Charisma of India East Indian Restaurant

New favourite. 5 stars for friendly staff, delicious food and buffet with wonderful variety. Will be back.

Very good customer service and food for the price! Buffet is always fresh. The management team actually takes the time to talk to their customers and are very courteous. Water is self serve from a cold pitcher which is a plus considering some of the dishes can be spicy. Definitely recommend this restaurant.

Unfortunately my visit to Charisma of India left much to be desired. Let me start off by saying that I absolutely love Indian food, and have tried chicken curry in at least six different countries. Point being, I trust my palate when it comes to Indian.
First things first; the service was absolutely AWFUL. It was only my friend and I, and one other table of two in the whole place, so I don’t feel bad being completely honest about how atrocious it was. After being sat, we didn’t get food menus for at least 5 minutes (while the one server/​host on staff was bussing tables and doing other random activities), then I proceeded to I order a green tea, and I kid you not it took nearly 15 minutes to arrive. Tea bag and hot water… Not rocket science.
My friend and I both ordered the chicken curry and garlic naan. The naan was delicious, buttery, and perfectly garlicky, but the curry was probably the worst I have ever had. The server did not inquire as to the spice level that we wanted (so I just assumed it would be mild-​medium), and I swear to you that the sauce tasted like an un-​seasoned gravy. There was absolutely ZERO heat to the dish in terms of spice, and the curry itself was very thin and watery. It was also a weird unappealing brown color, all together just an awful dish. I would definitely recommend trying something, ANYTHING, else on the menu.

Good value compared to other similar restaurants in the area and good quality of food and atmosphere. Selection is limited for such a large restaurant but the price and quality keep me going back.

A large restaurant that puts on an good buffet (generally we avoid buffets) Great décor, and a could host a decent sized group.
Found the meat in the butter chicken tougher and the spices to not quite hit the notes I have had at other similar restaurants.
We may make it back but will try to the belly dancer show next time.

I’d been meaning to try out Charisma for some time, and was not surprised to see DineOutGal’s review here. Based upon her review, I thought I would avoid a dreary cold night and heat up my tastebuds.
Being a big fan of buffets, I opted for this choice and was somewhat disappointed in the heat department.
Vegetarians will find the choices very lacking, but the same could be said of most Indian buffets.
Things that stand out:
Both rice options had dried crusty rice that had hardened at the edges, resulting in painful chewing as I recently had dental work done. Make sure you scoop from the inside of the tray avoiding the sides.
Heat, or a lack thereof. There is a chili oil mix set aside as a chutney, which when mixed with the food helps add heat, with no noticeable aftertaste.
Naan bread is better than most I have had, other than my trip to New Delhi. Get an extra order.
Goat is fatty.
Ginger used in vegetarian dish with potatoes and Cauliflower was a pleasant surprise.
Chicken quality is excellent, Tandoori Chicken is good, butter chicken is too sweet as pointed out and could use more tomato.

I’ve been curious about Charisma of India for as long as I’ve been driving down Sherbrook. I hear that there’s belly dancers that entertain diners once a month though I am not sure they still hold those events.
Anyhow, on a cold winter’s night, we opted for some take out and was greeted with a really friendly lady who we chatted with for a bit. The restaurant is definitely nicer than it appears from the outside (they expanded the place recently). Lovely warm tones with deep purple colors throughout the place. The buffet is not massive but it offers enough veg and non-​veg dishes and dessert for most diners.
We received a large styrofoam container of white basmati rice that was definitely mixed with some ghee as the rice was shimmering! The palak paneer ($ 10.99) had a slight heat to it and tasted as good as any other place I’ve eaten at. The butter chicken was good but was a bit sweet for my preference.
The goat vindaloo ($ 12.99) was quite spicy, which I loved but the sauce had a bitter aftertaste. The meat was tender but I didn’t really enjoy this one. Same goes for the shrimp curry ($ 12.99), I was hoping for great curry but this one also had a slight bitter aftertaste as well. I’m not that familiar with Indian spices but I’ve made dishes at home before and have experienced that same bitterness so I know it’s probably attributed to using more of a particular spice (not sure which one!).
I really wanted to like this place so I could expand my Indian dining choices in the city but this place didn’t do it for me. A few hits and misses so I think the buffet is probably the best way to go, that way you’re not stuck with a whole dish of something you don’t like.