Jo's Indian Kitchen

Solid food - cooked to order with the right amount of spice. Really hit the spot. Atmosphere was also (mostly) great. While we were there, another customer got the bill and was very rude when the owner didn’t comp something that she didn’t like. She kept saying “I didn’t eat it” as if she didn’t order it. And then kept saying some other place was better. The owner was surprisingly calm and composed in the face of this rudeness. It took everything I had not to laugh at the facial expressions of the man sitting next to the rude customer. After she left, we all had a collective “Did that really just happen? What is her problem?” debrief, a real nice community moment. I had the Tikka Masala but my friend had the Shrimp Biryani (pictured) and enjoyed it.

I was walking back home through Porter Square and decided to finally try this restaurant, since I always pass by but never stop in. I ordered the vegetable biryani, chicken, masala tea, and spinach bread and honestly, it turned out to be the worst dining experience I’ve had in my 10 years living in Harvard Sq/ Cambridge. It now makes sense why this restaurant has only 3 stars and is often empty when I walk by. When the biryani arrived, it came in a very small plate and looked nothing like real biryani, it was just white rice mixed with frozen vegetables. I immediately called the server (who I believe is also the owner) and told him that this wasn’t what I expected and that I didn’t want it. He took it away without saying much. When he brought the check, I noticed that the chicken biryani was still included. I asked him to remove it since I didn’t eat it. He refused, saying that because he threw it away, it was “wasted” and I still had to pay for it. I explained that I wasn’t going to pay for something I didn’t eat or even liked..especially when the dish wasn’t as described. Instead of handling it professionally, he argued with me, called me “trash,” and continued to be extremely rude And Overpowering by saying lies! Then, another woman possibly his wife or an employee came out from the kitchen and started yelling as well, insisting that I still had to pay for the biryani. The entire situation was uncomfortable and unprofessional and both employees were verbally Aggressive. My advice: avoid this place. The food was terrible, the staff were aggressive and disrespectful, and the biryani was nothing like it should be. I documented everything with photos and videos because I genuinely couldn’t believe how I was treated. I ended up paying only for my tea and the bread I ordered which was the only decent part of the meal. go to Nirvana next door And you will see how the biryani looks like. I eat biryani in all the Indian restaurants, and I never saw worse than this biryani in my life!

This hidden gem 💎should be rated at least 4.5+ ⭐️ on Google Review. This restaurant had one of the best naan bread I’ve had in my life - it’s perfect balance of being chewy and well baked. I will be coming again just for the naans. I highly recommend the lunch special menu $15 that comes with variety of dipping flavours and also 1 piece of chicken + dessert. The staff (family owned) is friendly and gives Indian mom&pop vibes. Proportion is large and served quick. No waiting lines, which is a nice contrast to some nearby stores with unreasonable wait times. Delicious food, no wait time, friendly mom&pop store, healthy menu, and reasonably priced… should definitely be rated 4.5+ ⭐️

Amazing traditional Punjabi food. Feels very authentic and the flavors are amazing. Very accommodative on customization. Vegetarian thali is the combo I’ve ever eaten. Their chats are also amazing. Masala Chai is nice. Kind people who serve food with lots of dedication. My go to place when I want to feel good with homely authentic Indian style food. Great presentation of food and genuinely tasty food.

Second time here and was still very pleased. We tried completely different dishes than the previous time and all were great. I got Rupee beer, a thali lunch plate that came with rice and kheer, and samosa chaat. The owner and workers are extremely kind, the tables/booths are very clean, and the menu has a wide variety of both veg and non-veg.

This is the second time my boyfriend and I dined at Jo’s and it was an absolutely wonderful experience. The first time we ate there we knew 100% we had to come back. It was by far the best Indian food I have eaten. My boyfriend said it tasted just how his mother makes it. I highly suggest the Mutter Paneer and Aloo Tikki Chat.

My first Indian food! It's really good!!

The service is excellent but the food is merely acceptable. The sambhar soup and mamosa were good but the garlic naan was weird. There was simply chopped garlic inside the naan and that meant there wasn't an even garlic flavor. Some bites tasted only of cilantro. I got the non-veg thali and while the rice and plain naan were fine, the curries were rather bland. Perhaps it was because I got mild but there wasn't a lot of flavor? I'd argue that mild should describe the spicy level and not the overall flavor profile. The chicken tikka was also hot but the lamb curry was nearly room temperature right when it got to the table. I chose the kheer as dessert and that was good. It's essentially a spiced rice pudding. Overall, the food was fine but honestly not memorable.

I had such an incredible experience here. Excellent food. Tremendous service. Will recommend to anyone in Porter square or the Boston area

I was walking back home through Porter Square and decided to finally try this restaurant, since I always pass by but never stop in. I ordered the vegetable biryani, chicken, masala tea, and spinach bread and honestly, it turned out to be the worst dining experience I've had in my 10 years living in Harvard Sq/ Cambridge. It now makes sense why this restaurant has only 3 stars and is often empty when I walk by. When the biryani arrived, it came in a very small plate and looked nothing like real biryani, it was just white rice mixed with frozen vegetables. I immediately called the server (who I believe is also the owner) and told him that this wasn't what I expected and that I didn't want it. He took it away without saying much. When he brought the check, I noticed that the chicken biryani was still included. I asked him to remove it since I didn't eat it. He refused, saying that because he threw it away, it was "wasted" and I still had to pay for it. I explained that I wasn't going to pay for something I didn't eat or even liked..especially when the dish wasn't as described. Instead of handling it professionally, he argued with me, called me "trash," and continued to be extremely rude And Overpowering by saying lies! Then, another woman possibly his wife or an employee came out from the kitchen and started yelling as well, insisting that I still had to pay for the biryani. The entire situation was uncomfortable and unprofessional and both employees were verbally Aggressive. My advice: avoid this place. The food was terrible, the staff were aggressive and disrespectful, and the biryani was nothing like it should be. I documented everything with photos and videos because I genuinely couldn't believe how I was treated. I ended up paying only for my tea and the bread I ordered which was the only decent part of the meal. go to Nirvana next door And you will see how the biryani looks like. I eat biryani in all the Indian restaurants, and I never saw worse than this biryani in my life!

Such accommodating service and the food was delicious too! They are open until 10pm, which was so nice for a late night meal. The chicken coconut came with basmati rice and it was so delicious. The dish was creamy and flavorful and went incredibly with the rice. I asked for it to be hot and the dish was indeed incredibly spicy. Most places have lower spice levels but this place exceeded all expectations!!!

Joe's Indian restaurant on Mass Ave in Porter Sq is awesome. The chef makes fantastic." street food." And her spinach and cheese nan is the best we have ever had. Atmosphere is casual and friendly. They will be seeing a lot of us.

Formerly passage to India, but same owners. I use to come to passage to India prepandemic and the lamb curry and chicken Tikka were great choices. I chose the lamb curry again. And new on this menu, spinach and cheese Naan! Why more places don't do spinach Naan, I'm not sure. Both were great, Naan was fresh, and the lamb curry still has that homemade taste, great balance and control of all spices. In terms of hotness I ordered the hot, and was the right level. There's an atomic level as well. I think I went on a slow day or perhaps they reopened recently, in either case STILL recommend this place! I noticed some street food menu adds, most I can't have due to my chick pea allergy, but menu selection seems good!

A friend and I had such a good meal here! The food tasted so fresh, the spices in our dishes were delicious, and the service was kind. It was a lovely oasis of calm. It's so unusual to feel like a real guest in a restaurant these days.

I stopped in last Friday for the first time and had the best Aloo Ghobi ever! Aloo Ghobi is my favorite dish and I do order it every time I get Indian Food. Why this was the best is because of how fresh it was and the chef added just a little bit fresh red onion, vegetables and a sprig of a certain herb that gave it brightness. This felt like a homemade dish and not a restaurant. The same goes for the Mint Chutney and Aloo Nan! Also, the pricing was better than any other place and they do offer lunchtime pricing which makes it a great way to order multiple dishes and try different things. The owner was very kind and I look forward to coming back and bringing some friends to this hidden jewel restaurant in Porter Square!

Food and service were great. Would definitely eat there again. Family owned restaurant.

Ultimately, they're getting this 2-star because the rip-off that this meal was was so egregious. $24.50 for a small to-go plate. I went in for the first time and ordered a non-veggie Thali to go (22.95 + tax). Jo's recently replaced another Indian place that moved so I wanted to try them out. This is literally my go-to every time I order Indian--I've probably ordered this same meal at other places well over a dozen times before. A standard Thali usually comes with rice, two meats, a soup, a dessert, 1-2 naan, a samosa and 3 small containers of sauces. Each item is usually portioned individually into deli containers so you're getting a good-sized serving. That's what makes it worth the price. Jo's gave the entire meal in a standard plastic container which wasn't even filled. It was about 1/3 full, maybe 1/2 at most. It looked like a container looks after someone has eaten half the meal, and put away the other half for later on. Only the soup was in a separate deli container. They gave 1/2 a piece of naan (I've literally never, ever gotten a naan cut in 1/2). The food took 20 minutes, but was barely room temperature when I tasted it. It also tasted un-fresh, like it was from earlier in the day. The flavors were only okay. I think Jo's is more of a mom n' pop shop. The quality and the portion of food is mom n' pop takeout. The place appears at the restaurant-dining level but it isn't at all. To me, they should be more honest and just price point at the level that's appropriate to what they actually offer.

We ordered takeout from Jo's on a Friday evening after not being able to find a reliable and consistent option in Davis/Porter Square after moving from Kendall Square earlier this year. My wife picked the order up so I cannot comment on the space or pick up experience, but we plan to return to dine at the establishment so I will update the review once I have that experience. The food was great and the value was superb. The great thing is that some places will put a LOT of oil, butter, and other fats into the dishes and rice that result in an "oil slick" feeling in your mouth. Jo's was the exact opposite - packing tons of flavor, spice (both fragrant and spicy-hot), and value into the dishes we've grown to love and enjoy like chicken vindaloo, baingan bhartha eggplant, garlic naan, and the cumin-basmati rice. We were pleased with everything we got (I forgot the veggie samosas above as well), and the price point was very good as well. It was cheaper than more greasy and smaller dishes we've had in the past 2 years as well. All in all, a VERY impressive first experience with Jo's. I look forward to dining in and getting to chat with the staff and experience it from that seat instead of at our home next time around!

Once you come here, you'll always come back! This is the best Indian food in the area, cooked with love and served with flair by a wonderful Indian couple! Three of us ordered the Thali (there are both vegetarian and meat options) along with the incredible home-made Mango ice cream. The place is spotless, conveniently located right across from the Porter Square T stop, and very family friendly. I haven't had such great Indian food since I was in India.

We had a fine meal at Jo's last night. Service was prompt and polite. Prices very reasonable. We will be back.

Delicious. We ordered Hot and it was just that, perfect amount of heat. We also ordered the spinach and cheese nan, incredible

Love Jo's! The mild goat curry is delicious. Excellent and friendly service. One of my favorite neighborhood spots!

Best kept secret in Porter Square. Really good food and some Indian street food to try! We take out as is sadly empty and a little austere but love the food.

wonderful service, charming owners, quiet atmosphere, delicious delicious food! we'll be back!

Delicious food and the interior design of the dining is new and lovely. A personal experience I had that showed me they care about their customers: Amazing customer serves and caring. I ordered a Chicken tikka Marsala lick up. Unfortunately they made a small mistake and gave me butter checkin that was shredded. I was not happy and called to ask why is there no chicken chunks, they were very sorry and wanted to replace my meal. I said forget it, since I already went home and didn't want to cause a stink. They offered to take my name down for the next time I came in. Then the next day a woman from the restaurant personally called me and insisted they give me a free meal, this was very honorable and I'm very grateful they cared so much. I did go in to get the meal since food is expense these days and to also let them know how appreciative I am of them. They actually did car ends were very welcoming, positive and considerate. Also the food is delicious! Very please with their serves.

So disappointed that this has changed from Taste of India which used to be in this space. I decided to check it out w/ my friend & we were both not happy w/ what transpired. The food is not really what one expects when asking for mild & medium. What we got was hot & spicy & it was way too much & really unfortunate. I wanted to taste the actual food I was eating but that wasn't even possible, totally overdo it on the heat, awful. What was confusing was how he saw I was not happy w/ this & asked me what else he could get for me so gets me a small bowl of dal (lentils). So my friend & I barely ate more than two bites of our food & we got charged for it. Seriously? Why are you charging us when obviously I had to get something else & he barely ate anything? Not ok. Not only that but the naan we got was thin, dry, & crispy which wasn't appetizing. Such a shame.

The food was splendid and the server was friendly and kind. The chaat, tofu masala, roti, basmati rice, Limca, and eggplant baingan bharta were really well-made and tasted way better than what I expected or had before. My boyfriend said the chaat was especially good. The place is clean, well-decorated, and tasteful.

Very Spicy - got "medium," and it left everyone at the table in tears. underneath the heat, the chicken tikka masala was undersalted and not rich or creamy, and the tamarind chutney was not sweet at all... The naan and garlic naan were fine. The vegetable samosa was just ok - a bit soft, not crispy, & the not-sweet tamarind was not helpful.. However, the Saag Paneer was delicious, despite the intense medium heat. this was creamy, well-salted, well-spiced, and may be the best we've ever had... So, next time, get this and only ask for "Mild" spiciness. Also, the unsauced chicken tikka itself (in the chicken tikka masala sauce) was well-cooked, a lovely texture. I'm going to add salt and cream &/or butter to reheat the leftovers. The basmati was fluffy, and we enjoyed the cardamom seeds scenting it. Could use some butter. Quite pricey for the quality and area, but the saag will bring us back.

I had dinner at Jo's Indian Cuisine recently. The place wasn't too busy on a Sunday night and I took a seat in the front section of the dining room. I already knew what I wanted to order and decided on the Non-Vegetarian Thali ($22.95 plus tax), a complete dinner for 1, which included choice of soup, meat samosa, chicken Tikka masala, lamb curry, basmati rice, nan, and choice of dessert. Also, I was asked my spice preference before preparation. The Sambhar Soup arrived piping hot, a vegetable lentil soup with curry leaves and mustard seed. The soup was great! The Meat Samosa was slightly dry and chewy outside, filled with ground lamb, spices, and a sweet dipping sauce provided. Next, the Thali platter arrived with the 2 meat items, basmati rice, raita, and 2 hot soft nans. Both the chicken Tikka masala and lamb curry had good flavors and the meats were tender in the thick sauces. The raita was nice and cool, not thick. The basmati rice was cooked just right. The hot nan bread were soft. For dessert, I chose Gulab Jamun, 2 soft milk balls served in cold in a sweet syrup. That was a enough tasty food to enjoy in one sitting. Overall, the food I had was enjoyable and I am so glad that this Indian restaurant offers Thali (sampler meal) for lunch and dinner. While I was eating, the majority of the foot traffic here was picking up takeout and delivery orders. I've ordered Indian takeout near my home, but I still prefer the dine-in experience with Indian cuisine.

Very good, (I think) authentic Indian food in a casual but nice environment. Very attentive staff. The chicken korma was really good, especially with their nan. My sense is that the Boston area doesn't have great Indian spots but this was definitely quite enjoyable!

The veggie samosas are the best I've ever had. The pastry is fresh and not oily. Jo knows what they're doing around a samosa. We definitely swing by to pick up a couple all the time

My order was a take out and had ordered Shahi paneer and naan. Taste was good. It would have been good if the accompanying rice would have been cooked some more. Overall good experience as the food was freshly cooked.

We only did takeout from here, but the restaurant seems clean and comfortable and although not upscale,, it's certainly well put together and worth trying for dine in. Also, according to my husband who picked up our dinner, the employees were extremely pleasant and the kitchen was kind enough to follow our request that both the Vegetable Samosas and the Aloo Paratha be real spicy, along with the Coconut Lamb ($22) which we always ask for it too as very hot despite where we go for Indian cuisine. We ordered through Grubhub and had a 35% discount off the total check but not to exceed $10. Personally, next time we try again, we definitely won't be using Grubhub for pickup because each menu item turned out to be much more expensive compared to looking at Jo's paper menu in the actual restaurant. I think that the Vegetable Samosas ran about $3 more (we paid $10 rather than $7), and the Coconut Lamb was $4 higher than the $18 shown on Grabbull Direct. Obviously, it would be foolish to throw away money by using Grubhub again. As for the taste and portion sizes, it's been some time since we got our food from here so my memory isn't really that clear about it anymore, but what I do recall is that everything we ate had lots of flavor and ingredients were of high quality... Fortunately, the Coconut Lamb was nicely tender without there being big chunks of lamb like we've occasionally gotten at other restaurants. This is a female owned and operated business, so make sure to try them out for yourselves and don't forget that if you like spicy you can definitely request that items such as the samosas and aloo paratha be modified to your liking. Enjoy!

We had a great experience at Jo's tonight. The garlic naan, thali, samosas, and lassi we're all great. Everyone there was courteous and attentive. We will go back soon!

So happy I found them at Porter Square having moved from their former location in Brookline. The food was excellent then and equally as good now. Stopped in with my staff after an event and enjoyed the appetizer mixed platter, lamb korma, and chicken vindaloo. One of my staff had never had Indian food and soon discovered he truly liked it. Excellent food and service. Great meal. Cindy L.

The food was good and the place was clean, but we were denied a 10% student discount that was clearly stated on the menu without a cash requirement because we wanted to pay by credit card and not cash. We went on a weekday. May have to go to Nirvana in the future unless this is addressed. Edit: reduced rating from two to one stars for excusing rather than addressing my concern.

Soup was $10 but was not even full. amount of food for the money is not worth it. I paid over $100 but recieved very little food. Rasmalai was absoulutely horrible. Cannot believe they actually sent it as such.

Ended up ordering takeout on opening night. Food was pretty good, staff was friendly. Ordered medium spice which was pretty mild in my opinion. Would definitely order from here again.

We used to come to Passage to India but now Jo's opened in its place and am grateful there is still an Indian restaurant. It is delicious! I will be back when I'm in town! The butter chicken is amazing!!

Food is delicious, slightly expensive but very worth it. We ordered the Jo's mixed appetizer platter and the non-vegetarian thali. Incredible! Best Indian food in the area.

We loved passage to India and were sad to see it go but Jo's doesn't skip a beat! The food was perfectly prepared with the exact level of spiciness (medium). The food was delivered and arrived piping hot so I can only imagine what it's like in person, we will try soon. We had butter chicken, spinach and chick peas, spinach naan, and vegetable samosa. All really tasty. Even the basmati rice was superb. The only thing we were not used to were the condiments. The tamarind sauce had the consistency of soy sauce and the mint chutney was tasty but the color was off-putting. The Onion chutney was pretty much as we are used to. Anyway Porter Square has another great Indian restaurant that delivers. We wish the new owners a lot of success, they deserve it!

Went here with 4 of my friends for dinner last night. Food was excellent! We had chicken Masala, Chicken Korma, Vegetable Korma, Chicken Vindaloo, and Lamb Madras. All of us finished everything. Spices and flavors were so good. We are planning our trip back to this restaurant. Highly recommend.

Really not happening at all, very disappointing!! My father and I ordered the coconut lamb, curry shrimp, saag paneer, veggie pakoras and mango lassies. Shrimp was over cooked, curry was watery with little flavor (asked for very spicy and it wasn't spicy at all), lamb seemed old, spinach had little flavor, and generally lackluster food with no love. I figured I'd try this place again because I thought that it was under new management, but just read a review saying it's the same management and just a new name!! Wish I read that before I entered the place. I don't know what kind of ratings they had before, but I wonder if they changed the name in order to reset the negative reviews that they may have had? Just sayin'.... It's a shame - great location, but they need to find some quality chefs and order quality ingredients. Not sure what these other 7 (as of this writing) customers see in this place, maybe they've never had quality Indian food, but there are far better choices, just maybe not so close by, but I'll be looking.

Delicious! Chicken korma medium spice had just the right amount of heat and spices. Vegetable pakora perfectly crisp with light fry and not oily. Spinach naan nice change from traditional naan. We picked up for takeout and food was hot and travelled well. The restaurant was very clean and bright and would be nice to dine in.

My first visit to this place was disappointing. I love Indian food and have been to dozens of restaurants in Europe, Malaysia, Singapore, India and the US. I did a thali lunch take out and a half chicken tandoori. The food was reasonably priced and very affordable but I found the thali unsatisfying. The chicken provided with the thali was a single drumstick and chicken tikka with gravy with a spinach dish, a nan and a small kheer for dessert. I think its better to have more variety in a thali and charge more. And raita is pretty standard with thali but none was provided. I will not be going back unless it improves. They need to up their game. Incidentally there was only one other couple there at lunchtime.