Monica’s Mithai Cafe & Bar — Restaurant in Andover

What a pleasure to dine last night at Monica's Mithai Cafe and Bar in Andover, MA. The food was new and exciting as Monica has given each dish her delicious interpretation of Northern Indian cuisine. Connor was our server and was very professional yet charming. He brought me a complementary, tangy lemon drop cocktail for my birthday. Even though he was well versed on the menu, Monica came out and gave us a description of the specials, various menu items, and provided recommendations based on our tastes. Her enthusiasm for everything was contagious! She even provided a sample of the tofu special for my husband (vegetarian) to try.

We made these choices for appetizers and dinner:

Palak crunch chaat Cheesy paneer fusion rolls

Chicken shawarma wrap Blackened chicken dinner Chicken shawarma dinner Blacked tofu dinner Kati roll bonanza

The flavors in all the dishes we chose were exceptional. You could taste the individual spices and relish the textures. I could eat the chaat every day...forever. Now, shame on me, because I didn't photograph the mithai (Indian sweets) counter, which was a gorgeous array of colorful delights. Since we were so full, we took home pistachio cake and decadent Dubai chocolate bars. Heavenly. We went to this restaurant with few expectations because the menu was so eclectic, but we left feeling like family and so pleased with a new culinary experience....

Having heard about the cafe on social media pages and seen some pictures, we wanted to go and spend some time there while sipping a drink. The ambience stands out and has a good vibe. However , we were utterly disappointed by the service. The cafe was busy indeed and we understand service might get slow as orders get backed up. However after more than 40 min or so, when we saw that people who came much after us were getting served, we enquired about our order to a waiting staff who took our drinks order and said she will get it. It took another 10 min to get our sandwich which had gone cold and thus had lost its texture. We had still not gotten our drinks till time and the same waiting staff came back and enquired on what drink we want. At this point I just asked to get the cheque. After 5 min she brought our drinks and the cheque TOGETHER which seemed like a nudge to probably vacate the table so that they can get their next guest seated. Was disappointed by the service since we are quite regular at their other establishment and we absolutely love their food and service. We just paid the bill and left without having our drink as our experience was already ruined. While we don't think we will be back there, I sincerely hope they improve upon these kind of things and can have basic courtesy for...

Just stopped here to get some sweets for an Indian festival, and also got some to eat on-the-go. Their sweets are incredible, and as someone from Kolkata, India (a place known for their malai sweets), I can vouch this place had one of the most authentic malai sandesh. I liked their pistachio barfi as well. Will be back here for dining sometime soon.

PS: on a second visit, we were really impressed with the dinner and drinks. The kathi roll was absolutely mouth watering, and the mango spice margarita was indeed a very uniquely tasty drink. My partner enjoyed his cardamom old fashioned and sizzling tandoori chicken. Even though it was on the pricier side (dinner + drink for 2 people = $100), the food was authentic. Monica was also very warm and friendly, and we had a nice...