Little Haveli - Ultimo

I wouldn't be exaggerating if said the food at this little shack is much better than most Indian restaurants in Sydney. Seriously.

The place has a feel of a city take-away, not fancy at all, unpretentious Indian Diner. The staff is humble and efficient while being friendly at the same time. The real deal though is the food! The taste, the flavors, the colors! God it's good stuff!

I have a suspicion that whoever is incharge of the kitchen happens to be an experienced Indian chef unlike most of the Indian places in Sydney that are run by people who have little or no experience in Indian cooking at a commercial level (hence, the real low standards that are widely accepted by most Sydneysiders when it comes to Indian food). The food has a taste that is reminiscent of food at popular dhabas in northern India. Very similar. To a point where south-Indian fare like Dosa et al, taste slightly off the mark. Again, very reminiscent of places in the northern part of India.

All in all, great place for great tasting Indian food. Try the thali - that get's you a lots of different stuff in small portions.

(02) 9212 2471

ULTIMO
153 Broadway
Sydney, 2008
www.littlehaveli.com.au

Delhi 'o' Delhi

Indian food for Australians. Good quality, nicely laid out and more on the fine dining side of things. Not hardcore Indian food the way most people who know Indian food would like it to be. If you can't take hardcore Indian, this is the place for you. Clean, polished and the food is good. Romantic date? Indian? Can't go past this place.

The food is slightly more expensive than your usual Indian in Sydney but then the place has got some finesse as well. Don't depend too much on the wine list, go BYO for a complete experience. Seafood is done the best. All other curries are a bit too westernized for my taste but if I'm feeling like typical Indian Punjabi food, I go to Surjit's.

All in all: good place to have classy Indian in the Inner-west area.

Raavi's Cumin - Crows Nest

First things first: Food-wise, Raavi's Cumin is as good as it gets in Sydney for Indian food.

The menu has it all. Usual North Indian dishes and some from the south. The food is flovoursome and is very authentic. Again, like I always say, you can't compare (and you shouldn't) to the roadside hole in the wall joints in Punjab but this is pretty close. The seating arrangement is good and allows for mid-size groups to fit in quite comfortably.

The curries are done in a nice, authentic way and are truly amazing taste-wise. Vegetables and vegetarian food is good too. Paneer dishes are a good option for vegetarians.

All in all, a good place to have Indian food.

Laughing Ganesha Indian

I went in with great expectations. The food lived up to it. The curries, goat, chicken etc., taste very authentic at this place and I immediately thought this is the work of an actual Indian chef, most probably from North India. When I asked the staff about it, they confirmed it.

The food is very nice. I'm not comparing it to what you get in Punjab or any other North Indian region in hole-in-the-wall joints and for good reason. This is Australia and this is Sydney. Indian food in Sydney has been a great disappointment for a long time. The usual factors do exist, like ingredients, the experience of chefs and just that 'air'. But lately, I've had a few very good Indian meals around Sydney and things are finally looking up.

The only thing that didn't go well was the staff co-ordination. Our orders were mixed up and then there was huge drama in the kitchen, which, unfortunately, is open-view. The waiter was given a hard time by the owner/chef. And I felt sorry for him. I even tipped rather generously on this occasion, hoping that'd ease the tension but as we were driving away, I glanced inside and the owner was still having a go at the poor waiter. That should've been done behind closed doors.

Anyway, all in all, not a bad place for Indian food. Some of the food is quite outstanding.

Kammadhenu 377a King St Newtown

Not particularly happy with this one. Service was slow, food average and total spend was a bit on the high side. The place looked under-staffed and that might be the reason for the slow service that night. Portions were too small. The Sambher and coconut chutney that you normally get with your dosa came in tiny saucers and were gone in a minute. Since service was very slow, couldn't get to order more of those. Dosas were not crisp, border-line soggy, actually. Can't recommend based on that experience. It could've been one of those 'off-days' though.