The Essence - Walnut Creek

4.7

41 Reviews

$30 and under

Indian

Make a reservation

2 people

Feb 27, 2025

7:00 PM

Booked 1 time today

Good for special occasions
Neighborhood gem
Vegetarian-friendly

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.

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
Neighborhood
Walnut Creek
Parking details
Public Lot
Additional
Beer, Cocktails, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Vegan, Wheelchair Access, Wine

What 41 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7

4.7 based on recent ratings

4.8Food
4.5Service
4.3Ambience
4.4Value

Noise • Moderate

41 Reviews

D
Dean
San Francisco
10 reviews
5.0
10 reviews
Dined on February 18, 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
VIP
San Francisco
15 reviews
4.0
15 reviews
Dined on February 15, 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
VIP
Tampa
142 reviews
5.0
142 reviews
Dined on February 7, 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
VIP
San Francisco
7 reviews
5.0
7 reviews
Dined on December 23, 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
VIP
San Francisco
5 reviews
5.0
5 reviews
Dined on November 28, 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!!
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M
Maxine
San Francisco
8 reviews
5.0
8 reviews
Dined on October 31, 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
VIP
New York City
13 reviews
5.0
13 reviews
Dined on September 28, 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
VIP
San Francisco
18 reviews
5.0
18 reviews
Dined on August 3, 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.
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OT
OpenTable Diner
Los Angeles
2 reviews
5.0
2 reviews
Dined on July 28, 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
VIP
San Francisco
4 reviews
1.0
4 reviews
Dined on June 23, 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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FAQs

The Essence - Walnut Creek is rated 4.7 stars by 41 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people

Feb 27, 2025

7:00 PM

Booked 1 time today

Google Map for The Essence - Walnut Creek

1512 N Main St, Walnut Creek, CA 94596

Dining areas

Additional information

Neighborhood
Walnut Creek
Hours of operation
Tue–Sun 11:30 am–3:00 pm Tue–Sun 5:00 pm–10:00 pm
Price
$30 and under
Cuisines
Indian
Dining style
Casual Dining
Dress code
Casual Dress
Parking details
Public Lot
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Additional
Beer, Cocktails, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Non-Smoking, Vegan, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Website
https://www.essenceusa.com/
Phone number
(925) 783-2425
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.

The Essence - Walnut Creek

Make a reservation

Dining areas

Additional information

Menu

What 41 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

FAQs

How is The Essence - Walnut Creek restaurant rated?

Is The Essence - Walnut Creek currently accepting reservations?

Make a reservation

Dining areas

Additional information