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I-Chin

247 E. 50th St. , New York, NY 10022
nr. Second Ave. See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
212-223-4959 Send to Phone

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Price Range:
$$$
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Reader Rating:
6.0 out of 10
|
1 Reviews | Write a Review
Cuisine: Chinese, Indian

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Hours

Mon-Thu, noon-3pm and 5:30pm-10:30pm; Fri, noon-3pm and 5:30pm-11pm; Sat, 12:30pm-3:30pm and 5:30pm-11pm; Sun, closed

Nearby Subway Stops

6 at 51st St.; E, V at Lexington Ave.-53rd St.

Prices

$20-$32

Payment Methods

American Express, MasterCard, Visa

Special Features

Bar Scene
Delivery
Dine at the Bar
Lunch
Private Dining/Party Space
Take-Out

Alcohol

Full Bar

Reservations

Recommended

Make a Reservation with opentable.com

Delivery Area

40th St. to 55th St., First Ave. to Madison Ave.

Profile

This venue is closed.

In these anything-goes, high-concept times, I don't question Vik and Sienam Lulla's daring to bring Chinese with an Indian flourish to Manhattan. Still, I'm surprised by the splendidly revved-up flavors at I-Chin. Yes, I'm sneezing and I feel peppery heat coming out of my ears. Yet I couldn't be happier with the fiercely peppered ribbons of stir-fried chicken the waiter just snipped free of its banana-leaf girdle. Other starters—spiced lamb rolls with cilantro-mint chutney and nicely gummy seafood dim sum in chile oil—are good, too. Crisp-fried okra sticks to dip into a coriander-infused puddle are original and instantly addictive. After the incendiary chicken, silky wok-tossed Szechuan lamb seems surprisingly gentle alongside capsicum fried rice. Non-chile-freaks will be grateful. A side of mint chutney one of my pals requested adds an extra nuance. A half-rack of crusty soy-tamarind-glazed lamb, ordered rare, means there are eight small and luscious chops for the four of us to share. That's a must-have. Pan-seared sea bass in a chile-orange reduction infused with fennel seeds, and the black tiger shrimp in a chile-and-cilantro pesto curry are pleasant, too. A tangerine-painted niche shelters an ecumenical collection of Buddhas: Chinese, Indian, and Female. Simple and effective. Each nation touched by the Chinese-restaurant diaspora adds its own inflection to the cuisine; this is India's, filtered through the sophistication of a clever duo from Delhi. — Gael Greene

Food:	8

Service:	3

Décor:	6

Value:	5

I had dinner here in December 2006. The food was really good, but the staff rushed us on so much that we didn't have time to enjoy it. The waitress hurried us along and tried to take plates away before we had finished. It wasn't late - our table was booked for nine and we had been there about an hour and a half. Even one of the kitchen staff (who had finished for the night and was clearly quite keen to go home) tried to take my plate away. This was while I was still chewing and there was food on my plate and on my fork. Shortly after this, the whole kitchen staff and waitress came and sat at a table next to us and had their end of evening meal. We felt like we were in the way. I was so put off by all this that I spoke to the head waiter. I don't usually have the nerve to do this but said that we hadn't had a good time because we had been so very hurried. He offered no explanation. He didn't look like he cared.

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