Indian Rasoi

We've been twice now for dinner and lunch. It has the same feel as the space always had under it's prior iteration (beautiful decor surrounding small tight tables with cloth napkins and an occasional need to get up and find the wait staff). Though the menu is similar to every other Indian restaurant​in the area, the food here is a bit unique. I like the change. Warning: even "medium spicy" is pretty hot!

***3.5 Stars*** Indian Rasoi has quickly become my go-to Indian food spot for workday lunches. I'm pretty boring when it comes to quickish Indian food and usually stick the standard chicken tikka masala. It's honestly the only thing that I've had here, but it tastes better and better each time that I come back to get it. This is a no frills down home Indian restaurant. The décor is actually really fun though! I love the colorful umbrellas on the ceiling and personalized artwork. This is not a huge place. There's maybe about 7 or 8 tables in total, but it had a very inviting atmosphere and it doesn't feel cramped. Although the staff is nice, service is always hit and miss. I feel like the majority of the time, it's always slow even when I'm the only person there. There seems to always be two gentlemen running the show. I think that one of them cooks the food fresh and the other handles the to-go and dine in clients. Maybe a bit short staffed?! I appreciate that they are cooking everything fresh. For that reason, I can understand the long waits for service and food sometimes. But once the food hits my table, my senses start to activate. The smells emanating from this place are so wonderful. The tikka masala is always so creamy and well seasoned. The only thing that I don't like is that their spicy isn't very spicy at all. I'm sure they've toned it down for the common crowds, but even I was taken aback by how mild their spicy is. Either way, the flavors are what's most important. They know how to do flavor right. I also love their fluffy and buttery naan. It's the perfect lunch for when I'm craving Indian food in the neighborhood. They have such reasonably priced lunch specials! You can get a tasty entrée with rice, naan, and a small salad for under $20. In this day and age, this is definitely considered a good deal. I still need to make my way around their menu and break away from the typical chicken tikka masala. I will eventually. But until then, I'll keep enjoying my yummy tikka masala lunches here.

Solid Indian place in Oakland! Service was very accommodating and lots of variety of the menu. As appetizers, we tried the Tandoori Chicken ($16) and Bhel Puri ($9). I really enjoyed the Bhel Puri with all the textures and tamarind sauce. For an entree, we did family style and had the Chicken Coconut Curry ($17), Shahi Paneer ($16), Lamb Korma ($18), and another chicken one. My favorites were the Shahi Paneer and Chicken Coconut Curry because they were super flavorful. There was definitely a good amount of spice to all of them because we were just continuously ordering more rice to survive the heat. The garlic naan was also good, but it was pretty thin and I prefer the fluffier ones. Overall, I'd come here again since there are so many options but it was a bit on the pricier side for me.

Been craving Indian for a while and figured this spot near Berkeley would be fun to try. It was fairly empty during lunch on Friday. While the server seemed friendly enough, he was multitasking with kitchen prep so we had to wait a bit to be seated, give our order, and even pay the bill.They do have lunch specials where you get rice, naan, chicken/veggie/lamb dish (12 oz), and veggies. It's a good deal considering that the dish by itself is 16 oz. We ended up with orders of chicken tikka masala, veggie korma, and lamb in the coconut curry. While we asked for mild, it was a bit spicer than we expected and that kind of made it hard to enjoy the meal. They did offer us some yogurt to help us out. The veggie korma also didn't quite have the same sweet, creamy flavor from other places. The chicken in the tikka masala was decent though as it wasn't too dry like most places that use chicken breast.

I really wanted to like this restaurant because of all the stellar reviews that have come before me. But I honestly don't think this place deserves close to 5 stars. It may have been some of the most subpar Indian food I've ever had. The restaurant's decor is warm and inviting, and the service is okay. For appetizers, we ordered the Bhel Puri, which was my favorite thing of the night, but still not amazing. We also got the vegetable samosas, which were also just okay. I ordered the Chicken Daal for my main course, just to try something new, but I wish I stuck with the Chicken Tikka Kabob. We saw that dish come out on a sizzling platter, so maybe that would've been better? The chicken was extremely dry and flavorless and the lentils weren't cooked all the way through. I tried my friend's Chicken Tikka Masala dish and it was also extremely dry, though the flavor was alright. Definitely would opt for another restaurant in Berkeley if you are craving Indian food.

What a treat to find! I ordered off what looked, at first. To be a limited lunch menu (only three options?) only to discover that I could select any of the dishes from the veggie, chicken, or lamb categories to be made into a lunch bowl. Friendly staff were very attentive and gave me a big jog of water with my meal, although the food was nicely - not overly - spicy. Can't wait to go back to try dinner sometime.

I researched this restaurant and found almost all very good reviews except for 2 and one was especially harsh by someone who had been around the world and I, I, I..I can't find my baby. I have not been to India but I did spend a year in Singapore where at that time 25% of the population was Indian. I ate a lot of Indian foods there and came to love the Indian street foods. So, I'm not a complete novice when it comes to Indian flavors. I had dinner tonight (1/11/2025) at Indian Rasoi and it was marvelous. The Baingan Bharta was beautiful and smoky, which was a pleasant surprise. I also had the garlic naan. The naan was lighter than what I am used to, but I found that very much to my liking. I had other items from the menu and they were quite good. The service was good and the environment was charming. A very nice space to share with a date. Ignore the extreme reviews, I say, for this place and find out for yourself. BTW, on the way into the restaurant I was stopped by a person walking by who wanted to tell me how good the food here is. The indicators all point one direction, my friends. FYI, I gave 4 stars only because I reserve that last star for exceptionally awesome experiences. Isn't that how it should be??

We had super delicious lunch specials, call mother, lamb, korma, and the chicken paneer. We got a friend takeout to go, which was the chicken tikka lunch special. You can choose from a variety of different dishes for the lunch specials, as long as they are, lame, chicken, or vegetable entrees.My husband ordered naan with lamb, which was tasty. We got an order of papadum that was crispy and fresh. And we both got straming hot, unsweetened chai so we could add our own sweetener.Service: friendly and fast/efficientFlavors: fresh, homemade-tasting, and attuned to our spice levelsPrice: lunch specials very reasoableThis is so much better and fresher than a lunch buffet. Highly recommend!

I've been looking through the windows for more than a month now, in anticipation of the restaurant that would occupy the old Cafe Colucci place. Indian Rasoi is finally open, and I'm glad to say that the service, ambiance, and food were all something to celebrate! I had lunch at Indian Rasoi today, and they had a lovely lunch special with salad, rice, and naan. You could pick between one of their many veggie, chicken, or lamb dishes. My lunch partner and I ordered samosas and mango lassis on the side to start. The samosas were delicious, with a nicely-spiced potato flavor, soft inside, and the exterior was good-not oily. It was served with generous sides of green and tamarind chutney. The lassis were on the thinner side and not too sweet. The lunch special itself mainly came on one large plate/bowl with the rice and salad, with the naan on the side. The salad was a very small serving of cold spiced carrots and cucumber-delicious and refreshing. For entrees, I ordered aloo gobi and my partner ordered the shahi paneer. We ordered our spice level "American Spicy." The paneer and creamy sauce were to die for! Such a well-seasoned sauce with a depth of flavor, and the paneer was solid. My partner ate the whole entree, sopping up the sauce with his naan. He also said the naan was very good-fluffy and crunchy.I took home half of my aloo gobi entree, simply because it was a lot of food for me, and I love leftovers. The aloo gobi was really excellent! The cauliflower and potatoes were spiced all the way through and the texture was perfect for me. It's so difficult to find a good aloo gobi around these parts, so when I do, I'm thrilled! "American spicy" was a perfect spice level, though we might go back and try "Indian spicy."The space itself is beautifully designed, with rich and colorful sari fabric and Indian parasols draped along the ceiling, with more contemporary type Indian art and photography on the walls. It's a gorgeous space-very Instagrammable ;) Finally, the service was very friendly! You could tell that they were excited to be open and to have us as customers. Very good vibes! I live within walking distance, and I am so happy Indian Rasoi is in the neighborhood. It will definitely be a staple restaurant for me and my family. I very highly recommend this restaurant, and I hope the good word gets out!*Update: I had dinner at the restaurant a couple of days later (delicious!), and I told them my son was home sick and was asking for soup. They made a delicious dal soup with chicken for him!

I had read all the reviews of this place and was excited to try it.What a shocker I have travelled widely and had the pleasure of eating some of the the best Indian food in the world-including the famous Balti Mile in B'ham UK(where Tom Cruise ate).This Vindaloo was not a a Vindaloo-in fact it wasn't even a real curry.It was like a terrible chicken stew loaded with garlic.The worst curry I've eaten in 50 years of eating curry.As far as I'm concerned the place should be closed for serving such slop.