Moksha – Grand Indian Buffet

well i have been going to this place for many years… it used to be really good… the taste of food and menu items were different from other buffets… however it has deterioted over years… the service and buffet items are still the same… but the main difference is the quality of food… was not impressed the last time i went there…

Used to be a regular, a lot of things have changed, and not for the better, with the new ownership.
I have mixed feelings about buffets — I get why some people hate them, but I also feel that they can be a fantastic value. This used to be one of the best Indian buffets in town, and actually my personal favourite. I’ve still only ever had buffet from here, and that’s what my review will be based on.
The restaurant looks small from the outside, but being in the corner of the stripmall, it’s actually quite roomy on the inside, I find all of their seating arrangements to be comfortable. Never horribly busy, but I’ve never seen it completely empty either. I think the décor has improved a bit, it’s quite nice, but the music could be chosen better.
I do keep finding dust in my water glasses though — I’m not sure if this is from the storage method they use or a dirty cloth, it’s not remotely acceptable though and personally puts me off far more than a hair or bug in my food would. The waiter has personally cleaned out my glass at the bar when I’ve asked. Staff is mostly friendly, though not as much as the previous staff.
I do enjoy the food, for the most part, which is why this review sits at 3 and not 2 stars. The buffet is a bit smaller than it used to be, and I’m not as keen on the way it’s organized. Most of the food has tasted fresh and fantastic, with a good spice balance… though the plain basmati rice was weird and dry a couple of times, like it was out all day. The pakoras were quite interesting last time I was there, ghobi (cauliflower) based, and were certainly a highlight for me. I used them in a chaat plate as my starter — making my own papri chaat plate and sometimes including things like samosa, pakora or chana masala (chickpea curry), is basically my favourite thing about Indian buffets. There was pani puri, relatively uncommon at buffet, and one of my chaat favourites, as well. I’m also always pleased to see rasgulla in the desert section.
There used to be a drink fountain included with the buffet price, I don’t typically care to have anything but water with my dinner, but I thought it was a nice touch and do miss it. I also miss how they used to have a manned station at dinnertime with freshly made South Indian treats, such as idlis and dosa. The stations used to be separated and clearly labelled… chaat, seafood, salad, curries, desserts, which I liked. Even though some of the best and most charming aspects of this place are history, I find that the value here is still reasonable, especially using the Groupons that are frequently on offer. At the end of the day, all those changes have taken this restaurant from a destination we craved, to an option we’ll consider ’cause we have a Groupon and/​or we just want to go out, and it’s close, the food’s ready and we’re hungry.

the interior of the restaurant is beautiful and the selection of food is pretty good for a smaller restaurant. the buffet price of $ 20 a person is good… but we ordered 2 Caesars (drinks) and they were terrible and $ 8 each… the butter chicken wasn’t my favorite but I love that they offered Beef Samosa (no one else does). I would recommend them but for $ 80 for 2 people… I probably won’t rush back for a while.

I have never been a buffet fan and to my great surprise I really enjoyed this restaurant on our last visited.
Location is on the strip mall :) but very roomy from the outlook, inside is cozy simple deco and yet authentic, as long as we walked through the door, I had a great sense of Indian food! The restaurant dividing into few sections with dim to the medium comfortable lighting, with soft music tone background.
It was not busy on the Monday Lunch but the foods were many selections, 15 + for vegetables dishes and 5 + for meat choices, some deep fries, and Nana bread was made fresh delivered to out table. (I would never remember the manes :) adding in for chips as appetizer :) and some fresh fruits, sweet for deserts.
I am a picky eater but still can find some of the dishes very delicious. Quality of the foods is better than I expected for a Buffet, the price is reasonable low. Serviced was very friendly, pleasant we would come back for future with other friend who is missing all the fun we had this time.

Very tasty. I understand why this place has such a high rating. Just landed in Edmonton and wanted good food.

East Indian restaurant in an Indian mall. Under new ownership and name. Décor is fine but they played elevator music rather than some peaceful Indian music. Sounded like a seniors centre. The lunch curry buffet cost us $ 15. The buffet was well stocked. But surprised how little spice there was in all but one curry. Spice very toned down but there were East Indian people eating there. There was a salad and desert section. They gave us a free appetizer which we didn’t want as it was full of crackers. The fresh nan bread is very tasty. Overall not bad.

So, I visited this place when it opened up, and the food was really great. However, recently I feel they have started to get complacent. As in, they’re lacking in service, and also in also ensuring all their dishes are fresh. Sometimes I end up finding some dishes that taste like leftovers from the previous day. I wish they brushed up a bit more. Overall, it is a decent place, and I would go again.

I often go to Moksha. The food is really good and Sumeet and the staff are most helpful. They’ve got a really good buffet selection, the best (and freshest) butter chicken in town and always bring fresh naans to your table. They do their best to look after you.

Excellent food and outstanding service. I’ve been twice. The first time I had the buffet and it was very good. My most recent visit, we ordered off the menu. We enjoyed everything we ordered. They gladly made a dish for me that wasn’t on their menu and it was great. As well, when my daughter asked how to make naan bread, the man serving us invited us into the kitchen to show us how they use the clay ovens to make it by hand. Excellent experience. I can’t wait to go back over and over again.

They mean it when they say GRAND Indian buffet! There is more items and better cooked than any other Indian restaurant I have been to in edmonton and I have visited almost all with buffets as I am a huge buffet fan. Not only are there 4 main entrees with meat/​seafood to choose from they are not the same fish everyday. Well except I believe they always have the classic butter chicken. They also mix up the other vegetarian side dishes that India is notably good at. Wonderful variety of flavour to delight your taste buds. I always try to taste a bit of everything. Desert is also excellent they always have great rice pudding I find it is often kind of flavourless in places such as new Asian village or dawaat. Mango pudding matches and has that wonderful light flavour not too sweet and not lumpy at all! Rasmalai and gulab jamun are also available. Too add to the wonderful atmosphere the restaurant is cozy though perhaps a little small if you are bringing lots of guests. With food like this I am sure they will be able to afford opening a second location soon!

This is an upscale Indian buffet on 34 ave.
We went there during the supper hour, no reservations, and even though the place was at least ½ full, the server found us a table.
We got our drinks quickly, and couldn’t wait to attack the buffet.
The variety was excellent. The place is busy, so turnover is fast. The food is always fresh.
The weakness seems to be the desserts but not a big deal to me as I prefer the main courses.
It was on the pricey side, but considering the quality of the food and the volume of people eating here, it is not an issue. We will go back once in awhile as their chicken dishes were great.
This is a very well run Indian restaurant, and the fact it is so darn busy… we cannot be alone thinking this way!
My only complaint (typical of 90% of the restaurants in Edmonton) is that the service was great until we needed the bill. Then service fell off the face of the earth. But, we went up to the bar and our server was there and cleared it up so politely and quickly. He was professional and in his defence really busy. Not a deal breaker as the food was so good!

A hugely impressive number of buffet items are available. Twice as many items as most lunch buffets (over 15 ‘curries’)five desserts, 5+ apetizers, a salad bar and it includes fountain pop and fresh made masala dosa.
The dosa is made at request by a friendly chef who will also give suggestions and answer questions about the menu
We didn’t even feel need to order off the menu here and the food was great, a lot of variety in the spice palettes and the types of meat and veggies. Even though it’s far away. I’d definitely go again.

So whenever I eat at an Indian place, I NEVER get the buffet, I order off the menu. Why? The stuff in the buffet is usually the same anywhere you go, it’s spiced for a white audience generally (I like hotter) and it’s not a good measure of the quality of a business. Having known business owners who had buffet restaurants, I really think the extra money I pay for a fresh dish is more important than saving a bit of money, getting a crazy selection and gorging on average food. My days of buffet dining are long done, and I don’t miss them.
Anyhow, we visited Moksha and ordered off the menu. As an appy we ordered the Golgappe (aka — Pani Puri) which not too many places offer in my experience, and I was excited to have my BF try it. The fact that a Gori like me ordered this interested the staff and they came to talk to us about it (where did you have it before? etc.), very friendly. Notably one fellow pointed out that they had them at the buffet, he was obviously trying to steer us towards it, given it was a slow day and the lunch buffet finishing up soon, no thanks!). The puris are store-​bought, no surprise (if anyone knows a place with homemade LET ME KNOW), but the pani etc. was tasty, better than I can make and that’s good enough for me.
For main dishes we ordered baingan bharta (eggplant) and chicken vindaloo; the latter was my bf’s choice, as I find most vindaloo pretty similar though it is tasty. I didn’t care for the eggplant style, I like more a tomato base, and to be honest it was pretty globby in texture and rather flavourless. There was none of the beautiful roasty sweetness balanced with rich spice I have come to expect with this dish. This was maybe partially my fault because I forgot to ask for a hotter spice level (and they never asked) so I automatically got white-​style which is boring, but it was about more than just the spice level. The whole dish was very meh. Baingan bharta is one of my favourites, typically a very flavourful dish, so I was sorely disappointed with what I received. Perhaps it’s a Punjabi style that I like better?
The chicken vindaloo was very good, but as I mentioned before I’m not one to be impressed by vindaloo. It seems to be one of those dishes it’s hard to screw up, like butter chicken, but you know…
The buffet selection I looked at after lunch, and I was not hugely impressed although it is better than average. Big selection, sure, but in my opinion it’s mostly the usual stuff one gets at most Indian buffets, at least as far as the curries go. It is pretty cool that they have a chaat station, I like the organization, and there is more choice for salad and desserts than one usually sees. Maybe I’ll try it next time. Maybe. $ 14 for weekday lunch buffet for the selection they offer is a pretty good deal, if that’s your priority.
I’d try this place again but I don’t think it was as good in terms of flavour as Dawaat, which is my standby favourite. The presentation was nice, the restaurant clean, the staff was pretty friendly (although my water glass went unfilled in a quiet restaurant) and the portions decent for the price, similar to most Indian places. I’d like to try some other favourite dishes of mine to see if my experience with flavour is the same, then I’ll know for sure if Moksha is worth driving all the way to 34^th Ave.
They do have a number of goat dishes, which is a plus! And kulfi falooda! Try it if you’ve never had it, though you might want to hold the rose syrup.

Great food and service at a wonderful price!

I’ve been a HUGE fan of Moksha since I moved out here from Winnipeg. I have had my fair share of Indian Buffets but this one was a great surprise.
The food selection is superb. The atmosphere is authentic. The service staff was friendly. The price was reasonable/​average and worth every penny.
I took a friend of mine to this joint and he LOVED it.
I will be coming back again. Great work Moksha!!!

We went to Moksha — Grand Indian Buffet originally as I had purchased a discount coupon, and recently went again and felt I should stop being lazy and write a review. I guess my favourite thing about the food is that every dish really has its own flavour with obvious fresh herbs and spices. (I find with some Indian buffet, the butter chicken tastes like the saag paneer which tastes like the daal etc.) So far we have not found one food items that is less than wonderful.
As I am a sucker for Indian desserts the only complaint I would wish for would be less carrot halwa and more Burfi. I am not sure if Burfi is a regional speciality, but I adore the stuff.
Décor is beautiful, service is great (one gentleman showed me how to make a rather cool thing, with a sort of small crunchy pita and cracking a hole in it and filling with a potatoes and chickpeas then adding a spicy water. You throw the whole little package in your mouth and it’s a fun bite of flavour & texture). It’s my opinion it is now the best Indian restaurant in town. An added bonus– I don’t get the strange MSG after affects like I do at some other Indian places.