BarNaan — Restaurant in Brookfield

I visited Bar Naan with my family for the first time recently, and overall it was a good experience. The dining room is decorated attractively and service was excellent. There were a couple of tables of Indian people enjoying lunch, which is always a good sign.

The traditional Indian fare (which is really British Indian, exported to the USA - the Indian sub-continent, like the United States itself, having benefited so greatly from its period under British rule) was excellent. The pakora basket and samosas were delicious starters, and the "Classics": vegetable vindaloo, chicken korma, shrimp madras, lamb biryani, accompanied by plain and garlic naans; were excellent main courses to share.

There were a couple of disappointing elements. The cocktail menu included some very interesting compositions, but apparently the mixologist is so drained after his daily performance that he needs to spend all day in bed recovering from his exertions of the previous evening and therefore never appears at lunchtime. We had to make do with the usual wine and beer offerings, although there was a decent Kent Falls IPA.

The second disappointment was that someone had cracked the tandoor and therefore there were no tandoori courses available (although it wasn't explained how they managed to make such excellent naans without a tandoor).

The only off-notes occurred with the fusion elements of the menu, which is unfortunate for a restaurant which makes a point of offering fusion cuisine. The loaded masala fries house special is a case in point. I like fries to be crisp and crunchy on the outside, whilst being light and fluffy inside, but loading masala sauce onto a plate of fries turns them into a soggy, sloppy mess. This dish should safely be left in the North of the United Kingdom, its spiritual home.

Another example of something which doesn't work was the tikka flat bread: a cheese naan topped with tikka sauce, arugula, red cabbage, paneer and a coriander chutney drizzle. Each of the flavors alone was fine (although the paneer could have been almost anything made out of rubber), but as a combination it was a bit of a mess.

Fusion cuisine can work: consider that a classic Italian dish of pasta and tomato sauce consists of a fusion of non-native elements (tomatoes imported into Europe from Mexico by the conquistadors, and wheat pasta noodles introduced from China - ostensibly by Marco Polo), but these elements must be considered carefully.

Nevertheless, we very much enjoyed our meal, which was reasonably priced, and we will be back; hopefully when the mixologist...

Buckle up because I’m going to tell you exactly why you need to give BarNaan a try if you haven’t already.

The food. Simply put everything on this menu is a home run. I wasn’t a huge fan of Indian food in the past, mostly sticking to one or two “safe” choices. After eating here I’ve begun trying everything on the menu, and not a single time have I been disappointed. My past visit I couldn’t decide what to order, so I went off my server’s recommendation of Malai Kofta. I’ve never had Malai Kofta, hell I didn’t even read the description of what it was, I just ordered it and it was absolutely amazing. That’s why the food here is good. You can throw a dart at the menu and be guaranteed a great meal. The Drinks. No surprise here that the offerings on the drink menu are all incredible and unique. Each one stands out on the menu and is prepared expertly by the bartender. I don’t even like bourbon or vodka, and yet the Buck Bunny makes me hop for joy and the espresso martini leaves me wish my morning coffee was as enjoyable. Special shout out to the Yellow & Tonic The Service. This is what makes BarNaan truly exceptional. Our server John was kind, bright, and attentive. Every question was answered from personal experience; no “I don’t know, but people say this is good.” He knew what was in everything, and what it was, as if he took the time to actually know the menu so he could better do his job. That’s a quality employee. It doesn’t stop there though, other wait staff walking around were quick to remove empty plates, or replace the water with a fresh new bottle. They replenished the water four times before I even realized it was getting low. Both the brother and sister that own this restaurant are very pleasant and authentic people. They care and enjoy what they do, and more importantly how they do it.

I’m not a food critic, I don’t have a travel blog sampling food from around the world, nor am I anyone of any significance. I’m just a normal guy, who goes to work each week like the rest of you. BarNaan makes me feel like I’m...

Last night I had the pleasure of discovering an exceptional new restaurant locally. With a current policy of not accepting reservations our party of 4 was delighted to be greeted with warmth and seated immediately at around 6:45 on a Saturday night. While admiring the lovely pottery place settings the pleasant surprises continued as water and menus were brought to the table quickly, drink and appetizer orders taken. While service was efficient and responsive we were never rushed and were not pressured to give the main course orders until we were ready. But beyond gracious and friendly service we were blown away by the quality of the food. I have eaten in some of the best informal and formal Indian restaurants in NY and the quality of the offerings at Bar Naan is right up there with the best of them, with none of the pretentions and all of the depth of flavor and complexity of truly fabulous food. Though I will probably want to try everything on the menu, particular standouts for me last night were Rogan Josh Sauce which we had with the lamb, the exquisite grilled pureed eggplant in a tomato onion sauce, and the potato spinach and onion fritters, It's the kind of food you can't stop thinking about the next day and I find myself planning my next visit. The restaurant was full and lively, it was still possible to have conversations over dinner. Though I personally prefer a somewhat quieter dining room, I accept that during busy times people out for dinner in a popular spot are going to be a little loud in their enjoyment. We had a great evening that was topped off with personal attention and a terrific conversation with the very charming and enthusiastic co-owner Rinal Patel. I am sure Bar Naan will be a great success and hope they will figure out how to accept reservations without risking the unfortunate experience they had early on of people "no showing" and tables sitting empty. This is a gem of a restaurant sure to become a...