Nirvana: The Taste of India

Wonderful staff - delicious food - and fresh. can’t go wrong. I forgot to take a photo of my dosa… but I guess outside of seeing it you can tell it’s good!

If you're looking for a cute spot for a date night, ladies night or just a night out, go to Nirvana!!! They are following COVID protocols to the T and have some super cozy heaters for outdoor dining. All of our dishes were top notch, and if you've got Celiac Disease their menu is super easy to navigate.

As I am new to US, I was craving for Indian food and I guess I found the right place. Nirvana is the perfect place when it comes to authentic Indian food. I ordered tandoori chicken, chicken Tikka masala,lamb chop and some garlic naan The food here are amazing and Lamb chop was the best. Also, the dessert here are worth, you get lauki ka halwa ( green halwa) super yummy. Guys you must visit. Would love to come here again :) P.s Added few photos of Tikka masala and tandoori chicken

Good Indian food The chat papri tastes close to chat in india. Biriyani was tasty too.

Would highly recommend this place! Portions are very large and the prices are super reasonable. We got the lamb dosa and saag paneer. Dosa was amazing!

I enjoyed this place quite a bit. Awesome lunch special buffet, and the Indian food was very tasty. Would definitely recommend.

It was our first time trying Indian cuisine, since everything else around was closed for 4th of July, and we loved it. It was a wonderful experience. Food is delicious, smells heavenly, servers are extremely welcoming. Will definitely come back when in the area.

***** for the quick service, food quality and taste. Definitely a good restaurant, pleasant music, great Ambience, hot location, delicious food and polite & friendly staff.

Nice place to prefer Indian food, very good staff and helpful. Like to visit again.. reasonable cost nearby Harvard university.

Nirvana is my absolute favorite food place in Cambridge. They have fantastic north Indian quisine. The place is beautiful inside and I am a frequent guest. They don't do seating now because of COVID-19, but they do a fanastic and safe job of providing wonderfil takeouts. I could not recommend them more highly! Check out the great Indian beer called Taj Mahal.

We recently had Nirvana cater for our son’s/daughter's birthday party, and the experience was incredible. From the moment the food arrived, we knew we were in for something special. Everything was fresh, flavorful, and beautifully presented. Our guests enjoyed the food—each dish was a hit! The team was professional, punctual, and made the entire process stress-free. They truly helped elevate our celebration. Highly recommend Nirvana for any event—top-notch service and even better food!

Best Indian food ever. My daughter ordered the meat samosas and I ordered the cheese Dosa. Both were amazing and the staff was super kind. It was really easy to find a non-spicy, vegetarian dish for me, as well as non-spicy non-pork delicious option for my daughter.

Wonderful value and wonderful food. On a cute little street with outdoor seating! Very nice staff. Have already been back multiple times!

Great food… they have so many options vegetarian, omnivore, pescatarian, you will find something you fancy there. I tried their samosa’s and they are the best I've had. The curry is perfectly spiced a-swell and you can adjust the sweet to spicy ratio with their chutneys. I highly recommend checking them out if you’re looking to dine in or take out… the staff is also super friendly and has great service. I love everyone there!

I always enjoy dining here. My go-to dishes are Paneer Tikka Masala, Masala Papad, Gobhi Manchurian, and stuffed naan—each one packed with authentic Punjabi flavors that truly remind me of Indian home-style food. The presentation is lovely, and the staff is extremely polite and cooperative, which makes the experience even better. Prices are very reasonable considering the generous portions and great quality. The owner is warm and welcoming and genuinely cares about every guest’s comfort. A place I’m always happy to revisit.

I almost never leave reviews, but Nirvana is fantastic. The food is delicious and reasonably priced, especially for their portions, and their staff are very kind and helpful. I accidentally ordered the wrong item to pick up, and when I talked to them about it, the chef was kind enough to swap the dishes without charging me extra, even though he had already made the food I mistakenly ordered.

Our favorite Indian food in the area! We regularly order takeout and dine in person. Good for a date night, or a casual lunch. The vegetarian dinner for 2 is our go to!

I’ve been coming here regularly for about a decade now. We keep going back for the great food, super friendly staff, and relaxed atmosphere. Strongly recommend.

I’d been here during dinner time. They serve a buffet lunch but not dinner. That did put me off a bit. I didn’t find the appetizers matching up to my expectations and they were just like ‘meh’ or it could just be me. The aloo papdi chaat was made well. I’d definitely vouch for the Veg Biryani. The spice is perfectly set and it is also a filling meal. The gulab jamun was good but I can say that I’ve had better. They also serve Bira on tap but apparently it was ‘flat’. They also serve Taj Mahal and Chakra beers from India. I’d recommend to visit for the biryani if not anything else.

We stopped here randomly. And didn’t regret it. We ate outside and the food was good. We had the Nirvana Non-Vegetarian Platter (Meat samosa, chicken tikka, lamb kebab, seekh kebab and chicken pakoras), Chicken Tikka Masala, Tandoori Rack Of Lamb, Keema Naan and Saag Paneer.

Great ambience and even better food. The chicken tikka masala and chicken dopyaza was utterly delicious. Lamb and goat biryani's are fine as well ( I think they can improve on the Biryanis ). Chats and desserts are really good too. Overall i would rate it a 4/5 Stars.

Delicious Indian food. We loved the garlic naan, the butter chicken, and lamb korma. The meat samosas were delicious. The vegetable pakoras were a little starchy and the chicken masala was good. The lamb biryani was good too.

Really good service and very good Indian food. Also it's nicely decorated and they have a small terrace! Will definitely come back!

Amazing food. I destroyed the butter chicken and naan. Rice is okay. Spicy is spicy. Fast service. Was a little annoyed by the extra charges for takeout containers.

Pros: - Trendy decor. - Excellent Indian-tropical themed bar with great selections such as Lychee Martini and Mango Margarita. - The curry dishes were delicious without the use of excessive grease or cream. We tried the Malai Kofta and Chicken Korma. Both were well-prepared. - The host, waitress and manager were all courteous. - Dinner was served *extremely* quickly. I'm talking 7-8 minutes after placing the order. Cons: - Some of the dishes were hit-or-miss. The Chicken 65 was overly dry and chewy and the garlic naan was underwhelming. - The waitress forgot our Kulfi. - When the Kulfi arrived, it was delicious, but by far the smallest portion I have ever seen. Overall, this is probably one of the top 3 Indian restaurants in Boston, but there are better options outside the city.

Loved the atmosphere of this place with its friendly staff. Also, they have TVs for for any sports fans including F1

EDIT: Buffet is no longer served, but the lunch options are plenty, and quite good. The food is not over salted anymore, and you get the choice of splicyness (medium is tangibly spicy). Palak paneer was a bit too bland for my taste, but veggie pakora was succulent, and so was dal. Overall, an alright place for the location / price. OLD REVIEW (3 stars): The food is ok, but not outstanding.blunch buffet does it's job, although the only meat selections I found were with chicken. Quite salty, not particularly spicy. I'd say that it is a good choice for the location (very close to HLS campus), but if you feel more like walking, Kabob Factory offers more in the same category.

Ordered food from this place yesterday - March 4, 2019 Had some chilli chicken and kulcha - both of them tasted delicious and well cooked. The bread was exceptionally made - generally kulcha gets soggy during delivery, but this was very fresh and soft. Also had a gajar halwa - and it did not taste good. It was weirdly prepared, obviously not in traditional sense and had different texture. It was sweet but not the typical sweetness you taste, hence was not able to take more than two spoons of this Would look to order once again from this place!

Update: After posting my original review, I spoke with the owner. He apologized, acknowledged the issue, and sent a gift card while inviting us back. I appreciate the accountability and willingness to address the situation. —————- Great food and amazing flavors — we genuinely enjoyed everything we ordered. We came in at 9:30 pm, were told they close at 10, ordered right away, and even paid before finishing. The food arrived quickly, and we were eating at a normal pace. At 9:58 pm, a server came over and told us we needed to leave and said, “We have families,” which felt abrupt and a bit dismissive while we were still actively eating. We left at 10:05 pm. We completely respect closing times, but if the expectation is that all guests must be out by 10 sharp, that would be helpful to communicate clearly upfront. The food was excellent — just wish the closing interaction had felt a bit warmer. I should also mention closing time was listed as 10:30 pm.

Came here at 9:40 today. Upon asking for a table for two, the waiter suggested that we should rather order for take-away, as the restaurant would close at 10:00. We assured that we would do our best to eat quickly and were directed to a table. We were instructed to order immediately, which we did. Our food arrived at 9:52. 5 minutes later, when I was just in the midst of having my Shahi Paneer Korma, we were presented with the bill. Only 2 minutes later, my plate was still half full, the waiter asked if we wanted a box in order to take away the food that we weren’t able to eat within these 8 minutes. Hence, we had no other choice than to leave the restaurant with half of our food and a lot of frustration.

rarely write reviews, but our experience here was bad enough that I feel it’s worth sharing. From the start, the service was unwelcoming. We were given a choice of outdoor tables, but when I tried to grab a chair from one of the many empty tables nearby, I was stopped by staff and told no. My friend, who needed more space to sit comfortably, moved his chair to the other side of our table and was given unnecessary grief about it. This would have been understandable if the patio were full, but there were only two parties (ours included) seated outside. The issues didn’t stop there. In the middle of our meal, my friend asked for more rice. Instead of simply bringing out a fresh serving, the waiter insisted we first scrape out the remaining rice so he could reuse the empty pot—he even wanted us to reuse the same spoon. It felt bizarre and uncomfortable, and honestly not what you expect from a restaurant. Between the nitpicking over empty seating, the lack of flexibility, and the strange approach to service, the whole experience was frustrating. The food itself was fine, but the way we were treated overshadowed it completely. Definitely not a place I’d return to or recommend. Food was better than the service, but that’s not saying much because I’ve had better Indian from Trader Joe’s frozen food aisle.

I really like nirvana. Their lamb biryani is my favorite but unfortunately it was ruined for me one time I ordered takeout I bit down really hard on a piece of metal. Ouch, now I’m paranoid eating it. Edit: Knocking two stars off my review. In my latest experience I got food poisoning. I no longer enjoy Nirvana.

I went to Nirvana yesterday afternoon and it was awful experience. The attending waitress could not care less, I had to wait to look around for her just to ask basic items like spoon. I was provided fork and butter knife. Another thing is I ordered Chhoe Bhature so obviously I asked if I can have some onions with lemon and salt on it and little of pickle like one mango slice. She told me it will be charged separately. I still Made my peace with it and said okay then she can with just raw chopped onions no lemon not even salt on it. Besides every place served chhole with 2 bhaturas on standard level, This place provided just one. Although the quality aka taste was good. But quantity and customer service made me post this reviews. Last but not least they charge 50cents for to go container. I mean how cheap one can be. I paid that without complain but then I couldn't pack some of my leftover so I asked her for third container being okay with paying for that and she came with the half sized container than the first two she gave me and she charged me same price for it. I'd say if you have any self respect let do not go. People go to restaurant for eat with ease not to being treated like they are there to eat some free food.

Worst reshmi kebab I ever ate. They don’t look like or taste like reshmi kebab. Probably one can call it fried chicken.

I got matar paneer and rice to eat at home and guess what, I got to see two tiny little stones. I am eating from here for quite a time now and one bad experience ruined it.

If there’s an option for zero stars I would’ve given it. Horrible food and ambience. I ordered Tandoori Chicken and it was just bland and hard. And then I ordered a gravy which was just water. Overall horrible food quality and on top of it poor customer service. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

If I could give zero stars, I would. The experience at this restaurant was nothing short of miserable. The food was great but any flavour it had was completely overshadowed by the unbelievably rude and disrespectful staff. From the moment we walked in, the attitude was cold and just plain unprofessional. To make matters worse, I later found out they added an extra tip on my credit card without my knowledge or consent. That’s not just unethical — it’s borderline fraudulent. This kind of behaviour is unacceptable and disgusting. I will never return and will strongly advise anyone I know to stay away from this place.

I’m so disappointed. 5 years ago when I lived in Cambridge this was THE place to get Indian food and we ordered in almost every other week. The past few times I’ve been disappointed by the flavor and lack of care with what is served. Today was the final straw. Butter chicken tasted like tomatos and was very acidic, veggie samosas were nearly black from old oil, the onions that come with the samosas very clearly looked and smaller a few days old, and the goat korma lost its rich flavors and we basically had only bones and fat with two pieces of actual meat. My wife and I loved this place. We sent people to this place. Very sad at how things have turned out…

The food here started out tasting great, but last 2 times I had it delivered the food was refried, instead of fresh, was missing items, and even the lettuce was brown, in places. The chutney was watered down and the chicken extremely dry. It was a lot better place to eat when the pride was shown in the food, instead of making it like a fast food restaurant and putting profits over quality. Will be a while, if ever, I order from here again.

All your food reviews aside, if the staff is not polite, there is literally no point of visiting Nirvana. The host should perhaps take a lesson in etiquette before anyone else decides to go here. Supremely disappointed to cross off one of the better indian food places from my list- in order to protect and preserve my own dignity, and the ones that accompany me for dinner. Do better, Nirvana