Review: Amber Indian Restaurant
Author: WIBIA | Filed under: Food Reviews, Location: Carmel, IN
Amber Indian Restaurant
12510 N Meridian St.
Carmel, IN 46032
Website
I have been getting into Indian food more. I have cycles where I eat a ton of Italian, Indian, Thai, Chinese, etc. and right now, it is Indian food. Keep in mind, Mexican and pizza never fall out of the rotation 
A food friend of mine said that I should try Amber. They have a lunch buffet, so I thought that this would be a perfect time to stop by and try out a few items at once.
The lunch buffet is $7.99 weekdays and $8.99 weekends. You can usually find a $1.00 off coupon at the majority of the Indy coupon sites.
Pretty standard offerings here. Palak paneer, Lamb curry, chicken curry, onion pakora, tandori chicken, butter chicken, nav rattan and about 5 -7 other items. They also have a salad bar that didn’t speak to my appetite.
The butter chicken was pretty good and I had seconds. The garlic naan was also pretty tasty. Otherwise, I was pretty unimpressed across the board. Lamb curry had a ton of bones in it, you really had to work to get them all out. Onion Pakora wasn’t fresh enough and the tandori chicken lacked flavor.
Would I Buy It Again? No. If someone else wanted to go, I probably would go again and just hack away at the butter chicken. It wasn’t horrible by any means, but I felt as if they didn’t care enough about the food to make it really good. Then again, where should I set the bar at a $7.99 buffet?! Service was really attentive here, so much so that I couldn’t snap a good pic!
Taj of India has a buffet, so I think that I will try that next.
-WIBIA
Tags: amber indian restaurant, Food, Indian
Hands down best Indiana buffet is India Garden at Ohio and Delaware – I’d definitely recommend trying that one next.
Sorry you didn’t like it:( I usually eat there for dinner and get the lamb korma (no bones) and aloo gobi.
I, too, am sorry that you didn’t like it. I know the buffet can be hit or miss during the week – nothing truly exciting. The buffet on weekends has different dishes, including one called chicken malai that is outstanding. I order take-out dinner at least one a week. You can order it spiced to your liking and the taste is much better than the buffet. The chicken tikka (not tikka masala, though good) is terrific, as well as the chicken or fish tandoori. I hope you give it another shot…perhaps for dinner.
By the way, have you scoped out Brockway Pub? Their chicken sandwiches are super moist, juicy and delicious.
Thanks for a great blog!
Thanks for the kind words and the tip. I have been to Brockway for some beers, but that is really about it. Do they have a full menu now?
They do have a full (though not huge, which is nice) menu and they are open for lunch. The menu is classic pab fare – burgers and chicken which are steam cooked I believe, and very good fish & chips, corned beef egg rolls, and serveral other tasty choices. Would like to see them bring Sun King to their tap list.
A bit off topic from Indian, but if you’re looking to try a great ethnic buffet, there’s a place in the little strip behind Castleton Square Mall on 86th St. It’s Greek/Middle Eastern, the Mediterrano Cafe.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/mediterrano-cafe-indianapolis
I remember it being $12 at lunch time. It is HUGE, and some of the best quality buffet food I’ve had, and some of the better Greek/Middle Eastern food I’ve had buffet or not.
Dear sweet Jesus, their Chicken Korma. I had it once.. and I have lost my mind ever since. I NEED IT AGAIN!