3.5 stars At the bustling Queen Victoria Market is a Sri…read moreLankan cafe with a buffet table of prepared curries--there's quite a wide selection, but everything is a great value with nice portion sizes. I tried the lamprais on my visit, a platter that came with yellow rice, seeni sambol (an onion relish), eggplant moju (a cold eggplant salad), tempered potato, an egg, a mini pastry, and a choice of a meat dish--I had the chili chicken, a sweet and spicy stir-fried combination of dark meat chicken cubes, peppers, and onions. All of this comes on top of two grilled banana leaves for that extra touch! Overall, a great lunch option when shopping at the market, though the restaurant could be a bit cleaner.

Tasty Sri Lankan food at the Queen Vic market…read more I tried curry roti from their stand at the Hawker night market and also made it a point to stop for lunch because it's so tasty. For lunch they offer some really good value specials - a small thali/combo was just $9 and netted me rice, a papadum, 2 veg curries and a neat curry. It was plenty to fill me right up but if you're really hungry there is a large version for $12. For my veg curries I chose daal and mixed veg - they were both kind of bland and really needed some seasoning. My lamb vindaloo was outstanding on the other hand! A very flavorful sauce, plenty of tender goat and just a hint of heat. If you enjoy a good curry, I'd give them a try.

I really enjoyed my visit here to Southall. I'd heard about it from various people and love trying…read morenew (to me) Indian restaurants, so I found myself coming here not long ago when the craving hit. It's small inside, and I imagine when full, it could get quite loud. The tables are tiny and that gets awkward and cramped when placing everything down on the table during the meal. The food came out in a timely manner, and it was really delicious. They are the ex owners of Bombay By Night, and the food is as equally good now as it was then in their former restaurant. We ordered Butter Chicken, rice and garlic naan. I know it's hard to go wrong with the basics, any they didn't prove me wrong. The food was great and though the service is spotty (the older gentleman who works there is a bit curt/rude at times), it's really worth a visit. I found Southall to be good value, and parking isn't too difficult and may become a regular to me I'm sure. I would recommend coming here for sure, as you're bound to get a great meal in a nice casual environment.

Cafe Southall is a great Indian restaurant that's just opened on Carlyle street…read more Being coeliac and vegetarian there were loads of options to choose from. The owner was so helpful and even changed some curries to suit our tastes and letting us try a breakfast item in the evening. The photography is beautiful and the setting is so welcoming. The staff are so helpful and quick. The food was delicious, so tasty. We had three curries to share among us with some rice. It was great to share so we could try more flavours and the waiter helped us select curries that would compliment each other. I definitely will be returning for more. I want to try their breakfast menu next!

When it comes to Indian food, I totally dig this place. Their food is freaking delicious…read more The setting might not be all funky and fancy (it's a strange array of pink and gray furniture) but it doesn't matter when once your meal comes. My personal favorite on the menu are the tandoori aloo which are amazing stuffed potatoes in a yogurt sauce with ginger and garlic. They do a real mean tandoori chicken tikka and you gotta try the beef kashmiri although the vindaloo will knock your socks off. Their menu is big- with butter chicken to rogan josh and deserts to top you off as well as a good choice of vegetarian dishes. Make sure you get some those golden balls of syrupy goodness more commonly known as gulab jamun, they're SO GOOD. Oh, and this place is both eat in and take away so you can enjoy there or at home!

Lucky enough to live around the corner from this place and it's become our regular that never…read moredisappoints. From the outside it looks quite unimposing, but step inside and you'll be in for a treat. At the start of each meal they bring out papadam which are fresh and light, but the best bit is the accompanying mint raita. We're addicted to this stuff and always ask for more to accompany the rest of the meal. The curries are all full of flavour, and super fresh. We've recently discovered the fish curry which sees a delicate white fish cooked in a beautiful tomato based sauce. Oh - and you can't go past the samosas. At only $4.50 for 2, they are large and fluffy - add some of that mint raita and you can't go wrong!

Visiting Cafe Saffron for a weekday lunch is an odd experience…read more For starters the restaurant is located in what looks like an industrial estate. The restaurant itself does little to dispel that image. It is pretty much a warehouse decked out in Indian decorator stylings. That being said it would be a fantastic location for parties, wedding or any celebration and i suspect functions are their specialty. As a lunch venue it didn't quite work. We were the only group in the large hall and when the number of staff outnumber the customers it is a little worrying. That said we spent the afternoon sampling the banquet which was as tasty and high quality as their sister restaurant in Ivanhoe. Fresh Indian poppadom's soaked up spicy curries and korma. The dishes were all well made and authentically presented. The service was attentive (as you would expect in a deserted restaurant) and friendly. I would definitely head to the Ivanhoe restaurant rather then this location due to the ambiance. Although I hope to get an invitation to a function at the South Morang location soon!

Some friends recently took me to Bheemas Indian Restaurant for the first time... WOW! What a…read morepleasant surprise. The actual restaurant itself doesn't look like much from the outside, with pretty basic décor inside, and it would be very easy to walk straight past it. However, what the restaurant lacks in aesthetics, they definitely make up for it with the quality and standard of food! The Pani Puri as a starter was delicious... the wafer-like water balls with the condiments was a lovely light way to start the meal. The Chicken 65 was amazing - the menu definitely doesn't do it justice, as it was full of flavour. Absolutely worth trying... as is the Goat Biryani, and Rocket Naan. The food here all seems really fresh, and very reasonably priced. It's a shame I don't live closer, as would definitely be visiting again!

Excellent food, the naan and especially the aloo parata were very good. Highly recommend the…read morePistachio Kulfi, it was delicious.

Check my reviews 5 cahoonahs doesn't happen very often. But this has to get the top rating. In a…read moresmall strip of nondescript shops there is Indian tandoori delight awaiting. Staff attentive, staff check your order, staff let you know that one dish takes 5mins longer than the others but would you like them staggered or all together? It's a small thing but they add up.. The place is packed, not a spare seat on the house but they aren't moving you on so another can take your place, they are serving you in the here & now. Food - that's why we're here - stunning, succulent, rich, mild, medium, hot, however you like. My 11 year old had the mild chicken with a cheese naan bread and was licking his chops. I asked which of the 12 vegetable options were vegan & was given a massive choice. Wife went for the spinach, me the potato. And POW, fenugreek, cardamom, cumin, all authentic & all subtle. A delight. Saffron rice spot on, naan bread, yum & the vegetable pakoras- wow get there, chock full of chick peas, spinach... Gotta get the recipe. $84 for three people and that's three entrees & three main with sides. Bargain to boot. Get your booty here (but book methinks, the place was rocking at 7pm!!!)

The Bonfire Restaurant (the café in the title is a misnomer!) is located in Springvale and is a…read morerather small place nestled among many other Indian, Asian and fast food joints. The place is more famous for takeaways rather than dine-in due to the small space and not so appealing service. The food leans more heavily towards Pakistani style of cooking which is rather similar to the cuisine of old Delhi and parts of Punjab and North Frontier. We arrived there around 8.00pm on a Saturday evening and the place was only half full. Since it's mostly a takeaway joint, you are likely to find place even on weekends but if you are part of a large group, I totally recommend calling ahead of time as the place can get really cramped, even with a few diners. Though I have read mixed reviews about this place on Zomato, I kept an open mind and not get influenced by what I have read. The menu was refreshingly different and did not offer the same kind of dishes that are offered by most Indian restaurants. Like I said, this was because the menu leaned towards the Pakistani style of cooking; so that expectations were really high as I know that Pakistani cuisine is an incredibly delicious one, rich and packed with flavour. Since there were very few diners, we got seated fairly quickly and the menus were bought out. There was a good variety of dishes across all categories and I liked the fact that each dish carries a little note about the origin or history of the dish along with a description of the actual dish. This can be really helpful for those who do not understand the traditional names and can get confused on what to order. For starters, we got the Chapli Kebabs which is a specialty of the region; lamb mince kebabs flavoured with coriander and dry pomegranate seeds. The kebabs were served with a mint raita and sliced cucumbers. Absolutely delicious and a must try...unanimously voted as the best dish of the day by all of us. There is a strong coriander flavour just as the description mentioned but it was beautiful and not too hot. We also got a piece of Chicken tikka for the non-lamb eater in the group. Unlike many other restaurants where tikka is served as skewers, here you get a quarter piece of chicken marinated with a flavourful tikka sauce and a generous squeeze of lemon. Well cooked, not too dry with good flavours. Next, we ordered some flatbreads/Naan along with a vegetarian and non-vegetarian side. For vegetarian, we chose the Paneer Jalfarezi and Beef Nihari for the non-vegetarian option. The flatbreads were a bit dry to my liking but not too hard. A bit of butter would have helped. The Paneer Jalfarezi was delicious and mopped up in no time at all. It is an excellent choice for vegetarians and also for anyone who is looking for a less spicy dish. Though I have heard plenty about Nihari (a traditional dish dating from the 18th century Mughal cuisine and now considered to be the national dish of Pakistan), this is my first time actually experiencing the dish. Since I have no prior experience, I won't claim it to be authentic etc...simply because I do not know. But what I do know is that it was delicious with the most tender and succulent pieces of beef I have ever eaten. The only complaint was that there were very few beef pieces and plenty of gravy. But nevertheless, a good dish. The final dish was the lamb biryani. Of course you have to sample the biryani when out at an Indian restaurant and this one didn't disappoint. The Pakistani style of biryani is much lighter than the typical Indian version; it is more flavourful but less spicy. And this makes it perfect as it does not fill you up completely allowing room for other dishes to be sampled. I wouldn't say this was a great biryani; average but not disappointing. If there's anything to fault with this place, it's the service. There's none to speak of......

The most amazing kebabs I had....spicy and great taste....prices are a bit premium but you get the…read morebest of it...the staff are friendly and a good casual environment....

Amazing food. More people need to know about this place. Best chicken korma ever! Great naan bread.read more

Walked in & was very quiet, initially was a little worried - a quiet restaurant isnt a good sign…read more But that soon changed as people started waltzing in. Well flavoured curries & they don't skimp on the heat! amazing My go-to dish, lamb vindaloo, in which I will always judge an Indian restaurant...A+ Also tried their 5 star hot curry - you'll feel that for days if that's your thing! OK, I tried it & paid for it, but would I do it again? Yes It's not for the faint hearted, when they say 5 star, its 5 star!! ~ Happy spice lover