Returned to dine-in! The inside of the restaurant is classy and has character, and it's bigger than…read moreit looks from the outside or when you first walk in.
This time I had the Methi Malai Matar and a Sundried Tomato Olive Naan, and Masala Chaas to drink. My mom had the Paneer Butter Masala and a Garlic Naan, and we ordered the Fire Chicken to take back for my dad. The food was once again very good. The methi malai matar was flavourful without being very hot/spicy and the peas tasted very fresh! I ended up eating a lot of the gravy of my mom's butter paneer too - I started with just a taste, but then she had a lot left over at the end and I couldn't help but finish it. The gravy was nice and tangy, with a pleasant, rich mouthfeel. My mom ordered this she asked the waitress for the mildest paneer dish on the menu (we weren't given the option to specify spice level, but we didn't try, so if you need to, it could still be worth asking), but it still had a bit more of a bite than my dish, which I would have described as relatively mild but not spiceless. She was still able to handle it fine - her spice preference is low but not zero - it was just spicy to her. I didn't try the fire chicken but my dad spoke very highly of it and it smelled amazing. He also said, as you would expect, that it was quite spicy.
My mom and I agreed the naans were just amazing. I think she said it was probably the best she'd had and for me there's been too many good ones to say for sure, but it was definitely a contender, and I remember last time we were all also in awe of the bread. They get it perfectly crispy without sacrificing softness. I also really liked the sundried tomato and olive flavour which I haven't seen before at other restaurants, and it complimented both of our entrees well.
My masala chaas was really good too - it was a little spicy but still went down very smoothly and was a refreshing compliment to my meal. Even though it did have a little kick, it would still temper the heat well if you ordered a really spicy dish. I do wish they had metal or at least paper straws instead of plastic - (they're pretty much standard in Vancouver now, so I'm a little spoiled) - I would skip the straw where possible but I ended up needing it here to get all the froth, and I didn't think to bring my own.
The staff was very polite, but not as attentive as we really needed. When we ordered our meals, we told our waitress we were going to place a takeout order later, but she disappeared after bringing our food and never came back to check on us, so we had to get the attention of another waitress to order the takeout when we were about halfway done eating. It was ready before we were done though, which seemed quick. We also never had our waters refilled.
I think the prices are okay for the quality. The naans are big and the mains are reasonably-sized. For me, an entire naan and an entire entree (plus the chaas) was a filling but not heavy meal, so there's room to add appetizers if you have bigger appetites and/or want to go all out.
One thing that is puzzling to me is that their online menu and takeout menu is significantly cheaper than what you pay to dine-in. On the online menu, you can choose the size of the entrees, and they're all cheaper than the price on the menu in the actual restaurant, but my "small" from last time was about the same as the dine-in portion, and if you order online, a small Methi Malai Matar is $11.5, but the dine-in price was $19.5. It's worth paying the extra few dollars for the dine-in experience in my view, but this is a huge difference and they should make their menus consistent across web and physical. The takeout is definitely the way to go if you want a high-quality meal for a lower price.
