Random LA Restaurants

Akbar: Cuisine of India

Restaurant: Akbar: Cuisine of India
Location: 44 N. Fair Oaks, Pasadena, CA
Phone: (626) 577-9916
Other Locations: Marina Del Rey, Santa Monica, Hermosa Beach, and on West 3rd

Steve and I went to Akbar on Friday Night. I had been craving Indian Food for the past year, and so I really didn't give him a choice. This place is apparently rated by Zagat's as one of the best places to get Indian food in Los Angeles or in Pasadena or something, but I wasn't completely impressed. I ordered the Coco Lamb, which the menu describes as "Lamb cooked in a coconut sauce flavored with fennel - a rare romantic combination." I ordered it because it sounded interesting and different and it had red meat in it. It has a Chili Meter rating of a 3, but the waitress offered to take it down for me, and being a sissy, I ordered it at a 2. Their Chili Meter runs from 1 through 5, with 5 being hot enough to take the skin off of your tounge and have you lose all sense of taste for the next week. Many people don't realize how hot Indian food is, so If you're new to it, and don't like spicy, I highly suggest you ask for a mild dish. When I got the dish however, I was wishing I had ordered it at the standard 3 because it wasn't quite burning my mouth the way I like for Indian Foods. That was my mistake though. My major problem with this dish comes from the fact that it was almost bland once you got past the spicy. I couldn't taste the coconut at all, or the fennel in the so-called romantic combination. Plus it was somehow gritty with some kind of seed that I couln't identify. The lamb was, however, perfectly cooked.

Steve ordered what he says is what he always orders at Indian Restaurants: Chicken Tikka Masala. For those of you who don't know Indian food, the menu describes this one as a "House favorite - tandoor grilled chicken in a tomato sauce." Whenever I've had it, this dish has been more spicy, but it barely registered for me. Steve handles spicy food even less well than I do, and even he was adding some of the spicy sauce garnish stuff that comes with your meal (I can never remember which they are). It was very flavorful though and perfectly cooked.

I think my biggest problem was the portion size and, by association, the prices. We actually finished our meals, and the rice that we had to order seperately (which always annoys me). We also ordered nan (Indian flatbread that is cooked in the Tandoor). But we had to each order a piece because it was $2.50 per piece. Not per order and you get 2 or 3 pieces, which is what I'm used to, but per piece. The meals were $10.95 each, which is fine, but rice is seperate, an additional $2 per meal. We didn't order drinks, having only water, and still spent over $30 for the 2 of us. I could have eaten more bread as well. They also have some appetizers like samosas that look good and they also offer Lassi which is a yoghurt drink.

The atmosphere of this place was very nice, though it kind of looks like a modern Italian restaurant. My biggest problem was something with me, not a real problem with it. I just always expect Indian restaurants to have Indian people working there, and I only saw one. All of the watresses were not only not Indian they were very blonde. It kinda threw me, but this is California....

posted by Unknown @ 11:23 AM