Nirvana

I was in the area and met up with a friend who was in the mood for Indian and she heard good things about the lunch buffet, so, on a whim we went. It is tucked into a plaza in the heart of Falconridge, surrounded by what I could only describe as little India, it was bustling with people going into shops ranging from sweets to jewelry, clothing to law firms!
It is a beautiful restaurant, relatively clean, and the fountain was lovely, however the there was only one server helping customers which was ok but as others mentioned, the water brought was room temp and the glasses cleanliness was up for speculation.
The naan was absolutely divine, I would die a happy person if I could eat basket upon basket of that buttery, doughy goodness. But that was about it, with exception to the rice and naan, the food was definitely not fresh. The pakoras tasted reheated, the butter chicken was a gloopy mess of chicken remnants swimming in oil, chili chicken was just ok, the spicy fish could be compared to over cooked fish sticks in hot sauce, the vegetarian options were lackluster at best, although the paneer dish was alright, otherwise the food was just meh. There were several other options that just didn’t tickle my fancy so I steered clear.
I tried the two of the sweet offerings and was underwhelmed, the gulab jamun was overkill on the sweet side, like diabetes on a plate, no real flavour of cardamom or rose in the syrup or pistachio garnish– just balls of dough swimming in a sugar bath. And the Kheer had carrots grated in it and was very runny, nothing aromatic, mostly milky and sweet with no real depth of flavour.
For $ 15.99 I was expecting better, most likely won’t go back with so many other options in the area. 2 Points for the ambiance and naan.

Great service and good quality food.
Delicious food and great service, it is one of my go to places.

The aroma of curries and spices hits you as soon as you open the door. The large dining room is exotically decorated with traditional Indian motifs. This was the perfect stage for an Indian culinary adventure.
I went to Nirvana for lunch based on the recommendation of my coworker. The entire group had the buffet which seemed to be the easiest option. I tried every dish and was most amazed by the chaat, which you build yourself at their appetizer bar. I think of it as Indian poutine and it’s freaking amazing.
However, everything else tasted lackluster, was barely lukewarm (isn’t this a SAFETY concern?), and did not entice my taste buds for second helpings. Naturally, the butter chicken was the most popular item and although it was better than everything else, I’ve had better elsewhere. There wasn’t much service and the server came by our table once during the 1.5 hours we were there. She refilled our glasses with water when we were putting our jackets on to leave.
Overall, Nirvana is impressive to the eyes but not to the taste buds. At $ 15.99 per person, the price was reasonable but there are better options elsewhere.
Except the chaat. I can’t get enough of that stuff.

It looked like a fine dine restaurant at the entry. However as you sit and start your meal, the experience dips. Ambience good but dim and depressing, Food below average, service pathetic. I went there on my sister’s bday and ordered papri chaat, samosa and Tikki. Only Papdi chaat was good. In the main course, we ordered Kadhai Paneer and Daal makhani and they were just okay but eatable. Breads were better. The server disappointed us, she got us a disgusting used glass having milky froth on the top for water. When we called her and asked to change the water glass, she didn’t apologise even once and said ‘oh I poured water in a clean glass’. We were so surprised with her reply as we didn’t have any clue what she really meant by saying something that stupid. After that while clearing our plates she dropped stuff on my wallet and didn’t pick up the used fork until I picked myself and gave her. Her hands weren’t busy, she just waited for me to pick that up. I won’t go to that place again and don’t recommend it to anybody else.

This is my favourite Indian restaurant! And the only reason it doesn’t get a perfect score is that sometimes the service is slow. Especially, when we order tea– I don’t know what it is about getting tea but it has happened to me about 3 times.
The atmosphere is decorated superbly! And almost gave me interior design fever. It almost looks like you’ve walked into a luxury hotel. There are items that look handcrafted and it is done in a tasteful India motif.
The crowd is definitely for families. And that makes complete sense because it is in the middle of the suburbs. The neighborhood should be dubbed Little India because you are surrounded by other Indian stores from meat shops, butchers, jewelry stores and clothing stores.
The food is really good and plentiful. I always make sure I have nothing else planned for the rest of the night when I go out to eat at Nirvana because you will be in a food coma! There are tons of vegetarian options to choose from (which is common with Indian delicacies) and the meat dishes are amazing as well.
My friends and I chose to do the buffet– and we probably sampled everything that was there to offer. From the salads to the naan, the butter chicken to the curried lamb, and the dhaal (lentils)! I left completely satisfied and probably about 5 pounds heavier.
If you’re worried about the spice– you can throw that out the window. Everything spiced to perfection. Nothing too hot or too bland. I found everything really tasty.
I’ve heard great things about the hall located in the basement, but I have never attended any functions there. I know they have seasonal parties like New Years Eve and such, so I might have to check that out. I would definitely recommend this restaurant and wearing any not too constricting— because you gon’ eat a lot!

Worst indian food ever. Ambience is good. But pathetic food. Very bad service… In Short nothing worth eating.

This is one of the worst indian resturants I have been to. The interior is nice and deceptive, but the food is taste less. The buffet menu is limited and service is bad. Not recommended.

I do not like this place — When it first opened, I enjoyed the atmosphere and the food but I dont know if it has changed management or chefs or what but I DO NOT LIKE IT HERE anymore…
The décor is alright, the food is a crapshoot — Sometimes you get a relatively good dish, and a couple of times I’ve gotten very sick from eating something and then decided not to return for a third attempt.
The service, from the last time I went, was not good. The waitress was rather rude and the host seemed like he would rather be anywhere else then taking us to a table (he seemed a little angry that we were even there and took is sweet time finding a table for us in the near empty dining room).
Not my cup of tea anymore…

Food is Very good! Price is reasonable. Service sucks, there’s only 1 person working front and food takes FOREVER! And I’m serious if you going and your super hungry or starving you might faint! Even if you the only table min wait is 45 min for food. True story!

So good!!! Amazing Indian food!

Short form: butter chicken excellent, service slow, room cold.
A group of six of us went to Nirvana for an early dinner and we even made a reservation. It was not necessary. The restaurant has very ornate surroundings and one imagines an Indian prince finding it quite comfortable. He would, however, freeze his royal backside as the room temperature resembles that of a cave.
We were seated promptly however the number of chairs set out for us did not match the number in our reservation. With only one reservation to handle one would assume it could be done to perfection vis a vis the number of diners. No worries, there were plenty of available chairs from which to borrow. We ordered a round of IPA’s and waited much too long for their delivery. Sensing that it would be a long night, we were delighted to learn that a buffet would be available… in a half an hour. The IPA’s kept us all occupied as we waited for the feast to be set out. At the appointed time (5:30 PM) all was ready and we grabbed our plates. The selection of samosas, fish cakes, and assorted chutneys complimented the few salad offerings. The mains consisted of a generous tub of butter chicken, a spicy beef with bones dish, some dahl, two rices, and several other Indian dishes which I am unable to identify. In addition there was a selection of Indian sweets which we did not sample due to excessive butter chicken consumption! At our request the server brought naan bread to the table. All the dishes were very tasty and the spicy beef added a real hot punch.
Additional naan and beers took a very long time to arrive given how empty the restaurant was. The buffet was $ 16.99 each and no one left hungry.

This place has a nice interior and is a good place to hang out. Buffet options are very limited. However, they have good vegetarian options. The service is bad, the waiter never checked on us and we had to wait 5 minutes at the counter before we found anyone in order to pay.

Best butter chicken ever.
Went for dinner on a Wednesday and only one other table was occupied.
I didn’t notice a crazy wait… it was reasonable, but then again there was really no one else to serve haha.
The Aangan Ki Khaas Tikki appetizer was a tasty start — I especially liked the potato patties in it.
I cleaned off the plate of butter chicken and used rice to soak up all the curry. Really good.
The other dishes I tried were just average, but go get the butter chicken!
It was a little hard to find for me as it’s in the corner of a shopping complex and not facing the main road.

I really hate to say this cause I used to love the place but the only positive thing about the place is the interior…
Service is not what it once was. Food takes way too long. and that’s just me. I used to take my colleagues here all the time… but wait until you hear this…
My wife took her colleagues and had major major issues… not only with the service and the length of time waiting for the food… but also with her bill too. She literally had to wait an hour and a half for her food. By this time she and her colleagues had to go back to work without eating lunch they tried getting their food takeout but the staff was showing attitude and guess what?! …They somehow forgot half the order. Used to go here a lot but not anymore…

Hard to find when you are coming from the deep south, but worth the drive. We came here for a friend’s going-​away party and deliberated between buffet and a plated menu, and settled for the plates. We had a table of about 15 people, so service was understandably slow, but the food was delicious: I had butter chicken with the usual basmati rice and naan bread, a delightful treat. The interior is also quite pleasant, dimly lit with beautiful decorations.

How are you going to have an Punjabi/​Indian restaurant and your staff don’t know how to speak or understand Punjabi?! When I was ordering my food the waitress couldn’t understand what I was saying, I was simply pronouncing the food items correctly. This BLEW my mind. Am I suppose to order Indian food at an Indian restaurant by pointing to the menu because the waitress cannot understand me?
Food was great but everything else was poor. 1 waitress 5 tables and those were the only 5 tables as this place was dead. We waited a long time for food to come to table waited even longer for the bill. Next time I’ll stick to take out and not have to deal with the nonsense of their incompetent waitstaff.

The food at this place was good or may be we just got really hungry after the 75 minutes wait because when your hungry anything tastes good. Yes people we waited for 75 minutes and the person at the counter who looked like a manager didn’t even care because he was having a few drinks at his own bar. There was no one else at the restaraunt so its not like the kitchen was busy. My advice save your time and go to Royal India.

My co-​yelper Sapna has basically covered the joys of Nirvana as a restaurant but I would like to cover it as a Banquet Facility.
We recently had a party to thank our workers within our association plus wanting to educate Calgarians on South Asian Food and Lifestyle so we turned to Nirvana.
The banquet hall and cocktail lounge is located downstairs, it is huge gorgeous space that easily sat 150 people. Tables are elegantly set with beautiful tablecloths, table settings, crystal and shining cutlery.
The owner of Nirvana is a very young man, I believe in his late twenties but he was amazing in taking care of all our needs and was so present to negotiate and so flexible if things went astray.
The food and service was stupendous, I remembering entering and feeling full just at the food that was presented and then my co worker said «Dinah those are just the appetizers! Wait till the main course comes».
For the appetizers you can choice from 2 chutneys and 3 veggie starters which range from veggie items pakoras and tikki to somosas. The non veggie are many as well; lamb, chicken kebabs and somosas. But the main contender that night was the main courses featuring the option of 50 choices: butter chicken, naan, masalas, pakoras, tikka, raita and goat and beef curry specialities.
And if you have that true party enthusiast in you Nirvana can throw in a DJ for your event and you can dance the whole night away Bollywood style. It was so amazing I learned to screw in the light bulb and open the door knob all night!!!

Nirvana is one of the better Indian restaurants in Calgary. In terms of décor, ambiance, food and service, Indian restaurants are usually one or the other, but this one seems to have it all.
I would say that this is one of my family’s favourite Indian restaurants in Calgary. If you’re a fan of milai kofta, naan, parantha, raita and lassi, Nirvana will not disappoint.
It’s usually not packed, which I like, and usually the food is served rather quickly, again, which I like :)
I“d recommend you take a trip over to Nirvana — your mind, body and soul will thank you.