Philadelphia is packed with plenty of good Indian restaurants, but a good Indian lunch buffet can be hard to find. With that in mind, we selected Karma, Tandoor India, Sitar India and Uduppi Dosa House to find the best Indian lunch buffet around. Is it an exhaustive list? No, but if we didn’t limit ourselves we’d still be eating…
Without further ado, here’s how we ranked each Indian lunch buffet:
Karma was the first stop in the Indian Lunch Buffet Round up and proved to be the standard by which the others were measured. There was an excellent variety of food items, all of which were presented in an attractive, appetizing manner. It was clear that the items were of high quality. The atmosphere at Karma is contemporary and comfortable, even if I thought the dining room was a bit dimly light. The service was reasonably attentive and the staff friendly. Finally, at $9.95 Karma had the most expensive buffet, but we thought it was worth it. Karma is located at 114 Chestnut St. in Philadelphia, PA (215) 925-1444 www.thekarmarestaurant.com
Sitar India proved to be a credible candidate, but didn’t outshine the other competitors. Regardless, the buffet offered some solid dishes that everyone enjoyed; Sitar India is one of the few Indian restaurants in University City to offer Dosas. The wide open, rectangular dining room wasn’t particularly comfortable and having the buffet stuffed into a corner made it difficult to get to. Still, the $7.95 buffet price created a constant flow of patrons that kept the buffet items fresh and hot. Sitar India is located at 60 S. 38th Street Philadelphia, PA (215) 662-0818
Tandoor India was stop # 3 in the Indian Lunch Buffet Roundup and did not disappoint. The buffet offered a variety of high quality items in an attractive, comfortable environment. The “standard” $7.95 price for the buffet also includes soft drinks. I could babble on, but why waste your time? This place is very good. Tandoor India is located at 106 S. 40th St. Philadelphia, PA
(215) 222-7122 www.tandoorindiarestaurant.com
Uduppi Dosa House proved to be an enjoyable end to the Indian Lunch Buffet Roundup. Specializing in Southern Indian food, we had the opportunity to taste a number of dishes that we had not experienced at any of the other restaurants. Furthermore, Uduppi’s Dosas were excellent – I now understand why Tushar likes them so much. Lastly, at $6.99 how can you go wrong? Uduppi Dosa House is located at Center Plaza 2163 Galloway Rd. Bensalem, PA 19020 (215) 638-4008 www.uduppidosa.com
Overall, I thought the food and service were good, but the lack of any significant atmosphere places Uduppi behind Karma and Tandoor India. Tushar, on the other hand, ranks Uduppi highly because the food is so different from that of Northern Indian restaurants. I understand his position, but I think that his passion for Southern Indian food mars his judgement 
Let’s just say we’ve agreed to disagree. What do you think?
[Tags]Philadelphia, Philly, Indian[/Tags]
I’m puzzled by your selections for best Indian buffet restaurants in this area. Karma, no doubt, is a valid entry, but I find it disgraceful that you elevated Tandoor so high in this category when you may have left out a restaurant which is arguably the best in this area.
Thanks for the Indian update. I use to eat at Tandoor many years ago but have since gotten lazy with the closer Ethiopian Eritrean spots in my hood. Time to go back and try Sitar too.
Hi Guys,
Nice episode, I actually had a chance to stop by with a friend of mine to Karma. I only been to few Indian Restaurants before, but this one was a spot that I would definitely come back to. Great Lunch in Old City if your looking for Indian Food!
I hope you guys can swing by to NE Philly soon, so we can check out another great spot I had in mind.
I used to live in Bensalem and Uduppi Dosa is my all-time favorite restaurant including all the expensive places in-town and all my favorite sushi restaurants. Yes, the atmosophere is nil, but the food is so frickin’ good- you don’t even notice there’s no meat. I am forever tainted in that I can’t eat Indian anywhere else. I have moved to Delco now and can’t make it to Chaat Night anymore, but whenever I can get there for dinner, I am so there. Highly recommended and so glad you all reviewed it as well.