Natraj Palace

This place has disappointed me many times over the years but I decided to give it another shot recently.
Went for a lunch buffet on a weekday (only customer) and was greeted politely and seated. I noticed the options for the dishes have reduced. Later on noticed the quality has also.
It boggles my mind that so called Indian restaurants make Indian food without proper flavor. Like, how does a cuisine that requires so many spices still manage to taste bland or off?
Also, normally naan is brought out immediately during buffets — which wasn’t addressed to me until my meal was almost over at which point I said «No thanks».
Again, it seems like I’ll be sticking to Edison if in NJ and Indikitch if in NYC.

I wanted to get Indian buffet for lunch during my week off from work. I came here with a friend on a Monday but we were told that there’s no buffet on Mondays and Tuesdays anymore. We were really disappointed. I got a goat curry medium spicy and a onion chulha and my friend got the lamb curry mild with garlic naan.
We ended up spending $ 20 for lunch.
I will try lunch buffet next time but I wanted more food but the curry was not diluted with milk or cream. The burn was strong the morning after.
The décor is kinda whack and the booth is very out dated in my opinion.

I tried first time but it was wonderful. They have buffet a lot choices there I like it

Natraj is terrible. The food gets worse and worse every time I go there. I had the buffet today and the salt content was unbearable. I could barely finish the first plate. The chicken biryani didn’t deserve to be called biryani because the rice had no flavor and it actually looked old or reheated. The worst part was all the other curries actually tasted the same to me; there was no differentiation with the flavors which was strange.
The buffet was alright from what I remember a year ago but the last two times I have had the buffet and ordered out, the quality has sharply dropped and the sodium content mysteriously increased. Seriously, I have to drink three glasses of water or else I feel like I’m going to pass out and seize.
I feel bad for you if you go here and think this is good Indian food or even acceptable Indian food for that matter. First, it’s not real Indian food because all Indian restaurants are «westernized» to cater to a diverse population. Where exactly do you find chicken tikka masala in India anyway? Second, for westernized Indian food, Natraj is not good quality and you really are missing out on a lot because Indian food is all about the experience.
There used to be a place in Edison called Ashoka that closed down many years ago. That place is still on my top 5 even to this day and I have not seen that type of quality or authenticity anywhere in the immediate area. They were the only place that I can remember that had accurate tandoori chicken with that sharp smokey flavor from a clay oven.
I really wanted to like Natraj but I will never be returning here as a result of the last few experiences.
Sadly, I don’t even know where to tell you guys to go get good Indian food around here. For starters, try Moghul in Edison and order off the menu. That is always a good starting point.

I ordered online, so I can’t tell you anything about the restaurant, but the food was Amazing! I recommend the vegetable korma. What I like about this place is when you order mild its mild! I’ve been to many Indian restaurants and the mild is never mild.
The sampler appetizer is also yummy!

I order from here often and have been for years. Their food quality is consistently exceptional and their staff is extremely friendly.

I felt like Indian dinner buffet, and wound up here after discovering that my usual place, the Satish Palace in Montclair, had apparently gone out of business since the last time I ate there. So, that one is my basis for comparison.
The food at the Natraj is roughly on a par with the Satish; not bad, though nothing to rave about. I did miss two items that were included with the Satish buffet, though: Papadum, and soup. Soups to me are a high point of Indian food. Perhaps I’ll try the Natraj again and order papadum and soup a la carte.

Last night was amazing! It was my first experience eating indian food. I had chicken soup as an appetizer and it was delicious! For an entrée I forget the authentic name of it but in a nutshell it was a lamb and spinach stew plater… I loved it! Seasoned perfectly! The staff was pleasantly helpful considering this was my first time and I was completely clueless!!! Bonus it’s BYOB

I love this place. We have been going natraj for 3 years. Always enjoy our meal. Service is excellent. Food is great. My kids love their chicken tikka masala and panir makhni.

Awesome food! Top5 in nj. Only reason they didnt 5 stars is that on more than one occasion delivery guys convieniently did not have change. Which is a huge peeve.

Having eaten and enjoyed many meals here, it is painful to, write this review. But my last experience was not so good. i won’t go so far to say I was traumatized, but it was close.
I’ll ignore the fact that the delivery person called me from my driveway to tell me the food was here as if he expected me to come and get it. I thought that was a little odd. But I’ll move on.
When I first opened my order, I thought they had forgotten to send me my mango lassi. But it was in fact in a round, flat plastic take-​out container, not a cup as I was accustomed. It was in the same bag and right next to the hot food so my beloved drink was lukewarm. And have you ever tried to pour something from a round, flat plastic container into a glass? Not fun.
I next opened one of the tinfoil covered packages. I came across a few burnt pieces of something. It was my papadum. Or it wanted to be but didn’t quite make it. Or it had been once. Next.
But I was most looking forward to my vegetable jalfrozi. A dish that makes the tastebuds dance and also makes me feel slightly virtuous. I knew something was up when I noticed corn was in my dish. And no carrots. Now I’m no stranger to using things I have on hand and tweaking recipes from time to time. But this is a restaurant and not my house before grocery day. I also asked for no peppers. Did they think by cutting them into little tiny pieces that I wouldn’t notice? Of course, all of this would’ve been forgiven if the food actually tasted good. It was hot (as in spicy) and salty but flavorless at the same time. It’s hard to explain. It was in some weird chunky red sauce. The closest I can come to describe it is a reheated puttanesca sauce.
The naan and rice were good (always end on a positive note). But my hunt continues for good Indian delivery. Or maybe I just have to stop being lazy and drive to Brick Lane.

Great Indian food, amazing balanced flavored. Relatively fast delivery plus is a family run business! Great option!!!

Ordered for the first time. Although their Goat Karahi was good, their Bhindi Gosht had no lamb whatsoever. The description from their menu was «Fresh okra and selected pieces of lamb marinated in herbs and cooked according to our Chef’s special recipe». I received tons of okra and herbs, but no lamb.
My friend ordered the Natraj Special and said the naan that came with it was kind of burnt.

I love this place, the food is always cooked fresh. I only ate in the restaurant once but I always call my order for delivery to my house or work. The delivery takes about hour but the food always comes hot and fresh. Everything on the menu is great but My favorite is the vegetable korma and vegetable samosas. This place is one of my top 3 restaurants.

Tried Natraj for the first time after hearing rave reviews from a friend. To be honest, I was not that impressed.
The atmosphere was fine. No one else was in the restaurant when my friend and I went around 6:30 p.m. The waiter was attentive, but not overly friendly. When we were done eating it took him awhile to get us the check.
As far as the food goes, I had the veggie samosa, garlic naan, and chicken vindaloo. The samosa was nice and crispy with plenty of filling. I wish there was sauce served with it. The garlic naan was covered in pieces of garlic, which was good, but it wasn’t very warm when we got it.
The chicken vindaloo was the most disappointing. Yes, it was very flavorful and delicious. However, I specifically requested that it be very spicy. When I told the waiter this, he seemed skeptical, but I assured him that I have been to India and that I want to sweat when I eat Indian food. That’s the only way it should be eaten. Unfortunately, the chicken vindaloo did not meet my spice needs. It was hot, but not highly spicy like I requested. This was frustrating.
Still looking for a good Indian place where I can really feel the burn. Natraj is not it.

First — I have never ate at the restaraunt. I have only ordered take out.
I have ordered from here three times and each time was different. The first time the food was great but the guy on the phone had a horrible attitude and delivery took over an hour. The second time the food was medeocre, the guy on the phone was nice, but delivery still took over an hour. The third time the food was bad, the guy on the phone was nasty, and delivery took over an hour.
FYI I only live a few blocks from here. Hopefully when I order the fourth time I’ll go pick up my food, the guy will be nice, and the food will be great. But with this place, you just never know!

So I go back for the buffet, and they did not disappoint. The food was delicious. Plain rice and some other rice prepared with onions, bay leaves and chicken. Both are good complements to the 9 – 10 different curries they had available — all of which tasted great with and all were unique from one another.
They also brought out 4 pieces of freshly toasted naan which of course I used to gobble up my meal.
The thing that struck me this time around was the service. MUCH BETTER this time around. When I walked in at first, I saw the usual congregating at the back booths. However, as I took my seat, they immediately cleared the area and took their conversation elsewhere. It was nice to be dining without the distraction of employees.
At the end of service, I went to go pay. The gentleman working the register and serving me was the same I complained about last time. He apologized profusely and most importantly, genuinely. He even sounded choked up at some points.
And at this time, I would like to apologize for not telling him outright. I sometimes get caught up in reviewing on Unilocal,that I forget sometimes the best way to let people know that there are some things they can improve is to tell them up front.

Nice little spot in Bloomfield. Came here for lunch because I was interested in the lunch buffet. It was very good. There were only two guys running the place and they seemed a bit busy, so I’m glad it was a buffet where we could help ourselves.
I liked just about everything on the buffet. The tandoori chicken and chicken tikka masala were joined by a lot of other great dishes, so it was worth it. They brought fresh naan to the table, too.
My husband said it looks like an Indian diner with the booths and the location isn’t the most fortunate (squeezed between an automotive repair place and a hole-​in-​the-​wall take-​out Chinese place) but the food was good enough to overlook the lack of ambiance. I’ll definitely visit again.

Just moved to the neighborhood and what a surprise. The food was fantastic. This place has both the usual mainstays and some other more interesting items. My partner and I started with the paneer pakora, which was yummy. We then split two entrees: the lambpasanda (wonderfully cooked, nicely spiced) and chicken sagwala (delicious sauce that you wanted on everything). Service was polite and efficient. We recently moved here and am happy that this is a short drive from our house.

Ordered for a friend here tonight through grub hub/​seamless. At first I was a little scared thinking they wouldn’t get the order but they did! And did quite a fabulous job at that.
As I was told, the naan was perfectly garlicky, paneer makhani and it’s spice level were on point and samosa was beautifully flaky.
I also ordered a mango shake and was pleased to know there was no ice on top as requested (thanks Emily M. for the warning!)
The order also came with complimentary rice, 2 chutneys and an onion chutney/​achar. I’m a stickler for complimentary anything!
Overall, really really pleased with
and this restaurant! Delivery was on point time wise (an hour?) including the 30 minute drive on a Friday evening. Will definitely order for myself when in the area!