Imli Indian Kitchen

We walked in and were seated. It was a Saturday night and there seemed to be enough staff in the front for the amount of people dining but I can’t speak for the kitchen. We were ignored for about 45 minutes and then we ordered. Keep in mind we were seated at 8:15PM. We did not receive our food until 10:30PM!
In the beginning of our meal the service was not that great. After we were done eating the server was so nice and the chef came out to ask how the food was. I have to say the food is nothing to write home about but it was edible. No one apologized for the over 2 hour wait to receive dinner. I will not recommend this place or go back.
My husband was sick the next day, too. It’s just not worth it.

DELICIOUS! A neighborhood gem! It’s a little pricy but so worth it. Lentils are full of flavor. The lamb vindaloo is super tender. Perfect samosas. Just so well done. Plus BYOB!

I really enjoyed this place and wished i had come sooner!
At first i was suspicious as all the Indian on South street seems so generic and fast foody, and i’m really a Tiffin, Ekta, or nothing — kind of girl. I was so disappointed that my husband couldn’t bear to «go across town» to fishtown and wanted local Indian.
Upon finding this on Unilocal i am so glad we came in! The girls were very nice and explained everything well.
We ordered a ridiculous amount of carry out, but still just as much as i would have paid for Tiffin or Ekta. These flavors were so delicious albeit i had to ask what most of the menu items were, as i was unfamiliar with names of spices or what the dish was comprised of.
It did not disappoint! We had chicken Korma and Vindaloo (I would have wanted to order Lamb, but husband does not eat it)
We also ordered garlic naan (2 orders as it’s one piece per order), a fried fish –salmon appetizer and spiced rice pudding for dessert. The pudding was not very thick though, pretty runny with crunchy rice, but the flavor of it was awesome. So i don’t care, the dessert was just an after thought for myself craving a sweet ending.
I loved all of the dishes we got, and i’m excited to try more of the menu items that i was unfamiliar with.
Please keep this restaurant busy and come in! I now know i don’t have to cross town to get Indian right in my own neighborhood!

everything we ordered was delicious, but our top favorite was the fish curry. close second was the bengan bharta (eggplant tomato dish). the pakoras were excellent as well. the service was very nice and they were very accommodating but also perplexed when I ordered hot water to drink. one thing we noted was that the foyer doors were left open so every time someone opened the front doors the entire restaurant was chilled.
other than that, the overall experience was delightful.

4 of us decided to go to Imli this Saturday night, and we are so glad that did! This little Indian gem is about ½ a block a way from me, and I had no excuse for why it took us so long to get here. 1^st of all, it’s a BYOB, which rules. Our table of course brought our own bottles, and ordered dishes to share on the whole — vegetable samosas, chicken tikka masala, lamb vindaloo and shrimp sagwala. And of course we got 2 servings of garlic naan to be served for the table. Spice wise, we ordered everything medium. Here’s the good part — this has been the BEST Indian I’ve had in Philly, hands down. The lamb vindaloo was the perfect spicy mixture of succulent moist lamb and vinegary sauce. The tikka masala was also the best I’ve ever had — tender chicken in a wonderful creamy sauce. The garlic naan was terrific, I loved that you could actually see the little bits of fresh garlic on it. I’m not a shrimp person but the rest of the table loved the sagwala. The samosas were fine, not life changing or anything. Service was prompt and good, no complaints there. Price use, we spent less on dinner for 4 then we spent on lunch for 2 in center city earlier in the day. In fact Do yourself a favor and get to this wonderful Indian restaurant in Bella vista /​queen village. You won’t be disappointed !

So delicious and fresh. Palak paneer is my favorite Indian dish and I get it at every Indian restaurant we go to… Theirs is honestly one of the best! The paneer was seered before being added to the spinach and the Palak was not food-​proccessed to a pulp. It was a great combination of texture and absolutely delicious.
The service was great too! Our water never went empty.
My fiancé and I will definitely be back!
Oh! And it’s a byo!

Excellent food. Lovely décor. Pleasing background music. Sweet sincere servers. Reasonable prices.
We were here 2 weeks ago, and the only thing i would change is to add more diners. Imli is on a residential street in Queen Village which makes it a hidden gem. It is just 2 short blocks north of all the Asian restaurants on Washington Blvd and a a few minutes walk south os South Street.

Had an excellent experience here. The owners are warm, pleasant and want, very badly, for you to leave satisfied with your meal… Well we were! The food was fresh with some new takes on dishes we have had before. I highly recommend the Malai Kofta and the Palak Paneer. I couldn’t get enough of those two.
Take out portion needs some work– it’s better just to go there in person and order for now.
Really great to have such authentic food in the neighborhood.

The food is amazing, obviously the chef takes pride with every dish. All is made to order so bring extra wine for time between courses. My only suggestion is to work on the atmosphere, turn down the track lighting and add some candles.
And the more the merrier, bring friends so you can try all sorts of dishes.

Eaten there twice now. Once in the restaurant and the other take out. The service was friendly, informed and fun. The food was excellent. The takeout experience was a little less so but they get the benefit of the doubt as they were just changing menus that week. Great to have an Indian restaurant in teh ‘hood now. We will be regulars.

Great new Indian restaurant in Queen Village. Quiet, low key, BYOB with great service and delicious food.

Fantastic food and service. A true Byob gem in queen’s village. Everything we have tried has been excellent. Chicken Tikka and Lamb vindaloo are fantastic. Can’t recommend this place enough!

We had our first visit last night (we’re former Ulivo devotees) and we were blown away! Everything was delicious — the special beef kabob appetizer and the samosa chaat was amazing. I had the chicken tikka masala. Yes, I know, a «safe» choice but it’s something that I love and it was the best version of it I have ever had. My husband had the lamb shank and it was in an amazing sauce with deep flavors to match its deep color. We really liked the naan as well.
We were very happy with the service especially b/​c we like a leisurely-​paced meal so we prefer to order appetizers and finish them before we order our entrees. Many places won’t allow that but the staff at Imli was very accommodating.
The prices are great, we will be back!

Incredibly friendly and warm service. They went out of their way to make our time there as pleasant as possible. The quality and consistency of the dishes has been spot on and excellent. I would recommend the saag paneer and chicken tikka masala with their garlic naan. But everything on the menu that we have tried has been delicious!

Went at Imli on Saturday night for a birthday celebration of a friend. I would say that she did a great job choosing this place. As soon as you walk in, the delicious smell of freshly cooked food hits your face. It’s very spacious, plenty of seats and you do not get to hear anyone’s convo that’s seating right next to you. As others have mentioned, their service is really great. Our waiter was so kind and accommodating with each and one of the picky requests we might’ve had.
Out of the menu we picked one appetizer along with garlic naan, two main dishes and two desserts. As an appetizer, we got the Ragada. It came warm and we devoured on it pretty quickly. They right after that we got the rice and our two main dishes of Saag Paneer and the Lamb Vindaloo. The flavor in the lamb dish was on spot and I would say that it was my favorite beside the dessert. The meat itself was tender and the combination of ginger, garlic and vindaloo sauce speaks for itself. I didn’t enjoy that much the Saag paneer because I don’t eat much rice to had that combined and eating that alone didn’t appeal me. To top it off we decided to try their desserts and we got the selection of ice cream and the dough balls dipped in rose water. Let me tell you that it was a great combination! Yum, literally! We asked for little bowls to share.
Overall, the restaurant offers a menu that’s very affordable, most importantly, it offers dishes full of flavor and goodness.

Like the other reviewers — we were sad to see Ulivo go… and when we heard about an Indian restaurant coming, we were a bit skeptical (being from India).
Visited yesterday with the family. The wait staff is super friendly and very attentive to kids (ours are a bit older). The ambience is cozy — very similar to Ulivo. Terrific vibe. The place was packed Friday night — so you may want to get reservations.
We ordered a whole bunch of appetizers and some entrees. Amongst the appetizers, we loved loved loved the Zaffroni and Boti Kebabs and the aam paneer tikka. The ragada was ok — we like it spicier than what was served. The Palak and Kale chaat was good too.
The Koli Varutha curry rocked — it’s the chef’s mom’s recipe. man — i could eat buckets of that stuff. The chicken tikka masala however was on the sweeter side — even my kids found it a bit sweet. But am sure it will get better.
Wanted to try a bunch of the lamb and fish dishes (and i think the secret is to get the ones that are based on the chef’s mom’s recipe) — but were too full
Overall — 5 stars… while a couple of dishes could be better, there were some outstanding ones… the service was awesome… and the chef Paul and manager Mo are two really nice guys. and yes, its a BYO! cant beat that
definitely going back many times… plus they have takeout… wait — i wonder if they are open now… need me some of those lovely kababs!

Ordered Chicken Biryani for takeout. It was ready really quick. The Biryani was really good but it was a pretty small portion for $ 16 and only 4 pieces of chicken were included. I would have expected a larger portion for the price like I have at similar Indian restaurants.
I received a complimentary dessert with my meal which is always nice. I think next time I will stay away from the overpriced Biryani and try another dish but I would recommend giving this place a try.

This is a cool place if you’re looking for a cozy, neighborhood-​y BYOB in Queen Village. The service was excellent but the food left something to be desired. Not bad, but I’ve had better Indian in the city.
The Medhu Vada (lentil donuts with assorted dipping sauces) appetizer was greasy and the garlic naan a little doughy. My main dish (Koli Varutha Curry) had great flavor but was a little heavy on the salt. They also have the complimentary fennel seed mix at the door :)
All in all I’m rooting for this place and will probably give it another go and try something different!

I’m happy to report that this place is amazing. I was disappointed to see the old Italian BYOB leave, but now I am accepting it after tonight.
I would have to whole heartedly agree with the first two reviews, the service was fantastic! My friend and I casually mentioned to our waiter that we can handle spicy food and next thing you know, the chef is out and bringing us some house hot sauce!
The food is great too — the naan was the best I ever had, but everything we had was amazing.
I am happy to welcome Imli to my neighborhood and will be back… PS, almost everything is gluten free!

I was very impressed with the presentation and quality of the food! Great flavors and atmosphere! The staff was on point too!!!