I decided to try this place when I was staying in the neighborhood and wanted a healthy, tasty…read moremeal. I like Indian food and I prefer organic ingredients, and this place has both!
To be clear, the neither the food nor the restaurant are traditional Indian, but Indian food is a heavy influence on their menu. The restaurant is a bit more upscale than what I'm accustomed to at many of my favorite Indian restaurants but not so much that it felt snobby; the ambiance was clean, well lit, and tastefully decorated in a modern European style.
I'm happy that I looked at the menu in advance online, as they have an English version of the menu on their website but not in the restaurant. I ordered the Nihari Stew, which was a lightly spiced beef stew with some raw(!) diced peppers and onions in it, as well as some fresh seasonings on the side that I could add including hot chilis, a slice of lime, coriander leaves and ginger. I found that the stew was tasty and the beef was well cooked, but the flavor & number of ingredients was a bit more plain/simple that I expected, and beyond the beef, the other ingredients were all raw which didn't seem to be the best complement to a beef stew. I would have liked some cooked vegetables in it. The seasonings on the side didn't seem to be a good match either, though I love those flavors in other foods.
It came with a basket of naan wedges; the naan (an Indian flat bread) appears in a lot of menu items, and I found it to be not as soft and fluffy as I expect naan to be, perhaps because it's made with whole grain flour; I would describe it as roti rather than naan. It's not bad, just mislabeled for those of us who are familiar with Indian cuisine.
The restaurant has an extensive menu of wines and cocktails, but partly to save money I opted for a mango lassi instead (traditional Indian yogurt drink), which had a hint of seasoning that gave it an unusual flavor (cucumber water? not sure, it was hard to identify), and was thicker than most mango lassi's I've tried, more like a smoothie.
All in all I came away from the meal a bit disappointed, as I was expecting it to have more of the aspects of Indian food that I love, but perhaps it's simply an issue of my expectations rather than the food itself.
I also felt it was a bit pricey, charging €16 for a main entree, though I know that organic ingredients do cost more, so I felt the cost was enabling them to use high quality, healthy ingredients. It might be a better place for a tasty snack and beverage than a full meal if you're on a tight budget.
Note that the only type of card they accept is the Maestro chip + pin debit card, otherwise make sure to bring enough cash to pay for your meal! There is a Rabobank ATM half a block away from the restaurant next to Coffee Company.
