Angel — Restaurant in New York

I did a review a number of years ago in which I pointed out that Angel Indian restaurant is one of the finest I have ever been to, and Indian food is my absolute favorite. I have not been there in a couple of years due to health issues, and I live long distance from there. I finally got to go back the other day, and one always worries that our favorite restaurants Are inevitably going to go downhill. I am happy to report that the food has only gotten better. When you order the saag paneer, you will be blown away by it. Unlike most restaurants that seem to use frozen spinach, you could see the fresh spinach leaves in this dish. Almost no Indian restaurants could possibly be this good. The samosas were the best I have ever had, and I told my nephew and his buddy there, and they agreed. My nephew was raised on homemade superior quality Indian food, and he cooks himself. There was a dish that I had never seen before, vegetable moilee, and it was insanely creamy and addictively tasty. I must admit, we also had the aloo baingan (eggplant and tomato) and bindi masala (okra), and nothing there disappoints, to which I will add that I normally hate okra. I wish they still had their kale pagoda appetizer, which was unique and scrumptious, the vegetable korma which was impossibly delicious, and the malai kofta (again, theirs is the best!). Chef Amrit clearly created this restaurant as his love child, and it shows. You cannot be this good unless you decide to make sure you are the best! Chef Amrit succeeds!!

My one complaint in my original reviews soon after they first opened, was that the restaurant was too small, so they needed to expand; I predicted that they would do that as they are the best Indian food in Jackson Heights if not NYC. I was happy to learn that they opened a second restaurant only a five minute walk away. The maitre d’, Moon, handles the two restaurants like a pro. We went into their original location, and Moon keeps in contact with the new store to make sure customers are seated as promptly as possible. He is friendly and truly competent, providing outstanding service. The new location is fabulous. Excellent decor and a great atmosphere. Coupled that with this outstanding food, and you have the best happy meal in the world.

My advice is, if you absolutely love Indian food, you must go there! I know what I am talking about here. My favorite Indian restaurants have been in Britain, and a strangely great hole in the wall in Berkeley, California. There used to be several restaurants here in New York that I loved, but they are gone for years. There are not many in this league.

PS If you have never been a fan of Indian food, this is the place to start. Whether you are a meat eater or vegetarian, check out the vegetarian dishes I just described. No Indian meal is complete without a great samosa and...

I have never written a review, but Angel deserves one. TLDR? - GO!

I am not familiar with traditional Indian cooking, but I love good Indian food generally (from what I have had in my limited experience). Most typical Indian restaurants have disappointed me because they either create the food in a mass batch and dumb it down for non-Indian visitors. Angel was the very best Indian food I have ever eaten. The flavors were incredible. You could taste every ingredient and spice, the dishes were clearly not mass produced in advance, and the spice level was just right. (I grew up eating spicy food and like it when done right so that it doesn't take away from the overall dish -- Here, I got the hairline tingle and it was plenty spicy but not to the point where I didn't want to keep eating.)

The lamb vindaloo was rich and complex, where you could really taste the tomato and spices as components, not just a glop of hot red sauce that I often find.

The goat biryani was amazing. Goat I have usually had tends to be stringy, but this was tender and incredibly flavorful. It was clearly fresh and not an old, cast off side of meat. It was closer to lamb than I have ever had before. The biryani also came in a hot metal bowl, like Korean bibimbap, with the rice, meat, sauce and spices heating away under a covering of naan-like bread (sort of like a pot pie). It had to be mixed up together naturally after cutting through the bread covering and got wonderfully crunchy around the bottom, again a lot like my favorite parts about bibimbap although the flavors are obviously totally different. And the sauteed/grilled onions alone in the biryani were fantastic -- I was seeking them out within the dish! Plus, it was spicy at just the right level -- the biryani I had before was usually tasty but never spicy, probably made more bland for the foreign customer crowd.

The restaurant is small and simple, but the food is why you want to go here, regardless. And the gentleman who waited on us (he may have been the owner?) gave great, friendly service and was appreciative of how much we enjoyed the meal.

We will definitely be back and recommend everyone to try Angel if they have not already. I want to go back just to try everything else on the menu, including all the things I haven't had before. At the end of the meal, we were talking about how we wished the restaurant was in our neighborhood so we could go...

In this small restaurant in Jackson Heights we made a reservation for my girlfriends sister's graduation dinner. We had a spot for 9 we probably had to wait about 10 minutes but it was so worth it. We started with mango lassi ($4, nice price) and Mumbai Bhelpuri (my Bengali girlfriend referred to it as sweet jhalmuri) she was so happy to have this because she enjoyed it as street food back when she lived in Bangladesh. It's like puffed rice with sauces and peppers and peanuts, it was really good. They also gave papad to start the meal with a delicious mint sauce (no tamarind though) but they gave plenty of papad. Then for the main dishes we had Lamb Rogan Josh, Mutton Biryani and Chicken saag with some rice and garlic naan. The lamb Rogan Josh was fantastic, I'm glad we got a lot because the flavor at the restaurant was delicious you could taste the autumnal spices and it had a nice kick to it, but when you have it after it's had a day to sit omg the dish comes alive. Also they didn't skimp on the meat we all had plenty and there was leftovers also no bones which I saw as a pro. The Mutton Biryani was presented so nicely they bring out a pot that was topped with a layer of naan, it was a very nice touch. The flavor was magnificent nothing really was center stage but you could taste the saffron the coriander the pepper, the cardamom, everything was in harmony. This did have bones but the portion of meat was excellent. They gave plenty of raita which brought a much needed coolness to the dish. We had a big portion to bring home, but it went quickly. Then the saag was very well made, though I've normally seen it made with cream (that may have been a regional thing) but the chicken was good quality and plentiful (maybe could have been cut differently, but just a suggestion) and the spinach was tender and had no hint of bitterness just absorbing the flavors of the sauce. I'm not sure if we would order this again but it was healthy and very tasty. For dessert we had a ras malai which was probably the best ras malai we've ever had, creamy perfect texture and very flavor while still being delicate. The service was excellent and the price was fair for all that it was a bit above 100 dollars and...