Dawat Haute Indian Cuisine
“I've eaten at Madhur Jaffrey's restaurant a number of times for lunch and dinner.”
“We ordered:
Chicken Tikka stuffed Naan
Keema Samosa
Goat Biryani
Chicken Makhani
Everything had incredible flavor and great presentation.”
“We had a few dishes in the main course including sauteed vegetables, dal, paneer tikka masala.”
Dawat Haute Indian Cuisine
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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I came here after my shopping spree at a nearest store. I passed by here and thought why not try it since I passed the restaurant many times anyway. The restaurant has 2 dining sections in the back and front of the bar. I was seated at the front right by the window so I could see "the traffic?" I prefer this area anyway. The waiter came in to ask for the type of water, as usual. Then before placing my order, although I know about Indian food and know what most of them are, I asked questions to make sure there's nothing that I cannot eat due to my new allergy discovery. The waiter explained to the best of his ability, he did a good job. The side dish was a flat crispy bread, papadum? with a mint dipping sauce. That was pretty good. I decided to order Chicken Tikka Masala because the waiter said it's people's favorite dish. There are 2 types of Chicken Tikka, one without sauce and one with sauce. Mine was with sauce. The sauce is as we all know, yogurt and tomato. I had this and I enjoyed this. I had it with both rice and garlic naan. The naan was very delicious but oily. Try this, you won't be disappointed. I ate slowly so I could enjoy. I took half of everything home. I asked the waiter about the faces/masks on the wall. He said closed and opened eye mask symbolizes conscious and unconscious. Good, I'm the conscious one. But to read the menu, I had 4 eyes, even more conscious at the time. The waiter and runner were polite. Food wise, this place has an OK Tikka Masala. The food was served pretty quickly, maybe because not a lot of patrons yet. I have tried a few dishes from different Indian restaurants in NY before joining this Yelp, at one time I loved tandoori. The bill is slightly higher because of the location. Try it, doesn't hurt. The shopping plus dining, that hurts a bit. Then here comes Uber, ouch! Three things I spent on the same day.
The zagat sticker outside says: Best Indian restaurant 20 years in a row. But, you'd need an archaeologist to date its origin (circa 2006?). Sadly, this once excellent restaurant has started to show its age.
I'm not going to be critical of the lack of air-conditioning on a hot summer day, for these things can happen. I don't even consider the fact that the restaurant could do with a face lift as a negative. What's bothered me is that the menu is essentially unchanged since the last time I was here (2007?) and the execution of the recipes by the kitchen has deteriorated.
At one level it's re-assuring to see staff that has been with the restaurant for decades, especially given the employee turnover in NYC restaurants. However, it is unequivocally a bad sign to hear the manager tell the wait staff about the glory days and how certain customers first came in 2001 and still sit at their preferred tables at the back of the restaurant (!)
In terms of food: I tried the Dahi bhalle, and while the yogurt mix of this popular street food snack in the subcontinent was cool and refreshing, I didn't think much of the texture of the bhallas (patties). The Tandoori grill that the manager highly recommended was good in theory, but below average in practice. While one does get variety in the shape of lamb chops, tandoori chicken, shrimp, and Haryali chicken all in one platter the quality of only the lamb chops would earn 3 stars. The shrimp and Haryali chicken (green due to coriander) were below average, and the Tandoori chicken was of the kind your cooking instructors warned you about, and what sustained you in the college years of all-you-can-eat Indian buffets: dry, tasteless, ghastly hue of pink and orange. Seriously, I never review this dish, for good reason. The dessert: Ras Malai was competent, however, the temperature of the cottage cheese patties was different from that of the creamy milk – which also lacked the right consistency.
The $ 56 tab (inclusive of tip) is reason enough for me to round down from 2.5 stars. Please don't bother trying to find the menu at the restaurant's website (on their yelp page as well) – for the link takes you to a Chinese website. If you live nearby and would like to order delivery, instead go with Seamless or Menu Pages. Incredible that a once top tier restaurant has come to this, but such is life.
You can do better.
This place is good – everything we ordered was quite tasty and the atmosphere is quite lovely with some fun but simple decor. However there was one MAJOR disappointment. I ordered chicken tikka masala (my favorite!) and my friend ordered butter chicken… to our dismay the dishes were nearly identical, honestly as far as I can tell the only difference was on the butter chicken there were a couple diced tomatoes. Especially for the price this was ridiculous. I won't be returning.
Elegant, classy but not presumptuous is the perfect way to describe our dining experience at Dawat. The Maitre d' was kind enough to give us a corner table with a full view of the restaurant and the chef working the Tandoor. Service was exceptional. Our water glasses were never empty and we were cleared and reset after every course. The food was classically Indian and beautifully presented and served by the professional, yet friendly waiters. Everything was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Highly recommend.
We had a mixed experience at this restaurant that was rated the # 1 Indian Restaurant in NYC several years back. Madhur Jaffery, the cookbook author and sometime TV cooking personality, is connected with this operation in some manner, maybe even as an owner, and her recipes and tastes are a strong force here. I have several of her books, and her Lamb Rogan Josh is still the recipe I use for that dish.
The food is generally good, the service can be excellent, with the occasional oops, but it is the inconsistency in the level of heat that is the discouraging aspect of this otherwise top notch restaurant. We will normally 2 to 4 entrees in order to get a nice cross section of the dishes we like, but can't get at home, at least not at this level of quality. We'll mix the requested heat level, one hot, a couple medium, and maybe one at mild, and that along with the bread, an appetizer, rice, riata, chutneys, etc will balance out the overall intensity of the meal.
This approach works for us most restaurants were the heat level can vary from Hot (or even Indian Hot), to mild. But here , we've had at best, mixed success. And I've explained to the wait person what we wanted, and at what heat level. Now, when it is right, it is the best Indian food I've ever had, when not it is all mild as baby food or so hot as to be numbing.
Any way, love the Aloo Tikkyas with Red Peshawari Chutney appetizer, Vegetable Samosa, Chicken Tikka Masala, Cornish Hen with Green Chilies, Kashmiri Rogan Josh, and the Home-Style Chicken Curry, and most of the bread items. This is not a cheap place to eat, the portions are only normal size, and some entrees come without rice.
I had heard great things about Dawat and was excited to try it the other night. Despite there being no reservations available on Open Table for a Tuesday night, we were able to secure a reservation for two at 7 when we called. The restaurant was almost empty when we got there, so I'm not sure what that was about.
Overall, the experience was disappointing. I was expecting a much more upscale vibe, but the décor felt sparse and unsophisticated. The service was average and our waiter seemed uncomfortable.
The food did not make up for the underwhelming atmosphere. A crispy unleavened bread with a spicy parsley sauce preluded our meal. To start, we split with Baghari Jhinga, or shrimp with garlic, mustard seeds, and curry leaves. It was a bit spicy but didn't have a lot of taste. As our entrees, we ordered the Chilean Sea Bass Fish Tikka and the Chicken Tikka Masala. The fish was cooked nicely, but came on a plate with sliced raw onions which seemed like an odd accompaniment. The chicken tikka was not memorable. We also ordered plain naan and steamed basmati rice. The naan came out dripping in butter, which I was not happy with.
My companion and I skipped any dessert offerings, choosing instead to go to another place to satisfy our sweet tooth. I had high hopes for Dawat but will not be returning!
We had an excellent (but pricey) as others noted meal here with friends. I came because I use all her cookbooks (which are written for what you can find in American grocery stores after you secure a few exotic spices.)
The price did not bother me (note we have stuck in our collective minds that Chinese and Indian food should be 7.95 a dish for the same ingredients we would pay a French restaurant 27.95 for!).
The portions were a bit smaller than we expected but it was all excellent. We tried different dishes and passed them around for all to taste, vegan and non vegan. This place makes you realize there is Indian food and then there is Indian food.
Rox H. needs to get over it (see review below), no one who is a professional business person would cancel a large order with a voice mail! What a strange mindset and not one i would want to encourage.
Very sophisticated ambiance and flavors. The combinations of spices are subtle and extremely flavorful, but could be a little too subtle for what I am used to. Everything tastes fresh and, again, sophisticated. Perfect place for a relaxed business or family dinner with your elderly parents. This was my second time but I know I will come back for more. The rice pudding is perhaps the best I've had.