Delhi Palace

When Indian food was less common in the United States, the best place to look for it was almost always near a college campus. Delhi Palace, located just a block east of the University Drive / Rural Road station near the ASU Main Campus in Tempe, was not the first Indian restaurant to open in Phoenix. Nevertheless, since its founding in 1989, the restaurant has operated longer in the same location and under the same ownership than any other. These days, Delhi Palace faces a lot more competition -- not only in Tempe, but in strip malls throughout the metro area. From Bell Road to Chandler Boulevard, over two dozen Indian restaurants now exist in Phoenix and its suburbs.

Delhi Palace has responded to the competition by continuing to do what it has done well for nearly two decades: Offer crowd-pleasing northern Indian food with a familiar menu, moderate spice levels, typical Indian restaurant decor, and the nearly inevitable lunch buffet. All these qualities make Delhi Palace hard to distinguish from other Indian restaurants, but Delhi Palace still feels like an old friend not to be abandoned in the face of competition from newer rivals that specialize in the food of southern Indian or offer a more upscale bistro atmosphere.

Like almost all Indian restaurants, Delhi Palace offers a large selection of vegetarian dishes; however, Delhi Palace proves that meatless eating doesn't always equal light eating. Even those dishes that rely on legumes and vegetables for their bulk tend not to skimp on cream, paneer, or ghee, the elements that often make Indian restaurant food richer than its healthful image would suggest. Putting calorie counting aside, meatless favorites at Delhi Palace include aloo gobi, a mixture of potatoes and cauliflower, and chana masala, a stew of chickpeas with ginger and fresh cilantro.

For those who prefer meat dishes, Delhi Palace has menu sections devoted to chicken, lamb, beef, and seafood. Beef is not always available at Indian restaurants, but there is no taboo against it here. The seafood dishes incorporate either shrimp of unnamed fish fillets. Both ingredients appear to be frozen, although that may not matter under the flavorful sauces common in dishes such as sag shrimp (right photo below), which incorporates crustaceans in a thick spinach puree.

Appetizers include a variety of fried treats, the most popular of which are probably the vegetable somosas (center photo below), stuffed pastries full of minced vegetables and peas. When the entrees come, most customers will probably want to augment their meals with a rice dish and one of nearly a dozen types of bread. The garlic naan is a good choice, but those looking for less fat and more fiber may prefer the roti, a tortilla-like bread made with whole wheat flour. For beverages, Delhi Palace offers several yogurt drinks, fruit juices, soda, beer, and wine.

Delhi Palace serves its lunch buffet every day from 11 AM until 2:30 PM. Dinner is served every day except Tuesday from 5 PM until 10 PM. Despite the somewhat forbidding decor (All the windows are covered, creating a fairly dark dining room.), the staff are friendly, service is efficient, and the food arrives promptly. Delhi Palace may be only one of many stars in the Indian restaurant galaxy these days, but it still shines steadily in the international restaurant cluster at University and Rural.

933 E. University Dr., #103, Tempe AZ 85281 Map
(480) 921-2200