Outstanding

Old carpet and ?moldy scent. Old waiters with over-sized suits and crooked bow ties.
Average food quality with sad service!
Needs a major renovation of place and spirit

It has a nice atmosphere, more formal than many Indian restaurants. The staff is lovely. We had tikka chicken and it was good.

Muy buena la comida

One of a very small number of restaurants where it's possible to enjoy an excellent meal, indulge your taste for world cuisine, sip a good wine, all the while maintaining your table conversation in normal tones. Club-like atmosphere, great to connect and reconnect and swap stories; on the other hand, if you are in the mood for plunging into some happy noisy ambience desogned to dispense with talk (and there are merits in that, too) you should definitely opt away.

We have been visiting Dawat for more than a dozen years, and it never fails. Delicious recipes from Madhuf Jeffrey. Sindh Khadi is a unique specialty. Among the starters, I recommends dried okra and bhel (try sookha- with suace on the side).

The worst experience I have had in terms of Indian food. I grew up in England and have enjoyed eating Indian all my life. This was very bland food, with no aromatic spices, and naan that tasted like they had been frozen. At the same time, this is moderately expensive. Madhur would be ashamed of this place, and annoyed that they are using her name. I cook many of her dishes, and know that Dawat was NOT up to that mark. The next day I have gastroenteritis from their dreadful food, I suppose.

Poor food at a very high price. Definitely not value for money.

Dawat is charming! The staff are so gracious, the food is delectable and we love coming back year after year for special celebrations.

Love that place best Indian food and friendly server

good as always, clean, well presented, fine service

We went to Dawat on a night of atrocious weather, so the restaurant was almost empty, but we were so glad we ventured out. Really distinctive menu, with lots of vegetarian options that were new to me - tandoori mushroom being one, excellent. Also loved the okra kurkuri. But for me the piece de resistance was the cornish hen, absolutely wonderful, will definitely have again.

Service is pleasantly old-fashioned, and the decor also pleasant. Don't know what the noise level would be like on a night of better weather and bigger crowd, probably fine.

Recommended for quiet conversation, gracious service, and well prepared Indian cuisine in a pleasant contemporary setting. Puzzled why my party had to request to see the “lunch special” menu when Dawat’s website advertises it. The tab for four was quite high given the tiny portions that were served. While everything was delicious, one may very well leave hungry.

I love Dawat. Founded by a famous Indian chef, it never disappoints and is one of the few quiet restaurants where I can always have a great conversation with my friends and family. I've been going to Dawat for decades and hope to for decades to come.

The food was excellent as was the service and decor.

ALWAYS EXCELLENT! Chicken Tika masala is the BEST. Great rice pudding too

The service was amazing. The gentleman waiting us were very helpful and the food was fantastic. I'm Indian so I know my food very well and the flavors were not over-the-top but complimented each other just right. I would definitely come back.

First rate Indian restaurant on Upper east side. Excellent neighborhood restaurant

Terrific meal with a mix of traditional Indian restaurant favorites and some unique to Dawat. Probably still the best Indian restaurant in New York City.

Food was fair, I had better Indian food on a flight. This was eatable but you can taste that the meat has been cooked separately and thrown in the different sauce right before getting to your table. This was confirmed by our nice waiter. Nothing to say on the service. We were hungry with some rice it took care of it. We knew we were not going to a fine dining Indian Restaurant but it could have been better with very little effort.

Very, very good upscale Indian food. Feels authentic with top quality ingredients.

High quality Indian food. Amazing curry. Great lamb. Excellent service

Food and service excellent as usual. Great place to eat.

Beautifully prepared food and elegant service. This place well deserves its excellent reputation.

I had read stellar reviews of Dawat but my own experience was less than stellar. It wasn't bad -- it just didn't live up to my expectations. The consensus of the table (4 people) was that it was not that special. Perhaps we ordered badly. The appetizers were all fried, and, I thought, too dry. However, the special bread (I can't remember the name) was quite good, as was the special cornish hen dish. My baked eggplant dish was not memorable. We ate early (5:30) because of an early theatre curtain, and the service was quite attentive.

The food was nice, above standard for indian cuisine and creativeness/originality on dishes was only fair. Personally, the food, ambiance and service were not worth the price, and feel could get similar or better quality Indian food, service and atmosphere and many other choices.

You will get very little for your money. There was barely anything to eat particularly with the
chicken tikka marsala. In addition, you will pay for rice which is standard at other Indian
restaurants. Pass this one up.

We were the last diners to arrive before closing and were treated exceptionally despite keeping the staff overtime. Delicious cuisine. Highly recommend.

This used to be a good restaurant. We do love Indian food, but this was very disappointing.
We had the Dawat Special and the Mixed Grill. My husband left most of his mixed grill and I also did not enjoy my food, dried out chicken and tasteless side dishes. We will not be back.

Every dish we ordered was prepared and served with its own unique taste. The service was impeccable. The tastes were wonderful.

I have loved Indian food for 50 years. This was one of the best on five continents.

Varietà, creatività e qualità del cibo ottima. Il "raan" è straordinario ed estremamente abbondante (suggerisco per sharing). Ambiente familiare molto tranquillo anche se un po old-fashioned. Servizio cortese e puntuale.

Excellent place if you like Indian food. Very attentive service. As good a meal as I have had at any restaurant.

This is one of our must visit restaurants in NYC. Fantastic cuisine, accommodating and friendly staff and overall terrific. We have dined here for over 25 years celebrating every thing from dinner with friends, anniversaries, our son's graduation from NYU etc.

We have been there many times, over a long period of time, and Dawat never disappoints. Great food, and a good value. Wonderful place for authentic Indian.

I used to come here 20 years ago and the cuisine was divine. It is now a very average Indian restaurant, by no means haute cuisine! I can get better Indian food for a quarter the price. Shame.

The food was incredible . Service impeccable. We were late in arriving and they were very gracious.

Service was poor. Took me 10 mins to get a water refill. They were more focused on the business meeting going on at the next table.

We were there to celebrate Diwali and went for the good food which did not disappoint. However, the servers were very efficient but not at all friendly or did not appear happy. Perhaps it was because they were working on a holiday but we were surprised at the tone set by the head server, manager and others who were not rude but just not so pleased to have us as guests. The table right next to the tandoor oven where we were seated gets extremely warm, so perhaps, that is also something that added to the discomfort of dining there. Overall, the food made up for everything and that is really why we were there plus we had good company with our family.

Delicious Indian food!