BanZara Restaurant Review

BanZara Restaurant Review
Category: Indian
Rating: 3/5 stars
Website: http://www.banzarausa.com/

Likes: Staff, food, decor, prices, friendly manager

Dislikes: Stuffy west-end atmosphere, food descriptions on menu, can you say, "HOLY GARLIC?", where is the spicy food???

Masala Dosa with Coconut Chutney

My husband, Brad, and I walked up to the restaurant at 4:00 pm, looking for an early weeknight dinner. They were closed. Although it is rather unfortunate, we have realized that restaurants in Richmond close during slow hours... which is annoying to those of us who eat early dinners.

Anyway, we came back at 5:00 pm when they opened. The staff greeted us and were very friendly and prompt... which was not the case when this location was once the Indian Restaurant, The Curry House. Another plus, was that we did not see any male staff changing their shirt in the kitchen... another Curry House incident.

I ordered a Masala Dosa, which is basically a lentil and chickpea "pancake" filled with masala potatoes that you break and dip with a stew sauce and coconut chutney. It is a southern Indian specialty and rare to find in generic Indian restaurants. It was one of the best dosas that I have ever had. Brad had the Chicken Biryani. We thought that the chicken would have been in sliced, but it was served on the bone. We wish the menu would have had more descriptions. The biryani rice was good and full of a saphron taste. It would have been improved if there was more heat in the flavor. In fact, the entire menu was mostly devoid of spicy food. Brad and I adore spicy Indian food, so this was disappointing. We accompanied it with garlic naan (naan being like Indian dinner rolls, but so much tastier). However, it was more like.... garlic with a little bit of naan. Four hours later, I still feel like I have garlic seeping from my pores after only one small piece.

... no wonder NYC cab drivers smell so bad.

At the end, I was happy because the manager asked me how my dosa was. Then, the waitress asked me if it was my first one. I told her that it was not, and that I had a good friend from college who used to make them for me (thanks to Kunjan!). I think I may have impressed them... which always makes me feel pretty darn good.