Ajanta
“If I ever need the comforting taste of home (that also happens to be walking distance from Columbia) I go here.”
“But, I mostly go there because one of their servers, Shepu, is the coolest, funniest and nicest guy.”
“The delivery guy is one of the waiters or busboys, so he comes all dressed up, which is AWESOME.”
Ajanta
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
Rate and write a review Cancel reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Nothing was very good, and the delivery took a long time, too.
The online menu was confusing to figure out. There were pampadam flavors, but no pampadams. The paratha was dry. The lamb was very fatty and tough. The sauce itself was thick with grease.
If I could give this place 0 stars I would. Ajanta is probably the worst restaurant I have ever been to in NYC. In a city with such delicious cuisine where I am rarely disappointed, I was completed disgusted by the quality and taste of the food at Ajanta. After looking on yelp at the horrible reviews for this restaurant, I was really hesitant on even stepping foot in here. However, my friend was persistent on eating here since it was close to his apartment. I don't care about proximity. This place does not deserve my money.
We ordered a veggie dish with cauliflower and chicken korma. Both were almost un-edible. The chicken looked funny. It is as if they chose any part of the chicken and through it in the dish. My friend cut it open and their was blood inside of it. Completely disgusted it was hard for me to even touch the veggie dish which lacked flavor and was completely dry. I don't know how this restaurant even stays open.
When we showed the waiter the chicken he shrugged it off. I am so beyond grossed out by this place even thinking about it.
Everything about this place sucks. I live directly across the street and always smell the curry so I was excited when my roommate suggested we try it. We ordered several dishes and none of them were that good. The nan and veggie samosas were okaaay…The deep fried eggplant appetizer tasted like a big ball of dough and didn't come with a sauce. The okra entree was terrible and tasted like absolutely nothing when I requested it extra spicy. The service was awful with the manager giving attitude and slamming plates around. The waiter was totally mute and hit my fork with the water pitcher twice and only apologized when I stared at him.
The bad food was almost forgivable but on top of that awful service, this place is totally unacceptable. I'm never going back which is unfortunate because now I have to walk a couple blocks for Indian food.
It pains me to give Ajanta two stars because the staff is so accommodating and sweet. The issue does not lie in the service but rather the food. The ambiance is very nice dim lit candlelight dinner. The place does need renovation. When you first arrive they bring you this crunchy yellow circular cracker tasting contraption which I'm sure has a name. Long story short it tastes bland so add the spices they bring to your table.
The quality of the food was lacking and wasn't packed with the flavor you usually find in Indian cuisine.
I ordered the Chicken Tikka Maknee and I didn't enjoy it very much. I felt as if the sauce was bland and the chicken wasn't very soft. The rice tasted really bad and I felt as if there was something off with it. The cheese nan was good and I really enjoyed the softness and freshness.
While I most likely will not return because I feel there are a lot better Indian restaurants in NYC it was a alright experience. Prices are reasonable and a dish is appx $12.
I cant recommend anything to order other than the nan.
They were real nice here. I went to go pick up some food and they gave me tea while I waited. I thought that was real nice. The food I got was ok, not anything special though.
Awful, awful, awful.
I came in for the lunch special, which was advertised as $6.95 — and up — on the reader board outside. "And up" would prove a prescient phrase.
There were only two vegetable options, unlike many places where all curries are available in lunch form. The guy recommended garlic naan, so I went ahead and got it.
The food came out fast, and there was lots of rice. But the dish itself was verifiably tiny, hardly half a cup.
And it, quite literally, had no flavor. It was especially watery and the chickpeas and spinach were completely flavorless. No spice, no texture, nothing but shape to differentiate one component from another, all mushy and imperceptible. I ended up eating plain rice, my vegetables gone. Not that it made much difference when the entire dish tasted the same.
More than the terrible food, what frustrated me was the hidden charge. At no point did they disclose that the garlic naan was not included, and would be an additional $2.60! They explicitly pushed me toward that and made no mention of such an important fact. Whether they intended to mislead or not, failure to disclose charges for goods you push on customers is unethical.
The total bill for my $6.95 lunch special? $10.55.
This, folks, is a great case study for when you withhold a tip.
This is one of my favorite good, cheap, filling meal places. It's standard Indian fare right near Columbia. The wait staff is always polite and helpful.
I'm a big fan of their paratha (the ghee-est) and lamb dishes. Also, the appetizer sampler is very good.
This restaurant has the dubious distinction of being the only bad Indian restaurant I have ever eaten at. Don't waste your money. Steer clear of this place. It was so bad I didn't even bring home the leftovers. The sauces are bland imitations of what they are supposed to be, the veggies seem to have been frozen… yuck.