LOCATIONLocated across the road from Edgecliff Station and a few minutes by taxi from the city centre.
DETAILSFlavour of India is a local haunt for international VIPs. All the traditional Indian favourites are here, superbly done - the creamy chicken tikka masala is a house specialty. There are a number of less often seen dishes on the menu, including some new low-fat additions including Taj chicken salad, seafood stack, tandoori prawns a separate menu caters for vegetarians and includes dahl, pumpkin curry and mushroom saag aloo.
Licenses and BYO (wine only - $5 a bottle corkage)
PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAThere is a new spice infusing the traditional Flavour of India. The exotic characters of the vast continent are being served amongst flirtatious cocktails and the soft light of chandeliers, giving the restaurant an air of Indian-chic style. Whilst the warmly elegant restaurant is famous for its aromatic dishes, the recently-revamped cocktail list designed by Ivy cocktail expert Alexx Stuart attracts a younger Edgecliff crowd. The South Asian-inspired concoctions draw in young professionals and couples, completing the restaurant’s crowd as a vibrant mix of personalities, and creating a comfortable and welcoming dining room ambience. Tonight we sit within the warm, wood-lined restaurant and toast a classy yet casual evening as the rain softly falls outside. West India’s ocean-influenced Goa can be tasted in our Goan prawn curry as the juicy pan-fried prawns embody subtle notes of garlic, ginger, onion, chilli, mustard seed and an exotic spice blend.
Long sips linger over Jaipur cocktails that effortlessly mingle with every dish - lime juice adds zest to pomegranate juice and syrup, shaken with rum and served in a sleek martini glass. Fresh ginger flirts with the smooth flavours of coconut cream in the Kerala Colada, the liquid infused with chai spices and finished with light rum and lime. These cool coconut flavours harmonise perfectly with the South Indian fish curry - the fillets soaking up tamarind characters from the smooth coconut sauce.
A couple share fillets of tandoor chicken served in rich-red tikka masala sauce with a Bollywood to Amalfi carafe that is defined by fresh orange wedges that dance amongst cardamom infused Cinzano Rosso, Russian vodka, Campari and soda. A smiling waiter presents the pair with a silver bowl of fragrant five-spice garlic prawns that have been marinated in lemon juice, mustard oil, ginger and garlic, and cooked in red chilli cream sauce that is soaked up by fluffy mounds of rice.
In the summer months, the local yachtsmen come here from Rose Bay to break for lunch and enjoy the full-bodied flavours of the goat curry. The tender and sweet goat pieces of the dish are sautéed and slow-cooked with onions, garlic and potato until the meat gently falls off the bone. The men enjoy working their way through the patriotic wine list, which is an easy pleasure as many of the bottles are available by the glass and start from the very reasonable $10
Edwina Storie