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Start easy. Try khorma (creamy and minty) before moving up to Madras (red and firy) or (heavens protect you) Vindaloo. Try some of the dry curries, like bhuna as well. Go for flavoured rice, like chana (chickpeas) or mushroom. Get Naan, and get the flavoured Naan, especially garlic or almond. Some places also do naan with ground meat and seasonings baked in (it depends entire on the region--and religion--of the cook). Rogan josh is my favourite, personally, although tikka is also nice. Both are slightly spicy, but make a lovely sauce for all things...meat, veg, anything. Try lots of little plates, and remember that it is incredibly filling...you won't want to eat for a week. Indian deserts I find very sweet, but I love the tea, both hot and iced. And samosas...where would we be without samosas? Get lots of poppadom with pickle as well. OH! I can't believe I almost forgot...have onion bhajis. Like a spicy onion fritter, with sauce on the side. Just amazing. Actually, try anything with the word 'bhaji' in its name.

Have fun! Wish I could go!

I fell in love with indian food via indian buffet. I love vegetarian indian food, some key words to know - paneer means with cheese, paneer cheese has the texture of tofu and is very mild, it mostly abosbs flavor. Matter is with peas, aloo is potatos, gobi is caulflower, palak is spinach, so you know that Aloo gobhi is potatoes with cauliflower, or palak paneer is spinach with cheese. Usually the naming schemata is pretty simple and you can always ask a waiter what's in the food. I really like the condiments that come with most buffets such as tamarind sauce which is sweet and tart, and the yogurt sauce which can make spicy foods a bit tamer.

my approach to Indian buffet
1st round: try small bits of everything (including pickles and chutneys)
2nd round: focus on the dishes that I actually liked
3rd round: dessert

I agree that buffet dishes tend to be more Americanized and mild compared to what you can order for dinner.
I realized that I can actually spice it up by adding chutney (I think there is a "hot sauce" type of thing among the condiments), when I went to a lunch buffet with an Indian lady.

The biggest problem though, if you go on a weekday, you are in a food coma at work.

follow hmw0029's approach.. everyone's tastes are different- the benefit of the buffet is that you can try a little bit of everything to find out what you like! Don't forget to order a mango lassi to drink, and if they don't offer it at the buffet, naan

I agree with the people who said try a bit of everything. However, I'll throw some of my favorites in there. They'll probably have tandoori chicken, which seems to be the perfect "welcome to Indian food" food, and even people who aren't that keen on Indian food seem to like it. Chicken tikka is another good choice for the same reason. Pick up some bread, whether it's naan, chapati, roti or whatever (I think roti just means "bread," but some of the restaurants I've been at distinguish it by making it pretty much a whole wheat naan). I also like getting some rice and mixing it with daal, which is made of lentils. Aloo dam is also a favorite of mine, which is a spiced potato dish.

I like aloo dam a lot, as well as sag aloo (which is basically potatoes and spinach with spices). You can also find various cuts of meat fried with a chickpea batter, which is amazing and usually very spicy.

Try lots of different pickles and chutney as well...they can do a lot for a dish.

And DON'T ask for something to be made extra spicy. The chef will take that as a challenge. Tears will follow. Quickly.

I really recommend going to Brick Lane for the lunch buffet (on 6th bt 2nd and 1st)