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captain_vegetable Nov 23, 2011 10:09 AM

Indian Curry House (on Jean Talon) renovations

For anyone who has not been recently, Indian Curry House completed some major renovations which has doubled the size of the dining room and has made the place look a whole lot cleaner. You can also see into the kitchen, in case you would like to peek.

They also changed the menu., adding an extra page of veggie dishes and some fish dishes (the fish is tilapia), among others. Prices may have increased but remain reasonable. You can still gorge yourself on under $15 per person.

The staff seem excited about the change.

I spoke to the owner who said that while there is usually no lineup during the week anymore, there remains one on the weekends. He also told me that they actually have two kitchens. He confirmed that the chef has not changed.

Basically, I adore this restaurant and am happy about the renovations because: (1) I like that they're doing well; (2) this means that there will be less of a wait to get yummy Indian food in the future; (3) they didn't mess with the food.

Enjoy!

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Indian Curry House
996 Rue Jean-Talon W, Montreal, QC H3N1S8, CA

  1. c
    chilipepper Nov 25, 2011 09:46 PM

    Had a pretty meh experience last night. Don't know if we chose the wrong dishes or we arrived near closing, but hoping it was just an off night.
    Mulligawtany (sp?) was odd, a cloudy soup with little flavor.
    Lentil soup was ok.
    Channa samosa was yummy, two cut up samosas with tangy tamarind sauce, chickpeas and diced red onion.
    A cold appetizer of "lentil cakes soaked in yogurt sauce"(forget the actual name): more like two lentil balls swimming in a bowl of sauce. The sauce was the best part: tangy, spicy, but the lentil cakes tasted like soggy falafel.
    Chicken madrasi(I think that's the name) was small pieces of boneless chicken in a sauce that listed ingredients such as coconut and lemon and described as very spicy, though it was barely there hot. The spicing was a bit underwhelming.
    A baked eggplant dish was okay: mashed eggplant with a couple of scattered peas also had rather timid spicing. Good thing I like eggplant.
    Finally, the palak paneer could have been good had it not been for an undertone of over-nuking the cheese or whatever they did to make it taste kind of metallic-y. The saag was the creamy kind.
    The nan was on the chewy side.
    The mango lassi was a bit more orange and tangy than the ones I've had elsewhere though not unpleasant.
    Good portions and 20 bucks without tip. Friendly, helpful service. Too bad about the general meh-ness of it all.

    5 Replies
    1. re: chilipepper
      m
      maj54us Nov 29, 2011 01:08 PM

      With Punjab Palace (that had a fire, don't know if they reopened) they are among the indian restaurants that I will never recommend to my enemies.

      1. re: chilipepper
        c
        captain_vegetable Nov 30, 2011 04:50 AM

        I'm actually surprised with your review. I've been going for years and, while there are better days and worse days, I don't know if I've ever had tasteless (or spiceless) days.

        I've tried most veggie foods on the menu. The foods you ordered are not my favourite, actually. I make my own Bhartha (eggplant) so don't order it and I also found the lentil dish to ok-ish but much prefer the samosas. I also prefer just about any of the paneer dishes over the saag. Again, I love this place. Could it be that you just ordered the wrong dishes?

        1. re: captain_vegetable
          m
          maj54us Nov 30, 2011 08:47 AM

          There's so many option for indian/pakistani food in the area and you can't discuss tatste buds. We all have our own favorites spot.

          Alas one can question freshly made food. Maybe you had freshly made food when you went. I did not on my unique experience there. That's why I won't go back.

          Did you ever try curry and nann accross the street? I think it's fantastic. They just re-opened also and I hope they will stay fresh for a long long time. Nothing more insulting to eat something that taste like reheated!

          1. re: maj54us
            c
            captain_vegetable Nov 30, 2011 09:30 AM

            You're right about everyone having different preferences. It just makes me sad when someone else doesn't love what I do, but that's life I guess. I've tried Curry and Naan. I like India Curry House more. Oh, well.

            1. re: captain_vegetable
              hungryann Nov 30, 2011 10:09 AM

              I've tried both and I like them both. On a few occasions, ICH hasn't been firing on all cylinders but I can understand somebody being turned off from a bad first impression.

      2. m
        maj54us Nov 23, 2011 06:12 PM

        I hope they have a new chef because this was the most horrible indian restaurant experience I had after buffet maharadja. Nothing was freshly made. All the plates we had a few years back taste like reheated food. The only good thing was a pakora dish.

        My favorites these days is the one across the street called curry and naan. Taste like frshly made food every time I went so far.

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