Akash India Restaurant
| Address: | 24 E 6th St, Cincinnati, OH 45202, USA |
| Phone: | +1 513-723-1300 |
| Site: | akashindia.net |
| Rating: | 3.6 |
| Working: | 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 5–8:30PM |
Location
Photos 94
Reviews 12
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A Private User
Im an out-of-towner who went to Akash because the Ethiopian Restaurant down the street closed down. Im not Indian but I have been cooking Indian cuisine for years and have some training in ayurvedic food-as-medicine. My partner & I started with samosas, mixed vegetables pakoras, a lentil patty, and a pappadum. Our entrees were bhindi masala (okra with tomatoes and warm spices) and baingan bharta (mashed cooked eggplant with onions and spices). The samosas, pakoras, and lentil patty were deep-fried; while they werent overly greasy, it still felt a bit like eating junk food. The samosa filling was standard but tasty; the pakoras were delicate and delicious but almost overwhelmed by the batter and deep-fried preparation. The lentil patty did not have a lot of flavor--it tasted like a simple thick dal shaped and fried. Not too exciting. The main courses were a bit disappointing. Both had strips of barely-cooked green bell pepper evenly distributed in the dish. When I prepare these dishes I do not use green bell pepper and found the taste and texture disconsonant with the creamy, pureed bharta and the flavors of the bhindi. I had to pick them out. The ginger in the bharta was not minced properly such that there were huge chunks of bitter, tough, distasteful ginger in every few bites. The okra was the more pleasing of the two dishes even though it was topped with more cilantro than necessary, the okra was chunked rather than sliced length-wise, and some of the okra was charred in an unpleasant way. I gave the restaurant 3 stars for while the food was below average (2 stars), the service was very good (affable, competent, willing to make a substitution) and the atmosphere calming and relaxing. I know my review may read overly harsh, but please remember my context. The food was not bad--indeed, we had a pleasant experience with the exception of a few mis-steps. There were just several things that the cooks could have done to fix the dishes and did not.
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Manu S
Its probably one of the bad restaurants in Cincinnati downtown. The basics of a good restaurant which is good food, cleanliness and good behavior of the staff is all MISSING here. They do not have anything that tastes good. Their buffet is a mess with combination food that does not go well with each other and the restaurant itself is not clean and not well maintained. They do not switch on AC/heater at all even if its freezing outside. They do not treat or greet customers. They are arrogant and lethargic. They take Indian customers for granted also they take their taste of food for granted. By far the last on my list of Indian restaurants in and around Cincinnati.
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Sachin M
Tried their lamb Biriyani for dinner but it was a big mistake. What I actually got was more like a pulao with some curry mixed in! It had green peas in it and the rice used was not basmati - just some cheat ordinary rice. I mean the dish could pass of as a poor fusion dish. But DEFINITELY not biriyani and also way overpriced at 14.99. Biriyani is hard to make and takes hours - so usually has to made in a big batch in 1 go - so its possible the biriyani they serve for their busy lunch-time is better . But thats no excuse since they should just take biriyani off their dinner menu instead of serving this very disappointing fake version.
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Han Figworthy
I had lunch here on Saturday, March 23, 2013. Their website says they have buffet EVERY day of the week. The manager informed me they only have buffet on weekdays. I had the chicken curry and chicken tikka masala. The chicken curry was good, the tikka masala had good sauce but was served in an unusual way, strips of chicken rather than chunks. Definitely made a difference. The vegetable samosa appetizers were great and the naan bread was fantastic, warm and fluffy. I have eaten at many different indian restaurants and still want to try the lunch buffet here. At this point I would say this is a fair to moderately good place.
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Mark Sickmiller
I got the lunch buffet on a Friday afternoon. It was $10. There was ample seating and food. The selections favored meat-eaters but there were a couple of options, though not well marked, for vegetarians. The naan is on the buffet, so that is nice. As a bonus, the staff maintains an excellent selection of cassette tapes on the bookshelf behind the counter. Overall, the food is passable but certainly not great Indian food, at least on the buffet. I have never ordered their regular menu items, as certainly those would be a little different (I hope).
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Rakesh Kacham
Food taste was not at all good. We asked for separate checks for our group of 5. But they charged all together with 15% gratuity ( they have a policy of 15% gratuity for group of 5 or more) and asked us to split the total bill into 5 parts. I paid almost double of what I ate. With this stupid billing, they forced us to pay 15% gratuity and also with stupid way of bill split i basically paid for other person in that bill. Very upset with food already and on top of it this billing.. Worst place to be in.
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A Private User
For seven months i stayed in cincinnati (2009 june to december 2009), Akash was my home to have Indian food. Food is good, and i have tried all the dishes everything is good. I had good rappo with the owner(used to discuss indian polity and desi mindset in US) who was cordial enough. I miss the food, I am presently in Atlanta and missing Akash. One suggestion if there are frequent changes on the buffet it would be awesome. Naveen
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Jon Sagalow
I will never go back. The owner/manager was incredibly rude. He looked at my to-go buffet box and decided it was "too full" he then opened it up, yelled at me, and then put a surcharge on my purchase. It ended up costing me 12 dollars for a mediocre at best lunch buffet. To put it in perspective, Amol costs 7.99 and has food that blows Akash out of the water. Spend your money elsewhere.
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A Private User
Instead of eating here I can kill myself..The lunch is worst part of all and also the cost is too much for that stupid food. Not sure how many days old food they are preparing...Rude people and bad food. They are creating bad name for indian food...Instead of doing this business they can rob a bank or something...i never ever go this place and I never recommed this place.
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Phani Kumar
Food is not authentic Indian and you get good service only if you are not an Indian. Most of the curries are very creamy, missing the actual Indian flavours. Owner is very greedy for tip and demands tip from people. You can try the buffet since there are more options. I would go there only if I have no other option. If you are an American, you might like this place.
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Chris Thomas
Ive only had the buffet at lunch (I understand the food ordered from the menu is very good) and have been going a few years. The buffet is fine, its consistently decent food but not amazing. Everything is kept mild but they provide the chutney/relish stuff of various heats to customize. Love the fried pakoras which rotate types.
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Heather Kereluik
This is probably one of the better Indian restaurants in town. They have a spice scale of 1-6. My husband tried a level 5 and didnt think it was spicy enough. My tikka masala tasted great, it was just a 1 spiciness level. Their garlic nan tasted very good. Another big plus is their alcohol selection and lower alcohol prices.
