They're closed until further notice; there seems to have been some disagreement with the landlord.

Good spot

Good tasting standard Indian food. Friendly service, decent seating, large place (2nd floor of a commercial building). Wish they had more variety in the buffet (or more volume!).
Great central location for popping by during a workday lunch hour!
Date attended is approximate (likely prior to dates offered).

They changed management.
Food is good, not excellent but it's a buffet, so I'm rating it regarding the type of restaurant.
Very nice service!

A taste of India very afordable

The buffet offers lots of choices of veggies and meat. But they could have had an other choice of soup, more desert, and a variety of taste more different. I liked it anyway. The owners were kind and smily.

Best avoided

Kind of gross. Ate there as a back-up when sushi place down the street was closed. Did not check trip advisor before eating. Spent most of the meal picking pieces of bone out of my mouth. Naan bread was burned, it tasted like everything was a salt lick. I could not tell what dish was what as they all looked... more

Now called Indian Aroma cafe. Simply terrible. Bland and boring. Can't seem to even get the basics right.

Restaurant across the hotel

The food is not good. Doing a disservice to the Indian cuisine. I would never advise anyone to go there. Better to grab something from Tim Horton's Coffee shop opposite Moni Mahal. I think the restaurant just chnages it's name as well ( from Moti mahal??)

Very good selection of dishes

I love indian fod as it is spicy. This buffet has a large selection of dishes from salad bar to main course and then desert.
I recommend going early so that all is fresh. I love the tandoori chicken and naan.

Get the butter chicken- so flavourful!

Yikes

The first time I ate at this restaurant with several of my colleagues, we ALL ended up getting sick. There were 5 of us and we all had the same overnight experience after eating here (becoming very acquainted with the toilettes of our respective hotels).
To be fair, I went back again on my own several months later and while... more

Tasty Indian Variety

One of my favourite buffets in the city. Doesn't look like much from the outside but its worth it!Good variety of food, friendly staff. Highly recommend their butter chicken. All food is labelled clearly and colour coded for vegetarian dishes and level of spice. Make sure to pick up some dessert too.

Don't bother. It's practical, it's downton, it's garbage

Expensive and most choices of food are either overcooked or bland or totally taste like [--]. It is a very popular spot but if they were not downtown where office workers have to hurry through lunch it would have closed a long time ago!!

Good selection. For an indian restaurant, the flavours are muted. All the curries are greasy and / or watery. Vegetables are inevitably over-cooked. Service is unremarkable; it's a buffet.

WOW! Fabulous food

I have eaten Indian food in many a city. The night I went there the food was superb. Hands down the best Indian Food I've ever eaten. Many dishes are not seasoned or prepared for our western taste, so be ready to eat food that is extremely spiced and/or spicy, pick bones off of chicken, and indulge in a grastronomic... more

Some dishes tasty but overall, not a good experience

Some misses: no soup, store-bought mini samosas, floury naan, and everything served lukewarm. A few hits: several chicken dishes, including tandoori chicken and butter chicken; minced beef with chick peas; spinach; dessert balls in sugary sauce and rice pudding for dessert. Some of the main courses were spicier than usual, which is a welcome improvement. Inexpensive buffet is a good... more

Worst ever Indian food-cheap from all angles

Visited recently with some friends. Absolutely disgusting food, burned breads/rotis/naans with heavy chunks of raw dough, cheap quality rice, old-stale vegetables,very poor cooking, and so on. The worst, I have to spit out the 'Kheer'- a milk sweet dish. Please avoid this "cheap" choice before being embarrassed in front of your friends and family members or worst, likely falling sick.

I would not go back to this place. You don't have to have eaten a lot of Indian food to know that this place is not great. I think it is the buffet approach that does not work. They offer so many items and then they must sit out for hours, making many of the items hard, stale and old by the time they reach your plate. The food was also extremely oily - even for Indian food. The tables were... more

Really Enjoyed this place

On a recent trip to Ottawa, we were looking for a decent not overly priced restaurant in downtown Ottawa. We went in here for the lunch time ($11.95) and dinner buffet ($12.95). The lunch buffet was fairly busy but food was brought out quickly. I really enjoyed it especially the naan bread and tandoori chicken. Also had some some vegetable... more

I don't know much about Indian food but Moni Mahal gave me a lot of choices. Many items were tasty: butter chicken, naan, tandoori chicken... more

Food here is awful, disgusting, not palatable, unappealing. Check out their rating on Ottawa Health website....I will never return! Thanks goodness I only took one bite of a few things.

ottawa.ca/cgi-bin/search…

Run

It is freakishly hot in there. There is a lot of food but everything tastes the same. The curries are like broth and not creamy as it should be. Run for your lives! Those who are not desperate or inhumanly hungry should really consider going elsewhere. Also 33 bucks for 2 people is really pushing it for the quality.

There are many varieties of food (meat, vegetarian). The quality of the food was ok nothing special but it's a buffet so if your hungry that much you will find everything tasty! the place is nice and also cheappppppp!

Excellent variety and tastes

This is my favorite Indian Buffet in Ottawa. I find there is a fantastic mix of different foods (meat, vegetarian) as well as a salad and dessert bar. The price is extremely reasonable. All foods are marked with a colour scheme indicating whether it is a vegetarian dish or a meat dish. I brought a vegetarian friend who loved the... more

Please dont try this

The buffet ( I tried on a Tuesday morning) was terrible. Too much oily and the taste was just average

When I go to buffets, I go in realizing that it might not be the same quality as traditional restaurants with a menu. That being said, I felt their food was really quite good. They had a large selection and it was all nice and warm. They literally have the best samosas I've ever had (and I have had a lot of Indian food to compare). I went back for thirds! The naan, tandoori chicken, and... more

The shelves are not always filled and have to wait for next round

Good butter chicken and Tandoori chicken. I went one time during the evening and they checked after me if I was to stay there longer because they were closing around 9PM, I found that a little bit weird.

100 Items

Decent Indian food but the quality is in tune with the fact it's a buffet and can never be a good as fresh from the kitchen.

The food was super bland and all tasted the same. I realize I may have caught it toward the tail end of the buffet crowd, but the food on the buffet was not refilled adequately, or refreshed when necessary.

Disappointing. The server was friendly enough and fairly attentive but I wouldnt want to frequent this place.

There must be better Indian food in Ottawa

I'll preface my review by saying that I am not a fan of Buffet style service. I enjoy Indian food and there was a wide selection of items when we were there on Saturday night, but none of them seemed partcularly fresh or well prepared and all of the dishes I tried were actually quite bland. The place was about... more

13.50 Lunch Buffet in Downtown Ottawa - tax included

Extensive lunch buffet with a variety of delicious meats and tasty vegetables close to Parliament Hill. Ate lunch here twice while visiting Ottawa for a week in August 2011. Not only was the price a very good bargain in my opinion, but the food was fresh and extensive, possibly over a hundred items available including items such as butter chicken,... more

Terrible, terrible, terrible all around. All vegetable dishes are oily bland and salty. Meat dishes are oil, bland and several have bones in them with almost no meat. This place is shockingly bad. I can't believe anyone who has ever been to a real Indian restaurant could like this place.

Decent food, decent price. This place has a pretty big selection of curries, desserts, and a large salad area. The decor is a little dated. Quality of the food varies a bit - i've been there a handful of times - sometimes it's pretty good, other times it's on the bland side and I wouldn't really go back for seconds. But, the fact that I've been back there a few times means it's decent enough... more

The spread at Moni Mahal is one of the longest I've seen at any Indian buffet. It's all there: salads and vegetables, condiments and toppings, appetizers and soups, and entrees and curries. There is even a large number of tantalizing desserts with a section all their own.

My dinner date and I agreed that the food was a little greasier than we usually preferred, but the large variety and unique... more

avoid this place

went Canada day weekend and the reception was rude, I asked if the food had much seafod or shell fish in it, due to allergies, and the price and the lady (owner?) got very snotty because I wasn't just ready to sit down after the walk upstairs. her husband came over and answered my questions and seated me..she walked away.... more

Excellent Indian Buffet

Great place to have a delicious selection of Indian food. We were drawn to the Buffet because of the steady stream of people going in and out, and were not disappointed! Servers were attentive, food was very good and atmosphere was pleasant. Loved the Chicken korma and garlic potatoes! Will be making a return trip!

Bad experience on multiple occasions. Very unfriendly staff, they seem to now want to be there. Very bad hygiene, washrooms were terrible and the place was unclean in general. My wife and i both got stomach problems from this place. Definitely do not recommend.

Nasty... Found a hairball in my food!!

Good lunch buffet, fairly good selection, but not the highest quality stuff

Good lunch buffet, fairly good selection, but not the highest quality stuff.

YES, MONI MAHAL Buffet uses Halal Meat! A lot of selection, and a great price!

My family and I love Moni Mahal. The food is excellent, and the staff are good. I would definitely recommend this restaurant to anyone who would like to have a first taste of Indian food.

The choice of currys varies and is always delicious. We have been a number of times and always enjoy it. The price for the buffet is excellent.

I like to know if moni mahal buffet i will like to know if the meat is halal.

Moni Mahal is great place to escape to when you're hungry! The service is far superior and should be congratulate! Thanks for the great atmosphere.

this resturant is amazing, the service is good the staff is good and so is all the food there's alot of food that u want to eat but u couldnt becasue u will be full from the first or second plate S.S.S Moe Matar

The staff are not friendly, they do not deal with customers in good manners very bad, specialy today sunday 10-jul-2005. the service man was shouting on me in front another customers asking for more tips. what a bad idea now people have about this restaurant. my mobile number is 613-265-3979