Basmati Table improves. I’ll check in again in a few months.