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14/20

Enter Via Laundry

Updated ,first published

A selection of regional Indian dishes are on the menu.
1 / 9A selection of regional Indian dishes are on the menu.Supplied
The bar’s not-so-discreet entrance.
2 / 9The bar’s not-so-discreet entrance.Simon Schluter
Prawn papdi chaat.
3 / 9Prawn papdi chaat.Simon Schluter
Mango lassi.
4 / 9Mango lassi.Simon Schluter
Chicken scotch egg with spicy onions.
5 / 9Chicken scotch egg with spicy onions.Simon Schluter
A photo gallery is found behind the bar.
6 / 9A photo gallery is found behind the bar.Simon Schluter
Cocktails use Indian spices and Aussie ingredients.
7 / 9Cocktails use Indian spices and Aussie ingredients.Atti.Co
Patra poda, coconut and mustard prawns.
8 / 9Patra poda, coconut and mustard prawns.Simon Schluter
Falooda dessert.
9 / 9Falooda dessert.Supplied
14/20

Enter via Laundry

Indian$$$

Celebrating the regional nuances of Indian cooking.

This is Indian food, but not as many may know it. Set-menu dishes are petite and polished, much like the restaurant itself, a collection of three elegantly spare rooms. Up front, a bar welcomes walk-ins for snacks. In the middle, a communal table gathers friends and strangers.

The back room suits intimate dinners, set to a seductively sophisticated soundtrack of Indian EDM. Owner-chef Helly Raichura writes menus founded on the traditional recipes of her homeland, exploring one region at a time with a list of aromatic wines to match. She adds flourishes of indigenous ingredients, perhaps Davidson plum sweetening a spiced goat kebab with herby salad and yoghurt.

Barramundi is marinated with coconut and mint, wrapped in banana leaf and adorned with drops of piquant sunrise lime chutney. To finish, strawberry eucalyptus and kiwi sorbet enliven chenna poda, a caramelised cheese cake.

Good to know: Like what you eat? Take home the chef’s cookbook, The Food of Bharat.

Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.

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