If you try something new, you might really enjoy it, even if it's filling balloons with Hot Wheels and throwing them off a bridge to see if they'll float. Try some Indian fare with today’s Groupon: for $20, you get $40 worth of Indian dining and drinks at Amaya The Indian Room.
Amaya The Indian Room dishes up traditional Indian recipes updated with contemporary, upscale twists in a modern, colourful atmosphere. Indulge in subcontinental favourites such as samosas ($8) to recall summers spent diving for savoury pastries in the Bay of Bengal. Entrees run the meaty gamut from light, pan-roasted Malai halibut in a lemon-scented coconut broth ($22) to rich, tandoori-spiced lamb lollipops served with mint, fenugreek, and a white wine reduction ($24). Vegetable sides, including a stuffed roasted eggplant steak ($11) and the yogic vegetable curry ($10), balance omnivorous dinner equations without requiring patrons to bust out their first-generation Casio graphing calculators.
Modern paintings and photographs of the Indian countryside line Amaya's red-and-cream-colored walls and maple paneling, while bulbous woven lanterns adorn its ceilings. Hammered copper serving ware and beautifully plated dishes of belly-warming creations foster an environment as lavish as it is welcoming.
Amaya The Indian Room
Although its dishes hail from India, Amaya The Indian Room’s food reflects its North American setting. Crafted from fresh local produce, the dishes are delicately spiced to accommodate a Western palate, rather than eye-wateringly hot. According to the eatery’s profile in the Globe and Mail, the restaurant's founders likewise opted for Western decor, outfitting their dining room with wood panelling and photographs, rather than the temple-inspired decor that they viewed as stereotypical.
The upscale food, however, hews to the subcontinent’s culinary traditions. Diners can feast on lentils cooked for 12 hours in buttery tomato sauce, short ribs braised in kashmiri chili, and prawns bathed in coconut-milk curry. The wine-marinated lamb lollipops, meanwhile, are easier to eat than the original Indian lollipop, a tandoori oven on a stick. For an alternative to these à la carte items, the tasting menu lets patrons sample small portions of multiple dishes. The expansive wine list, meanwhile, pairs seamlessly with meals and offers a subversive touch—Indian food is typically served with beer.
