Clay Oven Grill & Bar

FAVORITE Indian restaurant that is a short drive from home. It is located right next to a motel and conveniently near all the Vacaville outlet shopping stores.
I have been coming here for a few years now and CONSISTENTLY, I am a very HAPPY customer.
The customer service is an A+ and I know it will continue to be!
I recommend:
Chicken Tikka Masala ($ 14.95) — You can order in mild, medium, or spicy. Mild is enough to bring it up a notch and always makes my nose runny like having phở. There is enough tender chicken portions bathed in flavorsome creamy sauce to leave you with leftovers for a little snack for later. Personally I prefer to have one order to feast on for myself :). P. s. it comes with complimentary basmati rice (refills at no extra charge)
Garlic Basil Naan ($ 2.75) — It comes with 4 pieces that is good to share with two people. Some people may not like their naan because it can be «burnt.» When it does happen, it doesn’t change the savory taste of garlic and basil naan that is paired wonderfully when dipped in the chicken tikka masala sauce. Plus it gives it texture :)
I usually come here on Sunday for lunch or early dinner. I don’t know what it is about Sunday, but when you walk through the doors on a Sunday this place smells amazingly aromatic. It must be all the orders of chicken tikka masala being cooked!
Come try this place for lunch or early dinner.

My friends and I come here often. Best Indian restaurant around! I love the service here; very polite and efficient. I usually order the Garlic Naan and the Chicken Tikka Masala (medium spice). Absolutely love it and quite often bring new friends for a taste. Wonderful food, great atmosphere!

Update: They no longer mess up their phone order pick ups! WhooWhoo! Thanks guys! Food is still as amazing as Indian food from Cali can be! Back to 5 stars!

Where oh where do I start. The greeting and prompt service was perfect. The Thai iced tea was just above amazing. There is one down side to the food, and that its so unbelievably delicious I ate it all. Just when I thought I was done I saw this dessert rice pudding stuff pass by in the hands of a server and had to try it. «Ahhmazballs!!» Were the words out of my 67 year old mothersinlaws mouth. JK
We rolled out as happy as two fat rats in a cheese factory.

The food is good… POOOOR SERVICE!!! it took them more than 30 Minutes to get our food… had to ask them for water to a different waiter while our waiter was standing next to us chatting with the other people more than 20 minutes. When we walked in they were all sitting down. We asked for to go container had to remind the waiter 3 times. The service is just horrible that I literally got up to pay so I didn’t had to wait any longer I get out of there. Food is good tho. A little pricy but good just horrible service

The location and outside look of the building turned me off of going/​trying here for a long time. As soon as I did I regretted taking so long. Loved every bite and the building is actually very nice on the inside.

If I could I would give this place 0 stars. Terrible service.
I’ve given this place 3 chances and each time I’ve had a terrible experience.
1. I order a party Platter of samosas. They told me the time to pick it up and when I arrived they were dumbfounded. My order wasn’t even ready and they tried to give me this Bullshit excuse of how it takes one hour when I placed my order 5 hours earlier. I waited for about an hour and half and got my platter and was super late to work.
2. Second time I placed a to go order .when I got there it was the same thing again. They hadn’t even started to make my order and the place was super empty so it’s not like they were busy.
3. I decided to give this place a last try. thought maybe third time would be a charm. I got seated… they gave us water half an hour after being seated and we ordered our food and it was 45 mins and our food never came out. so we just got up and walked out. ended up eating at jack in the box.haha.
Their customer service sucks!!! And food is way to over priced and not even worth it.

Service wasnt as good. Be prepared for a long wait for food. Too pricey and not as good as expected. Our waiter never came around after food arrived.

We found Clay Oven on Groupon with 36% discount. So we decided to give it a try. I have to say that I was very disappointed.
The décor inside the restaurant was nice even though it’s a bit dark. We looked at the menu, both my husband and I wanted to order the Thali lunch special. But the waiter told us that we couldn’t use Groupon for this set lunch. We were appalled as it’s not stated on Groupon. So we ordered chicken tikka masala with medium spicy and some garlic naan instead. When the food came, the chicken was dry and not spicy at all, the rice was very dry, some were even hard to chew. Naan was so oily and dense, we couldn’t eat that at all. Overall experience was not impressive, will not go back ever again.

Okay… What the heck is going on here? Food and service was so awesome before. Now? I don’t want to come back! Been going to this place the past couple of years!
My husband and I came here for a late dinner after watching movie. In the beginning we ordered and received our drinks and foods in a timely manner. That’s when it went all down hill.
I ordered my usual: chicken tikka Marsala, rice, and garlic naan. The chicken’s texture was not desirable… either was too chewy or hard. And don’t let me get started on the naan. Usually when I order the garlic naan, it comes out hot, fresh, and the spices were a good consistency. Last couple of trips? Garlic spread was piled on in the center of the naan and this trip? The naan was hard and cold. Obviously they made it all a head of time and didn’t even take the time to heat it up. Now the service… Our server came once after our meal was up and that was the last we saw of her. Ended up finding another waiter to. Refill our water and what not. Where was she? Who knows. Place was not busy at all. Ended up waiting nearly a half an hour for our check. We up to the hostess desk and was told to wait for our waitress, who turned out was hanging at the bar… What the heck? We were not pleased. Husband expressed his annoyance and insisted we get our check so we can finally go.
I’m pretty upset on the downhill experience we’ve been experiencing for the past couple of trips here but this last visit sealed the coffin for us. This place is too expensive to stay on our list of places to go when the food is not consistent and the service is bad.
I will be checking for other Indian food places in hopes we find our new stop for our Indian cravings!

The coconut chicken with rice and naan really hit the spot! The cafeteria at my work about to close so I decided to give Clay Oven a try.
I heard they had an Express Lunch Menu, which was exactly what I needed something quick. Each item on that menu is $ 8.75 except for the Thali style lunch which $ 10.75. I called in my order with a side of naan and they said it should be 10min. I was greeted when I walked in and everyone was very friendly. My food was just being finished up when I came in.
The food tasted great however there regular lunch/​dinner menu is quite pricey so I’ll probably only come by for the Express lunch. Biggest bang for your buck!

Well considering the quality and the portion I can’t really says it’s amazing or great it’s just ok. I normally get chicken tikka Marsala so that’s what I got today.
Called in and told her 3 times no rice with my order and she gave me the dam rice I’m sorry but they don’t wash the rice I mean if they do then somethings wrong with it for the price $ 15 for 16oz??? Thad fucking insane, it’s not worth the drive or the time, I’d rather drive to concord to nana n curry and pay half the price and double the flavor.
I won’t be going back here again that’s for sure.

Came up from Berkeley to buy a car and was introduced to this place,
Best chiken tikka masala I’ve had in California. Fresh, well cooked free range chicken, a masala thats not too heavy but a hint of creaminess with a balanced, distinctive palate of spice.
The naan is very garlicky (fresh garlic and made in the clay oven) I had to try a bite even tho I’m gluten free. Worth the bite…

For some reason my old review of this place got deleted… I really don’t know why.
Recently I came here and ordered food to go. I thought the prices of the food was so expensive for the quantity they provide. The service was very gruff, borderline rude. Would it kill some of them to smile? Especially the male manager.
Best part of this place is their inside décor. The bar is beautiful and overall the interior is clean and well maintained. Really need to work on customer service.

We were in the mood for Indian food and The Clay Oven happens to be pretty much the only game in Vacaville. This restaurant is located right next to a Motel 6 and shares the same lot. At night the parking kinda gets really filled up and makes it rough to find a spot. Inside the restaurant is quite an elaborate bar area with high ceilings and a reasonably sized dining room that can accommodate larger parties. The menu consists of your typical Americanized Indian dishes along with a couple Thai ones. They offer plenty of different proteins such as chicken, lamb, seafood, etc along with tons of vegetarian options. Pretty much you could find something for everyone on it. Almost all the entrée dishes come with a side of white basmati rice.
The Dal Makhani sounded really good for dinner. They give you an option for either black or yellow lentils with your dal. When ordering your dishes here, they give you three options for spiciness, I really enjoy spicy Indian food so I went with the third option. The Dal (
) came out in a big bowl that was filled about half the way. The dish had lots of flavor to it along with perfectly cooked lentils. A lot of places struggle with lentils and you end up with a chalky aftertaste, not here though. While the flavor of the Dal was delicious, they really lacked on the spicy aspect. I asked for pretty much the hottest they could make it and it was mild at best. I’ve found from previous experiences that restaurants in Vacaville seem to not have a knack for spicy food. So maybe if you’re looking for a bit of heat, you could ask for extra spicy. The mixed salad here (
) is a bit of a joke really and I advise against ordering it. It was a small plate of iceberg lettuce and some cheap dressing for an expensive $ 6.
Our table also ordered a basket of assorted naan (
) which comes with plain, garlic and onion kulcha. The naan was cooked great with a nice crispy texture on top yet was still soft on the bottom. They added plenty of seasoning to the top of the naan and the onion kulcha had chunks of tasty red onions in it. Service here was just on the okay side, the food took quite a long time to come out and for some reason the salad came last. Seems weird that it took the longest to come out considering it didn’t consist of much. Typical entrée here will run you about $ 15 and portions are decently sized. Overall the food was decent, just wish it was a bit more spicy.

Man everything I ordered was good. Had the butter chicken, cilantro naan, veggie korma, salmon tandoori and veggie biryani. Oh can’t forget the yogurt sauce. The service kinda took long but it was worth it cuz they brought everything out all at the same time. The only thing I didn’t like is the tap water. The waiter kept checking up on us to see if everything was fine. I couldn’t even respond to him cuz I was too busy stuffing my face and watching the 49ers lose to the Browns. Ha ha. Will definitely check this place out again and try the lamb dishes. Make sure you get your groupon so you get s little discount.

This is a surprising little gem of a place. If you had to put my experience level of Indian Food cuisine from beginner (trying it for the first time) to expert (lifelong eater/​enjoyer of Indian Food), I would put myself just a few notches above beginner. Maybe a novice.
So take my review at your discretion.
I’m still not well versed with their food offerings, but wow is the flavor amazing. Basically, you pick a meat or if you wanna try something fun, try their paneer (think cubed homemade mozzarella) and then pick a sauce of goodness for it to languish in. You’ll see the pattern of offerings repeat themselves on the menu. They categorize it by meat mostly.
They serve the food family style here. So two of their meat dishes could feed four adults easily, IMHO. They serve it with basmati rice. Warning: their spiciness levels of mild, medium and hot are no joke. The mild (I’m a «nothing spicy hot» person) had me finish my glass of water pretty quick. They are fast to refill your water, btw.
They have lunch specials too. They range from 8.95 to 10.95 and that way you have one page of stuff to choose from (which kept it simple for me on my first visit, when I’m already overwhelmed with a huge menu)
Staff is friendly and helpful. Greeted us at the door, sat us down and our server came right away. The place inside is clean and cavernous. No overwhelming smells or sticky tables. Linen napkins. Casual atmosphere. This place seems family friendly too.
We had an 8 person dinner party here and they accommodated us quite easily. They were very professional and the food tasted great. I’ve since been here with my husband four more times at least. I think the staff is figuring out that we are liking it here. :)
Try to park away from the Motel 6. Reconsider your want to park under the trees. Once, I parked next to the motel 6 and was really uncomfortable leaving my car. I had that weird feeling that I was being watched. There are just people hanging around the motel or in their cars more often than not when I go to eat there. So I park close to the street and walk into the restaurant and once I’m inside the restaurant, I’m good.

I’ve seen this place from the freeway all my life, but have never stepped foot in this place until today. This place looks like a mansion from the outside, with a super high ceiling. When you first step foot in here, it literally feels like you’re in the middle of a temple, alone and tranquil. The place is beautiful from the inside. In the center of this place is a bar and a huge fall collection of liquors, you can see it no matter where you sit in the place. And in the center of the high ceiling is a sun roof where sunlight a leaks into the restaurant. It was a really nice scenery just stepping in.
I’ve only gotten Indian food a couple of times, so we were kind of new. We ended up getting the garlic and basil naan, butter chicken, and coconut chicken. The entrees came with rice, so we were set!
The food took quite a while to come out, and the aroma in the place didn’t make it any better, but we were pleasantly surprised with the amount of food that came out. The food was also so delicious, I don’t know how to describe it, but it felt like comfort food, almost like Filipino food we would cook at home.
Anyways for $ 40, this place got 3 of us really satisfied and ready to take some naan and curry home for later. Great place to come for dinner!

A solid four star review for Clay Oven. I always judge every Indian restaurant by the Chicken Tikka Masala and the naan. The CTM at Clay Oven is not as creamy as I prefer, but it’s still really good.
One thing I really like about this place is that they are generous with their servings. Sure you pay a little more per dish in comparison to other Indian restaurants, but you get bigger pieces of meat and much more sauce to dip the naan in.
The inside of this place doesn’t match the exterior. It is very nice inside and is pretty spacious with a full bar. The outside however is pretty sad, mostly because it is next door to a Motel 6 and there are some interesting characters in the parking lot. Actually, the first time we were going to eat here, we drove by and saw some folks loitering in the parking lot and decided against our original plan. We decided to come back on a weekday for dinner and I’m glad we did.
Service could be a bit friendlier, but they are quick and nice enough.

Sunday after church, ain’t worried bout naan. Get it? ;) Anyways thank you Unilocalers for raving about this place! On a Sunday in Vacaville the family and I were looking for somewhere new to eat. Saw Clay oven on Unilocal and decided to give it a try when I saw so many posts about the goat cheese naan. YEAH GIRL you heard me GOAT CHEESE NAAN!
EATS: We got the samosa appetizers, tandoori seafood platter, 2 tandoori chickens, lamb tikka masala & saag paneer with garlic, goat cheese and cilantro naan on the side. Wasn’t disappointed in the slightest! Everything was really flavorful and the meat, especially the lamb in the curry was unbelievably tender. It’s better than some of my staple Indian spots in Berkeley, which is a huge statement.
Portions are humungO so it’s better to share in my opinion. It is on the pricier side, at about $ 14 – 15 but for one big heaping bowl of curry Im not complainin!
For all the food we ordered and 2 glasses of Pinot noir for my dad and uncle, the bill came out to about $ 125. I’d come back again, especially for the goat cheese naan. Who knew it would go so well with curry and lamb?! Mouth watering all over again!
Now from the outside it doesn’t look very appealing. But once inside, there’s a great bar, high ceilings, authentic light fixtures and it’s really clean! As for service, I was hesitant when I saw some Unilocalers say how slow the service was. but my experience was totally opposite. Our waitress sat us, gave us water immediately, and was really attentive the whole time.
Til next time, LIVE.LAUGH.LOVE.EAT.REPEAT

Guter und netter Service, aber die Inneneinrichtung ist teilweise nicht wirklich stimmig und es ist zu hell. Die Speisen waren ok, aber auch nicht wirklich top. Man kann hier also durchaus mal essen gehen, man kann es aber auch sein lassen… Da in Vacaville allgemein nicht so viel los ist und man nach nem Outlet-​Besuch hungrig sein kann, ist es durchaus eine bessere Wahl der nahegelegenen Optionen.