East India Company has three options: the colonel’s lunch ($8.95), the Viceroy’s lunch ($12.95) and the East India Co. lunch ($15.95). The prices go up because it adds on another early meat course, and you get dessert with the two more expensive lunches.
The decor, furniture and architecture makes you feel like you are living in British colonial India. There are white walls with pictures of the desert and troops, lined with mahogany colored wood (with chairs and booths of the same style). The room is right out of a Rudyard Kipling book or Lagaan (or if you've been to Delhi, the Picadelhi restaurant). There is a soundtrack playing mellow, yet slightly haunting Indian tribal music.
We were in a lazy way and wanted a drink with lunch. This restaurant is known for the Rangpur chill, which is a very spicy martini with cucumber and green chilies. My boyfriend loves that drink but decided to try something new so he went for the Masala Mojito. The Mojito has the standard ingredients of muddled lime and mint, but also had a delicate, sweeter masala to make it as the restaurant claims, spritzy.
My friend ordered the Sharabi Lassi, which is quite striking because they use saffron vodka. I was afraid of the thickness and sweetness, but it was a very thin and much icier lassi. I decided to order something different from them, called the Tamarind Ginger Tantra. This drink was the most robust of all the drinks with house infused ginger vodka, tamarind and date puree, plus sprite and peach schnapps. The puree definitely masked and interacted favorably with the liquor. Drinks start around $8.
We all ordered the Viceroy lunch. The first course was a samosa chaat. The samosas were lightly flaky and no bigger than my fist. There was a spoonful of chana to accompany the small samosa.
Next was the soup course. Again, something I assumed would be thick, really was not. The soup was a thin, creamy, yellow broth with tiny puffs of gram and a hint of curried chicken. When eating a spoonful, the tastes were subtle and cooling. But during and after swallowing, a burn lingered in the back of the throat.
The kebab course followed the soup course. My friend received tandoori chicken kebabs that were superbly marinated: the meat was light and fell off the bone. The spices were also not overpowering as sometimes can befall tandoori chicken. My boyfriend and I picked the minced lamb kabobs. They were hot like spicy sausage and had a parsley, pickly flavor going on.
We each picked a different entree (you can choose one of three, I hear their selections can vary). I got the tangy, tomato Goan fish curry. A dash of coconut was also subtly present. My boyfriend had the velvety chicken curry. Our friend had the herby and tangy palak paneer. Each dish came with a subtle tomato base vegetable curry with peas and onions in a light and cool sauce. They also provided naan and basmati rice.
Finally, they brought us gulab jamun. For those unaware, it is like a soggy donut hole that uses a light cheese tasting batter. I usually am not a fan of this dessert, but the gulab jamun pastry had a hint of cheesiness and was soaked in the best cardamom syrup. Pistachios were modestly grated on top.
The food was amazing and well worth the prize. I often do not want to pay very much for food I can make at home or is more inexpensive elsewhere. But East India Company is much better than the other expensive Indian place in the area, Bombay Cricket Club. The Cricket Club’s food seems to only be spiced with one ingredient and they are overpriced for what you receive.
The East India Company kept us in a delightful, mellow mood. Even though we had so many courses, we did not feel gorged, but pleasantly full. My only complaint about East India Co. is that they were hesitant with us asking for more naan, and could have served the curries with a larger amount of rice. The website is posted below if you would like more info:
http://www.eastindiacopdx.com/
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