IN THE KITCHEN Owner and chef Ramana Vavilla came to the United States in 1998 from Hyderabad, India. He has 20 years of cooking experience and says fellow Indians in the area appreciate his approach to preparing ’’good, authentic food.’’ The restaurant is named after the peacock, the national bird of India, a vibrancy that is reflected in Vavilla’s cooking.

THE LOCALE More than four years ago, Vavilla opened the first location of Mayuri Indian Cuisine in Westborough. A few months ago, he opened a second location in Acton, in the Nagog Park shopping plaza on Route 2A across from Nagog Pond. The restaurant’s interior is simple and clean, with soft pink walls and an adjacent banquet room that can be reserved for special events. Perhaps most eye-catching around lunchtime each day is the two-sided row of buffet items, which consumes the entire length of the wall.

ON THE MENU Mayuri’s menu represents the diversity of regional Indian cuisines, including northern and southern Indian dishes and even some Indo-Chinese fare, with plenty of options for both meat eaters and vegetarians. Vavilla points to some classics, such as chicken tikka masala, marinated in yogurt with ginger, garlic, and various spices, cooked in a tandoori oven until the meat is lightly charred, then dunked in a creamy tomato-based sauce. He’s also proud of the house special bone-in chicken and goat biryani dishes, the meats marinated in herbs and tossed with seasoned saffron rice, as well as goat and fish curries suffused with spices.

The restaurant promotes more than 20 items in its lunchtime buffet, which costs $11.95 on weekdays and $14.95 on weekends.; on the weekend afternoon I visited, there were far more choices, including several not typically encountered in area Indian buffets. The spice level is nice — not set-your-mouth-on-fire hot, but also not so mild as to disappoint spice lovers. South Indian specialties include several finger foods that go beyond the more well-known vegetable samosas (although those are here, too, and they’re great). Masala vada, described as a deep-fried lentil “doughnut,’’ is a crispy, spicy, and dense disc woven with herbs. Bhatura are fluffy fried pockets of dough that, like the puffy naan bread and thin dosa pancakes, can be used to soak up extra curry sauces.

From the vegetarian side, bhindi masala is delicious, the slow-cooked okra laced with diced onions, tomatoes, and spices in a wholly satisfying and substantial dish. In one entrée, gongura, or red sorrel leaves, flavor vegetables submerged in a creamy sauce, and a separate rice dish is scented with cumin and turmeric. Chana masala marries cooked chickpeas and onions in a tomato-based curry. For those seeking some crunch, mixed vegetable pakora batters and fries broccoli, carrots, even spinach leaves. Bhel puri, a spicy Indian snack mix, is addictive and offers a nice textural contrast to the curries.

Mayuri also places some Indo-Chinese fusion dishes on the menu, including a chili chicken dish in which the cubed white meat is cooked with onions and green chilies. Those items also appear in the Chicken 65, a specialty from Vavilla’s home region of Hyderabad, with deep-fried bites of chicken served in a searing chili sauce with curry and yogurt. The gobi Manchurian features cauliflower dredged in flour, fried and coated in a bright, sweet, sticky sauce replete with ginger. If you’re hungry for sweets toward the end of the meal, try the gulab jamun, syrup-soaked milk-and-flour balls deep-fried to a golden brown. And don’t stop there: Mayuri serves many more dishes on the buffet, not to mention on the broader menu, for adventurous diners to explore.

Mayuri Indian Cuisine is at 5 Nagog Park in Acton; 978-274- 2323,www.mayurirestaurant.com. Lunch buffet: Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, noon to 3 p.m. Dinner: Monday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 5 to 10:30 p.m., Sunday, 5 to 9:30 p.m.

Rachel Lebeaux can be reached at rachel_lebeaux@yahoo.com or on Twitter @rachjournalist.