Translation from English

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Spice Symphony

Another place I have been by and never really noticed

Let us see what Yelp says, if anything--really pretty good reviews, complaints come about the service


Spice Symphony

4.0 star rating
87 reviews Rating Details
Category: Indian
182 Lexington Ave
(between 31st St & 32nd St)
New York, NY 10016
Neighborhood: Midtown East
(212) 545-7742
Photo by Prem C.
Goan Fish Curry
Nearest Transit Station:
33 St. (4, 6, 6X)
28 St. (4, 6, 6X)
28 St. (N, R)
Hours:
Mon-Thu, Sun 11 am - 11 pm
Fri-Sat 11 am - 11:30 pm
Attire:
Casual
Accepts Credit Cards:
Yes
Parking:
Street
Price Range:
$$
Good for Groups:
Yes
Good for Kids:
No
Takes Reservations:
Yes
Delivery:
Yes
Take-out:
Yes
Waiter Service:
Yes
Outdoor Seating:
No
Wi-Fi:
Free
Good For:
Dinner
Alcohol:
Full Bar
Noise Level:
Average
Ambience:
Casual
Has TV:
No
Caters:
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible:
Yes

Review Highlights   What's this?

  • "I had the chicken tikka masala - I was in a traditional mood." In 19 reviews
  • "Perfect naan, great dal and raita, wonderful entrees." In 29 reviews
  • "I went in for the Goan Fish Curry and was not disappointed one bit." In 3 reviews
Rating Distribution | Trend
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87 reviews in English

  • Review from

    • 5 friends
    • 23 reviews
    New York, NY
    9/5/2013
    Never dined in here. Only delivery. But the food is always amazing. And the delivery is prompt.

    I am an Indian who grew up in Bombay-Pune and the Indi-Chinese stuff they have here tastes just like back in those cities. The mainstream Indian stuff is delicious too.
  • Review from

    • 17 friends
    • 53 reviews
    New York, NY
    9/22/2013
    **4 stars, but only on eating delivery once from here.**

    I got the chicken tikka masala and palak paneer.  Delicious!  The CTM was nice and tomato-saucy!  It might have been more spicy that I liked, but it's negligible - I like my curries mild.

    The palak paneer was interesting at first, and I didn't know how to feel about it, until I started eating it more.  The bitterness of the spinach paired perfectly with the tanginess of the CTM.  Nom nom nom.  They were both served with white rice sides.

    I paid about $33 for the whole delivery, and the portion lasted me ~5 meals in total (I'm a small person though, so take that into account).  Delivery time was average ~30-40 minutes

    It's a winner!  I'd definitely order from here again if I was craving Indian food.
  • Review from

    • 45 friends
    • 5 reviews
    New York, NY
    9/19/2013
    this is the second time i ordered from this place.  the first time, it took like an hour and 15 minutes for me to get my food, and the place is 5 minutes away, with an estimated delivery time of 30-45 minutes, so they even missed their own guestimate!

    tonight is the second and last time.  it took 1 hr 30 minutes and half of our order didn't even show up.  with plenty of choices in the area, we will not be ordering from here any more.
  • Review from

    Jersey City, NJ
    9/19/2013 4 photos
    Some foods are just perfect for each other!
    The space was smaller than I expected and very dark. Our waiter was efficient and friendly. My favorite dish was the mushroom appetizer, how does one little mushroom pack on SO much flavor! I do suspect that the nann was not fresh and microwaved, because the bread became very hard after 10 minutes.
  • Review from

    • 4 friends
    • 3 reviews
    San Diego, CA
    9/17/2013
    We were just here on September 16, walking around looking for Indian food. We asked around (strangers) for suggestions and things like that but got nothing. Somehow we stumbled into Spice Symphony and thought it would be worth a try. They posted a great reviews on their front window and the people working at the restaurant standing outside seemed very nice.
    We also noticed that they were on Open Table. That was the main motivation  for visitors like us to go there. We were pleasantly surprised to find out how incredibly delicious their food was and enjoyed every bite of the three courses we ordered. We also got a complementary... Something... That was really good as well! I think that was in place of the bread that we usually get at Italian restaurants. However, bottom line is, this is a must-go if you're craving Indian food.
  • Review from

    • 5 friends
    • 3 reviews
    Midtown East, Manhattan, NY
    9/19/2013 1 check-in here
    Everything was very good- tender chicken, very flavorful and good service. Only complaint is that they did not have decaf coffee.
  • Review from

    • 0 friends
    • 3 reviews
    Paris, KY
    9/25/2013
    We have eaten at this restaurant twice while visiting NYC, and been thrilled both times.  The tellicherry pepper chicken and Chicken tikka masala were the best we have ever had.  The garlic naan and yellow dal tarka were superb.  One night we stopped by just for drinks and were given a complementary spiced lentil and chick pea flour "amuse bouche" that was a symphony all by itself.  Tonight we had a spiced chinese noodle concoction that was also wonderful.  Service was attentive and gracious.  We will return next time we come to New York and recommend it to friends who love Indian food.
  • Review from

    Manhattan, NY
    7/29/2013
    Team ordered delivery from Seamless.

    10% off was nice.

    All three of us ordered the lunch box specials. Chicken tikka masala and lamb vindaloo.

    The chicken tikka was on point in terms of flavor but could have used a bit more meat. I saw three pieces of chicken in my lunch box. The sauce was tasty and just right in consistency. Chicken could have been a little more moist but it wasn't inedible.

    The daal was a tad spicy but in a good way.

    The naan was fresh.

    The samosa was alright. Nothing to write home about.

    The rice was rice.

    Overall, the lunch boxes cost about $7-9 each and contain a sizeable amount of food even though only a small portion of it is meat.

    The flavor is very good. If they keep up the quality, I would be willing to make this my new go to Indian delivery place.
  • Review from

    • 24 friends
    • 81 reviews
    Irvine, CA
    8/7/2013
    Spice Symphony is slightly different than other Indian restaurants because it features both Indo-Chinese and traditional Indian food all in the same menu. We mixed and matched and our tummies were very happy! Delicious!

    Service is great and they really try to make sure you're well taken care off. Our food for some reason was a little late coming out so they gave us a complimentary Chinese bhel. I always like free :0) Decor though could use a bit of work, it looks dated and..... well a bit cheesy!!

    Now onwards to the FOOD!!!!

    - Chinese Bhel- crunchy deliciousness, definitely order!

    - Tandoori Achari mushrooms- good but I feel like I could make them at home, so I wouldn't order them again, but if you like juicy mushrooms than this is your dish!

    - Apricot Chicken Kebab- yummy and oh so soft! It's made out of ground chicken. :) Order again!

    - Vegetable Manchurian- I liked it a lot especially the fact that the manchurian balls were tiny tiny :)

    - Hakka noodles- flavorful without a lot of spice or oil and filled with veggies! Yum!

    - Rasmalai- YUMMY!!! If you like sweet you'll love this! Its almost like a soft creamy patty which is soaked in cardamom flavored milk. Ok I know doesn't sound that great but its delicious!

    - Naan- fresh and yummy!

    Overall the food is tasty with every dish making you go "oh yeah...yum... its got flavor." Definitely check this restaurant out, they just opened a couple of months ago and I think they'll be here for a long time :)
  • Review from

    • 10 friends
    • 16 reviews
    Stanford, CA
    8/9/2013 Seated via OpenTable
    Food was OK, service was unacceptable.

    On the New York Times's recommendation I tried the Chinese bhel and the baingan bharwan. Both were decent. But it is difficult to enjoy the food when it takes over an hour to arrive, they forget one of our dishes, and still charge for it.
  • Review from

    • 12 friends
    • 11 reviews
    Houston, TX
    7/10/2013 1 check-in here
    I tried it out based on the proximity to my hotel & the reviews on yelp. Overall I wonder if the Indian restaurant scene in NYC is all it's cracked up to be. I found when this place is good, it's phenomenal, but otherwise it's just kinda meh... See below for details.

    I came here for dinner and wanted to run the gamut of dishes to see if this place was amazing as everyone says. I like the decor and found the restaurant had a pretty decent crowd. More importantly, this place passed the ethnicity test: other Indians (I assume local ones) actually eat here! Anyway, I saw a review that mentioned Indian Chinese fusion which gave me chills as I've only had one good experience with a restaurant like that despite trying quite a few. I mean, really, you're combining two tasty cuisines, why is it so hard to get it right?

    Due to the fusion-y stuff I decided to give the Chinese side a try as well. I started with an order of Hot & Sour Soup. OMG! This has to be the best hot & sour soup I've had in years! Unfortunately, it was a portents of things to come :(

    Next up was the Samosas so many locals love. I gotta, it's dangerous to have expectations. Between the greatness of the soup & the stellar reviews on the samosas, I was hoping for greatness. It wasn't meant to be. Oh well, I still have my Lamb Biriyani coming up...

    I think if some of the folks from NY came to Houston for Indian food they'd return home with a whole new sense of what flavor means!! I think the flavor in this Biriyani is better than some things, maybe celery, or milk of magnesia... Definitely doesn't hold up against real Biriyani. Now I need to go home & drag my wife & son to some Indian restaurants to reacquaint myself with good Biriyani. I doubt they'll complain though :)

    I will say, the gulab jamun, & the bill, allowed the meal to end on a positive note. I wasn't as concerned about the bill since I'm traveling for work, but it will be nice to have my boss review one dinner this week and not see some exorbitant bill for one diner. After eating all of those dishes & having a glass of wine I waddled my way out of there planning my weekend excursions to Indian restaurants in Houston for some real Indian food. Chettinad & Himmalaya's here I come!!
  • Review from

    Brooklyn, NY
    7/17/2013 1 check-in here
    Ordered the black pepper Curry chicken lunch combo.

    Walking in to pickup my order, I noticed the ambiance wasn't all that bad. (For those coming for lunch, they seemed to take extra care into making sure food smells aren't lingering).

    The Curry had kind of a sour taste, I'm not sure if it's supposed to be that way but I ate it anyways. Out of the three sauces that they gave, I loved the green.

    The curry itself wasn't crazy tongue spicy, but warmed the back of your throat. Overall not a bad place to go.

    Between here and NIrvana, I would give it to Nirvana however this place is much closer to where I am. I'll check it out again to see if there's anything different.
  • Review from

    • 42 friends
    • 215 reviews
    Bronx, NY
    7/23/2013
    Love the lunch box special.
    Lamb vindaloo(pretty spicy) and Chicken masala.
    Not too much meat included but good for the price with naan and somosas included.
    It comes nicely boxed with extra dipping sauces.
  • Review from

    Philadelphia, PA
    6/30/2013 1 check-in here
    So we came here for Father's Day meal after a day spent in the city, and I have to say we were thoroughly impressed!

    By now it's almost unncessary to say, buy I'll say it anyhow: I am Indian. That being said, the bar is set pretty high for me when it comes to Indian cuisine. On that note, I am pleased to say Spice Symphony exceeded all my expectations!

    Didn't see Chef Walter, not sure if he was in the kitchen cooking our food, but not sure it would have mattered. All the food was perfectly on point, the flavors and aromas were as good as what you would get in India (considering I was just there in February, I can say this with confidence).

    Not gonna go into all the details of everything we had, but will say the Chicken Tikka was some of the best I've ever had. Packed full of flavor, and the chicken was cooked perfectly. My brother and I devoured every last bit of the dish, including all the gravy at the bottom of the bowl!

    Been seeing a lot of complaints on this page about the service, which is strange because our service was excellent. Only complaint I have, which is so minor that I'm not even going dock any stars for it, is that the place is a bit small and could use some sprucing up/better decor. All in all, I would highly recommend Spice Symphony for any fans of Indian cuisine.

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