Why Come Here? Inventive cocktails, quite conversation, knowledgeable and attentive service, someone else is paying.
Junoon is the sort of place built to take clients or your parents. The service is formal and attentive, the space heavily stylized and cavernous – reminiscent of an upscale hotel dining room. And the low spice level in the food makes it unlikely to offend any palates.
If you’re reading this blog though, I assume those aren’t the things you want to pay a premium for. The food, while sometimes quite good, does not justify the 50%+ markup to the many solid (albeit less fancy) Indian joints a few blocks east in “Curry Hill”. You may still enjoy stopping by the bar for one of the inventive and tasty specialty cocktails. In case you do find your self eating here, below is a rundown of what we ate and drank:
Proxy Sour (a take on the Pisco Sour)**- Sweet, but with out being overly so. It had a pleasant little kick from the green chilis.
Fall Vegetable Seekh Kebab**: The vegetables are mashed together with spices in such a way you don’t feel like you’re eating your veggies (see photo). But you are. And they’re very good.
Duck Gushtaba (Meatballs): We found these to be a little dry and skimpy on the sauce. Perhaps the two are related.
Lobster Tandoori ***: Definitely the star of the show – the 2 tandoori spiced lobster tails were tender, juicy and very flavorful. Sadly, they were also kind of small.
Chicken Awandhi Korma *: The cashew and saffron flavors were nice, but there just wasn’t enough of them in what was one of the thinnest curries I’ve ever had. If you find most Indian curries too rich, you may enjoy the subtelty of this dish. I, however, like my curries hearty and spicy and will try something else next time.
Quine Tart Tatin ** – This dish is all about combining bitter and sweet: salted carmel, pistachio streudal and fennel ice cream. It executes it quite well witha great texture which reminded me of a krispy cream donut.
Junoon
27 W. 24th St. (B’way & 6th Ave.)
New York, NY
