This place was mediocre. The garlic naan was old and crusty instead of being warm, soft and fluffy. The shahi paneer tasted like a ketchup-cream sauce. The dal was passable but for fourteen or so dollars I could make like a dozen servings of dal ... and my dal is the best!! The papadum and chutneys and pickles were good. The chai was tasteless brown lukewarm water. The rasmalai was mediocre as well. The ambiance was alright.
This is exemplary of the typical, tired and tastelessly bland subpar Subcontinental offerings we have in this city. This is colonial or postcolonial British Raj type of food; not very authentic whatsoever. Surprisingly, little Britain is not the "motherland" of Subcontinental cuisines. Indeed, while it may have had, once upon a time, been the seat of an exploitative Machiavellian colonial empire, wee little Britain and the British Indian food that comes out of this tiny rainy island in the North Atlantic, does not in any way reflect the vast and ancient sophistication of diverse flavours and ingredients to be enjoyed among the multitude of ethnocultural traditions and cuisines thereof in this vast subcontinent with over ten harvests annually.
If you're looking for good typical North Indian fare I suggest trying Durbar on Saint-Laurent or Thali on Saint-Marc or someplace on Jean-Talon between Acadie and Parc.
I also implore all lovers of food to explore South Indian and Tamil-Sri Lankan cuisine as well! Try Thanjai on Van Horne or Janani on Victoria.
All the best to you and yours on this epic quest to find wonderful Subcontinental cuisine in Montréal. The truth is out there!