As this was my first foray into Indian food, we went to the lunch buffet. Â The downside of our visit was definitely the service. Â When we walked in there was nobody there to greet us and we were unsure if we should seat ourselves or if we would be seated. Â We waited awhile and finally tracked down a server who said we could sit at a table near the buffet. Â Once we sat it became awkward again because the server quickly left and we didn't know if we should get up and serve ourselves or wait. Â We finally decided to just get up and serve ourselves. Â The positives were the naan bread and the chicken tikka masala. Â This chicken dish was just so delicious...I couldn't get enough of it. Â I tried the over dishes as well and while they were good, they weren't particularly noteworthy. Â All of the dishes were very mild...I expected some more spice from an Indian restaurant. Â But they were good. Â I don't know if I'd go to the buffet again but I'd definitely go back for the chicken tikka masala.
Review Source:Only the best indian food, ever, anywhere!!!!! Try the lamb masala... get the nan bread so you can scrap every last drop of sauce out of the bowl. Â Get the chicken 65 if you dare! Â Hottest spiciest dish I ever had, but so tasty.
I am a big indian food person and have been to many many restaurants.... hands down Pintu's is the best I have ever had. Â West Springfield does not deserve food this good....
I have eaten a good amount of Indian food in DC, NYC, and many places in between. I will say first that Pintus is on the pricier side, even when compared to DC or NYC. The prices are noticeably absent from the online menu, so let me say that the vegetarian curries will run you around $15 on average (though they include rice). This is pretty high compared to what I am used to.
However, you'll notice that I am still giving this place 5 stars. Why? Because this food is up there with the best Indian food I've eaten anywhere. You get what you pay for, and I will gladly return next time I find myself in Western Massachusetts.
First, Pintu himself greeted us at our table and welcomed us to the restaurant. He checked in again at the end of the meal to make sure we enjoyed the food. The owner fully stands behind the product - this is naturally a good thing!
Now, on to the food itself. The samosas and chutneys were perfect, the naan was the best combination of fluffy and crunchy, and the curries...the curries..were incredible.
Shahi Paneer...shahi paneer! It's very similar to Paneer Makhni if you have ever had that. It was truly incredible - I am already craving more and I just ate there last night. The other big hit was Malai Kofta. I had never had it before, but I definitely will again now!
If you are a fan of Indian food, or even if you are not, you must go here!
I eat a lot of Indian food and I can be a bit of a snob. Â There are many places to eat in my home-city of Boston and even with all that competition a majority are overpriced and have mediocre food. Here in WMass I am only aware of one place to dine on Indian cuisine, (notwithstanding Northampton), and that is Pintus and they are the best. Â I don't mean the best in WMass, I mean the best anywhere.
I have been here at least five times for dinner and once for the lunch and have ordered something different every time. I have never disliked anything I have ever ordered. Â Everything is cooked to order according to our spice preference. Â The breads are delicious too. The owner is always there and he is working. Sometimes he will great guests, sometimes he will take orders, and he is always making his guests feel at home. Â
Enough about my opinion....we went here for dinner last night during the snowstorm. Â We thought nobody would be out oven the horrendous weather....we were right....almost. Â The streets were deserted but Pintus was packed. Â That is how good his food is. Happy dining!
Cam here for the lunch buffet. Yummm. Left stuffed and very satisfied.
Brags (+): Good selection, tasty food, and much discounted from their regular menu. The veggie pakora was BOMB. I'm not a huge "vegan-eater" but this thing was fried to a crispy perfection, with a spicy and tangy inside that made me keep coming back for more. The chicken tikka masala and naan could keep me going for days.
Beats (-): OK maybe I'm getting a little greedy but I thought they could have had one or two more dishes... after two rounds I felt like I was repeating too much already. My only food qualm was witht he tandoori turkey, which I found a bit dry.
Variance (~): They're moving to a different location! I don't know when but keep an eye out!
My office recently ordered from Pintus. Â It had been several years since I had their food and it was still great! First, we ordered numerous meals from there and they got them all correct! Second, I got the medium chicken curry and it was great. Â It was actually medium and not too hot or too mild, and it was plentiful with chicken and great curry sauce. Â We also got the spinach naan and garlic naan which was great!
Review Source:I had heard about Pintus a few months back from my excited father who absolutely loves Indian food. I swear he could eat it for a whole week....
After picking me up from JFK, one of the first things I heard was....."We are going to Pintus to pick up some Indian food for tonight" It was 7:30 am in the morning....As I dozed in an out of sleep in the back we finally arrived in Springfield after making a few stops on the way to do some errands.
After placing our take-out order my mom mentioned that she was hungry....which usually leads to a cranky woman so after running another errand we decided to have lunch at Pintus. They have a killer $12 lunch buffet. I didn't want a cranky woman in the car so I obliged to eat curry for yes, lunch and dinner.
The buffet wasn't only curries....They had salad, veggie samosas, tandori chicken, naan, and rice. They had about 5 curries ranging from saag, bharta, tiki masala, and etc.
The pakoras were good, especially since they were still warm. Once those babies cooled down, they turned hard and a bit inedible. The tandori chicken was fairly moist and the curries were all flavorful.
For dinner we ordered the bharta, korma, and another one which started with a j I believe. Sorry it was one we had never ordered before so I was unfamiliar with the name. We got the curries all medium and the j one spicy and boy, it was spicy. All of the curries came with rice...which turned out to be an overload cause we also got a biyrani. The naan was okay, that was my only complaint. I guess I'm spoiled by good naan in Hawaii but hey, I'm not complaining the place is pretty good for Western Mass.
Oct31Challenge: 18/31
We go for the lunch buffet and my husband and I love it! The food is always hot, fresh and delicious and though a smallish selection, there is always a good variety and we never leave disappointed. We are always looking for an excuse to drive down to West Springfield so we can get our Indian food fix! A side note...my first time I went there I parked in a wrong spot and the owner (Pintu) moved my car for me instead of interrupting my meal; what a nice way to welcome a new, and now loyal, customer!
Review Source:It was alright. The skeevy looking fish tank that confronted us when we walked in kind of set a bad tone right away, but there were no gastronomic complications later... if you catch my drift.
The lunch buffet is very small, maybe six trays, one of which was bread, one was rice. The chicken tikka masala tasted like a jarred sauce. The veggie pakora was really good. The lamb saag was bland and kind of disgusting. No gulab jamun to be found. Their "beef curry" was like a soupy, curried taco meat with bone flecks peppered throughout.
There's parking behind the building if you go down the side street it's on. The place looks kind of nice. It was clean. There was Indian dance music playing in between tracks of Indian hip hop... which was an experience in and of itself.
I was pleasantly surprised by this place. Â It had been a while since I had good indian food and I was craving it. Â We visited during the lunch buffet and they had a good assortment of standard dishes. Â For $12 they have the expected chicken tikka masala, chicken tandoori, paneer, naan along with some other dishes. Â I found all the food to prepared well and tasted good. Â The biggest thing I was disappointed in the spice level they offered. Â I know its a buffet so they need to accommodate everybody and they did have some spicy chutneys, but I still expect more from an Indian restaurant. Â Overall if you are looking for Indian food you will not be disappointed with this place.
Review Source:I've only been here for the weekday lunch buffet, but it is great and has become my regular treat on Monday holidays :) Â The service can feel a little awkward. Â I've been a handful of times and am *still* unsure whether I'm supposed to seat myself. Â Usually we wait at the hostess stand, but last time we were there, people came in while we were waiting and just seated themselves. Â Awkward. Â If there's not going to be any staff around, a small sign would be helpful.
Anyhow...the food is well worth the uncomfortable entrance! Â The buffet is small but mighty...perfectly cooked rice, 4 or 5 dishes (always with vegetarian options), plus these dry but really flavorful chicken pieces, UH-MAZING fried veggie birds-nesty things (which I am now craving, thanks), naan, a trio of chutneys and sauces, and a nice (cardamom?) rice pudding. Â The chicken tikka masala on the buffet is so fantastic that apparently I can't even type about it without craving it. Â Lovely.
Everything on the buffet has a fairly mild, accessible flavor, but I've heard other diners ask for spicier alternatives and the staff seems very accommodating in this regard. Â My only complaint (and it's a small one) -- oh, other than the awkward left-to-work-it-out-for-yourself entrance -- is that there never seem to be enough condiments, and there are no dishes to bring them back to your table. Â We love the chutneys and usually wind up putting some in the little cups that are meant for the pudding, but often we can't take more than a spoonful or two of each without overly depleting the supply and leaving too little for the other diners.
One of western mass best kept secrets is that they have a lunch buffet that is incredible.. many of the favorites and priced right $11.95  m-f.  I'm not a buffet person but this one is done right  cooked fresh and plenty of flavor..I'm on the road alot in western mass and very happy I found this lunch spot. I  will be back for sure!!
Best Indian food in western mass. Â Chicken Tiki masala was perfectly spiced. the bread with garlic was great also. Â and the dumpling with ground beef inside was good but the dipping sauses made it better.. the only negative i have is it is a little pricey but would defently come back..
Meh. Â The food tastes "fake", in that all the spices and indian flavor seem to be added after the fact. Â e.g., they cook everything, then throw some spice on top and call it indian food. Â A piece of bland chicken with one uneven stripe of spice painted across the top does not make for good indian cuisine.
The food is also served very "dry", in that there are no sauces or chutneys accompanying the entrees. Â Our server did bring out a platter of various chutneys for our appetizer, but removed it when our meals arrived. Â If I went back here i'd make sure to keep the chutneys, as the entree's desperately need the extra "oomph".
Prices are comparatively very expensive, as well. Â For two, our bill came to $75 (w/ tip) -- 2 drinks, 1 appetizer, 2 entrees.
We also ended up waiting quite a while for our food. Â We were the first ones through the door on a friday, and waited about 25 minutes between our appetizer and when the entrees came out. Â Waitstaff were very good, though... my water glass never sat empty.
If this area had more competition i'd probably give Pintu's 2 stars, but he gets a break because he's the only game in town.
To get an idea of where i'm coming from, the best Indian food i've had in the US is Pakwan in San Francisco.
The highs and the lows. Â For some reason, there were plenty of them, unfortunately.
High - The greeting at the front door. Â Very nice. Â Happy welcoming smile from the host, eager to bring us to our table.
Low - Dead center of the restaurant are the piles of empty chafing racks, pans, and sterno strung across numerous tables all standing ready for the lunch buffet the following day. Â
High - Joking with the host and asking her if she drank all of the empty wine bottles that lined the ceiling high shelf that circles the restaurant.
Low - No ask if we wanted to see a wine list. Â Wasn't sure if this is a BYO location, or if in fact they offered beer and/or wine.
High - the appetizers and accompanying relish tray. Â The Samosa and Assorted Pakora were ordered. Â Both were more than ample, cooked very well, served hot, and tasted great. Â The assorted Pakora wasn't what I was expecting, but I'll get to that. Â The relish tray with what I am guessing were mint/cilantro/garlic/spice - chopped onions and curry - tamarind sauce were all great as well. Â So much flavor!
Low - I admit I am a complete rookie when it comes to Indian food.  For one reason or another I just haven't been exposed to much of it.  The description for the "Assorted Pakora" threw me a bit.  "Florets of cauliflower, potatoes, onion, & paneer deep-fried in chickpea flour batter".  I love cauliflower, and assumed that there would be florets of cauliflower deep fried in chickpea flower batter.  Assumed Potatoes deep fried in chickpea flower batter.  Etc.  What I did get, was a mixture of chopped/diced cauliflower, potatoe, onion, and paneer  all blended and deep fried in chickpea flower batter.  Not sure where the "florets" were, assuming they saw a blade of some sort.  Not sure what makes it "Assorted".  There were 6 pieces of identical fried pieces of awesomeness.
High - The serving platters. Â Very authentic looking. Â Nice touch. Â Makes a difference.
Low - The garnishing of the appetizer plates. Â Under our appetizers were literally 5-7 pieces (total) of 1/8" by 4" long shreads of plain white cabbage. Â Why bother? Â What is the purpose of this. Â In my opinion, either go big, or stay home here. Â Fill the plate with a bed of something if you are going to serve an appetizer on it, or leave it off. Â This looked so odd on a plate. Â Almost as if someone tried to wash the plate and these few pieces stuck, so they kept them.
High - Flavors, and plenty of them.  The Lamb  Muglai Korma and Lamb Biryani were both ordered for our entrees.  All of the flavors were truly fantastic.  Nicely presented.  Nice balance of flavors with the relish tray, yogurt, etc.  Seasoning of each dish was spot on.  Delicious.
Low - The lamb in the Biryani was a bit dry, and both dishes had a couple of pieces of lamb that were not tender, and had veins of gristle. Â The basmati rice was honestly great as well. Â The flavor and aroma both fantastic, but for some reason we were served a clearly visible chunk of rice in the middle of our tray. Â Almost as if the person serving up the dish cleaned off the rice that was stuck on the serving spoon all day. Â Perfect way to ruin otherwise perfectly cooked and presented rice.
High - Very nice decorations around the restaurant. Â Authentic paintings and wood working. Â Plenty of staff to take care of our table. Â Service was quick. Â Food was served hot, and timed well for our dining pace.
Low - Young kids of staff playing in the dining room. Â I am honestly fine with kids. Â I am certainly not one of those people that believe you can't or shouldn't bring kids to a restaurant. Â There is a line that should be drawn however, and especially with kids of staff. Â I do have an issue with kids running around and hiding under tables. Â I am not particularly fond of kids coming to a table when a check is presented and announcing - "you pay me money now". Â Cute, but uncalled for.
High - Great to read so many other reviews commenting how great it is for Pintu, the proprietor, going table to table making sure everyone is enjoying themselves. Â Nice to see an owner so in touch with his customers.
Low - Pintu had last night off.
Ordered the Malai Kofta, and the naan with mint leaves. The naan was delicious, and their mint chutney was the best chutney I have had at an Indian restaurant. The malai kofta (medium spice) had the perfect amount of spices if you're like me and can't handle too much heat but still like spicy food.
The waitstaff were pleasant and very quick to refill our  drinks. I would visit again. when in the area
The best Indian food in WMass, hands down. I've had both dine-in and take-out, and never a bad meal. If there's any knock I can make against Pintu's, it's maybe a wee bit pricey... but the quality's sooooo good, so I don't mind paying a little more.
If you're a DIYer, working your butt off remodeling your kitchen, pressed for time and not wanting to stop work for three meals, you could just go to Pintu's lunch buffet every day and stuff yourself to the gills, thereby eliminating the need for breakfast and dinner. Hypothetically speaking, of course. Â ;-)
My favorite Indian in the Valley!
I just organized a dinner for a couple dozen women business owners tonight (WBOA) and it was an amazing evening. Â The place was packed and still the service was warm and prompt. Â The atmosphere was incredibly welcoming.
The food was terrific as always. Â Portions were generous and the dessert was just right. Â A touch of sweet, but not too much. Â
I am so glad I chose Pintu's for this event...it was one of our best ever. Â Everyone had a great time.
This place is great. It is good quality authentic indian food which is rare for the area. I am always skeptical about eating indian cuisine in the 413 area but this place is a gem. Not only is the food delicious, the staff is super friendly. I reccomend trying the lamb chops, they are addicting. If you  plan on coming on a weekend night i would make reservations because it gets pretty packed. Check it out.
Review Source:Food was fantastic, spicy, and portion sizes left you full but not stuffed. Â
Service was good. They don't come around to bother you every 5min. but if they see you need something replaced or have a question they come over immediately.
The prices seem a bit high ($13-20 per entree plate), but it is well worth it and you will leave more than satisfied.
If you're a fan of Indian cuisine, you HAVE to get to Pintu's! Â Now! Â Do it! Â Stop reading this and GO! Â If you're still reading this I will mention that the freshness and quality of the food is superb. Â The chicken tikka masala is my personal favorite but you can't go wrong with whatever tickles your fancy. Â If you're in the area between 11-3, try the lunch buffet. Â You won't be sorry.
Review Source:Very good Indian food and nice restaurant overall. The chicken curry was excellent and the beef kabob was very good. We tried the onion naan and it was excellent also.
Service was good overall, a little cool but attentive. Prices are on the higher end for Indian fare but I felt the price reflected the food.
I would go again.
We went here one night. The place was packed, the owner nice. We knew a waitress and she was really prompt with food. We didnt know what to order, so the owner suggested the best dishes and an amazing wine. When dinner was served, I would have liked the option of leaving the sauces on the table. The owner said that we didnt need them and so did another waitress. We didnt care, we wanted to try the dips with the dinner dishes. Other than that, parking was easy to find and prices are very expensive. For bread, dinner and wine and beer, we left with an 80$ check. My son ate from our plates. We will return because the food was very good.
Review Source:Love the atmosphere. Layout, decor, and the music. Pintu himself is also a gem. He couldn't be nicer.
As for the food, my favorites are the garlic naan, chicken tikka masala, the samosas, and the chicken 65 (fairly certainthat's what it's called) - the numbers purportedly signify the level of spiciness. The spicy dipping sauce they have is great too. It's orange-y red with what look like seeds on the paste, and it's very spicy, but not unbearable at all. I much preferred it to the medium sauce that was less spicy and green colored. The mild sweet an sour like sauce is good; but, again, if you can handle spicy even a little bit, you should try the spicy sauce.
Really delicious food, rather high prices, rather bad service.
Upon our arrival, my party of two was told we'd have to wait 5 minutes for a table. Â No problem. Â But while we waited (at least 10 minutes), TWO other parties got seated before us. Â We were starting to wonder if we were invisible. Â
Once we were seated it took another solid 10 minutes for the waitress to greet us and fill our waters. Â We ordered Garlic Nan Bread, Spicy Chicken Curry and Shrimp Tikka Masala. Â We also took this chance to order our drinks (an average-priced glass of wine and a pretty pricey bottle of beer). Â After this brief exchange, we saw the kid who fills the waters more than our waitress.
The food came out in a reasonable amount of time and it was absolutely DELICIOUS. Â The rice was served in a separate dish, and our meals came in little bowls so it was sort of family style scooping. Â I was just about licking my plate! Â Everything was hot, very flavorful and excellent quality (no gnarly chicken or anything).
So, in summary: Excellent food, actually sorta worth the poor service.
I had heard great things about Pintu's, and was really looking forward to it.
The food was excellent. I had the shrimp chili garlic, and we ordered a few appetizers, which were uniformly great. The naan was delicious. We tried the garlic naan and another with lamb.
On the downside: The house cabernet was not very good, and generally the prices were somewhat steep. The service was downright bizarre.
There were periods where a waitress was at our table every ten minutes, re-filling water or checking in. Then we would go half an hour without seeing anyone. We had to ask four times (FOUR TIMES!) for the check at the end of the night. One waitress in particular seemed absolutely perplexed by every question or request. We were there for three hours, and while we had a good time, the inconsistent service and excessive downtime was frustrating.
What saved the experience, and made up for the otherwise questionable service was the fact that Pintu made a point to visit our table a couple of times, and even took our dinner orders. It's very clear that he cares a lot about customer service, and is good at what he does.
I'm hoping our not-so-hot service was a fluke, and look forward to a return visit.
-----
NB: The friends we visited Pintu's with read this review and took me to task for whining about the house cab at an Indian restaurant... Fair enough...
My husband's family has been eating here for about as long as it was open. When I first visited the area with him, I was a complete novice when it came to Indian food. They brought me here and introduced me to Pintu, who was so helpful at recommending dishes to me. Over the years I have returned to Pintu's many times to eat with my family. All of his food is excellent and he is great with recommendations - whether it is a new dish he thinks you'll like or a wine or beer to accompany the meal. My husband is a fan of spicy food and so the Chicken 65 is a must have. We were able to finally try the Lobster Masala one night - and I have to say, it was worth every penny. All the naan varieties are phenomenal. And I am quite partial to th samosas with the onion chutney.
This is a wonderful restaurant & a must visit in Western Mass.
Being a lover of Indian food that rarely gets to actually have any -- the spices drive my spouse to a level of insanity bordering on the level of needing to be institutionalized -- stopping by Pintus on my return from a lengthy vacation was something I looked forward to nearly as much as the vacation itself. I'd heard and seen rave reviews of the place around the web and from locals here in West Side, so I did walk through the doors with the highest of expectations.
I was somewhat disappointed.
The food was very good, make no mistake; but I've had its equal in Northampton and Boston-- and the prices were quite comparable to those locales as well. In short-- it's what I would expect from "good" Indian food (as opposed to some of the gut-wrenching evils I've experienced masquerading as Indian in some other, nameless places.)
However, I was quite put off my paying for my meal. Now, it's not like I didn't have the funds; nor is it that the prices surprised me in any way-- as I noted above, it was what I'd expect from a good Indian joint. However, on our arrival, we'd asked if we could pay in the remaining travelers checks we had on us. Gotta use the bloody things, after all. No problem, we were assured. Travelers checks are the same as cash here, there and everywhere; and the hostess at Pintus noted no exception. When it came time to actually /pay/ with said travelers check, however-- well, suddenly it was a problem.
How we went from "travelers checks are fine" to "no, sorry, you can't pay with that" over the course of eating the meal, I'll never know. What I do know is that the ensuing hassle of explaining what a travelers check *is*, how it works and such to three different people, after having confirmed that it would be OK-- only to be denied the use of it after eating the meal-- is that a return visit to Pintus would not be in my future.
While the food is good, and priced about what you'd expect for a high-end Indian establishment, the annoyance and hassle over the travelers check incident has left me completely turned off to the place. I won't be back-- there are many other Indian places in the area that I can visit, get the same quality and price for.
I recommend you folks do the same-- especially if you're paying in travelers checks.
When I lived in Western Mass I would eat here 3 times a week. I am not kidding.
Pintu is one of the reasons I would consider moving back to Western Mass. For leisurely Indian feasts, sipping his delicious Pintu's Porter, listening to the latest Bollywood music. Sharing Chicken 65 with friends, going to the lunch buffets with my mom. Hosting large dinners with 12+ friends. I've done it all here.
And now I am hungry just thinking about it. Damn.
Oh, and the best thing about visiting Western Mass.
Seeing Pintu.
Pintu's is hands-down my favorite Indian restaurant in the area.
It's a great place with an atmosphere set somewhere between lively and chill and an ambiance that combines exotic India, Indian kitsch, American pub and small-town restaurant. Â And the music, which is often an eclectic mix of Indian dance music, is always awesome. Â As such it's a perfect spot for quiet conversation between couples or a night out with friends.
My regular meal consists of the Keema Samosa (stuffed with lamb and peas...served with a tray of flavorful sauces...mmmmm), Chicken Tikka Masala (chunks of bbq chicken in a tomato/cream/herb sauce, with rice of course), some kind of Nan (Alu Nan stuffed with peas, potatoes and herbs, Garlic Nan, Butter Nan, Onion Nan...whatever...it's all perfect) and a Mango Lassi. Â And I've never been less than absolutely satisfied.
If I have one tiny wish it'd be that they serve a larger portion of rice when you order entrees. Â But if you run out you can always ask for more and they'll happily bring it to you, so it's not that big a deal
I also recommend visiting for the lunch buffet, especially if you're the type that can stuff yourself on Indian food.
I could eat at Pintu's every day.
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