Delicious food. Â What a find in the middle of Muncie! Â This is a new restaurant with modern Indian decor. Â Very classy atmosphere but wearing a hoodie and jeans I felt comfortable and was not treated any differently - the staff and owners seem friendly.
The restaurant is in the same plaza as the Marsh on the north side of McGalliard, near Wheeling. Â It is next door to a Verizon store. Â Lots of parking.
Food again was great, although if you're not used to Indian food, it helps to either read the menu carefully or ask questions. Â There were multiple lamb, chicken, and vegetarian options.
I hope they do well. Â That being said, the only thing I didn't like was the price. Â For one dinner dish, no drink, no appetizers or extras, I paid $17 after tax and tip. Â That is almost triple what I would have paid for the same meal in West Lafayette at Shaukin on River Road. Â I don't see how Ball State students would be able to afford to eat here often. Â Maybe lunch prices are different. Â The $17 did provide me with enough food to take 1/2 of the meal home for the next day.
This place came recommended by my bosses, who are regulars. Â I have had Indiana food before, but not in a restaurant setting. Â The decor is simple and creates an intimate atmosphere. Â It wasn't uncomfortably quiet or obnoxiously loud, unless you count the hipsters sitting next to us that wouldn't shut up about how spicy the food was and how much they could handle.
On that note, I'm used to spicy. Â I can handle up to the higher numbers in Thai food (not Thai food from Thailand though because that stuff is pure lava, even if you tell them not to make it spicy), but I don't usually like to get food so hot that I can no longer taste it. Â At Sitara, we had three options of how hot we wanted it. Â I chose medium and my boyfriend chose mild. Â He could taste the spice in his, but he's a wuss when it comes to spice, so his opinion on the matter is unreliable. Â Mine was spicy, but on the level of putting a lot of black pepper on it. Â It made me wish I had gone hotter, but it was still really tasty nonetheless. Â I had gotten a salmon dish, which those come with the risk of being surprised with a fish bone in your gum, but not in this case! Â The food is fantastic and comes out to you very quickly.
I noticed some people on here commenting on the service. Â I went there half expecting them to be rude to me, but they weren't. Â They were attentive and checked in on us. Â Only thing was that the lady (I assume one of the owners) would walk away real quick without saying, "be right back" or anything and it caught us off guard a couple times, since it happened mid-sentence of us saying something. Â We just kind of laughed about it, but some more uptight people might take offense to it.
All in all, I definitely recommend trying them out. Â I mean, being in Muncie, there aren't a whole lot of options on ethnic food, so it's pretty much a requirement if you wish to broaden your cultural tastes.
I've been here a couple times, for both a la carte & buffet. The palak paneer is good, the korma is ok, & the mushroom dish is ok as well. The gulab jamun is actually pretty good, as I normally hate those things. Still cloyingly sweet, but not as much as usual. The service is lacking a bit & the buffet is extremely limited. There were about 6 dishes total on it, half of which I can't eat as a vegetarian. The naan was also hard & in the half hour I was there, no fresh naan came out. That's not cool, since there was no vegetarian rice available, so I basically ate my palak & korma with a spoon. I'd give it 4, as they had a spicy vegetable dish available, but the buffet was disappointing, especially during lunchtime hours.
Review Source:Sitara is fast becoming one of my favorite restaurants in Muncie - such a great addition to the food scene (or lack thereof) in this city! Â
It's located in a strip, so it may be easy to overlook - but I feel sorry for those people... get in here and try out this delicious Indian food! Â
Hands down, my FAVORITE Indian entree is the Chicken Tikka Masala... HEAVENLY... every time! Â It comes out in a bowl with a spoon and there is a dish of rice on the side. Â Spoon some rice onto your place, spoon some tikka masala amazingness on top of the rice and voila.... fantastic! Â Also, don't forget the naan! Â The Garlic Naan is my favorite. Â ^_^
And if you've saved room for dessert - and I suggest that you do sometime - try the rice Kheer.... soooooo gooood!!! Â
I've uploaded pictures of everything I mentioned here. Â Check 'em out and check out this restaurant! Â Every time I've gone in, there is plenty of parking and open tables. Â The servers have always been kind. Â As a matter of fact, one guy that we had complimented our neatness as we had gotten through a meal and hadn't gotten rice all over the table, lol. Â I passed the compliment on to my parents. Â ;-P
My wife and I went for the lunch buffet. Â Still a quite small buffet, but what they had was good. Â I have no idea how to pronounce most of the dishes. Â I can't remember what the names were for most of them. I do know they "tickled my tastebuds" though. Â Even the vegetarian dishes were good. Â Get there early if you want a seat. Â By the time we left at 12:30, there were people waiting for a table
Review Source:Our party of two went to Sitara on a weeknight, quite early, around 545. We were seated immediately and all around us tables began to fill up. We started out by ordering naan and samosas. The samosas were very good, served crispy, hot, and served with two flavorful sauces.
My companion is a vegetarian and she enjoyed her Palak, I also enjoyed my dish very much. The flavors were excellent in both dishes. The rice that was served on the side, basmati, was also very good and cooked perfectly.
I really wish I could have given them four stars but the service was very slow and uncoordinated. I would recommend going very early or maybe doing takeout until they get their groove right. If you don't mind leisure maybe order some apps and naan to tide you over. You will wait, a lot, not for the food, but for refills, for bread, for the check etc.
I have been to Sitara twice now. The first time was for dinner and it was their 3rd night open. They were still working out the gliches as every new restaurant must endure during the first few weeks of being open in a new market with folks who come initially out of curiosity and something NOT chain related.
We did not have to wait for a table to be seated, however when we left, folks were lined up waiting for tables as the place was packed.
Service was incredibly friendly and professional, replicating fine dining, but not feeling the stuffiness of being in a fine dining environment. Decor is simple and perfectly stated. You feel like you are in a different culture, but not awkwardly so.
I don't recall what I got the first visit there because most of the food was fairly new to me (i tend to eat what someone says is good and don't ask questions because i enjoy the adventure of it all!) so the second time I got the Chicken Vindaloo, a tangy sauce made from garlic and dried chilies, and ordered it 'medium'. Let me just say ... when they say things are spicy, the MEAN it! Wow! It was on fire, and I love spicy food, but this was authentically Indian style spice at its finest! Â LOL no Americana mercies there. Â
My friend got the Chicken Saag ... an incredible creamy spinach sauce covering boneless chicken served with rice, which we actually ended up trading dishes because I love it and it was also a medium spice, but for some reason didn't resonate as intensely as the Vindaloo did. He liked my Vindaloo better so all was well at the dining table.
We had the Aloo Paratha as an appetizer which was incredible (its a traditional Indian flatbread filled with a potato mixture).
The meals are not pricey per se, but it will easily cost $40 for two dinners once you include gratuity.
I love this place, its refreshing to see an authentic Indian restaurant thrive in the middle of chain-restaurant overloaded Muncie.
I am looking forward to going there for lunch where I can sample a variety of foods from their buffet I've heard nothing but positive remarks about from many who've 'done lunch' there.
I give it two thumbs up and look forward to dining there repeatedly.
I've been to Sitara twice for dinner and once for the lunch buffet. The food was sooooo good! Like others have said, there were some items on the buffet I've never tried before and they were so delicious. I don't know what my favorite was called but it had green beans and potatoes in it. I love Indian food, and my husband and I have both remarked that Sitara's dishes taste better than a lot of the Indian restaurants in Indy that we've tried.
Anyway, I know that there were some problems when they first opened, but they've definitely seemed to smooth out the wrinkles. Service has been friendly and timely at dinner (though because it's a popular joint, the wait can be long if you don't call ahead) and I wish they had a better waiting area because it gets crowded in there on a busy night. When we went for lunch, the buffet was well stocked with lots of yummy things, and I never saw them run out of anything that they didn't immediately restock.
I would highly recommend Sitara to anyone! It's a great change of pace from the chain restaurants in Muncie.
I reviewed Sitara's opening in depth (check filter if interested). Â Back again for weekday lunch and weekend dinner WELL after opening.
Great food, okay service provided they're not swamped. Â That bites, but worth a shot seeing as there's no convenient Muncie Indian joints within easy reach.
Patience is a virtue/Waiting sucks, fair warning-- the verdict is up to you. Â Ask and you shall receive is my finding. Â They DO take dinner reservations, I say it's worth the phone call even on short notice.
Here's the deal-- the food is excellent unless you're after spicy heat (during dinner, ASK). Â The service is genuine but EASILY overwhelmed. Â It's a small operation and while IT SHOULD BE BETTER, it can be unfortunately pokey... hence the suggestion for reservations and making spice/heat preferences clear to your server.
Lunch buffet is small but good, Dinner menu is great if you're clear when ordering.
I'm pleased to have Sitara here, but they really MUST improve their service standards.
I've never had what I ate before and I eat Indian food like it's my job. Â I even cook Indian food. Â I've never had basmanti taste quite like that and the potatoes in tomato sauce dish i had was divine. Â
Service sucked but I'm not counting that as we went on Friday of their opening week. Â So until their service still sucks when I go back next month I'm keeping this at five stars.
Went back for lunch on Monday, They aren't open Mondays. Â And they don't open until 5:30 for dinner. Â No idea what the lunch hours are.
Also I think Shaun is a bit off, I regularly patronize several Indian places, most notably the ones in Little India (near Lafayette Square) Â Not sure why he gave it one star. Â Perhaps he was grumpy? Â Or thinks Indian food = curry.
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