Narayanni’s

Wow! Best Indian buffet i have ever had. It was like no other that i have been to. Very clean and healthy. There were traditional dishes like curry chicken and rice but there were other healthy and delicious choiced as well.
There was braised kale and cabbage, zucchini and chick peas, spiced butter nut squash to name only afew! Home made soup and desserts. They have a high end espresso machine, fully licensed. Frinedly staff and beautiful building. Well worth checking out! Reasonably prices at just over $ 20 for the all you can eat buffet.
Family run, Mom does the cooking!!:)

Love the food, not too spicey. However there was some empty dishes on the buffet that never got filled. Seems to be family run who try hard. I would go back

What a great place.
Great food and family run Indian restaurant.
Friendly all u can eat. Great deserts. Great surprise near whytes ave in edmonton

Went here last night after not dining here for a few months (and not sure why because I love it here!). Four of us booked a reservation right at the opening time of 5:30 pm, instantly ordered some roti for all of us (you have to try) and drinks. My friends were happy about the alcoholic options and one of them tried an iced pistachio chai which I would HIGHLY recommend because it was the talk of the dinner.
As a vegan I am always happy to see at least half the beautiful buffet is vegan friendly and everything was incredibly delicious. They even brought me an extra veggie side when I requested it.
My favourites were the Channa and eggplant dhal, the roti bread, braided kale and cabbage, roasted cauliflower and these absolutely incredible desserts (2 were vegan last night).
I wish I had taken a photo of both of the tarts. One was a chocolate butter tart made with coconut oil and the other was a flaky tart filled with raspberry jam. Just incredible.
We all ate until satisfaction and we will be back! It was packed by the way. So great to see a family run restaurant so busy.

Narayanni’s has been around for 9 years but I’ve only encountered it recently. Last month, I came down to their restaurant off Whyte Ave to try out their Indian food, which has South African influences. They have recently begun offering a four course lunch buffet in addition to their current dinner buffets. Their lunch buffet is only $ 12 while dinner buffets are $ 25. Definitely a great price considering the authentic quality and tastiness of the food. The interior of the restaurant is vibrant and spacious. It’s family owned and very family oriented. «Mamma» Selva cooks the food while dad Daya is in charge of desserts. Daughter Youmashni Naidoo acts as host. The name of the restaurant, Narayanni, means Indian Goddess of abundance and is also the name of Naidoo’s first granddaughter
The restaurant prides itself on using locally sourced ingredients as much as possible, while avoiding MSG. In house spices are also created such as hand-​ground masala and chai spice mixes, chili chutney, and lemon pickles. There are gluten-​free options and a vegan buffet offered on Tuesday nights. Basically, Narayanni’s caters to a variety of different dietary needs.
I was offered a cup of homemade chai latte which uses housemade spices. There are only two milk options, regular or almond. Unfortunately, I can’t drink regular milk so I went with almond milk. I’m not the biggest fan of almond milk in general so I felt that it really overpowered the chai spices. There were still hints of vanilla and cinnamon with each sip though. If there was a different milk offering, such as soy, I would’ve been more satisfied with my chai. For pistachio lovers, a pistachio chai is also offered.
Roti bread is offered with their lunch buffet for an additional cost. It’s made to order. The pan-​fried bread was flaky and tasted excellent with their vegetable curry soup. I enjoyed using the soup as a dip for the bread. It was very light and mildly spicy. The soup, along with the roti bread, was the perfect appetizer before I enjoyed my hearty and filling lunch.
Their salad offering was a traditional wedding salad. It was my first time trying anything like this but hopefully in the future I will be able to taste it at an actual Indian wedding! The salad was a combination of shredded vegetables in a flavourful dressing. It was a refreshing addition to the meal as I would eat it in between bites of the savoury food.
The main courses the day was potato curry, chicken curry, butternut squash, and green beans. It was accompanied by basmati rice. The potato curry was my favourite but that’s because I love anything with potatoes! It had a mild spice level as well so I was able to bear it out. The chicken curry on the other hand was very spicy. It was delicious though so I had to bear the pain (yes I’m very weak when it comes to spice!). The chicken pieces were huge and tender. I enjoyed the chicken curry mostly with the rice to kind of ease the spiciness. Their vegetable offerings were butternut squash and green beans.
Dessert was a cinnamon infused rice pudding. Absolutely delicious! It was a comforting end to my spice filled meal. The rice pudding was warm and with the right hint of spices from the cinnammon. It was a perfectly sweet ending. If I hadn’t been so full, I would’ve definitely had seconds of this!
I definitely want to return to try the dinner buffet. If you’re new to Indian food, like me, the lunch buffet is a great way to venture off into something out of your comfort zone! The food was authentic, heartwarming, and comforting. I had an awesome food adventure here!

Tucked away behind the busy Whyte Avenue hustle and bustle, Narayanni’s offers a bountiful buffet of South African Indian dishes. This family-​run restaurant has quite the unique exterior, given that the building was a machine shop in the mid 1900’s. After three years of renovations the Naidoo family opened Narayanni’s in 2010 with the beautiful, warm interior present today.
Selva and Daya Naidoo emigrated to Canada from South Africa in the early 1980s and opened up Block 1912 as one of their ventures together. After selling the business and enjoying a few years of retirement, Narayanni’s (named after their granddaughter and the Hindu goddess of abundance) came to be. Now on any given day Chef Selva can be found preparing food in the kitchen, while Daya works on desserts or mans the front of house alongside his daughter Youmashni.
Specializing in South African Indian cuisine, Narayanni’s offers a buffet with dishes that are lighter than the traditional Indian buffet. Without the use of dairy the flavours and textures of dishes are more prominent, and the buffet is a great option for those with vegan or dairy-​free diets. The restaurant is proud to use free-​range chicken and local produce whenever possible, and Chef Selva steers clear of artificial colouring, preservatives, and MSG.
Narayanni’s has always offered a dinner buffet, which changes nightly. Tuesdays feature a $ 15 cash only vegan buffet, Wednesdays are $ 15, Thursdays are $ 20, and Fridays/​Saturdays are $ 25 (Saturday features a lamb!). The restaurant recently introduced a cash only lunch buffet from Tuesday through Friday from 1130 AM — 100 PM. At $ 12 per person you have access to soup, salad, rice, 3 vegetarian dishes, 1 meat dish, and dessert. It’s incredible value — just make sure to visit the ATM before you visit!
My mom and I stopped by for dinner on a Friday night and we were pleasantly surprised by how busy it was. Despite being located behind a busy street, Narayanni’s unique cuisine clearly brings in old and new customers. The circular buffet station featuring a variety of dishes sat in the center of the room, with Youshmani in the centre making drinks for guests.
On this particular Friday night, the menu included:
Appetizers: Papadum, Bhajia (onion & spinach fritters), hummus, mint chutney, sweet mango chutney, lemon pickle dip
Salads: Mixed green salad, traditional wedding salad, greek salad
Soup: Curry vegetable soup
Vegetable dishes: butternut squash, chana dahl & eggplant, braised kale & cabbage, braised cauliflower & peas, paneer
Meat dishes: Grilled masala chicken, chicken curry, masala fried sole
There were many dishes to choose from and we happily sampled our way through the buffet. To accompany our meal we were offered warm roti to soak up all the sauce on our plates. Unlike the traditional roti at Indian buffets, this one reminded me of a green onion cake — densely layered and super flaky. Of all the dishes that evening my favourites were the braised kale & cabbage and the braised cauliflower & peas. It was a surprise for me as these dishes, which were boring in appearance, turned out to be the the most complex in flavour and texture. Papadums are also a favourite of mine wherever I go, but the hummus and chutneys accompanying these lentil crisps brought them to the next level.
We rounded off our meal with a regular chai and a pistachio chai, both of which were excellent. The regular chai was just slightly sweetened, milky, and fragrant. The pistachio chai, on the other hand, was a little more decadent with notes of almond and topped with whipped cream and crushed pistachios.
At the end of the meal I was satisfied without feeling as weighed down as I would from traditional creamy, buttery-​based sauces found in most Indian buffets. And most importantly, the lighter fare didn’t sacrifice flavour. The lunch and dinner buffet Tuesday through Friday is affordable, and $ 25/​person for a weekend dinner buffet is decent value, but I would have liked to see an additional protein option at that price point. Narayanni’s is fittingly named and representative of the abundance of good food served by Chef Selva. If you haven’t been, you’ll just have to see (and taste!) for yourself.

I’ve been here twice. The second time I had a really crummy experience. First, everything is insanely hot. I like spice, but I also like variety, not 10 different dishes that all end up tasting the same because all you taste is heat.
Chicken was one of the limited items I did manager to eat but when I went back for yogurt and another piece of chicken the owner/​manager saw my plate and said please don’t get more chicken as you haven’t eaten the last piece you took. You’re right, I eat the meat on my chicken not the skin, not to fat and not bones so no, I didn’t eat every part of the chicken. But guess what, I’m a customer, not your kid, you should offer a welcoming environment, not a judging one. I paid you what you charge, you offer a buffet, whether or not you agree with my eating habits should never come into question. It’s not like I took 5 pieces of chicken, licked them threw them out and went back for more.
The spice level and the comment meant that my mom’s birthday dinner was ruined for us.

Narayanni’s, a Whyte Avenue staple since 2010, serves up some of the finest curry I’ve ever had the pleasure of tasting. While the food is primarily Indian cuisine (as a result of immigration in the late 19^th/​early 20^th centuries), it comes with a delightful South African twist: fewer dairy-​based items, roti instead of naan bread, and a subtle European spin on items like the braised kale and cabbage. It’s the kind of cuisine that will leave you feeling content and full-​warm and fuzzy-​without weighing down your stomach with starches.
They have a neat selection of South African wines by the bottle, giving diners the authentic cuisine experience. We were recommended a bottle of the Excelsior Cabernet Sauvignon (2010) by daughter and Front of House manager Youmashni Naidoo; to our delight, it was amazing. Similar to a full bodied malbec but with less powerful tannins, this wine paired beautifully with the spicy curries on the menu. The only danger lies in the wine’s drinkability-​we had polished off the bottle before we knew it.
The food-​oh, the food-​was delightful. It’s strange to enjoy a meal that’s both hearty and filling and yet not feel sluggish afterwards. The majority of Narayanni’s menu is dairy free, many items are gluten free, and vegan options are abundant (they even offer a vegan buffet on Tuesday nights). My favourites were the chicken curry (moderately spicy), the grilled masala chicken (tender and flavourful), and the braised kale and cabbage (surprisingly spicy).
While Narayanni’s has only opened for dinner in the past, Old Strathcona residents and employees can now rejoice in the fact that the restaurant will be open for lunch Tuesday to Friday, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The lunch buffet features four gourmet South African Indian courses: home-​cooked soup, salad, chicken curry (local, free-​range, hormone/​antibiotic-​free), and three vegan entrées for only $ 12 a person. If I worked anywhere near Narayanni’s, I’d make this lunch buffet a weekly routine. For the quality of food you’re getting at that price, you’ve really got no excuse.
Along with their new lunch buffet, vegan nights on Tuesdays ($ 15), and lamb items in the buffet on Saturdays ($ 25), Narayanni’s is currently also holding a spring special on Wednesday nights, offering the dinner buffet at $ 15 a person, rather than $ 20. To be honest, even $ 20 a person for an all-​you-​can-​eat buffet of this quality is extremely reasonably-​priced. You’ll be hard pressed to find the same quality of food at a better price at any other Indian restaurant in the city. At $ 15 a person, it’s a bargain!
My experience at Narayanni’s was excellent and beyond expectations. The friendly, welcoming atmosphere, the unbelievable food, the clear passion each member of the family has for the business they’ve created-​every aspect of this restaurant appealed to me. They’ve made it very easy for me to give a rave review because, quite simply, Narayanni’s is wonderful. And I cannot wait to go back.

Why or why have I waited so long to visit Narayanni’s? This restaurant is fabulous! And I’ve been missing out all these years!
My Beloved and I went to Narayanni’s last weekend for our date (the kiddo won’t eat spicy food, so we don’t often take him out for Indian). Every dish we tried was amazing, but a few stood out: the mushroom curry soup, the butternut squash, and the eggplant dish. Oh my, I loved the eggplant dish.
The selection of vegetarian dishes on the buffet was outstanding.
There were only two things I didn’t like about Narayanni’s — the cakes were on the dry side, and the mango lassis were rather bland. But otherwise, it was fabulous! And I will return again (and hopefully not eat as much next time).

Narayanni’s is the definition of a mom and pop restaurant. They treat all of their customers like family, and you get a really great vibe from the restaurant. Narayanni is also the name of the Indian Goddess of Abundance, and also so happens to be the name of the Naidoo family’s first Grand daughter. I love how much influence family has on the restaurant.
Narayani’s isn’t your typical Indian restaurant, as there is a lot of South African influences on the dishes. Both owners learnt a great deal from their parents, and having grown up in South Africa, received a lot of cultural influences on their cooking. Selva, one of the owners, learned through her mother how to become an exceptional cook, and how to combine ingredients for the perfect flavour. Ensuring that their patrons enjoy high quality food, and great service, offered in an elegant service is their top priority, and they definitely deliver on this front.
Their ingredients are locally sourced, of the highest quality, whenever possible. Because of their priority with the freshest ingredients, their buffet selection can change on a day to day basis, and it’s a good idea to call on the day if you are seeking a particular dish.
That night, they were serving 5 main dishes, along with soup, salads, rice, and desserts. They were spinach and tofu, chana masala, braised cauliflower and peas, chicken curry, and grilled masala chicken. For salads, they had traditional wedding salad and cucumber raita with papadum.
Unlike most other Indian restaurants, they serve roti instead of the usual naan. Roti is a type of Indian flat bread. This is pan-​fried and delicious. Nice and light, and definitely worth it! It does come at an additional cost, but definitely worth it!
To start off my meal, we had a chai. You can get it just original, or get their pistachio chai which is topped with blended pistachios. This was honestly the best chai that I’ve ever had. It was warm and welcoming, just like the atmosphere of the restaurant. I definitely recommend getting one!
The traditional wedding salad is fresh vegetables, lightly seasoned, and tossed together. This alone was really refreshing. Tip: I would save some of this to eat with your entrée dishes because it really helps with the spice!
A favourite of mine would have to be the cucumber raita with the papadum lentil crisps. Raita is an Indian side dish, that’s usually made with dahi (yogurt), mixed with raw or cooked vegetables. It usually has the purpose to cool ones palate to contrast the spicy curries. This was great with the papadum, and definitely had a cooling effect after eating really spicy curry!
The first dish beside the rice was the spinach and tofu. When I’ve gone to other restaurants, it’s usually served with paneer cheese instead of tofu, which I absolutely love, but everything tonight was dairy free. I liked this dish quite a bit. The tofu was a nice and firm and it went really nicely with the roti and the rice. Great start for the night!
Next was braised cauliflower with peas. This was really fragrant and nice. The cauliflower was perfectly cooked and was not too soft or firm. Probably my least favourite of the first dishes, but still really good! It went nicely with rice, but I’d prefer to fill up on the other dishes.
The next dish we had was Chana Masala. I’ve been having a love-​affair with chick peas recently. Who doesn’t love a good hummus?! The main ingreditent of Chana Masala is typically chick peas, spices, and some vegetables. That night, it was made with zucchini. This was one of my favourite dishes of the night! I found that Narayanni’s is a little bit on the spicy side, compared to most of the other Indian restaurants that I’ve been to, so it’s good if you can handle your spice!
Next was the curry chicken. Definitely the spiciest dish of the night, but also one of my favourite. Nice large pieces of chicken. All of the chicken that is used at Narayanni’s is locally sourced, free-​range, and grain fed. All the pieces of chicken were really tender and lean. Good with the roti and the rice!
Lastly, was my favourite of the night — the grilled masala chicken…

Good buffet. The food was plentiful and very tasty. It would seem that some of their recipes are not a full traditional, but what they do makes it even better. Don’t know why I wasn’t here sooner.

I have given this place at least 3 opportunities to wow me given the rave reviews below. The food is inconsistent. We experienced a fresh buffet vs another night when it appeared to be microwave leftovers that went cold.
Service each of the times my husband and I had dinner was horrible. The husband/​wife owners appeared to favor specific patrons in the restaurant while their daughter ignored empty glasses. We had to flag her down multiple times for water.

Love their Tuesday vegan buffets. The food is always fresh and delicious The buffet is only $ 20 and well worth it. The service could be a tad more friendly and they only take cash for some reason but other then that it’s perfect. The healthiest buffet you will go to!

Good service… good food… have been there couple of times, and both times good experience… its indian food with a twist… i think the twist is central or south african… although i like pakistani or punjabi style cooking better, this style is not bad… if u are into vege food, worth giving this place a try… family run business, so good hospitable service… recommended…

This is no ordinary Indian Buffet. Each individual dish is prepared with quality ingredients with skill by the family run kitchen! I had a South African-​Indian friend visit and she was blown away by this restaurant. She said it was as good as her mom’s cooking back home. The service is great as well.

So delicious! I was never a fan of Indian food until I came here! Now I daily crave it! I went on a non vegan night and so I asked a man working there what was vegan. He was so kind and walked me around and pointed out all of the vegan dishes! Then he said that he would bring me out vegan dessert when I was done. The service there is amazing and so is the food! It’s kind of on the expensive side if you don’t eat a ton at once, but if buffets are your thing it’s a great place! the price is really worth it because of how superb the food and staff are!

Narayanni’s is a little off the beaten path. Just past the tracks on Whyte Ave and a block south, you’ll discover a restaurant that specializes in South African-​Indian cuisine. Just look for the random white building with blue lettering. This is homemade, buffet style food so bring your appetite.
They are only open in the evenings with a different price range depending on the day. We came on a Wednesday and the place was decently busy. Looks like they just bumped up their prices in April ($ 5.00 increase). Bummer.
$ 20.00 (Tuesday vegan nights, cash only)
$ 25.00 (Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday)
$ 30.00 (Friday and Saturday)
The interior is elegant with a casual, warm ambiance to it. I really like the round circular buffet. We came on cheap wine night ($ 20.00 for all bottles) which half of our table took advantage of. The wine list is very reasonable as all bottles fall in the $ 30.00 to $ 35.00 price range. Don’t think you can go wrong with a $ 20.00 bottle ever…
The Naidoo family running Narayanni’s are very friendly and take great pride in offering fresh, flavourful and healthy food without the heavy, creaminess that you normally associated with buffet food. This is what I like best about them.
— Garden vegetable soup — loaded with a variety of vegetables (cauliflower, brussel sprouts, etc.), the soup was light but had a nice depth to it that you normally don’t get with veggie soup.
— White basmati rice — standard basmati rice. Rice is an important part to a meal (at least to me!). This felt like an afterthought. A fragrant, aromatic rice would have been nice to have or at least have two options.
— Roti — these come to you at the beginning of your meal and were thick and dense. I only ate half a portion as it didn’t add much to the meal. I’d save stomach room for other things.
— Papadum — lentil crisps. I didn’t have any but papadums are always a good starter and great with the dipping sauces (mint chutney and sweet mango chutney). The sweet mango chutney had the best of both worlds. Spicy and sweet.
— Bhajia — onion and spinach fritters. These were tasty but lacked a hot, crispy texture. Nothing is as good when you’re eating it lukewarm/​cold.
— Traditional wedding salad — three different salads to choose from. Yessssssssssss. I remember these being delicious the first time I ate at Narayanni’s and tonight was no different. So healthy and flavourful, what more can you ask for? The wedding salad is a somewhat spicy take on cabbage slaw but way, way better.
— Greek Salad — the greek salad was excellent with nice chunks of colourful vegetables and some good quality feta to round things out.
— Quinoa Salad — clearly, I don’t eat enough quinoa but I should. The quinoa salad was light and had a nice cooling effect on the tongue. Perfect to mix in between bites if you can’t handle some of the spicier dishes.
— Chana dahl & eggplant and butternut squash — the eggplant was boooomb. I’m a sucker for eggplant and this was done perfectly. Flavourful and tender, I went back for seconds. The butternut squash was sweet and perfectly cooked.
— Tofu & okra curry and green beans — the green beans were mediocre. A little too dry and lacked a texture element to it. The tofu and okra curry was delicious. I love okra and when it’s done right, it sure is tasty.
— Braised masala mushroom and wild salmon & poached egg curry — the masala mushrooms were decent but nothing popped out flavour wise. The wild salmon and poached egg curry were goooood. Flaky, tender salmon.
— Chicken curry — I was a bit disappointed that there were two types of chicken. It would have been nice to have another protein to give the buffet more variety. However, the cubes of chicken were good although a few pieces were slightly on the dry side.
— Grilled masala chicken — the masala chicken surprised me by how tender it was. Juicy and succulent inside, crispy skin outside.
— Cinnamon infused rice pudding — best way to end your meal. With a small bowl of rice pudding. Light with a nice dose of vanilla and nutty cinnamon tones. Perfect palate cleanser!
— Chocolate mint torte, chocolate torte and vanilla cream cupcakes — I tried a cupcake which had a nice cream frosting to it but the cupcake itself was a little too dry for my taste buds. My fellow diners tried the other two desserts and found the same issue.
The food is light, fresh and you will be stuffed silly by the end of your meal. The $ 25.00 weekday price is a bit on the steep side (the pre-​hiked price of $ 20.00 is much more reasonable for a Wednesday dinner). I’m not a buffet buff these days but if you want something unique and a step above other Indian buffets in town, definitely check out Narayanni’s.

My husband, myself and our friend went for supper here tonight. It was so good :)
Let’s start at the beginning, we walked in and the décor and ambiance of the place is splendid. Soft Indian, mostly instrumental music is playing. The lighting is soft. Slightly minimalistic (compared to other Indian restaurants) décor, but very classy. Often restaurants spend too much effort on the restaurant but their washrooms are sad. This place has clean well done washrooms as well.
This restaurant is family owned and operated. The dad makes all the pastries by hand, the mom does the cooking. They seem to be very kind and humble people.
Food wise: had their in house iced tea, it was glorious! We had their buffet.
For apps, I had the hummus — best hummus I have had to date, quite unique.
Of the entrees: Masala grill chicken was done very well — the chicken was very moist. Lamb curry, butternut squash, mushroom curry and dahl were my favourite.
Dessert: I was extremely full by this time. Yet I forced the rice pudding and mango torte down. Both were very good! The mango torte was so soft and mango-​ey.
This place didn’t have a million dishes. But the ones they had were fantastic.
The service was great. The food was great. My favourite restaurant in edmonton so far. :)

The vegan buffet night is really great, they also include vegan yogurt and vegan desserts! Make sure to bring cash as they do not take debit/​credit on the buffet nights as it gets so busy.

Awesome Indian restaurant, with delicious food! They have vegan nights on Tuesdays, which is really cool! We love going on Tuesdays, and love that there is an Indian restaurant in Edmonton that cares about us vegan folks. Cruelty-​free Indian food — you can’t go wrong!
The ambience is really nice, has a great, calming vibe to it. The owner and staff are very nice and accommodating, and service is great.
My fav dish is the Chana Masala, and their rice pudding is the best I’ve ever had! Ooh, and try the cold pistachio chai tea — it might be the best drink I’ve ever had in my life. Pure genius!
Can’t wait to go back again. This place will become a regular hotspot for my vegan friends and I.