Don’t Tell Aunty

Came here for lunch with a group of 8 and honestly, every dish hit the spot. Super flavorful, nothing felt off, and everyone at the table loved what they ordered. The place has a really cool, fancy vibe and the music just added to it. Ani was our host and he took good care of us throughout. Overall, this place didn’t disappoint at all — I’d definitely come back. Items Recommended: Keema Biriyani, Lamb Ghee Roast, OG Butter Chicken, Malabar Shrimp Curry, Butter Chicken Kathi Roll

Oh man, We tried this restaurant during our trip to Boston and absolutely loved it! Every dish was prepared with such care and attention to detail. The vegetarian options were fantastic, and both the fusion food and drinks were spot on. Located right in the center, the place has an amazing vibe. If you’re looking for delicious fusion cuisine and a great spot to enjoy with friends, I’d highly recommend this restaurant. The customer service was excellent too. Definitely a place we’d visit again!

This place had a fun vibe and interesting menu. Food was good, although the ramen noodles were overcooked and naan was stale. The service, however, definitely needs work. Even though only half the tables were full at the time we came, it took over an hour for us to place our order and receive our food. One of our ordered items never came. The staff were all friendly and the food was good enough that I’d come back to give it another try in a few months.

Recommend the gin drinks. The drinks were well made. The butter chicken was very sweet. The rumali roti and malabar paratha tasted like it was reheated. There is loud music playing so this place is better as a bar with snacks than a full course dining experience. Reservation is needed most times.

This place is fantastic! The food is excellent. I tried the okra fries—they were perfectly soft and well-seasoned. I also had the biryani and the mango lassi cheesecake, which was absolutely outstanding. I’d definitely recommend it. The dessert alone is worth it. The atmosphere almost feels like a lounge or club, with great decor and the staff was very courteous and welcoming.

We dined in for lunch about a month ago. Lamb ghee roast is a must-try! It’s was absolutely delicious with bread. I loved the atmosphere, the light, decoration and of course the bar! The staff were super nice, great service and lively music!

Not happy with this place. The prices do not match the portion sizes. We got butter chicken, fried fish (appetizer). The fried fish was pretty spicy but tasteless. There was a good amount of batter compared to fish. Butter chicken was disappointing. It was very sweet and the amount of chicken in it is absurdly little. Dish doesn't come with rice either, you have to get it separately. Is $5 for a tiny bowl of rice. Crazy prices. The interior is nice with good lighting. They have to turn down the music though, it's extremely loud.

Tried Don’t Tell Auntie on a Friday night recently with a reservation through Open Table. Upon arrival we were promptly told the reservation was for 90 minutes. I was aware of this from booking the reservation but it’s not often the host mentions it so bluntly. But it’s Friday in downtown so it’s fine. The decor and ambiance in the restaurant is fun and vibey. They were playing some EDM pretty loud which was interesting, kind of felt like a club. The food ended up being really good for the most part. Loved the three chili chicken, it was super tender, hot (temp), and had a medium spice level that was really tasty. The spiced smash burger with spicy masala fries was excellent too! You could really taste the Indian spices in the burger. The OG butter chicken was just okay. I’m no expert but it tasted more like a standard chicken curry but the biggest issue was there was very little chicken in it, and for the price it was wild that it didn’t come with rice. The naan was delicious but you only get two pretty small pieces. So it’s a bit pricey here for what you get with some dishes. Our biggest issue was the service. It was pretty slow and went long stretches without waiters checking in on us. This made the call out to the 90 minute strict limit when we arrived feel a little frustrating. Overall, I would definitely return as most of the food was delicious.

DTA was a solid restaurant! It's new and boston's first gastropub! Music was great and vibes were great! Food wise, the menu was unique but thought it was bit on the expensive side. These are not just traditional indian dishes, they definitely had a unique quality to them. Ordered the butter chicken and it came in minced chicken balls instead of normal chicken breast. Okra fries and the kale chaat were unique and yum! Dessert- parle g sandwich was so yummy! Drinks were also good, some could of been stronger. The night we went was super busy so servers were busy with tables. Service was good but could have been better! Since DTA is quite new, I expected the wait time but after we ordered, the food came quick!

I'll be as honest in this review as I can for the hope that a staff member reads this and considers it. DTA is brand new and they're definitely still finding their bearings. The drinks were exceptionally well balanced, creative and the bar staff knows what they're doing. I wouldn't change anything in this department. Great work here! Loved it. Let's talk about the food. The dips trio app was somewhat muted, and had a comically small portion of bread. The chaat-tots were served colder than I assume was intended. Both of these things can be fine tuned. The curries have a good depth of flavor - particularly the vindaloo. I enjoyed it! The only note would be to toast the spices more before cookery. Also, we found it bizarre rice had to be ordered separately. We were curious about the smash burger, and it was honestly *very* good. Cooked and constructed perfectly, and the seasoning on the fries was bold. Great work on this dish, my personal favorite, which is odd, cause it's the least Indian dish. The biryani was a little overcooked. My table enjoyed the flavors here. The service is where DTA starts to lose big points. It took a long time between seating and getting someone to take our first order. At every moment, in fact, we had to flag down a waiter to be noticed for a refill or to get us a check at the end of night. Interestingly, the time it took between orders and items to come out *was* very reasonable, so the timing issue isn't with the kitchen. Hopefully, this is just a hiccup of being a new restaurant while training new staff. The decor of the restaurant was quite lovely, modern and inviting. It certainly catches you by surprise in an otherwise student neighborhood. However, this *is* a restaurant - right? I have no idea why the goa-psy techno and trance music is at club volume. Don't get me wrong, I loved the music choice, - it just needed to be 30-40% quieter. My table was practically yelling to communicate. If DTA wants to be a party/dance place - great, but it seems to be struggling with identity since most patrons seemed to be there for dinner. DTA isn't bad. They're trying to be a different kind of Indian restaurant than the typical "curry house" model you see across the city - and I'll credit them for that. I'd be curious to see where they're at in a few months, if they've tightened up the service and other pain points. When they have, I'll update the review and rating accordingly.

Don't Tell Aunty was a solid dinner, but not necessarily one to write home about nor a place I will find myself craving going forward. We came in with a reservation for a group on a weeknight, couldn't be seated until the majority of the group was present, but were placed in a cute booth that could seat up to 8. Waiters checked in within the first 10 minutes of arriving but we were still waiting for a member of our group, so it took a little while for them to return after that. So, we placed orders for drinks and appetizers at the same time to minimize the wait. A few folks got cocktails and also we tried the mocktail - the mocktail was actually excellent, well balanced and spiced, and the cocktails ranged from unique and tasty (Kashmiri Velvet) to knid of one-note (Rum two ways). Apps we tried were: masala fries (nicely spiced, but served with plain ketchup), Chatar tots (good, but because tater tots are good - the seasoning was pretty tamarind heavy), okra fries (group liked these, i thought they were pretty oily), channa bunna masala (light, but not particularly spiced), and the avakaya hummus (good). We were done with the apps by the time we placed our main orders, and then those took a while to come out - we got: - mushroom fried rice - group really liked this, nicely garlicky and light mushroom taste - auntyji paneer - this was unusual, the paneer was grated into a very creamy, semi-sweet sauce, so it could have used some kind of texture in it - spinach dal - pretty good, but exactly what it sounds like (similar to what you'd make at home) - a south indian coconut curry - also seemed a little sweet and quite creamy General consensus was that the entrees were better than the apps. We finished off with the mango lassi cheesecake and the parle-g ice cream sandwich. I had been excited for the ice cream sandwich, but it was only okay. The parle-G were super soggy and almost fell apart as you ate them. The menu also said vanilla ice cream and it definitely tasted mango-y or something different. Weirdly, it actually tasted kind of similar to the mango lassi cheesecake (which I didn't try, but my friends said was decent). The final bill came out to about 40$/person before tip, which isn't too bad. All in, we were seated for 2 hours and 15 minutes, which feels like a slightly longer than expected time but not outrageous. A small note - around 8pm, the music got super loud. It was good music, but it was a weeknight and made it a little tricky to talk in a group. So - I feel like we tried the full experience here and had a pleasant time. I think they are still working on their menu items/flow since they just opened, so I'd be curious to see how things settle out!

What an awesome place! Such a fun ambiance and the staff is wonderful (Parshya was our server and he gave us excellent food and drink recommendations)! My group ordered several dishes--my favorites were the butter chicken croquettes and the mango lassi cheese cake. Please note that there is literally no parking so I highly suggest taking the T or a ride share. Also, the place has a "young feel" and it's fairly loud (could be difficult for someone who has a hearing disability).

I'd give it 4.5 stars if I could. Went on a Tuesday night with two other people. The decor is nice -- the ambiance is cool. As others noted, the music was a bit loud but not loud enough to really impede conversation. The service was mostly good, with a couple of minor misses (delays) that might be attributed to the restaurant being new. We had the biryani (pretty good), pork vindaloo (very good), and the paneer (excellent -- subtle and delicate spices). The vindaloo could have been 15% hotter but it would be fine for most people. Cost was reasonable for Back Bay; about $40 per person, with one drink each. I look forward to trying it again.