Reviews of The Big Elephant Kitchen (Restaurant)

Gloria Torgrimson

good, spicy and served with a smile.

Carol Horsley

Decent little hole-in-the-wall, we hit them as they were first opening in the morning, so some dishes were not ready yet, but the food was good

Anand Shah

Delicious Fijian Indian dishes, plates are nice portion sizes. You can pick from a selection of vegetarian and meat curries, mix and match up to 3. Very friendly family service. Spice level is relatively mild (although I like very spicy food). Samosas are tasty and substantial, more like hand pies.

KaLeigh Chancey

Delicious, authentic, and affordable! The lunch special with chicken is great, tender chicken and spicy but not overwhelming. Love this place!!

C

Chicken samosas and chicken curry was good. Rice was weird, flavorless and cold, and comprised most of the dish. My date ordered goat curry which had very little meat in it. It was also watery. Two tables still had dirty plates on them when I came in, not a nice aesthetic-Wouldn’t come again. You’re better off going to a food cart. It’s definitely not worth the high rating they somehow have.

Cassandra L.

Comfortable portions for the reasonable price and excellent food! Also had the iced Masala Chai which was perfect for the hot weather. I really like that it's served unsweetened and you add sugar to your preferred taste.

Brice Noonan

Can't beat the $5 lunch special.

Adina E

Adorable family room hole in the wall

Jill Gard

So tasty. My sister is from Fiji so we come here when she is in town. I often find myself craving this place! The biggest samosas I've ever seen and the chicken falls right off the bone. Yum!!

Chris Cardy

eating take away now and loving it. will be back

An Out Recordings

This place is incredible! Family-run, super friendly, hard-working and absolutely deeeeelicious Fijian food!

Priti Shah

Tasty food & Amazing Family!! I've been coming here for the past few months and absolutely fell in loved with the flavors - rich, bright, and so welcoming. I have gotten to know the lovely family and they are sweet and accommodating! I hope this gem of a place continues to grow! Thank you for such delicious food! Cheers.

Raj Patel

I like this restaurant because of its family friendly staff and it also serves savory exotic Fijian and Indian food. I have become a regular at this restaurant and highly recommend it to others.

Nils French

I could easily rate 5 stars if the food was a lot less salty. It was quite heavily salted today. Otherwise great.

Spencer Byrne-Seres

Been here multiple times and it is always delicious.

Malice2501

Small, cheap and delicious!!!

Sean Conrad

for the price, DELICIOUS. i’d pay 30% more and still be happy. v friendly.

N F

$5 lunch ($7 if you choose meat options) is a decent price. The chicken curry was really tasty with a good spice (not too hot), & the chicken Masala tasted great but the amount of bones, gristle & skin really put me off. We ordered a roti each that made it a very filling lunch.

Austin J

I could eat here every day! Plus, $5 lunch specials!!

Dietrich Ayala

Legit. So good. Nicest people. Chicken curry is amazing, so is the lamb. Fave veg are the cabbage and the papaya

Mayah Frank

Overpriced for every item being dried out and chewy, frozen not fresh, and overly salted. The trays behind the counter aren't labeled and look unappetizing. They obviously order frozen meat, cook it at the start of the day, then let it sit on the warmer all day, resulting in dried out dishes. We waited a long time for our meal which appeared to only need be scooped on to the plate. Would've waited another 5mins to get fresh food. Unfortunately it was the worst Indian dining I've ever had. To top it off, decor is outdated and tacky with stuff falling off the walls or crooked. About 15mins after we left I got a stomach ache and my gut started bubbling. Would not try again.

Ferruccio Amaglio

Everything here is amazing!

Beast Quake

Great food. Spicy the way it should be. Amazing

Phuong Nguyen

cute little family owned restaurant! I have no tolerance to hot food but I still enjoyed the experience!

Nash Mahoney

Cheap, fast, and friendly service!

Tess Stewart

Fresh. Homemade. Yummy.

J Joey Peralta

Never tried curre before. Went in put of curiously and had a plate. Oh. My. Gosh. So amazing! They made it perfect :D So good. So tasty! And it was so inexpensive!! I'll be back!!

Chris Fruhling

Great food, friendly people, and a casual atmosphere.

Justin Wolfe

The service is great and the food is authentic!! I’ll be back again!!!

SiNiS TeR SwEeT

Decent priced I suppose! Nice hostesz

K Lawrence Gaddie

Yummy!! Yummy!! Tons of food on your plate! Bargain prices!

Kathleen Terese O'Brien

Fijian Indian food super delicious, healthy and affordable.

Sue Langston

Good food, limited selection. Slightly spicy!

unclecharley

So good. Amazing flavors and very cheap too.

Don Park

Homemade.

Carly Stiles

Really great prices for the amount of food. I certainly prefer this over Open Tandoor, which is much more expensive and not as good. Delicious all around and very friendly staff!

Faith Kennedy

The staff are so lovely! Food here is not my thing, I won't be eating here again. I've tried it 3 times and each time was trying something new. I'm by no means a picky eater but the food is consistently under seasoned, and just plain mediocre. I'd love to support them but I can't bring myself to spend money on food I could make at home. Sorry! Love the idea of indian/polynesian fusion but the food just isn't good. Maybe you'll like it! They offer samples so give it a try!

Ania Bilchuk

It is a very good kitchen, tasty and "with heart", for vegan and meat eaters

Paul Hogan

Love this place. The fusion of Fijian / Indian is a delicious combination. Also the family owners are super friendly and a delight to deal with.

James T Wood

I forgot to take a picture before eating this amazing food! Great to share family style, curries and chutnies, veggie or meat.

Ryan Brown

Very delicious! Had the lunch special for $5 and added an extra side for a $1. Pumpkin and some sort of root vegetable thingy over a bed of rice was delicious. Lots of vegetarian/vegan options. Nice staff, too. Good to have cheap, quick, and delicious Indian food nearby.

Hal Griffiths

Wow!! Amazing food, genuine Indian flavors. Best I've had in Portland!!!

Paul Riek

Delicious food! Great service!

Todd Ellner

Indian food is Indian food. Fijian Indian food is it's own thing. The techniques are a combination of several regional styles. The ingredients are different. More fish, taro, etc. A lot less milk products. This is a small, unassuming place. The food and service are good and friendly.

omari priestley

Everything I had was good. Wish i could have ate more but it wasn't possible. Red beans were my favorite part. Chicken real mild but had spice. They got me .

Clayton Sattelmayer

Friendly staff and amazing food. The taro fries were delicious and the plates of food were huge for the price. Highly recommended.

Henry Belliveau

This place was so delicious. They are very generous with servings and all orders come with doti, rice and daal on a giant metal plate. The decorations are also quite beautiful. I'll take it over Bollywood Theater anyday!!

Steven Phoenix

Delicious vegan options!!!

Joe Delistraty

Delicious

Nicole Forbes

A group of us from work went there to celebrate a birthday and it was so delicious!! Its a really nondescript building, but the food was excellent. I had the lamb and spinach with rice. The tomato relish was a little spicy to me (I'm super sensitive), but I liked it. The samosa was perfect and warm and had a great amount of filling. I'll be back!

Emiliano Mendoza - McCrory

I was blown away by the flavors. I asked for a little bit of everything and I wasn't disappointed. The atmosphere felt warm and welcoming. It seemed that when I walked in I wasn't in Portland anymore, but like I stepped into a cafe in India. The service was quick and the portions were generous. I recommend the chicken curry, or at least that what I'll be having the next time I stop by. If you're craving Indian food, this is the place to go.

Isaac Benson

What a gem! Great vegetarian options. The Okra, chickpea & green bean dishes were delicious and well spiced. Service was friendly and speedy!

Denise Espinoza

My new favorite lunch spot in the neighborhood. Delicious food, in a small, unasuming location. Just stepping inside gets my appetite going!

Daivati Bharadvaj

Yummy comfort food, fresh hot rotis, and very nice owners! A hidden gem :-)

Faria Ali

Went for lunch. Food tasted old, masala fish was over cooked-burnt and hard. Curry chicken was tasteless and no one came to check to see if we needed anything except when they delivered food. The best part of the meal was the mango lassi, puri and chutneys.

Johan Forsberg

Nothing bad about the place but the food just wasn’t that good. :/

Jacob Roth

Spouse and I shared the lamb because she wasn't feeling very hungry. So good that she miraculously got her appetite back and raided my plate. Excellent, unique desserts, too!

Aaron Bieleck

First time trying this place and was very satisfied. The woman working was wearing a big smile and very friendly. We got two "three tharkari" with lamb, chicken, coconut fish, chickpeas among others things and loved it all. Perfect amount of heat for me, its good cooled off a bit too with the mint/cilantro chutney. We'll be back for sure!

Adam Tillotson

Above average little Indian/Fijian spot staffed by above average folks. I stopped by for lunch on a whim and was pleasantly surprised. I don't know much about Fijian food, but from what I read compared to what I ate this appeared to be pretty much Indian cuisine. Their lunch time prices are exceptional for the amount of food and the flavor of the food. You will not go away hungry, for sure.

Allen Isaias

This place is REALLY GOOD!! and the Service is Phenomenal what more can you ask for? if you want to know about the food just ask and you will get answers with a Smile, the prices are awesome and not over priced at all there's a lot of choices especially for vegetarians. I just wish I would have known it was here sooner. I wish there were more places like this in Portland there's enough places to get boneless fried chicken on a waffle or a hamburger or some pizza but good ethnic food at a decent price is few and far between support local family owned restaurants unless you like to eat boring chain restaurant fast food all the time because I don't like fast food but I want places like this to prosper because there the backbone of good wholesome food. The Lamb is tender and delicious, the bone-in chicken is incredible, the chicken Samosas are delightful, the cilantro chutney is Amazing and if you like Spicy ask about the Spicy pepper chutney is Awesome and really Spicy in a good way I like the Roti bread as well to make a long story short the food is Authentic!! and that means it's well balanced and not Salty so if you like your food overly Salty grab the salt shaker and do as you please because you can add salt but you can't take it away. I could go on and on about how much I love this place so just go try it for yourself.

Darrell Voss

Was seeking out a new place for a late lunch and stumbled on there reviews as it listed under Indianian and Fiji. The food hit the spot and a nice experience will be back.

Sergey Kartoha

I work across the road at Grizzly tattoo and always come here for a lunch break! It’s my most favorite Indian food place in town! Very tasty and cheap! I love it!!!

William Ruehle

This place is a delight, plain and simple. The food is excellent, the portions are exceedingly reasonable for the price and the people are lovely in all regards. The Cassava Root is my favorite, but it seems you can't go wrong with their options. The Mango Lassi is a must. Thanks to the owners and chef for the experience, I'll definitely be a regular.

Matthew Klepp

This is the best Indian food I have ever had. Polite staff and food with amazing flavour.

tire guy

Very good food and nice service.thanks for one complimentary dish.well set up and very clean washroom.$10 and filled me up. Alveen niraj kumar...surrey bc canada.