Amber

Reviews 6

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Naz saeed

I have been to this restaurant several times over the past two years, and I always a had a great experience and great buffet. I had not been there for over 4 months and I was very excited and looking forward to my lunch there this past Friday. A friend, also a huge Indian food fan,to whom I had raved about this place and got on BART specifically to go to Amber, arrived around 1:30pm and to my dismay, We were seated at the far end near the rear EXIT. A basket with 3/4 of a naan bread and two glasses of room temperature water were placed while we waited in the very long buffet line. The service was non-existant. and no one ever filled our water glass not to mention that no one ever came to ask if we wanted anything other than water to drink or offer more naan. No server passed us by at all. I had previously experienced a great buffet with variety, many desert choices. This time they were running out of everything, only two desert variety, and the buffet was not replenished in time. So the line moved very slowly. There was quite a few vegetarian options, but all meat options including chicken and lamb were over cooked and dry. I was amazed at the poor quality and quantity of the lunch buffet. I had to apologize to my friend several times for poor service and hoped this was a one time fluke. She seemed to like the vegetarian dishes. It cost $17.95 per person for just the lunch buffet. But for that price, I am not willing to risk it again. Frankly, I have had much better for a lot less in the peninsula and the South Bay.

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Nancy Ho

I went with a large group of 8 relatives, including a fussy child and an equally fussy elderly, Chinese auntie, and all of us had a fantastic experience. The ambiance was chic, the food was well flavored, and the service was great (a very nice woman with an Irish accent, I cant quite remember her name...) We ordered the cauliflower bezule and samosas for appetizers. The cauliflower dish had a hint of coconut, and was delicious. The samoses were good, but as good as samosas anywhere else. The fussy child would only eat meat and was not exactly adventurous, so we got the typical Indian buffet fare, including tandoori chicken, butter chicken, and kashmiri roganjosh. These dishes are solid, but again, as good as you can find them at any Indian buffet. The dishes that shined were actually the few vegetarian dishes we got, including the baby eggplant, the daal amber, and the paneer lababdar. I also liked the fact that the food did not smell like it was coated in a layer of butter (even if there was plenty in it!), and the flavors of the food were able to stand out. This is not a cheap place, but definitely worth it for a treat every once in a while. Also, definitely make a reservation. We came in at 9 pm and the place was still packed.

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Hee Jung Ryu

Excellent food. We had a family style: 1 appetizer dish of Aloo Peas Samosa and 2 main dishes of Tandoori Chicken and Snap Peas & King Trumpet Mushroom with a Naan. They were all amazing. The portion was perfect for two people. Aloo Peas Samosa had four small samosas. Tandoori Chicken had four regular-sized pieces of mildly spicy chicken. The chicken was mild enough to satisfy a non-Indian palate. Snap Peas & King Trumpet Mushroom was much more spicier, but the spiciness was perfect with the combination of the mildly spicy Tandoori Chicken and Naan. It looked like a hot stew with very little water. It tasted very delicious. Overall, the food was great. I give "Very Good" instead of "Excellent" for two reasons. 1. It was very pricy. I think it is because of the location and the luxurious atmosphere. 2. There was a little clumsiness. The waters refilled my water every now and then. However, they dropped a fork while placing one of the two main dishes on our table with a loud noise. And, a water dropped a candle; lucky for everyone at that restaurant because he caught the candle with the light on before it hit the ground. Nevertheless, I admit that everyone was very friendly and that the food was amazing.

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Nina Radley

Overpriced and unfortunately not very good. My favorite thing about Indian food is the complex flavors, I ordered the avocado scallops and all I tasted was chili powder, very flat :(. The avocado and banana mix was actually pretty good. I ordered this based on the waiters strong recommendation and considering how bland it was, I kinda think he was just recommending the more expensive dish. Portion sizes were miniscule, rice was extra-4$ per bowl and the bowl it came in for two people was smaller than the bowl I use for cereal (supposedly because it had saffron in it, but you cant taste it). My husbands butter chicken was better than my dish, but still not a lot of flavor. Ive never been this disappointed by Indian food. I wouldnt say it was bad food, but it wasnt good Indian food and it definitely wasnt good enough to justify the prices. The server got a big table so he ignored us and there was stuff floating in my husbands water. When he told one of the servers the guy said it was fine because its filtered water, so maybe theres a cleanliness thing going on there? Idk, but I wouldve hoped they would replace the glass and water instead of insisting it was fine. I would not recommend this restaurant.

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Ashish Kumar

The good: The food was awesome. It is true that the food is savory. There are few dishes on the menu compared to the number of dishes you can find on the menu of an average Indian restaurant. The spice level in the food was perfect (my compliments to the chef). The staff was well mannered and courteous. The restaurant was clean and has ample seating space. The tables are appropriately placed far enough from each other such that it does not feel too crowded even during the peak hour for dinner. The ambiance is classy. The lighting was low and there was a real candle on the table. The table itself was dark colored glass with dark chairs. In this restaurant you can be sure that your attention will not be claimed by brazen colors or loud music or outofplace objects. This restaurant features some exquisite drinks on the menu. The bad: The food isnt cheap but you get what you pay for. The restaurant looks busy. The ambiance was definitely not calm. It isnt a place I would go for a romantic night. This place is appropriate for business dinners where you want a slightly relaxing atmosphere and your food is paid for by the company. Over all good experience. Will definitely visit this place again.

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Sudipto Desmukh

Three reasons why I wont come to this place ever again - 1) OVERPRICED and TASTELESS BUFFET : The buffet me and my wife had at this place today totally sucked. Even food trucks have more delicious food. At $25, having crappy chicken wings, rubbish baigan bharta and biryani and no fish doesnt make sense. 2) FOOD WASTAGE - So the waiter gives us a basket of nans without asking us. We dont even touch them and humbly ask the manger to take them away as we havent even touched them. He said its contaminated and they will throw them off. We request him to give it to us in a to-go box so that we can give it to a homeless guy. He refuses saying that California law doesnt allow him to do so. We offer to buy those nans as we dont like untouched food to be wasted, he refuses even that. 3) MANAGER : The guy whom we dealt for the above issue was the manager. Moreover he spoke in a demeaning tone. No hopes from this place. This place is a big farce. I have No RESPECT for such places which force food on you and then throw untocuhed food off without even thinking about homeless people right outside their gate.

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