These are archived reviews of Raja Indian Cuisine from 2007. For more recent comments, please visit the entry.
2007-01-07 12:50:47 The food USED to be good until they changed owners. When my friends and I went, we noticed that the tandori chicken was recooked from the day before. Generally you can tell when it is extremely dry. The flavor taste a little different and we just don't go back anymore. —BeeBooBee
2007-01-16 23:31:14 The owner of Raja Indian is refreshingly polite in a town that is filled with restaurant owners who often forget about just how many restaurant choices a student has. Although offering a buffet, the counter of food would be more accurately described as, just that, a counter of food. Though the selection is not extraordinary, most of the individual dishes are an exceptional value, and the attention to detail is duly noted. A plate filled only the homemade Indian curry chicken and steamed rice would alone be worth the $6.70 for a buffet plate. The endless nan was fresh, warm, and all you would expect from homemade nan. Overall, although hardly a gourmet Indian restaurant, Raja Indian is an exceptional value for an endless amount of homemade Indian fare. —JeffKauf
2007-01-25 16:41:48 raja's is amazing...chicken tikka masala mmmm... —SandyRose
2007-05-01 13:04:03 Does anyone remember when the Raja lunch buffet was $3.99? It wasn't really that long ago. Eight or nine years ago. It seemed impossible that they could offer it. So while many of you commenters seem to think that this place is a good deal at $6.99, I beg to differ. The food quality has tanked since the new owners took over. Service is still friendly, but no buffet on weekends is a severe backwards step. And I long for the day when Seth (wasn't his actual name, but do you remember the constantly smiling waiter from the original family who was missing a front tooth?) would fill my ice water practically everytime I took a sip. I've sworn this place off since the last time when I ate a piece of tandoori chicken and bit through an intact corpuscle that spurted blood, and another piece had a kinda rancid day-old taste. —RickEle
2007-05-25 18:57:10 I love Raja's. I split the vegetarian special dinner with a friend and still had leftovers! Super yummy and great portions! Plus the service is tops, everyone was really friendly! We never had to ask for anything, it was always delivered before we even realized we wanted it! Better price, better service and better quantities than Kathmandu! Love this place! —domesticgoddesss
2007-06-19 17:27:00 Raja's is fantastic! I've never had a more glorious dinning experience! I would highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys some good food and a good time! —Samendel
2007-07-13 13:01:31 It was a great buffet today with three vegan dishes. I work near Raja's and would go for lunch more often if I knew there would always be plenty of vegan options. The service is excellent too.— cjjones
2007-07-13 13:16:53 Anyone got a handle on how many times ownership has changed, cause it seems different now post the 2005 change which was disastrous to my favorite dishes. —AlexMandel
2007-07-21 17:26:47 I've had the lunch buffet here a few times. It's quick. It's convenient to campus. The owner is very friendly and seems to want to go out of his way to make sure you are comfortable and happy. The food was good, but nothing to get excited about. —CovertProfessor
2007-08-08 22:28:52 All you can eat????? you must be kidding!! The owner didn't let me to eat more chicken after my 4 little piece. He said that I had to pay more if you wanted to eat more chicken... He should change the sign... and say ALL YOU CAN PAY instead all you can eat... Also, the food is not that good and it is always the same... —SuBnorMal
2007-09-15 11:49:16 We love this place! Best Indian Food in Davis. The wonderful service Raja Indian cuisine provides separates it from the other Indian restaurants in Davis. The lunch buffet offers delicious cuisine and great variety. In fact, the menu changes daily. The owner went out of his way to please us, including providing fresh chicken that he brought to our table even though our plates were full. We will keep coming back! —bheintz
2007-09-19 15:31:00 This is one of my favorite restaurant in Davis, the foods are really delicious (grade A+).... YUMMY.... the owner is really nice guy and very helful (A). I just love this restaurant..... —SoMeOnE
2007-10-21 12:28:42 I have loved every restaurant in Davis...until I came HERE. To put it simply, it was the WORST Indian food I have ever had in my entire life. oddly enough, it was also the worst service I have ever had in Davis as well. Here's the deal: *Asked for Makhni and received Tikki Masala. *Incredibly bland *Disgusting sauce for the meat dishes *Slowest restaurant in Davis despite there being just a few people there *Gave my family enough Naan for 1 person even after they said they would get us extra, and we all ordered dinners that came with it *Gave us Raita we ordered after we were almost finished with the meal (and then we had to ask 3 times) *Tiny portions compared to every Indian restaurant I've ever been to. *Toughest Lamb I've ever had in my life (obviously old and undercooked) *Watered down Mango Lassis *The entry says its not very expensive, but the dinners are around $11 and up and DON'T EVEN include Thali.
The worst part was that they rejected a VALID coupon from http://www.daviscouponsonline.com/ !!! First he said the date had expired, and after I pointed out that it was valid that day he lied and said that it was an online scammed one. The people who worked here were incredibly dishonest it seems. I found the wiki entry to be very inaccurate here, but it has always been useful in the past with other restaurants. So, I wouldn't recommend this place to my enemies because of that nasty experience. And remember, they don't accept their own valid coupons. Run away! —AnnaF
2007-10-21 12:55:23 A couple weeks ago I went in with the coupon I got from daviscouponsonline.com for the buffet meal and the owner also told me that the coupon was invalid because someone tampered with it and changed it online. It's inconvenient because the only reason I went in that day was because I thought I'd be getting a discount on my meal - I've been there a couple times before and the food really is mediocre Indian cuisine. The owner has always been very nice whenever I've gone in, bu he really should contact the people at daviscouponsonline.com and tell them to remove Raja's coupons on their website. —AmyLee
2007-10-22 12:46:13 You're better off going to Sac for Indian food. Or even better SoCal. Oh how I wish Davis had the Indian food choices of SoCal. —TusharRawat
2007-11-06 18:28:56 I eat Indian food a lot and haven't tried Raja's before. I gave it a try and ordered the Chicken Tikki Masala. The food arrived and I was dissapointed by the lack of chicken in the dish and the overall flavor. The dish was spicy but lacked the complexity I am used to at other Indian restaurants. The service was great but food lacked everything in my opinion! Water was good though. —Kyle
2007-11-08 18:02:09 I agree with you Kyle, I was really disappointed with that same dish as well. As a fan of Indian food, I really wish that they would put some more effort into making their food taste good, and to improve their restaurant over all. If you do insist on going there, it seems that the vegetarian dishes are better than the meat ones. —AnnaF
2007-11-11 18:04:47 the lunch buffet okay at best. the owner is a nice guy but my biggest complaint is the lack of variety and my biggest gripe is about how the food isn't that warm. —DonaldJaye
2007-11-15 19:57:34 The food isn't the greatest (it was lukewarm and overly greasy with a fast food indian taste- one or two of the buffet dishes were kind of good) but the staff is VERY nice, and you will leave full. It is a good place to grab quick food for lunch since they have their buffet ready for you. I would suggest trying to go when they first serve lunch though because I have a feeling they just make their dishes once... —KenichiSan
2007-11-16 13:07:05 The lunch buffet is great! The guy who works here is super-friendly too. yum. —GregMediati
2007-11-29 21:23:33 I love this place! Like many have already said, the food is great and the manager is such a nice guy. —Chantal
2007-12-17 14:25:03 Vegans: this place is for you. It is the only Indian restaurant where I've been able to order Naan bread, they have a lot of vegan dishes. My favorite: Baighan Bartha, the best ever (eggplant dish). Katmandhu doesn't beat this one, both in quality of food and service. The food and service might look simple but it is such a nice place to be, with a super-uber-friendly guy who remembers you every time!!! Raja's is my favorite Indian in Davis!!! —SandrineJ
2007-12-24 20:44:44 The buffet leaves a lot to be desired as far as selection goes, but the food is good. Try it! —thelonepiper555
