Masala Empire in Köln

Unfortunately, our impression and our small company Christmas party are very clouded. We consciously chose an Indian restaurant because we are all very big fans of Indian cuisine. The service repeatedly forgot things, including my main course, which is why I was allowed to watch my colleagues eat. Despite repeated requests ("please, really, really, really hot"), the beef vindaloo was not only not spicy at all, but also completely tasteless. A tasteless "goulash", if you will. We have the impression that they attach great importance to a hip ambience (successful!), but they don't have the kitchen and service under control and that at quite hefty prices - a shame!

Unfortunately we weren't at all happy with the food yesterday. We don't understand the hype surrounding this restaurant. The food only looked authentic but didn't taste good. Starting with the Pani Puri, the "Pani" practically the main part of this dish was just water with a touch of chaat masala and chilli, in reality there are a lot more spices in there. 2. Starter was Tandoori Aloo, stuffed potato with paneer and grilled on tandoori grill, the potato was raw and the filling was very lean! As For the main course we tried Tandoori chicken Nawabi, which should have been marinated with a variety of spices. Although we emphasized when ordering that we wanted it to be authentically Indian and spicy, the chicken was only seasoned with salt. There was no other spice to taste. There was no taste of “Nawabi” (royal). We just ate our fill of naan. Sad about the money! The only nice thing about the restaurant was the friendly service and the ambience. One point deduction is for the "too authentic" sink in the women's toilet, which urgently needs renovation...

Super tasty food and very authentically seasoned. The ambience is nice. If it's full you have to wait a bit for service and food. The Mango Lassi had too much yogurt for my taste.

Very tasty food! The service could have been a little more motivated (but was still nice), unfortunately you can only pay in cash.

We went to Masala Empire yesterday for a late lunch with a larger group. We had to wait a relatively long time for our order to be taken, even though the restaurant was empty and there were only two small tables occupied apart from ours. The food was disappointing for me personally. The tandoori chicken with cashew cream was too dry and was served on grilled salad with dry rice and mint chutney. What we noticed particularly negatively were the many fruit flies that came out of the guest toilets and buzzed around your head while you were eating. For this reason, I can only advise against using the toilets. The entire floor was sticky and there were hundreds of flies buzzing around in the women's toilet. The fruit fly traps that have been set up no longer help. The prices are far too high for the quality offered. I wouldn't go there anymore.

Super nice people! Mega attractive food! Tastes extremely delicious! Highly recommended 💚

Food good, QR code noises too much..

Please don't order the south indian food here. Tastes nothing like south Indian!

As delicious as in India! Delicious and authentic Indian dishes, interesting menu and large drinks list. For me the top address for Indian food in Cologne. The butter chicken tastes as good as in India. The service is always friendly and quick.

Insanely child-friendly. We haven't had such a relaxed meal with children in a long time. Thank you very much, we would love to come back

Food was good, both flavor-wise and portion sizes and staff was okay. However we waited forever for everything - we were there on a Thursday evening after 7pm and sat outside. We waited at least 15min till our order was taken, then it took almost 30min till we received our order and after 1.5hrs no-one came to check on us and we had to get up to call a waiter to pay. Then we waited another 10-15min and still no one came to collect money, so one person went inside to pay but needed a receipt, as this was a business dinner and to be covered by the company. They said they'd bring the receipt out, but after another 15min still nothing happened. People had to leave, so two stayed behind to request the receipt again and wait.

The food is cooked very authentically and you can taste all the spices. Conclusion: Great cuisine and very tasty, but not for people who can't eat spicy food, as most of the dishes have a certain spiciness that isn't on the menu.

The food is top. Unfortunately the service is usually not. No go 2024: cash payment only.

The service wasn't in a hurry, but the food was good

The food was very tasty and the price of the lunch menu was unbeatable. The service was also very good :)

Good memory card and there was nothing wrong with the food. Good spiciness, decent portions and tasty. Service relatively slow and inattentive.

Huge portion, very delicious, full of taste, not very spicy, amazing.

I wish they made it explicit on the website that it's cash only. Joel, are not Malayalee's bad luck?

They don't accept cards, cash only! What year is this!? Seriously. The food was so-so.

A nice Indian in Ehrenfeld close to Neptun Bad. It offers a good lunch business menu, a limited number of choice but enough to satisfy your lunch appetite for a reasonable price and good value. Friendly and fast service.

As tasty as the food was, the service was subpar. Although the staff was nice, they seemed very unprofessional. Chairs were already cleared during the meal (Saturday before 10 p.m. and we were by no means the only ones still there), payment was only possible in cash and there was no invoice. According to the price, we also paid for the naan bread, which didn't come and was unfortunately no longer there when we asked. You can expect more for the prices.

Was absolutely great to eat! Top service and food

Star of the show was Butter Chicken. Place is filthy!

We enjoyed it very much, took food home with us which was also very, very tasty, drinks were also great and chilled. The ambience was very stylish, and the service served us the food very punctually and hot, making it an all-round successful Sunday lunch. Thank you very much, we would love to come back.

Unfortunately that was nothing! I've never had such tough chicken before. My guess is that in Hariyali Tikka, chicken breast is cooked like thighs. Of course that doesn't work and it was simply not edible. The second dish tasted delicious, but again with very dry chicken, but the sauce made it at least swallowable. And then also with cash payment. Service was nice.

Wannabe Indians in a pseudo-stylish hipster atmosphere. Inauthentic, incompetent and hyped by typical Instagirls. Boring.

Very good Indian restaurant, friendly service, nice ambience and reasonable prices Gladly again

A fusion cuisine delight! Top-notch cuisine of Asian cuisine, especially Indian cuisine, from starter to dessert, tea of ​​all flavors. Large portions, reasonable prices, very nice place and five-star staff!

Always my pleasure. The food is so delicious.

Always delicious, and the lunch menu has a great price-performance ratio

Attention: cash payment only! The best Indian restaurant in Cologne - also a bar/café, you feel comfortable here at any time of the day. The menu is divided into North and South Indian dishes. There are traditional Indian dishes, but also fusion versions. There are also vegetarian Ayurveda dishes. We come here often and enjoy eating, every time we try a different dish from the menu and are once again impressed by the flavor compositions, always an outstanding experience.

Very delicious curry dishes, great taste.

While the food is ok, I can’t believe that in 2024 it’s fine for restaurants like this to not offer card payment options. We booked a table for 12 people as part of a business dinner. We made a bill of 740€ and the owner came to our table with his electronic ticketing device Ann informed us that they take only cash. Me and a colleague rushed to the nearest bank to make a withdrawal and when we asked for an invoice the owner was seemingly pissed, and took more than 30 minutes to pass the order from the ticketing system to the cash registry as it was clear that he wanted this 740€ under the table without an invoice. I would heavily suggest everyone to avoid this place as they plainly try to scam you. It’s 2024 and if the business can’t afford having a pos then the business shouldn’t exist. This was the last business dinner we will be having there as there are way better options around in the area

Very nice food and great customer service !

Fantastic ambience, with a beautiful view of a juicy seed spray with the best accompaniment. Thank you for your effort. You also have to give something back to the city.

Unfortunately the food wasn't good at all, the chicken was very dry. I had ordered something with lamb and specifically asked if it would be possible for it to be prepared mildly. I was assured that it was possible. When I got my food it was still spicy and when I told the waiter, he gave me a yogurt Given sauce so I could eat something. At the end of the meal there was a very hot chilli in the bowl which was fortunately discovered in time.

Super delicious vegetarian, vegan and also meat dishes! It's nice to sit inside, but also very relaxed outside without traffic

Das Essen war sehr schlecht. Es war trocken und an manchen Stellen so schwarz gebraten, dass man nicht essen konnte. Die Bedienung war unfreundlich. Nie wieder!

Landed here by chance and had very tasty food, value for money was OK. Thanks for the hospitality

Wow, an absolute positive surprise 👌 Coincidence let me eat here. The restaurant impresses with very good food, attentive staff and a great ambience! The prices are great in relation to the quality. I don't write many reviews, usually only when I experience something extraordinary. Thank you to the restaurant team.

Best value for money you can get not just in Germany, but anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, I don't live in Cologne so I will be able to visit only after a while :( But would definitely go back when I am here once again.

Best sort of food experience you can get. Been to my fair share of restaurants in Germany (and Europe) and this one stands out by far.

Very stylish location, great service, excellent traditional Indian cuisine. We recommend!

The food was okay, service was very slow, pure chaos.

Reservation recommended! Very nice food and service were nice, although we were seated in the high table area as we hadn't reserved even though the restaurant was extremely quiet. Be aware that this is a CASH ONLY outlet, so be sure to bring enough with you. A Paratha is my strong recommendation here

nice atmosphere, nice staff and very tasty food

We had lunch at Masala Empire and ordered one normal dish from the menu (a lamb dish) and one dish from the Ayurvedic menu. First of all, the “coconut water” was not pure coconut water, but sweetened. It tasted more like water with coconut flavored syrup. Upon request, it came directly from India (ok, sweetened drinks), but that should be marked on the menu, normally you would expect the pure coconut water. The dining experience was completely disappointing. The dishes were carelessly prepared, not a pinch of herbs, the copper bowls were almost overflowing, while the sauce looked unappealing at the sight of the consistency and was already "dry". It didn't seem fresh, but rather thick and creamy, and it wasn't in any way aromatic, which is what Indian cuisine is usually characterized by. The different flavors that our dishes should have had according to the description on the menu were hardly distinguishable from each other, it seemed to be more of a "one size fits all". I had ordered the okra dish from the Ayuvedic menu - there were tiny, almost overcooked and barely noticeable pieces of okra in the sauce. Okra dishes can taste excellent, and Ayurvedic cuisine in particular is usually finely composed in terms of components and preparation. This was far from it. Basically the dish only consisted of sauce/coconut milk/cream. I left half of it. I don't know when I've done that before. The response to feedback was basically just a shrug of the shoulders. My mother has been to India several times and knows the cuisine, and I cook very well myself (Indian according to well-known recipe books, which I like to take three hours for) and eat Indian food whenever possible. This really wasn't good at all. We cannot understand the numerous positive reviews.

Wonderful Indian specialties, highly recommended.

Nice restaurant, very good location right on Neptunplatz. The food was delicious and the selection was relatively large, but the dishes also had their price. The service was nice but you had to ask to place the order etc.. You should also make a reservation in advance. Generally a good restaurant.

Update 2024. How can a good restaurant rely on so many obviously fake reviews? We always like to come. But you will only get the stars back when all the fake reviews are deleted. Something like that doesn't work! Original review: Super authentic Indian food. The only difference is that a little less spice is used... Otherwise like in India. The prices are a bit higher, but ok. The outdoor gastro invites you to linger at the beautiful Neptunplatz. Thanks again to the extremely attentive and nice service staff! We'll definitely be back!!!

One word: foodgasm. It started with papadum, mango chuntney and pickled mango. Friends! That was the biggie. Perfect combo too. They also make a really tasty Aperol here. Main course was OK, but didn't really appeal to me. Stool-hewn like the starter. Great service! Kind and attentive. One star less for the food because I had the best Indian food EVER in Berlin. But the ambience wasn't that nice... Will definitely dine here again 💖

The food is fantastic! The ambience too. Unfortunately we don't come anymore because every time we were there the waiter tried to flirt and shake around with all the women in an unpleasant and aggressive manner. Unfortunately, he doesn't notice at all how inappropriate and inappropriate this behavior is in service. As a guest, I don't want to be asked about my tattoos, my appearance, or anything else. I don't want to be called lady and get involved in flirty conversations. This shaker might appeal to some people. But using it as a ploy on every woman is extremely unpleasant and invasive. Unfortunately for us this is reason enough not to come anymore. A pity.

The food is fantastic, slightly spicy, the chicken tender. Ambience is stylish and modern. The service was very reserved but polite, the young man at the bar was very friendly. In our opinion, points are deducted for not using card payment.

The food was amazing, I enjoyed it a lot.

"No card payment possible" - well... Overall too expensive for what is offered and very loud

This restaurant is very awesome 💯 I like this one

The selection and food tastes good and stands out refreshingly from other Indian restaurants nearby. Unfortunately, I have to agree with others here: the service was really not attentive and radiated great displeasure. What a shame!

Delicious food and drinks Amazing experience

Is this a piece of a gypsum in my food? We had lunch today at this restaurant. The food was good. Only the samosa was ok. But then we took the rest home and later at night as we open the package we find few peaces of gypsum inside! Very weird.

Well mannerd Sattaf delicious 😋 Food

Very good Atmosphere, delicious food

Selten so gut wie hier gegessen :) Das Personal war auch außerordentlich sympathisch. Super Restaurant

Der Mittagstisch ist super günstig und lecker. Das Brot ist unbedingt zu probieren.

Sehr schön eingerichtet, schneller servis, sehr freundlich und eine große Auswahl an essen. Ich würde immer gerne wieder in dieses wundervolle Restaurant wieder kommen.

Wir waren zu fünft dort und alle haben das Essen ausgezeichnet gefunden, insbesondere das Nan und der MangoLassi haben uns im Vergleich zu anderen indischen Restaurants besonders gefallen. Empfehlenswert!!!

Das Essen war wirklich hervorragend. Wir waren spontan da und ich empfehle abends auf jeden Fall einen Tisch zu reservieren, damit man auf jeden Fall einen Platz bekommt. Das Restaurant ist vollkommen zurecht beliebt!

Das Restaurant konnte uns leider garnicht überzeugen...wir waren zu 4 da und keines der Gerichte war geschmacklich ausgewogen und gerade für indische küche auch extrem fade...bei zwei Gerichten war das Fleisch darüber hinaus total trocken. Die Portionen sind relativ klein aber dafür ziemlich teuer. Die freundlichkeit des personals lässt auch zu wünschen übrig. Und auch im außenbereich lag überall müll rum. Fazit: Das Preis Leistungsverhältnis stimmt hier leider garnicht und auch geschmacklich ist hier noch sehr viel Luft nach oben.

Wir kommen hier regelmäßig und gerne hin. Das Essen ist sehr lecker. Besonders das Gobi 65 und das Chicken Tikka Masala sind empfehlenswert. Der Service ist super freundlich. Das Ambiente ist hübsch und modern. Falls man etwas verbessern möchte: Das Personal spricht nicht immer ausreichend Deutsch, um Fragen zu den Gerichten zu beantworten.

Overall great experience but do not order water before looking at the price on the menu! Read below for detailed review. Went to dinner with my family and with friends. We had a reservation and our table was ready when we got there. Service was good. Menu is huge and can be a bit overwhelming. But I loved how it was broken up in groups so you can skip a whole page if you weren’t interested in that particular group. Food tasted good and the portions were generous, most of us had a hard time finishing the entire serving. Dessert was interesting, but not sure I would order it again. The server was of no help when it came to the dessert knowledge, which was a bit disappointing. We were all pretty happy with everything until we saw on the bill that one bottle of water cost 7€. And we had ordered 2, and honestly could’ve probably had one more, which luckily we didn’t. That is an insane amount of money for water in a country where tap water is safe to drink. And not to mention, at a restaurant where they serve spicy food and most people curb that heat with water. Honestly, that is the only reason I would never return to this restaurant. I feel taken advantage of, for not paying attention to the price of the water, which should be half the price, like in most normal restaurants. I don’t really care that it is some premium brand, it is after all just water. And if you want to have that brand, then that is absolutely fine, but please have a cheaper option for conscious people. Maybe it is not a big deal for some people, but for a family of 3, with another one on the way, every bit counts and I feel cheated of our hard earned money.

A good experience. delicious Indian food. You should try drinks as well.

Sehr sehr lecker. Achtung! Die Portionen in den (tiefen) Schälchen sind größer, als auf den ersten Blick zu erahnen. Meine Prawn Ularthiyathu waren ein Geschmacksfeuerwerk und ich hatte vermutlich noch nie so viele Prawns (20 oder so?) in einer Portion. Musste kämpfen, hab aber gewonnen. Die Schärfe der Currys scheint etwas moderat dem europäischen Gaumen angepasst. Aber alles sehr gut und aromatisch gewürzt. Wir kommen wieder und probieren die Karte weiter durch.

Das Essen war echt gut, die Bedienung ebenfalls auf Zack. Aber wenn man 2023 immer noch nicht in der Lage ist Kartenzahlung anzubieten, ist das echt bitter.

Stylisches Restaurant und leckeres Essen

Bester indisches Restaurant in Ehrenfeld. Lohnt sich!!!

Nice atmosphere, friendly staff, tasty food! The lunch menu is a bargain!), we eat there once a week! :)

Sehr lecker und gemütlich. Preise sind auch in Ordnung.

Dined at an Indian restaurant and was impressed with the quality of the food and service. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, and the staff were very attentive. The menu had a great selection of dishes, with the tandoori chicken and butter chicken being standout options. Overall, this is a great spot for a delicious and authentic Indian meal. Highly recommend!

love this place, the atmosphere is so nice and it’s designed so well. The food is delicious and served in big portions I would definitely recommend

Enjoyed midday lunch with friends. Nice fried starters (mixed vegetables, banana and meat), main dish meat (chicken in tandoori oven) was relatively dry.

Wir haben Butter Chicken und Chicken Tikka Masala gegessen, die Portion war angemessen und geschmacklich gut. Der Reis jedoch war ungenießbar und schmeckte wie aus der Tüte - total trocken und zusammengeklebt. Die Preise sind im Vergleich zu anderen Indischen Restaurants auch recht hoch. Der Herr der uns bedient hatte wirkte auch eher genervt und hat uns kaum beachtet, man hatte das Gefühl, dass wir nicht willkommen waren. Zusammengefasst würde ich eher nicht nochmal hingehen.

Es war schön dort. Essen war gut.

sehr leckeres essen😘 sehr oft hier gegessen meistens sehr lecker,nettes personal

durchschnittliches Essen. Preis/Leistung stimmt nicht.

Schon oft hier gegessen. Meistens sehr lecker, nettes Personal und gute Stimmung. Manchmal aber leider fast kaltes Essen und einmal war das Hähnchenfleisch nicht fertig gegart.

Sehr leckeres indisches Essen in einem tollen Ambiente! Ganz klare Weiterempfehlung. Ich ziehe einen Stern ab, da mir die Getränkekarte zu einfach war. Hier hätte ich etwas mehr erwartet!

War sehr lecker und authentisch, das garlic naan ist ein Traum. Die Auswahl ist groß, aber nicht übertrieben. Die Portionen sind ebenfalls groß und man sollte sich überlegen ob es wirklich einer Vorspeise bedarf. Für Vegetarier und Veganer gibt es viele Optionen.

Food was very disappointing, below average taste-wise and freshness-wise. Poor experience overall. They do not accept cards, only cash is accepted here.

Service unterirdisch. Essen mangelhaft, trockene Samosa, einfach wirklich nicht gut. Könnte noch sehr viel aufzählen und ich schreibe normalerweise keine Bewertungen aber die Zeit nehme ich mir dafür. So schlecht war es

All the food of this restaurant is very delicious I recommend to all come and eat your dinner breakfast and lunch in this restaurant

Ein sehr gemütliches Ambiente, mit einem unfassbar freundlichen Personal. Das essen war von den Portionen mehr als ausreichen, lecker und wurde schnell serviert!! Hier komme ich wieder hin(:

Super leckeres Essen zu fairen Preisen! Bedienung ebenfalls 1A

**Don't Be Fooled by the Kerala Dish Options** Edit: Uploading some images since the owner try to dig into my personal details. We've visited on: Aug 06, 2023 Did we share feedback on that day: Yes, we did. We called the waiter and explained everything because we were wasting the food. The innocent guy had only one reply, "I don't know enough about the food. But, I'll share the details with the chef" Why did I add a review this late: I did it on the same day, but, for some reason it wasn't posted. Today, I just reposted Why did I give such detailed review: We were waiting so long to visit this place. We travelled around 200km from another city starving just to eat from here and it was total disappoinment Do I post negative reviews about businesses: Rarely, very rarely unless it's that disappointing And, I spend money on this place and it did not give me value for money. So, a message to owner: Before you try to criticize and insult your customer, try to improve your quality. I am your customer. There is no point in hating an unhappy customer or a review from customer ------------------------------ For me, this was frankly, the worst restaurant experience in Germany. I was drawn by the Kerala non-vegetarian options on the menu, but left sorely disappointed. Here's what we tried: 1. Chicken Fry (starter) - 1/5: This was merely two chicken legs dipped in maida and fried. It had an excess of food colouring and lacked flavour. 2. Chilly Beef Fry (starter) - 0.5/5: Consisting of beef pieces in the same maida batter and fried, this dish was a letdown. It was, oddly enough, akin to beef pakora and had some fried green chilies. 3. Beef Curry - 0/5: As a Malayali, I found this dish inedible. We consumed only 10% of it and took the rest home to try to improve it, given its high price. The curry was excessively creamy and tasted like a butter chicken base - lacking spices and flavor. It was hard to tell it was even beef. 4. Pepper Chicken - 0/5: This was a tragic dish. The chicken was tough, and the gravy too creamy, much like the beef curry. It seemed to have the same base, except for some extra pepper. 5. Beef Ularthiyath - 3/5: While not great, it was at least edible. We managed to finish this one. The total price came to 93 Euros, which included 4 beverages. The only things I can recommend are the fresh onions, tomatoes, paprika that accompanied the chicken fry, and the basmati rice that was served with the main dishes. The restaurant should stop deceiving people with false advertising on their menu. If they don't know how a dish should taste or how to prepare it, they shouldn't offer it. We were the only Indians in the restaurant, and we now understand why. On a positive note, the service was above average and there was nothing to complain about in that regard. Also, I won't recommend using that toilet as well.

Ich war nach langer Zeit wieder mit meinem Mann im Marsala Empire essen. Wie zuvor ein schöner Abend, leckeres Essen und nette Bedienung. Alles in allem ein schöner Abend, wir kommen gerne wieder 😊

Sehr nettes und hübsches Personal, der Kellner von dem wir bedient wurden sah genau so gut wie das Essen aus.Allgemein alles perfekt gewesen mit Blick auf dem neptunplatz.

The food was good and it's nice to sit outside at neptunplatz but it was a shame that the waiter didn't really know the menu. I asked something about a dish and he just told me to read the menu which was quite rude I thought. I wouldn't have asked if my question was answered by reading the menu and would probably have ordered something else if he had asked about it in the kitchen. My friends also had questions he couldn't answer. Other than that it was a nice evening! But I don't think I'd recommend this restaurant to a friend.

Ich war mit meinem siebenjährigen Neffen dort und fragte den Kellner nach einem unscharfen Gericht. So bestellten wir Chicken Malai Tikka, jedoch war die Cashewnusspasteh sehr scharf. Leider wurden wir nicht darauf hingewiesen und bestellten eine andere Sauce für ihn. Ich bestellte Fish Tara Fry. Das Gericht hat nicht wirklich meinen Geschmack getroffen. Etwas zu trocken, demnächst werden wir die Currygerichte ausprobieren. Nur Barzahlung, was etwas unangenehm ist.

Erst einmal über eine Stunde auf das Essen gewartet, nachdem wir schon eine halbe Stunde auf unsere Getränke gewartet haben.Statt des bestellten stillen Wassers kam Wasser mit Sprudel, statt Lamm Curry kam Hühnchen Curry. Haben uns nicht ernst genommen gefühlt. Leider.Wir haben uns übrigens als homosexuelles Paar sehr unwohl gefühlt da wir das Gefühl hatten aus diesem Grund ignoriert worden zu sein.

Das Essen war okay. Wir hatten einen Platz auf der Außenterasse. Das dortige Ambiente lässt zu wünschen übrig. Nachdem wir nach 20 Minuten immer noch nicht bedient wurden, fragten wir im Innenbereich nach. Kurz darauf erschien die sichtlich genervte weibliche Servicekraft (ostasiatischer Herkunft) und nahm kommentarlos die Bestellung auf, ohne z.B. mal nach dem Schärfegrad etc. zu fragen. Anschließend wurden in gleicher Manier die Getränke und Speisen Kommentarlos auf dem Tisch abstellt. Auch wurden unsere Speisen nicht wie gewohnt auf einem Stövchen abgestellt. Dieses wurde erst auf Nachfrage bei einer anderen Servicekraft (augenscheinlich indischer Herkunft ) freundlich nachgereicht. Wäre der Service nicht derart miserabel gewesen durch die o.g. Person, dann wären es insgesamt 3 Sterne geworden. Schade! Dies war unsere erster und letzter Besuch! KEINE KARTENZAHLUNG! Auch absolutes no go!

*Nie wieder* Essen sehr gut, jedoch hat der Kellner unangemessene und übergriffige Kommentare gegenüber meiner Freundin abgegeben. Somit war es für uns das erste und letzte mal.

Es haben die typischen Gewürze gefehlt, es hat nicht so geschmeckt wie es sein soll... Naan gab es auch nicht.