Empress of India

Empress of India
103 King Street North
Waterloo, Ontario N2J 2X5

In short, I was not impressed by the Empress. I had fairly high expectations going in; this was their second location (first one is in Guelph) and their website shows some beautifully photographed Indian cuisine. Unfortunately, the food presented at the restaurant came no where close to what I had anticipated.

But let's back up a little. The restaurant recently opened on King St., taking over the very old and tired Maharaja Palace by the north end of Uptown Waterloo. The dark and dreary atmosphere of the old place has been livened up considerably, although the buffet equipment seems like it may have been handed down from the old owners. I was there for the lunch buffet which consisted of two large old steam tables, one with very typical butter chicken, tandoori chicken, naan bread, potato dishes, bean and yogurt sauces, and the other with non-descript salads and rice pudding. While the food was fresh and tasted fine, frankly, the equipment turned me off - it did not convey the message that they were attempting to be anything more than the average buffet.

I suppose I should give them the benefit of the doubt since I'm not very well-versed with Indian cuisine, and perhaps this is just north americanized Indian food similar to the Chinese buffets from the 70's and 80's and I wasn't ordering the right items. Their à la carte menu looks like it has a more depth to it, but after my experience with the lunch, I haven't been inspired to return for another sampling.

Maharaha Palace Inc

Maharaha Palace (Closed)
103 King St. North
Waterloo, Ontario N2J 2X5

One of our friends suggested to have lunch at this restaurant. I went there long time ago and it wasn’t a pleasant experience. I showed up probably after 1 PM; there was barely any food left and everything looked cold. (As a full time grad who only got up before 10:30 AM if there was a class or an appointment, lunch@1 PM was considered reasonable)

This time we showed up shortly after 12 PM and the food was nice and warm. The flavor of most of the dishes was on the mild side. Maybe it is not appropriate for me to make such comment since I didn’t have the hot sauce (green chili) served on the side. I like the goat curry; the meat was tender and the sauce was flavorful. I tore naan (flatbread) into pieces and dipped it in the sauce. The naan and poppadum were a bit disappointing though. The naan alone was on the plain side, the poppadum might be authentic but not to my liking. I like poppadum crispy and with generious seasoning, like the ones at Janet Lynn’s and the Other Brother’s. Dessert section also needs improving. There were only two types of ice cream (vanilla and chocolate), no pistachio ice cream.

The service was nice. Used plates wouldn’t have chance to lie on the table too long. Judging by its lunch buffet menu, this is an average Indian restaurant. I will probably go there if any friend suggests to have lunch there.