Royal India

See Gone, But Not Forgotten

Royal India was an Indian restaurant located minutes from RIT on Jefferson Road in Henrietta.

It opened on May 23, 2012.
It was closed as of early May 2013 and the second-coming of Raj Mahal will take its place.

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2012-06-29 14:42:24   We went to Royal India for the lunch buffet today and I was impressed! The inside space is very nice and the woman who served us was pleasant and attentive (despite being the only one serving at that time). The buffet was a little smaller than some other places I've been to, but everything tasted fresh and flavorful, and there was enough variety for me, a vegetarian, and my fiancé, who loves meat. I would recommend them! —MeganLangley

2012-06-30 17:01:25   Last night my wife and I decided to use our recently purchased groupon for Royal India to start out an adventurous date night. We are very easy-going, easy to please and love trying new restaurants around Rochester. The excitement ended the minute we opened the door. We walked in to an uncomfortably quiet, overly decorated, nearly empty dining room. There are roughly 40 overly-set tables and we were one of two other tables dining...on a Friday...at 7pm. Huh... So we are rushed to a corner booth by(I'm assuming an owner)who said almost nothing to us. The menu is vast and uses poorly descriptive adjectives that do little to describe anything to two Americans who have little experience with Indian food. Not a problem though, I'm sure the cordial staff will help us decide!! Wrong. The owner quickly returned and asked if we were ready to order, followed by another waitress (from Texas as we heard her mention that twice) and both offered no help with the menu. We asked the Texan for a vegetarian starter suggestion and she brought us out a fried cornucopia that reminded me of TGIfridays. Damn. This was followed by the owner returning to our table to ask why we decided to not have drinks . She actually asked why we only wanted water!! She did the same thing to another table, at which point the patron responded, " I don't drink alcohol." Huh... At this point this is getting strange.

We order Veg. Thali and Veg. Jalfrazie and a side of Naan. The Texan brings out the food and can't tell us which is which and is, "having a brain fart..." Huh. I respond, "It's fine you can just put them both down because we are going to share." While eating we heard the Texan bring out a "Saposa" and was quickly corrected by the patron that she brought a "Samosa" at which point she just uncomfortably laughed. Whoops! Next we hear her bring out a dish that has chicken in it to a women who quickly asks if there is chicken in it because she is vegetarian. The texan responds, "Yeah there's chicken but that's what you ordered, then proceeded to walk away. Problem solved! WOW! This is getting crazy. Now this was all very easy to overhear as you could hear a pin drop in the painfully quiet and overly formal environment. What was most unfortunate was the Vegetarian Jalfrazie was really delicious and flavorful! The Thali was also pretty interesting and enjoyable to eat, aside from a massive fried ball of potatoes and peas that came with it. What's wrong with just potatoes and peas?! And the Naan was absolutely perfect!

We finished eating as quick as possible just to get the F*%# out the there! We get a few take home containers and the owner asks if we would like some dessert. I respond with a "No thank you." She has the audacity to responds with, "No drinks, no dessert, just no thank you no thank you no thank you." and walks away. Seriously?! I was just belittled on our first date in like a month while using a groupon to try a new restaurant that I would never go to otherwise?! The point of groupon is to get new customers in your business to charm them, win them over, make them want to come back and tell all your friends how amazing it was!! Holy hell, she managed to do the exact opposite. PLEASE don't even eat here! There are several Indian places in/around Rochester, Thali of India, The India House, Tandoor of India, Haveli Indian Cuisine,etc. All of which will fight for your business and not try to nickel and dime you, or make you feel extremely uncomfortable or belittle you... Ridiculous.

The icing on the cake... A few minutes after speed walking out of there my wife starts complaining about how much the tops of her feet itch, as she had sandals on. Well later in the night we notice that she has no less than eight bites on the tops of her feet!! Gross. I can not make this stuff up. Word of advice; wear a hazmat suit if planning on dining here. —kmchargue

2012-07-19 13:01:43   Just had the lunch buffet here ($10) and was not attacked by bugs. I found the food bland. My companion liked it. This would be a good restaurant to introduce someone to Indian food if they're nervous about intensely flavored food. I just prefer more spice and flavor, and Taste of India is still my favorite Indian restaurant for that reason. Again, the food is pretty good, just not interesting enough overall for me. —KatieSchmitz

2012-07-25 19:46:01   My wife and I just used our groupon. We really enjoyed this place. I ordered chicken vindaloo and she had chicken makhani. My vindaloo was good, not great - but her makhani was the best I've ever had. So, so good. I had serious order envy from that. Sadly, unless more people go I fear not many will get a chance to eat the awesome chicken makhani, as we were the only guests for the dinner hour this evening. If you are a butter chicken fan, go and enjoy! —foxual

2012-08-31 11:43:05   Also, please note that their sign on the door now says that they are closed on Mondays! —MeganLangley

2013-02-10 00:04:50   This place will not last. When we arrived on Saturday, we were seated in a completely empty dining room. This was at 1PM. We had a bad feeling from the get-go. With so many other Indian restaurants in Rochester, you'd think each one would be working diligently to outdo the other, especially this one, being right next door to what I believe is the best Indian Restaurant in Rocheseter, Tandoor of India. They did have a wide selection of entrees, but like a previous poster has stated, everything seemed a little bland. The Mahkini was decent, but the Tandori chicken was dry. There was not much for dessert except some Rice Pudding. I think Tandoor has a much more better presentation, the food taste fresher there, and the service so much friendlier. This place may not even last a year, especially from reading the comments below. —cheframsey