Star of India Reviews

I’d been trying to talk my husband into trying Indian food for a few months now. I knew he would love the spices and hearty meals. We came here based on a recommendation. The food is good, but not very authentic. The service is fine - friendly at the door but nothing much to write home about. The price is great. $12.99/person for a buffet. The worst part was the roach we encountered. Shortly after we started eating they began setting a couple of tables together for a bigger group. A roach quickly made its way from under the table they were moving to beneath my husband’s and my feet. One of the employees said to my husband that it wasn’t a very big one - which wasn’t accurate. Thankfully a second employee came and removed our unwelcomed guest. We’ve yet to decide about our return.

SOI offers a quality and diverse lunch buffet at a reasonable price. Very nice staff.

Great food! I love the dinner buffet, especially the lamb balls. Great service as well. I've been eating at the Star of India since 2014.

They delivered to my hotel and the food was some of the best Indian food I have had! Saag panner, chickpeas, rice, raita, nan, rice pudding and all of the trimmings!!

I love eating at Star of India, because the buffet is so yummy with a very good selection of dishes. Some of the dishes are spicy with Indian flavor, but others not so much--and that is okay with me. I love the soups, too! Oh, so good. If you are looking for Texas friendliness, be prepared. The staff is very professional, but not outgoing. Again, that is okay with me. It's the food that I am there for anyway.

We all went for an early dinner only to find the Star of India did not open until 5:30PM for dinner. Although four of us , plus a baby and another couple were standing outside the door they did not open until 5:30PM, come-on guys a few minutes early would not hurt. The buffet seems to be the same as before. I really wanted a little salad and I just love the fired fish so my meal started out perfectly and it just continued that way. My wife wanted some dal but none was available this time. The chicken dishes were very good and the lamb meatballs were also very good. A couple of typical Indian veggie dishes, some shrimp, naan etc. filled out a very nice selection of foods. The samosas could have been a little crispier and had more seasonings. The one dish with a fried cheese was actually not very good so after a bite or two both my wife and I decided there were so many other good things to eat we pushed it to the side. The baby loves rice and she was so excited to have the rice pudding but then she tried the mango pudding as well and she was very happy, along with a store bought cookie which is strange for a place like this. Very attentive service and good food at a reasonable price.

I'm fairly new to Austin and have already tried 5 Indian restaurants. Tonight's meal at Star of India is the worst I could imagine in this town, based on the evening buffet. Certainly, there are those who say that selecting buffet over the a la carte menu is a recipe for disappointment, but this was so bad I can't imagine the a la carte menu being even close to acceptable. The selection was large and varied: beef vindaloo, lamb meatballs, tandoori chicken, chicken jalfrazi, saag, mixed vegetable korma, aloo cabbage, pakora, samosas and two soups. But not one of them was good (with the possible exception of the vegetable soup). There was little flavor in anything. Vindaloo and lamb meatballs were too salty. Tandoori chicken had a horrid taste to the meat. The chicken jalfrazi had oil swimming on top. The cold pakoras could have been leftover from lunch. The naan bread was never replenished with fresh ones. Rice was okay when it was hot. The tamarind sauce was very good but it is only a condiment. Even the firni rice pudding was less than ordinary. The halwa was totally flavorless. Worst offender: the veggie samosas were microwaved which softens the pastry shell and makes mush of the interior. It seems that they do not care enough or at all. I don't begrudge anyone from making a living, but I dare you to go to Star of India after reading this.

I always grab and go, would love to come in for dinner. I've looked at their buffet and it all looks and smells so good!

We had planned on going to Star of India for a buffet dinner, however it is only available on the weekends. Since we were there, we decided to order from the menu. I was going to order a lamb masala, but my wife noticed a special dinner - Maharani Dinner. It looked good but was chicken items, so I changed my mind and ordered it instead. What a great decision. We started off ordering a couple vegetable samosas which were perfect. Then they brought a plate of chicken pakora which were very good. We were starting to get full and then came the chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, curried vegetables, rice and naan. What a feast! We were so happy to enjoy this meal instead of the buffet and with so much food we had another dinner from the leftovers. Be sure and try the iced tea which is kind of an iced chai. I am going to ask it I can substitute a lamb curry or masala for the chicken tikka, but the chicken tikka was excellent, tender and flavorful. They also have another special dinner for two we need to try. Excellent service and great food, we must return in the near future.

This is my go to place for consistently good Indian food. Lunch time has a buffet so you can load up on amazing selection.

My husband and I stopped by for dinner after I had some minor surgery. We had to wait for a while for them to open for dinner, but it was well worth the wait! My favorite dish is the samosas (I would eat here just for them!) that I dip in a green curry! The lamb meatballs and tandoori are excellent and I ❤the mango pudding. This is my favorite Indian buffet in Austin hands down!

Awesome tasting fresh food. This was my second time eating there. It is authentic Indian food. Great flavors and variety of Northern Indian entrees. I liked the Kashmiri Nan with nuts and stuffing. It was very tender to chew.

Tandoori chicken and the lamb meatballs are excellent, Lentil soup is awesome. The buffet menu doesn't change often because what they have is all good.

There same menu items in the lunch buffet and same roaches arround at this place since 1985. Owner watches over you when you pig out. If he had his way he would make you finish your plate before getting anymore. Even if you don't the food.

So my friend and I were totally from out of town to visit the bike shop next to this Indian restaurant when we decided by the amazing smells coming from the place, to have dinner. The meal started off perfectly when the server sat us and poured the first glass of water. I don't know if they put something in their water or filter it an ungodly amount of times, all I know is that Poseidon would want to live in their water supply. It was the perfect combination of buttery and crisp flavor that i enjoy. I know is sounds ridiculous, but the water was amazing. It was the perfect temperature, and let me tell you, I had 8 glasses throughout dinner. The food was very good. If your in town and looking for a nice crisp glass of refreshing water just in time for summer, this would definitely be the place to go. We will be back!!!

Can be anything but Indian taste. The food is tasteless and full of cream - not suited for Indian taste at all. Otherwise, the owner and the people are nice and friendly here - no complains. If they change their style of cooking, they can be a great place.

This is one of the only Indian restaurants in Austin that have a buffet for dinner. When we went last week I was pleasantly surprised to see an improvement in some items on the buffet. Before i would have rated it a 3 star, now i give it a 4. The pickled onions were delicious. The naan was much improved, light and fluffy. I enjoyed all the cooked dishes. My husband particularly enjoyed the tomato soup with coconut milk.

Very good service and several good dishes in the buffet, but the Tandoori chicken was very "dry" even though we arrived just as the restaurant opened for dinner.

Whenever I get a chance, I go to the Star of India because their Indian food is good, authentic, and not expensive. The buffet bar has an assortment of various dishes for both the vegetarian and non vegetarian amoung you. I like the curry spices and various chicken dishes they have. They also have lamb and goat dishes. Their bread is savory as is their deserts. They have the typical canned pudding but also their sweet rice dish is creamy and rich. The food had just enough spice to give it flavor without being too overwhelming.

I bring all of my family, friends & coworkers here. We visit at least 2x per week. The server has my order memorized and they are always friendly and hospitable. The restaurant and bathrooms are clean and the prices are great for the great portion sizes. I always have leftovers which they box up neatly.

I've eaten here more times than I can remember. This is one of the few buffet type places that I will go to. Food always very good wait staff is friendly. You can order from their menu but why bother when the buffet line is stocked with a great selection.

Good overall indian buffet, lunch is generally tastier than dinner. The only Indian buffet with great soup.

We ate at Star of India on Christmas Eve, which was a treat because not a lot of places are open on this particular evening. I particularly liked the Tandoori chicken and Samosas. There are enough selections for a very filling meal whether you are a vegetarian or a meat eater. They offer an excellent rice pudding, mango pudding, and a banana pudding for dessert. And, a number of the dishes are mild enough for children. The dining room was clean, and the staff friendly and efficient.

We have had lunch a couple of times here. The buffet has a good variety of items and they seem to re-fill items often. We like our food spicier, but do not expect that for a buffet where they have to tend to many tastebuds. We have yet to try anything off the menu yet. The staff are efficient and our water glasses are filled often. The decor in the restaurant is very nice too. Service=4, Value=4, Food=4

This is our all time favorite Indian restaurant. You can order from the menu or choose the buffet. We always get the buffet, there's a good variety and we always leave stuffed.

Went for dinner on a friday night, got sat immediately. Food was fresh, but I have had more selections at bombay bistro.

Recently remodeled but the food is still consistently good. Always the same and always very good. Classic Indian food.

There's a wide selection of Indian fare, mostly northern Indian and vegetarian with a couple of southern Indian dishes. Spinach, chickpeas, raiti, and naan were excellent. Rice pudding was yummy too. Good place to get a nice Indian fix.

I had not been to this location in 20 years and today the food was just as i remembered fresh food awsome flavor and taste so many choices. Tandouri chicken was so moist. I will be returning to this place way more often. Go ahead get your indian food fix at this place.

The lunch buffet is 9.99 which at first I thought was high until I remembered I had just paid that for some mediocre fajitas the day before at a place recommended on tripadvisor.You get your money's worth here. The salad bar had a delicious black-eye pea salad with onion and orange bell pepper and baby spinach leaves in a vinaigrette. There was watermelon on the salad bar, too, but I skipped it because I am on a sugar restricted diet. It looked wonderful. I don't know the names of all the dishes but I thought the tomato/coconut soup was very good and the other vegetables quite tasty: spinach with cheese, lamb meatballs, chicken, okra and onions...yum! I did not eat the rice or bread but it looked great. The place is clean and the staff keep your water glass filled. When I left I felt like I had been hugged by my mama: all warm inside and happy.

My husband love Indian food! We have tried lots of Indian restaurants all over the world. I would rate this place very good!!! The lunch buffet offered a lot of dishes to choose from. The curry lamb balls were OMG!!! So delicious…,and flavorful…they melt in your mouth. The salad bar was fresh and so good! We didn’t try any of the deserts we were too full. Prices are good. Service was great as well. The only complaint we had was the chicken Tikka Masala had amazing flavor. However, the chicken was tough. It wasn’t melt in your mouth tender as I have had at other Indian restaurants around the world. That’s the only reason I didn’t give them 5 stars. I did speak to the server about the tenderness of the chicken. He was very kind and offered to cook a fresh dish for us. Unfortunately even the freshly cooked chicken was tough. I’m not sure what the problem is. Next time I won’t get the chicken I’ll get lamb or shrimp.

I love this restaurant. Have eaten here many times. Love the vegetable samosas. And the naan bread is cooked with a little char on it — yum. I order the $8 Kingfisher beer to go with my meal. Service is attentive. My only complaint = we like early dinner. They don’t unlock doors for dinner til 5:30. We sat in parking lot and waited tonight. Several other people jiggled the doors also. But only at 5:30 did they open. Sigh.

Good variety Indian buffet, Chicken Tikka Masala, real rice pudding, some great vegetable options too.

All the dishes are just so delicious and worthy of tasting in their buffets. I think they do both, lunch and dinner buffets which is very good for people like me who like going to buffets in the night time with my family. Also, the restaurant staff is really nice and courteous, they greet and serve you with so much care and respect.

Indian food is one of my favorite cuisines. So much so that I even know how to make many Indian dishes at home. However, this place was an epic disappointment. I had the buffet which included chicken tikka masala, saag paneer, and naan among many other delicious-looking dishes. However, the saag paneer had almost no flavor and the chicken tikka masala was FAR from what I'd expect at an Indian restaurant. :(

This is my favorite lunch buffet place in Austin. It's in the shopping center where Alamo theater is, and AOMA clinic. The buffet always has great stuff, always Basmati Rice, always Nann, always a Chicken dish and several spiced vegetable dishes.

I tried this place recently and I found the food delicious and with a very good quality. The tandoori chicken was very good and the samosas were excellent. I went with two friend and they were very please with the food. I love their lamb meatballs. You will not regret of coming to this place for lunch buffet, Service was great!

There's better indian

I have enjoyed Indian food across the US and in Great Britain and this was certainly among the best. I have only visited during lunch for the buffet but I always run out of stomach room before I've had enough. I don't see how anyone could be disappointed with this place.

Three of us met here for lunch. My wife and her friend had not seen each other for over ten years, so lunch was a talkfest. The server made sure our water glasses were filled and we were doing all right, but otherwise left us alone. The food was excellent. I used to eat at their now-closed Round Rock location and always enjoyed it. The buffet is a good way to sample a variety of Indian dishes. The food is spicy but not overly so, much to my taste. The buffet was a little pricey for lunch at $12.99, but we all appreciated the quality of the food.

I have been going to this restaurant for 18 years and its the best in austin for sure. I get the buffet about 2 times a month and its delish. I also order the onion kulcha and they make it for me for the regular buffet price. So good you gotta try this place out.

Nice selection of very well prepared food. Vegetable dishes are especially good and the salads and desserts are great. Highly recommended.

Sad to say that it didnt taste like Authentic Indian. lot of variety but not one was good. It would be better to have a few dishes that really tasted good. Disappointed.

Star of India serves an outstanding indian lunch buffet from 11:00am to 2:30pm. The food is self-serve, well prepared, attractively presented in a buffet line and tasty.

We have come here for over 20 years and just love this place for its consistency. We love their buffet and it seems lately they added shrimp curry which was delicious. We always get so full. The owner is nice, always been courteous, waiters always refilling water, always kind. Love the selection of their buffet from salad to all kinds of meaty curries-lamb meatballs, chicken, shrimp-all delicious. The naan is good, sometimes fresher than others but good enough to dip and wrap with. I love their huge samosas too-fills you up quick :) Their roasted chicken is a tad dry at times but still smoked to well. My fave is probably the lamb meatballs and curries along with the samosas. Even the veggie fritters are pretty good. I do like their rice pudding dessert but you are so full by then that you probably can only squeeze in a bite. This place does well for lunches-always a great to go lunch stop. hmmm missing and craving it again :)

first of all this is not a Indian restaurant by any means , please the food is horrible and made by non Indians , paid $60 for Lunch buffet that is boiled white rice, biryani was missing , will urge our desi's not to go here

Very good Indian food buffet. Great assortment of dishes and just the right amount of spice.

Good, straightforward Indian buffet. Reasonable for the price. Attentive staff. Our standard Indian buffet, despite being a fair drive. The only thing they could do better would be to offer fresher Nan - some places will bring you fresh-from-the-tandoor Nan even if you have the buffet.

Visiting from Houston. We ordered Salmon Curry, Mixed Vegetables, onion nan and aaloo paratha. The Dalmon was not mainated and cooked, the potatoes in the vegetable curry were half cooked and service was poor. We wanted to social distance but the manager argued saying the Covid was over.

Star of India has been a go-to for my family since the kids were teenagers. The family run restaurant has a large variety of Indian cuisine and the buffet is fresh and varied. Although not a fan of buffets generally, this one shines. Sweet and attentive wait staff.

was an incredible taste food, we went late in night and the service was really fast, very tasty and large portions, very friendly service, good price, good location

I just left Star of India. Food was good and thought would go back again then---- A gentleman apparently a repeat customer (later confirmed by waitress) came in and immediately went to cabinet to get take out box. After mostly filling the box, he used his fingers to sort through and select tandoori chicken. Then he went to the desert buffet and picked up a square sweet with his fingers, licked his fingers and went back for another piece and then licked his fingers and went back for the third piece. The waiter/bartender should have seen the last two events but did nothing. When we left we complained about allowing such behavior. The waitress confirmed that a repeat customer but did not remove the dishes touched by fingers from the buffet Not sure I want to go back if this behavior is permitted.

I came here during my Austin visit. The customer service was very poor luckily the food was superb!!!! We paid $12 per/person for the buffet. They had authentic Indian food. I just wish the customer service was better.

I used to eat here about once a week. After moving out of Austin the stops were a special treet. When I am going to Austin now I plan my trip around eating here. One of my favs are the lamb meatballs.

Every time I come to Austin, I have to come to this restaurant! This is my favorite Indian restaurant outside of India! Their buffet is their best option, because you can try different dishes or mix and match, etc. I seriously recommend this!

Lunch buffet is lovely with a wonderful selection, including many salads and vegetable dishes . Be sure and have the Indian Chai tea to finish your meal.