Sona's Indian Cuisine

Located at 1568 Highwinds Boulevard in Greensboro, Sona’s Indian Cuisine offers Northern Indian, Southern Indian, and Indo-Chinese dishes for lunch and dinner. There is a lunch buffet, alcohol is available, and delivery is offered through Dining Dash.

With Agni, Tandoori Junction, and now Sona’s joining the mix, Greensboro has seen an influx of Indian during the past two years. As is the case with the others, Sona’s reception has been hit and miss. If you are partial to a local favorite like Saffron or Tandoor, this newcomer is unlikely to win you away. But those without any such allegiances may find it a serviceable, if not superlative, alternative.

Housed in a shopping center near the Fresh Market off of New Garden, Sona’s is housed in a clean but simple space. It’s not unappealing, but don’t expect decorative wall art or music from the subcontinent.

I opted for the lunch buffet for my first visit. At ten or so items, it isn’t the biggest buffet in town, but the assortment was certainly decent. Quality tended to vary from dish to dish. Both chicken dishes that I sampled – tandoori and tikka masala – were excellent. The meat was juicy, and the expected flavors were there. Speaking of flavors, Sona’s deserves praise for keeping some spiciness in its buffet items, a move that several competitors have been too risk-averse to make. On the other hand, a few of the dishes seemed off. The goat biryani, for instance, contained an unexpectedly colorful rice and very little meat while the palak paneer had some firm, almost rubbery triangles of paneer. Lastly, while the dessert halwa was not bad by any means, it left me missing kheer or mango custard.

The service here is friendly and attentive – I never had to go long without water – but the pricing leaves a bit to be desired. The buffet ($10.99 Monday-Thursday, $12.99 Friday-Sunday) isn’t a bad deal provided that you avoid the weekend, but even their vegetarian entrees start in the mid-teens.

Overall, Sona’s is a mixed bag, offering some things (Indo-Chinese dishes, for instance) that you won’t find elsewhere while falling short in other areas. It may not emerge as your go-to place for Indian, but the service and the chicken alone make it worth at least a try.

7.5/10