Royal Khyber

Awful food. Watered-down and oily, when every dish was supposed to be creamy. Ordered all dishes as "medium spice," and there was no heat to be found at all. Prices are exorbitant for rather small portions, and they gouge you $5 for some basic basmati rice. Obviously, their proximity to Morton's makes them think they can charge an arm and a leg for subpar cuisine. more

Our daughter treated us for dinner this evening (1/19/12). The restaurant looked nice, dark like many Indian restaurants. We ordered assorted vegetable for appetizer and what we got was 1 samosa and 5 onion bhajjis (for $7.95). The Samosa was OK but the dish was over priced. My wife ordered a vegetarian thali ($19.95), I ordered Malabar fish curry dish ($23.95) , and my daughter ordered Chicken Tandoori. The vegetarian thali came with bagara baingan, saag, and some other vegetable, and a little bit of pilaf rice. None of the dishes had any flavor or taste. The rice was dry. Quantities are very meager. The fish in my curry was salmon. Looks like they just dumped a few pieces of salmon in some strang sauce. The fish had no taste or flavor. In a traditional Indian curry, you need to simmer the meat or fish in the sauce for some time to allow the meat or fish to absorbs the spices. But these people don't care about it. They simply dump the boiled meat or fish in the sauce and serve it. Very disappointing. I did not taste the tandoori chicken but my daughter said it was so so. It is absolutely outrageous that they charge so much for the food and do not put any effort in giving some reasonable food in return. Shame on you Royal Khyber!! I feel disgusted when I run into places like this. Some of the reviews here were from happy customers but I am not sure if they can distinguish quality Indian food. Patrons, please avoid this place and look for some other. We tried Dosa place little while ago. Their food was really delightful even though it was a little bit on the pricy side (like most dinners at Indian restaurants). Best value for Indian food is places where they have lunch buffets so that you can taste different dishes for one set price. more

When I go out to eat, I expect to pay a lot for my meal. I also expect to get a lot of food for that money. I'm a bit of a foodie and only want the best. Well, this place did deliver a great meal that I really enjoyed, only the portion was so small that I left feeling hungry still. The price wasn't worth the meal. However, the ambiance is very nice more

I'm normally easy to please but tonight I ate here and I was appalled at the experience here. The waiters got our orders wrong twice I ordered the lamb shank dish which was supposed to come with pilaf and salad. After waiting over 20 minutes for food, the waiter gave me my main dish, the lamb shank and an empty plate. I asked the waiter where the side dishes were and he shrugged and asked another waiter. Turns out they ""forgot"". To rectify this, he came out with another plate with the food on it and shoved off as if it were dirt. I noticed that the pilaf was missing and told the waiter. He seemed to be agitated and then came back with the correct dish and threw the plate in front of me. The service had already ruined the experience but the food was just as disgusting. Extremely bland with very small portions. I'm not sure how this business is surviving especially in the manner they conduct it. Do not come here if you want good Indian food. For goodness sakes, don't come here if you don't want to be treated like dogs. more

This restaurant is located near South Coast Plaza so the location is nice and convenient. \r \r However, the service is poor. When we walked in on a Sunday afternoon the hostess, who appeared to be the owners wife, told us to wait in that someone was leaving. We stood by the door, and 15 minutes later, she took us back to our table, although we never saw anyone walk out..odd! The waiters were no better in taking our order timely, or bringing us the tab at the end - in fact we had to walk up to the bar to pay as means to move things along.\r \r The menu had a decent amount of selection, however the prices seemed pretty high. When we finally were served our food, I was shocked to see HOW LITTLE the portions were especially for the prices. \r Luckily we had a coupon, otherwise I would have been extremely disappointed with our $57 bill for 2 entrees, a soda and an order of naan bread -- NO, I am not kidding!\r more

One of the few true Indian Restaurants in Orange County. Very unique and wonderfuly prepared dishes. Most Indian Restaurants over spice their dishes. Royal Khyber does not, but lets the true flavor of the dish take over. This is a fabulous place to have a relaxing quiet lunch with friends! We will be back! more

Extremely horrible experience last evening!!! Made reservations online at 7pm, but was late by 15 minutes. Hostess told us to wait for another 20 mins as our table was given to someone else which is understandable. As 20 mins past, went back to ask if our seats were ready and hostess tells me I have to wait another 20 to 30 mins as we were half an hour late. Corrected her & said no as we're only 15 mins late & she then pulls out the online RSVP stating that our RSVP was at 630pm. I then showed her my printed RSVP that stated that it was 7pm, & she still continues to argue with me. I then spoke to the manager who apologized & said she would do her best to get us the next available seat. We waited another 20 mins and saw another two parties get seated, thus finally decided to leave at about 8pm. ***Hostess needs to be let go as he/she should never tell someone to wait a certain time & then when that time is up, tell customer to wait some more cuz the he/she is late by pulling out the rsvp to show the customer; and on top of that, still agruing with the customer after hostess is shown the corrected time. Manager should have made sure customer got seated after that experience but didn't!*** Cons: customer service more

So before I write my reviews, let me give you brief understanding that my opinion comes from a person who is sincerely into food. I dream about food all the time, constantly thinking about the flavors of the world so I know what I am talking about.\r \r With that said, here's what I have to say about this place.....I've only came here for lunch and every time has been a very pleasant experience, ranging from customer service to the quality of food, very cute waiter/bartender, might I add. They have a great lunch menu, a variety of dishes to choose from. All their lunch items comes with rice, salad, naan and the main entree for a decent price. Notice, I said decent, as it is not inexpensive. They don't offer lunch buffet everyday, only on Fridays. Their lunch buffet offers an array of different dishes to choose from. It's rather impressive. Also, they offer Sunday Brunch with all you can drink champagne for a higher price than the Lunch Buffet. \r \r What I recommend if you are a curry connoisseur, must order the Chick Curry with brown Sauce, not the red sauce, and the Apple Martini (they really load the alcohol, very very strong).\r \r On a final note, if you enjoy the flavors of India, Royal Khyber will tantalize your taste bud and explode in your mouth. more

I took my out-of-town parents here recently on a Sunday evening, and we had a wonderful time. Our waiter was attentive and knowledgeable, and didn't try to rush us even though we took forever deciding what to order. Once we did order, the food arrived quickly and it was AMAZING. My parents and I love Indian food and have tried different restaurants all across the country -- this was some of the best we've ever had. The atmosphere was great too; it wasn't too crowded, it was decorated nicely, and it was quiet. It was a little more expensive than other Indian restaurants, but it was well worth it. The drinks were reasonably priced, so that helped offset the cost of the food. Will definitely go to again. Pros: Fantastic food and service Cons: On the pricey side more

I have been going to Royal Khyber for over 10 years. I tried a lot of others but keep going back to Royal Khyber, regreting that we tried others. It does cost a little more, but it is very worth it. Never tried the buffet, so can't comment on that. Were going again on Friday. Can't wait! more

very expensive place. and small too. full bar. makes a mean martini. though have to think ""hmmm, martini at an Indian restaurant....what's wrong with this picture??"" They offer a lunch buffet, think it's only on Fridays. $18 pp. Not worth it!!! Chicken tandoori were made from leftover parts from tandoori entree. Very slow in replenishing dishes in the buffet. And this is no vegas style buffet. It's only has about 4 main dishes, then a salad, and some very questionable dessert choice. Would've been better off ordering off the menu. Oh, the naan is very good. Pros: good naan Cons: bad buffet more

Very very expensive....not value for money...\r Navrattan Korma recipe is basically -- taken frozen mixed vegetables and dip it in almond sauce...what a ripoff. more

Went for dinner a few nights ago with my wife and some friends who recommended it. Now I'm a big fan of Indian food, but this definitely didn't meet my expectations. I've tasted better curries at half the other restaurants in OC, and the fish was overcooked and smelly. Bread was good, but again, nothing special. Pros: Bread Cons: Fish, Saag more