Sarovar Indian Cuisine

Just stopped by and it had a sign saying it was closed for renovations and will reopen under a different name. Forgot the new name but it didn’t sound Indian. Either way, what we know as Sarovar appears to be closed for good.

When I first tried this place a year back it was nice. Varieties of food including South Indian food and goat curry. Over time their variety of food has gone down and so has quality. Never coming back.

May 2015– Went there after almost 2 years and what a big disappointment the food was. It was never great over here but was still tolerable. Except now it has become completely a waste of money and time. Will not visit this place unless I get a ultra positive feedback from someone I know — and I doubt that will happen in a long time.

Best Chicken 65 and butter chicken I have ever had! Their thali is also amazing. Great mango lassi too.

I haven’t written a Unilocal review in years, but I’m uncharacteristically motivated to warn others that this place is not only awful but, I suspect, a health hazard. I felt fine all day, but within hours of visiting Sarovar I’ve either developed food poisoning or appendicitis (I suspect the former, but will spare you the details on why I’m speculating.)
I’m not prone to drama, but this is going to read like I am. I’ll summarize the length of what follows as: just don’t do it. You may think it’ll be alright, you might be really hungry or something, but just don’t do it. Tuck tail and run.
To elaborate, I visited at about 2 pm and, despite the lunch buffet being available until 3:30 on saturdays, it was clear from the state of what was on it that the kitchen staff was done cooking and had probably been done for a good hour.
Despite having a moment where I thought about putting my still-​clean plate back and leaving, I stayed (ugh… critical mistake!)
As I perused the options, I realized it was even worse than I initially thought. The batura was greasy, the pilaf and naan were gummy, the chicken tikka masala consisted of grey hunks of meat peeking out of a weird looking sauce… need I go on?
And why God? Why didn’t I just leave?
The only passable things were a completely picked over pan of chicken korma, some saag and a pan of butter paneer. I opted for these three in small amounts. And from what little I tried? I’ve no idea how the food managed to be simultaneously lukewarm and totally overcooked.
That’s when the floor show started.
An older woman who worked there was asked by another customer about some of the items allegedly on the buffet that were now missing in action. She yelled like a harpy from across the dining room into the kitchen to inquire. Some kind of loud back and forth began, after which she said something to the effect that they were done for the day. It was starting to get uncomfortable.
She then started loudly, tearing down the buffet… item by item with paying guests still eating. Additionally, it did not seem any of the staff could have a normal, discreet conversation in front of the aforementioned patrons or myself; the shouting back and forth continued. It was getting obnoxious.
In my discomfort, as I started to watch what was going on over minding my lousy, tepid meal, I realized there were heaps of dirty dishes all over the dining room. Some in tubs, some just stacked… it was strange. I’m not sure if they’d had some kind of crazy rush earlier or if the dishwasher was broken, but I’ve never really seen a restaurant– even a buffet– with that many dirty plates and piles of flatware out in the open.
That was the clincher. I decided to gather my things and go. Had the manager asked me how my meal was? I might have said something. I probably should have said something. Instead I took the loss, paid the $ 12.00 or so and left a $ 1.00 tip (I’m usually an exorbitant tipper, but no one even filled my water glass in this place.)
About 3 hours later? Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhh. I’m seriously rethinking the poor judgement I showed when I saw their buffet looking that bad just over half way through a lunch. But no.
Long story short, I’ll be here… popping immodium and drinking gatorade or flat 7-​up until I feel better.
I’ve eaten in a lot of dive-​y places, but this place goes way beyond dive… it was disgusting.

I’ve been to this place many times over the years. It has been my #1 place to go to for Indian food at lunch. Since I’m a lunch patron the only thing I have ever gotten is from the buffet.
The restaurant itself was always well taken care of and clean. However, when I went today the place looked like it’s falling apart. The vinyl on the benches is all torn and pulling off, and the place just didn’t seem as well kept as it used to be.
The food at lunch is served buffet style. I was one of the first there for lunch so the buffet was well stocked and clean. The servers were on top of it and kept drinks full and dirty plates were picked up quickly off our table. I would say that they could spend a little more time making sure the buffet itself stays clean as folks start to grab food from it.
The unique flavored and spicy food has always been the draw for me. I did struggle this time to find the spice, in the past it was tough not to find spicy food but that wasn’t the case this time.
On my way out I noticed that the restaurant seems to have bought and opened a bar next door called «sarovar bar». It’s connected to the restaurant through a door by the bathrooms. This made me immediately think that the bar might be why the restaurant is being neglected but who knows.
One last observation. When I went there in the past it was Indians running the place. This time we had a white guy and a Mexican lady as our servers. I’m not sure if the ownership changed or what, and I’m not against anyone working at this place, but with the observations above it seems like the place has or is losing its focus and «authenticity».
I have no doubt I’ll go back again. I just hope it doesn’t get worse and they figure out how to get out of this rut.

Well, I’m sorry to have to do this, but I must. This place has gone way downhill since they lost their excellent manager, Ansar. Apparently he was the only one keeping the place together, since it is now literally falling apart — when we were there, there were pictures on the wall hanging from one nail, and the disrepair of the building itself is simply not being addressed at all. I have the say that the main dishes still retain their quality (probably because of the excellent chef that Ansar worked to get on board), however, it’s a crap shoot on whether there will be salad or naan or chai at the buffet, and no one really seems to care if they are there or not. The ice cream machine appears to be permanently broken. There may or may not be dining room staff there — often someone from the kitchen has to run up and seat you. They are fine at filling in, but having guys in plastic aprons running the front area in the obvious lack of anyone there to do the job just doesn’t inspire confidence.
We used to go here every Sunday for the buffet and always looked forward to it, but the last time we went, we sadly had to agree to cross it off our list. The food tastes good, but it’s uncomfortable to eat even good food when you feel like the place is falling apart around you. Sarovar, we miss you :(

They were closed at 10:30 even though their hours said 11… Update your hours guys! :)

Never again. This place used to be my go-​to for Indian food, but over the last couple of years the quality of the food has really declined (frozen veggies in the curry, unimpressive flavor). The last straw was a recent evening when I called in an order for the thali for takeout. It wasn’t quite ready when I arrived, and I watched the server fill some of my little dishes from the buffet table. Odd, since it was dinner and the buffet was not open. When I got home, some of the hot dishes were cold, but I didn’t think anything of it because it was a cold night – until a few hours later when I woke up with food poisoning. Gross. Never again.

Not the great place I remember. It’s OK, but not great. The day we visited, their buffet station was not functioning properly, so the food was barely warm. They said an electrician was working on it. I’ll try to be objective and not base anything in temperature in this review. They were out of chai. Really? What Indian restaurant runs out of chai? The raita wasn’t cultured enough and lacked the characteristic tang. The chutneys were all good. The lentil stew was good. The desserts were fair. The buffet was heavy on starches and low on proteins. Don’t know that I’ll return anytime soon.

Blah spicy but no good. Nothing to see here move along. Stupid Unilocal makes me write about worthless spots. I rate place for my use and page long reviews are the worst. Food only i dont care that server didnt lick the bottom of your shoes.

I’m super sad to lower my review of Sar Ovar but things have been crazily inconsistent over the past few months. We almost always get butter chicken and lately we just don’t know what we’re going to get with it. The last time there the nan tasted microwaved.
Been going to SA for 10 years, so it makes me super sad to realize I’m going to need to look for a new indian restaurant.

The food is simply superb! I wish I could have everything on their menu. I have visted this place atleast 6 –7 times and every time I have tried different things. Everytime the food has been beyond my expectations! !! I will come here until I have tried everything on their menu and then even after that.

I used to LOVE this place! My boyfriend and I have been coming here for over two years, but as of lately its been nothing but a disappointment. This was one of the only places I would want to eat because they made AMAZING Paneer Butter Masala.
Let’s start with drinks and apps:
We ordered cokes but they were out, so we got Dr. Pepper. It tasted horrible/​flat missing a lot of it’s flavors and was not dr. pepper at all. I then got an ice tea, and the smell… it smelled like something had died. So we settled for waters. Then we got Paneer pakoras as an app… this couple that got there 20 minutes after us got their app of the same thing before us. (annoying) Also they have usually been little squares or cubes, even the waiter said, «I guess they decided to make them into cheese sticks tonight.» These were also not great and covered in so much batter it was disgusting.
The Main Dish:
The last few times we have gone there though and I ordered the same dish (Paneer butter masala), I literally have NO idea what I am going to get. It is different every. single. time. and each time its gets worse. It used to be this wonderful creamy bright orange sauce that was thick and the paneer melted in your mouth. Last night I got nasty, runny, dark red tomato chunks with huge chucks of basil leaves. I told the server I think he gave me the wrong dish and assured me that it was Paneer Butter Masala. Even my boyfriend said it looked nothing at all what it was supposed too. The taste of it was even worse, and not what I had been looking forward too. My boyfriend’s dish also was not up to par… the chicken usually tender and wonderful, was so hard and chewy. I tried it and it was horrible, and not something I would want to eat either. I got garlic naan and it was raw still in tons of places… when I told the server his response was, «Well it’s a little under done… you could still eat it.» AND the other order of naan was BURNT. So we got two extremes of naan.
I wish I had taken photos of what a difference it has been with my Paneer Butter Masala through the months, because if you saw it you would be shocked. I am so sad to say that after last night even my boyfriend who LOVED this place said he was ok with not ever going back. It’s not what it used to be and it makes me sad :(

I don’t know where to start.
1. The tall skinny waiter completely creeper out my wife. Standing over her staring and not knowing the menu and when I asked about an item he was short and a bit rude
2. The food came and we’ll the rice was cold my wife’s food was cold and the shrimp that I did have where like rubber bushings.
The owner did try and fix the issues but it was to much to fix. When he realized this he just walked away.
Bad service, Nasty food will never return.

Complain about high-​tech gentrification all you want, but just remember that tech and delicious Indian food often go hand-​in-​hand.
Which we did as we schooched up Burnett wondering what the heck we were going to do for dinner, blood sugar levels dropping and disoriented by thirst. Hubs all of a sudden shouted, «Indian food! Turn left!»
We walked and and were greeted by everyone, shown to a booth and got our drink orders in pronto. Chicken Hyderabad, Chicke Tikka Masala, naan, rice, korma, mango chutney (thank you!)…It all tasted fresh and lively and reminded us of the Berkeley-​area restaurants and chaat houses we love.
Fantastic WIN for a random restaurant encounter. We lucked out!

I’ve never really had a bad experience here other than the one time they were bamboozled by a group of college kids into thinking there would only be a party of 30 and something like 80 showed up… over-​taking the restaurant. That’s the ONLY reason they’re getting 4 instead of 5 stars from me.
The food selection is awesome. They have the best dosas in town and the servers are all great guys. We always feel welcomed by the warm attitudes of the staff and management there and even when things were rough that one night, they took a dosa off of our final check.
The food is also cooked to the correct spice levels and after all the times that I have been there, I have never had something that has been inconsistent.
I believe I’m the most frequent checker-​inner at Sarovar, and I’m pretty picky about food and experiences (read my other reviews) so take it from me, if you’re feeling Indian food, and you’re by Burnet road up north in Austin, this is a must stop place.

I don’t have a lot of time or energy to spare on this ailing, past-​its-​prime Burnet eatery, but I will point out the keepers from my last dinner at Sarovar. This used to be my FAVORITE place to eat Indian food, I loved this place; now I wouldn’t send my worst enemies their way.
Showed up on Thursday night for dinner. It was very slow, but we have seen much worse. Ordered our usual Paneer Muter Saag, Chicken Korma, samosas. The samosas were decent, our food was okay, but it was the cleanliness factor and the weird atmosphere that threw me off so much that I stopped mid-​bite of food and left the restaurant.
Highlights:
–An older looking employee, possibly a manager, loudly VACUUMING the underside of the buffet. You remember that dirty, burned vacuum smell? Do you like smelling it while you’re trying to force down plates of highly questionable food?
–Chicken Korma was bland and mostly dark meat/​cartilage. Not appetizing.
–Being the ONLY customers in the restaurant for most of our meal.
–The weirdest part– our waiter arguing with another waiter about the policies of take-​out orders (I guess waiter 2 «stole» waiter 1’s table) and hearing the yells and screams of «You NEED to know the policy for next time!» and audible trash-​talking in front of us customers made for a very uncomfortable evening. I couldn’t stand it so I left the husband with the bill and sat in the car.
I will not be going back until they make some very big changes i.e. start caring about the quality of their food and their atmosphere.

when you walk into a restaurant on a thursday night at dinnertime in Austin, you expect to see clients. Not here. Ignoring my gut instinct to turn around and go somewhere else and hoping to save some money with a worthless
coupon, we forged on to a booth. The rickety back of the booth threatened to come disjoined from the seat, and the Pete Townsend looking waiter came over. His pleasant demeanor turned to one of shock when he saw the coupon on the table…“Those! those are… they are… No! no, no, no. We can’t accept those here.“
So, we were off to a roaring start… open up the menu and seeing plates averaging around 12 bucks… this better be some damn good indian food… only it wasn’t. My lamb saag arrived, and a more pathetic presentation I have yet to see. The obviously frozen from a bag spinach was bunched up like a beaverdam in the middle of the oval plate, the green limp leaves swimming in a toxic soup of ghee.
I challenge you to find a worse mango lassi. Corn syrup based mango juice missing any kind of yogurt at all.
the appetizer of veggie pakoras was awesome — you know how when you open your bag of frozen mixed veggies and the cauliflower florets are frozen to the carrot slices? well, you can dust them in lentil flour, fry them, and then you will have veggie pakoras a la Sarovar! Awesomely flavorless random veggies found amongst a mountain of fried flour.
the other main dish, a chicken vindaloo, had the distinct smell of burnt seeds in the sauce. And how could i leave out the rice? Oh you poor, poor grains of rice — what did you do to deserve to end up at Sarovar? Where you were cooked waaay beyond your requisite time, your watery consistency forming a barrier against the gooey ghee of the sauce?
So, really nothing to recommend for this defiant monolith out on Burnet road, and if you were to give me the choice of eating at Sarovar versus the soup kitchen for the homeless, I would happily join you for the latter.

I was disappointed tonight. I went in with a coupon I bought from
that was good for $ 25 off with a minimum purchase of $ 35.
The manager has decided that he doesn’t like these coupons (even though they signed up with
and set the terms themselves.) They now require you to purchase a specific configuration (2 thali dinners and 1 a la carte) in order to use the coupon. You cannot count appetizers or beverages toward this, and if you do not comply, you cannot use the coupon.
I believe this is a violation of their agreement with
and, if nothing else, is inconvenient.
I went to the restroom and it was gross. I took a picture and uploaded it to Unilocal.Urine in the toilet, crooked toilet seat, dirt on the walls, and a roll of cheap paper towel sitting on the tank. Bleh.
The food was decent, but overall a bad vibe tonight. I don’t like being jerked around.