These are reviews of Kathmandu Kitchen from 2005. For more current reviews, visit the entry.
Is this the place that always has the long line whenever I go to the Davis Barber Shop? —KenBloom
You're probably thinking of Fuji Chef, which is across the street from Kathmandu. They have all-you-can-eat sushi for lunch. —MikeIvanov
2005-03-25 12:29 I had a surprisingly delicious meal there 3/20/05. I ordered the prawn curry and asked for it spicy as hell, which is wasn't, but that's fine with me, because the flavors were vibrantly savory and the "prawns" (these were actually average sized shrimp) were perfectly cooked and not rubbery and tough, which seems to happen in other restaurants often. A simple Sierra Nevada pale was a perfect hoppy accompaniment. The person I ate with ordered the lamb curry. My two bites seemed quite tasty and tender, but I'll need a larger sample size that that to formulate an opinion on her dish. My only qualm was that the naan served with my prawns was rather bland, and a bit dry. Dessert was a rice pudding with cardamom and that was just alright, but then again I lost my sweet tooth about 10 years ago. Anyway, the service was functional, no more no less, and we went when there was hardly any people in the restaurant. Although the prices are above the norm for Indian food, the quality of the meal justifies it. I will indeed revisit this place. I just won't fill up on draft Chimay White from Sophias beforehand. Man, I was STUFFED afterwards." —MarcRehfuss
Went here for dinner once. The prices are expensive even for Indian food. Expect to pay about $14 for a main course. The food is really high quality, though, and the service is good. - JacobOrenberg
2005-03-03 20:55:25 I agree the food is very good. However, when I went the service was terrible even though they did not seem particularly busy. —RyanPrendiville
2005-03-21 01:05:53 the food is pretty good. however, it is a little pricy and the service wasnt that great. they sat us inbetween two couples, no more than 6 inches apart. very uncomfortable and socially awkward situation, i could not have a conversation with my guest comfortably. this is unacceptable when the restaurant is practically empty. now that the chat cafe is in Davis i will finally be able to get some decent indian food at a decent price with decent service. —MattHh
2005-04-04 16:46:48 Foods good, but ridiculous service. the lady tried to make me pay twice after i already have the first time! its not my responsibility to watch the money, its hers! —StephenDragun
2005-04-04 19:41:42 Well, since everyone else is doing it, I suppose I should register my dissatisfaction with the service too. Slow as hell, and not particularly friendly. But that was just with college kids. They perked up when I brought my parents... Food is always pretty good though. Spicier and more flavorful than Raja's, but more expensive. —CaptainRush
2005-04-21 16:27:51 OK Indian food. This place was great about 1 and a half years ago. Then the quality of the food really went down. Currently on the rebound. —AmitSahoo
2005-04-21 17:00:22 I remember stopping here years ago (1995-2000) when passing through Davis on the way to or from Nevada City (home at the time)... I always liked it alot, as did my parents. I've not been here since moving to Davis... How sad. —SummerSong
2005-04-24 23:48:36 food was very good but expensive. service was a bit slow; if you're really hungry then you should go somewhere else. Asking for recommendations from the waitress is futile. —MarieHuynh
2005-05-19 01:04:38 The food is exceptional, however last time my roommate went, there was a lot of shady-ness with the bill. My roomie and her friend asked them to split the bill and when they did, they added $2 extra to each bill. When my roomie confronted the cashier, he got defensive and denied any wrongdoing. Then my roomie asked to break a $10 bill and they gave her one $5 bill and 4 $1 bills.. I know that it seems like a petty amount but we're college kids here and nobody likes getting ripped off! —NatashaSingh
2005-06-17 04:43:12 Maybe I've just been lucky, but I've never had a problem with the service here. Sometimes it takes a while to get a water refill, but then again last friday I had excellent service (my friends Jenn and Nicole claim they just wanted to take the goofy white guy home and wrap him up). I highly, highly recommend the Lamb Vindaloo or the "Favorite Lamb Curry." My favorite dish during the lunch buffets (WAY better than Raja's) is the Chicken Makhani (Butter Chicken) —AlvinTsao
2005-06-17 14:49:56 Food is good, but not for the price. Yes, I am a poor stingy college student which plays a large role in my opinion, but it's like $12, $13 for a dish with naan. And naan is essential. —GiladGurantz
2005-07-07 17:47:18 This is my favorite restaurant in Davis. Until recently the service had been pretty bad. I remember waiting for the bill for 45 minutes once. I only did take out for a while after that. But last time I was there they'd hired an almost all new wait staff, and they were great. —NathanMilos
2005-08-13 10:39:14 Great food, horrible service. On the expensive side, but worth it if you can stand the lack of service. The buffet is good, but they don't debone their meats for it like they do for their dinner plates. —AlexPomeranz
2005-08-20 10:39:14 I got the Veggie Thil and it was great! Even though I like to eat meat, vegetarian is a great alternative that left me satisfied -in taste and I was full. The service was excellent. I think I drank around 4 cups of water... everytime before I reached the bottom of the cup someone would be there to serve me more. It is somewhat expensive, every dish is around 10 bucks. But you don't expect to go to an indian restaurant expecting you are going to get a full course meal at the same price as Jack in the Box! Good place to take your date —RodolfoHam-Zhu
2005-09-10 13:31:00 I had been to Kathmandu Kitchen several times and I've usually enjoyed my experience. It was never exeptional, but it was usually okay. Last night some friends and I went there to celebrate my birthday and we got horrible service. They made us share servings of rice between two people, and we paid $12 per person. We had to get up and tell them to bring us more rice, and we think they may have charged us for it. My food was good, but Amy says her lamb was tough and dry and that her rice was crunchy. Next time I go to Kathmandu it's definitely going to be for the buffet. —SharonZimmerman
2005-10-02 11:50:11 last week the douchebag waiter took about 10 minutes getting our orders because he insisted on getting our first names. Great, we thought, that took forever, but at least the dishes will go to the right people. They didn't. But then we thought, at least they'll get the tabs right. Wrong again. These guys are idiots. —ApolloStumpy
2005-10-29 11:13:25 I should have read this BEFORE I went to dinner last night. It took us an hour to get our food, even when it was half empty and we complained twice. People who arrived a half hour after us were eating before us. We were 5 minutes from just asking for the bill for our sodas and leaving. I don't even remeber what the food tasted like, I was so hungry when I finally got it that I don't think I chewed... —ChloeThorn
- A nasty stench as we walked into the restaurant (mainly noticeable from the kitchen)
- Food served at room temperature
- Uncooked vegetables (peas, eggplant, potatoes)
- Bread (naan) was doughy in the middle; not thoroughly cooked.
- Excessive use of salt in certain items (daal esp.) —GovindBaliga
2005-12-31 14:21:14 Excellent food - their sizzling platters in particular are amazing, as are their varied dinner plates. The service is often extremely slow, and a couple of times they simply forgot the order of a member of our party and didn't even notice when they brought 3 orders to a table of 4. But, the food keeps bringing me back! —GrahamFreeman
