Ottawa Foodies

My SO and I went to Host India last night for the first time in about 6 months. I've been going here for about 3 years, though never for the buffet, so I can't comment on that. But, each time I go it seems to get better and better. They've redesigned the à la carte menu since the last time I was there, but thankfully the menu hasn't changed. It was busy but the service was prompt and attentive. One good sign was the fact that at least half the restaurant was Indians in for dinner, and then they were hosting/catering a party in the back room. They were also extremely busy with big take-out orders as well.

We ordered a half-carafe of Banrock Station Semillion/Chardonnay, Butter Chicken, Lamb Garlic Tikka (a tandoori dish), Tarka Daal, naan and white rice. And as usual, we had pappadums given to us beforehand and vegetable samosas with chutney as an appetizer. I've linked the Butter Chicken, naan and samosa to the page and their individual reviews are there.

The lamb garlic tikka was a new dish for us to try and we'll definitely order it again. The lamb was rubbed with tandoori spices and then dusted with garlic. The lamb was still chewy and moist, despite having been cooked in the tandoor. The dish was served on a hot skillet with cucumbers, lettuce, onions, peppers and a slice of lemon.

The Tarka Daal was a lentil vegetable that we decided to try instead of our usual baigan bhartha (eggplant dish) or a paneer (cheese dish). It was light on the curry spices, but delicious. It was a nice alternative from the heaviness of the cream-based butter chicken.

Our total bill was $80 with tip - I wish we hadn't eaten everything so we could've had leftovers today! The decoration is traditional, but not overdone or tacky. The kitchen is visible to the dining room as the chef working the tandoor is visible to everyone.

Tried out the buffet. All the currys were cold. There was only about 4 or 5 others when I was there, and they were asking the staff to heat their food up for them. I think there might have been an issue with their buffet warmers when I was there.

The service was quick, picked up dirty plates before I could sit down with a new plate.

The pakora was awesome (and hot), best mint chutney I've ever had too.

Soup was tastey, some variety of lentil soup.

The naan is made fresh by the chef working in the tandoor kitchen - you can watch him stretch it and put it in the tandoor and then remove it for serving. It comes to your table warm and soft.

This is the best butter chicken I've had. Plenty of sauce with a garnish of cilantro on top. It's heavy on the cream, but so rich and tasty. The curry isn't too strong and it's fantastic with their fresh naan.

The samosa order comes with two samosas. The vegetable ones are great - heavy on the curry, but lots of potatoes and peas. The chutney is a clove-based one.