Reviewer's Summary: - No Sapphire This; Poor Value for Your Money
Urgent note to Sapphire waiters:
If you cannot smile at diners, get out of the restaurant business.
Get out. Comprende.
Hey grouchy desi, yes we mean you, the tall, dark, balding (??) black -suited waiter/partner in a surly-mood at Sapphire NYC, if you find it so painfully hard to smile at your paying customers then go find another vocation. Maybe, try the horse carriages around the perimeter of Central Park. 
When you charge $14.95 for a buffet lunch that other NYC Indian restaurants provide for better and at lesser cost, then the least you can do is offer a welcoming smile, even if it’s a phony smile. Comprende, schmuck.
Slip Betwixt the Cup and the Lip
Located on Broadway close to Columbus Circle, Central Park and the Lincoln Plaza movie theater, Sapphire had long been on our agenda but we’d invariably linger on in Central Park till it was way too late.
This time we went early and were at Sapphire just after noon.
By golly, the place was already crowded. Not a bad sign, we thought.
Alas, life is a series of slips betwixt the cup and the lip.
Hellishly Bad Non-Vegetarian Fare
If Sapphire proved anything at all, it’s that crowds at a restaurant are no guarantee of quality and lamebrained creations from harebrained chefs are rife in Manhattan Indian restaurants.
Tandoori Chicken was hellishly bad.
With absolutely zero or little marination, it was the worst Tandoori Chicken we’ve had in our life.
Beyond palatable and nearly inedible, Sapphire’s Tandoori Chicken was a grotesque perversion of the real thing.
We cursed everyone we could think of – Sapphire’s chef, the waiters, NYC Mayor Bloomberg and even Obama that life should be so unfair as to offer us such hideously under-seasoned, under-sexed Tandoori Chicken.
Chicken Tikka Masala, a boring, badly-prepared fixture at most NYC Indian restaurants, was a mediocre offering here too.
Set in a thick, flavorless gravy, the chicken pieces had such a forlorn look and such a forbidding bland taste that we forsook it quickly.
Lamb Vindaloo was hellishly hot.
It is true that Vindaloo is cooked in a hot sauce but the problem here was that chilies had been recklessly flung into the cauldron to the utter absence of other spices in proportion resulting in an awful time for us.
Vegetaian Stuff – Mixed Bag
Never let it be said that Sapphire’s kitchen is found wanting only with meat dishes. These clowns are equal-opportunity offenders.
Alu Gobi, with the humongous Gobi pieces, was a bland, tasteless monstrosity.
Malai Kofta with the weird yellow creamy gravy was a strange beast. The Kofta was low on taste, low on salt and the top part was dry since it had not been soaked properly in the gravy.
Naan bread was OK, not great and certainly not terrible.
Mercifully, our meal was not a complete disaster.
There were some silver linings like the medium-spicy Saag Channa, flavorful Dal Makhani, the yummy Dhokla and the divine Amritsari Seviya Kheer.
And do try the Salad Bar if you’re there. We recommend the cabbage-carrot as well as the red beans-pepper onion salad.
Service was sub-par. We had to repeatedly ask for Roti.
Beggars, Beggars
As we were ready to get up and leave, yet another suited waiter came along and begged us to have Tea.
If you are from India, you know these Indian beggars with their plaintive, mournful expressions have a way of making you feel guilty. We fell for the monkey’s trick and ordered Masala Tea. Damn, the milk was ice-cold! Lazy swines.
At the end of the day, Sapphire is yet another NYC Indian restaurant that has little pride in its kitchen, takes little pride in its service and obviously has no shame in dipping its beak into your wallet.
Show these Sapphire jokers your middle finger with full gusto! - © NYIndia.us
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