Deshi Curry

I went here back in college and decided to try it again today. I was pretty satisfied with the portion size and the quality of the food. Will be back!

I visited this restaurant last night 10÷19÷15 around 8pm. This restaurant is a hole in the wall, The meal I ordered here is mediocre at best, I opted for a vegetarian meal. I ordered the combo plate which includes Dhal (a lentil soup), rice and Bhaji (veggies sauteed with spices) and bought a Naan (flat bread) separately. My dish arrived to me within 15 minutes, the food was Bland, The Bhaji and Dhal didn’t have any flavor, Naan bread was fresh.
I struck up conversation with a fellow patron of the restaurant, and saw that he had ordered Chicken Tikka Masala and Chicken Biriyani, I didn’t taste the chicken Tikka Masala, but unlike other places that give you chunks of chicken in the sauce, this place gives you 3 chicken thighs in sauce, not that appetizing. The Biriyani seemed to look ok, nothing special.
Under normal conditions I wouldn’t come back. As i went to the counter to pay, I could smell the intoxicating aroma of Masala cooking, I asked the cashier what the chef was making, and he said a fish curry. Although my veggie dish sucked, I’ll give it a second chance and return to try the fish curry, and request that they make it fresh for me. My meal was about 10 dollars.

Mediocrity at best. Food equated to frozen Indian food entrees I would find at Trader Joes or a local grocer. The chicken tikka masala was not heavy in spices and chicken pieces were very dry. Bhindi masala was clearly reheated from a previously frozen state. The worst part was Baingan bharta was very watered down with tomatoes in a texture that resembles pico de gallo. Restrooms were nasty, rundown and consisted of CO2 canisters and other storage. It reminded me much of NYC Chinatown for those of you who can relate to that… So in summary go here if you are desperate. I was driving through from Dallas and needed a hot meal so shame on me :)

Despite only having four Indian restaurants in town, it’s easy to forget Deshi Curry amid the pedigree of Passage to India, the upscale charms of Zaytun, or the fact that Kababs is still on the west side. Especially when two of those restaurants are on opposite corners of the same intersection as Deshi. They can’t really compare with presentation, atmosphere, price. There’s not a lot of sit-​down customers, and there’s not a lot of staff, so you can end up waiting for someone to take your order while they prepare the meal of someone who phoned ahead. You feel compelled to get your order to go, if only because you don’t really want to hang around.
The menu is focused, though with plenty of room for your typical crowd pleasers. Bypassing them, I instead opted for a mutton biryani and bhindi maslasa (okra and tomatoes). Diving in to the rice dish with the flavorful mutton, I couldn’t understand why people kept ragging on the food — the meat was tender, the rice nice and fragrant — but then I dove into the the masala, a lazy and grease-​slicked mess that I couldn’t consume without bringing great pains upon my GI tract. At $ 9, it was not a good deal. Luckily, I was still able to find a use for the tasty garlic naan, even if it wasn’t going to be sopping up any of the sauce.
With a couple of serviceable galoob jamin to end my meal on a happier note, I couldn’t completely wrap my head around Deshi Curry’s niche. The food’s not bad, depending on what you get, but you can get better food at their two competitors for roughly the same amount of money. I would bet Deshi has much more of their business coming from takeout orders, which might make it a little more convenient than waiting around at Passage to India, but in this case you would be warranted in investing the extra time.

Yummy! Always fresh and hot like its homemade! Especially the naans; try garlic naan and cardamom tea.

Do NOT dine here. I am serious.
I ordered chicken tikka masala and an order or samosas to go. It took about 20 minutes– the total came to a little over $ 12. I took the meal back to my hotel room and opened it up and almost vomited.
Chicken tikka masala: 3-​day old rotisserie chicken, hacked into pieces. Only the dark meat in the plastic container with about 4oz of inedible sauce poured on top. Rice was not jasmine rice, did not have any herbs/​spices in it.
Samosas: a flattened piece of fried dough with little filling, drenched in oil, served with a side of KETCHUP.
It’s a disgrace to call what they’re serving Indian food… The only positive thing about this restaurant was that they take american express.

Fast service, took less than 5 minutes. I ordered chicken biryani and it was a relatively large portion, and was very tasty. Very affordable, would recommend.

I always categorize restaurants as Cheap eats, Buffet only & Dinner expensive
This restaurant is a cheap eat/​student budget… I went there in Aug while driving back to Houston. I am a graduate from wichita state and have very good memories with the town and had to agree that Wichita suffers Ethnic foods.
For the money I think try some lunch plates and dont spend more than $ 10 in this restaurant.

When it comes to Desi food, I think Wichita has been cursed. I really do think so… all the Desi joints here are either below average or just can’t stay open if they’re not bad. Deshi Curry belongs to the first category, it’s really mediocre with bad customer service and VERY slow service if you go off the menu. They have a lunch buffet which is ok. One thing they’ve got going for them is that they’re serving all Halal, which is a blessing in a place like Wichita. I really believe a lot of students come here only for this reason. One thing that’s good here is the Chicken Biryani. But it takes sooo long even if you call ahead, I don’t know why…