Cuisine type: Classic North Indian
Atmosphere: fine dining, mood lighting
Meal: dinner
Overall score: 8.2
Nina
It often happens on weekends that we start running errands, and get caught up in them until we find ourselves starving, far from home, and with no ingredients readily available for a quick dinner. That’s when we choose a quick restaurant that we drive by, that sounds appealing or that we have heard of before but never tried. It was on one of these days that we stopped at Amber India. It looked unassuming from the outside, with a narrow entrance off a strip mall on El Camino Real, but we had actually heard of this one and it came with high praises; plus, the full parking lot also offered a hint this place might be a hidden gem. The inside immediately dispelled the initial impression of a small shabby place - this place had an elegant and authentic decor, a sophisticated atmosphere and labeled itself as an Indian fine dining establishment, and rightfully so.
We went straight to the point - ordered two entrees, no drinks or appetizers or anything else that could detract from us getting our food. I picked a dish that sounded very unique - cochin scallops - since I had never eaten shellfish in an Indian restaurant before and I was very interested to see how they would hold up to the spicy cuisine. Having learned our lesson from Shiva’s, we went straight for the unleavened bread cooked in the tandoori oven - not only does it offer the benefit of being whole wheat, but it’s also somewhat crispier and lighter than the classic naan. The server convinced us not to go with roti, but with something similar yet more sophisticated - a paratha (layered bread), with this aromatic seeds that reminded me of cumin though they weren’t quite the same. He insisted they were an Indian seed with no exact equivalent in English, I’ll have to figure out what that is so I can try it out in my own cooking.
The scallop dish was excellent, they definitely earned their title of “Best Indian Food in the Bay Area” several years in a row by the SF Chronicle. The scallops were large and tender, drenched in a tomato based coconut milk curry with peppercorn and tamarind. The texture wasn’t quite as creamy as the classic seared preparation for this shellfish, but it was surprisingly soft for something cooked slowly in sauce that way. They were also quite generous with the portion size, I had never eaten more than 3 jumbo scallops in a restaurant entree before, and this time I had 5, which made for quite a satisfying meal. The bread we ordered was also great, with a crispy texture on the outside, yet the fresh baked softness on the inside. The seeds gave just enough aroma to allow the paratha to hold its own, yet were subtle enough that they didn’t detract from the flavor of the curry.
I can definitely see how this restaurant earned it renown, and I enjoyed our dinner experience here quite a bit. The food was flavorful and excellently cooked, the service was beyond reproach and the atmosphere was appropriate for everything from a semi-casual family dinner to a romantic date night. A must-try in the Silicon Valley food scene.
We went straight to the point - ordered two entrees, no drinks or appetizers or anything else that could detract from us getting our food. I picked a dish that sounded very unique - cochin scallops - since I had never eaten shellfish in an Indian restaurant before and I was very interested to see how they would hold up to the spicy cuisine. Having learned our lesson from Shiva’s, we went straight for the unleavened bread cooked in the tandoori oven - not only does it offer the benefit of being whole wheat, but it’s also somewhat crispier and lighter than the classic naan. The server convinced us not to go with roti, but with something similar yet more sophisticated - a paratha (layered bread), with this aromatic seeds that reminded me of cumin though they weren’t quite the same. He insisted they were an Indian seed with no exact equivalent in English, I’ll have to figure out what that is so I can try it out in my own cooking.
The scallop dish was excellent, they definitely earned their title of “Best Indian Food in the Bay Area” several years in a row by the SF Chronicle. The scallops were large and tender, drenched in a tomato based coconut milk curry with peppercorn and tamarind. The texture wasn’t quite as creamy as the classic seared preparation for this shellfish, but it was surprisingly soft for something cooked slowly in sauce that way. They were also quite generous with the portion size, I had never eaten more than 3 jumbo scallops in a restaurant entree before, and this time I had 5, which made for quite a satisfying meal. The bread we ordered was also great, with a crispy texture on the outside, yet the fresh baked softness on the inside. The seeds gave just enough aroma to allow the paratha to hold its own, yet were subtle enough that they didn’t detract from the flavor of the curry.
I can definitely see how this restaurant earned it renown, and I enjoyed our dinner experience here quite a bit. The food was flavorful and excellently cooked, the service was beyond reproach and the atmosphere was appropriate for everything from a semi-casual family dinner to a romantic date night. A must-try in the Silicon Valley food scene.
Food 9
Drinks 9
Atmosphere 8
Service 9
Value 7
Drinks 9
Atmosphere 8
Service 9
Value 7
Ben
Appears to be another of countless Indian restaurants on El Camino, in a small parking lot next to a nail salon. We were surprised to find it has won some accolades (SF Chronicle Bay area top 100). The restaurant has a nice feel to the inside, white tablecloths and professional and courteous host and service staff. The food is moderately priced (slightly higher than average Indian restaurants in area, standard meat entrees $15-$25) and a carefully constructed menu (not overwhelmingly large, but covers all classics and has a large selection of both vegetarian and meats (including chicken, goat, lamb, seafood). The wine menu is a good size, but we found the price a little high and didn't go for it. I had a "Rogan Josh" lamb curry and some roti, Nina had a scallop curry. The lamb was tender and the sauce was very flavorful and with a good amount of spice.I tasted Nina's dish.. and wouldn't recommend (the scallops were slightly tough and the flavor was lost in the spice). Overall, I found the food to be very good, but did not stand out in any spectacular or particularly memorable way.
Food 8
Drinks 7
Atmosphere 9
Service 8
Value 7
Drinks 7
Atmosphere 9
Service 8
Value 7
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