Indian Roundup

Neighborhoods: Clifton, Sharonville
Cuisine: Indian

This entry intends to survey three local Indian restaurants -- a "roundup" of our local forrays into Indian cuisine. We have fallen in love with Indian food in the last few months: Lisa read that it's a good cuisine during pregnancy -- fairly healthful -- so we gave it a try. We're enjoying the added dimension to our eating adventures.

Lisa's favorite dish is chicken tikka massala (spellings vary; as I understand it, this is more a British Indian dish than strickly Indian, but it is nonetheless good) -- marinated and cooked chicken that is then chunked and simmered in a spicy tomato-cream sauce. I like matar paneer, which combines peas (matar) with lightly fried cubes of homemade cheese (paneer) in a spicy sauce (similar to the massala on Lisa's chicken tikka). We both love naan, the Indian flatbread similar to pita (but moister, thinner and tastier). And the done thing is to spoon your dish over Basmati rice, a wonderfully scented, slightly dry rice. Other common dishes are curries; dal (lentil) soups; tandoori chicken (marinated and roasted/baked); chutneys (relishes -- mint, tamarind and onion are common varieties); and kheer (a rice puddingish dessert -- but better than American rice pudding, to my thinking). Dish names often reflect their ingredients -- aloo means potato, saag means spinach, etc.


Royal India Restaurant is located in Sharonville, just off I-75 (and near the wonderful Burbank's Barbeque -- about which more some other day). A small, standalone restaurant, Royal India features an affordable lunch buffet ($5.99 -- you can find $1-off coupons in CinWeekly, the Cincinnati Enquirer's free weekly paper, available in stands all over the city) along with a menu. We tried the buffet on a Saturday. The selection was standard, for the Indian buffets we've eaten (all three of them), with some dishes new to us (no suprise there, given our newness to Indian food). Generally, the food didn't seem as tasty here, although the vindaloo (a curry) dish was about the fieriest we've had from a buffet. (The buffets generally seem to be pretty tame; if you order from the menu, a restaurant will ask you how spicy you'd like the dish to be.) Parking is plentiful in Royal India's lot.

Royal India rating: 9 (3, 2, 4) (What's this?)
Lisa's rating: A dignified yucky


Apna India has multiple locations; we've visited the Clifton location. We've been repeatedly, and even taken family there, so obviously we like it pretty well. The lunch buffet runs around $8 (again, coupons are generally available in CinWeekly). Apna is small but pleasant, and the staff is outgoing, friendly, warm. The food offers enough variety to satisfy us -- it seems that all Indian buffets are fairly small, but the dishes are pretty complicated (no frozen "barbecue" meat, etc.). Apna puts a dry-erase menu board on the sidewalk to tell you what the buffet has each day, a nice touch. Apna's food is good -- we've had better, but it's good. Parking is available on the street, or in the Clifton lot. Apna would be okay for a date, I think.

Apna India rating: 9 (3, 3, 3) (What's this?)
Lisa's rating: Fine but not finest


Ambar India, also located in Clifton (basically across the street from Apna), is our favorite of the bunch. Ambar does not have a buffet, and their prices are higher -- but sometimes, you get what you pay for. (Hint: there are smaller portions for lower prices available at lunch! the full-price servings, though, are enough for a couple of meals.) Ambar's chicken tikka massala and matar paneer are superb in terms of flavor, texture, balance of seasonings -- in every way. On our first visit, I tried a sampler platter, and I couldn't find anything -- from the tandoori chicken to the lamb curry to the dal soup -- that wasn't good. The service, while less ebullient than Apna's, is classy and good, and the ambiance is pleasant (the place is small and packed in, but there somehow manages to be a touch of class to it -- or maybe I'm just thinking fuzzily because the food's so good -- actually, ambiance is a bit different for "university spots," and this is certainly one of those). Parking is available in Ambar's lot, accessed through a needle's-eye drive off Ludlow. Ambar would be fine for a date.

Ambar India rating: 11 (3, 5, 4)
Lisa's rating: There is perfection!