Baba India Sign

This past Friday night my wife and I decided to try Baba India, which we have driven past many times. The restaurant sits in a former fast food space as you can easily tell by the covered up drive thru window on one side of the building. It is actually a pretty large space inside with plenty of seating around a central buffet area. Unfortunately the buffet is only offered during lunch, as is typical with Indian restaurants. There is also a small patio outside, which I have never actually seen in use. Maybe that will change with the warming weather.

Outside Baba India

Inside Baba India

My wife, fifteen month old son, and I were given our choice of tables upon entry. Immediately we were served glasses of water while we looked over the menu. After about five minutes time our server stopped by to take our order. Dining with a young child can be adventurous so we quickly placed our drink and dinner orders. As I was trying to observe the no meat on Friday during lent rule, I went with the Aloo Choley – chick peas and potatoes prepared North Indian style.

Aloo Choley

This was my first experience with Aloo Choley, as I typically order a chicken based dish when eating Indian food, but I must say that it was pretty tasty. I ordered a 5 on the 1-6 spice scale, which turned out to be really hot. I was still able to eat the entire dish, but I wondered if I would have preferred the level 4. Along with the large bowl of shared rice, it was definitely a full meal. I’m not sure I would order it again, as I’ve had other Indian dishes that I like better, but it was a good substitute for my meatless day.

Chicken Tikka Saag

My wife went with the Chicken Tikka Saag – boneless marinated chicken cooked with spinach, cream and tomato sauce. I only had small bites of the spinach and sauce, but from what I could tell this dish was excellent! My wife definitely enjoyed it as well, though the level 3 on the spice scale came out spicier than she had anticipated. It was too spicy for our young son, who actually enjoys some spice in his food.

Garlic Nan

We also split a side of garlic nan, which was so large half of it was hanging off of the plate. It was easily more than enough for two to split and the flavor was very good. Our only other Indian experience in Cincinnati has been at Shaan, and I think these two restaurants are very close. I do recall being a little more excited about the food at Shaan, but that could have easily been true had I ordered something different at Baba India. It is definitely worth another visit for me to find out.