FOOD

Ashoka’s buffet makes its case through selection rather than sheer acreage. The line changes, but the dishes chosen for it tend to feel deliberate: a compact survey of a kitchen that works across North Indian curries, tandoori cooking, vegetarian specialties, South Indian traditions and an unusually deep Indo-Chinese side. The result is a buffet where the quality of the individual pans matters more than the number of them.

Start with the tandoori chicken. It is the clearest signature of the buffet: yogurt-spiced chicken with the deep red color, blistered edges and smoky char that should survive the trip from tandoor to steam table. Here, that roasted flavor holds on. The exterior carries real char while the meat stays seasoned all the way through, giving a plate an immediate savory anchor before any curry is added.

The curry side tends to move through the familiar Ashoka strengths. Chicken tikka masala brings roasted chicken into a creamy, tomato-rich sauce; butter chicken goes rounder and softer with butter, tomato and fenugreek; goat curry adds a darker, meatier counterpoint. Chicken korma and paneer preparations also fit the restaurant’s style well, with sauces that are full-bodied without becoming indistinguishable from one another.

Vegetarian dishes are not filler around the meat. Paneer curries, dal, chickpeas and vegetable preparations give the buffet much of its range, with the kitchen’s larger menu supplying plenty of possible rotations. Aloo gobi, saag-based dishes and other vegetable curries work especially well in buffet form because each adds a different texture and spice profile rather than another variation on the same sauce.

Ashoka’s Indo-Chinese cooking is another reason to pay attention to the rotation. Gobi Manchurian can bring crisp-edged cauliflower and a tangy, chile-forward glaze; chicken Manchurian and Hakka-style noodles push the plate away from the expected curry-and-rice pattern. Those dishes are part of the restaurant’s long-established identity, and when they appear on the buffet they make the spread feel distinctly Ashoka rather than interchangeable.

Fried starters and starches fill in the gaps without needing to dominate. Vegetable pakora, chicken pakora or samosas can provide the crisp first bite, while biryani or pulao carries enough spice and aromatics to stand on its own. Fresh naan remains one of the essential pleasures: soft, warm and useful for dragging through whatever sauce is left on the plate after the first pass.

Chutneys, raita and simple cold accompaniments give the richer foods some contrast, and the vegetarian side makes it easy to build an entirely different second plate from the first. That repeatability is important here. Ashoka’s strength is not a single giant centerpiece; it is the way a tandoori piece, a paneer curry, a spoonful of dal and an Indo-Chinese detour can all coexist without the meal losing its center.

Dessert returns to the classics. Gulab jamun is the one to expect: soft milk-based dumplings saturated with warm syrup, rich enough that one or two can finish the meal. Kheer and ras malai belong to the restaurant’s broader sweet repertoire as well. By the end, the appeal of the buffet is clear: not indiscriminate abundance, but a carefully chosen cross-section of a kitchen that has had decades to learn what its regulars come back for.