Simba’s Chicken & Kabob

Negatives:
Limited food compared to other Indian buffets.
Food is not tasty at all. Believe me, I cook much better food than what they offer.
Poor customer service. At the end when you pay, they will double check that you haven’t eaten for more than what you pay.
Bottom line: Not worth the price. If you looking to eat to Indian food in Seattle downtown, rather go to Pabla near Pike place market.

Gone the way of the dodo bird… en​.wikipedia​.org/​w​i​k​i​/Dodo And Michael,
Gawd A., Amy W, Tony G… oops, my bad, he’s still around…
Remodel possible? But you have to ask why!!!

I was pleasantly surprised by Simbas. The food was very yummy. I didn’t go on an Indo-​Chinese day, the dishes that day were straight up Indian. For $ 5.99 you get 3 dishes, rice, salad, roti and rice pudding. It was almost more food than I could eat! My friend had to roll me back to the office. Definitely a steal in the Pioneer Square area.
The lady behind the counter asked us to leave our business cards because they were going to close temporarily because their building is being remodeled. I think it’s at the end of this month, so go while you can!

The best place for an indian lunch in downtown, hands down.
NOT Prison Plates, it is called a Thali (
). Its a traditional indian way of eating, it felt nice to be eating a thali (Guess you have to be an indian to appreciate that)
Another FYI for americans, not all indian food is naan and curry. I love Simba’s as they are one of the few places which venture out of the typical Naan and Mango Curry routine. I am not being sarcastic here but like the US, India is a big country, therefore there is different kinds of food. Seattle Folks are missing out on some excellent variety in indian cuisine. Bigger cities in the US (Chicago, NY) have much more variety in indian cuisine as people have learnt to be more adventurous.
PLEASE Dont Stop Indo-​Chinese thursdays. Actually as far as I know, other than InChins on the east side this is the only spot that has it.

The food at lunch time was tasty, quick & inexpensive. A little heavy, but enough for 2 meals and the spices are fab!

First thing’s first: Turn on the GD heat for Chrissake! I kept my wool coat on AND still froze my ass off. My pee froze into icicles as it was coming out. Brrrrrr!
So far, the food has been just alright for me. Nothing that wowed me, but I wasn’t repulsed either. Just be sure not to go on «Indo-​Chinese» day. I don’t know about you, but over-​salted, Indian-​style Chinese food is not for me. Also, their salad «dressing» is really some sort of mint chutney, which is kind of confusing. Their traditional Indian dishes are better, but I’m gonna reserve judgment until I try their saag paneer.
The prices are great though. $ 5.99 for a platter full of rice, salad, dessert, and three items from the buffet. Add two more buffet items for $ 1 more. Oh, and the free chai tea is delicious! Probably the favorite part of my meal. :)

I feel I should add my $.02 to Simba’s. First off I work for WaMu and I can honestly say I have NEVER EVER asked Simba’s to make Chinese Indian/​Indian Chinese or what ever it was they were serving today (Thursday March 20^th), food EVER it wasn’t me it must have been the Amazon people not the Wamulians. OK I feel better now that I got that off my chest, which by the way I didn’t spill on today, yeah me!
Let me start with the positive first; it was cheap, each table had its own water pitcher on it, hmm I think that was it. *updated* I remember another positive, the lady who worked the counter was super nice and very friendly that was one more positive for Simba’s Chicken and no Kabobs on Thursdays.
The not so positive, the place was FREEZING COLD I think it might have been warmer outside than inside. The majority of the food was filled with bell peppers, and guess what I DESPISE bell peppers so my options for lunch were limited. I couldn’t tell you want I had because I’m really not sure, some rice, some soup, some chicken stuff, some veggie ball thing and a super sweet dessert ball thing. The super sweet ball thing was just as sweet as all the other dishes were salty, heh I had both a salty and sweet ball in my mouth today. Get this I’m on my second 42oz glass of water right now trying to re-​hydrate myself from all the salt, I think I might have high blood pressure now.
I will add the prison divider trays added to the experience and was able to keep my sweet from touching my salty items. I’ll go back and give them another chance but NOT on a Thursday I want Indian food and naan not what ever the hell it was they were serving today. So until than sorry Simba you’re only getting 2 stars from me.

Figures that the day i make it here for lunch they aren’t even serving «Indian» food. They are serving «chinese» inspired Indian food. or Indian inspired Chinese food… some ChinIndian/​Indo-​Chin bastard food.
That said, it was nice and empty when we arrived… which was good. Service was not super speedy, but it was nice and friendly.
Apparently the «change» in food was motivated by customers (she specifically mentioned «amazon» and «wamu» telling them they needed chinese food. Uhm. is the ID now invisible? Do they charge a cover? Perhaps amazon and wamu keep their employees on a short leash and they cannot walk a block or two farther to get to the 10 000 000 000 places to choose from to eat.
I had the 3 dish ‘prison plate’. (metal partition food tray) Rice, noodles (*gasp* ramen like even!), a veggie thing and a chicken thing.
I did not experience the «too salty» others found in their dishes. The veggie thing was really good, the noodles good, the rice ok and the chicken thing was good and had a decent amount of heat.
I was initially worried everything may be 8 stars of hotness, until when asked at the counter, the lady responded, «Haha, Its chinese today, nothing spicy, haha».
I was suckered into a drink, it looked really good. A mango somethingorother smoothie. Very tasty, very fresh. And 5 GD BUCKS!
*sigh* stick with the free water and tea next time!
I’d like to go back again and see if perhaps they debut Ital-​indian or Indi-​French, or maybe just actual «indian».
Bonus points for a nice big group for lunch and fun times.
Hooray for Kerrie at lunch! happy birthday mitzie!

Well… little did Simba’s know that there would be a downtown Unilocaler’s lunch on the very day they roll out the NEW, SPECIAL, (beta) CHINESE-​INDIAN menu!
Nothing was recognizable, from either the Indian or the Chinese standpoint. It seems to me, as I sit here pondering my lunch, that in this case:
Indian meats /​veggies + Chinese sauce (read: sweet and sour) + a truckload of salt in its most saltiest form = «Indo-​Chinese»
My complete meal consisted of:
The salt (
)
The water (thanks D.J.) (
)
And the sweet (
)
And because it was Chinese day, they had no naan! Seriously, the best part of a regular Indian meal (the bread) might have cut the salt enough so that I could have eaten a little more (I only ate half of what I was served). If you want to combine Indian and Chinese, *please retain the bread.*
Sorry Simba’s, one little lunch today has brought down your overall rating.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
*useful tip to readers* if you want to visit on a Thursday, read our reviews from 3/20…if not, read the other ones.
PS. So good to see you Unilocalers! (that’s the extra star)

Have to step in and throw a wet blanket on the Simba’s lovefest. I have eaten here a few times and on the good side, the food can be pretty good and the owners and workers are friendly and courteous. My gripe is that depending on when you get there for lunch, the selections can be pretty minimal, bordering on the destitute.
Today I went at 1:20PM (lunch is advertised as being from 11 – 3) and there was hardly anything in any of the hot trays. The woman was dishing up people’s plates and you could tell I wasn’t the only one who was wondering what was up, as a few of the folks in line were making confused/​complaining sounds and/​or leaving.
In one hot tray there was a teensy coating of mango chicken SAUCE on the bottom of one pan and the server was actually offering it to people as if there were enough for a proper helping. The grilled chicken on hand was literally down to 3 or 4 TINY, TINY drumsticks and there were 2 gulab jamuns in syrup at the end of the steam table. The guy in front of me looked pretty bummed when he saw what he was getting for $ 5.99. Not such a great deal after all and if this is indicative of a usual day I’d hate to see the state of affairs at 2 or 2:30PM. Cook some more food or change your hours of operation, people!
Needless to say, I was disappointed at the excessively spartan selection and wound up going elsewhere for lunch. Not what I’d call a good experience and a sullying of Simba’s previously good name…

Zum Zum’s is right across the street from my office. I will hike it all the way to Simba’s in the freezing cold blustery weather, than eat at Zum Zum’s.
For two reasons.
1. Simba’s is better
2. And Zum Zum’s is known for giving the Run Runs, if you get my drift.
I love Simba’s for many reasons though… the food is soo yummy, warm and cheap! The people are the nicest damn people you will ever meet!
I do want to go there on the evening though so I can watch some more of those Indian music videos. I think Benny Lava everytime I go in there. YouTube Benny Lava if you are clueless about that remark.
In fact… I went yesterday for lunch… and I was still craving it… so I went again!
And for the people who were wondering about the hours last year. I know they had to close for awhile because the little scary grocery store burned down and took part of Simba’s kitchen with it.
I am glad to read from other people on Unilocal that they are busy here. I was worried they might have to close!
So everyone, trek, walk, crawl, hike if you must. This is some great tasty food with really nice owners!

I’m not a really big fan of Indian food. Well, to be fair, I haven’t had all that much experience with it honestly.
I remember coming here when they first opened and forgot to write a review about them way back when. I recently found a little flyer down here in Pioneer square advertising 2 for 1 $ 5.99 lunch buffet’s. It’s not actually a lunch buffet, but rather a plate of rice, nan and 3 main dishes. Included in this deal of all deals is a salad (you get as much as you want) and a dessert which was a small ramekin of rice pudding that had some maraschino cherries and round dough nut type thingies that seemed to be soaked in honey? Very sweet.
All in all two of us ate here for under $ 7 and I’m really full.
The sign outside said that diners are all ½ off as well. I had the mango chicken which was interesting. I like savory, but found that the fruit flavor wasn’t bad at all and the curry chicken was very good. For my final entrée, I got the potatoes and cauliflower dish.
Very nice people running the spot and not very crowded. We were able to get a little booth right away. If you’re in the mood for a cheap cheap lunch that tastes good, please give them a try.

I have been here twice for lunch recently. They have a 3 item special for 5.99 which is hugely popular. This is the only decent indian food in the neighborhood of the International District and Pioneer Square. It has been packed since it opened and I am sure it will stay this way for some time.
As far as Indian food goes, this is the basic stuff. I had butter chicken, okra and a aloo/​pea dish. The food is reasonable tasty and very filling. With your lunch you get a salad and dessert which is usually fruit or rice pudding. The food is filling.
I am giving it 4 stars only because it is the best Indian in the area for lunch. If you want to go for dinner in the city, there are better places.
Kiran

Simba’s is a great place for lunch. It is kind of like a mom and pop version of Café Zum Zum. I’m serious when I say mom and pop, because it seems to be run by a very nice couple. Also, the food is about a hundred times tastier than Zum Zum, and it doesn’t have a line out the door, so why am I even bothering to make the comparison? Oh yeah, because it’s FAST.
The $ 5.99 lunch special is an awesome deal… you get THREE entre items, rice, nan, salad, and tasty rice pudding. The chicken tikka masala and the spinach and potatoes (like saag paneer with no paneer) were great.
Seriously, give these people your business. They’re like the Indian parents you never had… except that when you go to visit them you’ll be in and out of their house in 5 minutes.

EDIT: I’m giving this place 5 stars now. They’re just so darn nice every time I’m in there. And ditto on Chloe’s comment– this is WAY better than Zum Zum. Seriously, go already!
EDIT #2: They seem to have done away with their «Simba’s Chicken», which was a roasted/​grilled chicken they served when they were slow and first opened. Given that it is the best chicken ever, please ask them if they’ll bring it back!
I stumbled onto this place by accident the other day and was very pleasantly surprised. It’s only open 11 to 3 for lunch, but it looks like it shares the space with a bar.
The name would indicate a middle-​eastern restaurant, but the cuisine is 99% Indian. The concept of this restaurant is somewhere between lunch buffet and high-​quality grab-​and-​go. Think ultra-​high-​quality Panda Express.
I’ve been twice now, and I am in LOVE with their chicken. It’s roasted and then seared on the grill, and basted with a fantastic assortment of spices. I am a huge fan of fried chicken, but this chicken is near the top of my list. I recommend dark meat, for starters.
I like the 5-​item combo plate. Yes, five entrees. For $ 6.99, I got a chicken leg/​thigh combo and 4 other entrees (Tikka Masala, Vegetable Korma and 2 others I can’t recall), salad, and rice pudding. They might as well make this place a buffet, because I couldn’t even finish my plate. Hmm… am I gushing? I like this place.
Anyway, I’ll let you try it for yourself. Do yourself a favor and get the chicken, whatever it’s called. The kabob meat (lamb?) is acceptable– well flavored but dry.
As a side note, the owners are very friendly, and have given a massive sample with both of my meals. I’m not sure I’d expect this past their «grand opening», but it’s a nice gesture.