Marilu F.
Yelp
My boyfriend's stepsister and her husband live in Albany and they frequent Spicy Mint. Given that my boyfriend's stepsister's husband is Indian and he loves this place, then I figured it must be to die for. I mean, if you're Indian and eating at an Indian restaurant, it means that it meets your standards. You recognize authentic flavors, you know what you are getting, etc. Such was the reasoning that made me think this buffet would be better than it actually was.
Don't get me wrong. I'm probably making it sound way worse than it actually was. The restaurant can be found in a plaza, and at first glance, looks way smaller than it actually is. Once you open the door and are led inside, you see that it is much bigger than it looks. There is ample spacing in the tables, much like there is parking up front. The station itself where the buffet is, though, is a bit crowded, but if you are civilized and go in turns, you should do all right.
The service was superb. The waiter we had clearly knew my boyfriend's stepsister and her husband. They really are regulars here! If it's for the customer service alone, I definitely understand it. Not to mention that a buffet that is moderately priced for Indian food isn't something you see every day. Or heck, it isn't something that you see in South Florida where we all happen to be from. In terms of novelty and price, I don't think this place can be beat. Unfortunately, my removal of stars deals with lack of flavor.
I only began eating Indian cuisine a few months ago. I know I have still much to learn about the spices that go into these dishes. What I can say though is that the food I had in general was bland. I mean, it did have seasoning as I felt tinges of it, but compared to my favorite Indian restaurant in Miami, it lacked heat. I don't know if it's because I grabbed food from the buffet. My boyfriend's stepsister did say we could order from the regular menu, which we did end up doing for samosas, but that's about it.
The samosas were massive. We couldn't finish them all and we were lucky they let us take them home. In terms of what we grabbed from the buffet, everything was essentially there except appetizers and naan. We had two orders of naan: onion and garlic. Both were perfect, the garlic being my preferred choice. Something to note as well pertaining to the buffet: there were a lot of options, especially for vegetarians. Thus, vegetarians rejoice: you could have yourselves a feast! Funnily enough, I tended to prefer the vegetarian and noodle dishes over the meat ones.
My feelings are ultimately conflicted. I want to rate this place so much more than what I am rating it, but I just can't. It wouldn't be right. I mean, the food was fair and I enjoyed myself, but when you find yourself in one place thinking of another, that's just inconceivable.