Indian Delight

Excellent place to eat. Even though the menu is somewhat limited, the dishes are very good.

I highly recommend the Chai, it‘s one of the things I always get when I go here.

Love this place!! Order the ginger chili chicken full strength and you will know the meaning of spicy! Try their onions with tamarind sauce! Basmati rice cooked to perfection every time. Good nan but I prefer the rice with the meal. Peach tea is awesome and the surroundings is relaxing. Very clean establishment, well prepared food, generous portions, and good prices. Indian Palace has nothing when it comes to good food at a great price. We will be back!!

This is how Indian food should taste and should be served. Decent size, tasty flavorful portions, with great hospitality. This is simply the best Indian restaurant in the Des Moines area.

I had been told for several months by friends to go to Indian Delights, but I was used to Indian Palace, and rarely change restaraunts I like. I am SO glad I finally went! I stopped in to take some food to go, and the employees and owner were very friendly. I had about a 15 minute wait, and while I was waiting, not only did the owner engage me in conversation, but one of the employees made me fried eggplant because the wait was going to be a little longer than expected.
The hospitality was above and beyond, and the food was terrific! The Kosala was perfect and spicy, and the somosa‘s were not greasy. I had a terrific experience, and hope the restaraunt is here for years and years to come.

Simply the best restaurant in Ames ! Service is great, atmosphere is relaxing and the menu in not compilcated. I would eat there every meal if I could afford it.

Delicious. Friendly. Clean.
Enough said, go and enjoy.

This restaurant is incredible! Spiced beautifully. Portions are great for health and figure (I really cannot stand folks who complain about portion size!) The owner is a really cool guy who truly cares about food and always comes out to be sure you are happy. There are spicy dishes and mild dishes to fit all palates. I have been waiting for several decades for a good Indian restaurant to come to Ames and finally we have one. Please try it and tell your friends about it too. Last but not least, you can get a whole bottle of wine with dinner for 15 dollars....2 glasses at any other good restaurant would cost that much.

Compared to the other place in town this is better if you wanna taste indian cusine. Food is okay, mildly flavorful (you can get a hint or two of herbs and spices). The menu list is short and the prices are high (i say this because for the same prices you get more at places like red lobster etc on the duff) and there is no buffet to pig out. I wish i could give this a 4 but for the above reasons.

I‘ve had better Indian food elsewhere but this is good for Ames. The menu selection seems limited from what I‘m usually accustomed to (they didn‘t have Matter Paneer which seems to be a staple at other places) but the food was nonetheless excellent. Both of our dishes were...hot! We like it that way but I can imagine those that don‘t like their dishes to be so spicy may want to request that the spices be toned down.

One CON is that we both had beers with our meal and both drinks were...warm to slightly chilled. Word of advice: turn up the cooler!

Another CON is that the rice is not automatically included with your dish. We had the choice of either naan bread or rice so we picked one of each which left us satisfied. I think the portions were of good size. Both me and my BF could not finish our entire plate plus appetizers.

All in all I would recommend this place. The food was good. The owner/manager made sure to greet our table and there was good service and the place had a relaxed atmosphere.

Again went to Indian delights and again had great service and food. For those who say there isn‘t enough I say maybe your eating at the wrong place. Golden corral would better suit your needs. I get enough to satisfy my hunger for about thirty bucks for two full grown adults. The only drawback is their drinks can get really expensive especially if you ordered something with a kick. I usually stick with water because of this issue and it‘s better for me anyways. Give this place a try won‘t regret it.

Good points: Baigan bartha was tasty. Clean and pleasant atmosphere. The owner tries to be friendly.
Bad points: I spent $55 for 5 people (including 3 children) and we were still hungry. Portions are very tiny. Very expensive. Charged around $3.50 for a small bowl of rice. Didnt provide rice with entre. But I saw that another family got free rice with their order. Naan was horrible. They just heat it and serve the frozen naan from a Indian grocery, but and one Naan costs more than the entire forzen Naan packet you could buy in the grocery. Not worth it. Go to RedLobster, you can have better food and still spend less that what you spend in Indian Delight.

I had a wonderful experience here! The food was so good! The owner came out to talk to me and the waitress was very accommodating. Only good things to say about this place!

Portions were not worth the price on the menu. Service was horrible and I would not recommend this place to anyone.

Service was horrible and the food was not much better. Many people have had a good experience at this place but I was majorly disappointed. My beef was so tough that eating the few poorly-spiced pieces I was able to choke down made my jaw hurt. If you absolutely have to have Indian and you are stuck in Central Iowa -- well, just don‘t do it. Drive to Chicago.

The owner is fabulous! The food is the best Indian food for miles - even MUCH better than anything in Des Monies. Depak (sp?) is the owner who will personally come out to your table while dining to ask how the food is. He cares and listens - if you have a worthy suggestion he takes note of it and integrate it if needed. Try the chai - it is EXCELLENT. I have been to both North and South India and he can make both dishes very, very well. I wish him the best!

GO HERE FOR GREAT INDIAN FOOD! We have tried both places in Ames and Indian delights is the best. The atmosphere is a nice change from the loud resturants in Ames. The food is amazing. I had the ginger chili chicken, hubby had the beef vindalu, and we both had the onion appetizers with tamarind sauce as well as a couple of their peach teas. Total 29 bucks for the whole meal Out of this wolrd flavor! Chef tries to great every table and ran a clean kitchen. The other restaurant was very loud, the food was very bland and greasy. Please try Indian delights. You won‘t regret it.

My experience at Indian Delights was excellent. Amazing authentic food, the service was great, and the added touch of the owner coming out to check on us really sets this place apart. I‘ll definitely be back.

Delicious indian cuisine in a relaxed, yet sophisticated atmosphere. A real treasure for the Ames community!

My son, who has eaten Indian food in Kuwait and the UK among other places, says that this restaurant would hold its own against anything in London. I‘ve eaten here numerous times, and have yet had a dish that disappoints. Especially good are the alloo gobi and masoor dahl. All appetizers are top-flight, with my favorites being the vegetable samosas and begooni (eggplant). The owner often checks in personally at each table.

This is some of the best Indian food I‘ve ever tasted - much better than Indian Palace. The portion sizes are just right - but that might not cut it if you‘re the sort of person who wants to take some home with you when you go out for dinner. If you want tasty, authentic Indian food, give this a try.

The food is great and the atmosphere pleasant.

You must try the chai here. It is delightfully fragrant and a treat to drink. I have never been disappointed in the food at Indian Delight.

Finally, some great Indian food in Ames! Our food was perfectly prepared, flavorful and with just the right amount of heat. Portion sizes are generous; we ordered 2 entrees and a side and came home with enough for another meal. The service was also great and the owner even came out to ask if everything was acceptable. We plan to make this a regular dining spot and if you love Indian food you should too!

Indian Delights is perfect to take out someone to dine and have a good experience quality and service alike. The food is awesome, the place very nice and stylish with the kitchen open to the public you can see anytime who‘s taking care of your food which is always good. The owner very nice man came around to make sure everything was good. The portioning was good too, unless you want to pig out then this place is not recommended for you go to buffet instead. Overall 7.50 for an entry is very affordable for a college student like myself and the food is amazingly tasteful.

Grade A dining for sure. About time ames got an Indian restaurant it can be proud of. I will most certainly be back for more.

I love the food here!! I honestly do not believe that the food is to rediculously priced. If you got 75 dollars worth of food im not sure what you bought but it wasnt dinners (most priced at $7.50), which being a poor college student myself is still cheaper then going out anywhere in ames for the quality of food, service, and fine dining that Indian Delights offers. I would suggest dining in rather then take-out to recieve all the atmosphere that the place offers. Well Done!!

I was unimpressed with the quality of food, the service, and while the owner was attentive he was also a little too defensive when I addressed my concerns to him. The butter chicken was a mix of nice, flavorful sauce but strangely mealy chicken. The portion sizes were disappointing for the price of the meal. Also the decor is frankly uncomfortable. It felt more like a hospital than a restaurant, far too much white. I may go back for a second try, but my experience here was far weaker than at India Palace, where I have never had an unsatisfactory meal. And their service is also much stronger. Indian Delight is new and may be experiencing growing pains, but they must grow and mature much faster to survive in this business.

There is no comparison between Indian Delight and India Palace. If you want tasty food that is also healthy, Indian Delight is the place for you. If you are used to feeding at a trough (that is, pigging out on large quantities of greasy artery clogging food - butter chicken, deep fried bread, lentils floating in fat, vegetables smothered in cheese, etc.), go to India Palace. India Palace prices are comparable to those of much better Indian restaurants you find in New York, Washington DC, or the Bay area but the quality of the food is a lot worse. India Delights offers tasty, healthy, Indian food in adequate (but not pig-out) portions.

To the guy or gal who posted on Nov. 15th....

Really? You know that outside of the midwest, people judge a meal based on more than simple quantity. Some of us salivate when presented with an appropriately portioned (albeit still big!) meal that tastes FLAVORFUL!!! Not everyone needs a whole trough-full of food to feel satisfied.

Seriously...check this place out. India Palace is ok but this is really good food and well worth the money (and really it doesn‘t cost that much!!) for real meal.

This Indian Restaurant is great in terms of the quality of food and takes you closest to the authentic Indian Taste you can find in Ames. But What really is a big turn off is the portions that they give for the money you shell out. Once I ordered food worth $75 for take out and it wasn‘t even enough for four people. I felt really deceived after spending that kind of money and not even feeling satisfied. I could have had buffet at India Palace for one week spending much less. They really need to understand the fact that their customers wont return after having such experience.

Food quality is great. Easily beats Indian Palace. What drops them a level is the price/portions and to a lesser extent service.

It seems the staff doesn‘t quite have the hang of waiting/serving yet. It can take a bit longer than usual for the waitress to come by and check on the diners for water refills or ask how the food is. It‘s not quite a smooth operation yet. Hopefully they will get the hang of it.

In terms of the portions, I expect to get filled up for a $9 chicken biryani. Again, the quality of the food is excellent, the meat is great and there is nice surprises added such as cashews and raisins but the portion only filled half a to-go box and I was far from sated once finished.

I could maybe see spending $7 on that portion but not $9 and I‘m not a huge eater. The price/portion will keep me from frequenting them too often which is a shame since I live so close by and could easily become a regular.

I think this place should strive for similar price/portions offered by New China in Boone. That place has hit the mark perfectly in those terms as well as quality.

I‘m from Cedar Rapids originally and there‘s a place called Taste of India that has similar quality but larger serving sizes and I always leave there happy. Best place in Iowa for Indian food.

Great place! Doesn‘t have as much variety as Indian Palace but they make up for the lack of quantity with really great quality. I like IP but the food here is SOOOO much better. Give them a try!

They have a fairly small number of items on the menu because they rotate them, but everything I have tried has been very good. The only problem I have with the place is that it has a very limited beer selection.