I never thought I would say this about Cedars but I don’t know if I’m ever going there again. Cedars is easily the best tasting Indian food in the Seattle area. Of this I have no argument.

I once frequented this restaurant that offers bottomless chai and a great Madras Chili Masala. My tea cup was never empty and the menu featured many solid selections like the Butter Chicken and the best Chicken Tandoori I’ve ever had (not dry like many other places). Cedars also offers very good Mediterranean food as well.

The reason I doubt that I’m ever going back is because on my last visit, as I made my way to the restroom, I passed by the kitchen and saw five or six cockroaches crawling out from underneath a picture that hung on the wall. My personal experiences with roaches in college have made it very unlikely that I’ll ever return there and calls to question the cleanliness of the kitchen. I feel bad for this review because I don’t want to ruin this fine establishment for everyone but I feel it’s necessary to give a true account of my experiences.

Perhaps they have fumigated the place since I last visited or perhaps I will go to the India House which is owned by the same family and has an identical menu (without the mediterranean stuff).

I would put this somewhere in my top 5 restaurants in all of the Seattle area. I loveee this place. I’ve never had everything I don’t like here. The atmosphere is lively, the food is spectacular. If you like Indian food this is the place to be. They make the best in town, and it shows cause they are always packed. Making reservations would be best if you can or else be prepared to wait. Plus food is reasonably priced, between $8 – 15 for a dish, mostly right in the middle of that range.

Cedars is one of the best Indian joints in Seattle. You can’t go wrong ordering their Garlic Naan, Butter Chicken, Tikka Masala and bottomless (!) chai.

Service is prompt (if a bit brusque) and your glass will never be empty. A quick, attentive waiter will pass by your table at least once every 20 seconds. Try to race them by pounding your chai or water… you can’t win.

So why not five stars? Well, I’ve discovered, through friends and a couple discussions with waiters, that Cedars doesn’t allow their waiters to keep their tips.

I’ll repeat that: the house keeps the tips.

The waiters are paid a fixed hourly rate (better than some restaurants, but still very low, by all accounts), so don’t bother tipping, as this just encourages the house to keep confiscating tips. I’ve also been told by former staff that waiters are punished if they accept cash tips or money “under the table”, so don’t make them risk their job by offering them money off the books.

I would recommend asking the proprietor to allow you to tip their staff directly. Or, simply embarass them by asking them if your tip will actually go to the waiters for whom it was intended.

Were it not for their shady business practices, I would give Cedars five (hell, six!) stars for their amazing food. I still recommend you try it; I just can’t support their mistreatment of their waitstaff. Considering how hard it is, economically speaking, to survive in Seattle, their refusal to allow their waiters to keep their tips is borderline criminal. Especially when one considers that they don’t bother to clarify their policy (and punish waiters who do) when they hand you the check.

I am not a big Indian food fun, but Cedas is a good one in U-district worth checking out. They have a variety of selections, not limited to curry. Huskies I know from school all love it, and going Cedas seems to be part of school culture already. Their interior could get u a little sick, but such a mysterious atmosphere is what lots of people go for.

i never would’ve guessed indian dishes to be served in this unassuming white wood house on a street corner in seattle. but, cedars does just that and not too shabbily. i enjoyed my dish, and wouldn’t have any qualms returning for the food…but given previous posters comments about their tipping practices and cockroaches, i might have to think twice…

There’s a great variety of Indian and Mediterranean food at Cedars. Everything I tried was pretty good and fairly priced.

We started with a cod fish appetizer that was amazing. I was a little suspect at first, but the fish wasn’t overcooked and it flavored just the right amount.

For dishes, we got an eggplant dish which was standard. We got lamb tandori which was also good and not too overcooked. Lastly, we had chicken tikka masala and it was standard. The nan was really tasty. Fluffy and soft.

The baklava was really good, surprisingly. It wasn’t overly sweet. The filo dough was very flaky and buttery. I would definitely get a piece again.

Service was a bit slow which was odd cause there seem to be a ton of waiters. But maybe it was just a odd day for them. Overall, I would go back again.

We used to eat here years ago when we lived in the UDistrict. We were away for a couple years but since we’ve been back in Washington have renewed our love for this restaurant. They have really good food, served in generous portions, for a good price. What more could you want? My biological family found me (I was adopted) after 30+ years and this was the restaurant we went to for our Mother’s Day. The owners came to the table, served my mother (with her special dieatary needs) with a smile and it was wonderful – as always. This place has a fantastic melange of Middle Eastern as well as Indian cuisines. The food is available to go or in house and is sooooo very very good!

I love the food here. The nan is great, the lamb sublime, and the baklava is some of the best in the city.