east india co. grill & bar

tandoori mushrooms were fantastic! chocolate chili cake was wonderful. other things we had were very tasty, but somewhat bland.

best indian on the west side. i took a couple of former professors here tonight and we were very impressed. the cook here knows a thing or two about spices. wonderful flavors! i had the rogon josh, a fall off the bone tender fresh lamb shank in a super sauce. my friends had a paneer saag and a tiki masala. everyone was happy but none more than me. tried the spinach naan...awesome. tried some unusual appetizers.......awesome. in fact the appetizers are just amazing. there are some unusual items on the menu.

in my opinion the best indian in pdx is still the bombay cricket club but east india rocks the west side of the river. there are so many overpriced places downtown (jakes, heathman etc.) but his place is very reasonable. the atmosphere is nice and darkly romantic. if you like indian this may become a go-to downtown spot. we had no service or attitude problems, everything was spot-on.

was looking around for indian place in portland in late evening and picked this place with the help of zomato..

the ambience is decent ,food is good.we ordered biryani and fish tikka which was really nice with pretty good portion ..

if you miss indian food in portland, hands down place this is the place to go. with silent music in background enjoy your tandoori chicken or panner. then comes the roti and malai kofta. don't even dare to go without trying the fluffy hyderabadi delicacy biryani.
p.s: watchout as price is as good as food;-)
taste:9
ambience:9
value for money:8
overall:9

very welcoming and comfortable interior and i'm glad they're where they are because here and south is a restaurant wasteland. it's never a bad experience but one of those places that could make just a few simple changes and go from a 3.3 restaurant to a 4.3 one. for example, the wait staff is courteous but slow an inattentive. and the flavor of the biryani was great but the lamb was too dry. all in all, i just wish it was better, and it could be.

best chicken vindaloo in town. it has the perfect heat. also got the marsala wings which was good. if you order the wings order them before your entree since it takes a bit for the to cook. my only compliant is they give you small portrait of charge and charge you for extra rice. you alway need more rice for the sauce.

buffet catastrophe on new years eve. we made reservations here for new years eve and were surprised to find there was not an open, or fixed menu. rather, the dinner was a buffet. this would have been nice to know, when we made the reservations, as our hope was to enjoy a regular dining experience. we were seated promptly, but the buffet was not ready for any of the patrons for around 25 minutes. it was odd to sit in a restaurant 60% full, waiting for the chance to eat with so many other hungry and anxious people. the time could have been passed, and hunger reduced by having a nice cocktail. however, this menu was not available to order from - and guests could only order wine or beer. from former visits, i recalled the cocktails to be one of the best aspects of this establishment. finally, the food was available and a massive line reminiscent of a church potluck dinner formed. one even needed to carry their own silverware to the table with a large plate - even an all you can eat chinese restaurant does better than that! while some food was out, many dishes were not prepared. for example, the dessert was ice cold but there was a flame underneath it, so i presume that dish was not ready? we found the strangest item to be a small ice cream served in a plastic solo cup one usually gets with takeout for sauce or a condiment. it is odd to eat ice cream at a $30.00 buffet, with a 18% compulsory tip out of a plastic solo cup! our experience eating at east india months ago was great. however, i now agree with other reviewers that the quality of service has dramatically decreased. it is absurd to pay $60.00 and an 18% tip for a regular indian buffet. we will not visit this establishment again. there are many options for dining in portland, were a couple can get a fine meal and exciting meal for $60.00. save your money, unless eating ice cream out of a solo cup seems particularly appetizing to you.

christmas dinner, very short staffed. we chose to go here for dinner on christmas day as it was one of the few restaurants advertised as open for christmas dinner. we waited for such a long time, approximately 30 minutes before we were even talked to about reservations. no one was at a "hostess" area. it was very confusing all around and extremely disorganized. one person talked to the people in line who arrived after us and behind us in line and told them they would have to wait a little bit. one other person finally talked to us and told us that it would be a "very long time" before we could be seated but said we could sit at the bar and eat there, which we chose to do instead.
there was only one bartender at the bar. you would think that knowing they might be busy they would have more than one person on duty. she was extremely busy, waiting on the people sitting at the bar and getting drinks for those who were lucky enough to get seated in the dining area. what a mess!
it took another 20 minutes for us to get menus and finally order. or order got messed up as we ordered two of of the same item however, after another 30 minutes when our food finally arrived, only one order arrived. i don't blame the bartender. i blame management for not having enough wait staff. had to order again for one more dinner. i asked that the saag aloo be mild, however, it came so spicy, it was difficult to eat for me.
i also ordered another glass of wine, and again, due to the shortage of staff (bartending), it took quite a while before i got the second glass, as she was trying to get drink orders for those seated.
i could not finish my dinner because of the spiciness of the food. i do not blame the bartender, as i did ask for the dinner to be mild, but the chefs got it wrong and it's like as if they didn't even pay attention as they were too busy to look. also, the amount of rice given with the dinner was hardly enough to feed one person. scrimping, as i see it.
we chose to order dessert and i have to admit, that was probably the best part of dinner. i ordered the mango cheesecake and it was delicious.
my comment to management is, if you are going to be open for holidays, knowing not many restaurants are, have a hostess to checks people in, have adequate wait staff, and be more organized.
i would definitely not recommend this restaurant for holidays as even if you had reservations, you had to wait too long to get seated. i will not be coming back any time, holiday or not, to eat here again.

can we stop at burgerville on the way home?. in my quest to find delicious indian food in portland, i came across the east india co. grill & bar. it is not delicious. the food (although it looked good) was flavorless. a coconut curry shrimp dish was pasty, bland and the shrimp were not fresh, masala chicken wings were salty and lacked texture. the paneer tikka masala was spicy yet also flavorless. indian pickles were overly salty and lacked the tasty complexity i was expecting. i would not eat here again, i left feeling not hungry but very unsatisfied.

high quality indian food. we've lived in portland for four years, and i've been eating at indian restaurants all over the world for three decades - and this is a fantastic indian restaurant.

the atmosphere is very relaxed, warm, clean and modern. on our most recent visit, we had made a reservation for two and were seated at a beautifully appointed booth, partitioned with elegant net-curtain. very romantic. the waitress addressed me as 'mr. kelly', having remembered my name from the reservation - beautiful personal touch.

then came the food - it was incredible - bursting with complex flavors, tender chicken/lamb, and my dish with some serious heat (specifically asked for). it was also very reasonably priced for the location and quality.

our waitress was professional, knowledgable, caring but not overbearing.

an all round excellent dining experience every time.

used to be great. this used to be one of the best places in town for indian food. sadly, they have now fallen into the realm of the sub-par. bad service combined with poorly prepared food makes you wish you'd gone somewhere else. bummer...i used to love going there.

recent dinner at east india co.. our group of 14 recently visited east india co. for a delicious dinner. it was the first time for many of us and included 3 children. through a recommendation of a friend, we received 2 delicious complimentary appetizers. then we enjoyed very tasty dishes of samosas, korma lam and kerala fish plus makhani chicken. the 3 varieties of naan were superb. the waitress gave particular attention to the needs of the children and served them chicken tandoori which they loved. all the desserts were outstanding and great presentation. we will definitely return.

do not visit! rude and arrogant!. there was a mix up with the scotch that i was billed for. our waiter was resolving the confusion when the manager intervened. he brought with him two bottles of scotch, and set them on the table in front of me. he then pointed to the expensive one and said "have you ever seen this bottle? it is different from this (the other bottle)". although i felt such a dramatic gesture was quite unnecessary, i agreed to pay for it. he left.

we were on our way out. the manager walked all the way over to us and asked me if everything was alright. i said "you didn't have to bring the bottles to my table. i don't think its the right way to resolve the mixup". what happened next was quite strange and quite humiliating. he yelled out - "i know you are affluent. i am sorry but i do not have time to waste on this".

deciding not to create a scene, i left the restaurant without another word.

i am never going back again.

this was a great surprise. from the street it looks like a small uninviting bar. wow so not the real restaurant that waits you in the back. has super feel, like a swanky club. wait staff attentive but not overbearing. the food was stellar. a great addition to downtown portland.

& then there is 18% mandatory tip added to your bill... really? now that's a good way force your customers pay for the missing service- nough said.


-----17 jun, 2012-----

good menu, awesome appetizer & drinks. pretty nice decor... great for your first date if you reserve the booth. service is ok, but will receive personalized attention. manager pokes his nose in unwanted businesses. food is manageable spicy, order medium to be safe. will surely advise this place to portlanders.