Spicy Mint Albany

New management since January 2022 makes it right. The fish curry was delicious: well seasoned, fragrant served with Jeera Rice. The chief/owner Mijan has skills to inspire the palate. I look forward to many return journeys. The aroma prevented me from taking photos until I finished. Mohan is a wonderful waiter, friendly and very helpful in choosing dishes.

One of the best Desi places I've ever seen in Albany. We enjoyed every bite of our meal. Your hospitality was also great. Very recommended

It was for a lunch buffet. They gave us plastic gloves to serve food, cleanliness was maintained. The layout was good. Many varieties. It began with papdi, samosa chaat, chicken manchurian and fried rice, chicken biryani, several varieties of kebabs, fish vindaloo, chicken tikka masala, shrimp fry, onion bhajiya, idli medu vada sambar, bhindi masala, chana masala, veg biryani etc. The dessert station had 6-7 varieties of candy including, but not limited to Gulab Jamun, Rasgulla, pineapple mousse etc. Naan was served on the table. Chicken Manchurian was good, Chicken Tikka masala a little too sweet. While the food tasted good, all roasted items were cold and had become soggy. Sambar had no salt. Fried rice was not authentic. Chaat elements were awfully cold as if they were taken out of the refrigerator. Idli vada again cold. Chicken kebabs were cold therefore a little dry in taste. For desserts, Gulab Jamun was good, while Rasgulla was super dry and hard. They had a mint, cinnamon cooler that was only watery, no taste. Total experience was good. They could improve something by keeping the food hot/hot.

After hearing good comments about this place, my friend and I gave this place a try. Food was tasty, but staff seemed a bit confused. And there was a couple items that made us question their cleanliness. Including attached photo of a bug in our water...

I would say I am well versed in Indian food, cook it at home, eaten it my entire life, have visited India with all of that said here is my frank review of this establishment. 1. The menus are broad which is great 2. The food is less than buffet level food at best 2a. When you pay for food in the non buffet dining hours, there is an expectation the quality increases as do the prices. 3. When water is placed on the table, and it is bottled water, and the waiter and host DO NOT tell you they will charge you for it I have a problem. 4. We ordered Pani Puri, didn't match the images on the website. Was bland and no depth of flavor. Also didn't have sufficient toppings which is typical when you order this dish. 5. We ordered Samosa Chaat, a fave we order in every city we go to struggled to find the Samosa and had insufficient toppings. 6. We ordered Gobi Manchurian, the sauce was overly sweet and the dish was soggy reminiscent of precooked and microwaved style meals. 7. The mint chutney tasted watered down and bland. Like it was from a bottle and then watered down again. Highlights were the waiter, who was pleasant. Although he wasn't the guy who ran the nightclub style music (poor choice of music for a dining establishment btw) Waiter wore a mask. The Chai was good ALTHOUGH I had asked for it to NOT have any sugar. It was presweetened. Slap! There has to be better Indian Cuisine in Albany surely! Do yourself a favor and try some other great joints in town. Indian or otherwise. I know the good people of Albany can't see this as the standard for Indian Cuisine. ALSO the checker took the water off after he tried to argue with me about COVID and the need to give bottled water. This wasn't my issue, being told upon giving me the water is when I want to be told there is an associated cost. And to boot, he charged me for 4 bottles when we only had 2.