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Ratings and reviews

RATINGS
Food
Service
Value
Atmosphere

Details

PRICE RANGE
RM 141 - RM 141
CUISINES
Indian
Special Diets
Vegetarian Friendly, Vegan Options
View all details
meals, features

Location and contact

Ocean Park
0.9 km from Santa Monica State Beach
Reviews (66)
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27
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7
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4
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Reviewed 27 September 2022 via mobile

Food is very tasty and good value. The butter chicken especially good. The restaurant is over stretched though, too many tables makes it feel quite crowded, which means no waiting space if your table isn’t ready, overly warm and very stretched servers.

Date of visit: September 2022
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Reviewed 16 June 2022 via mobile

We would highly recommend this restaurant. We read the reviews that were very mixed I think the UK reviewers were expecting to get a UK curry. This food is more like the curries you get in Penang or Singapore. My wife had the Larb entree...which was great and I had the beef rendang which was delicious. The Roti’s were nice and crisp. The service was 10/10 We shall definitely be coming back again !More

Date of visit: June 2022
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Reviewed 9 November 2019 via mobile

Go here! The service was very welcoming. Started with a perfect warm Chi tea. Lamb was delicious and served with fresh butternut squash. Their side plates all had stunningly unique flavors and with good portions. Their amazing home made strawberry ice cream tastes like a...Jamba Juice strawberry surf rider and their smooth vanilla with hint of mango chilled our tongues. Excellent atmosphere with private outside dining available and recommended.More

Date of visit: November 2019
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Reviewed 2 November 2019

We were staying in Santa Monica for a few days and decided to try one of the Indian Restaurants. The Dhaba was the most convenient for us so despite the mixed reviews we decided to give it a try. We were looking at the menu...outside when suddenly the owner appeared and told us how good her restaurant was. There were not many other diners inside, around 8 in total. The menu was somewhat limited (and expensive) and quite different from anything else we have seen in the UK. We ordered poppadoms to start and settled on a chicken curry for our main course. The poppadoms were ok but the mango chutney and lime and pickle chutney that we ordered to accompany them did not arrive. The ice cold chutneys were served with our main course! When the plates arrived for our main course, they were stone cold. We sent them back and requested hot plates. Replacements were barely warm. As a consequence our curry quickly became cold. We barely ate it ,Which was a shame as the flavour was quite good. It was very noticeable that the owner regularly checked with us to see that we were happy with everything ( she did not appreciate that the chutneys were required with the popadoms) but once our main course was served we never saw her again. Overall this was a very disappointing and expensive meal. I would not recommend The Dhaba. This was one of the worst Indian meals I have ever had. There must be far better Indian Restaurants in Santa Monica.More

Date of visit: October 2019
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Reviewed 25 August 2019 via mobile

We ate twice at this restaurant during our visit to LA. The first visit, we thought the food was excellent and all done very nice. We were particularly impressed with the chicken tikka starter. This is very big and can be shared nicely between two....The chicken vindaloo was nice as was the saag paneer. The portions were plentiful but we did feel it was all overpriced for what it was. The second time back, we didn’t feel the food was up to scratch but don’t know why as it was the same day of the week. We would recommend trying it and enjoyed it but having not been to any other Indian cuisine in the area, don’t know if there is better.More

Date of visit: August 2019
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Reviewed 24 August 2019 via mobile

Not very good. There were only a handful of diners and two front of house staff. Service was terrible. I waited 30 minutes for my beer after being told they’d run out of beer glasses! Food was ok, not hot, but reasonably tasty. Took an...age to get our bill and only then once I’d gone to the counter and demanded it. Overall a poor experience. Seemed disorganised and understaffed. God knows how bad it could have been if they were remotely busy.More

Date of visit: August 2019
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Reviewed 2 May 2019

I have yet to find, in years of looking, anything that resembles restaurant food in India, et alone home cooked food which is always the best. Here it looks like Indian food which is a nice start, but as nearly always in the USA the...taste has been neutered by lack of spice. A hint of Turmeric in the Dal, a whiff of Jeera in the Aloo Gobhi but none of the vibrant orchestration of fresh green chillis, ginger, asafoetida, amchoor etc....Also they had also moved from their menu (but annoyingly, not online) the great Indian staple dish Paneer Tikka (every REAL Tandoori restaurant in India has this dish as India is a largely vegetarian country). Usually if a restaurant doesn't have a good variety of Paneer dishes it's likely really to be owned by Pakistani or Bangladeshi interests. That said, if you don't mind your food lacking Indian flavour, this is one of the acceptable quasi Indian restaurants in the Santa Monica area.More

Date of visit: April 2019
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Reviewed 28 September 2018 via mobile

Fantastic Indian food. Butter chicken was the best dish and homemade ice cream berry good Service good Owner really nice Regards the Icelanders

Date of visit: September 2018
Helpful?1  
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Reviewed 22 July 2018 via mobile

A very enjoyable evening where the staff were very friendly & we all enjoyed our meals. The menu is limited but adequate. As UK visitors, it compared favourably with home, although there were certain variations on a theme which is not unexpected.

Date of visit: July 2018
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Reviewed 7 April 2018 via mobile

We went there during our stay in LA as we were craving for Indian food. The food is decent , mild and lot’s of variety. Its not very authentic but with Indian flavours. We tried non-veg thaali , portion was good and value for money....Owners are good and friendly. Wait time is more due to busy area.More

Date of visit: April 2018
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Reviewed 13 February 2018

I loved this place from minute one. I live in Santa Clarita and would drive all the way back for their shrimp. It was amazing. I highly recommend this place and the back terrace area was adorable. We stumbled upon this restaurant completely by accident...and I have their business card on my desk now. I will go back!More

Date of visit: November 2017
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Reviewed 6 February 2018

DO NOT GO HERE IF YOU WANT TO EAT AUTHENTIC INDIAN FOOD. I am originally from India. I have eaten Indian food in 100s of cities I have visited over the years all over the World. And with enough globalization, the chefs of the Indian...restaurants know how to prepare certain dishes, based on what is expected. Even the non-Indian patrons know how the food look and taste. So why is the chef of this restaurant does not even know what Chicken Tikka Masala is supposed to be? I am shocked!!! The Chicken Tikka Masala we got was a very pale colored, unappetizing, remotely Indian curry made with lot of onions and some tomatoes. Chicken was boiled in this curry. It was anything else by Chicken Tikka Masala, where the boneless piece of chicken are marinated in Tandoori spices, grilled on skewers in the Tandoor Oven... and put into a delicately spiced, orange color sauces. The whole dish is supposed to have smoky fragrance. None of that here, even remotely... even in the dream inside another dream. Unfortunate for us, my husband and I ordered 2 identical "Thalies" (pre-set dinners) of same imaginary Chicken Tikka Masala - a mistake we never ever make in any restaurants we visit for the first time. But here, since both of us love Chicken Tikka Masala, we thought, let's go for it. The vegetables that came with the dinner were decent. The plain rice was good. The Roti (bread) was so-so. And the Daal (lentils) were tasteless. Overall a huge disappointment.More

Date of visit: February 2018
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Reviewed 6 January 2018

A local favorite. I love everything I've tried. It can be spicy, so they tone it down for me. It's dedicated family business serving Ocean Park before the area became so cool.

Date of visit: December 2017
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Reviewed 30 October 2017

I first ate at Dhaba a couple of weeks after they opened and it remains my favorite Indian restaurant. The food is fresh and flavorful, the service friendly and the space warm, low-key and cozy. I make it a point to come in for dinner...whenever I get back to my old hometown.More

Date of visit: October 2017
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Reviewed 12 September 2017 via mobile

Beautiful little outdoor courtyard with fairy lights , Nice friendly staff , first choice of wine and beer not available but alternatives were offered. We had chicken curry and a prawn dish with rice and naan. Meal was ok but nothing special flavour wise

Date of visit: September 2017
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Dhaba Cuisine of India, Santa Monica - Santa Monica - Restaurant Reviews, Phone Number & Photos - Tripadvisor

Frequently Asked Questions about Dhaba Cuisine of India

Yes, Dhaba Cuisine of India offers takeaway services.

Yes, Dhaba Cuisine of India offers delivery services.

Dhaba Cuisine of India is rated accordingly in the following categories by Tripadvisor travellers:
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 4.5
  • Value: 4
  • Atmosphere: 4