Royal India Bistro is pretty near Buckman Tavern. This restaurant is known for offering Indian cuisine. Perfectly cooked coconut shrimps, butter chicken and onion naan may be what you need. Most guests of Royal India Bistro say that good pudding, pancakes and ice cream are served here. Check out delicious marsala, beer or bitter. Great mango lassi is served at this place. Food delivery is a big plus of this spot. The attentive staff works hard, stays positive and makes this place wonderful. If you want to enjoy spectacular service, you should go to this restaurant. Delicious dishes at adequate prices are offered here. You will certainly appreciate the enjoyable atmosphere and homey decor. The average score of Royal India Bistro on Google is 4.5.
Visited Salem for the weekend and was looking for Indian food on the way home and saw that this place was highly rated in Lexington. We have some family friends in Lexington and always had dinner at their homes, so this was a first!
We ordered some tasty classics:
GARLIC NAAN
Unleavened white bread with garlic. Oh my gosh if you love garlic and bread then this is for you! Naan is typically teardrop-shaped, bread made from ghee and buttermilk kneaded into dough which is then baked in a tandoor (traditional Indian clay oven). It has that slight char and lightly baked texture to it. It's quite light and very easy to stuff your face with. A better version of pita bread, if you will. Got a great, buttery bite to it.
ONIONS NAAN
Unleavened white bread stuffed with onions. If you're an onion fan THIS is for you! Finely minced onions were kneaded into this dough and it was delicious. I was worried the onion flavor would be too overwhelming to enjoy, but nope this was light and super flavorful. Loved spooning some biryani and chutney on this. Made every bite so freaking phenomenal.
POORI
Crispy, deep fried puffy bread. This was so interesting because of its appearance, but the taste was interestingly doughy and almost nutty. The first bite was crispy and it gets a little chewier as you chew, but I spooned some biryani and masala on my pieces and it was delicious! Definitely a vehicle for chutneys, sauces, curry, and rice. Really light and tasty.
PLAIN DOSA
Enormous thin crepe made with rice and lentils, served with coconut chutney and sambhar. The dosa was crispy and crepe-like, very thin so it was pretty thin and easy to break into shareable sizes for everyone at the table. This is a very popular street food in India, famous for its simple ingredients and savory flavor. I can see why! You can have it with anything, we were served coconut chutney which was so creamy and flavorful to spoon onto and enjoy with. Sambhar also came with it which was really, really tasty; a South Indian stew made with lentils, mixed veggies, tamarind, gerbs, spices and the special spice powder of Sambar. So freaking tasty for just a couple of sides!
SHRIMP BIRYANI
Basmati rice cooked with shrimp, seasoned with fresh ground spices, toasted cashews and raisins. The basmati rice was cooked to al dente perfection and had the perfect bite. The shrimp was nice and tender, but a little salty for my taste. The fresh ground spices made every bite in your mouth sooo wonderful. Loved the addition of toasted cashews and raisins, gave every bite a little added nuttiness and sweetness. What a tasty dish, wish it wasn't too salty.
CHICKEN CHILI MASALA (HOT)
Boneless tandoori chicken cooked with green chili, onions, peppers and spices. When they said hot spice level, they were not kidding. It was so yummy. The spice level had us sweating a little and that's saying something. It was divine, the chicken was moist and juicy, but the SPICES just made it amazing. Loved this dish so much!
CHICKEN TIKKA MASALA (HOT)
Boneless diced chicken tandoori cooked in a creamy tomato sauce. The chicken was cooked to perfection, nice and moist, but again this dish was just a little too salty for my taste. Other than that, the spices, the flavors, everything was so on point.
The service here was so friendly and fast. They answered all our questions about the various different items on the menu to choose from and what they recommended. I might come back here if I'm in the Lexington area, but I definitely would probably say something about the saltiness for my own peace of mind. Again, they were so nice and the vibes were so chill in here.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Lunch
Price per person
$30–50
Food: 3
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Garlic Naan
Tasty Indian food at a great price! My husband and I dropped by on a Friday evening. We waited about 10 minutes for a table. Because the restaurant is on the smaller side, we waited outside for them to give us a call.
We got some papadams and sauces as appetizers, which was nice. For our meal, we ordered 3 dishes and a naan: $14.95 palak paneer, $17.95 lamb tikka masala, $16.95 Goa fish curry (they swapped out shrimp for fish), and $5.95 cheese naan. Each entree comes with basmati rice, which they bring out combined in a rice bowl. The cheese naan was great. The Goa fish curry was unique and tasty. The palak paneer was a bit bland (and healthy, likely), as it was largely sautéed spinach with cubes of paneer. I’m used to saag paneer that has more cream, more salt, and cubes of fried paneer. The lamb tikka masala was sweeter than I’m used to, and my husband adored the dish.
Great service, especially with how busy this place is with both dine in and takeout. Card accepted. I would return!
Service
Dine in
Price per person
$30–50
Nothing wrong with the food but we went here based on another review saying "best Indian food outside of England" (for those of you that don't know, chicken Tikka masala is considered our national dish!) This is far from that so definitely very disappointing.
The best part was the spicy onion chutney that came with the popadoms!
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$30–50
Food: 3
Service: 3
Atmosphere: 3
Huge menu and delicious! So many options with plenty of gluten free and vegetarian foods.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Chicken Tikka Masala
🌟UNBELIEVABLE🌟
What an experience!!!!!!!
We went for lunch, hoping to love it and use this restaurant to cater a small gathering of folks who resided in Pakistan for years.
They love Indian food!!!
🌟 WOW 🌟
EVERY ASPECT of our experience was 5 star. The delivery of the food, the quality, the generous portions. The food is just outstanding. Nice and spicy without losing a bit of flavor.
It was over the top fantastic, the entire experience of dining there, choosing our catering menu, the delivery, and the delicious food they brought.
I highly recommend this restaurant, and I have unachievable standards!!
A MUST TRY!!!
Service
Delivery
Meal type
Other
Price per person
$20–30
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Chicken Tikka Masala
Not quite what it used to be, in our opinion. Dining in can feel like eating inside a busy operation that's really dedicated to take-out -- people constantly coming in and out -- so it lacks the ambience it once had, and at times we felt we weren't really their focus. You also might have three servers during the same meal. And while the food is good, let's say it didn't seem as inspired as it might be, or as it used to be.
Food: 3
Service: 2
Atmosphere: 2
Great food, service, and atmosphere. I have been there multiple times and I've gotten their masala dosa, aloo mattar, vegetable samosas, and mango and strawberry lassi, all of which were fantastic. As a vegetarian it's great to see they have many vegetarian options too.
The waiter told me that they do not always have the dosas available, which is unfortunate as dosas are my favorite kind of Indian food. Hopefully they are able to have dosas always available. The chutneys that they give you are fantastic too.
It is a very small restaurant with a few tables but when I went for Friday dinner they always had some open.
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Found this little gem of a place when I was visiting Boston and I was not disappointed. Ignore any negative reviews and come on down. The service, the food, and the friendly nature of the owners made the whole experience! We were immediately seated when we walked in and were served our drinks and popadums. We ordered our apps and mains and everything tasted amazing! Will definitely be recommending this restaurant to all of our friends who visit Boston!
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$100+
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 5
Recommended dishes
Garlic Naan
Excellent indian food, good ambiance, well made cocktails. Crowded. We had to wait for 30 minutes for a table.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$30–50
Food: 4
Service: 3
Atmosphere: 4
Best Indian food I've had since London. Authentic and delicious. Very friendly staff. Sort of a small hole in the wall, but perfect at the same time. Limited seating so you may have to wait a short while for a table...but it will be worth it.
Service
Dine in
Meal type
Dinner
Price per person
$30–50
Food: 5
Service: 5
Atmosphere: 4
Recommended dishes
Chicken Tikka Masala
