A Taste of India, at 2495 Hilyard St., offers a great lunch buffet that features items such as rice, lentils and nan, an Indian bread.
remember visiting an Indian buffet restaurant in London when I was 15 that was a complete disappointment. The servers didn’t show my companions and me where the buffet was located, so we had to search for it ourselves. When we found it, we almost wished we hadn’t. The food consisted of something that resembled ground meat, a mixture of beans and a bowl of iceberg lettuce.
Walking into A Taste of India for a buffet lunch gave me a few flashbacks to this tasteless incident, but fortunately, I walked out having renewed my faith in Indian food buffets. While the looks of the $6.99 buffet reminded me a bit of the London eatery (A Taste of India’s small food cart held only a few choices and included an iceberg lettuce salad), dishes were satisfying and flavorful.
Lunchtime diners at A Taste of India can pick from fried, crispy dumplings; soft, chewy nan bread; curried potatoes; and buttery, saffron-spiced basmati rice topped with either hearty lentils or a veggie-filled yellow curry sauce. Tandoori chicken is also offered; it’s decent, a little spicy and might taste better if it weren’t for its off-putting orange color. Out of this short list of dishes, the rice and yellow curry sauce is what the thing to get seconds of — skip the iceberg salad.
Unlimited coffee, tea and soda are available with the buffet, which is offered daily from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Sunday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. The restaurant also has a full menu, which is available during lunch hours and from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. every day except Sunday. Highlights of the menu include Indian breads for less than $3; lamb, chicken and vegetarian curries; shrimp dishes and kebabs. Entree prices range from $7.95 for most of the vegetarian curries to $15.95 for the Tandoori Mixed Grill plate. You can also get the buffet to go, either in a large container for the same price as the sit-down buffet or in a small container (a special for University students and students of a few Eugene high schools) for $3.
Although the restaurant’s exterior is an unattractive blue building, the decorations inside are charming. The walls sport photographic portraits of Indian scenes and giant fake trees with leaves and branches that spread across the ceiling. Tables sit looking well-groomed, and in a corner a fountain gently trickles water. The mood is relaxed and comfortable. While the servers were pleasant, they were not as accommodating as I would have liked. After a waiter told my companion and I to sit where we liked, he pretty much left us alone, and I had to get up and find him to request my beverage.
A Taste of India is a cheap,tasty dining option, perfect for a casual weekend lunch outing. It’s by no means gourmet, but if you’re nearly broke and longing for something on the exotic side, check it out.
