Clay Pit

If your in the mood for chicken tikka masala, DO NOT GO HERE EVER!!! I order Chicken Tikka Masala And got about 4 little pieces of chicken drowning in watered down masala sauce. I also ordered an extra side of Tikka Masala sause and it was even worse. It tasted like watered down marinara, and it looked totally different from the sause on the chicken. The Naan is horrable its like eatting charcol with garlic on top. If you ever want real INDIAN FOOD go to STAR OF INDIA Pros: Nothing Cons: Food, Prices more

I have not found a restaurant anywhere that I love as much as the Clay Pit! Their food is always ridiculously amazing, the drinks are different and fun, and the staff is attentive and welcoming. I would eat here every day if I could. Try the Bombay Breeze (or a mango lassi if it's too early to drink) and the Kabuli Chicken. If you've never experienced a food coma before, you will after eating here! Pros: EVERYTHING! Cons: Typical Downtown parking troubles more

One word: Korma...and you've got to try this sweet curry from the Clay Pit! Korma is my favorite item on... more

One word: Korma...and you've got to try this sweet curry from the Clay Pit! Korma is my favorite item on the menu, but I've tried all of their curr... more

I love Indian spinach dishes of all kinds - try the spinach curry - really sumptuous! This review won';t let me spell the dishes so use your imagination - it's all great....and the curried mussels. The breads are great too....especially the one with potato. Always fun at lunch or dinner.... Pros: delicious and light Indian food more

Great chicken korma and great drinks. Love the atomsphere esp. downstairs! A must atleast once a month! Pros: service, style Cons: parking can get tricky at times more

I ordered the tandoori chicken and grilled veggies. It was very good, pretty healthy. The veggies had some yellow orange sauce/paste on it which i dont know, it was a little sour but really surprisingly good. My mother got the brunch buffet which seemed pretty good, but is a bit small. The smell of naan fills the air and is delectable. Love the look and ambiance, very good service. more

I am not an expert in Indian food, nor am I Indian, but I do love Indian food, and have eaten at several places in Austin and a few in other major Texas cities as well as in Europe. Clay Pit's food remains my favorite, and their ambiance and service have also proven to be the best. The food is extremely fresh and well made, with generous proportions. I have not found a Chicken Tikka Masala that I like better, nor a better cheese cake than their Mango. If you decide to come for prime dinner-time on the weekend, you must make reservations, and even then, be prepared to wait well beyond your reserved time. I think it is still worth coming, just stop by their bar and be prepared. The experience is well worth the wait Pros: Food is incredible, ambience is lovely, service consistently good Cons: Can get loud and crowded on weekends, parking can be rough more

This restaurant has never been about 'authentic' Indian food. I mean, no respectable Indian restaurant would ask you if you wanted a korma ""hot, medium or mild"" the way they do at the Clay Pit. But at least the food used to be edible. My chicken korma (mild, as all kormas should be!) must have had at least a cup of sugar in it. Nauseatingly sweet. And my vegetarian friend poked at her vegetable tandoori, particularly the slab of bright orange tofu, until it was too cold to eat. We brought home the remains of my husband's mixed grill in hopes that I can take the meat and turn it into a curry of some sort. ( And by the way, he couldn't eat anything else on the menu safely as they use local (jalapeno, serrano) chilies in eveything rather than Indian chilies, and he's allergic to all green chilies.) -- On top of this, there is no Handicapped parking ... yes, I asked the hostess who confirmed this ... and the toilets were in worse condition than any restaurant toilets I've ever seen. Again I told the hostess and asked if there were others available; she said Yes, upstairs, but we've already closed down up there so you can't use them. Nice!! She didn't offer to get someone to clean up, nothing. Just 'Too bad'. -- Service was just about ok. Disinterested is the adjective to describe it, I think. And my overall feeling was that we just weren't 'cool enough' to be in their establishment. If the food was worth it, I'd persist. But it's not. Pros: Able to seat large parties; inoffensive lighting Cons: food, parking, toilets, service, noise more

We dined here early evening with out toddler. Service was good. Food was excellent - excellent combination of spices, good quality of meat. My wife wanted a dish a little hotter than I did (we were sharing some dishes) and the staff brought her a stronger sauce on the side to mix in. Staff were very tolerant of my somewhat manic 2 year old, and the bill was a pleasant surprise - for excellent food and an medium-upscale environment the meal was very reasonable. Recommended, particularly given the generally poor quality of Indian food in Austin. Pros: Good food at a reasonable price Cons: not close enough to my house! more

I will have to say this place has changed for the worse. Once again we go on a Thursday night to a semi-busy establishment. Our first encounter is a manager which in turn is the owner and has attitude like you could not imagine. We were told a few minutes and we waited on some couches they provide. My partner went to order drinks at a empty bar, waited while the dread-locked bartender finished telling some story to someone. I think about 10-15 minutes we finally got our drinks, what is that ! . Finally being sat we were told by our waiter to get the curried mussels and garlic basil naan. The mussels were good but we had to wait for out naan to arrive later than the appetizer, another ???. The entrees we ordered, Masala and Vindaloo, looked like slop in a bowl. I could honestly not tell what dish was what and had to ask the waiter. One more note, the bathroom was absolutely disgusting and fowl smelling. Please post this, It is important to have people read this and pass the word. I will not be going back. Pros: Curied Mussels Cons: Waiting for a drink, Attitude from manager/owner more

The staff at the Clay Pit was friendly and the decor was comforting. \r The parking lot is only available after 6pm, so don't expect free parking for an early dinner or lunch. But after 6pm parking is sufficient.\r The bar has several liquors infused with ginger and other spices. They are quite tasty.\r \r The food was tasty. The portions were about right, we were full at the end. The Nan bread was excellent, with a nice variety of flavors being available. Overall though, the food left something to be desired. \r First, the sauces are a bit thin and light on meat, which was so-so at best. The lamb was tough, like a cheap steak and not particularly sweet. \r Second, they don't tend to bring enough rice to effectively soak up the sauce (although this may be a reaction to customers who don't eat grains).\r Third, the price was a bit high. We got out of there at around $25/person for appetizers, food, and desert (drinks extra). Although this is about what I expect to pay for an Indian restaraunt, the food was more like cafeteria fare. The food was good, but it wasn't up to what I would expect from a restaraunt. \r \r Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience, but expect to pay a little bit more than you normally would for tasty, but otherwise average food.\r \r Pros: Excellent service Cons: A bit costly for the product more

I don't understand why there has been so many bad reviews on here.\r Every time I've been to The Clay Pit, I've had a great experience.\r The atmosphere is lovely, the service is good, and the food is amazing.\r Prior to dining here I did not like Indian food and now I love it and go back as often as possible.\r To anyone going, I'd recommend the chicken samosas, coriander calamari, and the kashmiri kofta korma. Pros: Ambience, Service, Food Cons: Parking more

I had never eaten Indian food before but I thought it was quite interesting. Luckily my date knew a little about Indian food otherwise I would have had no idea what to do. The service was about a 2.5 out of 5. We had to wait 20 or so minutes for a table so we went to the bar for a drink. The bartender took 15 minutes to even recognize we were there and another 2 or 3 to take our order. Our waitress was helpful and gave us enough time decide on what we wanted.\r \r I think I would go back but in a few months. It's not the type of food (at least for me) I can eat all the time, but it was interesting! Pros: Great atmosphere, fun to eat Cons: Average service more

I hate to say it, but we had a really lousy dining experience at the Clay Pit on July 28, 2007. Having heard so many positive things, I was looking forward to the dining experience. However, reality set in quickly.\r \r First, the ""expanded"" Saturday buffet was unbelievably small. Second, the dishes had absolutely no flavor. Were they completely out of curry and spices? The daal tasted like split pea soup - which it never should. The ""cream of veggie"" soup was very good, if it were served in a FRENCH restaurant. The other curries likewise had no spice and virtually no flavor and the ""aloo matar paneer"" contained not a single piece of paneer or any paneer flavoring. The other paneer dish was completely bland and dull. The whole thing was a mockery of Indian cuisine. About the only thing they got right was the naan bread (which was probably made elsewhere). We should have gotten our first hint when we didn't see any Indian people eating there; they obviously know better.\r \r How hard is it to cook authentic Indian food? There's a plethora of delicious, free Indian recipes all over the internet. So long as you have the ingredients, it's not that difficult even if a non-native is cooking it. The Clay Pit's cook has apparently never tasted real Indian food before.\r \r Be forewarned: if you're looking for excellent Indian cuisine, run away from Clay Pit at full speed. Something in their kitchen needs to drastically change. I have never tasted such lousy Indian food before; this was a first. Pros: I now know what awful Indian food tastes like Cons: food, flavor, buffet more

Oh, Baby! It was yummy! The staff was also friendly and let us come in before they opened. The gin based drinks are spectacular! Awesome decor and the food was tasty! Pros: Service, Food, Gin Drinks Cons: Parking more

1. Peshwari Naan- made from nuts, cherries, & raisins. Goes well with Indian spices. Thanks Adam for making... more

1. Peshwari Naan- made from nuts, cherries, & raisins. Goes well with Indian spices. Thanks Adam for making me try it! 2. Chicken Tikedar- I wan... more

The dinner is much, much higher quality than the lunch buffet, but also much more expensive. $6.75 for a... more

The dinner is much, much higher quality than the lunch buffet, but also much more expensive. $6.75 for a lunch buffet including lamb curry and dece... more