Reviews of Nirlep Indian Restaurant (Restaurant)

Kieran Suri

Nirlep is a great dinning experience, the ambiance is unique and a step back in time. The service is always swift, with a touch of Indian Charm. Food is always fresh and tasty, solid North Indian Food top notch in Charleston!

Nashville Farrell

This is my favorite Indian buffet in the greater Charleston area. Always a varied selection and a good variety of vegetarian options. Excellently balanced spices and daily rotating dishes make each visit a unique pleasure.

Drumi B

Took a carry out - Chilly Paneer ; had little paneer. Staff not very friendly.

samantha

Simple small lunch buffet. Mildly spiced food. They use only dark meat.

H. Yates Alexander

They always have a wide variety of delicious vegetarian dishes. I come here for a veggie feast and it's different every time. Service is excellent, food is fresh and they have the best iced tea in town. I can't imagine being a vegetarian in Charleston without Nirlep in my life!

Karen Devine

The lunch buffet is an excellent deal. The food is delicious and the staff is warm and welcoming. I have been there for dinner to and it was outstanding as well.

Jeremy Martin

Spectacular Indian food - we've been going for years and have never been disappointed. If you're not too familiar with Indian food options, just order the Chicken Butter and Peshewari Naan - I *promise* you'll not be disappointed.

Stanley Wilhelm

It's cheap Indian food.

Felipe Nunes

Always great food the massala is not great, just tomato sauce, missing spices

Vinit K

Authentic Punjabi food!! Only a few restaurants in the US can deliver this experience!! Loved it!!

Laukik Korgaonkar

Ok

B. Christina Lopez

I really enjoy the buffet at lunch time. We live an hour away but, anytime we are in the area we go here. My husband loves the oven chicken. I like the masala sauce, bread, rice pudding dessert, and vegetables. Not a fan of the spiced tea. We have been here over 5 times and really enjoy it.

Ajay Kumar Nimmagadda

Good place to have an Indian food in a forest.

Lisa Miller

Love the buffet, some items change daily so you may go in.hoping for something that might not be on the buffet that day.

matt jackson

Food was ok. A little hot inside the restaurant.

Ted Allen

bad food.

Sunil Mehta

It’s just OK. My 10 year old always gets paneer dishes. Even he could recognize that it’s not the same. Also, food served with smile

Arun Prasath

Best Indian(Punjabi) restaurant in charleston area

Moninder Gulati

Genuine North Indian Food. When owners themselves are involved in tending to their clients even today after 17 yrs of service, that simply means they are true Sikhs!! I just loved everything about Nirlep. May God Bless them with more success!!

Deji Adeogun

Service was courteous and quick. The atmosphere was relaxed and casual. The menu was what you expect from an Indian restaurant, but was executed very well.

Janice Smith

I had the lunch buffet and Chai for $14 not including the tip, which I think is a little pricey for lunch. The food was tasty, but having lived in India for two years I can say it was not authentic.

Robert Ducat

Good Indian food. Nice service. Bathroom could be cleaned up a bit but all is worth it just for the food!

Jyoti Arora

I have been a regular at this place for the past couple of years. Out of all the Indian restaurants that I have been to in Charleston, I prefer this one and would like to rate it as 3 stars for food. But, based on my experience in the last couple of months, I feel that the owners are selective when it comes to good customer service. Last night, I ordered "Hariyali Chicken Kabab" which is a kind of a sizzler . When it was served, most of the Kababs were charred and tasted bitter due to being partially burnt on one side. I could not enjoy it. When, I gave the feedback , the Owner's Son politely excused himself by saying that he would pass on the feed back to the Kitchen and that they are training a new person in the Kitchen. At the end, when I passed on the same feedback to the owner himself, he did not show any courtesy by apologizing and carried on with rude expressions on his face. This was a bad customer service experience. I left without adding any tip. All I expected was an acknowledgement. I must say that I feel discouraged about visiting this restaurant again. The Owner needs to learn some lessons in Customer Service.

Anthony Manley

Love this place

Sanket Raj

Amazing punjabi food. Dry spicy chicken was nothing I had before. Samosa and aloo tikki was delicious. Garlic naan was fresh. The owner was very friendly and helpful. Must visit for all Indians. Buffet price was reasonable.

Josh Cheuvront

I'm very picky when it comes to Indian cuisine. This is where you want to go if you're craving Indian food. It might sound sappy, but their food makes me feel like someone loves me. I've eaten here dozens of times in the past year, and every time is fantastic. The buffet is wonderful - and they don't skimp on quality for the buffet like a lot of restaurants do. The service is always fast and friendly. Love!

K Butler

We enjoyed fresh authentic Indian cuisine during their buffet hours. The items were consistantly replenished. The owners were very nice and checked on us often throughout our dining. We never felt rushed or guilty for eating way more than we should. We definitely will be coming back again!

Mona B

We really dislike this place. They had okay food .They cheated me. I asked for a Russ malai. But they gave me a different dish . After I confronted them at the cashier. The lady said that she would take off the money from the bill because they gave me the wrong dish. The total was $65. The shrimp that my daughter had was pretty good. But the naan was so hard that I couldn’t bite on it and I couldn’t put it into my food .We ordered a kids meal. It was okay. I didn’t like the fries .Customer service was pretty good. I would give it a 2.5 /5 . They just weren’t very trustworthy. It was a family business. So the tip is going to the family and so is the actual payment .I really wouldn’t recommend going. Please do not go you’re just going to waste your money. The food is pretty expensive it is not worth your money.

Iti Srivastava

Delicious Indian food

Candace Daugherty

Love authentic Indian food and they do not disappoint

bradley kositz

Went here once after comparing Indian cuisine and to my delight this was top 2 for buffet choices in Charleston

Luke Bergman

Tastey food and always fresh

Joseph Orechovesky

I love the staff here, they are amazingly nice and make you feel like part of the family. I have never had a bad bite here either. if you come for the lunch buffet you wont be disappointed.

Kranthi Kumar Basaraju

Super spicy and tasty food

Mithun Teja

Worst restaurant, food taste bad and not fresh,bad service, finally lady has bad attitude

Michelle Harris

Best Indian restaurant, the food is always awesome.

Ravikant Dewangan

Good for naan and curry... 0/10 for biryani

Josh Sims

The chef's special dinner for two is incredible.

Erica Watts

Love Nirlep. The food and service is always superb.

Shantal Rosales

Limited buffet but good food. Very spicy!

Sarah Brunson

Good! Nice buffet lunch with lots of different curries to sample. Not fancy, but real food (with some vegetarian dishes) run by friendly people.

Aditya Dasika

Food is good and home style... Good for stomach... Please be sure you place your order a while ago before you enter else be prepared to wait...

E E

Family restaurant, quiet atmosphere and delicious food. Many vegetarian options. Attentive staff and reasonable prices.

ASHLEY WARREN

Great food, always hot and fresh! Friendly atmosphere!

Nihar Bhatt

Visited this place for weekend, no crowd, dingy and old interior, very bad food. Samosa feels like someone might die of cholestrol. Dal makhni was not makhni at all but just a simple mix dal. Totally not worth the ratings on google.

Srujan Tripathi

The lunch buffet, although slightly small, had great-tasting food, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. Service was good. All in all, a place to visit again.

Shannon Stamper

Always wonderful food. Clean restaurant. Owners are quite friendly and attentive to needs without being intrusive. Buffet is the best that I've ever had. Always perfect temperature. Chutneys and sauces use super fresh ingredients. The refreshing chopped salad is the perfect compliment to the mellow spiciness of genuine Indian cuisine. Always save room for mango pudding!

Sona Chhatwal

The worst Indian restaurant ever. The taste of food is ok. But the sardar owner is so rude and manner less. I felt like slapping him. He is so annoying. I wanted some plates and silverware because it was a takeaway. He refused to give 2 extra plates and spoons. Who does that. I had bought food for more than 50$. I was embarrassed and felt insulted.

Christa Holmes

Great buffet. Very authentic. Great service.

Jenna McLeod

Delicious authentic indian. Lunch buffet is the best deal

Vinay Visvanathan

Very friendly and extremely tasty food. Not too spicy but very flavourful. Caters to your taste..

Ashley Oakes

We love coming to nirlep. The staff is always super friendly and helpful, the food is always fresh, and it by far has the best butter chicken around!

Mark Maschke

Yummy. Top notch

Micheal Reinier

Good food good pri e

Ratul Chakravarty

Good Punjabi owned Indian restaurant, liked their buffet.

Pooja Joshi

One of the worst restaurant I have ever been to. The food was pathetic, service was slow and the place was untidy. There was a typical smell of some kind of rotten food. The staff talks in their mother tongue and feels like they are talking about the customers. I do not recommend this place. Eat at your own risk.

Josh Skidmore

Hands down the best Indian food that I've had!

Luke Wozniak

I find their food to be quite delicious. Especially their garlic naan and chicken korma. Some people have complained that the owners are surly but I have never had an issue with them. Their food always makes me feel warm on the inside.

Ish B

I had to laugh when reading some of the complaints on here even though the writer is Indian.” Karahi chicken was dry with no curry he wrote “. That’s exactly what Karahi dishes are supposed be - not to have curry . If you want curry get chicken korma dude. For the prices you pay here the food is good. Staff not being pleasant should be addressed even though clients can push the buttons to extremes especially some people from certain parts of India who are known to be tight. There was no goat , lamb or beef dishes . Two chicken dishes and three veggie dishes that’s why the buffet is cheap. If you are North Indian or Pakistani forget it as the food is too bland and no flavor because they use dry masala hence no flavor in the food . They need to change the chef as what I saw was very poor Indian cooking .

Ryan Maxfield

Nirlep is great food, excellent lunch buffet. Closed Mondays. Couple who own the place are wonderful, husband is pretty quiet.

Neal Brothers

The best in town!

Pranav Rajagopal

Decent restaurant. The Strawberry Lassi was pretty sour, but after asking, they gave a new one. The Aloo Tikki was not good. Also, The Aloo Paratha is not even Paratha - Its actually Aloo Naan. Mint/Tamarind/Tomato Chutney are old, they were not freshly made. The Food's Quality is not how we expected it. Would not visit this restaurant again.

Meg Kandik

The best chicken tikka masala. Their buffet is a great value and delicious.

Christine Hurray

Delicious lunch buffet and friendly, attentive staff.

Carie Robertson

This place is awesome! I love the weekly Buffet

Thay Ravi Subramaniam

Visiting Charleston, I noticed that there is not a huge choice of Indian restaurants. We visited Nirlep on a busy Christmas Eve. The portions are a bit small, but taste is OK.

Harideepan Ravindran

I wonder why there is no option for zero star and i do not even wanted to give this one star. The worst food i ever had in any indian reaturant in USA. I ordered a curry which was running like water and couldn't feel the taste other than chilly powder. This may be a good restaurant for North Indian or a panjabi(based on the other reviews listed here), but definitely this is not the restaurant for any South Indians. However the service was quick and the restaurant was clean, decent tables and lights. Breads where good. Waste of my money, time and will not recommend this hotel.

Leah Chapplestingley

Nice family that runs the place. I would only attend the lunch time buffet however we sat for diner and I felt it was very basic.

Christine Klein

Solid food, attentive staff. My 16 month old son loved the lamb Rogan Josh and the gulab jamun. The strawberry lassi is delightfully tart.

Zach Spencer

Fair prices, friendly service and good food. I especially recommend coming for the lunch buffet, which is second to none.

Mark Johnson

Super food and great price for a lot of it.

Stephen Hunt

I'm not sure if there is another Indian lunch buffet near me, but with Nirlep around, it doesn't really matter. So good. And the people there are so kind.

John Davis

Service was attentive and food is always top notch!

Adarsh Mishra

We went there few weeks ago and ordered Chai and samosa as apettizer. The Samosa was burnt, dry, and tasteless. We could easily feel the chai was microwaved and old. Even we ordered ‘chicken biryani’ which was kinda fried rice with improperly cooked chicken. Anyways we cleared the bill and found the food not authentic to Indian cuisine. Neither going back anymore nor recommending anyone.

Rob Woodworth

No, this is NOT the best indian restaurant in Charleston, far from it. However, I end up here occasionally because the best one is a longer drive from my house. The food is not authentic and not flavorful. And all the reviews are right about the owners being grumpy. This trip really took the cake though. We ordered 2 dishes and garlic naan all with NO CILANTRO. Cilantro is a vile substance to those containing a certain gene (don't believe me, look it up). Sure enough, 2 of the items were covered with cilantro. Those 2 went back to the kitchen and instead of being remade, they poorly picked the cilantro out of the dishes. My girlfriend could not even eat her dish because cilantro stems were all over the place and were unable to be successfully removed. In addition, her dish was bland and tasteless anyway. Big disappointment and from now on we will stick to the better indian place.

Robyn Schrimsher

Take out was great the first time we experienced Nirlep. I was hopeful the buffet would be as delicious but it was disappointing on the options and quality. I didn't think the service was overall friendly.

Sudarshana Sharma

While the food was really good full five stars, however the manager or cashier's or owner's attitude was very bad. He was not rude but very grumpy. Even while taking down the order he makes you feel like you are causing trouble by making him take down the order.

Kiran Raj S D

Food was awesome

Jerry Mccarthy

I grew up up in London UK. I will say these guys have a very well run curry house. I feel close to the owners and their son's and will try to let all know that this place is the place to go/sit/take out. Go Nirlep.

bxgels

Great Indian food every time

John Torgersen

Very good Indian buffet. Overly dependent on chicken during the week. But has lamb on the weekends and Friday. Good for vegetarian food

Budhaditya Roy

Some of the items were really great.

Chris Halpin

Called in for takeout. Food was ready 25 minutes later than they said it would be. I've been to a lot of Indian restaurants, none of them wherever so Bland as the food I got from here. Most of the reviews that I do on Google are positive. I just couldn't find it in my heart to give this place more than one star. Avoid.

Marn Taylor

Excellent authentic food, great service.

Krutanjali Methare

We ordered food from the restaurant yesterday which we liked alot. It was take out so can’t comment on the ambience but the food was fresh and delicious. Would definitely revisit the restaurant.

Nikhil Bhirud

awesome food. I became happy as soon as I entered, because the hosts are Punjabi, and to my delight, the food was authentic too. I munched on the samosas and kebabs, and everything.

brian Thomas

Super friendly owners and the food is amazing. Wish I could eat here every day!

j v

Great place. Great food. Would definitely go back.

Kevin Hopkins

Having never eaten Indian cuisine, my friend took me here to try some. I was not disappointed. The atmosphere was lovely. The food was fantastic. The beer was good too. I definitely will be back to try some more food.

Naresh Agrawal

Not up to standard Indian meal

Robin Louise Harris

If you are looking for Indian food then this is the place. I just love this restaurant! The food is incredible and so is the service. Delicious!

Peter Llewellyn

Great lunch buffet.

Benjamin Rogers

Lamb korma is great, chicken tikka saag is great and very unique. Nice family owned place

Michael Grass

Come for the butter chicken and stay for everything else. After several visits I've not had a single item off the menu yet that wasn't amazing. It's the best Indian in Charleston, hands down.

Beach Property Guy

Great family owned Indian restaurant! Their lunch buffet is awesome and they're always so welcoming. Also their chai is delicious.

Rinku Bais

Really enjoy their lunch buffet. Great variety of choices and their tandoori chicken and “extra spicy” chicken (I squeeze lemon on it and have a little of their yogurt “raita” with it so it’s not so spicy) is very tasty!! Great Indian food!

Benjamin Burton

Probably one of the best Indian food experiences in Charleston. The food was amazing and easily shareable which made it even better. I’ve been to Atlanta where they have great Indian restaurants. I can honestly say this is the best Indian food since moving down to Charleston!

Shruti Jain

Family run restaurant, felt like home when we had dinner there last week. Food was delicious and service was quick with owner consistently checking on us for further order. It was a great experience, would highly recommend stopping by and eat your heart out with fresh nan and yummy Dal.

Marianne Polloni

Love their food. Top shelf Indian.

Danny Yeh

Lunch buffet, vegetable Biryani and chicken tikka masala were excellent

Quinton Winborn

Great food. Always. And great service.

Chris Smith

Nirlep is our favorite Indian restaurant in town! The family that runs it is very nice. The lunch buffet has a good variety and is reasonably priced. Make sure you try the Samosas...YUM!!!

Brent Dorwart

One of my favorite places to eat in the Charleston area. Food is amazing, with each dish being the best edition I've had. You will return for more

Kalin Kolev

Great lunch as always, we visit Charleston a few times a year and we always make sure to stop by!

Carlos Rivera

I love this restaurant. Been going here for over 15 years.

Harold Newton

I like that they have the buffet. Prefer weekends and Thursday since they have KORMA on there menu.

VANDAN PATEL

I really enjoyed my food. It was damm good food! It reminds me back home food. People don’t know the real test of India. Whoever has given 1 or 2 starts they never had a real test in India.

Nina Deuskar

Best Indian Food in Charleston! I have been going to Nirlep with my family for years an I can truly say that it is a treat every time. I love their buffet during lunch but their Vindaloo and Curries are also to die for if you're dining during dinner.

scott edwards

Hands down the best and only fresh, spicy, and authentic Indian restaurant in Charleston . Please talk to the owner here and then compare the freshness of certain dishes with others in town. It is ridiculous that this should even be compared to other restaurants in the area. Southerners do not know Indian food. This is quality Indian at its best. If you don't agree, you likely may not know Indian food. Remember you can add as much spice as you want to this food. Just ask.

Ananya Debnath

Food quantity is horrible. Rice is served below standard quantity. We ate in many Indian restaurants & undoubtedly this restaurant served the smallest quantity among all of them. Though they charged competitive price like others.

amanda denning

I LOVE the food here! The prices are great too. The restraunt and the bathrooms are a little small, so it's very "cozy". I went last weekend and the service was a little shoddy, but I went back today and it was way better. Not sure if the guys was just having a bad night. Highly recommended.

kelly hollifield

One of my favorite Indian restaurants ever. We ended up here on Thanksgiving when our reservation at another location had an unexpected and unannounced prix fixe menu that no one wanted. This was actually a lucky event for us because I couldn't imagine a better meal than we had that night. We came back several times after that while in town for Thanksgiving and Christmas and it never disappointed. I hadn't visited since I went to college here (way too long ago) and man did I miss it!

Allison Sims

Great buffet. Come early to get it fresh.

Stanley Luban

Excellent variety! Food is of good quality and you can't beat the buffet!

Alexia Pittas

Delicious food in a family run, family friendly neighborhood gem

Walter Smith

Very friendly service, and delicious variety of food on the buffet.

Gary Triplett

This restaurant is a hidden gem off the Savannah Hwy in a converted Pizza Hut building. The portions were plentiful and spiced perfectly. I look forward to returning when I come back through town.

Michael Porter

Fantastic food, lovely family, great price!

Carey Murphy

Amazing service and delicious food!

rebekah k

Best authentic Indian food restaurant in Charleston. Love the food and the people.

Helen McGuckin

Great food

Roland Fehrmann

Excellent buffet

Sarah Bendorf

It was ok. Nothing terribly exciting, but an ok lunch buffet

Josh Buck

Not too bad of a place. They were friendly and attentive. The food came out pretty quickly. Not the best Indian food I've ever had, but it was pretty tasty. The chicken was a bit dry, but that's the worst I can say about it.

Sandy Meier

Delicious food, wonderful lunch buffet, good service. Many vegetarian options.

Douglas Howard

Was out of town and went on a whim. So glad we did. Can't express enough how good the food was. Got the chef's special for 2. Would have fed 4. Amazing dinner. Almost good enough to make the two hour drive just to dine there again.

Susan Pratt

A great place to try a variety of Indian food. My husband and I arrived a few minutes after they opened on Saturday. I don't think they were fully ready for customers as they were still putting out food onto the buffet. We grabbed our plates and dug in to some very fine food. We love the buffet option as it allows you to sample many things. There was lots to choose from and all were delicious. The service was good and prompt. My marsala tea arrived quickly and everyone was very friendly. The decor is unique and a bit dated but you won't even notice after your first bite. We left stuffed and very happy. We most certainly will be back to get our fix of spices and naan.

Jason Oglio

Delicious paneer korma

Rahul Sontakke

One of the best Indian food tasted in United states. Loved their malai chicken, garlic naan. Food tasted authentic, it's not like most of the indian restaurants in US where food is americanized.

Deep Narula

Ordered vegetarian dinner for 2, delicious homemade kinda food. Saag paneer's taste was bland and can be improved.

Merri Read

The buffet is excellent and affordable.

malay27

Bad food. No working Ac.

Jeganathan Poongavanam

Food is better than Bombay Indian. Do not expect authentic Punjabi taste! Ambience is just ok!

Cory Kleinsorge

Really good food and helpful staff, not sure why it was as empty that night. Place should always be packed.

Barry Stroup

Solid Indian buffet with a good variety of vegetarian and meat dishes. I have eaten at Nirlep many times over the years and it's the "go-to" Indian buffet due to their quality and consistency. Highly recommended!

Reagan Sobel

Best Indian restaurant in town - the lunch buffet is delicious and such an incredible deal!

Jesse Boyer

Great place, food, and service. I go by there every time I'm in town. They do not disappoint!

Malav Patel

Pathetic food, exorbitant prices (compared to quantity) and poor ambience. The daal was completely tasteless and almost all the food lacked salt. I do not recommend this place.

Praveen Kannan

Their buttermilk was the only thing that tasted good...total let down on all other dishes as opposed to their 4+ rating.

David Collins

Great food with a fantastic staff. Excellently done.

Latasche Caldwell

Please do not waste your money! I absolutely love Indian food. It’s my all time favorite cuisine. It was my birthday so I order the pakoras, samosas, chicken tikka Masala and garlic nan for my family. The only thing that was good was the garlic nan. The chicken tikka was so watery it had no taste. Not to mention the owner was rude and seem as if I was bother to him. I usually don’t post but I had to let everyone know that you will be wasting your money, if you order here.

Armina Familar

Oh so good! My favorite place to have Indian food in Charleston! Best buffet, lots of variety and amazing choices!

Jose Mangana

Good food, attentive owner

Lr Jamison

I hidden gem indeed. After viewing The Hundred-Foot Journey, our palettes wanted the taste of Indian cuisine. The next evening, during Charleston Restaurant Week, we decided to see what Nirlep had to offer. Curb appeal is not their thing, but the moment we entered the familiar aroma pulled me in. The food was Awesome!! We tried an array of dishes and was please by all!

Natasha Jones

BEST INDIAN FOOD IN CHARLESTON

Peter Watson

Not as good as some but better than many buffet lunches. A nice selection of dishes. Open until 3pm but preferably do not arrive later than 1pm. As with some restuarants like this it is not possible to keep all buffet options stocked until the last minute or food will be wasted. Naan was very good. Main courses were frequently refilled. I liked the plate warmer. Service was wonderful and friendly.

Paula Witman

Saag paneer is top notch. Price is right. Love this food.

Diego Gaspar

This Place is so good. The foods is good

Amanda Glosson

Delicious and family friendly, our 2 year old loved the rice and chicken tikka. Choose your own spice level. We thoroughly enjoyed our meal and the staff were all very pleasant. We'll be back :)

Shaheen Ahmed

We were in Charleston for a medical meeting. My husband, who is very fond of Punjabi/Indian food decided to go there for a dinner. We somewhat liked the food but the owner Mr Singh does not show the same kind of courtesy to his Indian/Pakistani clients as he showed to other clients. He never came to our table to ask us about the quality of food etc. We thought he does not want to deal with clients who belong to subcontinent. Any way, we mentioned to him his rude behavior but did not get a satisfactory answer. We are giving this restaurant only one star because of poor customers service. We do not recommend any one from subcontinent to go to his restaurant.

Jenna Grooms

I love this place. Food is amazing!

Himanshu Bhaskar

Average food

Kshitij Lall

They have a good food. Service is little slow but quality of food is awesome.

Shaleen Bhatnagar

Authentic,Tasty fresh indian food but a little pricey....

Lavanya S Manikandan

We recently visited this restaurant. the food was absolutely delicious. authentic indian food. the quantity for the price charged felt about right. the service was exceptional.the waiters came in to inquire about the food, helped pick out the best dishes when we were out of options. the atmosphere look old and dingy but the people and food inside was great!

Sapna Nandra

Lady server dint have etiquettes how to treat guest . No baby station changing in rest rooms. Not a clean good place . Disappointed

Robert Dennis

Every one is outstanding, the food is excellent. 5 stars if the male owner was more friendly. The female owner needs her own restaurant.

Sarthak Patel

Nice and delicious food. 5* for their service...!!! Just 1* less coz of the dishes and utensils were not clean enough. But good authentic Punjabi food.