The Essence - Walnut Creek

4.6 (41)

$30 and under

Indian

1512 N Main St, Walnut Creek, CA 94596

About this restaurant

Good for special occasions
Good for business meals
Charming

The Essence Redefining Indian Food represents Indian food in all its eccentricity and diversity along with a high quality family dining experience. The Essence provides its guests a feel of traveling across India with all five senses and a plate. A beautiful extension is that the menu undergoes a change every two months with exciting add-ons. Also, whichever region The Essence makes its home, there is an adoption of the local cuisine by its menu.

Permanently Closed

This restaurant is permanently closed.

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Dining areas

Additional information

Dining style
Casual Dining
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
Indian
Hours of Operation
Tue–Sun 11:30 am–3:00 pm Tue–Sun 5:00 pm–10:00 pm
Phone number
(925) 783-2425
Website
https://www.essenceusa.com/
Payment Options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Dress Code
Casual Dress
Catering
We are one of the Bay Area’s top choices full service catering. Our team includes dozens of highly skilled chefs who specialize in authentically prepared regional Indian cuisine.
Private party facilities
The Essence at Walnut Creek offers one-of-a-kind services that specialize in custom-designed events and customized menus. We have private rooms and banquet facilities can be used for a wide range of personal gatherings or corporate meetings.

Location
1512 N Main St, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Area
Walnut Creek
Parking Details
Public Lot
Additional
Gluten-free Options, Vegan

What 41 people are saying

The Essence - Walnut Creek reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

4.6

4.6 based on recent ratings

4.7Food
4.6Service
4.3Ambience
4.4Value

Noise • Moderate

41 Reviews

D
Dean
San Francisco16 reviews
5.0
Dined on 18 February 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Truly exquisite Indian cuisine. Delicious and beautifully served. None better.
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M
Maninder Gold
San Francisco19 reviews
4.0
Dined on 15 February 2025
1. Overall 4
2. Food 5
3. Service 4
4. Ambience 4
ambiance was very personal, food was good, service was good despite being short staffed will return
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L
Lee Gold
Tampa172 reviews
5.0
Dined on 7 February 2025
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
We are new to the Walnut Creek area. There are so many great restaurants, and after our first dining experience at Essence, this is on our repeat list. I can safely say, that this was one of our best Indian Cuisine dinners. We started with the vegetable samosas as an appetizer which were a treat. It was a cold rainy night so we had the Manchow soup which was so comforting and delicious. Our mains were the vegetable biryani and the tandoori shrimp which were awesome. Indian food can be spicy but our server made sure that our dishes were to our liking which was on the mild side. Finally, for dessert, we had the Khoya Kulfi which was my first experience. I loved it and the Redefined Indian experience.
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M
MaryEllen Gold
San Francisco10 reviews
5.0
Dined on 23 December 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Butter chicken is excellent. Lamb shank and samosas also very good. Garlic naan was delicious. Restaurant was quiet on the Sunday before Christmas. This was our third visit and we have enjoyed every meal here.
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B
Barbara
San Francisco5 reviews
5.0
Dined on 28 November 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Incredible creative food and excellent service!! Nice atmosphere and wine list! Everything was delicious!!
Is this helpful?
M
Maxine
San Francisco8 reviews
5.0
Dined on 31 October 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Such interesting choices, deliciously seasoned, attentive wait staff. Best ever Indian fare.
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A
Atul Gold
New York City16 reviews
5.0
Dined on 28 September 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Great experience overall. The food was distinctive and the ambience is that of the best Indian restaurants I’ve been to. I would absolutely recommend going here. A go to dish is the gobhi Manchurian. Basically Chinese spiced friend cauliflower.
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M
Michael Gold
San Francisco24 reviews
5.0
Dined on 3 August 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
A step up from the usual Indian places, with complex, delicious flavors. They now serve wine, with a limited but decent list.
Is this helpful?
OT
OpenTable Diner
Los Angeles2 reviews
5.0
Dined on 28 July 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
the best Indian food we’ve had in a very long time! Portions were perfect, timing between appetizers and entrees was amazing. The flavor of each dish was 10/10. Definitely going to become a weekly favorite.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
San Francisco4 reviews
1.0
Dined on 23 June 2024
1. Overall 1
2. Food 2
3. Service 2
4. Ambience 1
We were seated to the back of the restaurant which made no sense as it was totally empty, then they moved and grated chairs around us for half an hour to make space for a big party. There is no air conditioning so it was very warm inside. The menu is limited but we ordered a Kale Chaat, turned out that was off the menu, so replaced it with a chicken tikka salad as there were not many green or leafy things on the menu. The salad was decent but we ordered deep fried seafood that turned out to be crunchy hot fish sticks, and not very interesting. We stuck to the traditional main courses and had an OK chicken tikka massala and bindhi bhaji but it was 'decent' at best. $120 for two with one beer each didn't even mean this was good value. I was excited to think there might be an upmarket Indian food experience in Walnut Creek, but this is not that and I would not return.
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Dining areas

Additional information

Dining style
Casual Dining
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
Indian
Hours of Operation
Tue–Sun 11:30 am–3:00 pm Tue–Sun 5:00 pm–10:00 pm
Phone number
(925) 783-2425
Website
https://www.essenceusa.com/
Payment Options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Dress Code
Casual Dress
Catering
We are one of the Bay Area’s top choices full service catering. Our team includes dozens of highly skilled chefs who specialize in authentically prepared regional Indian cuisine.
Private party facilities
The Essence at Walnut Creek offers one-of-a-kind services that specialize in custom-designed events and customized menus. We have private rooms and banquet facilities can be used for a wide range of personal gatherings or corporate meetings.

Location
1512 N Main St, Walnut Creek, CA 94596
Area
Walnut Creek
Parking Details
Public Lot
Additional
Gluten-free Options, Vegan

Permanently Closed

This restaurant is permanently closed.