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Home > Restaurants > Banjara

Banjara

Critic's Pick Critics' Pick

97 First Ave., New York, NY 10003
at 6th St.  See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
212-477-5956 Send to Phone

    Order Online

  • Price Range: $$

    Key to Prices and ratings

    Upscale
    • Almost Perfect
    • Exceptional
    • Generally Excellent
    • Very Good
    • Good
    Cheap Eats
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    • Noteworthy
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  • Reader Rating:

    7.7 out of 10

      |  

    7 Reviews | Write a Review

  • Cuisine: Indian
View Slide Show
Photo by Youngna Park

Hours

Daily, noon-midnight

Nearby Subway Stops

F, V at Lower East Side-Second Ave.

Prices

$12.95-$17.95

Payment Methods

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Visa

Special Features

  • Delivery
  • Outdoor Dining
  • Take-Out
  • Online Ordering

Alcohol

  • Full Bar

Reservations

Recommended

Delivery Area

Broome St. to 14th St., Ave. D to Fifth Ave.

Profile

In spite of its location amid all those cookie-cutter curry cookers, Banjara is an oasis on Little India's restaurant row. The room and adjoining lounge are cliche-free. And chef Abu Ahmed's unusual dishes like juicy clay-oven chicken marinated in wine and cream should dispel any worries that the street's mythical underground shared kitchen has taken on a new client. Try the dumpakht, a strange, blimpish delicacy from the city of Lucknow. The lamb version (there's also chicken and shrimp) is slow-cooked in a creamy stew with almonds, bay leaves, and sticks of cinnamon, then sealed under a dome of pastry, like some fabulist South Asian rendition of lamb potpie. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

Recommended Dishes

Chandi kebab (chicken coated with pistachio nuts), $6.95; sharabi kababi (clay-oven chicken marinated in wine and cream), $15.95; banjara karahi (barbecued lamb with sun-dried tomatoes), $15.95; bay goon ka goon (whole roasted eggplant), $8.95

7.7 "Recommended"
Average Reader Rating
on a Scale of 10		 Write Your Own Review
85% Would you go back?
100% Would you take a date?
57% Would you take kids?
100% Would you go on business?
85% Would you go on a special occasion?
Food: 8.7
Service: 6.1
Décor: 7.0
Value: 8.1

One of the best.

promee from 10462 | Posted on 6/12/09

Overall Rating: 8 (Recommended)
Food: 10
Service: 7
Décor: 9
Value: 8

I loved the food there. Being indian myself, I am pretty picky when it comes to over priced indian food in the city ( manhattan) but i must this place was worth every penny. Not only is the atmosphere awesome, the food is off the hook!!!!

Banjara: good food with some difficulties

freed from 10463 | Posted on 12/7/08

Overall Rating: 7 (Recommended)
Food: 8
Service: 4
Décor: 5
Value: 7

Unlike its warren-like competitors around the corner on 6th St., Banjara is somewhat spacious. It also has an interesting menu, with a number of non-routine, well-seasoned and generously-portioned dishes at reasonable prices. AVOID fried foods, though, which usually are encased in huge amounts of batter. Also, Banjara's too-bouncy floor can make for rough sailing from passing traffic, so try to sit in the more solid areas (if there are any). Service ranged from overbearing at the outset to inattentive later on. When I asked if they served tea in a pot, the waiter said "No." My wife ordered tea and it was served in a pot!

Read All 7 Reviews >>

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