India Oven

This is like the main place we go to eat when we go out. It’s gotten a little pricier, but it’s still decent for the buffet of this quality. The food is amazing. I recommend going close to like six or seven when dinner starts and I think it’s slightly cheaper at lunch.

India Oven 1315 S Gilbert Rd #5204, Mesa, AZ 85204 Tonight, I had the pleasure of showing a commercial property listed at $1.2 million, and afterward, I was excited to satisfy my craving for Indian food. Luckily, Indian Oven was nearby! I've been enjoying their fantastic lunch buffet for the past 10 years, but this was my first experience with their dinner buffet. Wow, what a delightful surprise! The food was absolutely incredible. The naan was exceptionally tasty, and every curry I tried was bursting with flavor. Even the Tandoori chicken was out of this world! It felt like there was a special magic in the air at dinner. I can't wait to return and relish more of their amazing dishes!

The food was great! We had the dinner buffet and were served plenty of garlic naan, very quickly. It was delicious, along with many of the options on the buffet. Very reasonably priced; paying with cash saves a bit off the bill as well!

Updated review (2025): Used to love India Oven, but the standard has gone down in service and quality. I think management or ownership has changed. The place feels run-down, and the food is bland with poor presentation. Heartbreaking to see such a favorite decline. Naan thank you. Original review (2019): India Oven is great representation of Indian food here in the valley! The mango lassi, tandoori chicken, naan bread, and the various curries are amazing! The food has been fresh each time we have visited. Buffet prices range from $10.99-$15.99, depending on if it's lunch, dinner, or the weekend. It is fair and appreciated during this time, when everything has gone up in price. But the best part is the people who work here. They are so kind and attentive! I look forward to the next time we eat here.

If I could give 0 stars, I would. We went for the dinner buffet, and it seemed pretty promising in the beginning. As we were eating, we couldn't help but notice that they weren't replenishing any of the items. It looked like they were waiting for the items to run out. The only time the server came to us was to offer the old naan that had been sitting out since we got there. The worst was watching the server mix mix water into the curries laying out to bring life back into them. We actually plated some up to see if the water even mixed in properly🤮 We stopped eating after that.

This is so sad for me to write this. Because when I first moved to Mesa 14 years ago I remember being so hesitant to try this place out but the reviews, I mean, it sounds so wonderful. And uh when I went, I was blown away, the food, the service, everything it's a top, notch. As the years have gone by, some of my favorite items from the buffet have it dropped off as the price has risen. Also I never see the owners anymore. I wonder if they have sold. To someone else, and if that's the reason for the downturn, I went yesterday. And it was okay. But they were missing a lot of stuff, and they charged my kids $20 for the buffet. My kids are 7 and 9 years old. They do not eat like a full grown adult. They should not be charged that much. I know there used to be a children's price before, but I don't know what it was. I think when I first started coming here, I could feed my family of 4 for about 30 Bucks and last night it was $70 with worse service and limited food options. This used to be my favorite spot but I'm not going back until I hear things have changed.

India Oven is easily one of the best Indian buffets around! The service is always friendly, and the buffet is fresh, flavorful, and constantly stocked with a wide variety of dishes. There’s a great mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian options, so no matter your preference, you’ll leave happy (and full!). Everything is well-seasoned and authentic, and for the price, it’s a fantastic value. If you're craving quality Indian food and love the freedom of a buffet, this place is a must-try!

I have eaten her a few times over the years but couldn't remember much about the place and was craving an Indian buffet and it's next to my bank so I gave it a shot. The inside of the building is very sad looking - small and dingy would best describe it. I had to use the restroom and was pointed past the bar around a corner that looked like it should only be for employees to a single person men's room with a note on the door that said "push hard please" because it was stuck. It was more what I would expect from a rest stop on the highway. The buffet itself had a good selection of curries but as someone else mentioned, they seemed watered down - not much meat and a lot of thin sauce. I tried a little of everything and the tikka masala chicken was good but I didn't care for the other five or six curries i tried. The Tandoori chicken was decent. However, it was $18.95 for lunch plus they charged me $3.25 for a diet coke so it came to $24 with tax for one person plus tip - $30 out the door for essentially some decent Tikka Masala and ok Naan bread. The service wasn't great. I wasn't sure if the host understood me and I had to flag someone down to refill my drink and to get the check. This buffet should be $9.99 including drinks - anything over that you're paying too much. Next time I will go to a better sit-down restaurant and get my $30 worth.

If you're looking for an Indian buffet, this is the one. The buffet is selection of dishes may be smaller than most but certainly not lacking in flavor or variety. The buffet has a lot of great vegetarian/vegan options and the tandoori chicken was not to be missed, either. They have a lamb curry and a goat curry, too. That's impressive because most Indian buffets only ever have chicken. The naan comes out fresh and hot. A server comes out of the kitchen with a small plate for each table. If you want more, you can definitely get it. The mango lassi is thick and flavorful. It's definitely not watered down. The rice pudding doesn't have nuts but you won't miss them. The gulab jamun is warm and swimming in the honey sauce. I'm craving more now, just thinking about it.

Great food, naan's are always fresh. Service is fast. They have a big hall to rent for events and catering service for the bigger events. Hassle free party I guess! We went for a Diwali bash and it was a fun night l.

I've been here three or four times and it is excellent food in my opinion, but I'm not very versed in What is good and what is bad. The way I judge the merits of a restaurant is the amount of customers of that ethnicity or demographic and there seems to be a lot of of them eating there. I've spoke to some of them randomly and they say it's a very good place so I'll take their word for it. I'm so bad at remembering all the names of the different meat dishes so I'm able to sample 5 to 6 different types every time I go there. And the garlic naan is amazing. What's crazy Is they bring out all these other extra dishes that we didn't even order but I guess it's complementary like tandoori chicken, etc. The owners and the family seem very nice and accommodating when we ask questions about what is what.

My mom loved this place years ago and suggested we try for dinner. They push the buffet, so we all did it. Several items were lukewarm or not warm at all, which can be common for a buffet. I do love that they have an array of vegetarian options, even if they were the freshest and warm. The service was friendly, but the decor did seem dated and cluttered. Overall, not a favorite but a decent option for a vegetarian meal.

Love everything I've gotten!! The Aboo Gobhi is addictive!! I first ordered it because the woman at the hospital always had it for lunch and it always smelled amazing... I'm glad i ordered it!! Yum

$14.95 lunch buffet plus tax. 10% discount for paying cash. Good selection of items. Good taste. Good service.

Nice restaurant with comfortable seating. Greeted promptly at the door, given water. The buffet was a really good size. Has meat, vegetarian, and deserts available. Also mango lassies were part of the buffet. The $14.95 price was attractive. The food is mixed. The lamb vindaloo was tough, but flavorful. The curry chicken looked more like chicken bryani. The chicken tikka was pleasant, but bland. The tandoori chicken was excellent. The dal was runny, but tasted good. And the rice was what you expect. The naan was fresh and hot. Had the Taj Mahal but it was pricy. Overall, it was ok. If you're in the area, go for it. But not worth a cross town trip.

Man $19 all you can eat you can't go wrong with that. I came here once but didn't get the buffet and did a La carte which I wish I would have done the buffet because it came out nearly the same price. I came in on a Sunday afternoon for lunch. Service was top notch. For the buffet the big hitters are the chicken curry, chicken tikka masala, tandoori chicken, and goat curry with lamb vindaloo. Besides that they have a lot of vegetarian option that I'm not familiar with (I'm an Indian food noob). They also have some desserts, chutneys, and all you can drink chai tea with mango lassi. The servers are very attentive and come by with fresh garlic naan that's really good. I do think the tikka masala isn't as good as places I've had like a la carte, but it's not far off in opinion. Especially for $19 you're able to try a variety of Indian dishes I would not know to order at other places. The food all tasted really fresh. Really enjoyed it.

I wrote another review in 2017. It was a five-star one. But this time I didn't have such a tasty experience. I came here to India Oven tonight with a group of seven people that I hiked with. It was the hike leaders suggestion we come to India Oven after hiking. I headed for the lamb tikka masala but the lamb cubes were wasting the lamb because the meat was so hard and dry. The goat is a lot more tender and fall off the bone. And the lamb and cream spinach we're cold in the bin. I told the server and he stirred it with a spoon. I said the spoon stirring in there isn't going to tell you how cold it is. He lifted the spoon with a sauce and stuck his finger in it and then put the spoon back in the bin. He probably picked his nose with his finger before doing that. But I didn't say anything. He said that the heater was turned off and he was turning it on and harder. I didn't think any of the other flavors of the food was tasty enough to come back to India Oven. In 2017 it cost $11.95 and now it cost $18.95. But if you pay cash they'll give you 10% off. Nothing taste good to me tonight. The nasn was crispy only on one side I don't remember having none that was crispy only on one side and. doughy on the other side. Tonight I don't have a nice thing to say about the food but cold and unremarkable. But the service was really attentive. So instead of one star I'm giving two stars

This was a great experience overall. One thing that stood out to me was how friendly the service was. The vibes were immaculate. The food was great too! Not my top place but it was good and yummy. The prices were decent to for a dinner menu at 18$ including the mango lassi. Branch out and try this place but it does get busy closer to dinner hours!

I will say for the first time ever trying food from India and especially from this restaurant they make delicious food. And I do recommend their Chicken Tikka Masala and Shrimp biryani . And when I taste delicious food !!I say Simply the best ..!!

I've been eating here for years and am really disappointed. I heard that they've changed hands and have noticed some small changes in the food but it was still pretty good. Today I came in to get a to go buffet which was sold by weight, but worth it because the food was good, but now they have changed the to go buffet pricing to a per item pricing scheme that I have no doubt will make them more money, but kinda trashes the whole buffet thing. I can go several places and order al la cart, I'd kinda have to be a bit stupid to drive 14 miles each way to get what is no longer the best food at a reasonable price, or at least convenient anymore. By by India Oven.

Management matters. So disappointed with new management change. I used to come weekly (Fridays). They knew my name. Then one week gone. I always get food to go. The friendly service is gone. The prices seem malleable. The food is different ("there will be no changes"). It's not delicious anymore. It's really bad now . Ugh. Why did they change a great thing? I gave them another try after several months. The magic is gone. I won't be back. Profoundly sad. It's all gone.

A friend recommended this place. Stopped here on a Friday evening while driving through from LA to Dallas. Walked in, food smells good, drinks are cheap Wow, it's Friday and there is a Buffet for $17.95, so cheap. This never happens in CA. Food was good for the price and because I was doing carnivore it was perfect. Service was good and the servers were friendly

When we arrived, they were really busy. Almost all of the tables were full. It was about noon or a little bit past that time. We were seated rather quickly. They had some metal trays, which would help hold in the sauce so that the sauce wouldn't run into all the items you put on your plate. They also had large plates and small plates for your food. They also had a little bowls for your food. I think most people picked up one of the large or small plates for the food. I didn't see that many pick up the metal trays for their food. I also didn't see that many people use the little bowls for the regular food, but I think they used them for the desserts. They had a non-vegetarian station with meat at the front. There were two vegetarian stations with only vegetables. They had one and a half dessert stations. One of the dessert stations was for cold desserts, and the other dessert station was for hot desserts. My favorite was the lamb or the paneer tikka masala. I usually really like the chicken tikka masala. I thought the chicken tikka masala was a little dry. It is my favorite dish at another similar restaurant. The first set of naan was delicious. The second set of naan was a little over cooked. It was burnt on the bottom. I liked how the first set was cooked perfectly so it was crispy on the bottom but not burnt.

Lunch Buffet was delicious!! All of your Indian favorites. I also ordered the Indian Tea that was very flavorful. The staff were terrific! Very quick & Polite! Ambiance was as expected. Nice music & Clean restaurant!

This place was uniquely terrible. It had such high reviews so I was excited to try it. Ordered through Uber eats the vegetables samosas, chicken curry, rice, and naan. The veg table samosa were okay. The rice was good. The naan was bad. The chicken curry was disturbing. Something was not right with the chicken so I decided to not continue eating the curry. Ate just the rice and called it a day. This place is really bad. Would not go back would not recommend.

I keep going back for the incredible food! I normally avoid buffets like the plague, but I set my phobias aside for my love of this place. If you are not a fan of a buffet, you can skip lunch time and try the dinner menu. I do wish the food had more heat to it, but the owner kindly explained to me that the vast majority of the people in America cannot handle Indian spice levels, so they tone it down for their typical Arizona guest. Don't get me wrong, the flavor and quality are still top notch. Some of my favorites so far are the goat vindaloo (not spicy at all), samosas with chutnies, saag paneer, chicken tikka masala, and the chicken curry. Service is always impeccable and attentive.

They have an awesome lunch buffet. There are quite a few options and many vegetarian choices available as well. The food is decent and each time I went, everything is served fresh and didn't appear to be sitting out for an extended period of time. I can't speak on anything outside of the buffet but I do go often since it is close to my work.

I haven't dined here in years and had forgotten that IO is one of the few restaurants in the area that still offers an Indian dinner buffet. For $18.99 per person, this is a terrific value! We arrived 20 minutes after opening for dinner service on Friday June 9th. There were four other tables already seated and enjoying beer, wine, cocktails and food. With five servers working the dining area together we were all attended to expertly. As we know buffets aren't the ideal way to enjoy entrees at their best compared to ordering from the menu but for item variety and speed, this buffet won us over tonight. The goat dish and chicken curry were my favorites closely followed by Paneer Masala. My husband noted that the Tandorri chicken was moist that night. For us, it's been a challenge to find this popular chicken dish that is not served dry at other Indian restaurants. Delicious and sweet I found the Gulab jamun in rosewater syrup. (Soft Indian donut holes is how I refer to them. LOL) The mango pudding dessert one to indulge in as well! With garlic naan brought to your table warm and the self-serve mango lassi and chai tea, there was nothing else I needed. I left happy and very full!

Went for buffet lunch. Extremely bland Indian food. If you like Indian food with a kick. May be order off the menu and ask to make it spicy I guess. Otherwise service was excellent.

This was our go to spot for Indian food and would brag about our place. After a change of management, the food is just ok and the prices have increased. We will be trying other Indian food places now as this was just so so on our last visit. You could feel the difference the second you walk thru the doors.

This used to be our favorite place. Ever since the new owners took over everything has declined. Food is super oily and low quality. They seem to be very cheap with the buffet and let things sit almost empty for too long before replenishing. They are even skimping on the kind of rice used for the rice pudding, and it doesn't taste or look fresh at all. The waiters used to be dressed professionally, and now they're just in street clothes. If that's not enough they raises their prices! Such a shame to see a good place turn bad. They should have just kept things the same. Same cooks, same waiters. Hopefully they will improve, but the past two times have shown significant decline.

Pretty affordable and family friendly Indian buffet! Great if you want to eat a lot - for dinner $18.95/pp is good value! Came on a Sunday night at 6:30pm and it was a full house - they do have lots of seats though. Service was quick and kind. They brought us water and said we could get up and grab our food - once we got back there was already a plate of garlic naan on the table! They have lots of meat as well as vegetarian options. For meat, there was a couple chicken dishes, one goat and one lamb. Most was tender and flavorful, my chicken tandoori was dry though. There were more vegetarian dishes - I enjoyed the paneer masala curry and potato+cauliflower mix. For dessert, there was gulab jamun, rice pudding, and a mango pudding. Also unlimited mango lassi!! Will return if we are craving Indian buffet again. Of course quality may not be as good as a la carte ordering at other restaurants but you get great value eating here.

Buffet was bland , tasteless and non veg options were limited. I do not get the high rating , but those who desire true Indian food , go elsewhere. Service was good though. Plain basmati rice had more flavor than chicken biryani I must repeat this - the high ratings are just a big puzzle. Who is finding this food tasty!

I've gone here for over ten years and it never fails to impress me.The food was absolutely amazing, had plenty of flavor and an amazing taste. Service was excellent and very nice, though slightly slow because only had two people serving and never got a water refill. The restaurant was clean and great decoration. In general a great experience for everyone.

If I had gone without my 12 year old son, it would be 5 stars for me! Everything was fresh and tasty. Delicious. But I went with my 12 year old son. They asked what level of spiciness I wanted. I said "Mild", gesturing to my son. "Everything Mild. But can I get spice on the side for me?" He did not answer directly to me, rather, he mumbled something as he whisked away the menus. I didn't hear what he mumbled, but it may have been: "I'll make it light spice." It was too spicy for my son. Today I was at my vegetarian doctor's and he was eating Indian food. I said, "Oh yum! We just had Indian food last night at Indian Oven. It was so delicious! Have you been there?" His reply was, "Yes, we don't go there. Too spicy." His wife added: "NO spicy is still spicy there."

They have a really good buffet with lots of options for both meat lovers and vegetarians. The servers are very attentive and will bring you fresh bread and drink refills very quickly. Love the inside of this restaurant as well.

New owners. Quality of food and service has dropped. It was obvious from the moment we walked up to the buffet. Prices increased. So sad. Wish we knew the other location of the original owners. We would go there.

Best Indian buffet in AZ!! Many Indian buffets I have been to only have lunch buffets, but Indian Oven offers dinner buffets too! I love the variety of options here. Every time I come the selections are slightly different. All the curries and rice are delicious! My favorite at Indian Oven are Chicken Tikka Masala, paneer tikka masala, fish curry, goat curry, lamb curry, and the chicken tandoori. Clean restaurant and the staff is super friendly!! They are always on top of giving you fresh naan at the table and clearing your plates so that you can get another round of food. The staff clears the tables fast to seat customers as soon as possible. You can call in ahead of time to make a reservation for a large party. Come hungry!! You will not be disappointed!

As much as the food is fantastic, the ambience needs work. Having absolutely no music is insane. Can't remember the last time I ate in silence. The only music I heard at this Indian restaurant is the Spanish music from the chef in the back. Great food - needs major work for ambience overall.

This used to be my number one spot until recently, looks like there was a change in management and the most recent time the buffet food was basically burnt, lassi was watered down. The ambiance is really dark, and even the booths and walls are basically all the same dark color. the most recent time I went which was 4/12/25 A cockroach was crawling across my boyfriends booth chair by his head, we told the server and he proceeded to kill the bug with his BARE HANDS right in front of US. OUR SERVER!! MAYBE, JUST. MAYBE. COULD'VE USED A NAPKIN OR SOMETHING!!! He just walks alway and pretends like nothing happened!! And after that incident they did not offer us any compensation, or an apology or anything! I had to ask them to not charge me because I was not going to finish my food. I felt disgusted. I felt dirty. I felt like I'm gonna have to let this place go...I'm sorry India Oven I've been a loyal customer for a long time. But this was so incredibly scary and gross. Goodbye India oven (gave it five stars because I don't want anyone to get sick from cross contamination or anything. )(I hope you see this and decide to go to a different place).

I'm sad, we have eaten at the Indian Oven for close to 15 years. The last few visits we have noticed changes. We noticed the wait staff had changed. The taste of the food has changed. The food is hot and fresh but the flavor has changed. The staff is very nice and the restaurant is clean. We will just have to adjust to the new flavors.

Best Indian buffet in town! From Friday to Sunday, they have my favorite dish, goat curry.

Great food much cleaner and food taste better with new ownership i like to go there once a month love to eat there

I didn't realize the buffet was the only choice at lunch but I'm glad I didn't know. Buffets cause me to worry about all the other diners who came before me. Indian Oven's was very well kept and I saw the staff attending to it, constantly. The best part was that I got to try a little bit of everything and it was all delicious! My favorite was the Aloo Gobi because there was an even proportion of potato to cauliflower and it was seems many places go too heavy on the potatoes. Price is very reasonable, too!

Love this place, especially buffet. Great selection. Quick, attentive service. Have been several times. Different atmosphere. Has catering venue available.

Food tasted like left overs were reheated . Missing the fresh flavor. They limit naans to only one in the buffet and they are small . Service was inattentive and busy on the phone . Had to ask for water three times. Used to be beterr .Hope they improve as they are under new owners

My family and I were driving back to SoCal from Tucson and we decided on having a buffet at an Indian restaurant. My wife stumbled on India Oven on Yelp. Since it was on a Labor Day and on Monday, we weren't sure whether it would be open; so my wife called to confirm. We were delighted to hear they were open for buffet. Upon getting there, we were pleasantly surprised and happy see many options offered for lunch buffet. You can even choose to eat in a tray or a plate, as you can see in my photo. We will be back again when we take another trip to Tucson. This place has won our hearts. We will continue to come as long as the quality is kept in this state at all times.

I was in a food korma after eating at India Oven! A friend and I took advantage of their lunch buffet, which was ~$15 per person. We arrived shortly after they opened, and were greeted and seated right away. For $15, the options were plenty, including a variety of vegetarian options. The paneer tikka masala was my favorite. I went a little too hard with two plates and unfortunately, didn't have room for dessert or the mango lassi. Service was fast and friendly. The restaurant was clean and offered plenty of parking. I recommend India Oven!

We had the lunch buffet. The flavor was good, very clean, friendly staff. There were more vegetarian/ vegan options than other buffets in the area. We will definitely return for the buffet and to order from the menu as well. Good experience.

Came here for lunch, The buffet was amazing! Soo many choices. Plus they give you an order of naan! Also ordered a sweet Lassi, and it was excellent! The service was on top of it, and super friendly. The price was great too. Highly recommend!

Wow I'm so glad we made the drive to this place in Mesa AZ!! This is one of the best Indian buffets/ Indian food place I've tried in a long time. We came in at lunchtime on Sunday and it was packed. The place itself has a good amount of seating- we sat at a booth. Literally all the food I tried was some of the best. The tandoori chicken, Lamb Vindaloo, Goat curry, Chicken Tikka and Mango Lassi were my favorites. Service was great they have lots of help. Ultimately I will make it a point to come back, it's delicious! I've tried a lot of Indian places & this one was a real treat. Highly recommended & worth trying! Happy eating.

I love the buffet here!! For the life of me I can't understand why there aren't more Indian buffets. The service is good, very friendly folks and the whole environment is calm and peaceful. This spot is one of my favorites!

Easily one of the best buffets and I've traveled extensively and crave Indian food often. Fresh, great variety, Curry Goat, Lamb, and the chicken Tikka was on point. My only beef, the restaurant was rather warm. Great value. They prefer cash and charge am upcharge for using a CC. Didn't care, it's worth it. I traveled from San Tan for it.

The food here was amazing. The service was just as great. We came with a baby and they had no problem with us sharing with her(15 months). They have buffet for dinner which is what separates them from other Indian cuisines. Highly recommended and we will be coming back.

Been here before for the lunch buffet and returned for more. We were seated immediately and headed for the buffet. The meat dishes are all to the right which for a non meat eater is awesome. I started with the Dahl and the potato cauliflower dish.. golbi aloo. So good! Nicely spiced and full of cauliflower florets that have not been mashed into potato texture. So yummy. We were given piping hot flat breads, seasoned with ghee and a touch of garlic and chopped cilantro ..enough to scoop up the dal. Spinach paneer was there, and pretty spicy but delicious. There was a garbanzo dish as well and a few others I do not know, but my plate was full. I always try the carrot halva, sweet and delicious. A soft touch to the palate. The raita cooled the palate as well, prepping me for the rice pudding, which was cardamom forward, but cool and sweet. Finish off with chai, and I'm a happy person. My friend had the goat dish and loved it, as well as the chicken tikka . We will be returning for more. Thank you

India Oven is my favorite Indian food place. Their buffet is incredible, the naan is made there and served right from the oven. I love how you get the sizzling Chicken Tikki in addition to the buffet. The service is always top notch and I enjoy the Indian theme of this very nice establishment.

Overcooked shrimp, strange waitstaff interactions, lack of clarity on prices. Will not be back and do not recommend.