Essence of India

Amazing food, great service a must stop of you are in neighbourhood or on your way to Whistler!

Thanks Unilocal for pointing out this awesome Indian food in Squamish!
Came here for a weekend lunch. It’s on a side street behind a strip mall and was convenient since we needed to charge our car at the mall.
The food is great quality and prices are very good. The two of us ate for under $ 30 pre tax/​tip and had leftovers :) We found the lunch menu a little limited, but we were able to order off the dinner menu:
— Chana masala with 2 veggie samosas — so good! They have a thinner shell and tons of potato filling. Interesting twist with the raw onions in the chick peas… Totally worth $ 6
— We had two types of naan. Their naan is decent but not as fluffy as I like. That being said, the spicy cheese naan was delicious and quite unique — we would both order this again. We both loved this. Garlic naan is average. Nice texture.
— Mains include a side of rice or naan, so we went with butter chicken + rice. Good portion and excellent flavour! Love the thicker creamy texture.
Food is a little slow but overall great experience!

To clarify, this review is for delivery only! Post two day conference required copious amounts of Indian food, and the reviews for Essence were good. I ordered the mutter paneer with rice and garlic naan.
When I phoned I was told that there was a $ 6 charge for delivery, they only take cash, and it would take an hour and a half. WOW. That was definitely not what I was hoping for. Still, I thought if the food was amazing it’d be worth it. The food was hot when it arrived, and the courier was very courteous.
The flavours were a bit disappointing, though. It wasn’t bad, at all, but it tasted almost like they’d used butter instead of ghee, if that makes sense. It didn’t quite have the authentic Indian taste I was hoping for. The rice and naan were good, but the main dish left a little to be desired. Perhaps it’s better at the restaurant? I’ll have to try it there next time I’m in Squamish.

Excellent food as always. We come here approx. twice a month and they never disappoint in both portion sizes and food quality.

When I need a quick pick me up or somewhat lacking funds during lunch, I just drop by the Essence of India and order their vegetable samosa. At $ 1.30 each, it’s a steal, especially since you consider they make it inhouse and it’s bigger than the size of my fist.
However, this family run place really excels in their home made curries. My partner is not an Indian cuisine fan, but when I ordered the butter chicken, pakora, and paneer for our dinner, he couldn’t stop eating and was looking forward to our next visit to the restaurant.
The wait for the food can be brutal though so don’t go when you are very hungry. The reason why they are slow is because they make every one of their dishes fresh when you order them. Which I see as a plus in my books.

This was our first meal in Squamish and we could not have been happier. The atmosphere is much nicer than I expected, since this is basically a store front in a small strip mall. We both ordered vindaloo, one chicken and one lamb. The waiter described their spice measurements, and we both were very happy with the amount of heat. Also had naan and rice, and all was just excellent. We just drank water– lots of it to go with the spice — so I can’t speak to drinks. All in all it was a much better meal than we expected and a great start to our time here.

Love this place! Great food, good service and generous portion sizes.

We had a wonderful experience here from good service to delicious food. The aloo gobi was one of the best we’ve had with a hint of smokiness from cooking the onions just right. The onion bhaji and palak paneer were also well made. If you enjoy chai tea, get it, because it is tasty and perfect after a day of hiking in the snow and trying to see eagles along the Squamish River.

Amazing value for money. The samosas with channa masala were six bucks — with huge samosas and amazing channa masala. The bhatura are $ 1.50 each, again a great deal. For $ 9, you can wolf down two giant samosas and a bunch of chole bhatura. Yes, thanks. And it’s, y’know, actually pretty amazing, too. The bhatura are a bit doughy, but otherwise perfect, and huge. The chole is really excellently, perfectly flavoured. Not the most interesting ever, but amazing prices, huge servings, and deeply satisfying.

This is an authentic as it gets. We have been going since it opened years ago and it is consistently good. On busy work nights I order take out and pick it up on the way home. The owner and his family take great pride in their food and service.

For one of the best lunches around, order the thali. I almost always get the lamb, cooked in a rich and flavourful sauce, and accompanied by a vegetable dish like chana masala, tomato/​cucumber/​onion side, raita, and both rice and naan. You won’t leave hungry!

Needed a place to eat during a Sea to Sky closure. Looked this place up and it definitely delivered! Lamb Roganjosh and Palak Paneer were delicious!

Wow. This place is by far the best Indian restaurant we’ve ever been to! We were in Squamish visiting for a week and ate here twice, but could’ve eaten here every night! The second night, we ordered the Wild Salmon Masala (chef creation that can only be eaten here), Malai Kofta (vegetable/​cheese dumpling dish) and Palak Paneer (creamy spinach with chunks of cheese). These dishes together we’re the perfect combination. The flavors, the textures! We never wanted to feel full! It was a true dining experience. We chatted with the chef who is clearly passionate about the food he prepares. We wish we could bring this little gem back to California with us! We can’t wait to come back and eat here!

My wife and I moved from London (the real one in the UK not Ontario) about 18 months ago. Essence of India is the best proper Indian we’ve had since our move. Delicious food, warm and welcoming service and a taste of home. Can’t wait to go back for another meal. Visiting Squamish without a visit to Essence of India would be unthinkable. Best Indian food in the lower mainland.

Good food with good service.
We were a group of 7 people. We ordered fish pakora, papri chat (wasn’t available at the end), tandoori chicken, lamb korma, lamb masala, chicken tikka masala.
Food was delicious, good place at squamish for dinner.

Great food!!! Chef Don personally walked around to ask how everyone’s meal was. I plan to go back again and again to try more from his great menu. I highly recommend it.

Came here on a Sat evening around 7pm. They were busy and luckily we were able to get a table for two. We ordered the onion bhaji to start which came pretty quickly and was very good. We had to wait a very long time for our main meal. When it did come everything was tasty. Only complaint was that my food was lukewarm but didn’t say anything as I didn’t know how long it would take them to warm my food up. We had waited so long I didn’t want to wait some more.
When we paid the server said to us next time I’ll be better as I know you had to wait so long for your food. I gave a three rating because of the lukewarm food and wait. The food itself was all delicious. Will come back again and give it another try.

I didn’t even like Indian food before coming here. I get take out from here often but when I have eaten in, the chef even came out to explain some dishes. I feel like they really take pride in their cooking and it shows. The tandoori ANYTHING is so good, I get the ribs or the salmon often and also the veggie korma and veggie samosas. Anyone I bring here is also really satisfied when we leave.

Good food, very delicious. And, The waitress is quite pretty.:) We suggest you choose dinner size. We came here for lunch, but found the lunch size is not enough for me. I have to order another Nann. My husband’s dinner size is almost double of my lunch size.

Best Indian food I’ve ever had. Hands down. And in Squamish of all places?! An unexpectedly pleasant surprise, for sure.
Ordered the Chili Fish and the Palak Paneer. And also a side of Keema Naan. It was more than my wife and I could finish, but we were excited to have leftovers because everything we ordered was so delicious!