Minar Indian Restaurant
“I've been eating here for years and it's a great hole in the wall with speedy delivery and great food.”
“Huge, fresh, and slightly charred naan, an ass-ton of rice, and the cheap prices just drove it home.”
“Overall this is definitely a place to visit if you are in Times Square and are sick of the typical American fare.”
Minar Indian Restaurant
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
8 reviews
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Good, quick solution for lunch if you are in the mood for some Indian food – everything is served cafeteria style, though they only have 4 or 5 curries to choose from. There are daily specials, which I didn't bother with since I was determined to get my 2 meat and 1 veg platter with naan. Good decision on my part! Chicken tika masala, ground lamb curry, and creamed spinach were all quite good. My only complaint is that I could have used more sauce to dip the naan with; otherwise Minar is a solid, cheap lunch fix if you're in a rush.
2 stars for sure experience I had last night ordering in Indian food from my friend's apartment in Midtown West. We were sitting on the floor playing Monopoly and awaiting the Grammy's to come on and mulled over the idea of ordering either tacos or Indian for a good while. Finally went with an option we noticed was fairly cheap and reasonably priced with some decent reviews. Also, situated very close within a 3 block radius as to her apartment.
An hour later we decide to call and check on our food order we placed. They told us it was on its way. An hour and twenty minutes later we called again and as my friend is talking to the woman she hangs up on her. The food was both AN HOUR AND TWENTY MINUTES LATE AND THEY ARE RUDE AS ALL OUT HELL WITH ZERO MANNERS.
Now, lets get to the food part. I had ordered the lamb korma (opting for something not spicy to give any acid churning away in my stomach a break), my friends ordered the lamb vindaloo, and the other the chicken tikka masala. Also with an order of garlic and cheese naan. Everything came with complimentary white rice (quite a substantial amount of it) and complimentary raita sauce. All of the entree dishes were on the soupy side. Mine was mild but expected but it held the consistency of a light sauce as opposed to an indian curry stew as I noted was quite the same with the other dishes. My friends masala had a slight bit of heat to it but it tasted like tomato soup and the vindaloo was not burn my mouth off. It was pretty mild. My personal dish had about 4-5 chunks of lamb in it and that's pretty cheap to me. I didn't order a bowl of soupy sauce, thanks. Also, meals apparently include some kind of salad. A salad for Minar is a rolled up foil ball of raw onions.
I didn't try the cheese naan as I gave up cheese for lent. But I tried the garlic and that was my only favorite part and good thing to say of the meal. The raita sauce was even horrible. It wasn't yogurt. It was like they took a spoonful of cucumber yogurt and mixed in a bowl of water to save on expenses. Also, all of our food arrived COLD. I wanted to give them three stars because I did take the weather into accountability. But then it was three blocks away. How long does it take you to walk a block? Also, the quality of the food was well below average. Cheap bad Indian food.
MAN. This place was SUPER disappointing. I chose to order from this place with some friends a few days ago because they were cheap and even though reviews were mixed, photos looked pretty decent.
I placed the order using the 1998 method – via cell phone – lol. The woman who I spoke with was pleasant enough and I ordered a lamb korma for one friend, lamb vindaloo as spicy as they could possibly make it for another and a chicken tikka masala for me. We also ordered a garlic na'an and a cheese na'an to split amongst the four of us and a side of raita sauce.
Usually I start with pros and then cons – but given how things went down, I'm going to start with the cons…
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CONS:
+ Our order was 1 hour and 20 minutes late. Yes, it was raining outside but my friend's apartment was like within a 4 block radius from Minar Indian Restaurant – our orders also weren't terribly complicated, there is no excuse.
+ After an hour had passed I called Minar Indian Restaurant and asked for a status update. The woman said our order would be arriving in about 5 minutes and I said, "Okay, thanks! I'll call back in a few if I don't hear anything…"
+ About 20 minutes later I called Minar Indian Restaurant back for a second status update and the woman gives me attitude and tells me it'll be another 5 more minutes. Just as I was on the phone with her we hear the apartment bell go off signaling that our order was finally here – I let her know that he just arrived and she makes like a sigh/huff house and slams the phone down…I of course called her back to tell her that her actions were rude and unnecessary. Then I hung up on her…yeah, I get that 2 wrongs don't make a right, but she was in the wrong and if it's one thing I LOATHE, it's getting hung up on – especially when I'm a paying customer who is receiving lousy service.
+ Our food arrived kind of cold..surprise, surprise. All of our orders came with small raitas – so much so that we wouldn't have needed the extra side of it that my lamb vindaloo-ordering friend requested and we got charged $3 for. Would have been nice for them to let us know we wouldn't be needing an extra side. Hope they enjoyed our money.
+ My chicken was okay – all 4 pieces of them. I basically got a container full of the most watered down tikka masala sauce ever. Our raita, instead of being a rich and delicious yogurt-based sauce, was more like a sad flavorless water-based soup. My friend's lamb vindaloo wasn't very spicy and my friend's lamb korma also had "watery sauce syndrome" along with a sad portion of chicken. I get that the food here is inexpensive, but I could have gotten more chicken and sauce in a McDonald's Happy Meal.
PROS:
+ The basmati rice was dry. But probably still the best part of our meals anyway.
+ The na'an was pretty fantastic. 2 whole stars for the na'an.
+ We at least got to eat food.
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Would I order from here again? Nope. Not unless I was a sadist. Bad customer service, bad manners, subpar food. No real redeeming qualities here and way too many better options available in this neighborhood. 2 stars.
Great value for your money and the portion is big!
I came to Minar after a friend recommended me. The food was above average for the money, and was served up fast. I've had their Prix Fixe lunch, and it was so much food that I saved it in my office fridge and finished it the second day. The daily specials are a great value. I have tried Fish Curry, Chicken Shalik, Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Jalfrezi and Palak Paneer from daily specials. I have yet to try those from Monday and Friday. Regarding other stuff on the menu, I've tried the Chicken Biryani, and it tasted great. Minar is my new go-to Indian lunch spot.
Good option for lunch. Cheap and very filling
I had the butter chicken with veggies, there is nothing more to say. If you look at the pictures you know exactly what you are getting.
My only problem with this place is that I think my co-workers are starting to hate me for bringing such smelly food to the office. Next time I'll bring them some
I'm a huge Indian food fan, and Minar is my go-to Seamless order when I want quick, cheap Indian food in huge portions. I wouldn't say Minar is the best Indian I've ever had (that distinction goes to an amazing meal I had in Mumbai in college), but it's pretty decent Indian at a great price point.
The naan is always very good — perfectly charred and chewy. My major issue is that the chicken tikka masala can sometimes err too far on the sweet, rather than savory, side for my personal preference. With that said, that's a pretty personal nitpick, and I don't think most people feel that way.
Overall, though, Minar is great for what it represents: filling, easy Indian food that comes to your door incredibly quickly.
Minar is fit-for-purpose. If you are in the Midtown area, looking for a cheap eats Indian meal, and not too discerning about the quality of food or the setting, then Minar is a good option, especially for lunch.
I believe Minar has two other locations in the city, and has been around for longer than I can remember. They have daily specials. The mid-week rajma (red kidney beans) entree is quite good. The South Indian fare is unremarkable–I mean the vadai, idli, dosa and uthappam. But the take-out menu has the usual suspects–dal fry, samosas, pakoras and a broad range of entrees–and is quite consistent, even if not excellent, in taste and quality.
Go to Minar when your Indian food cravings are not easily controlled. Try not to go on days when you have a busy afternoon meeting schedule–you will either smell of Indian spices or sleep from their effect.
Ordered the Masala Dosa and Seekh Kebab. So the dosa was OK considering that dosa is NOT meant for delivery as it gets soggy, and the kebab was good but a tad too spicy for me. One order of kebab had just 2 pieces rather than 3 – which would make it more fair.
I'd order again and try the meat dishes as fellow yelpers have said they have good meat, and also their other South Indian dishes since the variety is vast!
Now I'm dreaming of Uttapam and getting hungry.