Curry Leaf

Stale Gulabjamun…
Alu paratha horrible
Chicken shashlik had 5 tiny chicken pices with a box full of rice which tasted stale.

Some of my favorite Indian in NYC. I’ve gotta trek outta BK to get here, but it’s better than anything I have there.
The masalas are amazing and saucy with very reasonable portions.
Both times I have been, the atmosphere is great and not too crowded. Service is exceptional and you can count on a free desert.
I did use a Unilocal deal here and the staff had trouble figuring it out. Because I prepaid, it seemed like I was getting away with practically a free meal at the end of it, but the guys were just confused. They got the right tip and I paid (what was a great deal) for my food.
They also have Indian beers that I really enjoy. I guess the only reason Curry Leaf is missing a star is because of our confusion on the Unilocal deal. I will return for a third visit.

Wanting to diversify my Curry Hill portfolio, I decided to venture over to Curry Leaf with the parental for lunch. I remember always passing their advertisement in the window for an $ 8.50 lunch platter so I thought it was a pretty good deal. When we sat down, however, we realized that apart from this lunch deal, there were other «lunch pre-​fixes» located on the back of the menu priced at $ 9.95. When we asked what the difference was, the waiter explained that the ones on the menu were portioned larger than the platter. Deciding to go «big» or go home, we both went for the $ 9.95: dad went for the tikka masala while I ordered the lamb curry.
Service here is prompt as they quickly bring out your orders and constantly refill your tin water chalices. They first brought up these sad looking «salad» plates; distraught probably at the fact of how meager it showed itself in this world. All it was was some iceberg lettuce in the middle surrounded with one slice of carrot and one slice of tomato. A «naked» salad if you will. Nonetheless, it was refreshing when paired with the slightly heat-​packed salad dressing and the 3 dips that were accompanying the meal (go for the green sauce which was either a raita or chaat). Then came both of our meat dishes with the sides we chose (dad: saag paneer; me: daal makhani), basmati rice mound, and plenty of pieces of naan. I’m sad to report that the naan was the tastiest thing out of this bounty. Both the meat dishes seemed to be swimming in cream that simply had no taste. The same could be said for dad’s saag paneer. The only non-​gloppy, slightly spiced portion of the meal was the daal makhani which had some nice textural qualities and a minty taste. I understand toning down spices for the non-​Southeast Asian crowd, but I think it’s a shame when they are completely shelved. The best part of the meal, I thought, was funnily enough the complimentary kheer (rice pudding) served with the check. Not overly sweet, creamy, and spiced delicately enough to give you a tease, it was hit with an otherwise disappointed customer.
Curry Leaf left us feeling disgustingly full; the type of stuffed-​ness when you can feel the portions you ate hiking their way up to the back of your throat. Despite this, however, we were both not satisfied. Our stomachs may have been stretched to their limits, but our taste buds were left in the dust.

This place used to be very busy until only a year ago, and now seems rather slow. The dishes that I keep going back for are the crab saag (pretty self-​explanatory — I ask them to throw in some chickpeas as well, they always comply, and it is very tasty), the bhuna fish (whole red snapper in an onion and tomato sauce — the best!) and the tandoori fish (spiced grilled red snapper). The last time I was here, the tandoori fish did not taste fresh (it’s usually pretty good), but like I said before, the bhuna fish is absolutely delicious.
They tend to go light on spice, so if you want flavor, ask for «hot». «Mild» or «Medium» can be rather bland.
The service is very friendly and attentive, and you end with complimentary kheer (it’s not the best kheer, but it’s free and I can always choose not to eat it rather than complain about it).

I still have not set foot in Curry Leaf again, but I have tried several deliveries, in the past week.
On Seamless requested «Extra Hot — Very Spicy». Ordered their, Okra Do Piazza — found it way too oily, too mild for my request, more onions would have helped, and 3,000 calories less oil. Also, the Paneer Makhani — wow mind blowing South India hot — loved it — the best I have ever had. Also, the Naan was very much the way I like it.
Oh…delivery portions are much much larger than other Curry Hill restaurants, and each entrée comes with a large portion of free Basmati rice.
Also, it was super fast delivery, but I am only a few blocks away.
Perhaps in a few weeks I will try their in-​house lunch special.

Got take out from here tonight with a friend. I got the chicken tikka masala and she had the chicken tikka and channa sag. Delivery was pretty quick but I found the delivery guy pretty weird. I forgot to sign the bottom of slip for his tip and he remained out in the hallway of building and then knocked again asking for his tip ten minutes later. My mistake but just a little creepy him hanging around waiting to knock again.
The food itself left us wishing we had ordered Baluchi’s. She found hers lacking flavor and my tikka masala was just pieces of mainly grisly chicken floating around in tomato soup. The rice had been spooned into two dishes with what must have been dirty spoons unless a couple of peas and left over gravy on top is the signature way of doing things here.
We didn’t eat the rice pudding in two different sized tiny plastic cups but it did make a mess of the coffee table as it was mostly liquid (in fact she thought it was yogurt sauce at first!)
Lets just say that most of this meal ended up in the garbage dumpster outside.
Never again!

I went to curry Leaf as some friends had mentioned about good food there. It was not my first choice because the reviews were not very good. But most of the good reviewed restaurants in that strip were over crowded, so we went to Curry Leaf.
Well I am an Indian and would never go there again. The food was the lowest quality I had in any other Indian restaurant. We ordered Vegetable Jalfrezi, Vegetable biryani, Aaloo paratha and Poori. None of them were good. The reason being, they stuff too much spice in everything (I am Indian and used to spices). It was like eating spice and not any dish. We ordered Veg Pakora (fritters) which were okay.
Moreover it was empty which made me suspicious. The average rating for this restaurants is ³⁄₅ but I think it should be much less.

The best Tandoori chicken I’ve had! The naan is also good, and Vindaloo Chicken is yummy! After your meal you get tasty rice pudding !

Ermahgerd. Had dinner here the other night with a friend and the food was amazing.
We started with some Veg. Samosas (duh) which were perfect and a mulligatawny soup that blew my mind. It’s served with a lemon wedge inside that adds just the right amount of acidity.
For entrees we split an order of Lamb Bhuna Punjabi (a must try) and Saag Paneer (I’ve had better).
On top of all that, the staff couldn’t have been nicer and more attentive.
Will definitely make it back there again.

I’ve come back a few times with family and friends since the restaurant came under new management. In short — not impressed at all. The service is okay, if not fantastic. In particular, the day Hurricane Sandy hit, there was simply not enough people to take our orders and bring our food out in a timely fashion. That said, my main problem stems from the quality of the food, which definitely doesn’t hold up to what it used to be. The chicken tikka masala has a very bland flavor to it, and the curry itself is extremely soupy. The same story goes for the kashmiri korma, which also doesn’t have enough depth in the curry and tastes watered down. Bhatti (the joint across the street) does both of these in a markedly better fashion.
I don’t usually update my reviews after I’ve gotten them up, but Curry Leaf definitely comes off as worse than it used to when it was associated with Kalustyan (the store a block away). The main good thing to say about it is that it’s not as crowded as the other Indian restaurants in Curry Hill (maybe there’s a reason why?), and that you don’t have to pay extra for rice. Unfortunately, that doesn’t really make up for the drop in quality that I’ve experienced over the past year here. If you’re willing to pony up a few extra bucks, check out one of the other joints in the neighborhood.

I live 1 mile away and they took 2 hours to deliver. the guy who answers your phone is damn rude.
IF YOU LOVE BAD SERVICE, this is the place for you.
About the food — it is ok, but i have defnitely had better.

We have eaten here for several years– amazing service! They have a traditional halal menu with many vegetarian choices. It’s fairly old school but always excellent and inexpensive. Sunday brunch is a real deal!

$ 8 Lunch Specials, yes. You can’t go wrong with Curry Leaf if you want a quick Indian food fix in the middle of the day. One of my favorites. Their lunch special comes with a meat of your choice, spinach, lentil, rice, and NAAN. I love their chicken tikka masala, always really fresh. The mango lassi, is always a darker orange color and extremely rich in its yogurtness. I absolutely love it.
The décor is pretty plain, but their plans are almost traditional– metal plates and cups. The place is air conditioned, so awesome for a nice summer day. The service was on effortless. They treat you like princesses and always smile when you get a mango lassi. Hah!

We’d read a few reviews of this place before we went and the exterior of the venue was indeed as previously reviewed — sketch. Never judge a book by its cover and all that. In interior reminded me of a typical Indian restaurant in the UK, bad carpet, bad décor and a general feel of worn out. The service was very good however and we were warmly welcomed by what we assumed to be the owner or at least manager.
A few papadoms were brought to the table, they were of the pre-​manufactured variety with some unnamed sauces. I’m not a fan of these papadoms that seem to be en vogue here in NY.
We decided to try the Tandoori Appetizer as I think a previous Unilocaler had given it the thumbs up. What actually turned up looked like the spare parts bin of a medical procedure. It as warm rather than hot and served on a metal platter that had seen better days. The food itself wasn’t that bad but was let down by the lack of heat, typically in the UK they are served on a sizzling platter which helps caramelise the onions that accompany the meat.
To follow we chose a naan bread with a Chicken Curry and Chicken Makhani. The Chicken Curry was the best dish of the two with large pieces chicken and a flavourful sauce. The Makhani seemed to be made from the offcuts of the Chicken Tikka process, the meat was thin strips of chicken in a sweet sauce. That would have been fine if the meat wasn’t as hard as beef jerky, if the chicken was in larger chunks I suspect the dish would have been very good. The other issue with the dish was the fact it had chunks of gristle and cartilage that should have been removed in the kitchen at the preparation stage.
The naan bread was pretty good as bread goes as was the service. At the end of the meal we were presented with «compliments of the house» what appeared to be rice pudding. It was pretty good and certainly one of the high lights of the meal.
The acid test here is would I spend another 12 bucks to get there by cab to try other things on the menu? No, I wouldn’t however top marks for service.

I had the $ 8 lunch special platter which came with chicken tikka masala, daal, spinach, and naan. The spinach was good but the chicken is a bit more watery than I was used to.

Nan was good but overpriced and their vindaloo sauce was horrible.
However, I do give them 2 stars for simple clean décor and presentable friendly staff.

Although I was a little apprehensive at first because the outside décor wasnt particularly inviting, once we got seated we had a pretty solid meal. The service was prompt and friendly, although the interior was a bit cramped and the place felt a little dated. The food came out and was very very good… had an appetizer of a meat sampler, which was extremely good. The Tandoori chicken was incredibly tender and the lamb was also. For my main course I got the Rogan Josh, which was good though the meat was a bit tougher than I would have liked. My friend’s chicken curry was decent enough, but it wasn’t very spicy at all, which disappointed me a bit.
Overall the food was solid enough though. Came out of there with about a 47 dollar bill + tip for 2 entrees, naan, and an appetizer. I think it cost about $ 7 – 10 for most appetizers and about $ 13 – 16 for an entrée. I might be back but I’ll probably check out a few other places around curry hill first

Tried lunch here on a workday, and it was quite an experience. After you are seated, they simply bring out course after course, and the variety of food saves you all the headache of deciding what to eat.
The problem is that food is not spicy at all, and they are all pretty bland to cater more people. Would come back again for business lunch for its simplicity, but not so much for the taste.

There was no way I was leaving NYC without eating some Indian food. The city is littered with more options than you could work your way through in a year, but it seems like Gramercy is stacked with an Indian joint on every block. I almost went to Dhaba, but one quick glance inside positioned it as the hipster spot to eat, with packed tables and diners sitting so close to each other they should be wearing a rubber. Curry Leaf looked far less trendy, and they had plenty of available seating.
The service here is great. Someone else said it was terrible, but I found the staff to be nothing but gracious and attentive. I judge my service at restaurants almost solely on the water service — if my glass goes empty and stays that way for too long, then I’m convinced my waiter couldn’t care less about keeping me happy. These guys were on it. I loved the water cups — they looked like something Indiana Jones would have been drinking out of in The Last Crusade. I don’t know a whole lot about Indian food, so I kept my order simple: a couple of Samosas and an order of Chicken Tikki Masala.
Before the food arrived, the waiter brought out some bread (I don’t think it was naan, even though it looked like it. Too crunchy.) along with some dipping sauces and a dish of something that tasted like diced carrots with ginger. All were delicious.
The food came out in about 10 minutes. I don’t recall a time I had samosas before, and I wasn’t exactly blown away. The outer crust was very dry and brittle, and the meat inside was equally as parched. Decent, but I can’t say it’s something I’d order again. The Chicken Tikki Masala was much, much better. I made a bed with the Basmati rice and liberally poured on the meat from the mini cauldron they serve it in. The chicken was tender and moist, with almost no fatty pieces. The sauce was very good, although I wish it had been spicy. I should have made that request when I ordered. The portion size was just right — I ate the whole thing and didn’t feel like I was over-​stuffing my stomach.
Once I’d throw up my napkin, the waiter came by and asked if I wanted any dessert. I declined, but then he came back out with a complimentary rice pudding. No way I’m turning down free, so I sucked it down. After being spoiled by Rice to Riches for the past couple days, it definitely didn’t blow me away. It had a watery consistency, and they also added some almonds and blueberries to it, but it was refreshing after a heavy meal. The free dessert was a nice cap to a solid meal, and I would absolutely come back here to eat again.

Came here last night and was slightly underwhelmed by the dishes. We ordered the chicken curry, the lamb vindaloo, and the baingran bharta (no idea how to spell this, the eggplant stew dish). While the flavors of everything were alright, the lamb was really tough and dry. The chicken was a bit better but nothing particularly special, which pretty much described the eggplant dish as well. The rice was a little clumpy, which was odd.
What I did like was that they gave us a complimentary rice pudding sort of small dessert thingey at the end.
Pretty standard for Indian food in the city, but I’m not rushing to come back anytime soon.