Avatar's — Restaurant in Sausalito

I really enjoyed my quick lunch today at Avatar's in Sausalito! I heard about Avatar's from Marin Magazine's "Best of Marin Restaurants" where Avatar's was featured as the Best Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurant in Marin County.

While I'm not vegan or vegetarian, I really enjoy healthy and thoughtfully prepared food so as I was driving by and saw their signage, I decided to stop in for a quick bite. After reviewing the menu, I quickly discovered this isn't your average Indian restaurant. The dishes are a unique fusion blend of Indian, Mexican, Caribbean and Asian influences.

I couldn't really decide what to order, as I'm a creature of habit and always order the same thing at Indian cuisine restaurants. I told the kind female server that I usually order Palak/Saag Paneer and she said they could make it. It was the best and most flavorful rendition I have had in the bay area. I frequently order from Lotus and have ordered from Bombay Grill and Amber Kitchen on delivery. I also order from Indian Palace sometimes as it's a convenient location on my way home to Tiburon. Avatar's version was the best.

I ordered it with a medium spice level, accompanied by slightly blackened fresh vegetables and basmati rice. The rice was perfectly cooked and not over-flavorered with too much saffron but just enough to get notes of its vibrant flavor. Ashok explained that in their version of the curry doesn't include dairy or cream and is oil based using bean products. Totally wow, a healthier version of the dish that tastes better!

Normally Indian restaurants put curry in an oval shaped dish that makes it appear larger, so when the plate first arrived with the curry and rice on one traditional round plate, I thought it was a smaller preparation, but it wasn't and the portion was perfect.

Ashok also just prepared a Daal Curry for a takeout guest and brought a small sample for me to try it the next time I visit. He explained that all dishes are made-to-order and they don't pre-cook large portions to serve like many other Indian restaurants do. The curry was also excellent, but I like spinach curry over cauliflower/lentil curries (re: creature of habit). I ordered the same dish again to-go to enjoy for dinner.

I was surprised the restaurant wasn't immediately packed at 11 on a Friday like other restaurants in town with the food and service being so excellent. Go to Avatar's...

Don't be deceived by the sweet talk the owner gives you at the beginning. He seems so welcoming and big talk about how if your plate is just ok he won't charge it because he has so many locations it doesn't matter to him to not charge for a plate. Well, our food was less than ok. Sub par for sure. Ravioli was beyond all dente, could barely find the lamb in the lamb enchiladas, my lamb curry was so tough. But the worse was my aunt's eggplant enchiladas. She found 2 hairs! 1 was so nestled in that enchilada that it even took awhile to pull all the way out to show the waiter. They took forever to bring her a new plate and when they did it didn't have rice. To add insult to injury they didn't even comp it. When I got the bill and went to tell the owner about the hairs he just said "oh yes I already told them" (pointing at the kitchen) Lol 😆 after all that talk he didn't comp ONE plate out of 7. Ridiculous! Also, a chai drink was ordered and they never brought it till finally came around to us and we asked for it again. They offered us bread/roti as if it was complementary and when we asked for more they never said it was extra. Noticed untill they gave the bill. They include the tips for 5 people when they barely came around. Only good things were the flavors of the curry sauce and the samosas. But aside from that really bad experience. I saw them being nicer to other people. Maybe because we were the only Latinos. I really don't know but never lan on coming back. Save your money. There are way...

My aunt recommended me to try Avatar's. I really loved the fusion food served at Avatar's - full of taste, care, smile and happiness. The reason I say all of this is because not just the food but our entire experience at this restaurant was amazing.

Ashok, the owner cum chef of the restaurant was very welcoming, walked us through his specialities and why he used certain ingredients and why he did not. He offered us the freedom to be able to customize the dishes to our taste and health choices - like protein, carbs etc.

We ordered Jerky Chicken dish which was more inclined towards Jamaican cuisine. We also order ground lamb enchiladas which was a combination of Indian and Mexican flavor. Both the dishes were very tasty and we relished every bit of it.

The restaurant has decent sized free parking lot available in front of it.

Prices are appropriate for the taste that you get here. The owner cum chef has definitely put in a lot of effort to customize the dishes and create an amazing blend of Jamaican, Mexican and Indian flavors.

I would definitely recommend you to try out Avatar's! In Ashok's words, it might be one of the best food you ever had!

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