Amber India

Reviews 6

AF

Afroze Sahib

We went to Amber at Santana Row to have a farewell dinner for one our colleagues. I have visited the Amber at San Francisco earlier, known for its good gourmet Indian cuisine. Understandably, Friday night was quite busy. The decor was pretty nice and clean. The waiting staff were courteous. The first thing that stands out is that they have a small menu compared to typical Indian restaurants, which in my opinion is a good thing as you would imagine that they make a few things very good. It was a large group of south Asian Indians and we placed orders for both meat and vegetarian items. As soon as we started consuming the food, the good impression vanished. The tandoori dishes were juicy but just too sour most likely owing to excessive marination with yogurt and lemon. The vegetarian starters were OK. Secondly, the main courses were against just too bad. You can always think that this restaurant is for Americans wanting to taste gourmet Indian food. But, I cannot imagine that Americans would go for overly sour and confused tasteless Indian food. Butter chicken and Paneer butter masala were both bad and too sour. The Bombay fish masala did not really have the flavor of the fish but just the overly sauteed onions. The pinnacle of this messup was the Hyderabadi chicken biryani. Considered by many Indians as the epitome of indian cuisine, this dish was unpardonably murdered by the chef. My wife is from hyderabad and she could not even eat two spoons of this namesake. Too much of "god knows what masala". Completely moist as though it was just mixed with chicken curry. Low quantity. I request the owner to just call it "Special Amber Biryani" and not spoil the name of Hyderabadi biryani. The final bottom line. Poor food in the name of gourmet cuisine. Low quantity. For the quality, it is definitely not worth the price. It is not enough to get a nice place and have good interiors. People come for food and that is what you need to focus on. But, this amber at Santana Row is just a disappointment. Finally, please again focus on the food and dont spoil the name of your own chain. One star for the waiting staff and the interior design.

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RA

Rangaprabhu Parthasarathy

It was a business dinner and we were a large group of people. Some of the people in the group were Indian, others multinational. Amber offered a good place to sample Indian food that was tailored for a global audience. The restaurant is located in upscale Santana Row neighborhood of San Jose. The ambiance of Amber is one of opulence. It is a good place to have dinner, sights and sounds wise and a really solid Indian restaurant showcase in the Valley. We were famished and decided to start off with appetizers. For the vegetarians, we ordered Tandoori Cauliflower and Panchpooran Paneer Tikka. Most of us had mango lassi. The appetizers arrived after a while. They both tasted great but the Tandoori cauliflower was a bad idea. It was nothing but mildly spiced cauliflower florets taken from the tandoori over. We had barely a handful of florets and the dish price was all of $15.95. To call that overpriced would be a glorious understatement. The paneer tikka portion size was also measly for the price. But at least there was some effort that went into making the paneer tikka and it tasted good. For the main course, we ordered multiple assorted bread baskets to go with the entrees. We ordered two vegetarian curries – Subz Malabar and Khubani Kofta. I didnt want to eat much of the curry and decided to go with a Mizuna and Black Figs salad with goat cheese. The salad was great. I loved it. I sampled the Subz Malabar and the Khubani Kofta, both of which were pretty good. I would not call them outstanding but they were definitely tasty. I would have liked more koftas in the Khubani Kofta. The overall party felt good about the dinner and in that aspect, Amber had done what it promised. It offered a high class Indian dining experience (with a suitably pricey bill to boot). With my 3 years in Bay Area, I could have picked a place that was much cheaper and offered much better Indian fare but Amber offered an ambiance that suited the needs of the group. For that, it is a South Bay standout.

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FR

fraulein casigan

Im a happy gal when it comes down to happy hour. I havent tried their entrees but the aromas inside the restaurant grabbed my attention to come here. I wanted a bubbly drink before getting ahead with something strong, so chose the Sparkling Bellini that tickled my nose. My next drink, Pink Elephant, had a delicate taste yet still got a good punch to make me a tad bit flustered. Ordered a small plate of the chicken tikka kulcha which was okay, but something I will not order the next time. Better to stick with the cocktails! For a short time to grab a drink after work, wished they made it until 7pm. Only an hour and a half for HH isnt enough to gulp down two drinks. However, its a nice restaurant and the food looks mouth-watering! Happy hour: Daily 5pm-6:30pm Caipirinha orange and original - $5 Well drinks, House red & white wine - $5 Beer on tap- $3 Chefs signature small plates -chicken tikka kulcha, lamb pepper fry, sesame cauliflower

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A

A Private User

I will give this restaurant another try but: I went to the Santana Row location a few weeks ago. I called and listened to their recorded directions and the recorded directions are very confusing. It was annoying enough that I mentioned it when we finally walked it. The staff wanted to argue with me over it! I was trying to help them to see that from a customers standpoint their recorded directions made no sense and they wanted to explain to me the address that is used in their recording is where the mail comes! Lol! Just what I wanted to know! I dont know if they have changed the recording but I doubt it. The food was very tasty. The service was average AT BEST. The glass of wine I had was supposed to be at a discount (between 5:00 at 6:30) but they charged the regular price till I brought it to their attention. I think I am being generous with three stars but hope it goes better on my next visit.

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TI

Timothy Daly

Had the lunch buffet here with family on the weekend and found Amber India pleasantly lovely inside. After all, it is Santana Row! The lunch buffet included butter chicken, salads, daal, eggplant, naan, fish and tandoori chicken. The buffet wasnt limited to just this, but these items were the only stand out items I can remember. There is also a dessert table with fresh fruit, kheer and jelebis. The food is pretty average in terms of flavor, though I feel like Ive had better Indian food elsewhere. From the entrees to dessert, nothing was truly outstanding here and definitely costing more than it deserves. Though the restaurant is lovely with a good waitstaff, Amber India doesnt provide memorable Indian food to say the least- its just average. Its location on The Row is convenient if youre looking for a place to eat that different from the typical American styled restaurants along The Row.

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AS

Ashu Gupta

I went to Amber india with 3 more families with high hopes. There were so many good reviews after all. But unfortunately none of us liked the place. No doubt the restaurant is at Santana row so you can expect high prices per person but at the same time we were expecting same quality in food and variety. Our group had 2 families including mine who were vegan and other 2 were non- vegeterians. There were only two curries for Vegans that too had no taste. We ended eating up lots of rice with curd. Similar was the experience with Non - Veg food. At same time the restaurant was so congested that there was not enough space to move your chair. Our group kept bumping chairs with other. Not sure if that was a bad day for the restaurant but I would think twice before visiting again and would definately check the menu before asking for a table.

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