Bengal Tiger Indian Food

UGH! OH MY GOODNESS!
So I’ve been coming here for a few years now here and there.
Their chicken tikka masala is really good, but the only complaint I have is that the last few times I’ve had it – the chicken was a bit dry. I have to agree with the most recent reviews sorry :(I don’t remember it always being like that though!
They should really pay more attention to that.
The pakora and samosas are SOOO amazing I love them both so much and order it every time I come there (especially with the green and brownish-​red sauces, ugh – amazing)
But seriously their pakora and samosas… ‚)

The food is tooooo sweet here! The food taste good, but sugar does not need to be in everything. The curries were too sweet and the yogurt was loaded with sugar. Millions of people suffer from diabetes specially type 2, why put so much unnecessary agar? I would have loved the food here if it was less sweet. The service is great and very attentive.

Delicious food! I was craving indian food so I walked over to Bengal Tiger and had a chicken tikka masala and saag paneer lunch pack. The lunch packs come with rice and naan and are generous portions for a great price. Definitely a new lunchtime staple of mine.

My fiancé and I ate here when we were visiting NYC during Christmas. We saw the great reviews and we were starving so we dropped in and were immediately able to get seats. The place is tiny so it’s something to be mindful of. The service was decent and everyone was very attentive.
I thought their naan was really good and we had the pakora which was absolutely fantastic. I got the chicken tikki masala and I was a little disappointed. The chicken was just a little disappointing and strange in my opinion. Tasted really overcooked. Anyways other than that it was decent and would recommend but was definitely not the best Indian I’ve had.

I don’t know what all the hype is about. Granted, we got takeout. But…
a) Lamb Biryani: was so dry. The lamb was dry, the rice was dry, and the flavor was meh.
b) Chicken Korma: The chicken was good and not overcooked but the pieces were gigantic. Maybe some people like that. The curry was well flavored but tasted somehow too aged perhaps… like it had been ladled out of a vat?
c) Rice: it was sticky and overdone.
d) Naan: soggy, moist and chewy.
Maybe the food was sitting there for half an hour before we picked it up? It was only a five minute walk back to our hotel.
Oh yeah and the mango lassi tasted prefabbed. Like just not fresh somehow.
Overall I was just really not impressed. We have much better Indian food options in Maine.

I don’t know much about Indian food but I enjoyed Bengal’s 3-​course meal for about $ 18. I think that is a reasonable price, especially for the area. Apparently their lunch set is also affordable at $ 8.95. Their menu is simple and easy to understand, even for someone as clueless about Indian cuisine as I am.
Mr. Joy & his cousin chose the vegetable samosas to start. I chose the Pakora. (not pictured… so unlike me)
Vegetable samosas — pea & potato turnovers: packed with flavor, crunchy, tasty, and pretty big
Pakora — onion & spinach fritters: I liked the fritters even better than the samosas, because I am not a big fan of peas. Though the fritters look oddly misshapen, they taste pretty good. Again, packed with flavor, & crunchy.
For the entrée, we went with Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Makhani, and Lamb Vindaloo. Tikka Masala — light cream tomato sauce, grilled
Makhani — clay-​oven cooked, buttery sweet tomato sauce
I couldn’t really tell the difference between these two sauces. They were both pretty good.
Vindaloo — spicy sundried red chili sauce.
The lamb vindaloo sure was spicy and I only had a couple of bites. I liked that the spices took out the game flavor lamb, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to continue eating it without lighting a fire in my mouth. No one finished the vindaloo, but we tried.
Kheer — cashewnut rice pudding: the only dessert option. I enjoyed its light milky flavor. It helped take away the heavy overpowering flavors lingering in my mouth.
I’m glad we found this place. It is almost hidden. Once you find the location, you go up a flight of stairs and through the tiger door into a narrow eating space. Good thing we didn’t have to wait more than a few minutes for a table, because there isn’t really a space to stand while you wait.

Bengal Tiger was perfect! Casual yet elegant Indian cuisine with attentive, quick service. $ 17.95 prix fixe dinner was perfect for us. There were a lot of choices and everything was honestly very good! Garlic naan was a little dry so I would maybe save the $ 3 and get pappadum instead. The chicken tikka masala was exceptional and was very flavorful and tender. You will not be disappointed!

The service was excellent and the ambience was really nice. They have the best naan. I ordered the Aloo Gobi Mattar and it was pretty good, but I have had better. I would definitely return here though.

Fantastic indian food tucked away on the 2^nd floor in bustling midtown. Perfect for an impromptu lunch or dinner while in the area.

I cried! I had to order a glass of milk! So spicy!
Warning! The Vindaloo is REALLY spicy, the menu warns about this.
I ordered the Chicken curry which was amazing. My boyfriend ordered the Vindaloo. It was really, really good. But super duper hot. The waiters and busboys are very attentive about refilling the water… I see why. My mouth was on fire.
Best Indian food I have ever had, despite my tears.
I had nibbles of my boyfriend’s Vindaloo and sadly had to wimp out and order a glass of milk. A manager came over to ask if I was ok after I ordered the milk. My eyes were teary.
Usually I don’t take menu spicy warnings seriously, but take this one seriously. Order the Vindaloo with caution… or a glass of milk.
The mulligatawny soup was great as well.
You go up some totally sketchy stairs to get in but the inside is warm and inviting once you’re there.
It can get VERY busy. It was packed pretty early (~6pm) on a weeknight.

Went here on a double date, and we were here quite early as compared to Indian dining standard time! At 6:10 pm, on a Thursday evening, this place wasn’t that busy. We got a pretty good window table at this restaurant. We were also carrying 3 bottles of white wine. yeps, its a BYOB place and they don’t charge a corkage fee.
We ordered some Papad to munch on and 2 servings of the Chicken Malai Kabab and Samosas. Papad was just about OK, but the chutney served with papad added good taste! Malai Kabab’s were really nice, well marinated and well cooked. Didn’t try the samosa, but my colleagues wife thoroughly enjoyed it!
For entrees, we got Chana Masala, Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Korma, Chicken Saag and Tandoori Chicken Tikka. All entrees were just fabulous and really tasty. Also, all entrees were served with rice!
The server made a mistake with our order. We had ordered a Roti’s but were served Naan. however, they corrected their mistake and gave us Roti’s and didn’t take the Naan back! I say, that’s good service! So service-​wise absolutely no complaints.
By the time we were ready to leave, it was about 8:30 pm and there were plenty of people waiting in line to be seated; so yes, it started getting quite busy around 7:45 pm. Overall, we had a great time and the food was really nice too!

Absolutely lovely!
My friend and I split the dishes, which were both perfect quantity, and great quality. Waiter asked us several times how spicy we would like the food and warned us of some spiciness levels. All in all, he did everything to ensure great customer service!
Chicken vindaloo and lamb masala were both great– served with basmati rice. In addition, we had the garlic nan which is by far my favorite type.
This restaurant requires going up the stairs to get to, and is a bit narrow once inside. Nothing too bad though! Great for a lunch experience!

Ah, Bengal Tiger Indian Food. Those reviews, right? Almost unbelievable. This place, tho, for real. It’s good, and affordable, and the service is amazing; so many wins. So, why not 4 or even 5 stars? It’s simple, I’ve had better Indian food. Granted, not in this area of midtown, but there’s better Indian food out there.
First of all, the vindaloo is real spicy. They warn you, they do multiple times, but it’s extremely spicy to the point where I didn’t find it that enjoyable and I like spice. I was dining with some elderly people who don’t like spice at all, but enjoy chicken tikka masala and they couldn’t even eat it; it was too spicy.
The prix fixe seems like a deal and if you like rice pudding it is. You choose from soup or deep fried appetizers that were good, your entrée and then rice pudding. Looking back, I’d probably just stick with an entrée (that comes with rice) and some naan.
BYOB makes this place a gem for groups that are looking to not break the bank. As I always reiterate when dining in this ‘hood, it’s hard to find food that isn’t $$$, so you take it where you can.
A definite try and see what it’s all about.

An excellent BYOB spot for great Indian food. I came on a Friday night for dinner with a friend. They don’t take reservations so you should expect a wait, but we only waited about 20 – 25 minutes.
Food was delicious, I got the chicken tikka masala. Prices were extremely fair, only a $ 36 tab for the two of us for two main entrees and a side of naan.
My only complaint was that it took us about fifteen minutes to get someone to come over and open our second bottle of wine. We asked one server several times, but I think he was having a hard time understanding us.
Definitely recommend this place!

Actual Rating: 4.5 Stars
Bengal Tiger is definitely one of the better Indian places in New York. My friend and I were wandering around one day when we stumbled upon this spot. It’s a great balance between price, quality of food, and portion size.
The portion size is great. We ordered the korma, tikki masala, naan, and rice — it was more than enough food for two people. Everything was well made and full of flavor. The best part is that it is actually spicy. Both of us were so grateful anytime our waiter came around to refill our water.
The best part? The lunch box deal. Yeah, I’ll take the subway one stop on my lunch break to get it. It’s less than ten dollars for the choice of two sides, basmati rice, and naan.
I recommend this place for sure. Can you open a spot in East Village?

What an EXCELLENT place. The décor is fantastic. Very quaint and home like feel. The staff is absolutely amazing. Very attentive. The food was very tasty. My friend had never tried Indian food and I convinced her to explore. She loved the garlic naan. We tried the prefix dinner and ordered a bunch of dishes and shared. Highly recommend this little hidden gem.

4.5 — serving up some high quality curries and naans. Deserves all the great reviews its been getting.
#8.95 lunch special: 2 curries (both veggie and meat but 1 $ extra for lamb), naan, rice. Can’t be beat in this area.
#Food:
All curries and exceptionally good. Vindaloo IS SPICY just the way you like it. korma is rich and creamy with just the right amount of sweet. Saag is creamy and well flavored with big chungs of paneer. No flaws in the curries. Rice is butter and fresh. Portions are a bit small but you can’t complain for 8.95 in midtown. MEAT — chicken a little on the dry side but i’ll let it slide. Lamb was very tender and moist as lamb always is.
#Overall: a great lunch find, but be careful of food coma when you go back to work.

War von A bis Z super!!! Sehr leckeres Essen, netter Service und sehr gutes Preis-​Leistungsverhältnis.

I would say it’s closer to 4.5 stars. I came for dinner with a friend and got the Prix Fix menu for $ 17.95 a person. This included a choice of appetizer, a choice of entrée with rice, and dessert. Pretty good deal for dinner!
From the outside, you would never know this is a quality establishment. There is an old awning, and some old stairs you take up to the restaurant on the 2^nd floor. But once you open that door at the top and step in, it has a really nice cozy feeling and large windows in the front too. I really thought it was neat — something that tourists wouldn’t know about (or non-​Yelpers).
Our food was delicious. The veggie samosa was flavorful and had a nice crunchy texture. The lamb spring rolls were full of meat and the white and green sauce around it was awesome! Then our entrees came. The chicken tikka masala and korma each had 6 large cubes of chicken with delicious sauce! The chicken tikka masala we got a bit spicy, but it really wasn’t spicy. The korma could have been slightly sweeter. But the portions were great, and with the bowl of rice, we were full. We actually ordered an additional naan, which I recommend. They were done really well!
Dessert came last, which is the sweet rice pudding. Flavorful and not too watery. Perfect cap to an awesome filling dinner that is well-​priced.
The commendable aspect of this place is their service. My water glass was never less than ²⁄₃ full. They were seriously over here every 10 min to refill our water. They also replaced our plates with each course, which was nice of them. Food came at appropriate intervals.
Definitely recommend this place.

Came here for their $ 9 lunch combo, and was not disappointed.
The food was fresh and tasty, and came with pretty hearty portions. I loved how you could taste the spices, without it being too overwhelming.
Only wished the cashier was friendlier, as he seemed terribly uninterested in doing his job.

Bengal Tiger is a good deal for some quick Indian food lunch in Midtown. Whenever I get Indian food I am drawn to the spinach paneer and the cauliflower and potatoes. At the Bengal Tiger the lunch special includes, 2 veggie sides, basmati rice or brown rice and 5 triangle pieces of pita. Since, I get two side, I don’t have to pick between my two fave Indian sides. You just come up the stairs put in your order and they call out your number and you can be on your way out in no time. It’s great to come here if you are headed to the park and just need to grab something.
I appreciate that the food is served in a compartment tray. My rice doesn’t get soggy and I get the perfect bite of paneer with a snip it of cauliflower and some basmati grains. Midtown has a lot of Indian food options and I have hit up a number of spots. The quality of food was not mind blowing. I prefer a lot of the other restaurants in the area. That being said you sometimes need a cheap fix and this place does the trick.

Bengal tiger ist echt süß man geht die Treppen hoch und findet ein familiäres Ambiente vor und ein Restaurant dass mal nicht so laut ist wie viele andere in NY. Auch der Service ist freundlich und familiär: es ist ziemlich persönlich allerdings meinte der Kellner es fast etwas zu gut mit dem Wasser nachschenken und kam für meinen Geschmack etwas oft an den Tisch.
Das Essen war lecker wir hatten malai kofta, vegetarisches Tikki Masala und die Preise fair allerdings für meinen Geschmack etwas zu cremig und süß– die Soßen aber alles in allem ok! Die Malai Kofta Bällchen zb haben frisch und nicht überfrittiert geschmeckt.

Excelente comida, precios razonables y muy buena atención, si viajan a New York y van a Central Park, no pierdan la oportunidad de ir… El curry es fabuloso