If it's authentic and quintessential Indian fare you're craving (and that means rich, flavourful,…read moreand decadent), especially the hearty dals and curries of the North, then Vedi's Indian Restaurant should be at the top of your list.
The ambience is decidedly psychedelic with captivating paintings and installations of Indian Gods sourced from Bali, Indonesia. A flamboyant golden bar and vivid fuchsia lighting succeed in conveying that the restaurant is also a lounge and cocktail bar. There is ample seating space for couples, families, and even business groups seeking a little privacy. But of course, the main highlight is the food, complemented by heady, generous-sized, and very competitively-priced cocktails.
Mr. Wadhwa was kind enough to order a bespoke vegetarian platter for us. The samosas, cheese rolls, and aloo tikkis (potato patties) were huge, and rested on a bed of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and lime wedges. The samosa's crust was flaky and crisp, just as we expected, while the tikkis were reminiscent of hash browns. But the luscious cheese rolls were the best of the three - soft and lightly tangy with a golden covering.
The flavours are definitely true to India but not excessively spicy. If you'd like to experience the fiery side of Indian cuisine, ask to taste a little of what the staff is going to be having for dinner. We tasted (or actually, more than tasted. Sorry lovely staff at Vedi's!) the kadhi pakora, a dish of simmered yogurt-based gravy studded with fried onion pakoras, and it was like being back in the by-lanes of dusty Rajasthan.
The real star of our meal, just as Mr. Wadhwa predicted, was the humble dal makhni. Ah, the pure pleasure of piling creamy, ghee-doused dal on fragrant basmati rice and allowing the comforting richness to flood one's mouth. It's certainly a must-have.
Cocktails at Vedi's Indian Restaurant are jumbo-sized, and priced at just €4.90. We tried the strawberry-coloured Miss India (Malibu rum and fruit juices), the electric blue Love Kush (sort of like a long island iced tea with vodka, tequila, white rum, and blue curacao), candy-toned Singh is King (a surprise because the name was so masculine! - white rum, triple sec, grenadine) and Prince of Delhi (Old Monk - yay! with yogurt, coconut milk and two other kinds of rum).