Amaya on climb toward city's best Indian restaurant
Not that long ago, I would have described the majority of Indian restaurants in Toronto as pleasantly mediocre. No matter where you ate, you could count on florescent-orange tandoori chicken, monochromatic curries and soft sitar music.
That has all changed, and the reason is a little restaurant in Vancouver called Vij's ( www.vijs.ca ). Vikram Vij and his wife/chef Meeru Dhalwala take a modern approach to Indian cuisine, lightening the sauces with wine, softening the edges with cream and using distinctly un-Indian ingredients like rapini and beef. With a best-selling cookbook and a column in a national newspaper, Vij has garnered North American-wide attention.
Vij's was clearly an inspiration when Amaya was conceived. In fact, a few dishes - lamb "lollipops" and cassava fries - should require royalty payments.
Open less than a year, Amaya is easily Leaside's most popular restaurant, as evident on a recent Sunday night when the place was full at 6:15 p.m. (If you're not good at taking hints, advanced reservations are essential, which can be made at www.OpenTable.com ).
The decor could be described as bistro masala, highlighted by giant ball-of-yarn light fixtures and photographs of the subcontinent taken by local cookbook authors Naomi Duguid and Jeffery Alford. Owners Hemant Bhagwani and Dereck Valleau, both sommeliers, have put together an interesting wine list with a food-friendly selection by glass.
Things get off to a great start with the pakora trio. Mushrooms and cubes of buttery paneer cheese are coated in a light, crisp batter made with chickpea flour and share the plate with addictively crunchy onion bhaji. Tart tamarind sauce and cool mint chutney provide a yin yang of flavours.
The entrees, however, don't quite live up to the hype. Grilled Bengali salmon is overcooked to the point where even the delicious dill-mustard sauce can't save it. Lamb shank xacutti is tender and succulent, but it arrives lukewarm and the coconut gravy is surprisingly one-dimensional. Even the sauteed okra seems a bit tired with the dried mango powder not asserting its tangy presence.
Dessert includes some exotic flavours of ice cream courtesy of Greg's and a refreshing frozen mango mousse on a pistachio crust with delectable bark made from white chocolate and pistachios. Unlike most of my previous experiences with Indian sweets, this one gets two thumbs up.
The service is outstanding - friendly, efficient and very knowledgeable. The place is a madhouse during the dinner rush, but they've got the staff to handle it.
In most areas, Amaya is a few cuts above your average Indian restaurant. With a little more precision in the kitchen, it could be the city's best.
Amaya
1701 Bayview Ave. (at Hillsdale Ave. E.)
416-322-3270
www.amayarestaurant.com
Dinner for two with wine, tax and tip: $120
