This is certainly my favorite Indian place in the Merced area. Each time I have gone there (and that is at least 8 in my 4 months of living here), I have been pleasantly surprised.
The fish pakora is wonderful! The batter seems like it has a different type of flour and a nice spice to it. The goat has nice large pieces in it, as opposed to most places that have just boney chunks with little bits of meat. The lamb has been a winner in each of the dishes I have had it in and the naan is great. My recommendation is the onion kulcha, made spicy and with wheat flour. The food comes very quickly considering that everything (including the bread) is made fresh. Besides, don't miss the white transparent sweet (I have no idea what it is called), that is shaped like a log while you wait.
If you are in the area (or even 20-30 minutes out), give this place a try, you will not regret it!!
I had heard many good things about the food here so I took my sister and brother-in-law there to try it out. Well, it was amazing! The food was pretty awesome and the guy there was so nice to us. I had asked to try 3 different desserts because I'm still pretty new to Indian food and when it came time to pay he didn't charge me for the desserts. Â He said it was on the house because he wanted to make sure I like them and I did! I would totally recommend trying this place out. Â It is small and not fancy looking but the food it well worth it.
Review Source:Just ate here for the first time. Â I'll cut to the chase: Wow. Â Just Wow. Â Amazing food, amazing prices. Â
We had a party of seven (5 adults, 2 kids) and when we walked in the place was empty. Â It's a small spot and it was 7 p.m. on a Sunday night, so while I was a tad concerned, I wasn't completely surprised. Â
The gentleman that served as our host and waiter put any concerns to rest almost immediately, he could not have been nicer or more professional. Â
We ordered: butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, chicken tandoori, chicken vindaloo, multiple orders of garlic naan, chicken biryat and aloo gobi (spicy potatoes and cauliflower). Â We had everything but the butter chicken made to medium spiciness at our host's suggestion, and had the butter chicken mild for the kids. Â My youngest mentioned he wanted a wrap after we ordered, our host overheard and brought him one with the rest of our food, no charge! Â He also happened to notice my little guy looking at the sweets and offered up (again for free) a round of samples for the table. Â Seriously? Â I eat out a lot, and I can't remember receiving this sort of service and attention, ever. Â
The food was incredible, we ate family style, with everyone having some of everything. Â All of the food was pronounced to be exceptional by the entire party, which never happens with this group! Â The only complaint came from the kids who didn't like some of the spiciness, but we expected that. Â Even with the spiciness, however, there were dishes they enjoyed despite the unfamiliar sensation.
I know our host gave us a break on the price, as we walked out of there with leftovers after feeding 7 people for $52 before tip. Â I dropped another $20 for the tip because he was so spectacular, probably should have been more.
We can't wait to go back, even with the 40 minute drive from Patterson.
This place is so good! We had heard about it numerous times from Merced-area friends but never took the trip to Livingston because Taste of Little India is our standby. We're glad we did! We went for lunch on a Saturday and were immediately seated with menus. As many have posted, there's an open deli-type ambiance, which means other patrons come in and out, ordering from the counter and taking food to go. Still, we were very comfortable eating in the corner with our toddler. We had a basket of naan, mango lassi, chai, chicken korma and the spicy cauliflower-potato dish whose name escapes me. We requested our food medium-spicy and received what I would label a perfect 5 on a scale of 1-10 with regard to heat. Our daughter loved the lassi, and my chai was creamy and well spiced.
The portions were good for our family with just a little box of food leftover. We also went home with a pound of treats, excellently priced at $4.50. The owner was very patient with us as I pointed to the "pink square", "white square" and "brown ovals." I know much of what I like by sight but very little by name.
My husband had never tried Indian sweets before and I was excited that theirs were worthy of a first experience. Sweet and rich without being too sweet. We don't think to stop in Livingston often, but when we do, we'll definitely stop here again!
This is the best indian food I've had thus far. Â I was a little skeptical because of some reviews about the place being a little sketchy. Â It's got a really nice enviroment and as soon as you walk in you can just tell it's a great place to eat at. Â I shared the Palak Paneer, Samosas with garbanzos, Paneer Tikka Masala, Rice(one was yellow with peas and the other an orange tint with veggies), and garlic naan. Â Everything was so flavorful and delicious. Â I'm not a big rice eater but definetly reccommend the yellow one that has peas in it. Â At the end of the meal, the waiter brought out some warm sweets, they were round balls covered in honey, and I must say that was delicious. Â Great food and Great service! This little restraunt is a must!
Review Source:I started a new job in Merced and needed a vegetarian place to eat one Sunday afternoon.  I had the paneer tikka masala, naan, chai and sweets.  The paneer tikka masala was savory and very nicely spiced.  The naan was warm, sot and chewy and perfect.  The chai was a little bland but much better than the overly spiced version you get at starbucks. They were bringing out trays of freshly made sweets to cut up as I was eating, so I had to take home  a box.
The only cons were that it took a while for the chai to be brought out and they didn't bring any sugar with it. Â
I'd definitely recommend this restaurant.
I don't know if they are under new owners but this time my food was salty!! I had the fish pakora and the butter chicken and both dishes were salty!! Even my sister agreed. Â So I don't know what's going on. Â
I don't recognize anyone currently working there. Â The lady at the front her English is very limited. Â When I placed my order over the phone the only thing she said was "how many" and I would just tell her a number and what dish!! I guess that works!!
Still the best Indian food around here.
***It wasn't good, but it wasn't horrible either.***
When I first walked it, I was greeted with the sweet smells of Indian spices accompanied by loud Indian music being played throughout the dining area. Â The place doesn't seem that clean and there were enough flies in the room to be noticed.
The lady who took my order was helpful, but also a little aggressive. Â She seemed upset when I had to ask her to explain something that was on the menu. Â I'm sure she didn't mean it to be rude, but I was turned off to want to ask questions again. Â
We ordered:
(1) Chicken Tikka Masala (tandoori chicken in creme sauce)
(2) Chicken Tandoori (chicken marinated in spicy sauce)
(3) Rice Palau (basmati rice w/peas & herbs)
(4) Garlic Naan
(5) Onion Kalchu (Naan stuffed w/spicy onions)
Both entrees of chicken were a little to dry for my taste, even the CTM which is in sauce. Â It seemed overcooked. Â We ordered these two dishes because it was our first time at this restaurant and we figured these are two basic dishes that are ordered frequently. Â The garlic naan was good but the onion kalchu had so much red onion on it that it was overwhelming. Â We spent $26 on my entire order (between 2 people), and it just didn't seem worth it since it was counter service. Â I wouldn't come back here.
Thank you Yelp-- you, Jonathan and Victoria, convinced me to try this place out. Taste of Little India is our standby, but we wanted to try something different, so we drove out to Livingstone.
We had their Mattar Paneer, Lamb Curry, plain Naan, and desserts.
However, before we get to the food, some notes on the ambience & decor:
1) This place sort of has a deli-ambience, which makes it perfect for lunch, but a bit awkward for a sit-down dinner. You order at the counter, even for a sit-down dinner, then the food is brought to you. If you're drinking water, have it bottled (it's Livingstone). Better yet, have a mango or lychee nectar drink, or an Indian beer.
2) The music player is broken, or the cd they play skips, or something. Either turn it off or fix it, please. :D
3) This is for people who love Indian food and/or who are a bit adventurous. If you are picky about service, about decorum, about typical U.S. portions, you might be unhappy here.
So, we walk in, go to the counter, and order what we want. Note: dishes do not automatically come with rice and Naan unless they mention rice in the dish description. The owner/guy at the counter carefully wrote out our order, though I think he's still a bit nervous with English-- he was very warm and friendly with those who spoke Punjab, though he did become friendlier towards us over time.
We sit and wait, listening to the music come in and out. I'm getting nervous. But then the food comes out in beautiful copper (?) bowls and a basket of perfectly crispy naan appears.
The sauce that the Mattar Paneer is in is DELICIOUS, as is the cheese. YUMMMM. The lamb in the lamb curry is PERFECTLY cooked-tender, juicy, flavorful. The sauce is spicy and GOOD. I did wish that I had ordered some yogurt, just to try. If we had been eating with one more person, I would have liked to have some rice.
After eating up, I approached the dessert display. They have a copious selection, and the person working there generously allowed me to try whatever I wanted. Some were syrupy-sweet (as they are supposed to be), others were light and crispy-gooey, and I definitely got a sugar high. I bought several pieces of "sweets" (5 or 6?), and combined with juice, bottled water, and our dinner for two, I paid less than $30.
If it were a perfect world, I would recommend fixing the music, maybe cleaning the chairs and table area a bit more to help freshen things up, and I might even put a candle or 2 on the tables during dinner time. We weren't too put off by the neighborhood drunk sitting nearby-- is he a regular? Not sure. But maybe if the TV had a movie playing, he could have stared at that and not at us-- but that's ok. He wasn't menacing. :D
I can see people like the food because so do I. I order from there every time I visit my parents in Livingston. I don't know about a perverted staff or anything but yes, they are very sneaky sometimes. I've had great food one day and totally crap the next. They have some consistency problems and a high tempered co-owner that works in the back. I say this because this man assaulted me and the police were called after a heated argument over the menu. They served chicken kebobs to me when it clearly said lamb on the menu. They also wanted to charge me for lamb, ( which is much more expensive) All this happened by not notifying me and my family ahead of time of what changes were made or whatever items they were out of. After trying to talk to the owner about the screw up he quickly got tempered and start yelling at me. I asked for his business license so I can write it down and he swung at me and punched me in the left arm. This all happened in front of my little daughter, parents and even two customers that were horrified and left . This man had no regard for my family or friends. He called the police telling them I was fighting with him verbally and physically. Â Quickly the police had got their and I simply told them to watch the tape because they had video cameras. Â Realizing he was taped he quickly started apologizing in punjabi to me. The policemen watched the tape and asked me if I wanted to press charges. I decided not to press charges and even forgave him. The officer also decided that I should not pay for the bill after discovering that I was being jipped and the menu was also a liability issue and he could be sued.
I left that day having a different view of the owner and staff in my mind. I was trying to be ripped off and cheated. I was assaulted and framed so everything could be twisted on me and could have been to jail if it wasn't for there own video cameras. All this for making a trip to this restaurant to have a meal with my friends and family. The co-owner who is new only apologized after realizing his own cameras.They're behavior was barbaric  and uncivilized. I just hope they learned their lesson because fighting over a few bucks cost them a party of 7 worth over a hundred dollars. I of course don't eat there now, neither do anyone from my family or group that was there that night. Its a shame because greed cost  them more than they bargained for in the long run. Its no good having good food if no ones there to eat it.
Just had dinner here last week. It has to be the best Indian food I've ever had. Â Way better than Taste of Little India. Had the Butter chicken, a lighter creamy sauce, it was excellent. Â Chicken Tikka Masala had just the right amount of spices and tender. Â Two chicken dishes, but very different. Â Mixed Vegetables were awesome. Â Garlic naan is to die for, perfect. Â Very reasonably priced for the quality. I would eat this every day.
Review Source:First let me say that the food here is awesome. Yes the dining room is small, they only have one waiter/cahier, and there is only street parking. With that said, the food here is the best around. The butter chicken, chicken curry, samosas with garbonzo bean chili, lamb kabop(sp), and the fish with the red coating, are all great with a side of rice. Also they have a diverse selection of naan. I eat here whenever I get the chance. Reading one of the previous post, I don't know of a pervert on the staff. I notice they do watch you as you eat, but I think that is their way  of making sure you do not go with only ice in your cup, or if you need something, they don't miss your signal. I have always been tallie up correctly. The staff is all good in my opinion. I have never ordered something I didn't like from here.
Review Source:Wow! I'm the first to write a review! Eating at  Punjab sweets is such a treat! They have the best chicken tikka masala I have tasted in my life. Growing up in Livingston I've had my share of Punjabi food and this is the greatest! The chicken tikka or CTM is rich and layered with so much flavor. The creamy consistency of the sauce  mixed with the perfectly seasoned chicken is enough to put me in a CTM induced coma. It is seriously that good. I've had Indian food in the bay and central coast and Livingston's little hidden treasure is truly the best. If you've never had Indian food try the CTM with naan and basmati rice you can't go wrong trust me.
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