RESTAURANTS ~ Siddhartha 2.9 out of a rating of 5

Last evening we had dinner at Siddhartha on 647-A King Street West (King and Bathurst). I’ve always found this particular location a bit fascinating, as it seems to be Bermuda Triangle of locations at which a new restaurant turns up every year and then suddenly disappears. Over a year ago it was another Indian restaurant and after that it was a Giovanna’s pizza place. So a few months ago I watched with trepidation and hope as it become the Indian restaurant and buffet Siddhartha.

So last night we walked home through the blistering cold and into the cozy warmth of Siddhartha. It is very tastefully decorated with the typical Indian ornamentation: gauzy curtains from the ceilings, statues, pictures, muted lighting and calming Indian music in the background at volume levels conducive to eating and talking. The people working in the restaurant were very nice and friendly and most important – very attentive.

And now the food. First we checked out the buffet and then the menu. Of course with the buffet being at the very reasonable price of $10.99, was too hard to resist. Also, we were very hungry and cold and wanted something ASAP.

There was lots of choice at the buffet but strangely enough nothing was marked so we didn’t know what the different dishes were. We could tell one was cabbage, one was cauliflower and potatoes, one was mixed veggies but we weren’t sure if one of the meat dishes was lamb or beef or what specific Indian dish the chicken was. Was it chicken curry, butter chicken, chicken vindaloo? Who knows?

The food was good and hot. There was also small a desert buffet which included ice cream (vanilla and mango I think) gulab jamun (milk dumpling dipped in sugar syrup and rose water) and lots of fruit (grapes, cantaloupe etc.)

The problem with buffets is no one really knows when to stop eating. Probably everyone should stop after they’ve consumed the first full plate and their stomach is saying, ‘I’m quite full and satisfied. Thank you very much.’ But even the most logical person will still get up for 2nds and 3rds and desert. I didn’t get to that level fortunately at Siddhartha but I did get up for 2nds and a bit of desert which I should have skipped. But then that’s the lure of the buffet.

Overall, I would recommend Siddhartha. It’s good, inexpensive Indian food in a nice clean place with polite and attentive staff.