Rita's Gate Of India

1450 5th St, Santa Monica
(424) 268-7196

Recent Reviews

Alene Cali

It is completely illegal to not have restrooms available at an establishment that serves food. If you can even call what they serve food. Mostly just serve attitude.

Saule Piktys

i love Rita’s kitchen my favorite for very long time

Shyam Sheth

they seem nice enough so it pains me to give this review. but how do i put it... you will never get high blood pressure from eating here. if this is the gate of india, it's intended to fool the british into thinking the country has absolutely no spices left.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 1

Service: 4

Michael Godinez III

Eat here with caution!This place puts me in a tough spot because when you get the food that you actually order, it's good but the people running this restaurant are rude and literally lie to you.They brought us a dish that we were certain was not what we ordered. We asked the man that is always there, what it is they brought to us. He wouldn't answer the question. He kept asking us what we ordered, and when we told him, he then responded with, "yes, that is what that is." This was obviously very upsetting.We then ordered the dish we were certain was brought to us, and it was the exact same dish. When the lady brought it out, we asked her what she brought and what was on the table. She wouldn't answer the question.The point here is that when you have a major character flaw where you lie to people knowingly, that bleeds into other areas. What if they have expired food? What if they drop the food on the floor? Well, they would just serve it. They don't have an issue with lying and being dishonest!I have been to this place 5 times and 3 out of the five times, that same guy lied about something. It was extremely weird. However, this last time it dawned on me, IT IS DANGEROUS to eat here or anywhere that you find unscrupulous humans.At the time of this writing, the chef is good, but that is all this place has to offer and not worth the risk.EAT HERE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 3

Service: 1

Recommended dishes: Coconut Curry, Tikka Masala

hong peng

Very unique Indian food at very affordable prices.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 4

Rob wolf

Great spot!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

mohammed ali

The worst experience I had ever seen in USA...... I don't recommend this restaurant ever.... The service is so bad here ..... The attitude of owner is soo irritating...

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 1

Naomi Quinn

I recommend reading all the negative reviews here former customers have left about the female owners demeanour before deciding to eat here. I wish I had after my first encounter because I sensed something was off the first time I dined in but the food had been good so I had just decided to order takeout from there on out and now I’m regretting the takeout decision too.the food last time was delicious but found the female owner to be a tad unpleasant so decided to just order takeout after my first experience dining in because the food was very good. Today I ordered curry and naan takeout for my birthday lunch, once I got home and started eating I discovered that both types of naan I ordered were stale and hard. I called in and let them know that the curries were delicious but the naan seemed stale and was unsure if I had received old naan or if it was over cooked but they were both rock hard and had wanted a refund for the naan. I explained I was a recurring customer and the food had always been very good and had not encountered this issue before from their restaurant . The female owner immediately became very angry and rude and started screaming on the phone for even suggesting that that her naan was stale. She said I was calling her stale because her and the food are one and that they are too busy to have stale food. I find that interesting because one of the things I had noticed when I first moved to the area was how surprisingly dead the restaurant is. I had even gone in the evenings during peak hours and I was the only one there. And I didn’t understand why until now. I see others have mentioned that in their reviews too. It’s sad because the food can be really good I just had an encounter with her on the phone where she was screaming at me when I explained what I experienced with the naan being hard/possibly stale. I made sure to emphasize that the curries were delicious, the food had always been excellent in the past, and it was just the naan that was the issue today.( It didn’t appear to be overcooked, it was just rock hard like I had received day old naan. This restaurant is quite pricy to wind up with stale food).I was completely taken back by the restaurant owners demeanour after I explained the problem (I emphasized that the curries were delicious and I had no issues there). Now experiencing being screamed at on the phone I see why the place isn’t that busy. I calmly told this person to please don’t speak to me this way and this is not a way to speak to a customer but she continued to yell down the phone to what had been a recurring customer. I ended up hanging up because she just would not stop and I decided to leave this review because the way this was handled was so incredibly poor. All that was needed was a calm im sorry the naan was hard and here’s a refund. But after that experience of being screamed at down the phone I now have learnt my lesson as to why the place isn’t hopping and won’t be returning. It’s a shame because the food is quite delicious when it’s done right.I just checked out all the negative reviews to see if anyone experienced the same thing I had and I see that this is a recurring issue.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 3

Service: 1

Hartejas Dhindsa

More than a relief, a refuge.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Chicken Biryani

Johanna James

Some of the best Indian food I’ve ever had. Thank you, Rita!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

MrBluto2761

I just walked in to get something to eat. The place is relatively empty with 2 small groups. The gentleman that works there tells me they're very busy and it'll be at least 30 minutes to seat me? The place was almost empty. I ate there a couple days ago and thought food was pretty good. Tipped very well also which I sort of regret now. They've lost me as a customer.

Service: 1

Georgia Udall

The place is cute and we were served quickly but I don’t understand the prices. $25 for a bowl of curry, plus 4 for a bowl of rice?? If it was a huge portion I would

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 3

Anup Kumar Sinha

Naan was so thick and looked like pita or they just heated readymade from Costco or somewhere else.

Food: 2

Service: 1

Rwanda Campbell

Excellent food! Excellent service! Rita is extraordinary! We will return!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Naan, Garlic Naan

Dora Sitar

After a cursory Yelp search we decided to try Rita's for a late lunch. We were immediately greeted by Rita - she gave us great recommendations and helped us decide on our order. Spoiler alert - it was all delicious!! The best Indian food I have ever had and some of the best food I have ever tasted. Everything was perfectly spiced and flavorful without being overwhelming. The dishes were balanced and nothing was too heavy. Rita cooks everything herself so you can expect the same quality every time you visit. We can't wait to go back and to make Rita's one of our repeatedly visited spots. We will be back many times to come!!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

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