SCRIMP>>If you love Indian food—one of the most challenging cuisines to prepare well at home—I have the tip of all tips for you today: the Indian Food Market at 4011 Quadra Street. The prices here are so low, and the quality of the dishes so high, you can truly indulge your fantasy (okay, maybe it’s my fantasy) of eating delicious, authentic Indian food every day.
At this unassuming storefront at Quadra and MacKenzie, I picked up dinner for just $24.52, including taxes. That included two main dishes, a large basmati rice, and a 1.5-litre bottle of pulpy sweet mango juice: a large meal for two, with more than ample leftovers for a full lunch the following day.
A generous take-out container of Daal Makhani offers incredible value at $5.99. Slow simmering of the humble black lentils and kidney beans in this gently spiced dish transforms them into a luxuriously creamy, thick and aromatic stew.
One of my favourite Indian entrees of all time, Mattar Paneer, is simply described on the Indian Food Market takeout menu as “peas and curry – sublime.” No exaggeration. The cubes of paneer, a simple fresh cheese made from pressed milk curds, are perfectly tender and mild. The creamy tomato “gravy” of Mattar Paneer, similar to the sauce of the popular Butter Chicken ($9.99), is a wonderfully complex concoction of chili, garam masala, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and peppercorns, and studded with green peas. This genuinely spiced food is no pablum for the masses; the faint-of-tongue should request mild spicing.
Plump, crispy deep-fried potato samosas at the Indian Market are a steal at just 75 cents each. Lovers of fish ‘n’ chips, take note: you can get a full pound of battered fish pakoras here for $7.99.
Customers can drop in for lunch between 11:30 and 2:30 Monday to Saturday, when the hot food buffet has seven items for $7.99. Between 4:30 and 8:30 pm daily (except Sunday, 4 to 8 pm), diners must telephone (250-479-8884) to pre-order takeout. Click here to download the full takeout menu.
The market also offers a wide selection Indian grocery items. As if the takeout cuisine were not bargain enough, you can pick up commercially packaged, heat-and-eat Indian entrees here for what surely must be the lowest prices in the city: $2.99 and $3.99 a package, as compared to $5.99 and up in most groceries.
Indian Food Market (250-479-8884; www.indianfoodmarket.ca), 4011 Quadra Street, Unit #8, Victoria, BC.
[...] has some reasonably good Indian restaurants—notably, the Indian Food Market for take-out, and for dine-in, both the long-standing Da Tandoor and new Real Taste of India [...]
This comment about the food is so untrue, went there the daal was so stale even my dog will not have sniffed that, this is the most horrible food i have ever tasted for indian food in victoria, this is a very bad for our community to even think this is good indian food, did indian food market pay u some money to write all this??? think again before writing good comments Cheers!!!!
Hello Pooja. I’m sorry to hear you had such an unpleasant experience with your take-out from the Indian Food Market! Was this the first time you had tried their food?
I hope you spoke with the owner to express your disappointment and request a refund. It is important to give restaurant owners feedback when food quality or service is poor, as you deserve good value for your money and the restaurateur deserves a chance to make things right if you have not had a good experience.
I assure you, I do not accept payment to write about any business, event, activity, etc. on ScrimporSplurge.ca My articles are based entirely on my own experience and represent my own opinion. My husband and I have enjoyed several truly excellent dinners of take-out food from Indian Food Market and found the value to be incredible. We have also dined twice at the new Real Taste of India restaurant downtown, which I understand is operated by the same owners, and found the food there to be excellent as well.
That said, our last experience at the Indian Food Market was now several months ago, and it is always possible that their has been a decline in quality. I hope this is not the case, and I’ll have to try the food again soon to see how it compares.
Thanks for taking the time to write and share your experience. I always appreciate feedback from readers.
Anita