There is a new Indian restaurant in town and it is worth a visit. Namak at Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi serves contemporary Indian cuisine, created by the celebrity chef Kunal Kapur. He is well known in India and has appeared on various television shows including Master Chef. We had the opportunity to try various Indian dishes that we thought we were familiar with, but Chef Kunal and Namak puts a very unique twist that changes the traditional flavours into a whole new level. If you want to put your taste buds through a culinary journey, don’t hesitate and bring yourself (and friends) to Namak.
Before we mention anymore details about the food, I have to mention that the staff and service is superb. They are attentive but not intrusive. They take time to talk through every dish they serve you and with great detail. Each dish they serve has some twist or story behind it so the experience starts even before you taste it.
The atmosphere definitely has a modern Indian vibe. The decor is colourful, with a dominant orange hue within the restaurant. You’ll notice it between the furniture, the artwork, and even the staff’s uniforms. All these elements are brought together to give you a satisfying dining experience.
Now to move onto the part where it gets the most interesting…the food! We were served a specific tasting menu so we were able to try more dishes in smaller portions. This worked out great for us since we didn’t have to decide on which items to order.
Starters
Starting with their in-house Indian crispy bread, which they serve with 4 different types of butter (honey curry, cumin, garlic chili, and saffron). We knew this was going to be something different. So many flavours to choose from, so many surprises. This was shortly followed by the chef’s Amuse-bouches – the Bhaji65. It is a bite-sized fried vegetable with 5 different sauces (tamarind, fig, tomato, yogurt, and lime) surrounding it. The server suggested the proper way to eat it; to use your fingers, pick up the vegetable, and swirl it in all 5 sauces before eating it. It was amazing, to say the least.
Next up were the cold appetizers which includes the pomelo salad (one of my favourites) which was served with dry ice in a fancy bowl. The pomengranate seeds and pomelo adds a light and refreshing taste atop the greens.
Tuna tartar – Served with nori chips and an assorted green salad and Indian chat (mini crumbling chips with spices).
KFC (Kerala Fried Chicken) – a play-on concept of the original KFC, but what’s special is that they use 3 types of flour (corn, rice, and ground). The batter was not too thick and the chicken leg was tender (albeit it is dark meat).
Kerala Duck Curry Tart – This is a fantastic appetizer. It has a pastry-based crust with duck curry, raspberry chutney, coconut flakes, and garnished with a curry leaf. Because it does have curry, there is some spicyness to it but it was just mild to me. The spices do carry over into the aftertaste and the flavour is quite strong. Pair this with one of their mocktails and it is a fantastic delight.
Main Courses
If you didn’t start craving Indian food yet, don’t worry, those were just the appetizers. It was quite a bit to try but they were all so delicious. Now let’s move onto the main courses.
Lamb Loin – Served a very unique bone marrow plates are (photo-worthy), the lamb meat is wrapped in a thin layer of potato pastry (similar to a Wellington dish). It is paired with their traditional Kolkata mustard which does boast a strong flavour but once you eat it, you’ll know it’s a match made in heaven. The tenderness of the lamb mixed with the soft puffy pastry swirling with the mustard, it is so good.
For veggie-lovers, they have a lentil curry (Dalmaki?), which is slow-cooked for 48 hours. Despite being lentil-based, it is a light curry and is eaten with bread or rice.
The last entree we tried was one to remember – the black cod with vegetable fried rice. On the side is some coconut curry for the rice. The cod is surprisingly soft and buttery. It has some sweet pomengranate seeds and they use fish roe as garnish to add texture. Put that all together and you have a perfect main course.
Desserts
By this point, we couldn’t even finish everything and they were ready to serve desserts. They have the more traditional cumin pudding which wasn’t too sweet but nice finish to the meal.
If you’re more into cold desserts, they make a fantastic mango lassi soft serve (comes with a matcha-flavoured cone)! We both preferred the cone 🙂
Beverages
If you’re wondering why we haven’t mentioned any drinks, it’s because I decided to comment on them last as they were the most unique items throughout the entire night. Their concept is to try new things and they definitely pushed it to the limits. Their cocktails are all carefully concocted by the bartenders, who can come to your table and provide recommendations based on your preferences of sweet, salty, spicy, or light.
Santa Banta – It is a raspberry slush-based cocktail, semi-sweet, and great as a palette cleanser in between the courses.
My Deer Sangria – A cocktail with apple and cinnamon powder art (great for photos!) and is served with diamonds! How fancy is that?! It has a very strong flavour so be warned!
The most unique cocktail we tried during the evening was a very interesting one (unfortunately, I don’t recall the name of it). Ituses vodka and Greek yogurt as its base with some hazelnuts (which gives off a sweet aroma). This drink is not for everyone. It is not sweet but rather a bit bitter with strong aftertaste. If you prefer a stronger drink or you wish to try something new, this might be on your list!
Overall, we tried many dishes from refreshing salads which were not as overwhelming to items that just blew our taste buds away. There is something for everyone and the staff are more than willing to help you with your selection. Plan a special evening or a casual meal, you won’t be disappointed at Namak (Dusit Thani Abu Dhabi).
