Surahi Restaurant

We went for buffet today. It was $ 20 per person which was higher than downtown Indian buffet average price. The choices were very limited. The Pakora was stale, the rice was not fresh, the samosa had some weird chicken in it. By far the worst experience of Indian cuisine I have had in Calgary that was slapped with a hefty price in the end.

Any restaurant that calls a concrete oven a tandoor deserves 1 star. If I could give negative stars this idiotic restaurant would be first in line. Apparently the concept of a tandoor changes when you enter Calgary. Authentic cuisine would be a far cry at this place. The only authenticity here is the rude and obnoxious lady that screams. Go someplace else if you want Punjabi food! Don’t waste your time here. Nan’s are puke worthy. Shame to the cook who sends that out of his/​her kitchen.

So we sat down quickly because there were very few people there. We ordered a quite a few dishes. We started with veggie Samosas and Pakora fish. Then we waited… Took about 45 mins to get our dinner. 4 small tables were present, so I don’t know why it took so long. We ordered:
Chicken tikka
Aloo Golbi
Butter chicken
Prawn Korma
Chicken Vindaloo
Navrattan Korma
Saffron
Aloo Peas Pilau
Garlic naan
All dishes were very good, but for $ 13/​order, I would expect more than 8 small pieces of meat.
If you want value for your money, maybe not this place. Quality is better than average.
I probably won’t be back. I don’t see value in the prices they charge.

I love this restaurant! The food is flavourful and delicious, and the menu offers a wide selection of different dishes organized by main ingredient: chicken, beef, lamb, veggie, cheese, breads etc. I dine in and out of the restaurant and have found the food to be consistent and reliable. I have celiac disease and the staff, (most notably the female owner) are vigilant with cross contamination and work with me to make sure I can eat without fear. One time they made a multi person order totally gluten free so that I could try a little of everything :) I can’t say how nice that was for me, what a treat, and so thoughtful! I know that the prices are a little high, but for me the consistency and quality of the food and the consideration of my dietary needs is worth a couple of extra $$$. I highly recommend giving it a try. My favourite dishes are the chicken Kashmiri, paneer makhani and the chicken tikka.

Negative star! By far the WORST customer service in a restaurant!
My fiancé and I decided to dine East Indian style for Valentine’s Day, was the worst evening date. I called to make reservations for two. We arrived and were asked to wait for our table, 20 mins later after many family have been seated and served we finally got seated. The waitress was utterly rude and our order wasn’t placed for another 20 mins! Our food came cold with even more disrespect. It was apparent we were not welcome there, based on our skin colour!
Most extreme racism! Being the only white couple we had the worst service! I’d rather they told us we weren’t welcome then running our whole night! I will never go again and have warned all my friends and family the degree of racism in our multicultural city and neighbourhood.
I’m still interested in the delicious cuisine but I won’t ever pay a dollar for that disrespect!

Food was decent and service started out very good but the meal took forever to get to us. Dishes sat on the table until just before our diner came. Even at the end when waiting for the bill it took forever and we weren’t even asked how it was. Food wasn’t worth that long of a wait. Should have drove to the north for tamarind would have eaten in the same amount of time.

Place serves up some good indian food. Had tried the Lamb Korma, Chicken something, and prawn masala. The garlic naan is like eating a clove of garlic so be careful where you place your mouth after the meal. This is a good place to try indian food without smelling up your home.

I love trying different middle eastern and North African foods so I thought I’d give this restaurant a try. It wasn’t my favourite but still good. If you like spicy food, defiantly come here. I like spicy food and curry but even this restaurant was way too much for me to handle. I ordered a dish that was spicy and my fiancé ordered a normal dish and his was way more spicier than mine. On another note, the décor is beautiful and the service is pretty good

Not sure how good the food is because we never got ours. We ordered our food for delivery and the guy on the phone said it would take an hour. After an hour I called back and the same guy said the food was just coming off the pans. Okay I can wait. Another half hour passed and still nothing. I called again. «Oh the delivery should be there any second». After ANOTHER half hour I called back for the last time and the same guy said «it should be there any moment». I’m sorry but we are ten minutes away from the store. Shouldn’t take 2 hours to get food. And the guy didn’t even apologize for the wait. So I canceled my order. With so many restaurants out there I can’t be bothered to waste my time with a business that doesn’t value their customers.

Lots of vegan options. The lady is very helpful. The food is delicious. The restaurant is never crowded (in my experience). Love this place.

Excellent East Indian food, but not cheap at all. I’ve not been to India, so I can’t tell you if this is «authentic» but I spent two years in the United Kingdom and Surahi hits the mark for exported Indian meals and cooking style. All the usual favorites and expected sauces and the prices are clearly marked on the menu.
Good service, but I could tell that the one woman who was serving needed a bit more help than just having one girl there to bus tables. She was running ragged but still managed to do so with a smile.
I had the vegetable samosas to start. They were nice and spicy, served plenty hot with a small dish of dipping sauce. Right out of the fryer, I am sure.
For my main, I chose the Lamb Rogan Josh, basmati rice, garlic naan bread and a dish of cucumber/​carrot riata. The lamb had a deceptive heat to it that I didn’t notice until the first couple of bites went down. By that point, it was a good thing that the riata was there to cool things off. The garlic naan had a TON of garlic on it and it was just the right amount of soft and crunchy.
Domestic and North American beers on the beer menu plus the usual lot of Indian beers. I saw one guy drinking Stella, which makes absolutely no sense to me. Why not get a Kingfisher or a Cobra, dude?
All told, my meal was $ 40 with tip. A little expensive for one person with a beer and a starter. Two people sharing the rice and the naan might be able to get in and out for less than $ 60.

I hail from the eclectic city of Seattle, which has a large Asian and Indian population. That is to say, certainly more than Calgary. I enjoy Indian food immensely, and while traveling on business, I was delighted to come across Surahi. My first exposure was dinner, where I had their Tandoori Mixed Grill, consisting of prawns, seekh kebab (beef), lamb tikka, and chicken tikka on a bed of onions and bell peppers. This meat was moist and flavorful, and the portion was substantial for the price of $ 15. I certainly felt satiated at the end of my meal.
My second trip was for lunch where they served food buffet style, as is common of Indian restaurants. As before, everything was well cooked and flavorful, though it did seem to be priced a little high for a lunch buffet at $ 16. Not to say I didn’t get my money’s worth — I did. But in the States, I’m used to a typical lunch buffet being around $ 10.

Surahi is probably one of my favorite East Indian destinations in Calgary. Located conveniently on MacLeod Tr S, I always enjoy my visits. I will admit that they’re a little pricy, but in my opinion the quality of their food is excellent. I particularly like the butter chicken and naan and would probably go there just for that. The service is always friendly which is nice.

Rob & I only went here the one time, and it’s not all that likely we’d ever go back. We don’t typically branch out to restaurants along Macleod Trail since we live near lots of restaurants anyway, but we got a 50% off coupon and thought, ‘why not, we like indian food’.
Well, the décor is very lovely, big purple & gold curtains, paintings of regal elephants and even some nice, tantric music playing in the background. I remember the waitress seemed very nice & accomodating, so that’s good. We had the buffet style meal. However, I found a lot of them items were either kind of bland, or they seemed so spicy it made them bitter.
When we were done & paying for it, we were suprised to be charged so much money (I think it was like, $ 30/​person, even with a coupon). And then we both had an upset stomach for awhile after that.
I am not trying to drag their business name through the mud, but figure you, as a person reading the review, deserve a fair warning of what you may be getting yourself into. At the least, bring a fair amount of money.

This place is pretty good! Wouldn’t hesitate to go to the buffet anytime! It’s a great deal! However I am not a fan of ordering from the menu here. I guess when you you can pay half as much and eat even more then come back and order from the menu and pay almost twice as much and eat less you somehow feel cheated! Hahahaha
Either way the food here is good and well prepared! Though I must say nothing stood out as amazing.
The setting and ambience has a bit of a peculiar feeling to it for some reason ?? I don’t know why exactly but every time I have gone I always feel like their is something just a little off with vibe! Call me crazy!
It’s a decent place! I would certainly go back for the buffet ! Check it out and see what you think!

It’s not always easy accompanying a vegan to dinner. Really, is there any food without meat that’s worth eating?
All joking aside, that’s how this friend and I always come back to Indian food. And it all comes down to the pakora test. In my mind, the ideal vegetable pakora is a crisp, flavourful bundle of vegetable joy that’s not too oily or batter-​heavy.
Surahi passes the pakora test with flying colours. Mmm.
The rest of the food is yummy too. The bhindi (okra) is delightfully spicy. The chana masala is perfectly cooked with a rich tomato sauce that doesn’t overdo the chickpeas into mush. The bharta (eggplant), on the other hand, is a bit unrecognizable in its green amorphous form, but not bad overall. Finally, the garlic naan is sooooo garlicky — in a good way.
I agree with enjoying a mango lassi to balance out the heat in your mouth! Someone really needs to invent more liquid desserts.
In my opinion, probably among the better Indian restaurants in south Calgary, next to Karma.
$ 50 for two people with plenty of leftovers.

Surahi is one of those places that makes you wonder: «How do they flourish?» Its location is far from ideal, tucked away behind a nondescript Swiss Chalet beside the Calgary Co-​op on Macleod Trail just south of Heritage Drive and a short walk from the Carriage House Inn. I’ve only sampled their weekend buffet (it’s delicious), with the de rigeur tandoori chicken, butter chicken, beef curry, chicken samosas, vegetable pakora, khulab jamun, gheer, and chutneys, but the place is never close to full, so it must do most of its business at lunch on weekdays, what with all the nearby offices.