A definite improvement since converting to Ista. The décor is warm and tasteful and the prices are reasonable, but the flavors still lack the pop of some of my preferred Indian venues. Upon last visit, I had the Chicken Biryani, which was good, but I would have preferred more spice. My favorite was the Gobi Manchurian appetizer, which was full of flavor. I could have eaten an entire entrée of that. The lunch buffet offers a good variety, but again, seems muted from the stronger Indian flavors I prefer.
Christina G.
Place rating: 5 Fort Worth, TX
I love Indian food and am quite picky. The food here is fantastic! You get a choice of mild, medium or spicy on most orders, a choice of rice or naan with entrees(so you don’t have to order a side of naan, as the rice comes in a big, full bowl, plenty for two or more), and the portions are generous. My husband and I shared lamb biryiani, chicken tikka masala, and saag paneer and had enough of the biryani and saag panner for leftovers tomorrow. We practically licked the masala gravy from the bowl! Highly recommend this place and would love to see it stay open so please go!
Swati M.
Place rating: 5 Carmel, IN
Amazing food. We had chicken biryani and kadai paneer, it tasted better than some of actual indian restaurant in india. I loved the place.
Matt M.
Place rating: 5 Grapevine, TX
Great food! Above average service, and reasonable pricing. We’re regulars at Ista in Southlake! Chicken Tikka is great Hot fresh naan is very good Samosas are delicious as well Try it all! Even the lunch buffet is great quality. l
Deon W.
Place rating: 5 Grapevine, TX
This was an amazing restaurant! I was there on a REALLY cold holiday seasonal day and there were at least 4 pick up orders and a couple dining in! Quite a compliment to this restaurant! Did I mention the friendly staff and woman whol took my order??? She was so helpful in answering all my questions! When I got home the food was still hot, wonderfully packaged and not leaking at all! Even my mango lassi that I had turned over in the car has not spilled! In my opinion, packaging in everything in pick up restaurant food, especially in picking it up in 36 degree gusty weather and driving home 20 minutes! WOW! I have not had AMAZING Indian food in a long time(and I love Indian food!!) I asked about a dish I got in Los Angeles and the woman suggested a similar dish they served and it was exactly what I was looking for! The naan was perfect! AND let me rave about the vegetable samosas! Also the décor was beautiful! Not cheesy or cheap, very tasteful and well done! I will return for take out, pick up, casual AND all levels of celebration! See you there!!!
Laura A.
Place rating: 5 Southlake, TX
Nice atmosphere and good food. My husband can’t do too much spice and they accommodated his request happily.
Michael S.
Place rating: 4 Fort Worth, TX
I was a little disappointed that two of the things I tried to order from the menu weren’t available. It could’ve just been bad timing on my part, but I really wanted to try the Chicken Samosas and I was curious exactly what Rasgula was. But, they had neither of those items from their menu. On to brighter things, though! Not knowing what it was, I decided to try the Mango Lassi.(They had that! Woohoo!) It was sweet, but not TOO sweet. There was a little something going on in the background with some type of spice. But, I never could quite make out what it was. Overall, though, I liked it and I would get it again. The entrée was Shrimp Masala w/Naan. Very good. I wish there had been more of it, but it was good. Well seasoned. Nice flavors. If I go again, I’ll probably try something else, but that’s more out of curiosity on my part than anything else. When trying new places, I tend to try different things for the first few visits. As mentioned before, I tried to order Rasgula for dessert, but they were out of it. So, I «settled for» Kheer(sweet rice pudding in milk). It was good. Nothing mind-blowing, but it was good. I’ve had that before at other places and it seemed pretty typical of what I had eaten before. To me, the restaurant was a typical Southlake strip-shopping-center restaurant. Nicely decorated, DEFINTELY not a «hole in the wall» type of place. Not what I would call upscale, but definitely not down-market, either. Nicely decorated. Nicely lit. The right amount of music, etc. Would I go back? Sure! If I were in the area. I doubt I would fight the traffic during an evening«rush» again, though.
Nestor E.
Place rating: 5 North Richland Hills, TX
Tried going to the lights in Grapevine. Ended up in India instead. Smells so good in here!!! Can’t wait to eat!
Leopard L.
Place rating: 4 Grapevine, TX
We’ve been to this restaurant a few times and it was pretty decent but was lacking the right customer service. After a few years we decided to try again. The food is the same… But the atmosphere has changed a bit making it a much more vibrant happy place. Overall the food is really good! It’s also one of the only Indian restaurants in the area.
Tara M.
Place rating: 4 Bedford, TX
Had the lunch buffet here today and some things were fantastic and some inedible. My favorite of the meats was chicken curry the flavor was perfect and very moist and juicy meat. The flavor of the chicken tikka masala was great but the meat was dry(prob breast meat). The goat curry was so tough and inedible I had to spit it out. The papad(like tortilla chips made with lentils) and naan were great as was paneer. My friend preferred the tomato soup and I preferred the dal. Both were very good. There was also a vegetable called drumstick in a delicious tomato curry sauce that was too tough to eat. I will definitely go back!
Kory B.
Place rating: 2 Southlake, TX
This restaurant benefits from no competition in the area. It’s mediocre– it inspired us to find a ready made sauce in a jar.
Claire R.
Place rating: 5 Plano, TX
Amazing flavor and spice! The buffet has lots of veggie options if you are into that. Don’t skip this place!!!
Pete S.
Place rating: 5 Keller, TX
We have been here 3 times and as Indian food lovers we can happily say this is, by far, the best in the area. Chicken Korma is the bomb. Paneer masala is awesome. And their selection of naan is wonderful.
Brad N.
Place rating: 3 Allen, TX
I see that the reviews of this place are mixed, and I realize that perceptions may vary from person to person and day to day, but on the day of my recent visit, things were going well at Ista. My friend and I arrived for lunch and proceeded to the buffet. There were a good selection of meat and vegetable dishes to choose from, as well as some very nice naan waiting at the table when we got back. The best dishes for me were the goat curry and the Chicken 65. The former was served bone-in, so you have to work with it a little to get the meat out, but it’s worth it. The sauce was rich and savory, and the meat was tender. The Chicken 65, while far from the hottest example of the dish I’ve tried, was very big on flavor, with bell pepper and onion figuring prominently in the dish. Naan made a great«mop» for the sauces from the various dishes, and we topped everything off with some galub jamun for a little sweet flavor. All in all, it was a pretty good experience. I’d rate it 3.5 stars if I could.
Clark C.
Place rating: 4 Grapevine, TX
These reviews on here are really funny, I can tell that a lot of Southlake people have never had authentic Indian food before. My wife and I moved down here from NYC a couple of years ago and Ista is, by far, the best Indian we’ve had in DFW(granted, we’ve only been to a handful of Indian places in DFW). Is the service a little slow? — Yes. Are the bathrooms spotless? — No. Is the food spicy? — Yes. But it’s very authentic and delicious. Reminds us of several of our favorite Indian joints in NY. My advice to the Southlake crowd that can’t take it… go back to the town center and eat at the cheesecake factory.
Leigh H.
Place rating: 1 Colleyville, TX
TERRIBLE!!! Save your time(over one hour for dinner) and money. The food was inedible… The cauliflower was far too salty, the okra dish was inedible, and the baingain bartha i ordered did not arrive. Instead, I was given a buttery yellow mush with pieces of tomato and onions and the waitress tried to convince me this was the EGGPLANT i ordered. My fiancée and I have been here before, and it was pretty good. I have no idea what happened. We were given half of our money back, and the manager said that they have a new cook. I think they need to fire that cook and get another new one.
Margaret B.
Place rating: 3 Fort Worth, TX
Not bad, plenty of tasty choices for a lunch buffet. I came here around 2pm so some of the offerings were a little low. I think if I came back closer to 12, more dishes would be fresh and plentiful. The goat stew was by far my favorite. Lunch buffet with water for one runs about $ 10.80 and you get a basket of fresh naan at your table. I would come back.
John L.
Place rating: 3 South Padre Island, TX
Went for lunch buffet with a groupon buy one get one free, nice clean place inside and out, in southlake. Chicken tikka masala was pritty good but had to hunt for the chicken in all that sauce. Goat curry included bones, skin the lot, only tried the sauce, wan’t my thing. The spinach dish was a bit bland and tasteless. Chick peas were okay but a bit hard. The naan bread was great but only got one basket cut in four quarters served at your table, I’ve been to other buffets where it is on the buffet line. The sweets and desserts didn’t appeal to me as I was too stuffed. I’m from England so I know my currys. It was okay but I’ve had better. A must try if you like currys.
Kevin S.
Place rating: 4 Plano, TX
Came here at the suggestion of a co-worker. Nice place. Decent lunch buffet. Service was excellent. Not sure what it cost, because my co-worker paid. Parking is a bit strange with 10 min only out front, but you should be able to find something. I’ll be back.
Rae C.
Place rating: 3 Fort Worth, TX
Ista is definitely an improvement on the Indian restaurant that used to be in this location. They’ve upgraded the interior, put in better lighting, and the terrifying stained carpet has been replaced with clean tile flooring. I’ve only been for the lunch buffet — side note, they have a punch card system where you go 6 times and get the 7th lunch buffet free! The buffet is organized in such a way that the vegetarian dishes are obvious and separate from the meat dishes. Hooray! They’ll bring you fresh naan which has been consistently warm, soft, and yummy the couple of times I’ve been there. The two times I’ve been they had entirely different choices for main entrées, which was nice. I haven’t been blown away by any dish, but they have all been good and it’s definitely enough for a big, filling lunch. Ista will survive because of the lack of competition in the area. In Irving or Addison, they probably wouldn’t make my top three in Indian choices, but beggars can’t be choosers. So until someone else comes along to give them some competition, they’ll continue to be my go to when I’m craving Indian in the area.