India Pavilion

Declining Standards, Questionable Hygiene Practices My husband and I have been frequent visitors of Indian Pavilion for almost a year now, having dined here about 10 times in the last nine months. We absolutely love Indian food, and I would rate the food here a solid 3.5 out of 5 stars. The flavors are authentic, and the dishes are generally delicious. The price is high, but not outrageous. However, the lunch buffet is very limited in options, though what is available is always tasty. Unfortunately, despite our love for this place, things have taken a downturn recently. The most noticeable change is the addition of an $8 fee for anyone caught wasting food at the buffet. While I understand the desire to reduce waste, this seems excessive. On top of that, prices have gone up, which is somewhat understandable given inflation, but still worth noting. What really drove us away, though, was the issue of hygiene. The restaurant has a lovely open-concept layout where you can watch the chefs cook. Normally, this is something I enjoy, as it offers transparency into the cooking process. However, we recently noticed that none of the kitchen staff were wearing gloves while handling the food—no gloves, just raw bare hands. To make matters worse, we saw our server pick up dirty plates from our table, then immediately head to the kitchen and start cutting naan without washing his hands or putting on gloves. No hand washing between handling dirty dishes and preparing food! How many other dirty plates had he touched before handling the naan? The thought was revolting. I’ve always known Indian culture to emphasize cleanliness, which makes this even more disappointing. While the food is undeniably good, I simply cannot overlook the lack of basic food safety protocols here. After witnessing this firsthand, we won’t be returning. If cleanliness and proper hygiene are important to you, I would suggest finding another spot to enjoy Indian cuisine. This was a dealbreaker for us.

India Pavilion offers a weekday lunch buffet for $16. It has rice, naan, tandoori chicken, chicken tikka masala, curry chicken, saag paneer, and a few more. Nothing out of the ordinary for this. Curry chicken is a bit watery, and the saag paneer could have more paneer. For a reasonably priced and filling meal, this fits the bill.

Sunday Lunch buffet was mediocre. Definitely less tasty than I remember from previous visits a year ago. The sauce of most dishes was diluted (not thick as it should be). Flavor was very mild The chicken meat was good. No goat mutton or fish was available.

Had one of the worst dining experiences here. The food was honestly disappointing, bland, poorly made, espionage the Pakoras and few curries and now here close to what we expected. But what made it even worse was the staff's attitude. When we politely asked a question about the food, the chef and staff were extremely rude and dismissive. Instead addressing our concern, they responded with arrogance and made us feel like we were a nuisance. We were humiliated for no reason, and the way they handled everything was completely unprofessional. My friend and I had a really bad experience with the staff especially falsely blaming accusations on us. Hospitality and basic courtesy were completely missing. We left feeling insulted and disrespected. Definitely not going back, and I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone.

I order reshami kebab n they gave me frozen seekh kebabs (probably left over from buffet) n tried to justify to Punjab person that this is reshami kebab? Which angle? avoid this place !

This Indian restaurant is a true find—everything on the menu is Halal and priced very reasonably. The flavors are authentic and bold, from the creamy, rich curries to the perfectly spiced biryani and tender tandoori delights. Portion sizes are generous, too—you definitely get great value for your money

I had a wonderful experience at Indian Pavilion. I ordered a thali along with samosas, and everything was delicious except for the Shahi Paneer, which was a bit on the sweeter side for my taste. The puris were especially impressive, as they seemed to be made with whole wheat flour rather than maida. What truly stood out was the exceptional service. The owner personally served the thali in a thoughtful sequence, starting with the soup and appetizers, followed by the main thali, and ending with a delightful dessert.

Very Good Ambience and Kind Staff. 15 min walk from the MIT. Food is more oily, unfortunately we couldn’t able to reach on time to taste their signature buffet. I have ordered from alacarte menu. One of the ordered item prawns thandoori is too salty. But the owner is so kind and he cancelled it from our order. The other foods poori, and chicken pakora are too much oil. It can be rectified. But overall good place with warm welcoming staff to taste delicious indian cuisine.

Enjoyed dinner here at India Pavilion. We came here wanting the buffet but found out they only offer it during lunch hours. This was fine, and we ended up ordering a couple of entrees. The cheese naan was good and we loved the vegetable samosas. I ordered the saag paneer and it was pretty good. Overall solid indian food, would like to come back and try to lunch buffet.

The staff really paid attention that I was vegan and served warm ghee on the side to pour onto roti for the company I was with as I shared I could eat only one. We had aloo chole and baingan bharta as entrée complimented with tandoori roti, tawa roti and rice. All very flavorful. We ordered medium spice and ordered onions and green chili on the side - hit the spot! Ordered Gajar ka halwa to take home, they advised to warm it up before consuming (it is best when it is warm which was a nice reminder - thank you!)

I was a bit reluctant to try this restaurant due to the 3.5 rating but my daughter wanted Indian and we were in the neighborhood. End of argument. Service was fine, ambience was nice but the food was excellent. If you're thinking twice about trying this place, fear not. You will enjoy the food.

Great lunch spot with a good array of buffet offerings. Lots for vegetarians to enjoy. The food is consistently good. The dining space is spacious and pleasant.

Favorite Indian food in Cambridge. The butter naan is a fave, but their main courses, sides, and rice pudding are also delicious! The service has always been good when I've gone in person, and it makes for great takeout as well.

I was a bit confused by the low reviews, food lacking flavor, etc. I went during lunch buffet. Chicken Tikka Masala and Chicken Curry were great, the chicken wasn't overcooked like a lot of places do, was so tender. They are using chicken thighs too instead of chicken breast, so that helps with tenderness. Spices were on point. Baingan Bhartha was a highlight, great balance of flavor in that too. Was it spicy? No, didn't really expect it to be since buffet, but looks like if you order off the menu you can ask for spice level you want.

Despite its Central Square location, this place has managed to keep its prices fairly reasonable, and as far as Indian food in the Boston area goes, its food quality is pretty decent too...not the best or most authentic, but that's an academic point because I have yet to find really excellent Indian food anywhere in this area. (Manosalwa in Somerville by the Market Basket had my hopes up for a while despite their famously erratic opening hours, but has recently closed down for good and their sister restaurant in Everett while more consistently open, has even more schizoid service and food quality.) Most "Indian" food places here are just overpriced and dumbed-down tourist food, beautifully presented in pretty environments but hopelessly bland and boring to suit the local demographics. India Pavilion has a very pleasant ambience and decent service, and their food is just good enough to keep me coming back in light of how dreadful most of the competition is. Their lunch buffet is solid (chicken is the only meat offered, sadly) and their Thali plates are a very safe bet to get a full meal at a reasonable cost, competently done. It shares the same owner as Punjabi Dhabi in Inman Square which is decidedly more downmarket but has more or less the same quality of food, just a very cramped dining environment. In other words, you could do a lot worse.

Can never go wrong the lunch buffet. Lots of options for both vegetarians and omnivores. Also, has lots of space. I've never had a problem getting a table.

I've been meaning to eat at this place as every time I passed, it'd be full of people looking like they were enjoying their meal. Overall, I enjoyed the experience and would come back again! We came here on a Friday evening around 6 for dinner and we were the only ones in the restaurant which led to a very quiet but relatively quick dining experience. We placed our orders and got our food pretty fast which was nice. They were also good about refilling our waters and checking on us when we needed attention. The food was very good in my opinion. A little expensive per dish, but it was nice that everything pretty much came with rice. The bread basket was probably my favorite part due to the variety and size of naan. Each dish was tasty and flavorful in their own way as well. Overall, I found the meal filling and I left feeling satisfied. Thanks India Pavilion!

I was a little disappointed that service was extremely slow even though we were one of maybe four parties seated at the restaurant. The service staff stayed in the kitchen/back of the restaurant so it took them a handful of minutes to notice that we entered the restaurant. After we were seated and looked at the menu, it took a long time for someone to come take our order. We shared the chicken pakora ($5.95), lamb rogan josh ($15.95), and aloo nan ($4.50). The chicken pakora had a texture that I wasn't super used to (to be fair, I've never had chicken pakora before so I am not the best judge for this dish). The breading was very thick and the outside wasn't crispy at all even though the dish was deep-fried. Each chicken fritter was a big size. About 50% of it was breading. It came with tamarind sauce and a very delicious mint chutney. The lamb rogan josh came with a side of rice. The rice was either undercooked or old because it was hard to chew. The lamb itself was pretty tender and the sauce was flavorful. The aloo nan was probably the highlight of the meal! The bread portion was very fluffy and the mashed potato stuffed inside turned this dish into a carb-lover's dream. This place is good for satisfying a craving but I wouldn't consider it my go-to place for Indian food in the greater Boston area.

Indian Pavilion is a Cambridge institution in business since at least the 80s. over many years the food has been consistently very good. Our family always has takeout living close by however the restaurant has a nice dinning area and bar. Most recently we ordered our Xmas meal there and the food was excellent. Many offerings for meat, fish, and vegetarians.

Of the Indian places to eat in Cambridge, this may be one of the more well put together with regards to the ambiance but the food quality and service has consistently been terrible. I've given this place a few chances now and each time the food was bland, felt extremely watered down, and the service very delayed. The shahi paneer especially was such a let down

Food was okay, customer service is good! Ambience was nice ! I can recommend on going to this

I had their jerk curry and it was not bad. Spices were very flavorful and the chicken was pretty tender.

Used be good. Now the curries are all watery. For example, the chicken curry was watery, the onions had not been cooked down, and the chicken was boiled and simply added to the sauce. A few years ago, it was great...not sure what happened.

Best curry, tikka masala and vindaloo in Cambridge. Pakoras and Samosas are excellent too.

I always stop by here when I'm in Central Square - excellent and delicious lunch buffet that consistently is high quality and delicious. Can't wait to be back again for another great lunch

I love Indian and enjoy it atleast once a week. Very disappointed, not what I expected when I used to eat here. The food not only made us sick but tasted different. We tried the buffet option - not worth the after effects DO NOT EAT THEIR BUFFET All the food including the standard chicken masala and biriyani were bitter and dry. The rice pudding was wierd.

For a $15 lunch buffet, the choices are plentiful and delicious! They always have fresh baked naan (plain and garlic) and a nice mix of meat and vegetarian selections too! They're even open on holidays, such as Thanksgiving or Christmas, so they're a wonderful choice to bring friends and family for a tasty meal. The favorites: saag paneer (spinach with paneer cheese), naan bread, crispy vegetable fritters, roasted chicken tandoori, chicken tikka masala, and a type of aloo gobi curry (cauliflower, peas, potatoes).

The staff are all very nice! Unfortunately, I thought both the goat vindaloo and chicken tikka dal masala were kind of one note-- the vindaloo being just vinegar and the masala being just sweet/tomato. No complexity at all. And also not very spicy at all, at moderate heat. I enjoyed the mango lassi well enough, though it's the thin kind. I guess it's a convenient location, and a nice space. I probably wouldn't be back though.

Fantastic. Curries are spicy and tasty. Favorite place. The peshawari naan is particularly good.

I was starving when I came here and the food was absolutely great. The flavors and spices all came through and I was just tearing through the food. The portion size for the naan was perfect because it was large but enough to use up all of the fury with. I would definitely come here again and order more of their foods!

This is overall a decent spot (3.5 out of 5) to have a quick warm bite by yourself or with a group if you happen to be in the central square area. Let me admit I don't have particularly high standard for Indian food. We went on a Friday for dinner. The true story was that we were planning to go somewhere else, but this place smelled very good when we passed it, so we stopped at the door to check out the menu. As we were debating whether to go inside, someone came out of the restaurant and said "you wouldn't go wrong with anything you order here." So we decided to give it a try. I was not a fan of the interior design of the restaurant and I think the tables arrangement was awkward. However, the food was good enough to make me enjoy my overall experience. We ordered mild Shahi Paneer (Fresh homemade cheese simmered in a tomato cream sauce with cashews and raisin), medium Chicken Tikka Dal Masala, plain naan and garlic naan. The naan was delicious! Even though there is complimentary rice, I would recommend trying the naan. Shahi Paneer has a mild sweet taste that blends well with the tomato base. Not the best Chicken Tikka Dal Masala I have ever had, but it meets my expectation.

After a fun day at Cambridge we came here for a good Indian Dinner. I would like to start with the service - 2.5/5 , it was like the waiters were college kids and they did know what to do next. Water was not served, entree plates were not given and even the order itself was served 25min it's later after questioning about the delay. About the food quality and quantity was great. Food visit again and hope to get a better service

India Pavilion is hands-down my boyfriend's favorite restaurant in the greater Boston area. I'm pretty sure we order takeout from here at least once every month, because it's his comfort food--I'm almost certain he'll never get tired of this place! He always orders the Gobi Kaju Masala since he's vegetarian, and introduced me to it a couple of years ago. It's very flavorful and probably the best Indian curry I've had. We also usually order the garlic naan, and the curry and garlic naan make a great combination. Price wise, I'd say that you get what you're paying for and one curry lasts 1-2 meals in average. We've eaten at India Pavilion a countless number of times, but only one of those times was actually in-person. Service was decent that one time we went, and picking up takeout is usually pretty reliable as well. Can't remember them messing up our orders really, off the top of my head. Give it a shot if you're interested in trying some Indian food!

Lunch buffet here is the best, with many options of delicious Punjabi food (palak paneer, Mayer paneer, chicken tikka, chicken tikka masala, veg korma, pakora, samosa, rice and naan). The service is also quick and pleasant. This is definitely my go-to place for a quick weekend lunch. If they keep their prices low, I'll continue cooking for sure as often.

I LOVE India pavilion but we just went and there and ordered our usual dishes but they were all... different. They didn't taste the way they normally do, and the portion sizes were considerably smaller. I am disheartened by this change.

This place has a great buffet every day. It's the best lunch value for Indian food that I have seen these days in the Boston area!

Loved this place! Great location which is walking distance for the T-station. Loved their menu selection and their very reasonable prices. They have both bar and a restaurant, which also means good draft beer on tap. For the sampler in you, they have configurable Tahli (a platter with assortment of dishes) options. The bread (paratha) served with food tasted so homemade. Moderate service pace but overall a good place to get some really good Indian good and reasonable prices!

One of the worse Indian restaurant in town. I know they are in business for decade but now food is worse compare to other indian restaurant. Low quality ,uncooked naan ,old smelly rice pudding . Plz owner go and try maharaja and naivana. U don't deserve to run this business. Fire ur chef .

This was never a great place but it was a solid spot for buffet with good value. the last few times I've gone the food has lacked basic seasoning (zero to minimal salt) and spice. When I told the waiter he said that they've changed it because most people like it that way and that I could use table salt. I don't eat overly salty food. Everyone else in the table agreed the food lacked seasoning. The pakora and tandoori chicken are getting drier and drier. The Khmer was slimy.

Bangladeshi (not indian) reshmi kabab ((R) and Chill Chicken (L). The decor of this place made us feel like it's authentic Indian place. It's so not an Indian pavilion! When we complained that the reshmi kabab is never made of minced meat, the sweet waitress went inside to ask and came back with "our chefs are bangladeshi and that's how they make reshmi kabab". So why is this place called an Indian pavilion? Is bangladesh a part of India now? The Chill chicken was horrible. It's just tomato puree and some ridiculous spices. The worst is that they don't care if they cheated you or that you didn't like the food. Never going back.

All you can eat lunch. Around 11-12 bucks/person. reasonable price. There are 8-10 kinds of curry, and some chicken. Two kinds of rice, two kinds of nann and desert. I liked green, and yellow vege curry. So full! One minus point: I found something weird in my mouth....and it was rubber band. Hope not find next time. Other than that, tasty.

India Pavilion was good quality Indian food. We got the all you can eat lunch bullet for $16 and it was great! There was an assortment of chicken masalas, paneer, naan, and vegetable curries. Would recommend if you're hungry and in the area!

India Pavilion is a solid option for Indian cuisine if you're in Central Square, Cambridge. The atmosphere is clean and interesting. Cool lighting fixtures, a couple different dining areas. It's a little dark at some of the tables but not too bad. Service was prompt and personable. Food came out pretty timely for the most part. *My biggest qualm was that the meat portions in the dishes we ordered were a little small. We ordered three chicken entrees and I feel like there could have been a bit more chicken in these servings based in what other Indian restaurants serve. Though the portions were a tad small, the food was delicious. Chicken Tikka Masala was tasty and the chicken was tender. It was a pretty standard tikka masala, not mindblowing but solid. One thing though was the sauce wasn't as hot (temperature) as the Saag that came out at the same time which was interesting. Chicken Saag was very good, had some good spice to it (ordered it medium spice) and the chicken was very tender as well. Was thicker than some saagwala I've had at other places. Definitely would order again as this is one of my go-to dishes when I get Indian. Chicken Korma was delicious. The creamy cashew sauce is perfect on rice and with nan! A must try if you want something slightly different than the standard tikka masala! Garlic nan was buttery and had a nice crisp to it. The pieces were pretty big too. It's a must-have at the table if you ask me! I will definitely will be visiting India Pavilion again!

This is my go-to Indian restaurant in the Cambridge area! The food tastes really good, the prices are reasonable, the atmosphere is nice, and service is attentive. India Pavilion is allergy-aware, which is a super big plus for me. I don't go to Indian restaurants often because I've had bad experiences with food allergies at Indian restaurants. In particular, Indian food is sometimes cooked with cashew oil or otherwise has significant traces of tree nuts that I'm allergic to. I've been to places where the waiter has no idea about tree nut allergies and just looks at the food and tells me he doesn't "think" there are any nuts (cashew oil wouldn't be visible right?). India Pavilion is NOT like that -- you can eat here safely and count on what the waiter tells you about allergens! They will inquire with the chef if they don't know the answer, not just give you a guess. Come for lunch buffet (including weekends!). It's only around $11 with tax and tip included! There's a good variety of sauces, meats, and vegetables to go with plenty of rice and naan. I've also been here for dinner plenty of times. It's more expensive, but the menu is huge and everything my friends and I have tried has tasted really good. The food is flavorful and you can choose your spice level for most dishes. Portions are also generous so you'll definitely leave feeling full and maybe even be able to take home some leftovers. India Pavilion also stands out over other Indian restaurants for the atmosphere. The setting is really nice (although there's no pressure to dress up) and the waiters and waitresses are attentive and professional. Food doesn't take too long to come out. Sometimes there is music playing; it's nice background music to listen to but won't intrude into your conversations. I've also never encountered a wait to be seated here, which I find surprising for how good of a restaurant it is. Perhaps it's because the restaurant is spacious and always well staffed so they're able to serve a lot of people at once. Definitely come here if you're craving Indian food!

When I find myself in Central Square around dinner time, while there are a few restaurants that I have in mind that I want to try out, there's an app that I like to check first to see if there's a current discount running at Indian Pavilion. Generally, doing so has scored me a 20% discount off the food ordered, so why not? Their Vegetable Combo Thaali $14.95 comes with a choice of soup, any two Vegetable Specialties, Dal, Raita, Rice, Poori or Paratha, & a choice of Gulab Jamun or Kheer, which for me is plenty fo 2 meals! The Chicken Soup ($3.95 a la carte) (chicken, fresh vegetables, lentils & tomatoes) had a bit of heat, and the tender chicken bits resembled diced chicken tikka. The vegetable seemed to consist basically of corn kernels. I preferred this soup over their Mulligatawny Soup. My selected Vegetables Specialties (requested mild) on this visit were the Malai Kofta ($9.95) Vegetable balls cooked in delicious mild cream sauce and the Paneer Chilli Masala ($10.95) Paneer sauteed in a creamy tomato sauce with bell peppers, onions & tomatoes. So I accidentally ended up with a heavily tomatoed meal. If I had known that the Malai Kofta's cream sauce was a red sauce, I probably would have opted for the Saag Paneer to accompany it. But still, I enjoyed both veggie selections and the dal, though I preferred the cream sauce of the two somewhat. The vegetable balls tasted good though the balls themselves were rather soft and lacked substance. The diced vegetables that accompanied the cheese chunks, however, were perfectly firm. The twin poori arrived plump and filled with air. The top layer was crisp, while the bottom half more malleable for folding. It was a nice change of pace, but I think I will return to the paratha. For dessert, the kheer (rice pudding) was sufficient, though it did not rate high in my experience of the sweet. On this visit, their ladies room unfortunately had this awful smell. But I mentioned it to them, so hopefully they'll deal with it. Thought for a future visit: Dahi Papri appetizer $3.95 - A medley of chickpeas, tomatoes, cilantro, potatoes, homemade papri wafers, tamarind chutney & raita (served cold?) Addendum - in eating the leftovers, I came to realize that the Paneer Chilli Masala (thought requested mild) still had a touch of heat that had been overshadowed by that of the soup in the first go around. *** 6/2017 *** I returned for the Dahi Papri $3.95 (A medley of chickpeas, tomatoes, cilantro, potatoes, homemade papri wafers, tamarind chutney & raita; served cool). It arrived as a good sized portion mounded on a plate, and I found it tasty with a nice light crisp texture from the light puffed crackers. I enjoyed it very much though I felt the ratio of papri wafers to the rest of the ingredients by volume to be perhaps a 2:1 ratio. I wish they would adjust it to have more of the vegetables. For my entree, I ordered a mild Chicken Mango $11.95 Chicken tikka cooked with broccoli, & tomatoes in a sweet & spices mango sauce, which came with a nice heap of rice in a covered metal dish. Beneath the orange sauce, I found perhaps 4 chunks of chicken and 3-4 small broccoli florets. Their mild variation turned out to be a bit too spicy for me. A small dish of yogurt was brought out to help tame the heat quite successfully even as it added a nice creamy sweetness to the meal. Perhaps half the meal went home with me. Sadly for the leftovers, the papri wafers grew sodden, though the appetizer still tasted super. *** 11/2017 *** For my dinner, I ordered the Dahl Papri $3.95 (yes, again) and the Kashmiri Sweet Pulow $8.95 (basmati made with dried fruits, nuts, raisins & honey, served with plain yogurt). I figured I would try to finish off the appetizer due to the papri wafers which do not hold up well to the sauce overnight, but the flavor, though tasty, was too strong and the portion too large. It was meant for sharing for sure. The rice dish was lightly sweet, and the yogurt added to the experience. While I could see the small halved red berries and sensed what seemed to be coconut in the flavoring, I guess the nuts must have been minced so small as to be invisible. I hankered for the cheesecake on their dessert menu (Jaipuri Cheesecake - cheesecake draped in the colors of Jaipur, drizzled with a homemade honey ginger syrup & garnished with pomegranate preserves), but that was not to be. Turns out, though listed on their menu, it is no longer available, at all, not just that evening. Perhaps a scoop or two of their ice cream? But those, it turns out, come by the bar. Huh? Popsicles! Mango, Kulfi, or Saffron? My mango ice cream $2.50 was served upsidedown in a pretty glass footed cup. It was a nice treat, with the exception of the base by the stick where the outer surface had the smooth gooey texture of aged ice cream. But if more people were to order it, they could cycle through their supply...

Came here for the lunch buffet, which was a great value for the selection of the food offered. However, the flavor and freshness of the food just falls flat. I think if you wanted food of high quality, i'm not sure if this is the place. The food was forgettable and mediocre at best in terms of Indian food.

For more than a dozen years I have patronized India Pavillion including ordering takeout from them during the pandemic. When my office was nearby, I frequented their buffet. I've had many dinners there over the year. You can imagine how surprised I was by the terrible service and hostile response when that I got when I complained. As I have done more than ten times, I ordered pickup today. I sent my 13-year old daughter to pick it up. She loves their coconut soup and has grew up on their saag paneer. It was a treat for her to have India Pavillion. I called in advance and said that she was picking up the order. When she arrived, the treated her suspiciously and asked her to call me on my phone to say it was okay. This was odd because a moment ago, I had just hung up from calling the restaurant directly. I recognized the voice. I repeated my request to please release the order to my child. After that second phone call my child was asked for Identification and when she failed to have one, they were reluctant to give it to her. Once she arrived home and relayed to me the entire story I called and asked to speak with a manager. The person who answered the phone told me that he was the manager but refused to give me his name. He said he wasn't the person who my daughter interacted with and when I asked his name again he repeated that it was irrelevant and hung up on me. I called back and there was no answer. I was very disappointed and went to return the food and ask for an apology and a refund. He treated me as if I made up the story and came to the restaurant in the pouring rain to complain. I was shocked. Eventually I was given my refund. It was one of the worst customer service experiences I have had in my 50 years on the planet. When I worked restaurants and retail I never saw a manager treat a customer the way I was treated. With so many options for Indian food I urge customers to exercise their choices.

This is for their lunch buffet: I think I've been to every Indian Restaurant in Cambridge and Somerville, as well as many, many more from Framingham to Nashua (I guess that makes me an Indian food nut). I've had dinner at India Pavilion, and fully enjoyed the food. Buffets are often not-very-fresh and not adventurous, but India Pavilion hit a home run with EVERY dish on the buffet. The hands-down winner was the kadhi pakora . This could be targeted at kadhi fans; it was absolutely perfect. The tandoori chicken was some of the best I've had, and the two korma dishes were delicious. Their nan was freshly made! (I skipped the chicken tikka masala - as this inauthentic "Indian" dish tends to be spiced for western palates.) And the service was just right. Hey India Pavilion - how about adding some Mumbai-style Chaat dishes to your menu?

Please stop undercooking your potatoes! For the second time in a row, the potatoes in my chicken vindaloo have not been cooked long enough, to the point it takes an excellent dish and makes it below average.

The food was really bad. I ordered chicken Tandoori and it has raw carrots and cucumber (yuck) and it was not authentic at all. My Masala soda was actually just flat lime soda and made out of sprite instead of club soda and basically had little masala. And don't even get me started on the biryani it had peas in it. Who the hell adds peas to chicken biryani. I wasted 40 bucks on this non-authentic Indian crap. (Also, mint chutney is not supposed to be sweet). The food had unnecessary things added to it and really everything tasted so bad!!!!! I am never ordering from this place again. And for the sake of providing good Indian food please change your bland and useless recipe and cook some authentic food with real spices.

Food is good but Service is garbage, do better are just stop. Waiter had no knowledge of the Menu he was very disappointing.:.

Absolutely in love with the lunch buffet/all you can eat experience. We came here on a Monday. The variety of dishes - chicken tikka masala, paneer, chickpea, tandoori chicken etc etc. blew me away. Their dessert with rice pudding, carrot cake and candies friend dough were fantastic. The service was friendly, prompt and professional. For $15, this is definitely a premium experience. Would love to come back again, and very soon.

I've been trying out Indian food buffets around the Boston area ever since things started opening up, and I have to say that this one does not disappoint. First of all, the $15 lunch buffet is a great deal. At most Indian restaurants, that price gets you one entreé. But here, this price offers you a solid variety of vegetarian and meat curries, lots of desserts, soft, buttery naans, and rice dishes. The staff is also incredibly nice, and it was a home-like environment akin to a lot of dining experiences in India. While the value for money is an undeniable positive at India Pavillion, the one drawback is that you're not getting the best Indian food you're ever going to have in Boston/Cambridge. For a higher price, you could try Maharaja or Kashmir. But, if you're looking for a cheap, filling meal in a warm, welcoming restaurant, go to India Pavillion.

Great value and quality. Got delivery. Food was received quickly and still tasted fresh an hour later. Only thing is that they didn't include utensils. Would order from them again.

Nice spot for casual, Indian cuisine. The waiters were friendly and the prices were pretty cheap. I went with my boyfriend and we split the two meat combo. The lamb was great and spicy but the tikka masala wasn't very flavorful. The combo platter also came with a side which I believe was the dal. This was also pretty plain. I did love the fluffy poori that came with the dish! All in all, would I come back? Probably. Is it because it's a five minute walk from my apartment and I like Indian? Probably.

I went here for lunch alone, and a friend was considering joining me. After I arrived, my friend asked me to text them a photo of the lunch buffet to help them decide whether they wanted to come eat here. I got up and asked a nearby waiter if he minded if I photograph it, and he said it's fine. Just as I was about to take the photo, another man exits the kitchen, sees me holding up my phone, and starts yelling "Sir, you can't! Sir, you can't!" I looked at the first waiter with confusion, and he said apologetically, "Sorry, he's the manager." He obviously wants to prevent real (un-staged) photos of their buffet from getting posted on review sites like Yelp. So, I'm posting this 1-star review out of spite. Maybe think twice next time before yelling at customers. Edit: And maybe try welcoming the transparency that the internet provides instead of trying to control it.

The food left a 24 hour plus after effect. It feels as if a hole was burned into my stomach. I got the runs immediately, had to run to the bathroom. I was one of 3 people in our party who has to use the bathroom shortly after. As for the rest of my day, I spent one too many occasions in the bathroom. On the bright side, the food tasted pretty good. Defiantly not worth it, and would not recommend to anyone else. Try your luck elsewhere!

My boyfriend is obsessed with Indian food so stops in here almost weekly to take food home from work. I typically get the saag paneer which is good (but very oily) or the Malai Kofta (not bad!) I've also had their Dahi papri chaat which doesn't travel well (big ol ball of mush by the time it gets home) but still tasty. The big winner here for me is the peshawari naan. This stuff is AMAZING. Naan stuffed with shredded coconut, almonds, raisins and apricot. I literally will go to this place just for that. Everything else is just okay.