The quality of food has depreciated over the years.Ordered their special Butter chicken but the taste was so bad we had to just gulp it given the price for it. At the end after paying the check and adding tip, the server had no shame in coming back and asking for more tip. I do not recommend this place if you want to eat quality butter chicken near Santana Row.
Chirag Patel
Always good food and service!Prices here has shot up a lot...(has been coming here since they opened)..may be priciest in South bay. If looking for only good food, there are other options in South bay. But for nice celebration outing, this is still a very good option!
Punit
The food quality has deteriorated substantially. First you would want to go anytime then dinner quality went extremely bad we used to look at buffet in the afternoon, but to our surprise the buffet has gone worse even. They need to do a war scale interventions on the quality of food.
Anirban Misra
Might be the expectation was too high, but was ensured the reality check was done properly! Oneof the worst food in the Bay Area… Miserable menu selection for a Valentines Day Dinner, too little quantity, strange chicken do pyaza recipe with overpowering salt and garlic, shrimp curry was overpowering garlic flavor as well with 4 shrimps from Costco… Rice was 60% cooked… Coming to the desert - one kulfi was distributed to two, maintaining the standards of minimized quantity…seems evident the desert was outsourced from Indian Groceries… The plates served were even broken… Now coming to the invoice, seriously, $389??? A gratuity of 18% charged…
natasham
Poor quality food with inappropriate spicing and recipes. Really good Indian food is never so sweet or spicy hot (and I am Indian). Eg papri chaat the tamarind chutney was outrageously sweet and ruined the dish. The staff were not friendly and ambience isn't in line with other restaurants in Santana Row. Overall I would give this place a miss and would never go back. There are far better quality Indian restaurants around.
PatientDiner
The food here seems to have deteriorated; possibly due to a new chef? Everything. seems really unnecessarily spicy, and the wait staff needs training to accommodate diner tolerances for heat. An assortment of Tandoori vegetables (vegetable garden) was liberally laden with chilli flakes, way beyond my ability to handle, and a replacement tandoori paneer was even hotter. Even the assorted bread included a super spicy stuffed bread ! I badly needed some yogurt to cool off; the only thing they had was mango lassi, which is a sugar bomb I avoid (no salted or plain lassi). Drinks and dessert were good. I and my fellow diners didn't get a good night's sleep due to heat induced indigestion. Please tone it down or make it customizable as most places do!
GregA
This used to be a great restaurant but it was tired and dirty. Planned to have dinner and ordered two appetizers and drinks. The appetizers (both deep fried) came out lukewarm. We didn't order dinner and left.
Akira K
The weekend buffet including free-flow mimoza is really nice.
Lana
Dirty restaurant and bad food. The floor was sticky and dirty at the entrance . That was our first unpleasant impression. I wish we would just walked away. I loved this restaurant for a long time, I think I have been visiting it over a decade. The food: they just cooked one curry sauce and then they serve it as different dishes. The chicken is flavorless..Chana masala seems like came out of a can. Naan is also tasteless. I don't recommend. Kind of shamefully rip off..very expensive and underwhelming.
Sarah B.
Dine In experience: We had a sponsor event at Amber India and one of my leaders asked me to come. So i said yes! I was surprised wen we got there that it is buffet style not complaining or anything just didnt think a place in Santana Row would be buffet style. I Definitely appreciate Santana Row offering a diversity of food selections not just the normal American food which i love too tho. Inside was really pretty and clean too which is expected from SR. Food: I think there buffet style choices was really great and had many choices but i usually go for butter chicken and of course they had! Their naan was given to us by the waiter only? maybe so we can tip more? lol I ordered butter chicken and naan to-go for my hubby and the waiter was sooo gracious took my order and handed me the food. Their Chai tea was reallly good too! again Their butter chicken was reallly good and i tried this new item where its like a cup/taco style and u add a few items into it and pop the whole thing in ur mouth? i thought that was interesting. They had plenty of fruits which i love! Parking: OMG the worst ever!! I reallly hate santana row i dont understand their parking and where to go afterwards luckily i was able to find nearby downstairs parking. But one of the reasons i avoid these places especially during the holiday the worst!! Price:? i dont know didnt pay for this event but my togo order food was really reasonable amount!
This place has gone downhill, especially for being in Santana Row. Meats were tough and tasted like they have been heavily spiced because they weren't fresh. I had to send 2 dishes back because they were unedible. Super overpriced for terrible food. Don't waste your money. 3 of use got sick that night and I called the manager the next day. The service was spotty and had to ask waiter to refill water several times. Furniture is old and the booth seat next to me was caved in.
Aar J.
Awesome place for authentic North Indian cuisine. Must try for anyone serious about indian food
Nd Y.
Amber was one of our favorite place to go, but last 2 times has been a lot of disappointment. Glasses had lipstick marks, the hostess was very friendly and changed the glasses 5 times.. that should have raised a flag about cleanliness. There was no apology or anything, looked liuke a normal business for them to serve dirty glasses. cauliflower manchurians were just friend cauliflower in tomato ketchup. really bad Nan served was cold like a stale one.
Alix R.
Pretty great Indian food for a fair price. I came here with a group of friends for a relaxing dinner and we ordered mostly vegetarian options. I am a huge meat eater and always want 1,000 portions of meat with my meals, but I honestly was very satisfied with all the food we ordered. Here is what we ordered for a table of 6 (ultimately came out to around ~$40): - Saag paneer - Nutty eggplant - Bhindi do pyaza (my favorite!) - Garlic naan - Basmati rice x2 - Our own individual drinks The spice level was overall excellent/tolerable (I do have to say, however, the Nutty Eggplant spice was very strong). My favorite was the bhindi do pyaza - the okra was cooked very well and had an overall great texture. Our dinner overall was very great and I had a lovely time with my friends. There were only a few other tables at the restaurant and the service was very quick. However, I only give 3 stars because of the prices ($40 is quite a bit for a dinner for me... I usually expect some leftovers if I spend that much) and the so-so service. It almost felt like the waiters were rushing us constantly (we were there towards the end of their dinner hours, but we were also not being rude, rowdy, or overstaying our welcome). Oh by the way, if you are getting a table at night, try not to sit next to the entrance. Somehow, the door doesn't fully close so I pretty much wore my jacket the entire time whoops.
Sonia N.
Amber is consistently one of our favorite places to go for higher-end North Indian/Punjabi style food. They have a great atmosphere within Santana Row, matching the classy and upscale vibe of this shopping center. Many of the dishes are classic favorites. On our most recent trip, we started with the Cauliflower Manchurian (very good, crispy, and flavorful, but almost too heavy handed on the spice) and Coconut Lentil Soup (velvety smooth, but not enough coconut milk to counterbalance the once again overwhelming spice level). Our meal consisted of two vegetable dishes: Saag Makai (spinach with corn) and Bhindi Do Pyaaza (okra with onion), saffron rice, and stuffed paratha. We loved everything, but the absolute standout (every visit) is the bread. They do naans, parathas, and all their other oven-baked items really really well. They are soooo fluffy with a nice char and crispiness on the outside. Service has been perfectly adequate and consistent our past couple of visits, but you do occasionally have to flag someone down (especially when it gets busy but also inexplicably when you're the only ones there). Overall a great spot for your Indian fix, especially on a date night or evening with friends.
The quality of food has depreciated over the years.Ordered their special Butter chicken but the taste was so bad we had to just gulp it given the price for it. At the end after paying the check and adding tip, the server had no shame in coming back and asking for more tip. I do not recommend this place if you want to eat quality butter chicken near Santana Row.
Always good food and service!Prices here has shot up a lot...(has been coming here since they opened)..may be priciest in South bay. If looking for only good food, there are other options in South bay. But for nice celebration outing, this is still a very good option!
The food quality has deteriorated substantially. First you would want to go anytime then dinner quality went extremely bad we used to look at buffet in the afternoon, but to our surprise the buffet has gone worse even. They need to do a war scale interventions on the quality of food.
Might be the expectation was too high, but was ensured the reality check was done properly! Oneof the worst food in the Bay Area… Miserable menu selection for a Valentines Day Dinner, too little quantity, strange chicken do pyaza recipe with overpowering salt and garlic, shrimp curry was overpowering garlic flavor as well with 4 shrimps from Costco… Rice was 60% cooked… Coming to the desert - one kulfi was distributed to two, maintaining the standards of minimized quantity…seems evident the desert was outsourced from Indian Groceries… The plates served were even broken… Now coming to the invoice, seriously, $389??? A gratuity of 18% charged…
Poor quality food with inappropriate spicing and recipes. Really good Indian food is never so sweet or spicy hot (and I am Indian). Eg papri chaat the tamarind chutney was outrageously sweet and ruined the dish. The staff were not friendly and ambience isn't in line with other restaurants in Santana Row. Overall I would give this place a miss and would never go back. There are far better quality Indian restaurants around.
The food here seems to have deteriorated; possibly due to a new chef? Everything. seems really unnecessarily spicy, and the wait staff needs training to accommodate diner tolerances for heat. An assortment of Tandoori vegetables (vegetable garden) was liberally laden with chilli flakes, way beyond my ability to handle, and a replacement tandoori paneer was even hotter. Even the assorted bread included a super spicy stuffed bread ! I badly needed some yogurt to cool off; the only thing they had was mango lassi, which is a sugar bomb I avoid (no salted or plain lassi). Drinks and dessert were good. I and my fellow diners didn't get a good night's sleep due to heat induced indigestion. Please tone it down or make it customizable as most places do!
This used to be a great restaurant but it was tired and dirty. Planned to have dinner and ordered two appetizers and drinks. The appetizers (both deep fried) came out lukewarm. We didn't order dinner and left.
The weekend buffet including free-flow mimoza is really nice.
Dirty restaurant and bad food. The floor was sticky and dirty at the entrance . That was our first unpleasant impression. I wish we would just walked away. I loved this restaurant for a long time, I think I have been visiting it over a decade. The food: they just cooked one curry sauce and then they serve it as different dishes. The chicken is flavorless..Chana masala seems like came out of a can. Naan is also tasteless. I don't recommend. Kind of shamefully rip off..very expensive and underwhelming.
Dine In experience: We had a sponsor event at Amber India and one of my leaders asked me to come. So i said yes! I was surprised wen we got there that it is buffet style not complaining or anything just didnt think a place in Santana Row would be buffet style. I Definitely appreciate Santana Row offering a diversity of food selections not just the normal American food which i love too tho. Inside was really pretty and clean too which is expected from SR. Food: I think there buffet style choices was really great and had many choices but i usually go for butter chicken and of course they had! Their naan was given to us by the waiter only? maybe so we can tip more? lol I ordered butter chicken and naan to-go for my hubby and the waiter was sooo gracious took my order and handed me the food. Their Chai tea was reallly good too! again Their butter chicken was reallly good and i tried this new item where its like a cup/taco style and u add a few items into it and pop the whole thing in ur mouth? i thought that was interesting. They had plenty of fruits which i love! Parking: OMG the worst ever!! I reallly hate santana row i dont understand their parking and where to go afterwards luckily i was able to find nearby downstairs parking. But one of the reasons i avoid these places especially during the holiday the worst!! Price:? i dont know didnt pay for this event but my togo order food was really reasonable amount!
Restaurantji Recommends
This place has gone downhill, especially for being in Santana Row. Meats were tough and tasted like they have been heavily spiced because they weren't fresh. I had to send 2 dishes back because they were unedible. Super overpriced for terrible food. Don't waste your money. 3 of use got sick that night and I called the manager the next day. The service was spotty and had to ask waiter to refill water several times. Furniture is old and the booth seat next to me was caved in.
Awesome place for authentic North Indian cuisine. Must try for anyone serious about indian food
Amber was one of our favorite place to go, but last 2 times has been a lot of disappointment. Glasses had lipstick marks, the hostess was very friendly and changed the glasses 5 times.. that should have raised a flag about cleanliness. There was no apology or anything, looked liuke a normal business for them to serve dirty glasses. cauliflower manchurians were just friend cauliflower in tomato ketchup. really bad Nan served was cold like a stale one.
Pretty great Indian food for a fair price. I came here with a group of friends for a relaxing dinner and we ordered mostly vegetarian options. I am a huge meat eater and always want 1,000 portions of meat with my meals, but I honestly was very satisfied with all the food we ordered. Here is what we ordered for a table of 6 (ultimately came out to around ~$40): - Saag paneer - Nutty eggplant - Bhindi do pyaza (my favorite!) - Garlic naan - Basmati rice x2 - Our own individual drinks The spice level was overall excellent/tolerable (I do have to say, however, the Nutty Eggplant spice was very strong). My favorite was the bhindi do pyaza - the okra was cooked very well and had an overall great texture. Our dinner overall was very great and I had a lovely time with my friends. There were only a few other tables at the restaurant and the service was very quick. However, I only give 3 stars because of the prices ($40 is quite a bit for a dinner for me... I usually expect some leftovers if I spend that much) and the so-so service. It almost felt like the waiters were rushing us constantly (we were there towards the end of their dinner hours, but we were also not being rude, rowdy, or overstaying our welcome). Oh by the way, if you are getting a table at night, try not to sit next to the entrance. Somehow, the door doesn't fully close so I pretty much wore my jacket the entire time whoops.
Amber is consistently one of our favorite places to go for higher-end North Indian/Punjabi style food. They have a great atmosphere within Santana Row, matching the classy and upscale vibe of this shopping center. Many of the dishes are classic favorites. On our most recent trip, we started with the Cauliflower Manchurian (very good, crispy, and flavorful, but almost too heavy handed on the spice) and Coconut Lentil Soup (velvety smooth, but not enough coconut milk to counterbalance the once again overwhelming spice level). Our meal consisted of two vegetable dishes: Saag Makai (spinach with corn) and Bhindi Do Pyaaza (okra with onion), saffron rice, and stuffed paratha. We loved everything, but the absolute standout (every visit) is the bread. They do naans, parathas, and all their other oven-baked items really really well. They are soooo fluffy with a nice char and crispiness on the outside. Service has been perfectly adequate and consistent our past couple of visits, but you do occasionally have to flag someone down (especially when it gets busy but also inexplicably when you're the only ones there). Overall a great spot for your Indian fix, especially on a date night or evening with friends.