- Chef Akshay Bhardwaj shared red flags to look out for when trying a new high-end Indian restaurant.
- Skip places that overly “Westernize” dishes or use expensive ingredients without reason.
- Ask if the spices are freshly ground and inspect if the restrooms are well-kept.
When it comes to fine dining Indian cuisine, Chef Akshay Bhardwaj understands the challenge that Indian chefs face when balancing authenticity with American palettes.
He’s been the executive chef at NYC’s renowned Indian restaurant Junoon since 2016, which, under his leadership, earned a Michelin star for three consecutive years, continuing a winning streak that began in 2011.
He’s also executive chef at the street-food specialty shop, Jazba, which is celebrating its first anniversary from October 4-6 with a three-day food popup in collaboration with Jamun — a renowned Indian restaurant in Goa, India.
“Indian fine dining, as a concept, is a relatively recent phenomenon that has picked up in the last 10 to 15 years, especially in America,” Bhardwaj told Business Insider.
This is, in part, because when Indians immigrated to the US, many came from humble backgrounds and did not have the means to spend money on fine dining.
That’s no longer the case. Indian Americans have since built their wealth and are ready to spend on upscale dining.
It’s no longer uncommon to see a mix of high-end and mid-range Indian eateries popping up in New York, with Bloomberg reporting that the city’s Indian restaurants are “becoming something of a power dining scene.”
Bhardwaj told Business Insider that his first advice for anyone wishing to taste modernized Indian items is to “come with an open mind and just try.”
As someone who has worked closely on developing menus and reimagining traditional Indian flavors with a global twist, he knows when something is amiss and shared the top five red flags he looks out for when he’s craving a high-end Indian meal.
Here’s how you — like him — can distinguish the authentic from the superficial.
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