Sankalp The taste of India — Restaurant in Cranberry Township

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Sankalp, an Indian restaurant located in Cranberry Township. As a first-time visitor, my initial concern arose when four of us arrived just after 5:30 pm to find the restaurant completely empty. However, our apprehensions were quickly dispelled by the fantastic experience that followed.

Upon entering, we were promptly seated by the attentive staff. Despite being the only customers at the time, the service was impeccable. Our server, Sunny, went above and beyond, displaying exceptional patience and knowledge. He not only described each dish we inquired about but also offered insightful personal suggestions.

The culinary journey began with Seekh Kabab and Garlic Naan for appetizers. The kabab, unexpectedly spicy, added the perfect kick. The Manchow Soup, available in chicken and vegetarian options, boasted a deep flavor with subtle cilantro undertones and a delightful hint of spice. On the contrary, the Lemon Coriander Soup provided a silky, smooth, and refreshing experience.

For the main course, we indulged in Chicken Tikka Masala, Saag Lamb, and Bhuna Lamb, accompanied by Tandoori Roti and Onion Kulcha. Each dish was outstanding, with special mention to the Bhuna Lamb, which, despite being initially mild, was promptly adjusted to our preferred spice level upon request.

To cap off the delightful feast, we enjoyed Ras Malai, a perfect and cooling dessert choice. Sankalp operates as a BYOB establishment, and although there is a modest corking fee of $7.96 per glass, the restaurant provides elegant wine glasses for patrons.

What stood out beyond the exquisite cuisine was the ambiance. Over the course of nearly three hours, the restaurant transformed from an empty space to a lively family dining room. The air was filled with the sounds of people talking and children laughing, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere.

While I typically refrain from capturing images of empty dishes, this dining experience at Sankalp in Cranberry Township was an exception. The absence of any remnants on the plates was a clear testament to the excellence of the meal and the sheer enjoyment it brought. The empty dishes spoke volumes about the satisfaction and fulfillment that each course provided, making it a memorable and thoroughly enjoyed culinary adventure.

Remarkably, the entire dining experience, including appetizers, entrees, dessert, and even with the corking fee, cost less than $45 per person. Sankalp in Cranberry Township offers not only a delectable culinary journey but also excellent service, making it a must-visit for Indian cuisine enthusiasts. I highly recommend Sankalp for a delightful and affordable...

This is by far the worst Indian food I have ever had. Virtually nothing about it was decent, let alone delicious like it usually is. Since this is a newly opened restaurant, I was hoping to give them a glowing review to get them started on Yelp and Google. Can't do that because of this experience. Today, I ordered the chicken murg tikka masala, gulab jamun, and papad.

I will start with the only positive of this experience: the papad was decently good. I've never had this starter, and it was only $1.50 for a large crispy piece of bread. All in all, can't complain about anything there. It had a nice flavor, lots of crunch, and was overall quite good for the price.

That's where the positives end. My chicken tikka masala was absolutely terrible. Firstly, this portion is the smallest I have ever received at an Indian restaurant. Local places tend to be generous. Then, 85% of the already small jar was just sauce. If you dislike sweet sauces, make sure you order this with a high spice level because this is quite sweet.

The worst part of this dish was the meat and meat quality. There was so much fat, it was almost unbelievable. Nearly inedible levels of fat. Also, I believe this is dark meat chicken. Lots of places offer chicken breast in their tikka masala, but not here. At first I wasn't sure if this was chicken at all.

The rice portion for this meal was an utter joke. The box for the rice was the same as the gulab jamun! See some of other reviews, such as for one of my favorite Indian places in Pittsburgh All India, to see what their competition serves per portion of rice (spoiler: it's at least 3x more for a few dollars LESS).

They even managed to mess up gulab jamun, such a simple Indian dessert! Once again the tried of portions being tiny for takeout continues. These were among the smallest I've ever received, again. The flavor was a little off too. Strange aftertaste, but they do use a fair amount of almonds and syrup to cover it up (or at least, try to cover it up).

All in all, remember this is a chain restaurant! Chains are almost always going to be worse than locally owned spots (some exceptions, but generally). It was the worst Indian food I ever had. So bad that if I was dining in, I would have sent this back. Only reason I didn't give one star was because papad/papadam was decent and I haven't got food poisoning (yet).

Also this is the first time I’ve seen my reviews not showing up, along with some of my photos of the pure fat I’m the chicken tikka...

It was my first time to visit this place. The restaurant was quite posh to be from the inside. The menu was vast with food from the Chinese cuisine, South Indian and North Indian as well. For appetizers we ordered a vada pav, hot and sour soup, dahi bhel puri, chicken 65 and Soya Chaanp. The Soya Chaanp was good and nicely marinated. The dahi bhel poori was super tasty enjoyed every bite of it. The hot and sour soup was kind of salty and there was no vinegar, soya sauce or chillies given to me as sides. Were they expecting me to taste whatever was given to me, well I would have, if it was made as per my preferred taste. Hence I had to ask for extra wedge of lemons to make it according to my taste and then it tasted better. The chicken 65 was absolutely flavorless; a big disappointment. I ate a few dipping it in my chicken sour soup so I could get some taste of it. The biggest disappointment of all was the Vada Pav, specially after knowing the cooks working there are from Bombay (Mumbai), in India. How can a Mumbaiker justify making the smallest error when making a Vada Pav; and here we had something else in the name of Vada Pav. that's no error, Its a BLUNDER!! what was supposed to be a vada was actually Aloo Tikki more flat in shape than round. And there was no Pav around it it was a burger bun. The next round was of main dishes and we ordered Goat Hyderabadi Biryani, Goat Rogan Josh and Black Pepper Chicken with Garlic Naan and Bullet Naan and Falooda as desert. These food came in as a saviour because they really compensated for the previous food taste. The Biryani was amazing taste however the goat pieces in it could have been better cleaned. Goat Rogan Josh had awesome taste and the meat was really tender. Black Pepper Chicken also tasted super good. The Falooda was good though it was not the actual Falooda taste but it had a good taste.

Extra points to Jatin and Sanket for their...