G’Raj Mahal Cafe & Lounge

The fastest way to spend a $ 100 and leave unsatisfied in Austin?
Probably a strip club, but G’Raj comes pretty close. Last night, my wife and I had a simple dinner. A couple samosas, a couple drinks and a couple curries. The check came to $ 91 and change. The change by the way, the server didn’t even bother to bring me when I paid with a $ 100 bill. Instead, she just rounded down and let me donate that change to her and the restaurant. Couple with the $ 10 to park and a tip and you’re looking at around $ 120 for two curries?!?
Aside from the price, the food is bland. The appetizers were overcooked. The samosas tasted mostly of just potato. I ordered the seafood curry and the waitress told me it only comes with one spice level and that hopefully I was good with spicy. I am. The dish however, is not. It was bland and mushy. A couple shrimp and a couple pieces of tilapia. Overall a very, very underwhelming experience both in terms of atmosphere and taste.

I love Indian food, but what I got at G raj was not Indian food. Too cautious in their cooking, hardly any aroma and flavor. Appetizers were insipid, and lacked crunch and zing. The chutneys were runny, watery and mostly sweet, instead of sweet sour and spicy. Not real ‘saunth’ and ’ hari chutney’. Aloo tiki was fried and not pan roasted, papri chat was incomplete, dry and mostly sweet. The Paani puri is a joke. Who puts tamarind paste inside the poori??? Could add more flavor to rice with cumin. I have had better Indian food in China and G raj’s food does not come even close to real Indian food. I went there for a taste of India and was left wanting. The service and staff and cleanliness is excellent though. But nothing can make up for tasteless food. I would gladly pay for good food, but this was a rip off. The roadside vendors in India serve better food than what I ate at G Raj

This was my first experience with Indian food and it was delicious! I can’t compare it to others obviously, but we didn’t leave unhappy.
My boyfriend and I walked in and I didn’t want to eat outside because it was so hot. We went in and noticed there were some seats at the bar. The bartender, Mully greeted us so warmly. He was so nice and welcoming, and shook our hands and asked what our names were.
The food was delicious, and after an hour of good food and some drinks Mully remembered our names even though he’d been serving people all night. We didn’t remember his name, admittedly and had to ask what his was.
It was really just an overall great experience for us and we’re definitely going to go back. We left full, satisfied, and happy. Recommended for anyone who likes good food and a friendly atmosphere!

At the risk of being ostracized from the Austin community, this the worst Indian food that I have had in Austin. In fact, it’s not even Indian food; it’s food inspired by Indian food. I think it’s important to understand the lens through which someone reviews food, so here’s mine. I am a hard core Indian food lover. I am an Indian food snob. I used to live in Yorkshire in England: home to some of the best curry houses in Great Britain. My standards are high. To me, Indian food is all about the spices. This is an important distinction to make: spices not spicy. The magic of Indian food is when you have a beautiful blend of fragrant, flavorful spices that ignite the soul and make it impossible to resist another bite. G’Raj Mahal had probably ¹⁄₁₀ of the amount of spice. The food overall is bland; it seriously lacks flavor.
My boyfriend (who I am quickly converting into an Indian food snob as well) and I, went to dinner and ordered the potato and pea samosas to share as a starter. The samosas lacked any flavor other than potato. For my main course, I ordered the vegetable madrasi curry, which again was weak on the flavor profile. As a lover of Indian food, there are few greater joys in life than a bowl of hot curry. This curry lacked so much flavor that I got bored with eating it three bites in. The man ordered chicken tikka masala, which is normally my go-​to dish. We were both disappointed with the sauce, which again lacked spice, but had an overwhelming flavor of red pepper. While he lapped it all up, we spent the entire meal reminiscing over curries past at some of our other favorite Austin spots.
The restaurant itself definitely has a cool vibe and the staff are friendly, but I think the prices are too high to be serving such bland «Indian» food.
I am two days on from my dinner at G’Raj Mahal, and my heart still aches of the missed opportunity to be taken on a blissful ride to Indian flavor town.
Don’t buy into the hype of G’Raj Mahal. Save your money and the heartache, go to the food truck next door instead, Masala Dhaba.

Best Indian food :)
Lots of tasty items on the menu and lots of beer options to choose from :)
And as a vegetarian they have so many options for me… I’m all about that baingan aloo though!!!

Good for and great service. Had the garlic naan with the pakoras and malai kofta. Recommend.

After a late night of drinking, my friends and I stopped at this place for some late night munchies. The restaurant has a very welcoming environment with decent furniture. The restroom doors slide open, which I initially walked into as I thought that the doors opened up hahaha. Also, the waiters/​waitresses were quick with their services.
The delicious food made the visit worthwhile. We had naan and potatoes. My friends and I selected a variety of different beers as they a multitude of options. For my meal, I had chicken masada that I consumed quickly and enjoyed each taste.
I definitely will be coming back.

Strolled up on simple yet hip atmosphere. The wait wasn’t long to be seated but the wait for our food was fairly long. It seemed pretty busy so I am taking that into account but I still feel it was long for the circumstances. Any who I ordered the Lamb Madrasi and when the food came it was the chicken. I immediately stated the mistake and they jumped right on top of fixing the mishap. They kindly offered me the chicken dish as well as making my lamb dish. This way I didn’t have to wait even longer and they were probably going yo throw it away so why not try win me over. Ok so now as I’m taking my first bite I can smell all the spices radiating from the freshly prepared Madrasi and the flavor just didn’t quite match the smell. It was still a good flavor but just didn’t hit the palette the way the smell did.
Well they can still make it up with the Lamb. So I set aside the Chicken and wait patiently for my correct dish. As the Lamb Madrasi is placed in front of me wham the fresh hot aroma of a great dish just hits my nose and dosen’t let up. Just before taking a bite I can tell this is gonna burn my tounge so I refrain from biting down and wait a moment. That smell is so good. I waited it’s time I go in for the kill and again it just didn’t match the hype. Don’t get me wrong it was delicious but the smell suggested it should’ve knocked my socks off. Overall I enjoyed my visit and the food was definitely above avg. I think the wait might have made anticipate a worth the wait mentality and just wasn’t there. I would more than likely go back so G’raj Mahal you’ll have another chance to please me.

Ate here last night and had a fantastic experience. The food was amazing, very complex and aromatic flavors. The ambience is great, with gorgeous pieces like the chandelier. Anyways, to the food, our party got various levels of spice and they all matched our expectations and were thoroughly enjoyed. The korma I had was the bomb. The naan can come stuffed with a variety of toppings, and the garlic and paneer naan really made some of the curry dishes pop when eaten together. The portions at first look appear to be small, but everyone in our party was stuffed to the gills and hadn’t finished everything.
They have a good selection of wine and beer. I heard the manager say he was going to be rotating taps soon to keep it interesting. Overall, highly recommend this place. Great décor, neighborhood, and food.

Nope.
I was really into this place the first time I came here but I must have been drunk. Every time since then has been a huge miss. The food is bland, plain and simple. Even when it’s spicy, it’s not a GOOD kind of spicy. It burns your esophagus, sure, but there’s no real flavor. Indian food should be complex whether it’s spicy or not, and this is just not it.
The naan is okay. The raita is pretty good. Nice wine list. Service is typical of trendy Austin restaurants (so, terrible). It’s on Rainey street so expect to pay for it.
It’s just really not worth it. Hard pass.

I’ve definitely had great indian food for a lesser price with larger servings (Tarka, Teji’s), hence the 4 stars, but G’Raj is still absolutely amazing and a great environment for an extra special night.
— Bomb curry, what more is there to say there.
— Wednesday HH with $ 15 select bottles of wine, $ 1 off local taps (psst, you can also ‘buy’ their kitchen crew a beer with a $ 1 donation)
— 5 guests or more? 20% gratuity is added at server’s discretion, so watch out for that one
— Expansive veggie dish list, I went with a GF /​Veg friend and this helped a ton
— If you go in the cold season, they give you blankets if you’re sitting out on the patio!

I used to love this place but portions are smaller since moving to a rick and mortar and it just feels as thought it’s lost a bit of charm. Friends and I used to always celebrate birthdays here, but have since moved on since the change from the friendly, welcoming food trailer.
And a word of advice, beware the $ 4 to go fee that will be applied without warning or reason to your favor order. Why am I paying extra to take my food home and eat it? This makes absolutely no sense and doesn’t happen at any other restaurant in town.
I used to love you, G’raj Mahal, but you’ve honestly forced me to move on. Never again.

Honestly, wasn’t the biggest fan of this place, but it’s in a nice location right on Rainey, a huge patio/​outdoor seating area, and plenty of indoor seating as well. There’s also a good selection of beer, which could be appealing to some. It’s a good place to take people from out of town, but I probably wouldn’t come here to satisfy my Indian food cravings. I found it a little pricey for the amount of food you get and the food was also nothing extravagant or surprising.
I had the chicken vindaloo and I don’t have much to say about it. LOL! It was good and I don’t have the most refined Indian food palette (I really haven’t had a place I didn’t like), but I felt the flavor was a little more mild and more on the tangy side.
Other than that, we had a party of about 6 people and they brought out two little vats of rice, which was definitely not enough. I asked for some rice to take with my left overs (which I forced myself not to eat right then and there because it was 10 PM, not because I was full!) and they were more than happy to fill up the entire tin with rice.
Overall, it’s a fun place to hit up if you plan to explore the rest of Rainey throughout the night. It’s also pretty spacious, so it’s good for big groups.

We should have eaten at the Indian food truck beside the restaurant.
A wait no big deal. When they tell you to come back in 30 minutes and the actual wait is 75 minutes — a little annoying. They kept encouraging us to go to the bar, which was tiny and packed.
Service was ok. Dude was super busy, but polite. His service area was way to big: the whole front patio. This also became no big deal once we got some wine.
The food: Meh. The SORPOTEL which was supposed to spicy was more sweet than anything else. Not bad, just not really as described by menu or waiter. JALFREZI chicken was ordered hot and we should have gone double extra spicy because this was very lacking in heat. We also got the CHANA MASALA which were the best thing we had and that is a lot from someone who is typically not a huge fan of any dish without meat.
We left full and satisfied but would likely not return.

G’Raj Mahal serves some of my favorite indian food. The service has always been consistently good and the location right on Rainey is super convenient as well.
Malabar curry with shrimp is sooooo delicious with the garlic naan. We had an issue in the past with a dish that we didn’t like, but it was sorted out really nicely and they were quite understanding.
This is one of my frequent stops in Austin, not only for the location, but they’ve got some great food.

I’m writing this review with a belly full of Indian cuisine, after a lovely dinner at G’Raj Mahal! Thank you, Jordan, for the attentive and friendly service you provided to our party of 10 this evening…
After a quick look at the menu, and way too many appealing options, several of us decided to proceed family style with our meal. We ordered a bottle of Whoa Nelly Pinot Noir and let Trish S order for our side of the table, and she did good!
We shared a ton of food and enjoyed every bite from the pakora and samosa appetizers to the Tikka Masala, Saag, and another couple of entrees, as well as the potato stuffed and coconut naan. I could have used a tad bit more spice, but it was still plenty flavorful mild as we ordered it.
The atmosphere at this place is fun, and the Rainy St location is definitely one to check out if you’re visiting Austin. We sat inside, but the patio is super chill and even dog friendly… I’d return to this place in a heartbeat on a future visit to Austin!

I love Indian food — it’s delicious — and I’ve had it enough places to know that the main staples are always good — sometimes they’re a bit better and more flavorful or cooked a bit differently but they’re pretty much always good. That all being said — this was THE BEST Indian food I’ve ever had.
My friend and I chose to wait about 20 minutes at the bar for an outside table on the patio as it was a nice warm night in Austin in Feb. When we got to our table — in the back — I checked in on Unilocal and had an offer for a free Chai or Mango smoothie drink. I chose the chai and I’m glad I did — it’s the best chai I’ve had at any restaurant to date.
I ordered something I usually have anyway — the chicken/​veggie Korma (YUM) which is a cream sauce with cardamom & nuts — yum. My friend ordered garlic naan (a must) for dipping and some Papad which I had never had. YUm! Her entrée was the chicken Malabar which is a very yummy coconut sauce — both entrees served with rice.
Yum yum yum and yum. Our waitress had a little bit of a bitchy vibe going on — not sure what her deal was — but overall the meal was pleasant and the food was stellar.
I am for sure going to come back here with my husband when he comes with me to Texas next time. He loves Indian food and I’m sure he’d love this place.
I loved the Rainy St. vibe anyway and thought the location was easy to access via walking/​Über or Taxi but parking here would’ve been a nightmare had we driven a personal car on a busy Friday night with all the nearby bars.

I came to Graj Mahal on a Friday night and the wait was about 45 minutes. We ordered the Samosas to start out with which were pretty good, but nothing to rave about. I ordered the Korma curry which was pretty good overall, but it lacked flavor and heat. I enjoyed the ambiance, but really wish that I would have been more impressed with the food. I prefer Clay Pit’s coconut curry over the Korma curry I had at G’raj Mahal. Overall, I’ll probably be sticking to Clay Pit. But, if you’re in the area and want some decent Indian food, head on over to G’raj.

Started off with samosa and papdi chat that had no taste at all. Thought the chutni would help, but that was also watered down. This set the tone for the rest of the meal which was also bland. Went to it when it was a food truck and it was a lot better, but growth has significantly decreased quality.

Every single thing has butter on it (the rice, the bread, all the vegetable dishes). I don’t think Indian food was meant to be made like this and you’re going to be consuming a stick of butter without even knowing about it.
Also they mysteriously changed the banghan bharta to a nasty creamy version and deny that it ever wasn’t like that (I’ve gotten it without cream at least 5 times) and won’t make it without it.
It’s one thing to make ripoff Indian food it’s another to make it loaded with butter and cream when it doesn’t need it at all.

There are plenty of Indian restaurants in Austin with good service and great food. This is not one of them.
If you have a large party, don’t go here. The hostess rudely scolded the young lady who made reservations for the group, in front of other customers and then started turning people away from our party. It’s our decision if we want to be crowded at a table and we are still paying customers, purchasing several bottles of wine. I have worked in a restaurant before, and never scolded customers because the reservation was growing. It happens, deal with it! It’s called customer service. Sometimes you have unpredictable dinner parties, but you do not scold them! I mean really, just maybe… Perhaps rethink scolding adults, as if they are children, when they are spending several hundred dollars in your establishment.
Buyer beware 15 $ for a birthday cake fee. Just another reason not to celebrate with friends and family here. Our mistake next time we will go somewhere, where you aren’t slapped with a fee for wanting the birthday girl to blow out candles on her own cake.
There are other Indian restaurants in Austin.
Good grief !

Order from here if you want three dishes to end up costing you $ 72!
Take a $ 47 order of Lamb Vindaloo, Paneer Saag, Chicken Tikka Masala, and Garlic Naan.
Then add a Favor delivery charge, processing fee, and gratuity, as well as an automatic tip and to-​go fee from G’raj Mahal.
That equals $ 25 in surcharges and gratuities that just don’t make this food worth it.

Decent food, but poor, ethical, service. I ordered to go through a third party service and not only did G’raj Mahal up charge the bill, add gratuity, and add a 10% to go charge, but the delivery company charged me an additional surcharge. At the end of it all I paid more than $ 25.00 over the cost of goods. Is this how you treat your customers? Had I know I would have conducted my business elsewhere. Yeah lost me as a customer and advocate.

Why are the reviews of this place not all 4s and 5s? I actually came into G’Raj Mahal bar hopping thinking it was simply another spot to grab a beer. Fortunately, they had beer, and good beer at that, but when I realized it was a restaurant, I thought, what the hell, might as well nosh. Now, who would have thought Indian food on Rainey Street? And this was literally right next to an Indian food truck. While I’m far from an Indian food expert, I certainly like to dabble, and this was straight up the the best Indian food I’ve ever had. It’s a few weeks on that I’m writing this so can’t remember the dish names, but the coconut curry dish with chicken was insane. Do yourself a favor and come here. Eat anything. Bar tour with Indian food.

Maybe I ordered the wrong thing, but G’raj Mahal did not impress me at all. I know I should have ordered something curry, but I was craving red meat and ordered the lamb rack. The lamb «rack» was 4 pieces in total. Kinda pricey ($ 22) but that’s lamb anywhere you go. It looked flavorful when the waitress placed it on the table, but there was no flavor to it at all. It tasted like they got the meat and places it on a George Foreman grill. The garlic naan I ordered was also very plain. It tasted more like regular naan.
Keep in mind that this place is on Rainey Street. I’m sure you could walk right up and get seated during the weekday but if you show up during prim time hours on a weekend, you will be waiting at least an hour.
For the price you pay here, I suggest going to other Indian places in town. To keep it short: it’s just not worth it.

Service fantastic
Food amazing and reasonably priced, authentic and spicy
Great wine and beer selection
Only complaint was 2 top tables inside are really small and uncomfortable

We ate there for my birthday yesterday. Food and service was impeccable. My first visit and I would definitely recommend G’Raj Mahal

For full disclosure, this review is for a visit a few months ago. Party of 4.
An absolutely breathtaking space. Comfortable area to wait for a table to open up. A bit crowded at the bar so you will be best served to send 1 – 2 of your party to get everyone’s drinks.
Solid beer selection. What they lacked in quantity they made up for in quality.
Now for the rough bit:
The night we went, the kitchen was struggle-​bussing. We could see them deep in the weeds in the open (via large windows) kitchen. It took nearly two hours for us to get our dishes. And my vindaloo came out nearly half an hour after the rest of our party’s entrees.
Unfortuntely, my vindaloo, at least, was not worth the wait. I cook quite a bit of Indian food and I was underwhelmed by the offering.
In summary: Cool place, may give it a try again one day but it is not high on my list for a return trip and certainly not a place I would bring friends due to our first experience.

Remind me again why I thought I didn’t like Indian food? Because I’m can’t stop dreaming about spicy, spicy curry.
Admittedly, I lack Indian food aficionado status, but my tastebuds don’t lie.
My husband and I sauntered in late one evening and split a decently priced bottle of wine, while trying to decide how to tackle the menu. I knew I had heard of samosas, so we started off with those. Excellent choice! The potato and pea, albeit common, was delish.
I knew I wanted something spicy, but we still went safe with a chicken vindaloo, per the servers suggestion.
I’ve since been back and nibbled on some garlic naan and slobbered all over their chicken makhani.
The portions are quite large — we usually split a main dish.
I can do without the elitism from the staff. I’ve felt more like an inconvenience than a guest there. And generally I can look past that, but its EVERY time.
I’m definitely glad they relocated from the outdoor dining. The new location on Rainey certainly elicits more charm an suits them better. I couldn’t ever imagine dining in the aggressive Austin sun while trying to palate spicy Indian food.

Honestly, I didn’t think I liked Indian food until I found this place. Now I dream about saag paneer and coconut naan. (A fabulous combination by the way!) The atmosphere is super cool, very Austin eclectic bike friendly design. I would give a list of recommendations on dishes to choose, but it would take way too long! If you feel lost on what to order just ask your server what they recommend, and get that. I haven’t had anything I didn’t like so far!
Oh and if you decide to go on the weekend, make a reservation! They fill up fast and the wait can get long. They are Rainey St, so you can always walk around while you wait, but after you catch a whiff of the heavenly smells, it will be hard to keep your stomach from growling!

HOLY NANN! Sweet Coconut Nann that is — Whaaat? (definitely try it!)
This place is seriously amazing! Some of the best Indian food I’ve had in Austin. The chicken Tikka masala, vegetable biryani, and spiced ground lamb samosas were all out of this world. The tandoori chicken is good too, but not on the same level as the previously mentioned dishes. All in all, great food with fast, friendly service.
Great wine and beer selection. Although, I opted for a nice pot of chai!
NOTE: We went on a weekend, in the evening, so they were slammed! Nonetheless, we were seated pretty quickly (some would consider slow, but I’m from Los Angeles — so speedy) and the service, as previously stated, was excellent!

G’raj has a serene patio with colorful chairs and a white canopy– perfect for a warm sunny lunch! Service was very nice! Although the food isn’t authentic Indian (If that’s what you are looking for)… The food is a little bland and «Americanized » .
But you will enjoy their «chai» ! Taste and presentation is great :)

I’ve been to G’Raj a few times recently and have had a great time. They have always been attentive and awesome to be around. Discovered that if you pay in cash they’ll comp a dessert the other day which is also a nugget of knowledge for you. Not sure if it’s a long standing thing or something right now, but good to know I suppose.
The storms have recently demolished all of their traditional low sofa seating they had outside. I was sad to see it all gone but I learned that they are having more created in India to replace. I look forward to that in the future!
The food here is always on point and I can’t get enough of it. Garlic naan, please and thank you.
Really, just point your finger any old anywhere on the menu and you’ll be transported to a dreamworld of magic.
Their cardamom ice cream is done in the traditional indian style, which means yogurt based. The consistency isn’t anything like you’d be used to here for ice cream so heads up there. The flavor is rich and amazing but the texture is different. When it gets too cold it’ll block up a bit vs being smooth and creamy like you’d expect from ice cream. Let it sit for a few and soften up and I think you’ll enjoy the new experience.

This is only the 2^nd Indian restaurant I’ve ever been in in my life and it was absolutely a fantastic experience. I was with a buddy who was well-​versed in Indian food so I let him do the ordering — he did it up right! I’m usually pretty cautious when it comes to curry but these flavors were exceptionally delicious. The waiter was very knowledgeable about the menu and I got a free mango-​smoothie-​type-​drink for checking in on Unilocal!This place is awesome, highly recommend!

Not sure why there are low reviews for this place. The atmosphere and location, right smack-​dab in the middle of Rainey St, is as good as you can get. Parking will be a pain, but that is to be expected. Good beer selection, though not as much variety with the wine and cocktails.
The flavor of my chicken tikka masala curry was just right. I got it spicy, and while it was a tad more mild than I’d like, I appreciated the spice. Some Indian places just give you chicken and sauce in their curry, but here they also put in grilled vegetables, which is really nice.
And the sweet coconut naan is incredible! Nothing subtle about the coconut here, and it paired very well with the curry. All in all, a great experience eating here :)

Let me start by saying I have never eaten Indian food before so this was something different. I can’t tell you how good of Indian food it is compared to other places with no experience but I really liked it!
It was Friday sept 25^th. Probably around 6 – 630 and there wasn’t a wait. We got a table outside because it was awesome out!!!
I went with a friend and we both started with some Texas brews (512 & real ale) and samosas (as recommended by our waiter… which I don’t remember his name… sorry!) we got the potato and pea samosas and they were awesome. Came with two dipping sauces.
I got the chicken and mushroom (cream curry) and sweet coconut naan. It was so delicious. The dish I ate got spicer the more I ate it but I enjoyed it. My friend loved their dish but, I don’t know what it was. It was one of the cream curries tho!
Also on the menu it says for a $ 1 you can buy a cook a beer. So we asked how many cooks were working and he said 3 so we bought 3 of the $ 1 beers for the cook. Kind of cool you can do that! I’m service industry and I know our cooks would love that although I don’t know what beer that entails but still awesome you can do that!
Overall, I’ll go back. I live in north Austin so it won’t be regularly but if I’m down south I’ll know a place I like! Thanks y’all!

I had higher hopes for G’Raj Mahal. I went to their trailer a couple years ago before they opened the brick and mortar and thought I had remembered it being a little better. Maybe my memory isn’t great. We went to the new (ish) brick and mortar restaurant late one night a couple of weeks ago after bar hopping on Rainey. The restaurant is really nice looking on the inside, has fans with misters outside, and the staff seems friendly. The food is eh.
I ordered paneer tikka masala of course. It was kind of strange that their tikka masala had chunks of what seemed to be peppers, onions, and tomatoes maybe. Doesn’t matter what they were chunks of, what matters is that they don’t purée their sauce after they cook everything together, and I believe, most other Indian restaurants do. Boyfriend ordered the classic curry and it was meh. He didn’t really want it and neither did I. Their naan was good, but, I mean, it’s naan, it should be good.
If you’re looking for atmosphere, do G’Raj Mahal and maybe just get drinks and naan? If you want decent food, go next door to the Indian food truck. If you want fantastic Indian food and a great atmosphere, drive yourself over to Clay Pit.