Everyone has their cravings and preferences, whether that be barbecue, Italian or Mexican food. There are many restaurants available for Athens residents, and for those looking for local Indian cuisine, Star of India is a short walk down Union Street.
Star of India opened in 2002 and attracted the attention of many locals and students in its 24 years of business. One of the owners, Balwinder Kaur, said she likes the small town of Athens and enjoys the friendly interactions they have with their customers.
“No one says hello in a big city,” Kaur said.
The restaurant is family-owned, and Lovedeep Singh, the other owner, said he manages the front of the house, while his wife, Kaur, works in the back. Singh said his family helps with the orders, and the children often work with him.
The restaurant offers a variety of dishes, offering $12.99 meals for vegetarians, including alu gobi, potatoes and cauliflower cooked with Indian herbs. Kaur said vegetarians love the spinach meals, like paneer palak, which is homemade cheese cooked in freshly spiced spinach.
Kaur said guests who eat meat seem to particularly enjoy the chicken dishes, which range from $13.99 to $14.99. The chicken tikka masala, oven-baked chicken cooked in a creamy light gravy sauce, is especially popular, according to the website.
Star of India also provides lamb, turkey, shrimp and fish on its menu, which customers can pair with their lettuce and tomato salad, naan bread, soups and hot appetizers.
The soups are available for $4.50 to $4.99, and hot appetizers range from $4.50 for vegetable pakora to $8.75 for the non-vegetarian appetizer, which is samosa, chicken and vegetable pakora served with a chutney sauce. Pakora is chickpea batter with a special spice and herb mixture, used to fry vegetables like onions, potatoes and spinach leaves, stuffed with a spicy and sour paste, according to Google Arts and Culture.
Kaur said the restaurant is busiest at lunch and dinner time, and she sees a mix of locals and students come through. Hans Voutner, an Athens local, visited Star of India on Wednesday night with Jeb Branner, a 2015 Ohio University graduate and Athens resident.
Branner said he started frequenting the business more in 2020, when most restaurants were closed down. During this time, Branner said he was allowed to bring in a pack of beer and would enjoy his time with the restaurant staff and hot meals.
Voutner said he and Branner started coming to Star of India weekly about three years ago, and they got to know Singh and Kaur very well.
“I would say in 2022-2023 we were coming here with a group of friends every week on Wednesdays,” Voutner said. “And it was a regular thing. Every Wednesday was Indian night, and we would rock the place out.”
Branner said he feels special, as Singh often hugs him, although he said Singh is friendly to everyone. He reminisced about Star of India’s lunch buffet, which is no longer offered.
“They used to have a lunch buffet way back in the day,” Jeb said. “And my parents were like, ‘Oh, Star of India, the lunch buffet is so good,’ but we never really went there for dinner. I wish that they still had that, I think that’d be great for students and stuff.”
The two enjoy eating the vegetable pakora, chicken shahi kurma, makhni chicken and the tandoori mixed grill. Voutner said they both enjoy traveling the world and trying other countries' Indian dishes, and the two recently visited Thailand and Uganda.
“We were in Thailand together, and we went to an Indian restaurant there, and we got all different dishes, and we compared them, and we were like ‘these all taste the same,’” Branner said.
Star of India’s food is just as good to Branner, and he said he feels as though the meals are specially made for him. Voutner said this restaurant brings a whole new palette to Athens, and he cannot access food like this anywhere else in the area.
“I mean, we are pretty conscientious about coming here, because we like Lovedeep, but it's also local, and we also know that if this place goes away, we're probably never going to get an Indian restaurant like this again,” Voutner said.
Sophia Beshara, a junior studying psychology, said she started eating at Star of India earlier this year, when she kept seeing the restaurant on her walks and hearing positive reviews from those around her. She said the food is good, and she enjoys their chicken masala.
“I like that it’s a local business, that's really cool, and the guy is really nice in there, I'm assuming he's the owner,” Beshara said. “But he's really nice, and he's really attentive with the customers. He's just always making little jokes and stuff, so it feels really welcoming.”
Star of India is available for online order, and people can visit the restaurant at 128 W. Union St., which is open from Monday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. The restaurant closes for lunch daily from 2-4:30 p.m.
