Came here around 7:30 on a Friday and it was busyyyy so get there early. There were 3 seats at the bar and four of us and they allowed us to squeeze in which was nice. We ordered the pineapple salad, beet root raita, zucchini, string beans, eggplant, cauliflower and chicken. Out of everything there were only two things we didn't finish: cauliflower (too spicy) and the zucchini (just a little heavy and nothing special). For the drinks, the best one we liked was a9 - good balance but you need to like cardamom a little bit read more

Amba - Indian Near Me - Cleveland, Ohio

This place was unique and we enjoyed our visit while visiting Cleveland. The lentil donuts were our first order replaced, we did not like the flavor of those but mentioned to the waitress and she took it off the bill which was nice. We enjoyed the paneer and eggplant dish the best and the bread was good. I had a really good cocktail here. Not your average at Indian restaurant. It's very dark in here. read more

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This was a fun little place. Dark lighting and club like atmosphere, so if you wanna chat not ideal. The food was amazing! The spinach dip is a must and cucumber salad. Shrimp was delicious. chickpea fritters are good but not my favorite of the night. Great options for vegans too. Server was great as well. read more

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We came to Amba for my fiancé's birthday on a Wednesday night, it was pretty empty at 5:30 but was almost filled up by 7pm Drinks: Gypsum and flint: almost too savory and spice heavy Verbena and root: the flavors were good but I wish they were stronger. Food: Cucumber salad: my favorite thing on the menu, but tastes more Chinese than Indian Popcorn chicken: again tastes like a Thai basil and bird eye chili fried chicken, no hint of Indian twist Lamb keema sloppy Joe's: flavors were quite muted, also needs a lot more heat Naan: looks exactly like the Stonefire naan I buy from Costco I would say overall the flavors were muted for cocktails and food, and I would say if you go in with the expectation that you're getting international fusion instead of Indian food, you may be less disappointed than us. Overall 3/5 read more

Amba - Cocktails - Indian Near Me - Cleveland, Ohio

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After moving to CLE from chicago this was the first place I ate where I throughly enjoyed my meal. Seriously the food scene in CLE isn't all that compared to Chicago but Amba is totally on par with what i was used to. Each dish was so delicious and full of flavor all while being affordable. We sat at the bar and the service was phenomenal, super attentive and kind. The restaurant has a romantic and more upscale vibe but still casual. Can't wait to go back and try even more! read more

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Amba certainly commits to their ~Manhattan hipster~ ambiance, with lighting somewhat resembling a cave, absolutely no parking space, and a no-reservations policy. The place was busy on a random Monday at 6 pm, so I can only imagine what it's like on weekends. If you crave natural light, they do have some cute patio seating! I really enjoyed the crispy puris, which were essentially dahi puris, filled with yogurt/tamarind and cilantro chutneys and a lovely potato filling. I also loved the "smashed pea samosas," which were just excellent samosas with a melt-in-your-mouth crust. I was quite disappointed, however, with the spicy cauliflower. The spices weren't cooked well and just coated the cauliflower, leading to a grainy, unappetizing texture and taste. Definitely would return to explore their menu--2/3 isn't bad! As two people, we were quite filled by 2 plates (we really only picked at the cauliflower). read more

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This might be one of the best dining services I have ever had!! I have heard about this place quite a bit and have been dying to go! As soon as you walk in, you notice the atmosphere is a mysterious, dark...almost intimate vibe! (you'll be shocked how dark it is coming in from outside - not in a bad way though!) Our server came right to the table with water, explained how to order, showed us her favorites, and the best way to navigate ALL of the things on the menu! We ended up getting SO many things as we were very excited to be here...plus all of Amba's food is made to share with everyone at the table!! We ordered Crispy puris, which were little bite size potato salad balls that were packed with so much flavor! This was the first bite of food I had and it made me so excited to try the rest! Samosas are one of my favorites so we of course had to order the smashed pea samosas! These were EXCELLENT!!! I wish there was more to go around because I could've eaten them all. One thing I was kind of scared to try was the beet root raita! It comes bright pink and looks like something you aren't supposed to put in your mouth. Surprisingly... I LOVED IT! It doesn't taste like beets and the pistachios on top really tied the flavor together for me and added a little crunch!! One safe option for me and something I knew I was going to enjoy was the fried zucchini! It was so crispy with lots of flavor!! and bonus: it wasn't blazing hot to where it burns your mouth!! You can dip it in either the Amba sauce they give you or I even tried it with the beet root raita! - both good combos! The pineapple cucumber salad was such a refreshing bite and had more flavor than I was expecting! I wish I paid more attention to this originally, but I thought "oh just another salad"... I WAS WRONG! definitely give it a try! We also ordered naan bread and pilau - both were options we ordered so they we could incorporate them into try our other dishes!! I even took some of the Amba sauce and ate it with just the pilau and it was delicious!! After all of this food we decided we needed to save room for dessert!! We went with the Kulfi. This is almost a popsicle looking dessert but it is made with saffron, pistachio, mango, and candied turmeric!! The pistachios and candied turmeric added the most delicious crunch in a dessert ever!! I seriously can't rave about this place enough...I love it so much and I cannot wait to go back and try even more delicious plates!! read more

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Amba is such a great restaurant! I've been twice and the food/drinks were great both times. I would recommend ordering two tapas per person; that would be adequate. During my most recent visit, there were three of us and we each ordered three tapas and although we loved everything we ordered, it was a LOT of food! The service was exceptional during both visits and the servers were knowledgeable and provided top notch recommendations. One of the things I love the most about Amba is the ambiance. There's a nice balance between casual and romantic; great spot for a date or a group of friends. read more

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I have been to Amba countless times and I am never disappointed. Hands down my favorite menu items are the clay bread and herb raita. Chefs kiss every time. I also love the Blue Bergamot drink. I don't enjoy the Amba sauce (kind of like a mango Habenaro) but most other people I have attended with quite like it, especially if you enjoy spice. The ambiance is very modern and trendy. When it opened, all I heard were reviews about how dark it is inside. And yes, it's dark as heck. But your eyes will adjust and come to appreciate the candlelight. Careful in the summertime though when you go from very dark to very bright - open your eyes slowlyyyyyy. I have never had issues with the service sitting in the bar or in the main restaurant. The bar has a bit of a more intimate vibe making it perfect for date night. On a couple occasions, Doug Katz has come by my table to check in or clear dishes. Love that. There are no reservations so I recommend getting there early (between 4-5). You could be looking at a pretty lengthy wait time otherwise, but know that it's worth it. Heads up that parking can be somewhat of a drag but that's common for the area. Glad to have Amba in Cleveland and couldn't recommend it more. read more

AMBA must be short for ambiance because this spot was New York City sexiness! ambiance 5/5: dimly lit, modern aesthetic that would be perfect for an evening date. Unfortunately, there were a lot of fruit flies and several landed in our wines food and drinks 3/5: average at best... The modern take on Indian is cool but not as flavourful or authentic as you would hope. Would not come back for the food alone. Got a bottle of wine to share for 55$, average service 5/5: Sara was a great server, super friendly, knowledgeable and attentive. Definitely made it a much better experience for us! Tips: - bring a fly swatted - if you're looking to get lucky, go to the back room as it offers a much more intimate, date space - shareable menu so best you are comfortable with the people you are eating with read more

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Great ambiance, service, and food. Love coming here and sharing plates with friends - and appreciate the delicious vegan options!

The food was all very good. I have not tasted this kind of Indian food before and so it was a fun adventure . My dinner partner is vegan and so most of the dishes we ordered were vegan except the lamb kofta which I ate myself . We also had the chickpea fritters as an appetizer which were very good. Wally was our server and he explained many of the dishes to us and gave us some great recommendations. We sat outside which was quieter than the inside so we could talk! read more

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Amba was so delicious! The food really does shine, as well as the dimly lit sleek aesthetics of the place. On a Thursday night without reservatiosn, we waited about 30 min but we're seated promptly after enjoying drinks at the bar. For food: -Chicken Tikka Masala (4.5/5): some pieces have a delicious char from the grill, but I do prefer bone-in chicken from more traditional chicken tikka masala rather than chicken breast -chickpea fritters (4/5): overall good, but didn't like how overcooked they were. I loved the picked veg it came with -crispy puris (5/5): this was such a light sophisticated dish!! The potato salad was delicious and had the perfect crunch read more

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Wait for TWO of us was an hour and 45 minutes and yet no one else was waiting for a table... odd.

I've been looking forward to Amba for quite some time and it did not disappoint! Four of us went at 6:30pm on a Wednesday and got the last available table (I so wish they took reservations, I get very stressed out when places don't). Service was really friendly and quick. The lighting definitely falls into the category "mood" and it's fairly loud inside but we were sat in the bar area where it was the perfect noise level for ambiance while still being able to converse. The food was outstanding! I'd say more Indian fusion than true Indian but very tasty. - crispy puris: 5/5 - paneer: 4/5 - popcorn chicken: 4/5 - lentil donuts: 2/5 - pineapple salad: 3/5 - chickpea fritters: 3/5 - chili crisp: 2/5 - bread: 4/5 - string beans: 3/5 - eggplant: 4/5 - samosas: 5/5 The Amba sauce is super addictive as well! I cannot wait to go back and try more. read more

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What a wonderful meal we had at Douglas Katz's new West Side Indian restaurant! We'd heard such good things, so before a recent Cleveland Play House show downtown we popped in for a meal. Although they do not take reservations, we arrived early enough that we had our choice of seating options. The main dining room was hopping, so we opted for a back-corner table in the bar area, which turned out to be perfect. Be forewarned...both the main dining room and bar areas are very dimly lit, like really dim, so be careful moving around and be prepared for some kind of lighted device to help read menus. Okay, on with the show! My wife and I ordered cocktails from their extensive menu and both of them were personally crafted (we watched them being made) and delightful with a hint of Indian spices in each. We decided to share a bunch of shareables as our meal, we chose chickpea fritters, crispy puris, popcorn chicken and ghee basted shrimp. We asked that each dish be brought out in pairs, so that we'd have "courses" for our meal. Everything was on point and absolutely delicious! We lingered a bit too long to order dessert and had to run for our theatre show, but we will most certainly be back so that can can adventure through other parts of that menu. Well done, to Doug Katz and the entire Amba team! read more

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Flavorful food and drinks, with great ambiance. A perfect date night option in my opinion, but keep in mind that they do not take reservations. read more

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Amba is a beautiful spot with immaculate vibes and a delicious selection of small plates. The service was attentive and informative, but not over the top. They serve the small plates in courses and it's pretty well timed, bringing out the lighter stuff first and the heavier protein-oriented stuff last. The spicy cauliflower is second to none! Also don't sleep on the spinach dip and wok fired green beans -- delicious! read more

The ambiance is very dark, but it's a vibe. I thought it would be a very intimate setting but you're seated very close to the other guests and the music is loud so everyone is talking loudly. The crispy puri was a like a pani puri without water. It was great and the puris were so fresh! And extra crispy. The beet root raita is so sweet! It's like a dessert. The eggplant was amazing! It was cooked just right. I'm a fan of paneer and the dal with it was so good. The green beans were so spicy and an Unami flavor. My friends and I were a fan of the eggplant - it was amazing. I will def get it again. The pulav rice dish was okay - it had a lot of mustard seeds. We ended the dinner with kulfi - it was amazing. It comes with 2 so it was more than enough! I am completely stuffed - I would probably not get this many dishes maybe start with 6 for 4 people. read more

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In one sentence: the food is Indian inspired, with inspired being the key. You may be disappointed if you expect Indian food. Food: the food overall was beautifully presented, however for me the flavors fell flat. I have had fusion Indian food at other restaurants in other major cities which I have enjoyed, but was disappointed here. I came with 5 other friends of Indian origin who had a similar feel. There were classic items with a twist but these combinations did not work. For example, the cauliflower felt over flavored with a neither here nor there feel. The paneer combination with lentils in my opinion did not blend well. As a chaat inspired item, the crispy puris were lacking the much needed cilantro chutney, while the zhug raita's flavor left us confused. The clay bread felt like a disservice to a traditional naan or roti. Some items like the samosa or the spinach dip were excellent. The ingredients were all fresh and exceptionally high quality. Ambiance and service: the decor was beautiful and modern. It was a both intimate and cozy feel to the restaurant. Service was good and it did take time for the food to come out, but that is reasonable given the freshness and quality of the food. read more

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Great menu with a lot of variety. We chose to go with four rounds of food and probably should stuck with three. Everything that we had was excellent as was the service. Only complaint is the noise level inside. We sat outside and it was very comfortable. read more

Wok fired string beans were amazing. The ice box cake was delicious. The cauliflower and eggplant were good but compared to the string beans they were just not as flavorful. We are vegan so I can only speak to the vegan options. The service was great and everything on the menu was explained in detail. Drinks were delicious. We sat outside which was a great option since inside was very dark. read more

Amba has become one of my favorite restaurants! The food is fantastic and the small plates are so fun to share. You get the chance to try a bunch of different plates and drinks which I love. Our server was so helpful and kind. We've always had the same experience coming in! They don't take reservations but we didn't have to wait at all. The overall atmosphere is also great and romantic. I think there is truly something for everyone at Amba. read more

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Beautiful candlelight ambiance, and delicious modern Indian food!! The service was good as well if you have a reservation otherwise a bit of a wait. Pricey, but the quality is worth it. Would return for sure! read more

this place was amazing! A modern Indian tapas style restaurant. Everything we tried was delicious. The roasted eggplant and chickpea fritters were my favorite! These dishes were super flavorful and decent portions for sharing between 3-4 people. The spicy cauliflower was tasty, but veryyy spicy. Would recommend getting Raita along with it. The cocktails were also creative and went well with dinner. The inside is kinda dark but made for a cozy atmosphere. They don't take reservations so the wait can be kind of long (on a Friday at 6pm, the wait was about an hour) but it was more than worth it! read more

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Food is unbelievably delicious. We got seated right away. And food started to trickle in quickly. The place was packed. Nice decoration. This ordering multiple dishes to share at the table seems to be a trend in this part of the country. Actually it is nice because you get to taste multiple dishes. And when the check came: very reasonable Could not believe such good food would cost so little. read more

Amba - Chicken popcorn. - Indian Near Me - Cleveland, Ohio

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Hyped up because it's a beautiful setting but I'm here for the food. It was good but too expensive for what it is. I'm down to go to a less pretty restaurant for better portions/flavors but that's just me, gotta keep it open for the influencers read more

Lentil donuts were tasty. They were missing something but the jelly was good. It's very dark inside and feels extremely chic. The parking is a mess outside. And the a2 drink was not a great drink. Come try it out if you want a zesty Indian place that is date night approved. read more

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Indian restaurant in Hinge town. They do not take reservations so expect a wait during peak times. The vibe is meant to be upscale/trendy with its dark interior. Though doesn't seem like everyone dresses up to dine here as we saw men in baseball hats, shorts, & T-shirts. The restaurant is extremely dark inside requiring a flashlight just to see the menu and the food we ordered. This can be quite annoying especially when others don't have proper etiquette in this regard. There was a woman seated at the bar holding a menu up flashing her phone light into people's eyes obnoxiously looking at a menu. Staff never said anything. It would be helpful to have small menu lamps at each table alleviating this concern. On to the food... we got the beetroot raita, chickpea fritters, pilau rice, chili crisp (as a dipping sauce), a d paneer as main dish. Then kulfi for dessert. This was paired with chai bourbon cocktails. Overall, the food was mediocre. The best items were the cocktails & kulfi. The beetroot raita looks pretty, but is a basic sweet yogurt topped with pomegranate and pistachio (similar to Indian Shrikhand). Chickpea fritters were so-so. Crispy deep fried with a dipping sauce & pickled carrot on the side. The pilau rice was bland despite all the ingredients added. Planner is usually a winner, but here it was spicy and topped with some lentils? It would have been better crispy and well seasoned in a marinade minus the lentils. You have to order naan or rice separately to eat with it. The Kulfi ice cream was outstanding. Comes with a sprinkle of candied ginger with strong taste of Tumeric & saffron. They bring it out with lit candles for a birthday celebration. Finally the chai bourbon cocktail was good with a spiced cinnamon chai taste. There are two areas for seating. The back area bar is more intimate and extremely dark, but first come seating. It is meant for max seating of 4-5 people at tables or the bar. So if you want to avoid waiting 1-2 hours on a busy night, try your luck here. The main area is good for large groups and can fit a wheelchair. You will need to find street parking in the area, which can be a challenge on a weekend. Overall, I'd come back for just a drink and the kulfi, but not necessarily for the food or ambiance. The food is definitely more 'Americanized Indian' trying to give it a modernized feel and not the traditional authentic food you would get at other Indian places. read more

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This place is amazing! The ambiance is incredible and clean. Our server Wally was so attentive. The food was so delicious and flavorful. There's spice but not overwhelming. The entire experience was phenomenal! read more

There's ambience, then there's AMBIENCE. Amba delivers the latter, and then some. With its transition from ghost kitchen to brick and mortar, Amba evolved from fun experimental fusion to mysterious destination tapas. The tales you've heard of Doug Katz' latest ventures are all probably true - yes, your pupils will double in size to adjust to the dark, dark, sultry atmosphere. Yes, you will be disoriented to the time of day even with the small windows of natural light. Yes, the decor is just as chic as though it were plucked from any New York tastemaker's ideabook (eclipse-like light fixtures, a braided rope ceiling?). The music is pulsating and has been toned down over time so that you can speak at just below yelling volume. And yes, the food is creative and delicious. Amba doesn't take reservations (at least for the commonfolk), so plan accordingly depending on the size of your group. Parking can be tricky as Hingetown becomes more gentrified. For an even more intimate (yes, MORE intimate) experience, ask for a spot at the lounge in the back. All waitstaff is dressed in black so it looks like they're emerging from the shadows to the candlelit bubble at your table. The food menu manages to fit on a single page yet still be mind-boggling. Cocktails are found on the reverse and are labeled simply with a#. While no dish is purely traditional, every dish and drink has distinct inspiration from Indian cuisine. What was even more interesting to my Indian friends was the mixture of Northern and Southern regional influences within the same dish. So, what to order? The recommendation is about 3 dishes per person, depending on appetite level. Plates become larger and more substantial the further down the menu you go. As an alternative to choosing, you can pick the chef's suggested menus based on party size. A small dish of house amba sauce is delivered with the first dish. Each order of Clay Bread is big enough to split between 4 people depending on how many dips you order. A hot tip is to order the Warm Cashews with Spinach Dip and mix them together for a dip that, as our waitress agreed, slaps hard. We were also fans of the Herb Grilled Chicken Tikka, Roasted Eggplant (even if you don't like eggplant), Pilau, and Paneer (although, for our Indian friends this was pretty standard paneer). The Raitas are, well... yogurt. Nothing too fancy, but great to cool the palate. The Crispy Puris were fine and refreshing but tasted a bit like a lentil Pringle with potato salad. Would not recommend the Fried Zucchini or the Lentil Donuts which were underwhelming and did not spark joy. Of the desserts, the Kulfi was my personal favorite as a fan of mango, pistachio, saffron, and ice cream. But all three were enjoyable. The cocktails are also unique with a heavy emphasis on smoky and tropical flavors. Of course, the restrooms are just as aesthetically pleasing as the remainder of the restaurant, with (to my relief) perhaps a little more lighting. It was kept clean and nice-smelling throughout, and you have the option of either paper towels or blow-drying your hands after washing with fragrant soap. Despite being consistently busy, our waiters were never seen being flustered and made regular appearances to check in on us. They were attentive enough to bring new carafes of water when we were low and more than patient with the copious amounts of decision making throughout the evening. Hoping that the menu will transform over time as well so I have new excuses to make the trouble of finding off times to eat dinner. read more

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Amba is a must go! I was in town visiting and my friend from the area and she heard amazing reviews about this restaurant. To start with, my friend and I got a mocktail to try - blue bergamot. It was not too sweet and very yummy (as well as pretty!). The plates are meant to be shared, so for the 3 of us we got 6 dishes to share - the paneer cheese, spicy cauliflower, pilau, lamb kofta, herb grilled chicken tikka and beet root raita. We were perfectly full, and had some leftovers to take home! Would definitely recommend all of these items, the only note here is that the spicy cauliflower is VERY spicy so definitely recommend if you love spice. The lab kofta was not a table favorite, but was still great! Dessert needs it's own section, because it was PHENOMENAL! the chocolate torte was vegan AND gluten free which was awesome and it was DELICIOUS. My friends and I loved it - it was the perfect ending to this delicious meal. Our waitress was super kind and gave us a ton of food recs based on a couple of our friends food allergies. She was very patient and checked on us as the dinner went by. The vibes inside were absolutely PERFECT. The lighting inside was just right, it was dark and yet you could still see everything just right. read more

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Amba has been on my list for a while since I found out it's owned by the same person who owns Zhug. Amba was just as good, if not better than Zhug. My boyfriend and I ordered every item on the "amba favorites" list for 2, besides the clay bread, and also got kulfi for dessert. I highly recommend doing this if you don't know what to order or are overwhelmed by all the menu options, since the list is curated to provide a balanced meal. The food came out quickly and our waitress was super friendly and helpful. Each item was delicious -- I personally loved the fried zucchini. It was perfectly crispy with a tangy sauce. Will definitely be back to try more menu items! read more

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Delicious! We always choose amba for an overall superior experience. The restaurant is beautiful first of all, and the food is incredibly flavorful! Must gets include the crispy puris, the beet root raita, and the grilled chicken tikka. read more

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Took time to read previous reviews so knew what to expect by way of ambiance and best dishes. Glad I did. Yes it was dark inside but once my eyes adjusted to the dark, it really isn't that bad. The cucumber and pineapple salad was recommended, and we shared that dish. It was refreshing. The spicy sloppy Joe's, sounded intriguing, and Gabrielle the bartender assured me that it had heat, but was not overly spicy. He was right.We shared the clay bread, which I believe is naan bread, which was warm and very tender, fresh from the oven. Not clear what the puris was but again, Gabrielle assured us that it was a favored item from the menu and again he was right. I will definitely be back, bringing my sisters for a delicious meal and fun evening. read more

TL;DR: Food is outstanding, service seems to always be just a little bit slow, get there early. When you enter Amba, it'll take your eyes a moment to adjust as the low lighting makes the entire space look sexy. The decor in the restaurant is really one of the best in NE Ohio. This is a great date night spot for a reason. I've been twice now and my food favorites would be: clay bread with chili crisp, wok fired string beans, and the crispy puris. Dessert is the real home run though - get the kulfi. All of the dishes are shareable, similar to most other of Katz' restaurants, which means you should go with a group where you'll like similar things so you can share and get the full experience. The cocktail menu is also a standout to me - my husband had the melon & velvet on our last visit and it was memorable. As mentioned by I'm sure other reviews, they don't take reservations and they tend to be busy, so either plan on a wait or plan to have an early dinner. read more

This place is absolutely amazing! One of the best dining experience I have ever had. We have ordered & loved: - cocktail : a9 amba mini (the best alcohol I have ever tried. It's essentially tequila that's infused with herbaceous flavors and ginger) - clay bread - chili crisp (spicy oil for topping food with) - herbed raita (creamy yogurt dip) - fried zucchini (ask for extra sauce lol. literally best vegetable I've ever had) - samosa (good, but wouldn't go out of my way to order again) - popcorn chicken (very good, nice staple to get especially for picky eaters in the group) - rice pilaf (delicious, helps to bulk up the meal for a lower price) - pineapple cucumber salad (banging, underrated. Absolutely would get again) Looking forward to to trying (have been highly recommended) - warm cashews - lentil donuts - crispy puris Tip on seating: the 'bar' is the entire back room (including the tables that aren't near the bar). You have to walk through the restaurant all the way to the back room (just past the bathrooms) and all of that area is seat yourself / first come first serve. It's a great option if you don't wait to join the waitlist and didn't make a reservation ahead of time read more

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Amba is somewhere that was on my list as I love Chef Katz' food, including eating at Zhug and Provenance. Ambiance here is very dark, mysterious vibe. It is super dark and if you go later in the evening, very loud with blaring music. A bit too loud for me. I've been twice, eating once outdoors and once in the backroom. Because there are no reservations, I like to go closer to their opening time at 4 pm. This also helps avoid the super loud music. In terms of the food, everything was delicious, as expected. I've tried the chili crisp, clay bread, chickpea fritters, popcorn chicken, ghee shrimp, roasted eggplant, and chocolate torte. Everything is so delicious and I love how since they are small shareable plates, I get to try a little bit of everything! read more

Amba - Indian Near Me - Cleveland, Ohio

If you are looking for an authentic Indian restaurant, this is not it. There is not a single dish, not a single drink, mot a single ingredient is Indian here. Me and my son were visiting Cleveland during his fall break and we wanted a taste of Indian food before we left. So then we found Amba. It looked good and the reviews were good at a glance, so we booked a reservation. When we arrived, I could barely see due to the dimly lighted dining and couldn't hear the waitress through the loud music playing. We could see that the place looked great and was able to plow past the dim lighting and browse through the menu. We ordered what sounded Indian on the menu. But when we got our food, the ghee basted shrimp was shrimp in butter and coconut excessively shaved on top, and tasted nothing like Indian shrimp. The Samosas were peas crushed and stuffed in a puffed pastry and burnt on the edges. It tasted nothing less of grass, and definitely not traditional samosas. The popcorn chicken was basically McDonald chicken nuggets. They were under seasoned and maybe McDonald's could do better. The Clay bread was bland and it tasted like frozen naans from Costco, and the definitely don't have a clay oven in the kitchen, because I know when I taste authentic naans. The lamb kofta, even though it was good, the name is deceiving, because a kofta is suppose to be a curry, but all I got were pieces of lamb that were on a little bit of quinoa that tasted horrible. The pilau was rice and four t fried onions that tasted bland and uninspired. Overall, no Indian will go here another time due to the misleading name and their so called "Indian inspired food". I will never go here again and this restaurant ruined my last night in Cleveland. read more

Was really excited to try this restaurant as it is an attempted modern take on Indian food. Upon entering, what I noticed first was that there was not even ONE South Asian person on staff. This was a bit surprising to me considering it is meant to pass off as an Indian restaurant and to me incorporating the people of the cuisine would add some refreshing and helpful takes when creating a new restaurant of their culture! Additional conversations with the incredibly friendly wait staff revealed that the food was not even attempted to be authentic, which to me is pretty appropriative of them. Onto the food! So we ordered a lot of small plates. I began with the Beet Root Raita. The beet flavor was too subtle for me, and this is NOT traditionally meant to be a spread! It is a side to an entree, and they didn't even give you naan (which they didn't call naan btw) with it, which they call clay bread!! This was incredibly odd to me. We also got the Crispy Puris, Chickpea Fritters, the Chicken Tikka, and the Roasted Eggplant. The Crispy Puris were honestly delicious, packed with flavor and texture combinations. The Chicken Tikka was incredibly tender and covered in a delicious blanket of a tomato based sauce. The Chickpea Fritters were also pretty good, with a light breading and a rich interior. Lastly, the Roasted Eggplant had a fun flavor combination and was pretty delicious. The food is exceptionally high quality and better than most restaurants in Cleveland. However, it was very inauthentic, and if you want really Indian food, I would suggest somewhere like Six Flavors or Jaipur Junction. So I feel like they could stop pretending they are "paying homage to the flavors and ingredients of India" and go with a different angle here because I believe no respect is given here. I see what they were trying to do here, creating a ~trendy~ restaurant on a trendy cuisine. However, I did not like it. The waiters were just not pronouncing anything correctly, and I feel like if they hired even one South Asian person, then the flavors can be less inspired and more authentic and credit can be given to such a beautiful culture with amazing food (unless they are going for a cherrypicking angle). I get it-- Indian food is delicious, I grew up on it as someone who is Indian, but it also deserves some respect! read more

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