Edit November 2017: the service the last few times has been terrible. Quality also seems to have dropped. My rating was 5 but I definitely think I'm being generous with a two star now. I am also questioning the cleanliness of the kitchen now. I have heard numerous stories...Edit April 2024: now officially a zero star. I am not sure what changed, but my god they have become the worst Indian food restaurant in Ottawa. What a shame. I guess you can't maintain being the best forever. Hopefully I can find where the chef's went and try that restaurant.Food: overly salted to the point where I thought I was going to have heart failure. The spices and herbs are either lacking or can't be tasted due to the amount of salt. The Naan was tasteless and gross. The somosas were ok but ok as in 3/10. The green sauce they came with might as well have been cat vomit. The red sauce is essentially sweet and sour sauce. What happened to the tamerhind sauce?? The onion Baja was basically like eating doughy undercooked rocks of salt. The chicken in the Korma and butter chicken was over cooked and dry. What happened? Honestly I wish I never tried them again. Back from 2014-2018 I ordered 2-3x a month and loved this place. What a shame, what a loss to an iconic Indian restaurant. Either COVID really screwed you guys or you hired someone off the street and pay them minimum wage to cook this so called Indian food.Never ever ever again. You've lost me as a customer. Honestly just shut down before you kill someone from the amount of salt that's used.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Morgan Renaud
Ordered in last night (Butter Chicken, Bhoona Beef, Meat Samosas, Garlic Naan) and this will absolutely be a new staple, it was incredible!! Highly recommended.
Food: 5
Anirudh Ganesh
great food, ordered through door dash. would definitely order again. although it wasn't spicy like what I expected even though i chose medium level of spiciness.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hakim
We went as a family for dinner. It was a weekday, and there were only two tables occupied…!!!The server was cold and distant, but still decent. As it was our first Indian restaurant in Ottawa, we asked for and received some explanations, albeit brief!The dishes ordered were hot and tasted good. But we had a vague impression of “reheated” for the rice and certain sauces. This impression was confirmed the next day on the leftovers that we took with us...the sauces and the rice looked strange!We were surprised that the rice was not served with the sauces and that we had to order it separately, so pay for it (around $6 a bowl ?)!!The mango juice was not natural, but just an industrial juice!At the end, our lovely family discussion was “interrupted” in a rather curt manner by a lady who came to inform us that the bill was ready and how we intended to pay. A very inelegant way of telling us that we had to leave! I really didn't like that.Would I recommend this restaurant: It remains an experience to be had, although the prices still seem high to me.Will I come back to it: Definitely not.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
Prince Chahal
Great experience,want to come again n again,specially host was really loveable person….??
Great value, tasty buffet. Consistent quality for many years. Very welcoming and attentive staff.Parking: Easy parking outside. Overflow onto street if needed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pappadum, Vindaloo, Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Biryani, Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala
Noor Hajjar
Dear Valle, thank u so much for the amazing food! I really enjoyed the meal hope to come in again soon
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Biryani, Tandoori Chicken, Garlic Naan, Madras
Derek Vanstone
The food is delicious. The staff are wonderful. Washrooms are clean.The reason I gave atmosphere three stars is because they played the same song on loop the entire time I was there. Everything else was find.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Rose Thompson
We started going to their east end location way back in 2005. When we moved we traveled from Barrhaven to go pick up. So glad to have the south location. Consistent, excellent food every time. 10/10 highly recommend.
I would give zero stars if that was an option. I do not plan on getting food from here again. Host India has been a staple in my household for a couple years but last night was the last straw. I stopped placing orders for pickup, because of the chaos that characterized the pickup process, and opted for delivery instead but you can’t get that right either.I placed an order for delivery and 75 minutes later the food had not been delivered. I called the restaurant 3 times and the person answered the phone lied to me not once, not twice but three times: he told me that the delivery person was outside and had attempted to reach me but I was not answering, that the food had been delivered, and that he was going to call the delivery person and call me back - which he didn’t do. I ended up physically going to the restaurant to pickup my order only to find that the order was not even ready.There was an older gentleman at the front who looked like a deer in headlights - he couldn’t give an answer to anything I asked. The other man who answered the phone was extremely impolite and didn’t have even the slightest humility; he couldn’t even apologize for your own errors! He acted like he was doing me a favour by fulfilling my order, that I had possibly forgot my address and had the food delivered elsewhere as if I do not know where I live.It took over 90 minutes from me to get my order! Don’t worry Host India, I got the message loud and clear, I will start the search for another Indian restaurant to come in clutch on the days when I don’t the time to make food from scratch.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Julie de Loe
Dietary restrictions: Staff knowledgeable when dealing with food restrictions.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Garlic Naan, Curry
Shell Mac
Did Uber Eats and won’t order again. Out of the 7 items I ordered 2 were worth while. The filling in both the meat and veg somosa crumbled and were so dry no amount of chutney could help. The onion Bhaji were so hard they couldn’t be eaten and I threw them out. The seekh kabab were hard and dry I knocked them on the counter and they sounded like stones. The paneer pakora were unimpressive. It was after 9 on a Friday night. Perhaps they were reheating food from the dinner rush because all items except the naan seemed like they had been laying out for a while. With all fees and generous tip I am out 100$ for one order of chicken madras and 2 naan.
David Mainville
This place is simply beautiful, the prices are high, but it is worth it. I went on a Monday for dinner, and we were all by ourselfs. Amazing!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Julian Barber
Recently, I noticed a significant change in the butter chicken at this restaurant, and it's not for the better. The once delightful dish seems to have lost its charm, with a noticeable reduction in spice levels. The absence of that distinct kick has left the butter chicken tasting rather bland compared to its former flavorful self. Hoping for a return to the original spice levels that made this dish a favorite.
Edit November 2017: the service the last few times has been terrible. Quality also seems to have dropped. My rating was 5 but I definitely think I'm being generous with a two star now. I am also questioning the cleanliness of the kitchen now. I have heard numerous stories...Edit April 2024: now officially a zero star. I am not sure what changed, but my god they have become the worst Indian food restaurant in Ottawa. What a shame. I guess you can't maintain being the best forever. Hopefully I can find where the chef's went and try that restaurant.Food: overly salted to the point where I thought I was going to have heart failure. The spices and herbs are either lacking or can't be tasted due to the amount of salt. The Naan was tasteless and gross. The somosas were ok but ok as in 3/10. The green sauce they came with might as well have been cat vomit. The red sauce is essentially sweet and sour sauce. What happened to the tamerhind sauce?? The onion Baja was basically like eating doughy undercooked rocks of salt. The chicken in the Korma and butter chicken was over cooked and dry. What happened? Honestly I wish I never tried them again. Back from 2014-2018 I ordered 2-3x a month and loved this place. What a shame, what a loss to an iconic Indian restaurant. Either COVID really screwed you guys or you hired someone off the street and pay them minimum wage to cook this so called Indian food.Never ever ever again. You've lost me as a customer. Honestly just shut down before you kill someone from the amount of salt that's used.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Ordered in last night (Butter Chicken, Bhoona Beef, Meat Samosas, Garlic Naan) and this will absolutely be a new staple, it was incredible!! Highly recommended.
Food: 5
great food, ordered through door dash. would definitely order again. although it wasn't spicy like what I expected even though i chose medium level of spiciness.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We went as a family for dinner. It was a weekday, and there were only two tables occupied…!!!The server was cold and distant, but still decent. As it was our first Indian restaurant in Ottawa, we asked for and received some explanations, albeit brief!The dishes ordered were hot and tasted good. But we had a vague impression of “reheated” for the rice and certain sauces. This impression was confirmed the next day on the leftovers that we took with us...the sauces and the rice looked strange!We were surprised that the rice was not served with the sauces and that we had to order it separately, so pay for it (around $6 a bowl ?)!!The mango juice was not natural, but just an industrial juice!At the end, our lovely family discussion was “interrupted” in a rather curt manner by a lady who came to inform us that the bill was ready and how we intended to pay. A very inelegant way of telling us that we had to leave! I really didn't like that.Would I recommend this restaurant: It remains an experience to be had, although the prices still seem high to me.Will I come back to it: Definitely not.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2
Great experience,want to come again n again,specially host was really loveable person….??
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Garlic Naan, Curry
The food was great. Fresh hi ot and very tasty.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Chicken Tikka Kabab, Garlic Naan
Great value, tasty buffet. Consistent quality for many years. Very welcoming and attentive staff.Parking: Easy parking outside. Overflow onto street if needed.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pappadum, Vindaloo, Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Biryani, Butter Chicken and Chicken Tikka Masala
Dear Valle, thank u so much for the amazing food! I really enjoyed the meal hope to come in again soon
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Biryani, Tandoori Chicken, Garlic Naan, Madras
The food is delicious. The staff are wonderful. Washrooms are clean.The reason I gave atmosphere three stars is because they played the same song on loop the entire time I was there. Everything else was find.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
We started going to their east end location way back in 2005. When we moved we traveled from Barrhaven to go pick up. So glad to have the south location. Consistent, excellent food every time. 10/10 highly recommend.
Restaurantji Recommends
I would give zero stars if that was an option. I do not plan on getting food from here again. Host India has been a staple in my household for a couple years but last night was the last straw. I stopped placing orders for pickup, because of the chaos that characterized the pickup process, and opted for delivery instead but you can’t get that right either.I placed an order for delivery and 75 minutes later the food had not been delivered. I called the restaurant 3 times and the person answered the phone lied to me not once, not twice but three times: he told me that the delivery person was outside and had attempted to reach me but I was not answering, that the food had been delivered, and that he was going to call the delivery person and call me back - which he didn’t do. I ended up physically going to the restaurant to pickup my order only to find that the order was not even ready.There was an older gentleman at the front who looked like a deer in headlights - he couldn’t give an answer to anything I asked. The other man who answered the phone was extremely impolite and didn’t have even the slightest humility; he couldn’t even apologize for your own errors! He acted like he was doing me a favour by fulfilling my order, that I had possibly forgot my address and had the food delivered elsewhere as if I do not know where I live.It took over 90 minutes from me to get my order! Don’t worry Host India, I got the message loud and clear, I will start the search for another Indian restaurant to come in clutch on the days when I don’t the time to make food from scratch.
Atmosphere: 1
Service: 1
Dietary restrictions: Staff knowledgeable when dealing with food restrictions.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Garlic Naan, Curry
Did Uber Eats and won’t order again. Out of the 7 items I ordered 2 were worth while. The filling in both the meat and veg somosa crumbled and were so dry no amount of chutney could help. The onion Bhaji were so hard they couldn’t be eaten and I threw them out. The seekh kabab were hard and dry I knocked them on the counter and they sounded like stones. The paneer pakora were unimpressive. It was after 9 on a Friday night. Perhaps they were reheating food from the dinner rush because all items except the naan seemed like they had been laying out for a while. With all fees and generous tip I am out 100$ for one order of chicken madras and 2 naan.
This place is simply beautiful, the prices are high, but it is worth it. I went on a Monday for dinner, and we were all by ourselfs. Amazing!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recently, I noticed a significant change in the butter chicken at this restaurant, and it's not for the better. The once delightful dish seems to have lost its charm, with a noticeable reduction in spice levels. The absence of that distinct kick has left the butter chicken tasting rather bland compared to its former flavorful self. Hoping for a return to the original spice levels that made this dish a favorite.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 2