Note: Initial review based on first visit on 12/10/10. Update at bottom.
Let me sum up at the beginning: This is the best Indian restaurant I've found in the last 30 years of dining out. The food is amazing and and the service is excellent. We left feeling intoxicated with gastronimic goodness.
Now for the review:
About the food: We started with the assorted appetizers to get a sampling of what was available. By far the one we liked the best was the Onion Bhaji, highly recommended. The Fish and Chicken Pakoras were also very nice. Next time we will order one of the above and/or maybe try a soup.
Next out was Chicken Korma which is tender pieces of marinated chicken spiced mildly, cooked with onions, yogurt and cashew nuts. We ordered everything "medium spicy" (we like things spicy but didn't know the starting point for this place) and this was delicious but could we have used a little more spice. We will order this again.
For a veggie dish we ordered okra, it is called Bhindi Bhaji, "okra cooked in herbs and spices with onions." This dish was outstanding! We were in heaven. Spiced and cooked to perfection. :-))
We weren't planning on ordering a rice dish but our waiter suggested we try the Rice Pellow aka Saffron Rice "Saffron rice with peas, onion tomato and nuts." I am very glad we took his suggestion, we loved it. I don't much care for rice dishes but this was sublime.
Then came a sizzling platter of mixed tandoori including Lamb Boti Kabob (highly recommended), Sheesh Kabob (not so much recommended), Tandoori Chicken (surprisingly only average given that that "Tandoori" is part of the name of this restaurant. Don't get me wrong, it was delicious but most of the other entrees were superlative. The Chicken Tikka was excellent, very tender pieces of breast meat roasted to perfection.
Portions were ample on all dishes. The above made big dinners for two and big lunches for two the following day.
For bread we had the Garlic Naan and the Onion Kulcha both were delicious but the Onion Kulcha was memorable.
Dessert consisted of Kulfi (homemade Pistachio Ice Cream) and an order of the rice pudding to go ( by now we were stuffed). The Kulfi was very different, firm and flavorful, not creamy but loaded with pistachio flavor. The rice pudding is rich and exquisite.
The service was warm and attentive without being overbearing. The owner came to our table twice, once in the middle of the meal to make sure we liked everything and to deliver the check and chat. Service here can only be categorized as excellent.
Overall a wonderful experience and we are definitely going back. Quite a statement since it's a 20 mile drive each way and there are numerous Indian restaurants in between.
*** EDIT/UPDATE: 2/6/11: My wife and I have returned 4 times since my initial review. 3 times with friends and 1 time by ourselves. 2 visits were for the lunch buffet and 2 visits were for the dinner menu. All of our friends were genuinely impressed with the wonderful cuisine and eager to go back again.
Furthermore, on those occasions where we ordered off of the menu and asked for something special, our waiter was polite and helpful and the chef executed our requests perfectly.
The most important reason I feel the need to update my review is that I unfairly judged the Tandoori Chicken (as "only average") based upon just one visit. On each of our return visits I must say the Tandoori Chicken was excellent (tender, juicy, tasty and cooked to perfection) as was everything else.
This serves to point out a very important factor when it comes to relying on restaurant reviews: Try to find reviews where the author has made multiple visits.
Make sure to try the Onion Bhaji, Chicken Korma, and if you like okra the Bhindi Bhaji.
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