My review is only based off the lunch buffet as it was my first time. I had heard lots of good things about this restaurant so was expecting my experience to be fantastic! Things I was impressed with - the decor, the ambiance, the size and cleanliness of the restaurant.
Things I was disappointed in - the lack of flavor and kick in the food.
I must say I have absolutely no experience with Nepalese food but I have quite a bit with Indian food. I've experienced Indian food  Indian food from Hong Kong, India, and even some places in the Midwest and I found Mount Everest's to be lacking in flavor and spice - a signature characteristic in Indian food. Nothing makes me a happier camper than to have a nice creamy flavorful sauce to go with my naan or rice, but I did not find that at this restaurant.
The lunch buffet - about $11 after tax - offered the typical offerings of a lunch buffet. I was surprised they offered a goat dish and it actually had quite a bit of meat and flavor. This was probably my favorite as it had the most flavor of all the dishes I tried. The others - vegetable pakora, tandoori chicken, chicken mahkini, spinach and cheese dish, rice with some veggies, etc - all tasted "ok" but didn't have any kick or punch to it. I'm not just talking about being spicy but actually having a good solid flavor that makes food savory. The best part of my meal was probably dessert when i had the kheer (rice w/ milk, almond, raisins). This was the tastiest and most flavorful dish of the entire buffet.
The service was good and there is plenty of space to bring groups in - but I'm not sure I'd be willing to try out this place again after my lunch buffet experience.
This place is nice. Â I have gone several times and I am pretty content with the food. Being a Nepali restaurant, they have some typical Nepali food items that are great.
They lunch buffet is pretty decent but I like ordering off menu and usually go for dinner.
The service is great, and so it ambiance. Pretty spacious. If you are looking for Indian food in Evanston, definitely go for this place.
One suggestion is they should add Vegetarian Momo's to menu :)
Wonderful! First time here and we will be back for sure. Tried the chef assorted appetizer, which was very tasty. Also had a great mango lassi. Then shared the vegetarian combo for one. It was a great value for eating for two people. Highly recommend checking them out. Service was impeccable.
Go here! It's really excellent! We will definitely be back next time we're in the area.
I was very happy with my experience at this restaurant. Â The service (contrary to some other reviews) was wonderful and helpful. Â I am not a huge Indian food connoisseur, so the recommendations were appreciated. Â
The food, beginning with naan bread and assorted chutneys was very good. Â Following recommendations from Yelp, I tried the samosa followed by the chicken Tikka Masala; both were very good, with LARGE portions. Â
I thought the wine list was good and the prices very reasonable. Â
The atmosphere is very casual and a bit loud, owing to the fact that the restaurant obviously caters primarily to the university crowd. Â I'd definitely recommend this for a casual outing.
My sister had a groupon for this place. She's actually been here before and liked it, so she knew she had to buy the groupon when she saw the deal.
We happened to go on a Thursday evening for dinner...and Thursday nights are ladies night here. So we each got a free drink (includes wine and beer too). We ordered the non-vegetarian value meal for two as well as chicken makhani. It was far too much food for us, but then we had plent of leftovers for the next day!
I really enjoyed the mutter paneer and lamb curry that came with the value meal. I've always liked paneer. And the lamb in the curry was so tender. The peas pulao was also delicious. I'm usually not a huge fan of rice but I could eat this rice by itself!
It took a little while for our server to come take our orders, but after that the food came out rather quickly and she came back to check on us a few times to make sure we were still doing good.
FYI:
-I am doing this review based only on the buffet
-I went here about a month ago and have since been to other Chicago Indian/Himalayan restaurants (I wanted to want until I visited others, so I could give a fair review).
Mount Everest is an OK Indian restaurant. If I was in the area during lunch and craved Indian food, I would put this place high on the list. The only (yes only) thing holding this restaurant back from a four/five star review was just no spice to their food. I like my food spicy and would expect that from an Indian/Himalayan restaurant. Maybe the Himalayan isn't supposed to be spicy or they kept the buffet tame to accommodate other patrons. If someone is willing to correct me, I will take this review down. I would also like to see them be a little less stingy on the Naan style bread (most other Indian style restaurants put it out in the buffet).
My first experience with Indian food was at this restaurant, and I loved it! I usually go for dinner, and I especially enjoy the free bread basket they provide at the beginning.. comes with three different sauces and they're all really good!
I made the mistake of coming here for the lunch buffet.. I was so overwhelmed by the amount of food available for me that I ate three dinner plates worth. And then I realized how delicious the desserts were and ate five pieces of gulab jamun... and my stomach was in such pain from overreating that I pretty much food coma-ed on the couch for hours afterward. Delicious, but painful.
Two words: lunch buffet. As a starving undergrad at NU, I sometimes used to not eat for a couple of days, save up some money, then come in to Mount Everest for the lunch buffet after the second or third day, when my appetite would proceed to wreak destruction like Shiva himself.
In hindsight, a part of me can't believe I did such a thing to my body; another part of me wants to do it again. The food is that delicious. The freshness of ingredients used in the cooking is pleasantly apparent, which I've found to be fairly uncommon amongst South Asian restaurants in the US.
Don't let the buffet option fool you: Mt. Everest is a stylish and polished place, and would make a great dinner date spot, if, unlike me, you can decide on one thing to order from the menu.
Excellent restaurant. My wife generally gets butter chicken when we have Indian food, and quality of the dish varies substantially from place to place. I can say without a doubt that this is the best we've had. The vindaloo (my usual go-to dish) is also very good, but I've started to get the butter chicken as well. Service overall is excellent, and they are very attentive on water refills. Only negative I can think is that we've had to wait past our reservation time once or twice. Skip waiting in the crowded doorway - there's a bar tucked away in the back that's much quieter.
Review Source:Very good flavors and tastes at this restaurant. I felt it was a bit on the expensive side (probably going to spend $14-$18 per person for just an entree).
Service was very poor for the first half of the time we were there and then, lo and behold, as we were finishing and plates were empty it seemed like every waiter/wattress in the restaurant was willing to clear our table. Nothing wrong with that I guess. But then we also had a different waiter than our original one ask if we wanted dessert and then had yet another one take the check. Kind of odd.
I get the sense this place was hard to figure out on the first try. May give it another shot as I know a little better now how to operate the menu but the waitress who took our orders was not very helpful....
Tried to stick to the Nepali entrees and they were all quite good. Â The chicken momos were... can you say "succulent" without sounding like a pretentious jerk? Â Whatever, they were succulent and their dipping sauce was phenomenal. Â We spent a lot of time trying to figure out the spice combination and, predictably, failed. Â The jhane ko daal and aloo tama bodi (basically lentils and blackeyed peas, respectively) were both well-balanced and rich dishes. Â The bread basket had a lot of variety and no failures--if you have a big group, get it. Â It will make you happy.
Waiting to get in was slow, the service was slow, and the atmosphere was unmemorable. Â Not sure the food was worth the wait, but I would return in a heartbeat on a slower evening.
Definitely one of the best restaurants in Evanston. Â Been here several times, and everything I've tried has been fantastic. Â For those of you that haven't had Indian cuisine before, this would definitely be a good place to try it. Â Go for the biryani (spiced rice), baingan bartha (mashed eggplant with tomato, onion, and spices), and their fresh naan! Â Everybody also loves their samosas, which aren't too spicy.
Review Source:Mount Everest is one of my favorite places to eat in Evanston. Their lunch buffet is AMAZING and has a huge variety of dishes, sides, and even desserts (yay for kheer!). The dinner entrees are plentiful enough to feed me for at least one more meal of leftovers. I've stuck mostly with chicken and paneer dishes of the tikka masala and saag variety, which have been flavorful and filling.
In addition to the food, the staff has been very accomodating, as I've come here on several occasions with large groups. They're great at handling large tables of people (in this case, hungry grad students) and even let us combine several <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2FRestaurant.com&s=0aab4cbd731f3d3b0d1453050d3abc56a8c80bd214e25469c7555b750dca8a51" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://Restaurant.com</a> certificates on our bill.
Great food, great service!
Stopped in here For a quick dinner, I had the Chef's Special Assorted Appitizers - an
assortment of vegetable fritters and tandoori presentations including sesh kabab, chicken tikka, boti kabab, veg. samosa. Â Â
Chicken was dry but everything else was good. Â Not great but solid. Â I hear they have an amazing brunch.
It's so difficult to encounter a restaurant that prepares good Indian food. Â Even in California, where I'm surrounded by Indian restaurants, most fail to draw praises. Â The naan here, although is a bit too salty at times, is almost the star of the meal, so I suggest refraining from snacking on too much of the naan before your meal! Of the times I visited Mt. Everest, the service was stellar. Our servers were always attentive and ensured that our beverages and naan basket were filled. Â I highly recommend the chicken momo and aloo tama bodi, a dish of bamboo shoots, black eye beans, and ruset potatoes seasoned with spices.
Review Source:If I could wrap Mt. Everest up in a white cloth napkin and carry it around in my purse for when I'm craving good Indian food, you best believe I would fill the world with aromatic spice scents wherever I went. But alas, it will remain in Evanston, for all to enjoy.
This location is a mirror of three faces. From the outside, the place looks like another bland storefront notorious for that area. Upon entering (which can only be done through a small random lobby) it looks like a "I'm probably under-dressed for this white tablecloth restaurant." Upon sitting down and relaxing, however, you're quickly sucked into the cozy/comfy atmosphere of this gem.
The food is extremely enjoyable. Extremely. Enjoyable. We began with a Chef Special Assorted appetizer. It had a little of everything: vegetable pakura, tandoori, sesh kabab, chicken tikka, boti kabab, veg. samosa. Damn. Seriusly. The vegetable pakora are aaaammaaaaziinng. My entree was a dish which I've never seen on an Indian restaurant menu (one not made with a tomato based sauce). It was called "Chicken Shahi Korma" a mild dish made with a creamy sauce of almonds. Delish! Dee-lish. Even my expert Indian Food Eating friends loved it. The Naan is divine....just divine. And the tandoori is over-licking good! (OK, I'm being a bit dramatic. I mean, who's going to let me lick their over? Seriously. What am I even thinking?!?)
All in all, try this place. I doubt very much that you will be disappointed. If you are, let me know, I'll go back for another taste and prove you wrong.
** Please note the consistent repetition of adjectives. That's to emphasize my level of love, fool! **
I've been here a few times for dinner, and it's definitely my favorite Indian restaurant in the Chicago area. I think it's even better than Marigold.
I've split the vegetarian dinner for two and also tried a bunch of the other vegetarian dishes. The Palak Paneer and Dum Aloo are my favorites. I love the  Peas Pulav and garlic naan too. Splitting two dishes with naan and rice is definitely enough food for two people.
The service here is also great. We've always been given good wine recommendations. The staff is attentive, but not doesn't by every second and disrupt the meal.
I'll definitely come back here again!
Gotta be honest here, I would not have expected an Indian restaurant in Evanston to be this good. Â Devon is so close, who comes to Evanston for Indian food? Â Well, for starters, you should. Â Because this place is legit and delicious.
We came for dinner and got 2 entrees (chicken saag and chicken tikka masala), rice and naan and easily have enough food for another large meal or 2 lunches. Â And the food was good! Â Very well seasoned and perfectly tender chicken. Â The naan was especially good. Â And it was a good amount of food for the money. Â Service was excellent (though it was a little confusing because I'm pretty sure we were helped by at least 5 different servers) and the water was refilled frequently, which was much appreciated.
A couple of years ago I came here for the lunch buffet and also have very fond memories of that experience as well. Â If it wasn't highway robbery on weekends (more than 2x as much as on weekdays), I'd be here very frequently.
I never had Napelese food before so was excited to give it a try. Â I was not disappointed. Â I can't attest to the authencitiy of the food, but I can say it was very delicious. Â I had the goat Chhoela for an appetizer, which the waiter warn would take 25 mins to prepare but worth the wait. Â We especially appreciate that he told us ahead of time so we knew what to expect. Â I had the Kukhura Ko Masu (Chicken with bone) for my entree..which I would reccomend. Â Will certainly be back to try more of their menu. Â Would be great if they would add more Napelese items for me to try.
Was very crowded around 7:30pm on a Friday night and a large crowd around the hostess table. Â Seem a flow issue there since it took a long conversation between the hostes and a waitress before we were led to a table.
The boyfriend and I ordered the non-vegetarian dinner for two. This order came with tandoori chicken, lamb curry, mutter paneer, naan, peas pulav, and kheera raita. Everything was delicious.
I especially enjoyed the tandoori chicken and the lamb curry. I liked the mutter paneer (fresh home made cottage cheese cooked with green peas, tomato sauce, garlic, ginger paste and cream sauce) too. The peas pulav rice went well with everything.
I'd love to come again.
My first of what I hope will be many visits to Mount Everest, and more delicious food. I've always steered clear of Indian food, but at the persuading of friends I decided to give it a go. They have a wonderful lunch buffet that offers a good selection at a good price, and allows a newbie like me to find out what she likes. The service was lovely, and they were happy to accommodate a large group.
I'm glad I branched out and look forward to future visits.
I will certainly try this place again if I happen to crave Indian food whilst hanging out in Evanston. Â I am more likely to come for the lunch buffet. Â The service was fine. Â The naan, raita, and rice pudding were very nice.
However, my dishes lacked that intoxicating spice that draws me to Indian food time and time again. Â I ordered the Vegetarian Thali for One, which is a combination of many small vegetarian plates, and it comes with naan. Â But my dishes had the flavor, heat, and consistency of food that was sitting in a container all day and spooned into my dishes. Â The paneers were bland and had very few pieces of cubed cottage cheese. Â
My friend didn't want to take her leftover tandoori chicken, so I brought it to my husband, who enjoyed it. Â
Not my favorite Indian restaurant, but worth another shot during the lunch buffet, or perhaps I'll try some other dishes.
I'm not sure what people have against this restaurant. It was nice to find a buffet considering the fact that Bombay Kebab is gone (and had a good buffet if nothing else).
So, I think I've found my latest indian buffet replacement. To be fair, the food isn't amazing, but it is good. There are plenty of vegetarian options, you can get that pickled/super sour stuff, the fried veggies of which the name escapes me at the moment, some daal,paneer, tandoori chicken,basmati with peas, aloo gobi, gulab jamun, the regular items if you will. Â I was glad that they did have some turmeric spiced vegetables, which to me were the high of the buffet. Granted you are not getting absolute highest quality buffet but it still is decent. The food was noticeably lightly spiced - quite mild as well. I was hoping for things to be more spicy.
If there's one thing I'd like to see different about Mt. Everest is that the buffet is in a corner, which means that everyone is blocking everyone as you're trying to get food due to the limitations of the space. I'm not sure what alternative exists, but if you happen to go for food at the same time as a wave of people expect to have to wait. That and perhaps adding some more background noise because this place got quite noisy when it got busy.
I will definitely be coming back to order actual regular menu as well (as I have ordered and eaten the buffet), but I will say that Udupi will be giving Mt Everest a run for their money, considering the buffet is around $12 anyway.
Mt. Everest is still solid. I came in on a Sunday night with a friend to spend a Groupon. The restaurant had a good amount of people but wasn't packed or anything. We split the non-vegetarian menu for two, which came with the following:
Boti kabab - cubes of tandoori lamb, well cooked and tender
Chicken tikka - pieces of tandoori chicken, also well cooked and tender
Lamb curry - boneless lamb in curry/spices, well seasoned
Mutter paneer - paneer in curry/cream sauce, this was the highlight of my meal and was just so delicious on top of the peas pulav
Naan - Indian-style bread, pillowy soft texture
Peas pulav - seasoned rice with peas, went well with the paneer and curry
Raita - yogurt sauce, didn't really use with my food
Kheer - rice pudding with almonds, delicious palette cleanser with a very strong hint of cardamom
This was a ton of food -- I think we ended up bringing about 1/3 of it to go. It was a great deal with the groupon, and I won't hesitate to visit again.
I must take away few stars.
I have eaten here many times before and I always loved the experience but this time I had a  GROUPON!  And the food was different!  for  people with the GROUPON! Oh yes I can tell.  In addition the credit card machine was not working so they couldn't swipe the card so they wrote my CC on a piece of paper. Just a compete mess.
I went here with my aunt, her fiance, and my boyfriend for some tasty Indian food on a Sunday evening. Â We were seated right away, AND it turns out that they offer a student discount - they gave my boyfriend the discount even though he graduated years ago. Â
We got a large variety of stuff, as one should at an Indian restaurant - mango lassis, naan, lamb biryani, chicken tikka masala, lamb curry, and bhuteko cauli (Nepalese section). Â Everything was very enjoyable, though I wish the meat in the biryani had been a little juicier. Â With four people, we had a little bit of leftovers to take with us.
Also, my aunt's fiance asked if he could take home some plain boiled chicken to feed to his sick dog - the staff went out of their way to wash off some chicken (I guess they didn't have any plain chicken lying around) and box it up for him, and they gave it to him for free. Â They were super lovely about it!
This place is good for eating family style and sharing with your dining companions. I went with two of my best friends and we all got a dish in addition to basmati rice and garlic naan to go with our plates. I'm under the impression that entrees here are not served with bread or rice; you'll have to order them separately. I'm honestly not sure how I feel about that, since I've been to places that also do that, but others where rice or naan came with the dish. Someone enlighten me?
Before the meal was served, we were given a delicious crispbread with an assortment of chutneys, which I was a fan of. I then ordered the Aloo Tama Bodi (Nepali) out of sheer curiosity; I think it was the "very popular mountain dish" tagline that drew me in. I really recommend getting it if you're into trying something new and unique. One of my friends ordered the Vegetable Jalfrajee (Indian), which used traditional Indian spices we were familiar with, and my other friend ordered the Palungo Ko Saag (also Nepali), which was a good palate cleanser of sorts since the other two dishes were more heavy. Wouldn't get it again though, seeing as it was just stir-fried spinach with ginger. Really not that impressive. I recommend sticking with the spice-driven dishes.
Dinner was a bit pricey (not a Northwestern student, so I couldn't get their discount), but  I'd love to try their lunch buffet sometime! Otherwise a solid pick for Indian/Nepalese in the Evanston area.
How did I forget to write a review for my FAVORITE Indian restaurant in Illinois? Â
My husband and I LOVE Indian food....and Mount Everest is an amazing place to get it. Â We first went with a restaurant DOT com coupon, and just kept going back. Â It's in an ADORABLE neighborhood....we love Evanston. Â The service there is great, the servers are polite and attentive. Â We've never had any dish there that was just meh....everything is delicious and flavorful. Â
We usually start out with samosas or pakoras, and they are always outstanding. Â I've had the vegetable jalfrajee and it's the best I've had ANYWHERE...and we lived in little India (by Devon) in Chicago. Â Adam has had all of the paneer dishes, the malai kofta (his favorite) and the chana masala...and has always raved about every one of them from Mt. Everest.
The chicken tikka masala is scrumptious, as are the chicken jalfrajee, and the boti kebab. Â We always order a side of the naan or the paratha, and both are so amazing and tasty....I definitely recommend. Â
Don't miss their desserts...the gulab jamun (lovely, light, sweet, little fried balls of dough in a light syrup) and the kulfi (an Indian ice cream). Â
Plus the neighborhood is fabulous, so you can walk off dinner! Â
I definitely recommend Mt. Everest!!!!
I Â missed my mom's homecooked Indian food, so I ventured out to Mt. Everest.
GOOD food. Try one of the paneer dishes with garlic naan.
The place has a good vibe and is usually full of people, which can be a little noisy at times.
I feel like I'm picky with Indian food since I grew up with it, and I definitely will be coming back here again!
Jackpot!
1. The Mt Everest now offers Gulab Jamun at the lunch buffet... did my first review do the trick. One must wonder.
Or at least it was offered on one Sept Thursday when I visited.
Either way. How exciting is that. Oh the yummy, gloppy, honey-tasting little rounds! Â
2. The naan was much fresher and warm on last 2 visits.
I will come back more often now.
Did I mention there is free.gulab.jamun at the lunch buffet?? Â Â Â
i'm upgrading it to 5 star in value.
CORRECTION of 05/01/2012
- the gulab jamun only made appearance at the buffet ONCE.... taking my 5th star back....
We've eaten there at least 5 times in last 4 months - nope... just the red mush and that milky rice thing for dessert.
sorry yall.
One of my favorite restaurants in Evanston! Hearty Indian and Nepalese food that is fresh and flavorful.
I tried the saag paneer (spinach with farmer's cheese) and the chicken nepalese stew (ps not a fan of the bones however). Both were savory and delicious, and the naan was phenom.
Staff is friendly and helpful~
Can't wait to go back to try the lunch buffet! God just writing this review makes me want to order some!
This review is only for the lunch buffet, so don't apply what I say here to their dinner or non-buffet items. Â Overall I was fairly disappointed. Â I have had much much better Indian food in the past, and have experienced a lot better Indian buffet's as well. Â
There were a lot of items to choose from, and I tried all of the vegetarian dishes they had out. Â They were all somewhat lacking in flavor. Â I understand it's not going to be very spicy when it's a buffet because you need to meet a wide range of tastes, but it should still pack a lot of flavor. Â
I would recommend people pass on the buffet, but I'd be willing to come back and give the dinner a shot since the reviews seem to be a lot better than what I experienced.
The 5 best restaurants in the 2015 Denver Restaurant Week
3,611 Views | Category: Denver
The complete list of 2015 Denver Restaurant Week businesses
1,972 Views | Category: Denver
The tourists' guide to Portillos: 5 must have dishes
3,318 Views | Category: Chicago
Pho = Pronounced "fuh" not "foe" for pho-king sake
2,915 Views | Category: Denver
Indulgery selected to exhibit at Collision Conference
2,987 Views | Category: Press Releases
Not Logged In
BUSINESSES
Local Businesses
Near Me
My Favorites
SOCIAL
Blog & News
MY ACCOUNT
Login
Register
Contact Us
Add Your Business
