Can't speak to the ambiance but the food is consistently great. The naan is perfect and pillowy. Basmati rice is perfectly made. Their saag paneer, butter masala paneer and mutter paneer are delicious and filling. Samosas are well made. I order delivery and service is always fast and timely.

I came here with my boss (from North India, but moved to the USA like 10 years ago), his colleague (who literally just got off the flight from India like an hour ago), and me. We ordered a rava masala dosa (for me), some daal parka, and a paneer situation of some sort. Service is technically counter service, because you go up to the counter, and order your food. However, once you've done that, you take your seat, and they'll bring the food out to you. This isn't a Sit Down restaurant where you're served little plates of papad, or other random things. You get whatever it is that you order, and that's it. Don't think of this as a restaurant in the strictest sense. Think of it more like a cafeteria with seating. There's a few 2-top tables, but most of the space is taken up by large communal tables. The guys at the register are friendly, and patient. They're not trying to rush you while you make your order. Food did take a little while to get to us, as we came after the lunch rush (when they'd likely had to make things fresh, as opposed to having stuff at the ready), which was fine, because we wanted to have a bit of a chat. It wasn't like an hour or whatever, but it was more than 10 minutes. It was fine though. The guy at the counter brought us glasses of water, which we all were craving on that warm afternoon. When the food arrived, it was piping hot, and nicely arranged on the plates. Portions were generous, much like you'd expect from an Indian restaurant. Rice was fragrant, and fluffy, while still being the perfect texture. My dosa was crisp in texture with plenty of fluffy potatoes in the middle, and the chatni and sambhar was lovely on the side. Daal was cooked to perfection: you could still see that the daal had texture (instead of turning to absolute liquid as some places do), but each bean was soft. Spices were well balanced, with just the right amount of masala (ground spice blends) when it was called for. They did NOT have too much garam masala. The issue with many bad Indian restaurants is that they try to hide inferior spices by dumping more of it in there. They have to add so much (because fresh spices only need a little bit to give the taste) that the texture of the dish tastes gritty. It's deeply unpleasant. If you've ever seen an Indian make a face after eating something, and say, "Too much garam masala", you'll know why. It's because we can get that texture of the kitchen heaving on more and more bad spices. However, here at Masala Cafe, the chefs have a restrained hand with the spices they use, and the spices they use taste fresh and vibrant. When I asked my dining companions how they liked their food, the guy who'd just come from India gave me this grateful look, and said that it was exactly like "Ghar ka khaana" (literally: food from home), which is the highest compliment that a North Indian dude can pay a restaurant's food when they order homestyle dishes like daal tarka. Ghar ka khaana is like that stuff you crave when you're out of your mom's house and off to college. It's that stuff that you yearn for when you're stressed out, or going through it. The guy had just been flying for the past however many hours, and had the dubious foods at the various connecting airports he had eaten at, to say nothing of the food in the airline. He was exhausted, and looking rough. Giving him a taste of home cooking at a restaurant basically had him looking and feeling way more energized and happy than when he started. The food was definitely worth the wait, and the service was friendly and relaxed.

We came here for the dosas and absolutely loved them!! I will note that the inside is not the fanciest, but more of a hole in the wall vibe. There's one chef in the back, and since we came during a less busy time he did come out to speak with us, which was super nice. The sambar and tomato chutney were absolutely amazing and the dosas were cooked to perfection. Could not have been happier with our selection!

Hometown hero's . Bringing the spice to the hood ... Thanks for bringing your food culture and hospitality to Newark.

Food was really good everything just tasted great, it's more of a take out place so not the greatest dine in ambience but ok for a quick bite but it seemed like they were planning renovation so that may change in the future, service was good and our cashier/server was attentive, look forward to coming back

This is one of those downtown spots you walk by and don't pay attention to unless you are an out of towner like me trying to get his grub on before a wu-tang/Nas concert. I came here solo on Tuesday evening and it was empty. I got great service and they made the food spicy to my liking. Idly was steamed and made perfectly. The tofu kadai (appreciative for the vegans)- hit the spot- excellent gravy and spices. I tried a taste of the veg biryani (lots of veggies and it just rice) and the mysore masala dosa (my takeout) still fresh today. Will visit you all next time I am in Brick city!!!!

I stopped by here during lunch with some of the coworkers. It is not the best looking restaurant, and most people will choose to take out instead of dining in We walked up to the counter and placed our order. The guy at the register seemed a bit confused, but we managed. We ordered two masala dosa, one Hakka noodles, one chili chicken, and chicken tikka masala ( it came with rice) Food came out pretty quick- the dosa was terrific, and the sambar was excellent. def a place I will visit again