Indian in LA...with Cocktails

[BeenThereAteThat]

A friend of mine wants to take his girlfriend to a nice Indian place, with cocktails, for her birthday. He's looking for downtownish LA or east SFV...no far flung destinations.

Ideas?

[lexusalhambra]

Electric Lotus

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Electric Lotus
4656 Franklin Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027

[rednyellow]

Electric Lotus is fine for a scene, but the food is awful and bland. Service is terrible and the room is very loud. I gave it several tries and always left disappointed or pissed. It's one of the few places I've left zero tip. Really one of the worst places I've been.

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Electric Lotus
4656 Franklin Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027

[lac582]

It's not downtown, and it's more upscale/Indian fusion than traditional, but Tanzore on La Cienega near Wilshire sounds like it would suit what you're looking for. They have a nice lounge apart from the dining room, as well.

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Tanzore
50 N La Cienega Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211

[suvro]

Our recent meal ( December 2010) in Tanzore was one of our worst experiences in my 27 years in LA. As an Indian, it was depressing beyond the pale! I wrote to the owner, to no effect.
More specifically in terms of cocktails, the two our table ordered were terrible. I have had better fruit mocktails in Non- alcoholic Saudi Arabia! And their value proposition for food, especially their appetizers, is infinitesimally vanishing.

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Tanzore
50 N. La Cienega Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211

[sushigirlie]

I ate at Tanzore once and thought it sucked too. But the original poster asks for a "nice Indian place with cocktails." Tanzore is a nice Indian place with cocktails.

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Tanzore
50 N La Cienega Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211

[kauma]

Not downtownish, but not too far (in City of Angels terms)...

Bombay Palace. Not the greatest cuisine, but not at all bad. And a very romantic place...

http://bombaypalace.com/

[Sam D.]

Downtown -- Gill's Indian Restaurant inside the Stillwell Hotel at 9th & Grand

Pasadena -- New Delhi Palace on Colorado & Mentor on the 2nd level

The food at both is very good in my experience. But I can't vouch for their bartending skills. New Delhi Palace seems to do more liquor business than Gill's.

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Delhi Palace
581 S Azusa Way, La Puente, CA 91744

[sushigirlie]

I would dump my bf if he took me to Gill's for my birthday.

[apple7blue]

That's funny, but I did eat there before so I know what you mean

[boogiebaby]

Nirvana in Beverly Hills.

http://www.nirvanabeverlyhills.com/

[Waverly SGV]

Mezbaan in Pasadena and Radhika's in South Pasadena both have new cocktail lounges.

[sushigirlie]

I know we haven't been very helpful to you. Yelp would be a better place to ask your question. I've eaten at a few hundred Indian restaurants around the world, and not one of them meets your criteria and Chowhounders' snobby food standards too. That said, I would take a look into Tantra in Silver Lake. I haven't been there in a while, but I remember attractive food and a setting far more hip than the Chowhound-favorite Indian restaurants. It has a full, modern bar. Tanzore may be a good bet too.