I don’t give two stars much and I’m surprised to be giving it to a restaurant that I’ve wanted to eat at for so long and even got to dine at on someone else’s tab, but I was really let down by the three tiffin’s I tried on my lunch visit. Service was very slow even though it wasn’t that crowded and dessert was the only saving grace.

I came here with a group of six co-workers and we all got different tiffin plates ($18). I got the halibut on the waiters recommendation and would have been hard pressed to be more disappointed. The tiffin’s are described as an entree, an appetizer, and a salad, a seemingly good value for $18 at a restaurant like Junnoon. But the salad was just a handful of mixed greens with a vinaigrette, the halibut was a couple small chunks without any sauce and not much flavor, and the accompanying chickpea stew was decent, but something I would expect to taste at leas this good just about anywhere. The halibut was cooked in a tandoor and dry like poorly make tandoori chicken. It really didn’t offer much to be enjoyed. It came with two dipping sauces that were slightly interesting, but nothing that could save the dish. The chickpeas were more flavorful in a curry sauce, but nothing to write home about.

A co-worker got the lamb which sounded really interesting. It was a small tin of rice and a few lamb chunks cooked with a bread cover top. But the dish consisted of mostly rice which was smoky, but unremarkable like the lamb. It wasn’t small since it was mostly rice, but it was still left unfinished. The only dish we all liked somewhat was the chicken which was in a creamy coconut sauce. Again, nothing that lived up to my expectations, but much better than the other two.

The roti was pretty good, but not as doughy or flavorful as I prefer.

For dessert I tried the ginger molten chocolate cake. I’ve had a lot of these and this was definitely up there with some of the better ones. A lot of these desserts are pretty similar, so the ginger twist was a nice change, but I liked the ginger aspect more during the first half than the second.

While we weren’t in a big hurry, the whole meal took around 90 minutes, which is a pretty long time for two courses. The desserts took a while, which is probably required for the cake, but it would have been nice to know that in advance when your there on business and not likely to have as much time to sit around as couples in the evening.

After going to Mantra a week earlier and feeling like their options were really interesting, yet slightly overpriced, I have know doubt which restaurant I’d recommend to anyone looking for a great pricey Indian experience in Palo Alto. Considering this place has gotten a good number of awards, I’m assuming the dinner must be better than the tiffins. I certainly hope so.