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| - It's not been half an hour since I walked out of Haweli and I'm on Yelp writing this review. I hope that is as good an understatement as I can make as to how TERRIFIC this restaurant is. Where do I start??? The ambiance, the service, the food..!!! I'm at a loss!!!
It is my son's second birthday today and my family and I being new to AZ did not have anyone to celebrate it with. So we decided to walk down to Haweli (it helps that we live right behind the restaurant) and treat ourselves to a quiet dinner. In hindsight, that has to be the best decision we've taken today.
We walked in and were immediately greeted by Gopi (he's one of the two guys who run this place). We chose our own seats and Gopi got us the toddler seat for our son. The place was tastefully done with grand chandeliers, ample lighting and great decor We were given water (even that tasted awesome) and they were very understanding when we asked for a little more than the usual time in placing the order since we had to get our son settled first. We ordered the masala pappad, chicken pakora, garlic naan, tandoori shrimp masala and chicken biriyani. We loved the pakora which was basically succulent tandoori chicken covered with the traditional pakora wrap. It came with the mint and sweet and sour chutneys which were superb as well. The garlic naan was just perfect and the shrimp masala was out of this world. The gravy was thick and savory while the shrimp was marinated and cooked to perfection. My wife thought the chicken biriyani was great, however she found it to be different from the Kerala flavored chicken biriyani that we are more used to. Nevertheless, she really liked it.
Despite there being no complimentary rice with curries, we were given a full portion of rice at no cost. But the icing on the cake was yet to come. When Gopi got to know that it was my son's birthday, he got us three huge fantabulous Mango lassies "on the house"!!! All portions of food were easily sufficient for 2 pax. If you are used to Indian food, a spice index of 7/10 should be just fine. (We could've gone for 8 but then wanted to keep it a little mild for our toddler). The wait time was just a little over 10-12 mins which I thought was very reasonable.
Finally, a word on the "people". When the lady waitressing on you has seen more of India than you have managed in your entire existence, you know you are in good hands. Marissa was not just knowledgeable about the menu, but she also was seen helping out guests unfamiliar to Indian cuisine what to choose. She was super friendly and courteous. Gopi and Pradeep both individually walked up to us during various times and checked if we were ok and made it a point to talk to us while we were leaving. They have plans to expand the menu with more south Indian varieties such as Dosa, vada etc. being introduced. I can only imagine myself queuing up by the Haweli every morning in a little while to start off my day with authentic south Indian cuisine.
While the signature of every restaurant is the quality of the food that is served, for me, the team that gets you the food (right from your table to the kitchen and back) are the ones who leave an indelible mark on you. I have been overwhelmed by the warmth and care shown by the staff. They were constantly looking for feedback from us on how to improve the menu, food, service and presentation. To me, that is the hallmark of a restaurant that looks set to be doing excellent business in times to come!!!
***
The price is VERY reasonable for the quantities and quality that they offer. And they are running a 15% off on all meals until end of July.
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