Taste Buds Indian Food

dirty, the buffet food had hair in it and the food was average, i will rate it at d+

This is my go to take out Indian spot (although they do dine in as well which is also great). Jack (the guy in the front) is just the sweetest guy ever and always makes you feel welcome. We have had several of their dishes, all fantastic, but I especially love the gongura lamb, which is savory and tangy and delicious. It honestly makes my mouth water whenever I think about it. They don’t always have it, but when they do, I go nuts for it.

So we came here from Burlingame after reading the 4 star reviews. Not sure how the 4 stars came about — the food is worth 3 stars at best.
First the good stuff:
The Mango Dal was good — a nice mildly sweet and mildly tangy twist on the regular chana dal.
The baby corn and bell pepper curry was good too.
Everything else was between 2 – 3 stars, including the service.
And at 11.99 per person, there are better buffets for sure!

Not at all worth the $ 12. Had better indian buffet elsewhere at the same price.

Awesome food. My first choice when it comes to biryani, butter chicken and chicken wings.
Keep up the good work guys!

We visited this restaurant midweek in the last hour of business. The remodeled décor definitely makes the place seem more welcoming than it is. There was no one in the restaurant just hubby n me and we were treated v well.
Now to the food:
–Chicken vindaloo: we requested medium spicy but this medium spicy was more than spicy. However the curry itself was very complex and flavorful
–Bhindi Masala: this was by far one of the best okra dishes I have eaten recently. The recipe was very authentic and you cannot really go wrong with the dish
–Rotis: if you buy regular rotis which are plain wheat breads roasted on a tava without oil, you might sometimes end up being disappointed as they change texture and become cardboardy after they are cooled. Not the rotis from here. They are made perfectly and are soft and just the right consistency even if you eat them the next day
Overall, a good experience hence a recommend!

Friend was visiting from Amsterdam over the holidays and the only cuisine she had not eaten was Indian before going back. Unilocaled and found Taste Buds, and so glad Unilocal helped as always!
We got there after the lunch rush, and there were only a few tables occupied. Was greeted by a worker who took our drink orders. The buffet was limited compared to other places, only about a dozen dishes, but I tried just about every single one of them, and they were ALL DELICIOUS! Even the chicken tandoori which I never like. It was flavorful and super moist. The butter chicken was top notch and did not have any questionable pieces of chicken meat in it. There was also an eggplant dish with a very tasty sauce. The pakora was the best I had at an indian buffet, not too oily and not too much batter.
Naan was replenished, and I over heard a woman talking about how she makes all the food. It was definitely made with extra love! I do wish they had one of my favorites, saag or palak paneer.
As they were near closing, the worker asked if we wanted anything else, and as we said no, he said even dessert? Which to we both exclaimed, YES, we want the kheer! We had completely forgot, and he was nice to bring 2 bowls for us. Unfortunately it was oozing with cardamon and warm.
Overall, loved this place and will be back! Check in on Unilocal,get 5% off. Pay cash, another 5% off!

Delicious butter chicken and they have the gulab jamun at the buffet!!! Only complaint would be they are a little stingy with the naan.

My husband and I love this place and have been coming here once a week for a few years now (missing weeks due to life stuff). We really enjoy the low-​key, casual vibe the restaurant has. We’ve eaten at white tablecloth and fine dining establishments, but our comfort zone and preference is really more of this style of restaurant.
I’m vegan, but my husband is an omnivore and we are also both creatures of habit, though I guess I vary my order a bit here and there. Since we come in so regularly, the waitstaff quickly checks in with us and delivers our food quickly.
My husband always gets the chicken tikka masala with naan or rice, sometimes both naan and rice. Clearly he loves it and seldom does he not finish everything!
The things I have tried and love:
pappadam — crunchy lentil crackers found on the appetizer menu. They are delicious and addictive, but very messy.
veggie samosa — my favorite appetizer! The green and red (?) sauces they serve are so delicious, I could drink them out of a cup on their own. The outside is a perfect, crunchy, golden brown pastry and the inside is piping hot potato and pea curry mixture. So good.
onion pakora — another guilty pleasure. let’s face it — it’s an Indian version of onion rings. Not exactly health food. But it is so good. Served with the same sauces as the veggie samosa. I don’t order these often, but I’m happy when I do.
I almost always get the chana masala or the chana palak — they are both essentially the same dish, only the chana palak has spinach added. Both are savory chickpea stews, perfect with chapati or onion kulcha.
The vegetable dum biryani is also excellent as a meal all on its own.
Before I went vegan, I couldn’t get enough of their excellent chai. Now, I just stick to water instead of filling up on beverages.
The waitstaff have always been kind and attentive. This is more of a neighborhood/​family restaurant, so this isn’t an appropriate place to impress a date or a client, but if you like a mellow experience with tasty food, this place is great. Is it the best Indian food around? I couldn’t tell you, but we’ve never had a bad experience.

Best Indian food in the bay area, no questions about it. The mango Lassi needs some work (to be thicker), but still good. Thanks!

Had Chicken Tikka Masala, was below average tasting curry\sauce, Garlic Naan are not typical Garlic naan. Definitely avoidable. Do Unilocal review sort on date, to avoid being misled.

Taste Buds is a no frills, but enjoyable place with some absolutely fantastic butter chicken.
We visit at least once a month to just get a quick and casual dinner away from home when the urge for chicken or paneer butter masala overwhelms us. We’ve had some other items on the menu. Some are quite good. Others just ok. We almost exclusively stick to butter masala or tikka masala, which is their best dish.
The prices are very reasonable. The service fairly rapid. Definitely worth trying in Sunnyvale.

Quite disappointing!
Not sure how this restaurant acquired so many good reviews. We ordered take home food and picked them up from the restaurant. Our order was butter chicken masala and malai kofta.
The malai kofta was horrible, it had no flavor at all. It was plain hot.
Butter chicken masala was okay at best.
Not coming back.

My first Indian buffets in the Bay Area and I was pleasantly surprised how yummy they are. For less than $ 10, they offer me a chance to eat my way through the varied flavors and regional specialties of this diverse subcontinent.
They set out about 18 dishes for vegetarians as well as non-​vegetarians options. From palak corn, curries and tandooris, they almost have it all… well, with the exception of dessert, which they don’t provide. The butter chicken, tandoori and the chicken biriyani were what stood out for me. They also give you a side of fresh warm naan bread on the side. All of which were delightful!
Service is courteous and accommodating, but when it comes for me to pay for the bills, they said they preferred cash even sign said cards is accepted :(. But that aside, I would definitely come back when I am on the mood for AYCE Indian food.

Delicious, low-​key Indian restaurant — I’d definitely come back! We came during dinner, and I’d like to come by during buffet.
The butter chicken truly is delicious. I read numerous reviews about the amazing butter chicken — and yes, it was amazing! My boyfriend had lamb curry which he thought was great as well (I didn’t try it). However, what my little family enjoyed most about the food (besides the taste), were the PORTIONS. The entrees had an enjoyable meat to sauce ratio — we even had left overs! We definitely felt like we got what we paid for.
Another plus was the pitcher of water they left on the table for self-​serve.
Tip: You pay up at the front. We sat around for a few minutes till we noticed other parties going up to the front to pay. Not a big deal, but would’ve liked to know this beforehand.
Also, BRING CASH. You get 5% off your meal if you pay in cash.

$ 8.99 lunch buffet when I came on Thursday. Place was almost empty at around 1:30pm. I enjoyed the selections that they had but my favorite was butter chicken and goat curry! Too bad they don’t serve beef, or chicken tikka masala. For the price I think its a steal! They also gave u warm naan.

Tried the Butter Chicken Curry-​pretty delicious (REALLY creamy, slightly spicy, and lots of chicken)-it’s pretty filling even though the bowl looked small.
The Garlic Naan was tasty too (was a bit sad that it cost $ 3ish for one full one).
The Basmati Rice (well, it was just Basmati Rice, nothing special).
Something I noticed about the bowls in this restaurant (the bowls look small but they must be deep because whatever I got was filling).
The service was alright (they were there when we needed something).
LOTS of seating inside (it felt so empty when we were there).

Came here on the recommendation of one of my friends, who was raving about the butter chicken. Well, I’m always down for some Indian food and… hey, they have a $ 9.99 lunch buffet on weekends! Even if I’m past my days of stuffing my face silly, $ 9.99 for a plate of Indian food still seems like a fair deal to me.
Had the chicken biryani, butter chicken (well, duh), lamb curry, and tandoori chicken, naan came out on the side as well. Man, I wish I could eat like I used to because this was so freaking good. Given how cheap the buffet was, there weren’t much options, but I was satisfied. Staff was also very courteous and friendly, no complaints there.
Definitely a fan! I’ll have to try some of the other dishes… they look pretty affordable from what I can see.

Janie V. and I came here for lunch due to our Indian food cravings and the high Unilocal rating. We didn’t know that lunch is buffet style, so that may have affected the quality of food that we experienced.
The staff was very helpful and prompt when we entered, seating us right away and letting us know to help ourselves to the buffet. When we returned to the table they had some fresh naan ready for us, and continued to refill it during our meal. The buffet is not very big, but consisted of the usual staples that you would expect — I was all over that butter chicken. I would say that in comparison to my usual expectations, the quality of the buffet food was nothing to rave about. I would say the food quality was average, but considering that the price of the lunch buffet was so cheap, it was worth what you got.
On a side note, when we left this restaurant we seriously reeked of the smell of the food and it took a nice long shower to scrub that smell off. Seeing that the reviews for this place are so good, it may warrant another visit when they are not doing a buffet lunch, because I would imagine the quality of food would be better during those times.

Taste Buds is a gem of a find. Flavorful and delicious North Indian cuisine at a price point that would put most fancier restaurants to shame.
We came for the lunch buffet and the butter chicken and were not disappointed. The weekend buffet is ~$ 12 but I’ve heard the weekday buffet is an even better bargain ~$ 8.
The ambiance is simple but clean and the servers are friendly and efficient. The real standout though is the food. It’s fantastic authentic Indian as evident by the clientele and the buffet selection was impressive with staples like butter chicken and curry chicken but also eggplant masala, potato, cauliflower and goat curries. Everything was tasty and delicious and the buffet includes fresh and warm naan and three types of basmati rice. The papadum, an Indian cracker with fennel seeds was great too.
After being completely satiated, we washed the final meal done with mango lassi (drink to order) and enjoyed complimentary chai milk tea and dessert of fresh cut orange slices and Indian donuts (gulab juban).
I don’t crave Indian often but it’s usually North Indian and Taste Buds satisfies. While I used to be a fan of Amber, I’ve lately found it more muted on the flavors and the price point increased with their fame. Taste Buds (and Rangoli in San Jose) are excellent replacements.
Taste Buds accepts credit cards but not Amex.