Looking for a great Indian restaurant for a first date

[Zyfsv]

Hi, I am looking for an awesome Indian restaurant in the Boston area for the dreaded "first date". Any advice would be appreciated because it would be great to have a second date! Thanks!!!

[abattoir]

ballsy first of all to take a first date to indian... will she/he judge you if you order the food mild or even hot?! good luck.

we love punjab palace, but the ambiance is not necessarily date worthy (if you need a flat panel tv playing bollywood to keep the flow of the convo, let's hope it's your last date) . i would agree with aforementioned posters on Mela. More expensive, but definitely more cozy than punjab. you can also find a nice spot for a post-dinner cocktail if all things go well. You can also check out tamarind bay in brookline. some really great fish dishes.

[BobB]

But the Brookline Tamarind Bay - at least when full or nearly so - is deafeningly loud, hardly an appropriate first date venue. I've also had miserably bad food there, but I understand that others have enjoyed it so it's at best unpredictable.

[Zyfsv]

Hi guys and thank you for the great advice! It was actually his idea to go for indian (guess will be a good test to see if he is chow-worthy). If he had suggested Applebees' we would be done before we started. Fingers crossed!

[MC Slim JB]

Please report on the restaurant, wherever you end up (date details optional)!

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[StriperGuy]

I agree with folks below. Mela is a great place for a date and the food is pretty good.

[fmcoxe6188]

Several years ago I had a first date at India Quality in Kenmore Square. I am definitely not an expert on Indian food, but I enjoyed what we had

[CookieLee]

I was there last summer, and thought it had gone down hill, which totally surprised me, as I had never had a disappointing meal there.

[Delhiwala]

I agree that India Quality is overrated.

[MC Slim JB]

Punjab Palace is a fine rec; Nadeau just reviewed it in The Phoenix.

Other places I consider kind of pretty and thus suitable for a first date: Mela in the South End, Diva in Davis Square, Tantric in the Theatre District. They're not my favorites food-wise, but they'll do. You can choose something more authentic with less atmosphere if you get to a second date.

If your date were all about the food, a real Chowhound, I'd have other recommendations.

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[Jolyon Helterman]

Agree on Mela and Tantric, the latter of which I think gets consistently underrated for its food.

I dunno—I'd offer that even a real Chowhound might want a touch of comfortable ambience on a first date! These places will more than satisfy on both fronts, IMO.

[CookieLee]

I am happy to see Punjab get reviewed. I've been concerned since they opened that not enough diners are in there. I love, love their Thali. I used to live in London, and this place comes closest to the style of Indian food I "grew up on".

How about the new Indian just down the street from Punjab? Anyone been there as yet?

LOL, mc slim jb - WHEN is a first date ever all about the food?!

[MC Slim JB]

That Nadeau review of Punjab Palace was a rare re-review in The Phoenix -- I reviewed it very favorably in my On the Cheap column back in May '08. I did the same thing by re-reviewing Bon Savor this week (which Nadeau reviewed a couple of years ago under the previous regime) as conceived by new chef Marco Suarez, also a rave.

As for not being about food on first dates, I don't know: I had a very early (pre-first-date) encounter with someone that led me to believe she had Chowhound potential: she and I were the only two people out of 20 at a lunch at a suburban American-Chinese restaurant who wouldn't do the buffet. I ended up marrying her!

http://mcslimjb.blogspot.com/

[CookieLee]

I recommend Punjab Palace on Brighton Ave. in Allston. I think the food is v. good. Also, they have a large flatscreen on which they show Bollywood music videos. It will certainly add some entertainment to your date, and will effectively cover awkward moments when the conversation may lapse. And, if things continue after dinner, there are plenty of places in the neighborhood to go have a drink!