Dip n Drool

If Dip N Drool is not the worst name for a restaurant in the world, I don’t know what is. That and the fact that the location has almost no visibility are not good harbingers, but the food is actually really good.

The menu is ambitious, with foods not only from India but also the rest of Asia and even Italy. However, the Indian food is the way to go. All of the sauces are sublime, and the papadums, which I don’t think are even on the menu, are perhaps the best I’ve ever had.

The lunch combos are a good deal, and the chicken tikka masala and lamb korma were both delicious. On our second visit, we explored the appetizer menu.

The Dahi Puri, crispy semolina shells filled with potatoes, chickpeas and yogurt, finished with sweet tamarind chutney and mint chutney, were the best I’ve had.

Vegetable Pakoda was also excellent. The nachos were a swing and a miss.

The chef is really doing everything he can to make this a great restaurant, and I encourage you to try it. I just hope that they can overcome the name and the location because they really deserve success.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/dip-n-drool-vancouver

Bagheera

This speakeasy has one of the best entrances I’ve seen, and the interior theming is great, too. Not only is the decor fantastic, but the menu is a work of art, featuring text and illustrations from Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories with a drink accompanying each story.

The cuisine is Indian small plates, including appetizers and curries, all of which were quite tasty.

Tuesdays, they have a special martini night with martinis made from gin that they age in amphorae soaking in salt water solutions. The result was a flight of four martinis that were all too salty for my taste but were certainly interesting. I think that their other cocktails that are more successful, though.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/bagheera-vancouver

Kama

Kama serves absolutely delicious Indian food in a nice atmosphere. Their dishes are a nice combination of traditional and creative. All of the sauces we had were spectacularly complex, and I was introduced to a type of papadum I’d never had before: finger papads. It’s an off-menu assortment of papadums. They were great.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/kama-calgary

Kinara

Kinara serves delicious Indian food in a pleasant atmosphere with good service and an excellent menu. I particularly enjoy an Indian thali for lunch.

I selected the butter chicken, and it was wonderful. It came with Daal Makhni, Chana Masala, Vegetarian pakora, Rice and Naan. Spice level was perfect without having to specify. The Masala Chai was also excellent.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/kinara-indian-cuisine-vancouver

Gurkha Himalayan Kitchen

If you’re not sure what Himalayan food is, just think about Northern India. While there are definitely some Tibetan items on the menu, if you’re familiar with Indian restaurants you will feel right at home here, with items like papads, naan bread, and raita.

We purposely tried to order items we wouldn’t find at most Indian restaurants, and we were very impressed.

I had the Nepali Bhojan (Traditional Plate) with chicken at spice level 4 of 6, and it was perfect. The chicken was interestingly spiced and sauced, and the plate came with a delicious potato and spinach dish, rice, soup, raita, yogurt, naan, and papad.

The star, though was my companion’s Creamy Chicken Curry, a rich, tomato-based generous helping at spice level 3. It came with rice and soup. This will be my go-to next time.

Service was friendly, and the atmosphere of the intimate space is nice.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/gurkha-himalayan-kitchen-vancouver

Spicy 6 Fine Indian Cuisine

This place, located in the posh part of Robson Street, is a bit hard to find, being upstairs along a narrow passageway, but it’s worth the effort.

For lunch they have an extensive and popular buffet, but we elected to order off the menu.

Papad were served with three chutneys, the normal min and tamarind varieties, and a mayonnaise based one I hadn’t seen before. It was very good on the Chicken Pakora, our other starter.

For mains we had Butter Chicken, Navratan (vegetable) Korma, and some accompanying garlic basic naan bread. All were quite good. I liked that the mains were served in dishes with a built-in flame below, so they stayed hot. Speaking of hot, the “hot” version of the Korma was what I would call medium, so if you are spice-averse you needn’t worry.

Service was friendly and attentive.

https://www.yelp.com/biz/spicy-6-fine-indian-cuisine-vancouver-2