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New Jersey Indian Restaurant Reviews
Urban Tadkaa
West Windsor, NJ
(Scroll down to read the review)
Address & Telephone No:
Urban Tadkaa
295 Princeton-Hightstown Road
West Windsor, NJ 08850
Ph: 609-716-1234
Hours:
Open 7 Days
11:30 AM - 10:00 PM
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Urban Tadkaa
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Reviewer's Summary: Lousy Food, Rotten Service
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Some Indian restaurants in New Jersey have no reason to exist. Except perhaps to feed the vanity of some dodo in New
Jersey.
Like Urban Tadkaa in West Windsor, New Jersey, for instance.
When we walked into Urban Tadkaa on a recent Friday afternoon around 1:00 pm, we found the restaurant fairly crowded with
about 15-20 diners, mostly Caucasian.
The crowded restaurant heightened our expectations as well as our hunger.
Little did we realize the disappointment that lay ahead of us at this sham Indian restaurant.
A waiter with a look so mournful that it seemed as if he were just returning from a dear one's funeral greeted us and led us
to our table.
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This waiter brought us two glasses, poured us water and just as we were about to offer our sympathies on his bereavement
quickly disappeared without a word.
We waited for few minutes for a waiter to come to our table, hand us the menu and take our order. Forget about menu and
taking our order, nobody even bothered to enquire whether we wanted something to drink. Although there
were about four to five waiters moving around aimlessly in the dining hall, we got the cold shoulder.
Since nobody bothered to come to our table, we went and checked out the buffet table and decided to go in for the buffet.
As with a lot of other Indian restaurants in New Jersey and elsewhere these days, the lunch buffet at Urban Tadkaa includes a combination of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, a chaat bar, salad bar and desserts.
Vegetarian items included Sweet Corn Soup, Pav Bhaji, Methi Malai Mutter, Bhindi Pachhadi, Kadai Paneer, Rajma Masala and
Zafrani Pulao Rice and Dosa (brought to the table later).
Non-Vegetarian items included Chicken Yakhani Soup, Haandi Goat, Chicken Tikka Masala and Tandoori Chicken.
Since we so love Tandoori Chicken, our legs quickly gravitated towards it without conscious effort on our part.
Alas, Urban Tadkaa's Tandoori Chicken was neither juicy nor tender. It was just not worth a second bite.
Chicken Tikka Masala, another common fixture at Indian restaurants, was disappointing as well since the gravy was too salty. It was an outright travesty to call that mess on the table as Chicken Tikka Masala. We were baffled as to how a restaurant could mess up as common an item as Chicken Tikka Masala.
As for the Haandi Goat, that hard monstrosity really got our goat. By this time, we began to harbor serious doubts whether this
dumpster even had a non-vegetarian cook in the kitchen.
Vegetarian or non-vegetarian, the wannabe-cooks at Urban Tadkaa are equal opportunity offenders.
On the vegetarian side, Methi Malai Mutter was way too bland and Rajma Masala a watery and tasteless abomination. If you are looking for real tasty Methi Malai Mutter you might want to visit Brick Lane Curry House in East Village of New York City.
While Pav was soft and warm, the accompanying bhaji lacked the usual spicy taste that makes Pav Bhaji popular Chaat item.
Bhindi Pachhadi and Kadai Paneer were among the rare saving graces in an otherwise disappointing buffet spread.
Prepared in a yogurt sauce, Bhindi Pachhadi was tasty with both Naan Bread and Zafrani Pulao. Long after our meal was over, we savored memories of Urban Tadkaa's Bhindi Pachdi. Kadai Paneer with cubes of paneer and capsicum was delightful as well.
But our experience of these two vegetarian dishes was marred by poor service.
It was while eating Bhindi Pachhadi with Naan that we realized that the first waiter who initially showed us the seat had not bothered to leave napkins on the table. We gently pointed out to our waiter (different person) who came to refill our water glasses that there were no napkins on our table.
Whoever said the Dodo is extinct surely hasn't met this waiter Lakhbir Singh a.k.a. Bobby from Delhi. Although we were two, this bozo asked us whether we wanted one napkin or two napkins.
For a second, we were too stunned to respond. What did this blithering idiot expect us to do - share one napkin. We politely told him we needed two napkins.
The napkin fiasco did not end there. One of the napkins Bobby brought us was dirty - it had been used and just refolded. So we
had to call him back and request him for a clean napkin. Our visibly embarrassed waiter Bobby got us a second, clean napkin
but did not care to apologize.
We were pleasantly surprised to get Dosas + Coconut Chutney with our Buffet since we love these South Indian items. Alas, they were not real Dosas but shameful caricatures of the real Dosas that we've had so often to so much pleasure.
There was much that was wrong with Urban Tadkaa's Dosas. First, the Dosas were too tiny, hard in texture and white in color, unlike your typical golden-brown, crisp Dosa. Second, the accompanying chutney was cold and bland. Finally, to make matters worse, the potato filling inside Urban Tadkaa's sham Dosa was spoiled. No question about it.
If you want good Dosas in New Jersey, head for Sri Ganesh's Dosa House on Newark Ave in Jersey City or Swagath on Oak Tree Road.
While the Plain Naan bread was soft and hot, we wanted to try our perennial favorite Garlic Naan as well and ordered it. But that decision turned out to be a mistake. Because the Garlic Naan that landed on our table had only cilantro leaves on top and there were no garlic pieces or garlic flavor. We wondered as to what had gone wrong.
By now, we were convinced that Urban Tadkaa is a stain on the name of Indian restaurants in New Jersey.
We were not that lucky with desserts either. While Sooji Halwa was warm and tasted just ok, Rasamalai had a rubbery texture and the white milk syrup was way, way too watery and had absolutely no flavor. We thought at least the ice cream would provide us some solace in the desserts department. But lady luck did not smile on us even with the ice cream. The Vanilla ice cream tasted like the Pathmark or Shoprite store brand ice cream that we've regrettably had on a few occasions.
All in all, our dining experience at Urban Tadkaa was a misadventure that we wouldn't want to be reminded about.
Urban Tadka is a disgrace of an Indian restaurant and neither the food nor the service make this a restaurant worth visiting even once.
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Urban Tadkaa responds on July 20, 2008 to NJIndia.us review:
Thanks to your team of people who visited to our restaurant on one Friday, We really appreciated your review on your website regarding your experience at Uraban Tadkaa. We with our open heart apologize for your bad experience, I am sure you are full conscious when you write reviews about restaurants and any articles on your website because what you write reflects your characteristic, your personality who you are and where you are coming from. Nine out of ten restaurants reviews on your website are either based on your specific taste/requirements (like COFFEE, ICE-CREAM, DOSA) or even personal stereotypical behaviour about servers and their personal behaviours or even talking about their family members (I as a NORMAL human being i don't understand WHY some one would talk shyt about someone else's family or even think such a circumstances about some one's family..if you don't get my point pls re read our review and you will find out what you have said)
You came to our restaurants during normal lunch buffet day, were we serve the food according to our demographic and type of clients that normally visits our restaurants. If you really would like to rate us and I AM CHALLENGING YOU ON THIS POINT come to our Diner/ala-carte time and you will find where we stand compare to all the other restaurants in NJ. THIS IS AN OPEN CHALLENGE.
We at Urban Tadkaa work so hard for our customers and we are newly opened business in the area..and your review like this will definitely support our business.. Very well done.. God Bless you.
Harshal Patel
Owner/Director of Sales and Marketing
Urban Tadkaa Indian Diner
NJIndia.us response to above comment from Urban Tadkaa:
Please find below our response:
1. You write above: We with our open heart apologize for your bad experience...
Talk is cheap.
Urban Tadkaa is one of those rare disgraceful Indian restaurants in New Jersey that go so far as to serve spoiled food (e.g. potato filling in our Dosa) to diners. They do it either deliberately or out of carelessness. Either way, the end result is the same - The food leaves a lousy taste in the mouths of diners, literally and figuratively. Spoiled food could also lead to food poisoning and in extreme case cause serious health problems to diners.
2. You write above: I am sure you are full conscious when you write reviews about restaurants and any articles on your website...
For someone who can't spell your own restaurant's name right, you have a nerve asking us whether we are full conscious (sic) when we do our reviews. Guess, we should ask whether you were sober when you shot off your e-mail to us.
3. You write: You came to our restaurants during normal lunch buffet day, were we serve the food according to our demographic and type of clients that normally visits our restaurants.
That is just baloney. If you mean that because a lot of Caucasian diners come to your restaurant for lunch, the food is bland, spiceless, pathetic and that you can serve spoiled food, it's a reflection on how low the standards of Indian restaurants in New Jersey have fallen. Maybe, you should stick a notice outside the restaurant to warn unwary desis that during lunch you are addressing a different demographic so that they have the option of staying away rather than being disappointed with the awful food and service later.
4. You write: Nine out of ten restaurants reviews on your website are either based on your specific taste/requirements...
A review is always the unique perspective of the reviewer. If the quality of the reviews are not good, people would stop reading them.
Most Indian restaurants in New Jersey including Urban Tadkaa are not even restaurants let alone being Indian restaurants. That's probably why many of them fail or change managements.
Instead of going after the reviewer, it'd be nice if you paid attention to Urban Tadkaa's kitchen and service. Or perhaps you are not the right person for the task since both departments desperately need adult supervision.
5. You write: If you really would like to rate us and I AM CHALLENGING YOU ON THIS POINT come to our Diner/ala-carte time and you will find where we stand compare to all the other restaurants in NJ
When we first sat down, we were keen on ordering ala carte. But no one bothered to find out whether we wanted to have the buffet or order ala carte and since we were famished we moved to the buffet table out of sheer hunger. As we were having our buffet, we ordered the Garlic Naan.
It boggles the mind that Urban Tadkaa's owner would even have the temerity to invite diners for a second time after subjecting them once to the cruel torture of rotten service and lousy/spoiled food. Nevertheless, we shall consider visiting Urban Tadkaa again at our convenience.
If your Friday Grand Gala Buffet is so pathetic, we shudder to think about your regular weekday (Mon-Thu) Buffet.
6. You write: I as a NORMAL human being i don't understand WHY some one would talk shyt about someone else's family or even think such a circumstances about some one's family
The Urban Tadkaa waiter who led us in had such a sad and mournful expression that he appeared as if he were just back from a dear one's funeral. If you think it's OK for your waiters to wear such a doleful expression, then perhaps you should consider changing the name of your wannabe Indian restaurant to Urban Tadkaa Funeral Home. Surely, it's not asking too much to expect that the serving staff in a restaurant have a cheerful attitude.
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First e-mail from Urban Tadkaa (6/10/2008)
Good Morning
To Whom It May Concern,
I would like to find out what do i have to do inroder to invite you guys to come to my resturant and review it and post it on your website. If you could please call me at 732-XXX-XXXX i will apprecaite that.
Thanks
Harshal Patel
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