Spice Garden

Reviews

• KR

  Kumar Raj

  Aug 8, 2026
  1.0
  We saw so many great reviews for this restaurant and decided to give it a try. My parents are visiting from India, and we were driving from Seattle to California, so we stopped here for a family meal. The restaurant itself is fairly basic, with some worn/torn sofa seating, but we weren’t really concerned about the ambience—we came for the food. We ordered Chicken Tandoori, naan, tandoori roti, Mango Chicken, Vegetable Masala, papad, a beer for my dad, and masala tea for my mom. I’ll start with the positives: the Chicken Tandoori was good, and I would recommend trying it. The Mango Chicken and Vegetable Masala were okay as well. Unfortunately, two incidents with the food and, more importantly, the way the feedback was handled completely ruined our experience. 1. Undercooked papad The papad was clearly undercooked and appeared to be cooked properly only on one side. My dad politely pointed this out to the server, expecting that they could simply cook/reheat it a little more. Instead of acknowledging the feedback, the server became defensive and repeatedly told my dad that “this is how it is cooked” and that there was nothing wrong with it. I tasted it myself, and it was indeed undercooked. This was disappointing not because of a papad—mistakes happen in every restaurant—but because of how the feedback was handled. A simple “Sorry about that, we’ll replace it” would have resolved the issue immediately. Instead, my dad was made to feel as though he didn’t know what properly cooked papad should be. 2. Masala tea This was even more disappointing. My mom drinks tea regularly and immediately noticed that the masala tea was lukewarm and did not taste freshly prepared. She politely asked the server when it had been made. To our surprise, the server replied that it had been prepared about 30 minutes earlier and then said, essentially, that they “cannot make tea every time someone asks for it.” That response was unacceptable to us. If a restaurant is charging a customer for masala tea, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to expect a fresh, hot cup—or at the very least, not be spoken to dismissively for asking about it. My mom asked them to take the tea back. What turned this from an average meal into a 1-star experience was not simply the food—it was the attitude toward customer feedback. Food can occasionally be undercooked. Tea can accidentally be served lukewarm. Those things are easily fixable. But when customers politely point out a problem, arguing with them and trying to convince them that the food is fine instead of simply addressing the concern is poor hospitality. Based on our experience, I personally don’t understand the 4.8 rating. The Chicken Tandoori was genuinely good, but the service and the defensive response to reasonable feedback overshadowed the positives. Unfortunately, we left disappointed and would not return based on this experience.
• AK

  Aaron Koch

  Aug 8, 2026
  5.0
  A gem in Redding. Fresh from scratch curries, naan, and even their creamy pistachio and mango ice cream. Loved the butter chicken, garlic naan, samosa, and Aloo Gobi. Some of the freshest and most comforting Indian food I’ve had in the US. Wait staff were kind and friendly. Highly recommend this place. May they have a long, delicious tenure here in the north state.
• RG

  Renee Greenwood

  Aug 8, 2026
  5.0
  My first time going there very friendly walking in food was amazing More flavor the love the shef put in the food Thank you 😊 I been to the others in Redding it's good but not a smile or welcoming feeling they say come sit here and they come up take your other still not so friendly feeling I feel burden there you think be happy see you feeling I will come back to this place again the food was amazing 😍
• MM

  manny

  Aug 5, 2026
  1.0
  ⭐☆☆☆☆ (1 Star) I dined here for the first time, and my experience was far from good. The food didn't taste fresh, the flavor was well below expectations, and the balance of spices was off. It completely lacked the quality I had anticipated. Considering the price, the experience was disappointing. I have no desire to return, nor would I recommend this place to others.
• DT

  DJ Templin

  Jul 31, 2026
  5.0
  This place is one of my favorite takeout spots. I am always so happy with the food, it's hot and fresh, and they're very fast. I order when I leave my sister's place and by the time I get there it's usually ready. They have the best saag paneer and naan in Redding, and their chicken dishes are also very delicious. It's very clean inside and I bet the sit down is top notch as well, we will have to try that someday.