Mint Heights — Restaurant in New York

A few weeks ago, thanks to my son, I had a chance to taste food at this simple looking restaurant in Brooklyn. Oh my, what a surprise and what a treat!

I am from Northern India and, as you may know, majority of Indian restaurants around here serve North Indian cuisine. Most people in my situation are always searching for that authentic "home-cooked" taste in restaurant food. After eating at Mint Heights, I feel I can't possibly get any closer to my mother's cooking. Please trust me, I have dined at most of the fancy & fashionable restaurants in Manhattan several times and the dishes at Mint Heights were vastly superior to what you will find at these expensive restaurants. No, I am not related to the owner(s) or being paid to write this!

The Mint Heights is simple place, so don't look for "atmosphere". It is a pleasant setting, nothing pretentious. The food is a bit on the expensive side and, comparatively speaking, portions are a little smaller. However, from my son and my standpoint, portions were perfectly sized - we were not over-stuffed and there were no leftovers. Also, that very day, prices were 50% off for dining in cushioning the price shock a little bit.

For appetizer, the two of us shared Panner Tikka - marinated cheese cubes grilled in Tandoori (clay) oven served with a delicious chutney. The appetizer had perfect smoky taste, we were left wishing for more.

For main dish, my son had Chicken Makhani (butter chicken) and rice. I am a vegetarian and decided to risk a bit by ordering Malai Kofta with Roti. It is worth mentioning the Malai Kofta is a complicated dish - one can always make an edible version but to do it "right" requires lot of skill and patience. I always prefer Roti bread because: 1) No one makes Naan at home and 2) Naan is made from highly-processed flour as compared to Roti which should be made from whole wheat flour and cooked in a Tandoori oven. It appears this is the way Roti is made at the Mint Heights. It is small and thin, not too hard nor too soft, just perfect.

My son has been to this place many times before and loved his chicken dish with rice. My Malai Kofta and Roti made me feel I was in heaven. In almost 45 yrs of living in this country and having dined at several famous restaurants, for the first time, I finished my dish and loved every bite of it. Spices in the sauce were in perfect combination - not sweet nor tongue-scorching hot. Also, it was possible to taste minced vegetables in the Kofta, a very rare experience (don't why but every dish in every Indian restaurants taste the same to me).

Our server was very nice and the manager very humble. I made it a point to thank the chef for the excellent meal. There was only one small issue with our experience. It was a hot day and we have been working hard in packing & loading my son's belongings. The water served to us was at room temperature. When I asked for cold water, I was told I will need to order bottled water if I want cold water. This was a first for me after having lived in NYC for so many years during 80s and 90s.

I live too far to retry this place soon, however, once the schools reopen, I will be visiting my son again at Pratt and will give this place...

Generally I'm not the biggest fan of spicy foods which is why i stay clear of south asian cuisine or korean cuisine. But one of my good friends at college took me to this place for dinner to try out some authentic Indian cuisine. My skepticism quickly faded away as soon as the host welcomed us into the restaurant. We were 3 people and they quickly seated us. My friend recommended me to try butter chicken while he got chicken vindaloo and other one got a vegetarian dish called saag paneer and to go along with them some classic garlic naan 🫓. We barely waited for about 10 minutes before our order was ready. But before our order even came we were surprised with their complimentary dish known as papadarm( i hope I'm pronouncing that right) with mint and tamarind chutney. They were honestly really good for something that is supposed to be a welcome snack. Then our food came and when i tell u that butter chicken is easily one of if not the best chicken dish I have ever put in my mouth u better believe it and i am a hard guy to please so that's saying something. Then i also tried my friend's vindaloo which was a little bit spicy but still extremely delicious and I can't believe i am saying this the vegetarian dish was the MVP u know they know what they doing. Garlic naan was also extremely flavorful. I don't think i ever tried any sort of bread that is this flavourful without adding anything additional other than garlic that is. And also the servers were extremely hospitable. Came to check up on us from time to time and refill our water from time to time. Overall i left the place with nothing but good things to say about it. The atmosphere was also really great. Also for any lovey dovey couple this is a great romantic spot as well. The lighting of the restaurant is also great as well. Overall i would highly recommend anyone curious and want to try authentic indian food in NYC this is a great spot to start out with. After this spot i became a regular indian cuisine lover trying different spots and went back to it a couple times and it still is one of the best spots in NYC for indian cuisine. Highly recommend and it's very close to Brooklyn bridge so if u are out and about and want to try some flavor food at launch time or dinner this seems like...

If there is any option that I can rate 0/10 I would do that. Food is disgusting. World will definitely loose respect towards Indian Food if this is served. This is not at the authentic Indian Food. We ordered cauliflower roast in starters, lamb biryani, vegetable biryani, shrimp variety. Every thing is disgusting. We just ate it as we paid and gave some respect towards food not to waste it. Biryani felt like rice dipped in turmeric water. Cauliflower wasn't boiled to the mark and quality is so pathetic. Shrimp variety is worst. I mean why to add loads and loads of Okra without proper taste to it. Just for some decoration they used okra. Food looks good only on camera but not to eat. Sorry to say this.. but you should really work on improving quality and enhancing the taste of Indian cuisine when you really focused on serving it. Quantity! LOL that's like a sauce cup. Please change menu or chefs. Service is okay but they were sweating all over the restuarant and serving. I totally appreciate that but little hygiene is needed. Restrooms are not up to the mark and there were marks all over the wall. The lady in the front desk is serving pops in glass container by pouring them from pop cans. Is it really needed ? Waste of time. Instead they can serve as it is and concentrate on something as there will be lot of work I guess. I think they should reschedule their work and allot work equally accordingly. Unfortunately there were no spoons served and only fork and knife were placed. Being in New York your restuarant should be up to the mark. I hope whoever reading this in management should take it positively and work on things that they are lacking. Finally, the service by a lady with short stature and spectacles was The best. She worked well and Loved her service with great smile even though food was worst. All the above stars are...