I was glad when I had heard that this place was opening up under new ownership. Cleveland's got a ton of great Indian restaurants, but we didn't have a restaurant that offered Nepali cuisine...until now!
I had a fantastic experience at this place...by far, it was one of the best meals that I've had in Cleveland in quite some time.
First of all, the owners' story of how they wound up in America is really remarkable. Rather than paraphrase it, I'll just repost what they said on their Facebook page: "We are new immigrants to Northeast Ohio, having resettled here in 2008 from the refugee camps of Nepal. For 18 years we were unable to return to our homeland of Bhutan." We heard their story in person too--their courage and persistence in the face of so much difficulty is amazing and inspiring to me.
I went with a group of friends, and we ordered family style and shared everything. We got one of the Nepali combination meals--I think it was the third one on the list--and it was absolutely fantastic. We had plenty of food and we even took home a sizable amount of leftovers as well. The desserts were the highlight of the meal--we had one dessert with ground carrots and spices (maybe parents should serve this dessert to their kids to get them to eat their vegetables?) and another dessert that was like a rice pudding. I think I enjoyed the fragrant scent of the rice pudding just as much as the taste of it!
I also appreciated the fact that they brought bread and delicious sauces without us first having to ask for it. These days, lots of restaurants are waiting until people ask for bread before they bring it to the table...not here! In my opinion, little touches like this can really make a great meal into an excellent meal.
We did get one Indian main dish--Sheila F.'s favorite is the Lamb Korma, so we ordered a serving of that as well. I loved that as well! We dipped some of our naan in the delicious sauce so nothing went to waste--everything was so delicious, it would have been a shame to waste any of it! We also had an order of the samosas.
My great experience made me want to try to more of their Indian dishes in the future. I have a very flexible schedule these days, and I can't wait to try the lunch buffet!
The service was stellar. The ownership and staff are extremely friendly. We had everything we needed and we were checked up on very regularly--which is key when one needs constant streams of water to quench the fire in one's mouth from spicy food--yet the service was provided in a way that wasn't annoying or intrusive.
It's a shame that this place doesn't get the recognition that it deserves. I know for a fact that if this place was located in Tremont, Ohio City, East 4th, Detroit-Shoreway, etc, it would get a ton of publicity. Unfortunately, it's located in a bit of an out-of-the-way place, but as word spreads about this place, hopefully it will get the attention that it deserves!
I know for a fact that I'll be back, and I hope to see you there.