Review of India Palace Restaurant Inside the Sunrise General Store in Santa Fe, New Mexico

The Sunrise General Store and gas station on Old Las Vegas (New Mexico) Highway may seem like an odd setting for an eight-table India Palace (yes it has the same owners as the downtown location), but longtime locals are used to this locations penchant for the unusual. It was in this gas station many years ago that I tried sushi for the first time.

The night we dined, the place was empty. This location does a majority of its business in takeout (it is located in a gas station after all) and weekend dine-in business. There is no alcohol service, and inquiries about why this is so seemed to agitate the staff, so I backed off. (I would suggest that you do the same, unless you like to cause unnecessary problems.) This didn't stop our server from hovering endlessly at our table side. Another staffer read the newspaper while silting next to us.

The potato samosas at this location are crisp and dense but delicious. The tandoor baked, sautéed eggplant was very salty and flavorless. Our lamb kefta (meatballs) were a bit on the greasy side, but the mild curry sauce was fantastic with the gamy meat. There was some confusion when we tried to order a chicken dish and a side of rice. What arrived was a super spicy (as I like it) plate of moist chicken breast and rice with a light sauce and fresh raw tomatoes, this was absolutely delicious, and is strongly recommended. I learned later that our server had the kitchen make it after my dining partner requested rice instead of potatoes on the chicken vindaloo. I'm usually not comfortable with servers making unsolicited creative decisions about my food, but, in this case, it worked out well. The dessert menu was again unimpressive, so we passed.

Here is the breakdown of our dinner for two at India Palace. One order of Vegetable samosas was $ 2.95, the tandoor roasted Eggplant was priced at $ 7.95, the Lamb kefta was $12.95, the Chicken vindaloo was $10.95, and add a side of rice for $2.50 and we arrive at our grand total of $37.50, before tax and tips.

India Palace (Sunrise General Store) is located at 52 Old Las Vegas Highway, 982 1250. A Lunch buffet is available from 11:30 am until 2:30 p.m. daily. Dinner is served from 5-9:30 p.m. nightly. As mentioned above, No alcohol is served, and there is take-out available. (before tax and tip)