Note: Many dishes, especially appetizers, are split into three pieces. They do offer extra…read moreappetizer pieces for an extra $9 as an alternative option. In general, I preferred the chicken dishes over everything else, with the Nadan Kozhi and Kozhi Cutlet being my easy favorites of the bunch, but the rest were good.
I went to this fancy and popular southern Indian place with three others a couple of days ago. The inside has a nice, slightly dark aesthetic, and the waitress we had was friendly, giving good recommendations and other things while still being casual. To drink, I had the Chakotra, a $15 mocktail with super grapefruit soda, chili, and a jalapeño brine. Named after a pomelo, it was a pleasant mix of sour and spicy and went well with the rest of the food. Another person enjoyed the $22 Puliyam, with tequila blanco, tamarindo, tomato, and orange. To start, they gave us an excellent amuse-bouche, a Podi Idli, with coconut chutney foam, tomato chutney, and curry leaf oil. The soft but firm idli mixed with the slightly sweet and spicy chutney, with an enjoyable heat level without being overbearing.
Our preferred appetizer was the $26 Kozhi Cutlet, consisting of shredded chicken cutlets with a fermented tamarind sauce on the side. As said above, we got four pieces of this and the other appetizers for an extra $9 each. The cutlets, formed into croquettes, were delicious, with a slightly hard outside while the inside had a pleasant soft texture from the chicken. The chicken itself had a wonderful mix of spices, with there being, just like the amuse, a pleasant amount of heat. This was cooled down by the delicious tamarind sauce on the side. This was delicious and probably my favorite dish.
Also good was the Chakka, with crispy tender jackfruit (or just "jack" on the menu), appalam crisp, and cashew sauce for $24. The jackfruit worked as a nice meat substitute, as expected, with a slightly soft texture, aside from a lightly crunchy exterior. The sauce on the bottom was mildly sweet and nutty, making the dish overall a bit less spicy and spiced in general than the other appetizer. Overall, this was good, and like most dishes, the presentation was nice-looking.
Like with the appetizers, my favorite main dish was also made with chicken. This was the $39 Nadan Kozhi Curry, a village-style chicken curry with potato and crispy shallots. There was a good mix of spices with some heat, while the potatoes added a soft texture and helped absorb the curry. The crispy shallots added a good crunch, with some semi-cooked peppers for a bit of extra heat. Overall, it was very good, with my only complaint being that it feels a bit pricey, but that's the case for many of the dishes here.
Speaking of pricey, there was also the Nandu Curry with crab meat, dark roasted coconut, and fennel pollen for $54. This had a nice presentation, with the empty head of the crab on top of the shredded pieces, which were mixed with spices and coconut. The remaining sweet crab was found in the legs, which were open and easily accessible. The curry itself was good but perhaps a bit salty and needed a carb or rice to balance it. Overall, I liked it, but in terms of Southern Indian crab dishes, I highly preferred the Khekdyache Kalwan from Malvan in Brooklyn, which was much better spiced, had more crab, and was more reasonably priced at around $40.
The last main dish was the $39 Thalasherry Biriyani with aged kaima rice, goat, and raisins. There wasn't a ton of goat, but it was tender and well-flavored, and it was off the bone as well, which was a bit different from most other spots. However, I found the spices a bit mild, and while the raisins added a unique sweetness, this style of biryani typically comes with cashews, which would have added a nice extra crunch. This was decent, but for goat biryani, there are much better places.
Our side dishes were each $12. We had the Kallu dosa, or kal dosa, a fermented rice and lentil pancake, and the idiyappam, or steamed string hoppers. The former had two small pieces that were spongy and slightly sour, and did a good job soaking up the various curries. The latter was lightly flavored and went well with the dishes. Both were fine, and typically overpriced, like most other fancy Indian spots.
For dessert, we shared the $16 Calicut Halwa, listed as black halwa, vanilla ice cream, and praline. The full description, as said by a staff member, included Malabar vanilla ice cream and a berry jelly. The flavor of the halwa reminded me strongly of kala jamun, with a strong, slightly roasted, caramelized flavor. Otherwise, it had a pleasant texture, and it wasn't overly sweet, so we enjoyed it.
This is a pricey but tasty Indian spot. I prefer some other spots, as I didn't find the flavors always justified the prices, but if you can get into this place, I would recommend it. I'll bump it up, as it's closer to a 4.5 than a 4.