Cafe of India

57. 11-9 Cafe of India 52 Brattle Street. Summary: Large buffet, good food, unique setup - but nothing special.

I have to admit, Cafe of India had a tough task with me, in that I've already visited the other three Indian restaurants in the Square. All four have buffets - and how different can you make a buffet?

A couple of things caught my eye today. First, they have Papdum - the spicy bread/cracker. I really like this, and they are the only restaurant with it. Second, they had a cook at the buffet area, who was making some sort of potato-stuffed pastry - it was good, and fun to watch him. Third, they had something close to a salad bar; most Indian buffets have a token salad, but Cafe of India has both cucumber/tomato plus lettuce, and a couple of dressings.

They didn't have any chaat, which I always enjoy.

As to the main dishes, I found them very similar to the competition. No standouts, nothing terribly interesting.

So, I rate Cafe of India's buffet average, on par with Bombay Club. About $9.