The colorful palette of South & North Indian cuisine served at Ruchi.
The new restaurant is already a favorite with the weekday lunch crowd.
Salads, sauces & more!
BY BRANDY TUZON BOYD
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz
If the lunch crowd at Ruchi Indian Cuisine is any indication, this new Natomas restaurant is an instant hit.
“This is the most authentic south Indian food,” said frequent diner Lyla Velazquez, a Natomas resident originally from Pakistan.
The eatery has neared capacity both times we have dined at Ruchi, which opened recently in a small strip mall on Gateway Oaks Drive, just south of West El Camino Avenue in the River Oaks neighborhood.
Ruchi Indian Cuisine specializes in south and north Indian dishes and boasts the only “open Indian kitchen” in Sacramento thanks to previous occupant Baja Fresh, which closed in May 2009.
The restaurant serves a buffet-style lunch daily featuring three main dishes, rice, vegetables, assorted appetizers, desserts and salad bar. Chai tea and two different soups – Velazquez’s favorite – are also available from the lunch buffet.
Evening diners order from the menu and a vegetarian dinner buffet also served every Wednesday evening, co-owner Natarajan Gutta said.
“Everything is so spicy – I love it,” one diner told us.
During our visits, we enjoyed the Vegetable Pakora as well as the Aloo Fry – potatoes tossed with tasty herbs and spices. The creamy Chicken Makhani, sweet Fish Fry and savory Goat Biryani were all flavorful dishes and true to the descriptions posted on the buffet line. No meal is complete without dessert and Ruchi has several to choose from, but the vermicelli and milk dessert Kheer tops our list.
The restaurant is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Food may be ordered for takeout or delivery and Ruchi also caters. The dining room can accomodate team lunches of up to two dozen people.
Ruchi Indian Cuisine is located 2600 Gateway Oaks Drive, in Suite 100. A second location operates at 601 East Bidwell Street in Folsom.
The Natomas restaurant employs 12 workers, most of whom live in Natomas, according to Gutta.
Owners Natarajan Gutta & Rama Komati with manager Rao Madireddy (center).
Ruchi is a welcome addition to this small strip mall in the River Oaks neighborhood.
[…] Natomas Bites: Ruchi Indian Cuisine – Natomas Buzz http://www.natomasbuzz.com/BY BRANDY TUZON BOYD THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz. If the lunch crowd at Ruchi Indian Cuisine is any indication, this new Natomas restaurant is an instant hit. “This is the most authentic south Indian food,” said … […]