August 6th, 2006, 08:51
I never had Indian food until I went to graduate school. It was a cuisine that intimidated me, and apart from the word Curry, I knew absolutely nothing about it. Then I was lucky enough to move to San Francisco and lived across the street from a wonderful north Indian restaurant. I became friends with the owner, and I ate so much there that she started making special dished just for me and gave me an education on the origins and techniques of Indian/Himalayan cooking. I now can only make it about 2 weeks without having a craving for some of that food.
I noticed on my first trip to Jomtien an elegant looking restaurant called Indian by Nature close to Bruno's cafe. I could tell by the looks of things that it would be a little pricey, but two nights ago I was ready to splurge, so I grabbed a friend and away we went. Here follow the details and of course my humble opinions.
We were greeted at the door and could immediately tell we were in an elegant (looking) restaurant. It may not make Pattaya's prettiest, but it was definately first class. The tables were wonderfully placed with crisp white table linens, silver charger plates, and wine glasses. All of this was found in a dining are filled with Indian art, Teke frunishing, soft lighting. Unlike most restaurants I've found in Thailand, the server handed us our drink menus and then briefly left giving us time to look it over. As soon as we closed the wine list our server promptly reappeared. I usually have a hard time matching a good wine with Indian food, and as they didn't have a Guwurtztraminer that I liked on the list, I went with the bloody mary. My friend had mango juice. I must say that the Bloody Mary was the best I've had in a long time. They bring you the tomato juice with vodka in it, and separately provide you with a shaker of pepper, a shaker of celery salt, tobasco sauce, and lee & perin's. I was able to have it as spicy and dark as I like it.
It came time to order, and feeling a little overindulgant, we ordered three entrees for the two of us. Knowing it had been too long since I ate Indian food last, I had my old standbys. They have an extensive range of meat, seafood, and vegetarian entrees, many times of flatbread, and many styles of rice (including basmati and saffron). We chose Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Vindalho, and Palak Paneer. To go with our meal we also had Kheer Raita, Butter Naan, and Basmati Chawal (rice). The also brought us a small appetizer of tomato on flat bread and served it with a sweet chutney and a mint chutney. I can say all were 10's except the palak paneer and kheer raite which were both a little too runny for my taste. The palak lacked the overall spinach flavor that the dish calls for. As for the other dished they were wonderful, and they did not go easy on the spice for farang tastes, the Vindalho was as spicy as ever, and delicious. The Tikki Masala was buttery and well flavored, and the large chicken cooks were tender. This is definitely a place that knows what they are doing. I am told that the woman who owns the place is actually a highly acclaimed culinary instructor of Indian Food. Not only was the food great, the service was excellent. They were attentive without hovering.
They say in their advertisements that they have a website, www.indianbynature.com (http://www.indianbynature.com), but at the moment I cannot access it. To give you an idea of the price, my bill looked like this:
Bloody Mary 180
Mang Juice 80
Mineral Water 20
Chicken Tikki Masala 350
Chicken Vindalho 250
Palek Paneer 160
Kheera Raita 120
Butter Naan 60
Basmati Chawal 80
Mineral Water 20
Service Charge! 132
Total 1452
While I do hope to find good quality Indian food that I can eat on a regular basis, I must say I was very happy to go to Indian by Nature, and for special occasions or a good quality night out, it is terrific.
Atmosphere 10/10
Drinks 9/10 (I don't like that we had to pay for two mineral waters)
Food 9/10
Service 10/10
Value 6/10 (understanding you are paying for more than just the food, but come on, 80 baht for steamed rice)
Indian by Nature is located on 306/66-68 M. 12 Tappaya rd., better known as the road to Jomtien, next to Bruno's Restaurant and practically across the street from Pan Pan Italian food.
Try it for something special.
HWT
I noticed on my first trip to Jomtien an elegant looking restaurant called Indian by Nature close to Bruno's cafe. I could tell by the looks of things that it would be a little pricey, but two nights ago I was ready to splurge, so I grabbed a friend and away we went. Here follow the details and of course my humble opinions.
We were greeted at the door and could immediately tell we were in an elegant (looking) restaurant. It may not make Pattaya's prettiest, but it was definately first class. The tables were wonderfully placed with crisp white table linens, silver charger plates, and wine glasses. All of this was found in a dining are filled with Indian art, Teke frunishing, soft lighting. Unlike most restaurants I've found in Thailand, the server handed us our drink menus and then briefly left giving us time to look it over. As soon as we closed the wine list our server promptly reappeared. I usually have a hard time matching a good wine with Indian food, and as they didn't have a Guwurtztraminer that I liked on the list, I went with the bloody mary. My friend had mango juice. I must say that the Bloody Mary was the best I've had in a long time. They bring you the tomato juice with vodka in it, and separately provide you with a shaker of pepper, a shaker of celery salt, tobasco sauce, and lee & perin's. I was able to have it as spicy and dark as I like it.
It came time to order, and feeling a little overindulgant, we ordered three entrees for the two of us. Knowing it had been too long since I ate Indian food last, I had my old standbys. They have an extensive range of meat, seafood, and vegetarian entrees, many times of flatbread, and many styles of rice (including basmati and saffron). We chose Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Vindalho, and Palak Paneer. To go with our meal we also had Kheer Raita, Butter Naan, and Basmati Chawal (rice). The also brought us a small appetizer of tomato on flat bread and served it with a sweet chutney and a mint chutney. I can say all were 10's except the palak paneer and kheer raite which were both a little too runny for my taste. The palak lacked the overall spinach flavor that the dish calls for. As for the other dished they were wonderful, and they did not go easy on the spice for farang tastes, the Vindalho was as spicy as ever, and delicious. The Tikki Masala was buttery and well flavored, and the large chicken cooks were tender. This is definitely a place that knows what they are doing. I am told that the woman who owns the place is actually a highly acclaimed culinary instructor of Indian Food. Not only was the food great, the service was excellent. They were attentive without hovering.
They say in their advertisements that they have a website, www.indianbynature.com (http://www.indianbynature.com), but at the moment I cannot access it. To give you an idea of the price, my bill looked like this:
Bloody Mary 180
Mang Juice 80
Mineral Water 20
Chicken Tikki Masala 350
Chicken Vindalho 250
Palek Paneer 160
Kheera Raita 120
Butter Naan 60
Basmati Chawal 80
Mineral Water 20
Service Charge! 132
Total 1452
While I do hope to find good quality Indian food that I can eat on a regular basis, I must say I was very happy to go to Indian by Nature, and for special occasions or a good quality night out, it is terrific.
Atmosphere 10/10
Drinks 9/10 (I don't like that we had to pay for two mineral waters)
Food 9/10
Service 10/10
Value 6/10 (understanding you are paying for more than just the food, but come on, 80 baht for steamed rice)
Indian by Nature is located on 306/66-68 M. 12 Tappaya rd., better known as the road to Jomtien, next to Bruno's Restaurant and practically across the street from Pan Pan Italian food.
Try it for something special.
HWT