Reviews: Baba India and New Krishna (Buffets)

by julie on July 21, 2010


So, yet another Sunday and Terry said, “You know what I want?”

“I don’t know. What?”

“Indian.”

After decades of not eating Indian food, he’s going in hard core. We decided to try a “new” Indian place– and by new, I mean, “not Ambar” (I’m loyal, I admit).

I don’t really prefer Indian buffets– or buffets as a whole.  In fact, aside from Indian, I never choose a buffet.  However, on a busy Sunday (or weekday at lunch time), there’s usually high turnover, and the Indian buffet can be pretty reliable.

Baba India serves a lunch buffet seven days a week, and is located in Oakley in a building that used to be a chain restaurant of some sort. There’s plenty of parking, and the staff is very welcoming and efficient.

DSC_0163

As far as Indian Buffets go, this one is average. The tandoori chicken is moist, but the bed of onions and peppers– my favorite part– was uncooked. Other favorites, such as saag paneer, were good but not terribly spicy.  Chicken Makhani was also fairly low on the spice meter, and just a bit overcooked.
DSC_0165There was one dish that I’d never seen on an Indian buffet before, and I kind of passed it by.  I was encouraged, however, by our waiter.  ”It’s like dessert!”  That dish was a carrot salad, not too sweet, with lots of golden raisins and almonds.  Incredibly delicious, and like he said, a nice finish to the meal.

I also go to New Krishna, near the Sharonville exit off of 275, quite often during the workweek. The buffet is fresh, has some of my very favorite saag paneer in town, and really nice tandoori chicken. They always have a few not-so-typical dishes on their buffet as well, so customers can be a bit experimental (or just get out of their Indian buffet ruts).

Baba India on Urbanspoon

New Krishna on Urbanspoon

Tagged as: baba india, new krishna

  • polymer

    mmmm… Indian food is my favorite. the Baba building was a Hardee’s long ago.
    From my understanding, Ambar, Akash, Baba and Kanak are all related… there might be another one. My fav of those was Akash until I found Kanak, probably cause they are closer to me now. I don’t do the buffet because it’s never spicy enough but I enjoyed your review none the less.

    • http://californiatraveler.blogspot.com/ Suz

      The other related restaurant is Raja in West Chester. I love ordering take out from Kanak, since it’s right by my house. However, during the week I prefer the Raja lunch buffet as they seemed to have more vegetarian options. Saag paneer is one of my favorites, but at the Kanak lunch buffet they had it (obviously called something slightly different) with chicken in it. However, I’ve eaten at Ambar (my sentimental favorite), Akash, and Baba, too. They all offer pretty much the same thing on the menu and the food is always good. The only other Indian restaurants I’ve tried outside of this family of restaurants is Hi Bombay! on Fields Ertel (marginal lunch buffet on weekdays, excellent on weekends, and great for dinner off the menu) and Tandoor in Montgomery . I’d love to try other Indian restaurants and will definitely give New Krishna a try.

      • http://californiatraveler.blogspot.com/ Suz

        So, today I tried New Krishna for the lunch buffet. It was great. I will definitely be going there again. No more Raja India for lunch. I liked the fact they had several (four today) vegetarian selections and that they were separated from the selections with meat (which were clearly marked.) Their Kheer was way better than at any of the Ambar family of restaurants…not at all watery; it was nicely sweetened and had a thick, but not too thick, consistency. The service was fast and efficient and the space had more personality than the other restaurants. The only thing I didn’t care for was the incense smell…I’d prefer the food aromas to speak for themselves.

  • Josh

    Next time you’re looking for an Indian buffet in Oakley, try Shaan over near the Hyde Park Kroger. MUCH better than Baba.

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  • TheNotoriousAFP

    @winemedineme check out Akash downtown for a change. Lamb rogan josh is very tasty

  • MtAdamsReader

    While your household is on this run, it is worth the trip north to the new Bombay Brazier (former Jimmy D’s steakhouse space) in Montgomery. Very nice menu and a pleasant space. (And, apparently, I’m all about Mongtomery these days. Strange.)

  • http://ourgoodfoodlife.blogspot.com Jen

    Whenever I’ve gone to Baba for carryout, and that was quite often when I lived in Oakley about 2 years ago, there was never any music on. I always thought it was kind of odd, and would benefit greatly from some light music. Otherwise, I thought the food was great and I love the Lamb Rogan Josh

  • AK

    I echo what Josh up there said! Baba is good because it carries beer (a Kingfisher is lovely whilst putting in a carry-out order), but Shaan is some top-quality food (though I never do buffets, so I can’t vouch for that). They have a ginger chicken dish that is quite delicious.

  • Lisa

    I appreciate the serving sizes at Baba. It doesn’t make you feel quite so bad about the price. This has always been my complaint about Ambar and Amol. As a family of 6, we typically get carry-out wherever we go, so buffets don’t really fit our lifestyle. I prefer to pick my spice level and think that any Indian buffet would probably be less spicy than what I would want. I’m sure they want to please the masses. We’ve been to Shaan several times and have been happy with that as well. Baba is still my favorite. Lamb Rogan Josh is delicious!!

  • Linn

    Baba is the best Indian food that I’ve had in the Cincy area. I recently tried Shaan over by the Hyde Park Kroger and didn’t think it compared at all with Baba! Chicken curry is the best!

  • Oakley

    “the staff is very welcoming and efficient.”

    Really?!? I’ve never experienced anything but rudeness from everyone including the owner.

    • http://winemedinemecincinnati.com julie

      They seemed pretty welcoming to everyone, including the party of 15 (!) that was there as well. Maybe I got a good day?

    • LessIsMore

      I agree. The attitude at Baba is–I should say “was” because we don’t go there anymore for that reason–terrible. As though they were doing you a favor by letting you patronize their restaurant. Shaan was a refreshing and welcome change, and the food is just as good if not better (no more rubbery lamb in the vindaloo).

  • http://www.veggieoption.com veggieoption

    Julie, you and Terry should try Dusmesh’s buffet some weekend. It’s pretty good.

    I’ve been disappointed with Baba the last few times I’ve eaten there – both dine-in and take-away. In fact, the last time we had their take-away (with several friends) when we got home we discovered that the restaurant hadn’t marked the containers, so we couldn’t figure out which ones were vegetarian and which ones weren’t. I think that’s poor customer service – surely it doesn’t take that long to write the name of the dish (or an abbreviation) on the cartons.

    • http://californiatraveler.blogspot.com/ Suz

      I’ve had the same thing happen at Kanak. We order several things and sometimes I have to study the food contents quite closely before figuring out which ones are which. Since I always have the veggie option, it’s important to get it right. I don’t see why they can’t mark the containers. It would be easy for them to do and goes a long way in providing good customer service.

  • Danger

    I used to be a loyal fan of Baba. Then the service and food just started..well..sucking. It was bland! We discovered Indian Mun in Newtown last Christmas. It blew Ambar and Baba out of the water. The staff is always friendly, and the food is an event of aroma and spices – the way good Indian food SHOULD be. They’ve been closed the last couple of days when we wanted an Indian fix, so instead of returning to Baba, we tried Shaan. It was FANTASTIC. They will definitely be my backup.

    • http://winemedinemecincinnati.com julie

      Definitely trying Shaan. Sounds awesome!

  • i heart indian food

    baba india isn’t bad. i enjoy it; however, one place that gets overlooked in my opinion is shaan india in hyde park plaza. it used to be hyde park india. the buffet there is very good and the owner is extra nice. he comes out and talks to you and will even serve you things not on the buffet. that place definitely knows a thing or two about customer service!

    • http://winemedinemecincinnati.com julie

      It’s official: next Indian review will be Shaan. Sounds great!

  • dev patel

    I have tried all the Indian restaurant in cincinnati, being Indian , i believe Ambar India and Baba India From (Ambar family) are the two the best Indian restaurant in town and very consistent for several Years. Kanak India is good too.

  • http://www.tylerolson.net/ tyler olson

    Thank you for spending the time to publish this. I know it requires a lot of work

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