Right when we walked in the door, we were greeted by a very friendly person who gave us a vegan menu when we asked if they had one. He then told us that yesterday was world vegan day and that a lot of people had come to their restaurant especially for the event and that they have a separate vegan menu and are developing more vegan options as well. So that was cool to hear right off the bat.

My friend and I ordered the mushroom masala, chana saag, and roti. Even though the restaurant was busy, our food came out so quickly, like within maybe eight minutes of ordering.

Both of the dishes came with white basmati rice, as usual for most restaurants serving Indian cuisine. The texture of the rice was light and fluffy, and was appetizingly aromatic.

The best part was how amazingly good the mushroom masala was. I've had this dish many times at other restaurants and enjoyed it, but this was definitely my favorite because the sauce didn't overpower the taste of the mushrooms. The sauce was very savory--somewhat smoky--and not too thick.

The chana saag was also delicious. It was a combination of a puréed spinach base and whole chickpeas. It had a creamy texture even though it didn't have any cream, butter, coconut milk, or other plant milk in it.

The dishes were great combined, actually. And they weren't oily! That's very rare, because I feel like a lot of places try to compensate for the lack of animal products by adding a lot of oil or spiciness. Granted, we did ask for these dishes to be prepared mild.

The ambience was great compared to a lot of restaurants, but because this restaurant is in the same space as an old restaurant called Sanctuary, which was so incredibly gorgeous and cozy and had such great lighting and layout, it's hard for me not to compare the look/feel of the two. It's already in such a cool space with exposed wood beams and stone walls, and the lighting of Spice & Tonic is already pretty decent-- it's not too bright and stark like a lot of restaurants are--but it would be even nicer if the whole space were lit a little bit better with golden or amber lights--maybe lanterns or little table faux candles--and if it had more plants, even realistic looking faux greenery.

Anyway, we will definitely be back. The overall experience was great, highly recommended!