How many times has it happened to you that you read about a cool, funky new restaurant only to find the food there is less-than-extraordinary? I can rattle off many of those experiences, and anticipated more of the same last night when I headed over to Indus Junction for dinner. I was pleasantly surprised.
Indus Junction, a new Indian restaurant on that very hip stretch of Queen West that houses Terroni and Sweet Lulu, has a great combination of cool, modern decor (accented by fun, bright works of art) and authentic, delicious food that has obviously been prepared with thought and expertise.
We started our meal with several appetizers: the vegetable pakoras, crab cakes and two trios of multi-flavoured tikkas - one chicken and the other cod. These tikkas, white, green and tandoori red, were delicately flavoured, beautifully garnished and served elegantly on pristine white dishes. Attractive and delicious, our appetizers were a hit.
Our main course, which comprised of several items that we ordered to share, arrived promptly after the perfectly appropriate time following our starters. While our food was being served by our friendly waitress, the owner of the restaurant (a sweet auntie-type) asked us about our meal and whether we would like food to be more spicy. A nice gesture.
Our mains consisted of a succulent lamb korma, a fresh and fragrant chicken curry which refreshed us with its coriander and mint base, stuffed chicken breasts in a creamy tomato sauce and delicious cauliflower and paneer curry. Out of these, the cauliflower and the lamb were my favourites - again, the beautiful presentation and contemporary ambiance served to embellish an already-beautiful meal. Along with the curries, we had an array of naans - whole wheat, moghlai and garlic, and a bowl of basmati rice.
At the end of our meal, we were too stuffed to indulge in the tempting kheer offered to us by our server. We chose to go with masala tea and Madras coffee instead - both well done. The lovely auntie sent over a platter of luxurious chocolate brownies which served as the perfect finale to a fantastic meal.
Indus Junction
811 Queen St. W.
647-428-7119
I took my friends for a celebration dinner-they got engaged.
thnk it was the 1st or 2nd weekend.
glad its here.
hope they develop a menu soon
we had a fixed price menu
the lamb wasn't the best, but loved the stuffed chicken.
hope they do well
Posted by: sr | July 18, 2007 at 09:30 PM