The day we went there, it was pretty crowded - there was a wedding or a birthday party. That said, it was well managed. The buffet spread was pretty good and well replenished. The owner himself paid attention to our needs and was very helpful with customized asks of warm water or a high chair or bread to the table. Will go there again. The chai was definitely out of the place and the "pongal" could beat home made. As a meat lover, i came back thinking that the veggie options were better.
Review Source:We left because we couldn't handle the heat of the food's spiciness on the Saturday night buffet. Â We're not of Indian descent so besides the hot spices, we didn't like the lack of clarity about what was on the buffet (which obviously the other diners were grooving on); the food was unpalatable and unrecognizable to us. Â Doubtful we'll return.
Review Source:I've been to Masala four or five times and generally had an okay experience. Â Recently I had lunch as part of a group of 7. Â The buffet was not as good as in past visits, especially the selection of meat dishes. Â There were only three meat dishes: a chicken dish, a chicken dish with rice, and a goat curry where finding any meat on the bones was about impossible.
However, the thing that's going to keep me from ever returning is that an 18% service charge was added to our bill. Â We all had the buffet -- 18% service charge for a buffet? Â We had no table service at all except being asked if we'd like chicken tandoori (which is included as part of buffet price). Â I feel ripped off.
We came for the weekend buffet and there were several dishes that I have never had before which was surprising and encouraging. Â My friend commented that the buffet price seemed a little high and he is from Cambridge MA, so I'll go along with it. Â I felt ignored by the staff which is pretty normal for indian restaurants but that doesn't make it right, which is the reason for 3 instead of 4 stars. Â
I did not look at the menu or anything else, so I may have to go back for dinner and see how things differ.
If you love south Indian specialities, this is the place.
The weekend buffet if fresh and delicious and chock full of south indian goodies. Lovely dessert options as well. There are several options for vegetarians. The hot chai in the corner is the best hot chai I've had outside of India.
The menu offers up a lot of specialties that are and aren't in the buffet, including uttapam, hyderabadi byriani, and dosa.
Went here for the lunch buffet and I was overjoyed. Pauv Bhaji, idli, and a wide selection of not commonly found indian food. The best part is, it was all FRESH!!!
Everything tasted great, I wish I had an endless stomach to keep sampling everything on the buffet. Looking fwd to my next visit to Naperville so I can eat here again.
LOOOOVE IT!
I was visiting warrenville and this Masala was right next to my hotel so I decided to give it a shot. I got a Paneer tikka to go and it was really delicious. It was so good that I decided to return for lunch buffet the very next day and was not let down. Amazing buffet with a lot of options. Food quality is also very good. Service is kind of lacking, but you don't go to an Indian restaurant for service, you go there for food.
Review Source:I came here with my colleague and her sister and was completely disappointed with this place. The service was questionable and the food was straight rank.
We all got the lunch buffet, and I couldn't even tell you what we were eating. My colleagues' sister avoided all meat dishes entirely and I wish I had made the same choice. Between having bones in the food, and just having that overall uneasiness about what we were eating (we've all had indian food before) made the experience terrible. To make matters worse the prices were not outrageous, but definitely more than what I would have paid for dog food.
It goes to note that we did not order dishes off the menu, so I gave them an extra star for the possibility that they make decent food when it is ordered and not made for a trough.
I will not be coming back to this place. Cuisine of India has MUCH MUCH better food, so I will recommend them.
OK, why the update?
I have been loyal to this restaurant for over a year now and have seen some better days than others...and I can fill you in!
The servers here are not trained, so they are always awkwardly scrambling around, look confused and seem to have very little guidance from someone who 'knows the shit!'.
There is this one girl that seems to have just lost her smile! She has the saddest look on her face when she awkwardly points to a table for you to sit. She will painfully take your order and with equal indifference, noisily set it down on the table. And from then on, it just looks like she is waiting for you to leave soon. It is very off-puting and my husband and I just hope that we are served by someone else every time.
I have seen some good ones here but they never seem to last....I feel like they only want to hire part-time Indian students or relatives or something like this....nobody with real training or skill set!
Although i like the food here, I don't enjoy going here at all.
The place is very big and decorations is simple and clean. Â
Went for a lunch buffet with a pretty big group. Â Called ahead for reservation and had the impression that they'll have the tables set up for us. Â Well, that didn't happened. Â We had to stand and wait for them to line up small tables up for us. Â The seating end up pretty good this way (closer for people to chat more comfortably), instead of taking 2 big round tables.
The buffet seems have more items than the other Indian lunch buffets in the area that we visited. Â They all taste pretty good.
It took awhile to get our Nana, and the refill is a bit slow and had to ask for it, but it taste great. Â The chicken wasn't served by default, which they asked us if we would like to have it or not first. Â The service was prompt with the water refills and plate clearance.
Overall, we had a pretty good experience and the food is good. Â Price is a little bit on the higher side (compare to others). Â I'll go back to the place, and hopefully they'll have the fish which one of the person said she had it before (twice) that we didn't see today.
I've been here for a weekend lunch buffet upon recommendation from a friend and i'm glad i tried this place. I've been craving for south-Indian food for a long while and this place has everything i needed in their buffet. Spicy food, dosa, Idly,vada, chutneys and south-Indian style curries. The location is good and easy to find. They have a huge seating capacity and the service was good too.
Pros - Location, Spicy food, large variety of options in the buffet.
Cons - too much oil and too much calories(look, i'm warning you!).
We came for dinner on a Friday night. So glad I finally got to try - But i'm torn between a 3 and a 4.
On some notes, it's a little pricier than other Indian restaurants and on others, it's priced the same as other places. The taste isn't too different from other Indian restaurants I've been to (at least from what I can tell). They definitely have a simplified but varied selection if that makes any sense whatsoever. Service here is very helpful, but the interior and decor is nice which makes for a great place to bring friends or a date.
I'd come back again and recommend it, but there are also other Indian places to eat as well. IDK. see for yourself an see what you like!
But note: Lamb Korma definitely comes with a little heat!
My husband and i have dined at Masala twice and have ordered carry-out. There is no denying they have delicious food. That is, if you can get them to feed you.
I ordered carry-out tonight and was told it would be ready in 30 minutes. I arrived at Masala promptly and was told it would be another 5 to 10 minutes since they were very busy. Very busy at Masala equals two tables in the dining room and a party in the back banquet room.
30 minutes later my food was finally ready. I ALWAYS check my carry out bags to make sure I have all of my food. On this occasion I was missing my order of Naan and the side of chutney I had asked for to accompany my samosas (which I had been assured were included).
It took 2 staff members to get the chutney and a third to get my order of Naan. All together, it was over an hour from the time I placed my order until I had all of my food in hand.
When I arrived home and sat down to dinner, my husband questioned the whereabouts of our white rice. What I had failed to realize is that, after all my trouble, I was still missing part of my order. Unfortunately, what I thought was my container of samosas was the rice  (it was a styrofoam container wrapped in cellophane which is the only reason I hadn't opened it at the restaurant to check its contents). I was livid.
I called Masala back to let them know that I somehow still managed to leave without my full order. The employee questioned why I couldn't come back to get the samosas and if I would be able to come get them tomorrow. He didn't seem to understand why that wasn't an option for me.
I simply asked that they refund the $4 I had paid for the samosas. The employee stated that he did not know how to apply the refund to my credit car purchase, but that he would have his boss return my call to issue the refund. I provided my name, phone number and the check number for my purchase. Hours later, no one from Masala seems to concerned with their mistake and I have not received a call back. I did not plan on spending my holiday weekend arguing over $4, but unfortunately it would seem that is exactly what I will have to waste my time doing.
Masala might have fantastic food, but there are plenty of other options for Indian cuisine in the Naperville area who actually give their customers what they pay for.
About 4.5 stars. Â I had a weekday lunch buffet for $11.99 ($13.04 after tax), and food quality and selection were very good. Â They had three basmati rice flavors, and the naan was warm, fresh, and refilled. Â Their curry goat was good, but also bony and on spicy side. Â They have a clean, comfortable and modern decor, and plenty of room for bigger crowds, and they do start showing up at about noon. Â I'll be back when I feel like stuffing myself again at lunchtime.
Review Source:Best Indian buffet in Naperville area! Everything was great! Not overly spicy so the flavors shine thru. The variety on the buffet was very good. New things I've never seen on other buffets. Definitely found my favorite! Service was very good too! Best butter chicken I've had. Eggplant dishes were great! Nice selection of chutneys.
Review Source:My wife and I were so excited to try Masala after reading so many high ratings.
For starters it took over 25 before the waiter even greeted us at our table to get drinks. Â I ordered the chicken biryani which was nasty chicken joints topped with rice. It seemed like I got the table scraps. Â I had to flag an employee down (our waiter was MIA most of the time) and ask why the chicken looked like this. Â He came back with a small bowl of more chicken joint nastiness with no meat. My wife had the mutter Paneer, which is impossible to mess up. Â Also, the naan bread was hard as a rock.
My wife came back from the bathroom and told the waiter that there was no soap in the ladies restroom...he did nothing. 30 min later we heard another customer inform another waiter of the same issue.
I used the Men's restroom and it was dirtier than a truck stop. You could tell that it had not been cleaned in days.
I have been to a lot of amazing Indian restaurants in the city and suburbs and I was so disappointed with Masala!
My advice...go to Indian Harvest in Naperville.
We went this past Sunday for brunch. Â Â I didn't find one item on the table I really took a liking to. Â Â There was two meat items on the table (Butter Chicken & Lamb) and the Lamb was just bones, nothing more annoying than wasting of space on your plate and looking like a big pig for nothing. Â Â Pretty shocking to not have Tandoori chicken served.
 The two side dishes I tried were too hot,  I was educated I should eat along with something else (bread or rice) to lessen the heat intensity.... "ok".    ALL in ALL for their pricey buffet the variety and food was LACKING.    Sorry to say we won't be back.
By far, "The Best" Indian Buffet I have had the last 11 years I have been in the US. I give it a 4.5/ 5.0. Â Me and my wife tried this restaurant for a weekend buffet and were pleasantly surprised. I generally do not try Indian Buffets because I feel the menu to me looks pretty standard in most restaurants.
To begin with, the ambiance was good and it's a clean place. The owner/ manager greeted us well and was personable.
As for the food, I started with some Idli/ Sambar and chutneys which were amazing. The Apollo fish and the chicken tandoori were OK (but again, I have never liked the tandoori outside India). The Chicken Masala and Goat Curry probably stole the show. Beware, this is some real spicy stuff. By spicy, Â I do not mean made hot with lots of chilli or pepper, but I could feel and savor the spice (masala) in the food. These 2 dishes were so good that I had to complement these with a fine lager to savor it more and literally had to skip the Chicken Biryani as I was so full by then. My wife was impressed with the Biryani.
In the desserts, the jalebi was OK, the Gulab Jamun, Milk Pudding and Payasam were nice.
The only complaint we had was the service was slightly on the slower side. It took them a while to clear our table with the plates we had left for further servings. But, being a busy afternoon, I could give them the benefit of doubt and take out the 0.5.
Will love to visit this place again and highly recommend it to anyone who loves spicy Indian food.
There are few experiences which render you speechless, and you end up sharing your experience with others. Consider this as one, but in a different sense.
Paneer 65 doesn't have any salt, or any spices (probably they forgot both), even then it looked orange-red (reminded me of the coloring agents they used in India). I ask them to re-consider the recipe (or may be that this preparation was a fluke). They bring the same serving back, with some salt on it and rewarmed.
Chicken chilli is possibly the best of all, may be 3/5
Then I ask for beer, and the young lady taking my order gets scared.
After a few minutes, the lady who greeted me at the front desk comes and apologizes for the delay in getting the food as they are slammed. I look around, total of 4 tables were occupied (they probably have 20 tables).
Its the main course time. Malai Kofta is 1/5. Actually I wanted to give it 0.5 stars but I reserved it for chana masala. Chicken curry is 1.5/5. Garlic naan is good, so is onion kulcha, and rice was well made too. Overall, we had naan and rice with no reasonable curries to dip those in.
Of course, we were not in any mood for desserts, and thank god, they didn't even ask for it.
Throughout, I was served by 5 different people, all with similar attitude saying we are busy, and can do only so much.
In summary, with my 7-8 minutes spent typing this, I hope I can make my point of my experience.
P.S: I am also questioning the credibility of yelp with the star rating for this restaurant. All reviews with 4-5 starts....amazing !!!
I've been to alot of Indian restaurants throughout the Chicagoland area and this is by far one of the best I've been to. Â With a blend of North and South Indian food, Masala hits it right on the mark with flavor and quality. Â I'd go even as far to say that it has the best dosa selection from any of the other Indian restaurant within a 300 mile radius.
Lunch buffet is plentiful and fresh. Priced right and service is outstanding. Try the Paneer Makhani with the garlic naan and you will not be disappointed. Â
All in all this restaurant is worth going to and will exceed your expectations.. A must if you live in the western suburbs.
This is the best option for Indian food in the area! Â
We ordered butter chicken, mutton biryani, and fish curry. Â The butter chicken and mutton were absolutely delicious. Â The fish curry was a bit on the salty side, but we were able to balance the flavor using yoghurt and rice.
We also ordered the paper-thin dosa (something like a crepe) which was about the size of an area rug! Â My girlfriend was astonished by the size and kept taking pictures of it throughout the meal like it was a trophy. Â It was crispy and delicious throughout the meal.
We will be back to try the buffet.
My husband took me here for Valentines Day. Every table was filled which was a good sign. The food was great, best Indian I've ever had. Most of the customers were Indian so that's a good sign as well. We had the Chilli Chicken as an appetizer and it was great, as was the Masala Chai. Can't remember our dishes or the name of the Kulcha bread we had but we loved those too. Very clean decor, very dark and romantic. Great place for a date. There were larger tables with children and they seemed right at home too. The service was a little slow but I think that's because they were filled to capacity. Although it was a little slow the service was very genuine and friendly. Our bill was also surprisingly low. $42 for 2 adults with appetizers, entrees, drinks and bread. We will DEFINITELY be going back soon.
Review Source:The owner (Krishna) is so nice. We went in once just to get a few drinks and he sent over a complementary appetizer. He then told us about the lunch buffet and I had to return, and am I glad I did! A wide selection of vegetable dishes and protein entrees along with salad, and some finger foods. Of course all is served with naan AND a dosa.
I highly suggest the buffet for anyone leery of trying Indian food for the first time because this way you can try everything and see which are your favorites. (You can't really go wrong with butter chicken anywhere).
I will definitely be returning and turning on friends to a new ethnic cuisine.
You know it's good Indian food when all the patrons are Indian. Ordered some popular vegetarian dishes like mutter paneer & malai kofta and both were outstanding. They do a lunch buffet & ala carte dishes. It's right across from The Regal movie theatre @ Cantera & easy to get to from Diehl. There's been good & not so good places in this spot. Hope they are here to stay!
Review Source:I was thrilled when I checked in at my hotel and saw Masala next door and after checking the yelp reviews I was even happier. Â I couldn't convince the person I was traveling with to eat there, but I managed to slip away one night by myself to try it.
Everyone here was really friendly, kept both my water and wine glass full all the time and left me alone to enjoy the lamb vindaloo - which was recommended to me by a guy I think may be the owner. Â It was really good and the naan was perfect.
I noticed a lot of people coming in for take-out orders, but the place was pretty empty while I was there. Â Definitely give it a try!
What a surprising hidden gem!
Very good Indian restaurants are extremely hard to come across, but Masala nails all the elements needed, in my opinion.
We did carry out, and expected average food.
However, from the very start to the final, it was phenomenal.
We started with the Apollo Fish, Chicken 65 and Chicken Manchurian. They were all amazing. Fish was cooked perfectly and not over or underbreaded. Chicken 65 was spicy, but nothing drastic. Chicken Manchurian was my favorite. The flavor was unbelievable, the food can easily be compared to real Indian Chinese food.
Our main courses were the Lamb Vindaloo, Butter Chicken and Chicken Dum Biryani. All were great! Fresh products, and fresh food.
The butter naan was excellent. We're normally not big naan eaters, but 3 orders disappeared in a matter of minutes. It was moist, crispy where it needed to be and flaky.
The dessert was wonderful. Gulab Jamun and Mango Ice cream was just decadent. Gulab Jamun had a taste of just fried, and was still warm after a 30 minute drive home.
I was completely sold on this place, and will come back many more times!
Without sounding like a broken record, the lunch buffet was awesome and the pricing was on point to what you'd expect for a lunch buffet. It was so good, that we decided to go back the next day for dinner and the entree's and appetizers were even better. The only issue we had was that when we went for dinner, the service was a bit slow, but it was a busy night and they seemed a bit short staffed. Â The price for dinner was spot on, for 2 with one vegetarian appetizer and 2 vegetarian entree's + tip was $40. We will definitely be adding this to the list of places we'll come back to often.
Review Source:Let me start by saying the best Indian Buffet for lunch that I have ever been to! Â I only went because I read other reviews and was curious how they stood up. Â
The buffet had more items than the typical Indian lunch buffets I have been to giving it more variety and plate combos that I have to go back to try it all. Â Great seperation of meat and veggie dishes which is always appreciated for those that don't 'eat it all'.
The service was prompt with the water refills and plate clearance. Â I don't want to forget to mention the restaurant is very clean.. I like the simple decorations... the spices on the back wall are different and give the place a little eye candy. Â
Only downside... the plates and bowls are several different sizes so make sure you grab the big ones to fill up!
This is one of the better buffets for lunch in the burbs, if not the best. Â The one downside is the layout of the traffic in that whole area; it gets pretty congested. Â But that's true of many spots in popular areas.
So some of my coworkers had mentioned eating here and wanted to go for lunch. Â The dish you have to try is the Apollo fish. Â It is not fishy at all. Â I'm not sure what fish it is, but it is probably one of the bigger type of fish since the cuts are pretty big, almost chicken like. Â It is lightly breaded I believe in some moderately spicy sauce.
They gave us a lot of bread (naan and dosa). Â They have a good mix of meat dishes as well as veggie. Â Their biryani is good as well. Â For dessert they had galab jamun and some brownie type of thing.
I will definitely be going back when I find the time. Â I heard they used to do dinner buffet as well, but now it's typical entree style. Â So I need to check that out.
I was in beautiful Warrenville at lunch time. Its a strange place - although Diehl Road is a commercial area, all the stores are set back from the street and hard to see. So I called up the Yelp application on my handy dandy Android phone to search for a suitable place for a quick lunch. There were the usual suspects: Corner Bakery, California Pizza Kitchen, Potbelly, Arby's, and then there was ... Masala...
So Masala it was. I had the buffet. The selection was evenly divided between meat and vegetable dishes. The meat dishes included a chicken dish, two fish dishes, some sort of meatballs and chicken tandoori. Even though it came from a buffet - this was some of the best tandoori chicken I've had. I also tried the okra dish and a string-bean type casserole dish which were both very good. No holding back on the spices despite the suburban office building locale.
It's a modern, high-ceiling atmosphere. I'm giving the place five stars (even though I only partook of the buffet). Service was good - water glass was constantly filled and dirty plates promptly removed. It got somewhat crowded with a cleintele that was mainly South Asian interspersed with groups of local office workers. If you're passing by on 88, it's just a few blocks from the WInfield Road interchange.
I have been to a dozen Indian restaurants in the west suburb - the food is by far the best.
The decor is pretty contemporary - huge dining area with high ceiling. But for the decor, the dinner ware can use some improvement... but for the price - I think they deserve 5 star.
Btw, they have buffet. Next time I will order dishes - cos I always like fresh made samosa.
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