I love supporting independent small businesses, especially those who opened during the Covid-19 Pandemic, but I must also give my true opinion, and while I was so excited to see Punjabi Canteen open up not too far from me, my visit left me disappointed. However, your mileage may vary and you may have a different experience.
I had looked at the menu online and wanted to try the Dahi Bhalle Chaat ($6.49), something I had never tried before but sounded interesting. Deep fried lentil balls in a yogurt sauce. I asked if they had any curries as on their website it said "coming soon" and was told they didn't have any. I didn't see too much on the menu of interest, but then the man said they had "fish fry" which was not on the menu. I asked him if they were like fish pakoras and he said yes. I asked him how much it was and I thought I heard $13.99, but I ended up being charged $14.99.
The man helping me was friendly and explained some of the dishes to me.
I was getting takeout, so I ordered and sat down to wait for it. The wait wasn't too long.
When I got home I was disappointed that the fish fry was just 10 small pieces of fish. They were ok, but not particularly crispy. I would describe them as "Captain Highliner with Indian spices." I personally did not feel that they were worth the price I paid. I have had better fish pakoras for less.
The Dahi Bhalle Chaat was interesting. I didn't realize that it was a cold dish, so I guess that's on me. I liked the different textures as the lentil balls were soft and mushy, but there were crunchy chip-like things broken up and laid on top. There were also crunchy vermicelli-like things in it too. There were also chickpeas and cubed radish. It was a tiny bit spicy, but also creamy due to the yogurt. It wasn't my cup of tea, but wasn't entirely unpleasant.
Maybe I should have just stuck with samosas and stuffed naan, lol, but I wanted to try something new. Although my personal experience was not stellar, perhaps it was just what I ordered and my personal tastes. Maybe you will have a great experience.
The restaurant is in a strip mall with lots of free parking. read more