Which Indian restaurant in NYC?
 

Maybe someone could give me some insight on which indian restaurant we should visit on our upcoming NYC trip. It will be myself, my british husband, and his parents (visiting from Scotland). They are all used to great indian food in the UK, and we have a hard time finding much in Cleveland. I want to take them somewhere nice, probably $30 or under per person.

The ones I've looked up are Tabla Bread Bar (normal Tabla is too expensive), Sapphire, Diwan Grill, and Baluchis. There was another one I think, something Palace (but I don't have that info with me now).

Any we should definitely cross off? Any we should definitely visit? Is my entire list off base?

Thanks!

ps. The last restaurant was Bombay Palace.

I think Bombay Palace is good and has a nice atmosphere.

Tabla is great, but more like neo-Indian. Haven't tried the Bread Bar.

Another thought: maybe you shouldn't do Indian at all. I mean, like you said, they get great Indian at home. Why try to impress them with something that might not be as good here? How about something that is more "new york," like a steakhouse or great Italian?

oh no, we HAVE to go to an Indian restaurant because my poor husband lives with me in Cleveland... where we have few Indian restaurants. His parents aren't picky either.

Thanks though!

We liked both the food and atmosphere at Diwan...but were not very impressed with our particular server.

I am not a connoisseur of Indian, but have been to Sapphire and Bombay Palace. Bombay is the better of these two. I think Dawat is better than both, but Dawat is a little bit on the expensive side. One other to try that is good and pretty reasonable is Bay Leaf on W55th St.

Utsav in Midtown has a good lunch buffet $16. You can check out their menu online (dinner entrees are around $20)

We think that the BEST Indian restaurant in the city is Kismat. It is way uptown, and not far from THe Cloisters, so you might want to make a day of the trip to see Ft. Tryon Park then walk through to see the Cloisters, then take the bus back to 187th St. and Kismat is right there on the corner.

Another suggestion would be Little India which is Lexington AVe around 28th St. THe best restaurant there is Annapurna.

Have a great time while you are here.

I feel your family's pain, amelie. When we first moved from England to Connecticut, there were almost no Indian restaurants we could drive to. We missed it naan and a good chicken Madras so much! Now, thanks to all those enterprising Indian immigrants, we have several places to choose from. But still, when we visit our daughter in Washington, their Bombay Palace branch is a must (they recognize us now!) :-) I have only had the lunch buffet at the NY branch, and it was good -- but we prefer the DC location.

I recommend the NY Zagat guide for some help -- they list restaurants by type, so Indian restaurants are easy to find (price information there too). There's a cluster around midtown as I remember -- Murray Hill, maybe? Not far from Kalustyan's at 123 Lex <http://www.kalustyans.com/> where you can buy all the ingredients to make authentic Indian (and others) at home, too!

You will be able to get much better Indian food at a far better price if you are wiling to travel outside Manhattan, to Queens. Let us know and we will recommend some places in Jackson Heights. In Manhattan at the moment, Devi is probably considered to be the best Indian, along with Tamarind and Tabla. Chola on 58th Street is also very good and they do dishes from all over the sub-continent.. Baluchis is much less costly but it is a chain and not considered among the top rank. Neither is Sapphire. Although both Diwan and Dawat are good, both are pricey. I would stay clear of midtown on any kind of budget. There are quite a few good ones in the area we call Curry Hill, which is Lexington Avenue in the high 20s.

Glad to see someone menthioned Devi - wonderful food, lovely service - if you've ever eaten at Vij's in Vancouver, Devi is similar . . . Utsav is quite good, too. Both of these are more 'upscale', refined Indian, as are Tabla and Tamarind. Bombay Palace, Sapphire and Diwan are down a notch, IMHO. I'm not a Baluchi's fan, although the chef/owner of Devi is an original owner there . . . I would skip the places in "Curry Hill" unless you want inexpensive more than good.

If you want a cool place with good-to-great food then go to Tabla. If you want a nice place with great food, then go to Chola on 58th. Their lunch buffet has to be the best value in midtown (10-15 great dishes, freshly prepared appetizers, rice, desserts, etc. for 13.95 per person).

utsav's buffet is about that same price and not only really good, but a beautiful atmosphere. only at noon though for the buffet. their food is excellent and i always see plenty of indians, but i'm no expert. I will say the decor is about 500% better than most of the other indian places i've seen.

Haveli.

It has been a few yea, but really enjoyed Jewel of India on 44th Street.

Keith

Veering a bit OT: mp, if Devi is anything like Vij in Vancouver, that puts it on my list. We ate at Vij's our first night in Vancouver, and liked it so much that we went back again the next night. Terrific food and ambiance, and the owner is a charming and engaging guy who is in the business for love, not profit. (That said, I'm sure it's very profitable because it seems always to be busy -- but that's a fringe bene, not the mission.) ;-)

Jewel of India is a good bet. My Mother-in-law spent most of her childhood in India (diplomat's daughter) and loves going there for dinner (and she is picky about her Indian food). Whenever we eat there, it seems that most of the other diners are Indian, which to me, at least, is a good sign.

There's a really good one on 74th Street in Queens called Jackson Diner but you'd have to take the #7 subway out to Roosevelt Avenue (74th Street). And they're cash only. Bombay Palace is a chain but it's good. There are a lot of Indian Restaurants on 6th Street, east of 2nd Avenue. A particular favorite down there is Brick Lane Curry House and an old standby is Royal, on 1st Avenue between 5th and 6th Streets. A good place that has 50% off at lunch is Balucci's. There are several in the city but the one I'm most familiar with (and can vouch for) is on 56th Street, just west of Broadway. In fact, if you want to stay in Midtown try Balucci's first and Bombay Palace second. If you'll travel downtown, try Balucci's first, Brick Lane second and Bombay Palace third. And if you'll leave Manhattan definitely try the Jackson Diner in Queens.

Devi
Chola
Banjara

Manhattan only, and Dinner only.

Thanks for all the great replies!

I beg to disagree with Al about the 6th Street Indian places; most of these are run by Bangladeshis and do not offer really excellent Indian food, just generic versions of all the staples,although they are cheap. I think you can do much better for one meal here.

Tamarind, Tamarind, Tamarind! Did I mention Tamarind? I have lived in NYC for 15 years and everyone I know will agree that this is by far the best Indian restaurant here. I was introduced to it about 5 years ago by an Indian friend of mine who raved about it and I have since introduced it to others. Everyone I take there LOVES it. The food is fabulous - perfectly prepared with the freshest ingredients. They serve all traditional dishes as well as some creative ones. The service is great and the decor is lovely. It's not cheap, but worth every penny! You can always save by not ordering expensive bottles of wine. Otherwise, if you're looking for less expensive but still Very Good, I highly recommend Haveli on 2nd Ave (btw 5th & 6th Sts), Banjara on the corner of 1st Ave & 6th St or Mitali on 6th St (Btw 1st Ave & 2nd Ave). I would say that they are equally good, the main difference is decor. They are all within a block from each other so you could always check them out and decide on your mood. Although Tabla is lovely, I would not recommend it for you. It is not authentic Indian food and it is Very expensive. I actually had dinner at Haveli last night and it was wonderful. Enjoy!

You can also get ideas on menupages.com. You can filter on Indian, and by neighborhood. It has menus and reviews.

If you want to try something a bit different, take the subway to Jackson Heights, Queens and go to the Jackson Diner (don't be turned off by the name, this is the real deal).

For more info on Jackson Diner, here's a review from NY Magazine, http://www.newyorkmetro.com/listings...jackson-diner/.

for inexpensive, i like "joy" in curry hill. just had leftovers actually! and tamarind is top of my list, haven't been able to get there yet, but the reputation preceeds it. (? ;-) )