I LOVE Indian food. I’m definitely not a pro at cooking it, but I’ve been dining at Indian restaurants since I was a kid. I spent most of my youth in Kent, a Seattle suburb with a surprisingly large amount of Indian restaurants. Similarly, the University of Washington area had tons of cheap, delicious Indian buffets (love u forever, Taste of India) perfect for hungry college students. Suffice to say, I know my way around a platter of curry and naan.
Unfortunately for me, Austin has a significantly smaller pool of Indian restaurants to choose from, but it does have one shining star: G’Raj Mahal. Not only do I love its food, but I love its atmosphere: the flowing textiles, the chill food truck, the crazy snake-bike-thing:
But wait! G’Raj Mahal is a trailer no more. They’ve moved into a brick-and-mortar near their original location on Rainey. I’ve been anxiously awaiting the opening of the new restaurant since I heard the news, and I got the chance to check it out before its grand opening thanks to the March AFBA happy hour. G’Raj Mahal graciously hosted us on their gorgeous (and pink!) back patio, where they served us with family-style tastings of all sorts of delicacies. Everything was SO good and my +1 (my good friend Sabrina, who was visiting from San Francisco) and I left completely stuffed.
Tandoori chicken, samosas, chutneys, naan, an assortment of curries (including chicken tikka masala, directly above), and of course wine and chai tea. What else can I say? Go check it out for yourself. I only wish they delivered… but I guess it’s good that they don’t, it’s an excuse to go spend an evening under their twinkly canopy!
