Mango Pickle — Restaurant in Lake View Township

I wish I could give a higher rating for this place, as it seemed very promising prior to my first visit, but I do not think I'll ever be back.

Pros: Nice atmosphere, nicely designed and decorated in the inside, and clean. The staff is also nice and polite. The appetizers were beautiful in presentation and delicious. We got Samosas and paneer pops.

Cons: The staff seemed a bit frazzled and after being approached by 3 different people, our party of 3 was seated at a table closest to the door even though the restaurant was mostly empty.

Our server was nice but she did not ask us if it was our first time visiting (which it was) and did not explain the menu to us, nor did she talk about any specials, house favorites, popular dishes etc. Which left us to figure things out on our own.

All 3 of us ended up ordering the same thing (The Roasted Leg of Lamb, a side of rice, and Mango Lassi with our meals). All I can really say about the Lamb was that is was sad. Under the impression that it was a leg of lamb, I cannot even tell you what cut of meat it was. It was covered with a brown gravy that looked like it was seizing, and a stuffed tomato and overall just looked sloppy and not very appetizing. It was served room temperature, and did not taste like it had been freshly made, rather warmed up separately, and then assembled on the plate, which is odd because it took about 40 mins for our food to come out and I was expecting a piping hot plate.

The turmeric rice was good. The other rice not so much. It was tough and again, tasted rewarmed. The Naan was fine. The Mango Lassi was fine, but there wasn't any actual Mango in it, and what seemed to be a full glass actually turned out to be 1/3 filled and a MASSIVE ice cube plopped in there which was very misleading.

Overall, it was a very expensive and disappointing visit to this place. The food prices are very high for what you get in terms of quality. I will pay a pretty penny for a small plate, but not if it is mediocre in flavor and presentation. For the prices they charge everything needs to be stepped up a notch, otherwise your guests will feel cheated and disappointed. Management should really train the staff to let guests know that everything is A La Cart, but also should considered including rice with the entrees averaging at $18-$25 for the few options...

We were there during restaurant week and got the vegetarian fixed menu. They did a nice job of these options overall but seemed to lack some refinement. Additionally the dinner took quite a long time, a couple hours for a few courses that were of course known ahead of time. The drinks were good but seemed off balance, being either not chilled enough or under sweetened given level of acidity. Felt bad for the bartender who seemed to be not only the only one making drinks, but also bussing tables and other duties.

A “naan” with crispy kale, aioli, pickled onion. Tasty but rather thick and heavy bread closer to a cross between English muffin and naan Daal Makhani, was about as one might expect. Makhani is always appealing but nothing leapt out as unusual except for the pile of potato chips and a dried tomato that really only detracted from the experience with its leathery texture. A vindaloo paneer with cauliflower. This had the best taste of the savory courses with delicate cheese and a rich sauce. Only downside was cauliflower overly crunchy. Not at all spicy either. A “sundae”. Including spicy chcolate mousse, cardamom ice cream, toasted coconut, and tuile. Best dish by far with a lovely variety of textures and classically...

This place is a joke on a few levels.

Concept - The place is not authentic Indian. Example Bhel does not look like or made the way they do here. For authentic bhel go to Devon either Uddapi Bhavan or Patel bros. So the question what is the concept? Is it experimental? And is it experimental without any intent? I found all the dishes confusing and no consistency of what was going on.

Execution - The flavors just don't come together. The eggplant we ordered fell completely flat. A real baigan bharta is ravishing, not the case here.

Plating - My rabri that I ordered looked like someone had thrown up on a plate, my guest agreed and the chef and staff apologized for it.

The staff is very friendly here, they just haven't been trained.

This place is a total train wreck. It needs a serious examination from its core and then strong focus to execute on what is being prepared and how it is being served.

I am rating this from a lens of contemporary American Indian fusion twist lens, which is generous.

From an Indian food perspective I would give it...