With all the glowing reviews, I decided to give this Indian restaurant, adjacent to Union Square on a vaguely skeevy side street, a try on a Friday night. The decor was pleasant enough, as was the customer service to start with. Everything went downhill from there. For an appetizer, we ordered the combination vegetable plate, which amounted to a single, cracked papadum atop a doily, two desiccated pieces of vegetable pakora and onion rings and one dry samosa. The sad presentation was matched by the bland flavors and texture of this first plate. I ordered one of the signature cocktails, called Madras Madness, which was made of different types of rum and mango juice. It was so strong and syrupy, I couldn't drink anything beyond my first sip. For dinner, my date ordered the non-vegetarian dinner and I had the black lentils and lamb. My lamb and lentil dish came completely a la carte, and was served simply in a small metal dish. My date's food was presented a bit more festively, and came with vegetable and rice accoutrements. Sadly, nothing we had that night possessed the bold flavors that we so enjoy from Indian food. Whether it was spicy or not, the flavor was what was really missing in our meal, and we won't be returning to this restaurant.
Pros: near Union Square
Cons: quality,flavor and presentation of the food
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