This place used to be AMAZING. My colleagues and I would come almost weekly for their lunch buffet. They switched to the express lunch menu which is also great. And the naan is still the best I've had. The service, however, has been dismal and getting worse. Last month we came for the express lunch and the service was so slow we couldn't get our water refilled until we asked three times and then had to leave before they served the dessert and asked for the bill, letting the waiter know we needed to get back to work, but we didn't get the bill for awhile either. I still love the food and had been pondering having my rehearsal dinner here, but today I gave Raaga another try. The employee, when we walked in, didn't make eye contact to greet us/seat us from looking at his phone for 20 seconds or so till he finished what he was looking at, wore headphones for most of the time (not noticing other patrons were trying to get his attention), but what prompted me to leave this review is what happened with our meals. He first mixed up the appetizers of the person I was with. I reminded him which one was mine. For the main dish, I, a very strict vegetarian, ordered the paneer makhni, and my friend ordered a chicken dish. We began eating and I realized the dish I was eating was not vegetarian. I asked my friend if she ordered chicken, and she confirmed she did and said she was wondering why her chicken was so tender. He had mixed up our dishes. I had no reason to question the cubes in front of me before I put it in my mouth, as it was cut similar to paneer and the sauce looked similar in the dark lighting. I was mortified. I haven't eaten meat in 21 years. When we told the waiter his mistake he sort of brushed it off saying that had happened before with another staff member giving meat to a lifelong vegetarian. As an Indian person I never expected to not be able to trust my food at an Indian restaurant. I'm so disappointed and still deeply bothered by the whole experience.
Parita S.
Great lunch options! For $15 I got a pakora appetizer, paneer makhani, daal, naan, rice and gulab jamun. Their express lunch menu allows you to pick an appetizer, entree, "curry" (daal or Chana masala), and dessert. All orders served with naan and rice. Their naan is absolutely amazing and the best I've had in the triangle area! It's cooked to perfect, super soft and hot! Most indian places tend to over cook it (burning the edges), but I prefer mine soft. I've been here twice for lunch it's co workers and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. The portions are also great. Most indian spots do a buffet for lunch but the express menus roll gives you options and variety, minus the over indulging! Lastly, the food is not spicy at all. So if that's a must for you - try asking for everything spicy. Or avoid this place at lunch and try it at dinner. Besides that, the food is super tasty and yum!
Michael R.
I love this place for lunch. It's a really small buffet, but everything is done exceedingly well. I've been here for dinner and the dishes are gourmet and superior to your typical places
Tim P.
They used the palm of their hand to push down the rice they filled off the buffet for my take out order. When I complained they barely said sorry and when I asked how can I be sure I was not still getting the tainted rice they just said trust us that what comes out of the kitchen won't be the same tainted rice. I had to ask for my own container to fill off the buffet because I was so disgusted. God only knows where that man's palm of his hand had been. It made me sick to my stomach. I am extremely disappointed because I have been eating there since it opened almost 20 years ago and have loved the food and have taken many guests there and have recommended it to dozens of people. I don't think I will ever go back. GROSS!!!!!
Todd B.
This is definitely an Indian restaurant worth visiting. We had lunch there and had the daily special for $15 each. It had an appetizer, an entrée with Rice and naan, dahl, and dessert. It was fantastic! Wonderfully subtle flavors with spicy highlights. We will definitely be going again!
Anita Verma
Ragga catered for my daughter's wedding few months back. All the guests are still raving about the food. Both the quality of food and presentation was excellent. Hemini is vey polite and professional and she and her husband are both a pleasure to work with. I would highly recommend Raaga to anyone who is looking to cater food for any occasion.
Anita V.
Raaga catered for my daughter's wedding few months back. All my wedding guests were very pleased with the food and are still to this day raving about it. Both the quality and the presentation of the food was excellent. Both Hemini and her husband are very polite and great to work with. We would highly recommend Raaga to anyone who is looking to cater for a large event.
Sara W.
Had a wonderful lunch here last weekend! The girls working were wonderful, they lit the restaurant up with their enthusiasm for Raaga's food and their friendship. We had subzi miloni, gobi lassooni, tikka masala and mango lassi. All were excellent accompanied by handmade naan bread. The gobi lassooni was sweet and tangy with a kick, and I have never had a better lassi! Thank you Skye and Daisy for the great work and for the wonderful service. It seemed like they were the only two working and they made sure to take care of everyone promptly. We will be back to try out the dinner menu with friends outside when the weather is warmer. Hats off to Raaga!
Erin Mattimoe
Started out so positive. Fifteen minutes later, still no service. Everyone else seemed to be taken care of. I walked out...no one even noticed.
Lisa Wheeler
Yes, Raaga is more expensive than other Indian restaurants in the area but I truly believe you get what you pay for. We popped in for lunch on a Friday and took full advantage of their express lunch menu. You get an appetizer, main entrée, side, rice, naan, and dessert. My husband and I ordered different items to share and ended up having a delicious little buffet of sorts. The flavors here are wonderful with food cooked to perfection. The more I eat here the more I realize I don't want to get Indian food anywhere else. Raaga isn't the best Indian I've had but the atmosphere coupled with great service and flavorful menu items keeps me coming back. Now that I have tried several dishes on their menu I have to go ahead and up my rating.
Yes, Raaga is more expensive than other Indian restaurants in the area but I truly believe you get what you pay for. We popped in for lunch on a Friday and took full advantage of their express lunch menu. You get an appetizer, main entrée, side, rice, naan, and dessert for $15. My husband and I ordered different items to share and ended up having a delicious little buffet of sorts. The flavors here are wonderful with food cooked to perfection. The more I eat here the more I realize I don't want to get Indian food anywhere else. Raaga isn't the best Indian I've had but the atmosphere coupled with great service and flavorful menu items keeps me coming back. Now that I have tried several dishes on their menu I have to go ahead and up my rating.
Brooke K.
My husband and I dined here on Valentine's Day and had an absolutely fantastic meal. We split crab cakes (which were heart-shaped for the occasion) as an appetizer and they were perfectly seasoned. I had one of their chicken Valentine's specials which was delicious and my husband had the lamb rogan josh which was also great. We shared cardamom kulfi for dessert which was a nice treat. The rosemary naan bread was some of the best naan I've ever had, even after living in New York. It's the absolute fluffiest naan ever! We were given a rose and two chocolates at the end of the meal which was a nice Valentine's Day touch.
Deb J.
I'm updating my review from three years ago. Where I once swore I would never go back, I've now been back several times and enjoyed each time. These folks were the only place opened in the 54 east shopping area after the " great snowstorm of 2018." Let's hope we don't get anymore snow this year! Food is always great. It was again last Thursday night. If you haven't tried the tomato soup, I suggest you do. All the appetizers are good. Service can be hit or miss, but we generally have the bartender, Tyler wait on us. He's one in a million. Always has an idea about new wines we should try and is happy to tell us how great he thinks they are. That's part of why I look forward to going there. It's a new experience (wine wise) every time. Give this place a try, you can thank me later.
Bruna Brylawski
It was a mix of great and not-so-great. The food was good, exceptional appetizer (crisp cauliflower) and great entrees. However, the bread (naan) was mediocre (dried basil topping?). The service was solicitous, but the order of hot tea came with an half-full basket of bags, none of which was black tea, and it took so long for replacement that my dinner mate went to another table to get some.
Virginia D.
My family and I had dinner at Raga during our recent trip to Chapel Hill. It was our first time dining there and we loved every second of it! We walked in famished and, thankfully, the friendly hostess was able to seat us right away. The first thing I noticed was the restaurant's gorgeous interior! The rich, sumptuous colors make it cozy and inviting, but still elegant at the same time. After a long day spent walking around and exploring Chapel Hill, we needed some wine. I was delighted to find an extensive wine selection with bottles at every price point. At the recommendation of our server, we chose a wonderful pinot noir from Oregon. When it came time to order food, our wonderful server, Thomas, helped walk us through the menu and carefully explained Raaga's spice levels so that everything would be to our taste. I wish every restaurant I went to had servers so knowledgeable, attentive but not overbearing, and who genuinely seemed to care about us and our Raaga experience! Most importantly, however, our meal was fantastic! The gobi lasooni appetizer was crunchy amazingness, but not too heavy and the garlic naan was outstanding. Our entrees were equally impressive; we particularly enjoyed the delicious Daal Raaga and lamb korma. Needless to say, we will be back! I have already recommended it to several friends who frequent the Chapel Hill area and can't wait to hear about their experiences! Thank you Raaga (and our server, Thomas) for an amazing evening!!
This place used to be AMAZING. My colleagues and I would come almost weekly for their lunch buffet. They switched to the express lunch menu which is also great. And the naan is still the best I've had. The service, however, has been dismal and getting worse. Last month we came for the express lunch and the service was so slow we couldn't get our water refilled until we asked three times and then had to leave before they served the dessert and asked for the bill, letting the waiter know we needed to get back to work, but we didn't get the bill for awhile either. I still love the food and had been pondering having my rehearsal dinner here, but today I gave Raaga another try. The employee, when we walked in, didn't make eye contact to greet us/seat us from looking at his phone for 20 seconds or so till he finished what he was looking at, wore headphones for most of the time (not noticing other patrons were trying to get his attention), but what prompted me to leave this review is what happened with our meals. He first mixed up the appetizers of the person I was with. I reminded him which one was mine. For the main dish, I, a very strict vegetarian, ordered the paneer makhni, and my friend ordered a chicken dish. We began eating and I realized the dish I was eating was not vegetarian. I asked my friend if she ordered chicken, and she confirmed she did and said she was wondering why her chicken was so tender. He had mixed up our dishes. I had no reason to question the cubes in front of me before I put it in my mouth, as it was cut similar to paneer and the sauce looked similar in the dark lighting. I was mortified. I haven't eaten meat in 21 years. When we told the waiter his mistake he sort of brushed it off saying that had happened before with another staff member giving meat to a lifelong vegetarian. As an Indian person I never expected to not be able to trust my food at an Indian restaurant. I'm so disappointed and still deeply bothered by the whole experience.
Great lunch options! For $15 I got a pakora appetizer, paneer makhani, daal, naan, rice and gulab jamun. Their express lunch menu allows you to pick an appetizer, entree, "curry" (daal or Chana masala), and dessert. All orders served with naan and rice. Their naan is absolutely amazing and the best I've had in the triangle area! It's cooked to perfect, super soft and hot! Most indian places tend to over cook it (burning the edges), but I prefer mine soft. I've been here twice for lunch it's co workers and we all thoroughly enjoyed it. The portions are also great. Most indian spots do a buffet for lunch but the express menus roll gives you options and variety, minus the over indulging! Lastly, the food is not spicy at all. So if that's a must for you - try asking for everything spicy. Or avoid this place at lunch and try it at dinner. Besides that, the food is super tasty and yum!
I love this place for lunch. It's a really small buffet, but everything is done exceedingly well. I've been here for dinner and the dishes are gourmet and superior to your typical places
They used the palm of their hand to push down the rice they filled off the buffet for my take out order. When I complained they barely said sorry and when I asked how can I be sure I was not still getting the tainted rice they just said trust us that what comes out of the kitchen won't be the same tainted rice. I had to ask for my own container to fill off the buffet because I was so disgusted. God only knows where that man's palm of his hand had been. It made me sick to my stomach. I am extremely disappointed because I have been eating there since it opened almost 20 years ago and have loved the food and have taken many guests there and have recommended it to dozens of people. I don't think I will ever go back. GROSS!!!!!
This is definitely an Indian restaurant worth visiting. We had lunch there and had the daily special for $15 each. It had an appetizer, an entrée with Rice and naan, dahl, and dessert. It was fantastic! Wonderfully subtle flavors with spicy highlights. We will definitely be going again!
Ragga catered for my daughter's wedding few months back. All the guests are still raving about the food. Both the quality of food and presentation was excellent. Hemini is vey polite and professional and she and her husband are both a pleasure to work with. I would highly recommend Raaga to anyone who is looking to cater food for any occasion.
Raaga catered for my daughter's wedding few months back. All my wedding guests were very pleased with the food and are still to this day raving about it. Both the quality and the presentation of the food was excellent. Both Hemini and her husband are very polite and great to work with. We would highly recommend Raaga to anyone who is looking to cater for a large event.
Had a wonderful lunch here last weekend! The girls working were wonderful, they lit the restaurant up with their enthusiasm for Raaga's food and their friendship. We had subzi miloni, gobi lassooni, tikka masala and mango lassi. All were excellent accompanied by handmade naan bread. The gobi lassooni was sweet and tangy with a kick, and I have never had a better lassi! Thank you Skye and Daisy for the great work and for the wonderful service. It seemed like they were the only two working and they made sure to take care of everyone promptly. We will be back to try out the dinner menu with friends outside when the weather is warmer. Hats off to Raaga!
Started out so positive. Fifteen minutes later, still no service. Everyone else seemed to be taken care of. I walked out...no one even noticed.
Yes, Raaga is more expensive than other Indian restaurants in the area but I truly believe you get what you pay for. We popped in for lunch on a Friday and took full advantage of their express lunch menu. You get an appetizer, main entrée, side, rice, naan, and dessert. My husband and I ordered different items to share and ended up having a delicious little buffet of sorts. The flavors here are wonderful with food cooked to perfection. The more I eat here the more I realize I don't want to get Indian food anywhere else. Raaga isn't the best Indian I've had but the atmosphere coupled with great service and flavorful menu items keeps me coming back. Now that I have tried several dishes on their menu I have to go ahead and up my rating.
Restaurantji Recommends
Yes, Raaga is more expensive than other Indian restaurants in the area but I truly believe you get what you pay for. We popped in for lunch on a Friday and took full advantage of their express lunch menu. You get an appetizer, main entrée, side, rice, naan, and dessert for $15. My husband and I ordered different items to share and ended up having a delicious little buffet of sorts. The flavors here are wonderful with food cooked to perfection. The more I eat here the more I realize I don't want to get Indian food anywhere else. Raaga isn't the best Indian I've had but the atmosphere coupled with great service and flavorful menu items keeps me coming back. Now that I have tried several dishes on their menu I have to go ahead and up my rating.
My husband and I dined here on Valentine's Day and had an absolutely fantastic meal. We split crab cakes (which were heart-shaped for the occasion) as an appetizer and they were perfectly seasoned. I had one of their chicken Valentine's specials which was delicious and my husband had the lamb rogan josh which was also great. We shared cardamom kulfi for dessert which was a nice treat. The rosemary naan bread was some of the best naan I've ever had, even after living in New York. It's the absolute fluffiest naan ever! We were given a rose and two chocolates at the end of the meal which was a nice Valentine's Day touch.
I'm updating my review from three years ago. Where I once swore I would never go back, I've now been back several times and enjoyed each time. These folks were the only place opened in the 54 east shopping area after the " great snowstorm of 2018." Let's hope we don't get anymore snow this year! Food is always great. It was again last Thursday night. If you haven't tried the tomato soup, I suggest you do. All the appetizers are good. Service can be hit or miss, but we generally have the bartender, Tyler wait on us. He's one in a million. Always has an idea about new wines we should try and is happy to tell us how great he thinks they are. That's part of why I look forward to going there. It's a new experience (wine wise) every time. Give this place a try, you can thank me later.
It was a mix of great and not-so-great. The food was good, exceptional appetizer (crisp cauliflower) and great entrees. However, the bread (naan) was mediocre (dried basil topping?). The service was solicitous, but the order of hot tea came with an half-full basket of bags, none of which was black tea, and it took so long for replacement that my dinner mate went to another table to get some.
My family and I had dinner at Raga during our recent trip to Chapel Hill. It was our first time dining there and we loved every second of it! We walked in famished and, thankfully, the friendly hostess was able to seat us right away. The first thing I noticed was the restaurant's gorgeous interior! The rich, sumptuous colors make it cozy and inviting, but still elegant at the same time. After a long day spent walking around and exploring Chapel Hill, we needed some wine. I was delighted to find an extensive wine selection with bottles at every price point. At the recommendation of our server, we chose a wonderful pinot noir from Oregon. When it came time to order food, our wonderful server, Thomas, helped walk us through the menu and carefully explained Raaga's spice levels so that everything would be to our taste. I wish every restaurant I went to had servers so knowledgeable, attentive but not overbearing, and who genuinely seemed to care about us and our Raaga experience! Most importantly, however, our meal was fantastic! The gobi lasooni appetizer was crunchy amazingness, but not too heavy and the garlic naan was outstanding. Our entrees were equally impressive; we particularly enjoyed the delicious Daal Raaga and lamb korma. Needless to say, we will be back! I have already recommended it to several friends who frequent the Chapel Hill area and can't wait to hear about their experiences! Thank you Raaga (and our server, Thomas) for an amazing evening!!