I've been wanting to try this fancy, upscale Indian restaurant for awhile. I finally had the chance to enjoy Restaurant Week lunch ($45) here over the summer. I also came for Executive Lunch Special ($35) a few weeks later. The interior is lovely and spacious, with tables covered in white table cloth, pretty lights, little candles, flowers and greenery.
I tried the Pomegranate Lassi because I had never seen that before. It was light, refreshing, creamy and thick.
For the Restaurant Week lunch, we had 1 appetizer, 2 entree options, along with Saffron Biryani rice, vegetable of the day, Sesame Naan, and dessert. The appetizer I selected was Crab Nazakat, which was crab meat in coconut milk, garlic, lime juice, curry leaves, and mustard seed. This was unique and tasty, delightfully tender, full of delicate flavor.
For my main dishes, I ordered the Amritsari Machali, which consisted of Tandoori salmon in hung yogurt, mustard, tandoori spices. The salmon was cooked perfectly, slightly crispy and charred, nicely flaky. The Lamb Pasanda was made with cashew sauce, onion, yogurt, as well as cream. This was rich and well seasoned. The vegetable was potatoes + peas in curry sauce, which were wonderfully soft and yummy spices shone through. The saffron rice was fragrant and aromatic. The naan was pretty good, but would've been better if served warm.
Dessert was Chocolate Burfi, which was different and not my favorite. There was a shortbread cookie base with chocolate and it had a sort of weird chalky consistency.
The Executive Lunch Special included an appetizer, 2 options from the main courses, Coconut Rice, Vegetable of the day, Karive Naan, and dessert of course. For my appetizer, I had the Kozhippdi Chicken, cooked in coconut oil with curry leaves, cardamom, cumin. I'm normally not very impressed by chicken, but this was so yummy! The sauce was savory and very flavorful.
The main dishes I selected were Fish Surka and Lamb Kurumula. The fish was made with mustard, fenugreek, ginger, curry leaves, coconut vinegar. The fish was succulent, flaky and had layers of flavor. The lamb included coriander, garam masala, pepper, coconut, curry leaves, mustard seeds. Coconut rice was mouthwatering with true coconut taste. Vegetable was chickpea with Indian cheese. It was very hearty and flavorful. Naan was fluffy and thick.
For dessert, we shared both the Banana fritters with ice cream and Pomegranate rice pudding. I enjoyed the Banana fritters more, which were beautifully crispy with just the right amount of sweetness.
Service was solid throughout. The servers are welcoming, knowledgeable about the menu, and on top of it. Prices are on par with the Tribeca area. I would definitely like to return at some point to try the Tamarind Seafood or Mixed Grill Platter. read more