Gazab — Restaurant in New York

I recently dined at this restaurant with two college friends for lunch and had a great experience. The dishes we tried were the Bokchoy Chaat, Patiala Chicken Tikka, Kale Spinach Paneer, Parsi Lamb Salli Boti, and Rampuri Taar Gosht.

The Bokchoy Chaat was a vegetarian dish that featured bok choy as the main ingredient. It was paired with a sweet and sour yogurt, mint avocado chutney, tamarind & dates chutney, fine sev, and pomegranate. The combination of the different chutneys and the yogurt added a nice balance of flavors to the dish. The mint avocado chutney was particularly noteworthy, as it added a fresh and creamy component to the dish. The fine sev and pomegranate added a nice crunch and tanginess to the dish.

The Patiala Chicken Tikka was a gluten-free dish that featured charcoal-smoked chicken thighs as the main ingredient. It was paired with chili sour cream, pickled shallots, gazab masala, and clarified butter. The chicken was cooked to perfection, with a nice smokiness from the charcoal. The chili sour cream added a nice kick of heat to the dish, while the pickled shallots added a nice tanginess. The gazab masala and clarified butter added depth of flavor to the dish.

The Kale Spinach Paneer was a dish that featured baked paneer tikka, fresh spinach, kale, mustard greens, roasted cumin, and micro radish greens. The paneer tikka was soft and creamy, with a nice smokiness from the baking. The combination of the fresh spinach, kale, mustard greens and micro radish greens added a nice balance of flavors and a good dose of greens. The roasted cumin added a nice earthy note to the dish.

The Parsi Lamb Salli Boti was a dish that featured boneless lamb, spicy & tangy tomato gravy, potato salli, ginger. The lamb was cooked perfectly and was tender and juicy. The spicy and tangy tomato gravy added a nice balance of flavors to the dish, while the potato salli added a nice texture and a good portion of carbs. The ginger added a nice zing to the dish.

The Rampuri Taar Gosht was a dish that featured bone-in baby goat, fried onions, yogurt, clarified butter, cashew, fox nuts, and kewra. The baby goat was cooked perfectly and was tender and juicy. The fried onions added a nice crunch and sweetness to the dish. The yogurt added a nice creaminess to the dish, while the clarified butter and cashew, fox nuts, and kewra added a nice depth of flavor to the dish.

Overall, it was a great lunch spot. The dishes were creative and well-executed, and the flavors were balanced and delicious. If you are craving Indian food and looking for a spot with a modern take, this is your spot. The atmosphere was fun and intimate, and the service was excellent. The highlight of the experience was meeting the chef, VAMSHI ADI, who was friendly and welcoming. It was nice to see the chef in the space and to have a chance to chat with him. I would highly recommend this restaurant to others looking for a unique and delicious Indian...

I headed here on a Sunday afternoon with a close friend of mine, to give some perspective my friend and I only see each other twice or 3 times a year and have a traditional of always heading to an Indian restaurant. We chose this restaurant based on the countless tiktoks and recommendations i got from this place, sadly it didn’t meet the expectations at all.

Out of all the Indian restaurants we have tried out together so far, honestly Gazab had to be one of the worst ones we’ve tried. I like many others, who are people of color, that have reviewed this restaurant are very surprised by this 4.5 rating. No broad variety of food, taste is very average if not even below it, nothing really unique or tasteful that had my mouth watering. When i say that the food is bland and barley had any flavor, I mean it with all of my heart. Even their za’attar ( i’m saying this as an arab so I know what i’m talking about) was terrible, I really don’t know how they made it but the worst za’attar i’ve ever tried.

The items we ordered were :

Gobi Munchurian

Tandoori Pompret

Hyderabadi Chicken Dum Biryani

Butter and za’attar Naan

Mango lassi

I will have to say though that we did enjoy the Gobi Munchurian, the crispness of the cauliflower was interesting but aside from that the food was very dull. Portions were off, especially for the Biryani, we were so surprised when he cut the roti ( which was disgusting if i’m being honest, the texture, the taste, everything it was like they never heard of salt or any other seasoning). EVEN THE MANGO LASSI, it wasn’t good either idk how you mess that one up

To put it plainly and as it is, if you come from a brown culture, desi, arab, etc.. please don’t go to this restaurant, it’s just a waste of money if I’m being completely honest. This restaurant was made for white people, no offense, and people who cannot take strong seasoning into their digestion.

With all that being said, the customer service and treatment we go was pretty nice despite what many people are saying. Our waiters were very friendly, and cracked a couple of jokes here and there. Also I really loved the steel cups, really brought me back to my grandmother’s house.

But overall food wise don’t come here, was a complete...

I’ll start with the bad…the service

I went on Sunday evening for a 7pm reservation. It was quite busy with about 10 people waiting outside. I was annoyed at having to wait despite having a reservation. I arrived at about 6:55 pm and was sat at 7:45 pm. Part of the 10 people waiting outside was a 6:30 reservation that also waited almost an hour to get seated.

There was only one person serving the entire ~30 person restaurant. He was kind, polite but also looked quite stressed so understandably, it seemed as though I’d been forgotten when it came to being seated or getting anything I needed. I do not blame him though as he was very professional and actually attempted a conversation with me even though he had a lot to do.

Atmosphere was okay. It's a small place so it can feel a little cramped but I think it adds to the look and feel of an authentic restaurant. I’d prefer the music a little less loud with whiter/more neutral lighting but that’s just my opinion.

I ordered a tikka masala from the shared plates section on the menu. I’m not sure what they mean by shared plates because the portions were quite small. Barely enough for one hungry adult to fill up on. I added some naan though plus I wasn't very hungry so I ended up being okay.

And now for the good…the food

I ordered as soon as I sat down at 7:45 pm and it took 10 minutes to get the order. The food was amazing. Flavors were well blended with absolutely amazing presentation. The food melted in my mouth and I could actually taste the different spices and flavors in everything. Nothing was overpowering. Just the right amount of sweet, spice and flavorful. Simply amazing. The dishware added to the look and feel of the place. I cannot stress this enough. The food and its presentation do not disappoint. They definitely live up to their name with this.

For the quality of food, the prices were actually not bad. You’ll get some awesome food for a tab that won’t break the bank.

Generally okay visit. I gave them 3 stars mostly for the food but if they can work on their service and portions, I’ll definitely be a...