Saar Indian Cuisine & Bar — Restaurant in New York

Cute Indian place - with a trendy vibe and menu.

Located in the Hells Kitchen area of The City it was an easy walk from where we were staying. Given all the food options in the area, this one stood out from a cuisine and menu standpoint - I felt it was inspired and interesting without being too extra that I was googling every word on the menu.

As we sat down, water was poured, and they started us off with these fried rice crisps - the Indian restaurant equivalent of the "starter bread." It was much appreciated to have this palate starter since we were all ready to chow down.

We tried the spinach chaat, cauliflower dumplings, paneer dish (with garlic naan), the okra salad, and the samosa tasting plate.

Each dish had enough helpings for each of the 5 of us to have our own portion - which I thought was plenty given all the dishes we ordered.

The service was quick and attentive. The servers checked on us regularly and filled our water glasses plenty. They brought food out as it was prepared so at one point we had naan and no accompanying paneer to eat it with until it was finished cooking, but overall the wait wasn't too long to get food to the table after putting in our order.

The inside is nice and airy, offering plenty of space and seating for large groups - creates a comfortable ambiance and allows for better conversation versus having to continually rub elbows with neighboring parties if it were more cramped. There was some Bollywood beats playing on low in the background adding another level to the Indian immersive experience.

Would recommend if you're in the area, and in the mood for some fusion Indian. They do take reservations (both online and via phone), and (at least in my experience) were able to accommodate same day...

This is by far the worst-Indian food I ever had in the USA. I’m a frequent traveler, traveled to several continents and several cities in the USA. In addition I’m a cook myself (not a professional) and try all different cuisines. After craving for Indian food for 4 days, started some research and it is rated top with Michelin star restaurants. Tried it out but it’s definitely regrettable experience. We ordered pani puri(gol gappa) chicken Biriyani, chicken pepper curry, chili garlic naan, chicken kabab.

Pani puri is the worst taste I had ever tasted- no salt, no flavor. Puri is not well done, almost covered with large amount of very cold tamarind sauce. This is not true gol guppa.

Biriyani- it’s not even flavored rice, rice over the chicken at the small shops around all the streets tasted much better than this. This is not Biriyani- to all my American friends, Biriyani doesn’t taste like this and it’s the worst.

Chicken pepper curry- it tasted almost like chicken Marsala from an Italian restaurant with marinara sauce on top of the chicken with tomatoes.

Garlic naan was okay

Chicken kabab- no taste to it as it’s not well done and no spices absorbed into chicken

Only good thing was - dessert. It saved us with some calories- otherwise we would have been starving though the night.

Having you branded as Indian restaurant is a disgrace to Indian food. May be remove those dishes that you can’t cook properly or doesn’t give good Indian flavors- otherwise you are representing bad Indian food.

I hope this is helpful for some of the...

One of our fave new restaurants in NYC and one of our fave Indian places.

Owned and operated by the First Couple of the Indian food scene in NYC, Hemant Mathur and Surbhi Sahni, what you get here isn’t usual Indian fare, or even your usual Indian fine-dining fare. But the usual is not why those who know seek out Hemant’s food.

Hemant became famous when his cooking at “Devi” (with Chef Suvir Saran) won them a Michelin star. Next, he ran Tulsi near the UN and now has an in-demand catering business in addition to Saar (he and Surbhi cater many of the top galas and weddings in NYC and beyond).

I’ve eaten at Saar five times for five memorable meals, including two parties - a 50th birthday and a wedding reception (it’s perfect for upto 50 partiers).

At a recent meal, we ate dishes made from mustard leaves and halibut, modeled on street food and homemade dishes popular in India.

Leave extra room for something sweet as Surbhi’s famous desserts are worth the price of the meal themselves.

Everything is upscale, from the brightly-colored decor to the full bar to the training of the waitstaff. It’s a welcoming place in a terrific location on W. 50th St, near Broadway theaters and Times Square.

I’ve used it for business meals and it’s been a hit. In addition to everything else, it offers something very rare: a meal that can impress clients/bosses and that can also remind you of mom/grandma’s cooking.

We will be...