East India Co Grill & Bar

Best Indian restaurant in Portland - samosa chaat is unreal. Love the saag paneer and baingan bharta. Ambiance is super nice and upscale. It's very clean. The service is fast too!

After having lived in Portland for such a long time, I'm just amazed how I have never visited this place or maybe I do know --because it's not as authentic as I prefer my Indian food to be. The restaurant is located at a very good location and many years ago even used to be one of the popular Indian restaurants in the city, I believe that's not the case anymore. We made reservations 30 minutes before we arrived, but the place was almost 70% occupied and the bar area was totally empty but the staff had made it seem like the place was overflowing with people and pushed us really hard to reserve stating that they are jampacked that evening . Its worse since they were closing soon as well and they failed to mention that when we were reserving . The establishment is huge, but the decor is very dated. It feels like you're suddenly 20 years back in time with the dull walls and old school restaurant music. We were seated at one of those bigger nice booths and the seating was comfortable. Our drinks and appetizers arrived quickly, but we were informed that the restaurant closes at 10 PM, leaving us with less time to enjoy our meal. The food was a mix of highs and lows: the Malai Tikka was delicious, but the potato curry was below mediocre. The portions were generous, and most items on the menu are shareable, which is a plus for trying different dishes. The staff was alright, but I didn't personally like the fact that they kept pushing us to order soon. I believe they could have let us know when we made a reservation that they were closing early and there wouldn't be enough time to sit and eat properly. This would have made us either arrive sooner or we would have probably chosen a different place especially since we were meeting friends and would have preferred to spend some more time . Parking is hard specially with the downtown situation and break-ins . I didn't particularly feel safe parking my car nearby but had very less choices.

The way I differentiate a good Indian restaurant from a great one if by the quality of their Biryani. I have to say East India Co Grill is a *good* Indian restaurant.I ordered their Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani and it was pretty ordinary (nothing out of the world). The presentation of the food was nice, but the quantity of Biryani for $17-18 was quite less if you compare with other Indian establishments in the area. I finished the plate of Biryani quite easily and there was room for more in my stomach.I could see the many flavors in the biryani tingling the taste buds of someone not from South Asia but as an Indian, it didn't excite me. Personally, I'd have preferred if there was more chicken and less raisins in the Biryani. It seems like the kitchen was a little stingy when it came to putting chicken in the dish.The ambience of the restaurant is probably one of the best, if not the best, for an Indian restaurant in the area.

So my partner is Celiac and cannot tolerate gluten in any way, shape, or form. So Indian food works really well for her, as most Indian dishes can be prepared gluten free.After an afternoon watching the Portland Thorns play the Kansas City Current (Thorns won, 3-0, go Thorns!), we made a side trip to the East India Company restaurant before heading home.The entry is one long bar, and is very elegant. We approached the hostess, who asked if we had reservations. We did not, but she said she could make something work if we were willing to wait. We were and she was wonderful about letting us know what was going on.When we got to the main dining area, the ambiance was fantastic. A gorgeous sculpture hangs overhead and the tables are dark and romantic. The smell is of wonderful curry and there is a sense that every table is separate from every other table, giving you a sense of privacy, even if someone is sitting next to you.My partner is in love with the Machli Ka Tikka, a salmon curry that she just dies for. Our server suggested to her that it would be four pieces of fish, so she might want to go for another dish. That being said, she also went with a Murg Tikka, a chicken in yogurt and saffron. I don't like fish, but I love chicken, and I found it to be amazing. I would also note that the pieces of salmon that were served to us were HUGE! Huge enough that, along with some bits of the Murg Tikka and my own dish, my partner basically took most of the chicken home.I was going to go for the chicken vindaloo, myself, but that's not able to be prepared gluten free at East India Co. As part of us going out on date night and making events of the evenings we get to ourselves, I try my best to eat gluten free myself so that we can share dishes. Therefore, I went with the chicken Makhani, basically butter chicken. For spice, I asked for it to be as spicy as possible. Not "I say I like spicy but I think ketchup is spicy," but "spicy like I like it hot" spicy. The waitress said she absolutely understood. The sauce, chicken, and rice under it were wonderful. Rich and thick, and hot, though not debilitatingly hot. The butter and cream in the sauce are going to tone down a lot of those spices, so it was middling hot to both our pallets, at best. Still, it was delicious.We thoroughly enjoyed our evening, along with some nice glasses of wine, and pleasant conversation and company. Next time we get out to a Thorns game, we'll definitely make reservations, but this is one of our go-to restaurants now.

Great quality and fun place to hangout!Their Dal is fantastic! I enjoy their lunch specials

Really quality ingredients. A bit out of the way location. Solid service. Had the lamb vindaloo, and saag paneer, and also the Tandoori muxed grill (outstanding salmon and lamb kebob) with rice and Naan, and a bottle of Cab, very good all around. A bit sleepy of a place, but hits the Indian food cravings!

I've been coming here for years and unfortunately this will be my last time. After the pandemic there quality of food declined and their menu is not truly authentic. I love Indian food . One of my favorite items is Chai. They used to make amazing Chai and they've removed that from the menu. Very disappointing.They also used to have amazing Pappadum with an assortment of items to go along with it and they removed it from the menu as well. Very disappointed. There food is overcooked as if they've moved into a fast food attitude and lost the meaning of authentic cooking. Honestly it took a lot to write this post because they were one of my top places in Portland but after yesterday's meal, I will venture and find a new Indian place. It's a bittersweet decision but it's no longer the restaurant I remember it to be.

For my wife and I, this is our choice when we are doing a downtown date night. Excellent food and atmosphere, and the service is great too.

Great Food and the customer service was great also. The Saag Panner and the Chicken Tikka Masala was really good. The restaurent it self was nice and clean. Will come back forsure.

Wonderful atmosphere--once you get in the door. (Sadly there are signs of homeless people and drug use on the street.) But it's definitely worth going there, as the quality of the authentic Indian food and the service is stellar. We'll definitely be returning!