Shapla — Restaurant in Genoa

The stars are the service and hospitality. The food was okay but far away from what indian food is supposed to be like, at least the dishes I ordered. It was quite disappointing.

The samosas: the filling was good but the crust was made of something entirely different Pakoras: tasted good. But far more oily, and not crispy at all. Dal Makhani: it's supposed to be made of black lentils, not yellow. And is supposed to be creamy, not watery. Vegetable masala: the masala curry/gravy was good. I'd have preferred vegetables that are used in india, so zucchine were a strange choice. Naan: Good! Soft and crispy simultaneously, the naan were good! Halwa: it was supposed to be made of simolina, this one was orange, not brown. And didn't really have any particular flavor to it. Or any dryfruits, which is usually how one makes a rich halwa. Gulab jamun: this was the primary redeeming flavor in the lot. The syrup was the too thin but I assume thats to reduce the sweetness, so makes sense.

Also, only issue with the service: the naans were served first. Then the dishes arrived about 3-5 minutes later. By the time we started eating, the naans were getting cold already. I'd have preferred the reverse order, since curries take much longer to cool down, assuming bringing it all together is not viable for some reason.

I've been living in and travelling in Europe for a few years and this was probably the least indian food among the high end restaurants I've visited.

Final verdict: the food is decent. Just, so widely different from the authentic cuisine, that one questions: at what point does it become a different...

To be honest, it never feels good to give a substandard review, and I tend to leave it. However, it is an expensive mistake to make and for the benefit of diners local and international, probably worthwhile to know.

Their curries are a poor representation of indian food, and for the lack of competition, they've done well for themselves. The madras was pure gravy, bhuna was a bowl of soggy onions and special tikka masala was more akin to tofu in curry powder. The naan bread is a saving grace and well made, but 3-5 euros for bread 4mm thin and 10cm wide is not ideal. In fact, considering the standard of the food, 100 euros for 3 people is extortionate.

I think they are genuine and obviously have significantly positive feedback overall, and are a family business, so you may want to give them the benefit of doubt, but I'd stick to Italian food in Genova...

Its location is in a good spot, well connected by bus, train and subway. The neighborhood is neat and inside of the restaurant is well maintained. Reception was cordial as well.

However, had a pathetic experience with food. We ordered Beef bhuna, Fish bhuna, Daal sag, plane rice, garlic bread and payesh. Payesh was great, Beef bhuna and garlic bread were okay, but they messed up with daal big time. They warmed the old (don't know how old) curry and served us. The smell was so obvious. Manager was informed and he agreed too. So gracious of him to not charge for that in the end. For fish bhuna, we had to look for small fish pieces among the plethora of onions. You'd expect a much better quantity for a 12 € dish in a...