On October 27th, 2023 the OCC Nova Scotia reviewed India Paradise as part of our hunt for the CHOTY (Curry House Of The Year) and in search of the 11th OCC approved curry house in Canada.
Members vote anonymously on 5 categories from 1-10 with 10 being outstanding - and an average score is given to each restaurant we review.
India Paradise:
Quality - 6.75
Service - 7
Value - 6.5
Customer Care - 7
Atmosphere - 5.8
With an average score of 6.6, India Paradise is not OCC approved.
Upon arrival to the restaurant, the OCC noticed that what must have been a previous establishment named Blue Sapphire still had their signage on the restaurant which led to some initial confusion. Nonetheless, we found our way. Despite making a reservation, there was no record of it. Luckily, they had a table available for 8 at our time of arrival.
The aroma's as we walked into the restaurant were incredible. It might be helpful for you to think of the old time cartoon character Pepe Le Pew, as we floated in on the amazing scents of the food that was to come.
The atmosphere was fairly quiet, and quaint. Perhaps better suited for a first date or a quiet family meal, rather than a large group gathering.
We started with a round of Mango Lassi's. I have to say, there was a consensus throughout the group that these were the best Lassi's we've had in our pursuit of finding the best curry house in HRM. They were spiced incredibly well, the cardamom really popped, and we could tell they were made fresh to order.
For breads, we tried the roti, garlic naan, and bullet naan - it was tough to distinguish between the garlic and bullet.
We ordered the veg samosas and Afghani chicken to start. The samosas were spiced perfectly and were huge portions - I will note that each of us got a personal mint sauce, which was much appreciated. The Afghani chicken was perhaps the highlight of the night.
The food did come out in a peculiar order, as we received the butter chicken and Dahl before we had any rice or bread which made eating it a bit challenging at first. The bread came out about 5 minutes later, and the rice (biryani's) about 15 minutes later.
The butter chicken was very heavy on the tomato flavour, but the consistency was perfect. We also tried the goat and chicken biryani's, and goat curry.
Everything came out piping hot, and 6 curries and 2 biryani's was the perfect amount for our group of 8. Also, the Lazy Susan on the table was an incredible value add.
In summary, we regrettably cannot officially OCC approve India Paradise. Although we had a pleasant overall experience, it left something to be desired. We look forward to returning in the future to give them another shot.
- OCC
Date of visit: October 2023 read more