Recommends

n9840153

Joined 3 years ago

Strong drinks, cheap happy hour, divey.. This capital hill indian resturant offers a great happy hour4-9 with strong well drinks for 3$ and 1$ appetizers (including, samosas, pakora, naan in regular and garlic and tandoori chicken). Full menu available as well. Food is deepfried goodness, great with chutney but some people prefer a little more spice. Spice can be provided on the side by request. Decor leaves a lot to be desired with sticky, lopsided tables but what can you expect for this price. Barstaff is not super knowlegable, but friendly. Great for a capital hill prefunk.

Doesn't Recommend

richard98101

Joined 5 years ago

Ok, I guess. My wife and I stopped by for lunch to try the "Star of India" and guess it was ok. Food was kind of good and the service was ok. Price was too high for the overall food.

1. Clean the place

2. Decorate the place

3. Make better food

4. Standardize the service and food to go with the price.............

Have you ever gone into a place and said that "It looks dirt"?

Doesn't Recommend

darkmarvin

Joined 5 years ago

First and last time. My girlfriend and I decided to stop by here one Friday night because A) the location is convenient, and B) the three other times that we had Indian food (not here) we really enjoyed it. The place was small, dark, and a little scuzzy, but there were a few other customers who seemed pretty happy to be there, so we figured that the food must at least be good. In hindsight, they were probably A) drunk, or B) paid actors. We stood around for a few minutes waiting to be seated but never saw a waiter, so we started walking around in hopes of being noticed. We stopped cold when we looked over and saw the cook leaning over the counter glaring at us. I quickly grabbed a few menus and we seated ourselves. A few minutes later we saw the waiter but it took TEN minutes before he came to our table. He was rude, slow, and impatient. He sighed and shook his head when we told him that we needed a few minutes to decide. When we finally did decide, he wouldn't listen to us and kept trying to sell us food we didn't want. He started acting irritable when we declined, even though we were being sufficiently polite about it. And here's the best part - I would thank him whenever he refilled my water, but instead of saying "You're welcome" or "No problem" or even "Whatever", he would grunt at me and slam the glass back down on the table. I wish I was joking. As for the food, we ordered the tandoori chicken and a spicy shrimp dish (I don't recall the name). To be fair we don't have much experience with Indian food, but I think I can safely say that this is not were you'll find the good stuff at. The chicken was dry and completely flavorless and as for the spicy shrimp - no spice. None. The only tolerable thing to come out of this whole debacle was that my girlfriend had promised to pay for the meal, which was good for them because I don't think I could've forced myself to hand over half a C-note for overpriced, sub-par food and horrible service. Never again. Warn your friends.

Recommends

Contributor

Joined 10 years ago

A well-established neighborhood favorite known for reliable Indian food, good service and good prices.. In Short
Mahara's charm lies in its simplicity and straightforwardness--a small, dark dining area with just a few booths and tables in the front and an even smaller, darker bar serving stiff drinks in the back. The charming servers will help you save money by steering you toward the modestly priced lunch and dinner specials, which are generously loaded with consistently tasty and satisfying fare.

Recommends

aleksandr111

Joined 6 years ago

Great for what it is. This place ? you either love it or you hate it. First off, the food is a little expensive, but very filling and to me it tastes really awesome (especially after a few drinks). I?ve had the buffet, which isn?t amazing, but it?s cheap and all you can eat ? so don?t complain! The service there is fine; we?ve had some really cool waiters there. The restaurant is clean, sunny and great for people watching. The bar on the other hand is completely different, dark, kinda dirty with crazy music. Aka the best bar ever! Well, maybe not the best, but it?s a great place to get super drunk for not a lot of cash. $2 wells baby, oh yeah. There are plenty of yuppie bars, this is the anti-yuppie bar, don?t go there if you have expectations and want the latest drink trend. You?ll get a clean glass and booze to go in it. Shut up and drink. Great for smaller groups. There are two booths that seat 4, two larger tables with junker couches and a few chairs and seating at the bar if you?re going stag.

Recommends

shark_lady

Joined 11 years ago

Pricey but good. I recommend you order the food to go (or even better get it delivered). Their vegetarian menu is much better than the rest, especially their Vegetable Curry and Tika-Massala Paneer. I don't recommend the Korma it has a bit too much coconut.

Doesn't Recommend

eatingme

Joined 7 years ago

The guy stares at you!?. The worker was staring me down like I stole something. It was wierd and creepy. the food is not that great either. Cheap drinks

Doesn't Recommend

sovietbot

Joined 7 years ago

Never again.. Yes it's pretty good for cheap drinks late at night, but don't go here for the food! The service is unethusiastic, the lunch buffet is mediocre but at least resonably priced. Recently I had the misfortune of coming here a half hour after their lunch special is over and the experience was terrible. The food was bland, the portions tiny and the meals don't even include naan or rice which had to be ordered as sides. The final price for the dinner was totally out of whack for a grungy rundown dump like this. How this place get an 8.5 rating is beyond me.

Doesn't Recommend

neuronix

Joined 8 years ago

Ridiculously overpriced. We got takeout here and it cost almost $19 for a little cup of lamb tikka masala that had almost no lamb, two garlic naan, and that didn't even include rice! The food was so-so, but totally wasn't worth it. I feel like we just got robbed.

Recommends

msseattleite

Joined 8 years ago

Happy Hour All Night Long!. I wouldn't go here for Indian food, but it's the perfect place in Capitol Hill to have great drinks at a great price with friends. Stiff, very inexpensive wells and cocktails with cool music ALL night and a mystique ambiance has made it one of my favorite after hours bars to visit.