Kumar's Connecticut

Prasanth Kumar _{on Google}

Mar 26th, 2023

My girlfriend and me stopped at Kumar's on our way to NYC from Boston. We chose this place because it was close to the Interstate. We reached at 2:30 PM and we were the only two in the restaurant.
For drinks, we ordered Jigarthanda, Rose milk, and Mango Lassi. Jigarthanda and Lassi was stale. Rose milk was extremely sweet and tasted artificial.
For food, we ordered Rasam Vada, Chennai chilli Paneer, and Vangi Bath. Rasam was overwhelmingly spicy and chilli paneer was extremely oily. Vangi Bath was the only decent dish that we finished.
Both of us felt bloated right away and we were extremely uncomfortable for the rest of the day :(
The service was also extremely slow with us only two being in the restaurant.

Chrissy Godfrey _{on Google}

Mar 21st, 2023

Even was delicious, perfectly spiced both flavorful and not too hot. Tempting was great too. Definitely will be back

Mallikarjuna Gaddam _{on Google}

Mar 13th, 2023

Parking: Good tast. And good reciption

Sree Sri _{on Google}

Mar 12th, 2023

Good food and very friendly staff. 5 stars.

raj boggala _{on Google}

Mar 29th, 2023

Yesterday, I visited them again. My experience has been great! I updated my review from 4 to 5 as Im convinced they deserve it. Great Thali, thanks for adding raita! Menu was spot on !

Today, after two weeks of my first visit (review below == line which I rated a 2 star experience), I visited them again. This time, my experience was great and so I am updating my review and rating to a 4 star!
So, I had the opportunity to taste their banana leaf thali which I felt was excellent. This is what I got as a vegetarian thali:
South Indian style Kushka (vegetable rice), parata, white rice, paneer gravy curry, okra gravy curry, cabbage fry (poriyal), dal, Sambar, rasam, vada, papad, curry powder with ghee, lemon pickle, yogurt, butter milk (with cilantro & ginger) and sweet pongal (desert). Except rasam, I tasted everything. The taste was spot on, medium spicy (to me this is great & well-balanced as some South Indian restaurants tend me make food horribly spicy).
Overall, I felt I got the feel of tasting Kumars standard meal which I enjoyed at their Shrewsbury, MA site a couple of years ago.
I couldve given a 5 star, but, leaving some notes for them where I felt they could improve. This is only my view and please take it as a genuine feedback:
They could give their kind of thick raitha (adhi okati taggindhi!), especially with kuskha kind of rices! I appreciate the guy who offered me yogurt, but, Kumars raitha wouldve made the difference. Im not sure if the desert was limited as they served it in a small cup, I was hesitant to ask for more. Sweet pongal could be served on to plate, thats just my thought.
The guys helping there seem working hard, but, when addressing incoming customers they could inform clearly theres a waiting time (or even write it on their board). I see theyre using small part of their space and trying to hire more staff to operate fully. I hope that happens soon, they deserve more customers for sure.
Also, I believe they train their staff to be serving faster. I noticed the guys are slow in serving and overlooking customers waiting (I had to wait long to be served). I appreciate the fact that theyre newly hired, hoping to see them picking up speed.
Finally, please take customers feedback, acknowledge and try to understand and build that healthy relationships. Please dont just thank high start reviews but ignore concerns. Majority of customers feedback to so that youd improve and they want to come back. Your existence and growth is important to customers as they get the best out of you.
Ill come back for sure. Looking forward to an exceptional experience and of course a 5 start review! All the best!!
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My first ever visit to this place was disappointing :( I knew Kumars for their authentic banana leave lunch as I had been to their Shrewsbury, MA site. I always enjoyed food there. As I moved to CT, first I tried their newly opened Rocky hill site which seem running on a limited menu. Upon their suggestion, I went to this Manchester site. I was noticed they do not have a thali or banana leave buffets due to weather conditions which I understood and appreciated. But, as I drove long to have lunch there I wanted to try something else. I ordered Paneer biriyani. They took a good amount of time (~25 mins) despite not many customers. Firstly, the biriyani was not hot enough and the rice was crunchy. For a moment, I thought I got wrong order as I felt it was egg fried rice. To my surprise, they used very light grated paneer which I can find very sparsely. I doubt if they hardly used an inch of paneer in it which is the only main ingredient in it. On a fair note, I felt I was fooled and disrespected. There was only one guy serving the customers, I can understand he was managing his best, but, it should not take over 25 minutes and three times asking for it to get a coffee. Overall, my experience wasnt nice and I left with a bad impression. Do I visit them again, probably, not. They maybe a great place, but, to me it didnt seem so.