Jennifer Y.
Yelp
Just to preface this review, I have never visited this establishment before.
My male friend wanted to get Indian food after class, so he suggested that we try Charminar Biryani House. We arrived at 6:40 on a Wednesday night. It was not very busy, as there were multiple empty tables. He sat facing toward the kitchen and I sat facing toward the windows/entrance. You may be wondering why I'm including this detail, but it will make more sense later.
When we're ready, a male waiter comes to take our order. My friend takes his order with no issue, when it's my turn, he stays facing my male friend and does not make any type of eye contact to acknowledge my presence. After I order, he says something along the lines of, "okay I'm going to repeat the order to you, sir." At this point, I'm just thinking, okay... this is strange? My friend thought I was just overreacting, until he came to refill our water cups. I say, "thank you" like any normal human being would and I was met with silence. As he's refilling my friend's cup, my friend says, "thank you," to which he replies, "you're welcome, sir." So now at this point, I'm contemplating my entire existence.
We ordered the dal soup, samosa, chicken tikka masala, butter chicken, and garlic naan. The samosa wrapper was pretty thick, and the only flavor coming out of the filling itself was from the chili flakes. The dal soup tasted like burnt water (if that's even possible?). It was the blandest lentil soup we have ever tried. I know that typically butter chicken is not meant to be spicy, but when we ask for our food to have medium levels of spiciness, we expect to feel it on our tongues. What did we receive? Very sweet bowls of chicken tikka masala and butter chicken. The sweetness reminded me of eating out of a Chef Boyardee's can. Very disappointing. I guess the only redeeming item was the garlic naan, which was on the burnt end...
It gets worse. Remember how I said I was facing the windows? When my friend was finished eating, he wanted to wash up in the rest rooms. I saw in the reflection that a male waiter attempted to approach my table with the check. However, he hesitated multiple times and eventually went back to the front desk/cashier area. A female waitress came and dropped off the check, not in the middle of the table, but where my friend was sitting. Irrelevant detail, but it was my turn to pay for dinner, so I had to reach over the plates to get the check. When the male waiter came back to return my credit card and receipt, he continues to ignore me, places the guest check holder in front of my friend, and says, "thank you, have a good nice, sir."
Not sure if other customers have had similar experiences here, but it is definitely my first and last time coming here. If you're looking for a place nearby with better customer service and food, I would suggest trying Ashoka Indian Cuisine, located right up the road.