REVIEW: NaanStop Buckhead (Atlanta, GA)

Hey readers,

It's probably no surprise by now, but I absolutely LOVE Indian food! In fact, I'd probably go as far as saying that it's one of my favorite cultural cuisines of all time. Not only do I love learning about the country and about its culture, but some of my closest girlfriends are Indian. I mention this because they tell me all the time how surprised they are with how familiar I am with their culture, especially the food aspect of it. When I speak out names of dishes that I love to order at Indian restaurants or names of Indian restaurants that I've been to and what I typically order when I dine there, they're always so amazed at how well-versed I am and shocked at how well I know the food. So yeah, you could definitely say that I know good Indian food when I taste it. With plenty of Indian restaurants to choose from in the Atlanta area, it's hard to choose just one. And although I already have my top two favorite Indian restaurants ever (both are in Gwinnett), I'm always up for seeing how the competitions compares in terms of taste, quality and price. Despite being used to buffets and/or sit-down restaurants, I decided to check out NaanStop, a fast-casual chain serving up affordably priced Indian cuisine to the masses since I happened to be in the area for a meeting earlier in the day. For those of you that live in the downtown area, you'll probably notice that this isn't the downtown location (1st store), but that it's their second post located in the heart of Buckhead. 

Let's get started:

♧Exterior

♧Menu

♧Interior

♧Chicken Tikka Masala Bowl, Garlic Naan and Samosa

♧FOOD (2/5): Since I wanted to get a good sense of the concept that NaanStop offers, I decided to order quite a few items, which included the chicken tikka masala bowl (their bestseller!), an order of garlic naan and a samosa. Starting with the chicken tikka masala bowl, I have to admit that I was pretty unimpressed by it for several reasons. While the basmati rice had a great, fluffy consistency, the masala sauce was entirely too sweet and just a tad bit too runny for its own good. The chicken itself was perfectly fine, but I wasn't a fan of the sauce. However, I will say that I liked being given the option of adding fresh spinach, grilled onions and peppers and homemade chutneys to my bowl though. Next came the samosa, which I was really looking forward to since I had a huge craving for samosas the week before my visit. Rather than being freshly fried, the samosa I received had been sitting under a heat lamp for what seemed like quite some time. As I waited in the long lunch line, I didn't see any new ones being fried, which should've been a sign to not order it to being with. Wanting to give them the benefit of the doubt, I decided to order one, but was downright disappointed the moment I took my first bite. The exterior lost its crispiness, was hard and lukewarm. The interior was even more upsetting in that it was entirely too dry and flavorless. It's probably my own fault, but if I ever order a samosa from here again, I'm gonna ask that they freshly fry one instead. Last came the garlic naan, which was surprisingly, was my favorite part of the meal. Made fresh to order in the tandoor and given a generous coat of garlic and butter, the naan was perfectly chewy and soft, and had just the right amount of crispness on the edges. Although not as fluffy or as leavened as other naan I've had in the past, this was still the best thing I'd eaten from here. 

♧SERVICE (5/5): The staff here was very friendly and efficient. Despite the long line of customers here during the lunch rush, they managed to keep the line moving as swiftly and as smoothly as they could. Additionally, their process was rather organized in that each employee had a specific task as opposed to one employee running around handling everything. For example, one person would scoop rice into the bowl, the other would scoop the protein, so on and so forth. They were patient and even took the time to chat with the customers in line, which I appreciated since they were willing to take that extra step to make others comfortable despite how busy it was getting. 

♧DECOR (5/5): Although it doesn't look like it from the outside, NaanStop is actually bigger than it seems. Compared to their downtown location, I like the abundance of free parking this location has, which is already a huge plus considering how chaotic parking in Buckhead can already be. The set up is similar to that of Chipotle. The food is prepared the same way in the sense that it's behind a glass counter and once it's your turn, you tell them what you want in your bowl, naanwich or salad and they'll wrap it up/get it ready for you. The open kitchen gives you a chance to glance at the chefs baking fresh naan in the tandoor and cooking the proteins, which I found to be a fun experience. Upon entering the restaurant, you're greeted by the order counter and the line, which you enter to the right. Once you've waited in line and placed your order, you can either take it to-go or you can enjoy it in their dining room. To my surprise, there's actually a decent amount of tables and chairs inside. In addition to the high top seating area, there's about 7-10 tables inside (mostly smaller tables, not good for larger groups), which is just enough since most of the crowd seemed to take their lunch on-the-go.  Additionally, the inside is nicely lit, clean and is complete with gorgeous Indian-inspired pictures (spice bowls, henna art and more) adorning the walls, giving it that authentic touch. 

Overall, while I think that the masala sauce recipe could use just a little bit of tweaking, as could the samosa, I can still appreciate NaanStop's concept in the sense that they're trying to make Indian food more accessible and approachable, especially for first-timers. If you've always been curious to try Indian food and have been overwhelmed by what to order on the menu, then NaanStop's the place for you since it simplifies and breaks down Indian cuisine into baby steps. If you find that you really love it, then shoot me an email and I can make some more recommendations on where to go to really expand your palate! So while I wouldn't personally drive all the way to Buckhead for Indian food since there's dozens of Indian restaurants near where I live, I'd say they're your "out of the box" option when all the other choices to grab lunch/dinner at in Buckhead are franchises and/or fast food options. 

Have a wonderful day,
-Sandy

FTC: I was not paid or compensated for this review. All reviews and opinions expressed are my own.

If you'd like to invite Bella Vivere to cover & share your restaurant's media events, tastings or parties, feel free to shoot me an email at bellavivere {at} gmail {dot} com-Thanks!