Seva Indian Cuisine - 30-07 34th street, Astoria, NY 11103 718.626.4440
N/W Train to 30th Avenue
Finding good Indian food is no easy task in Astoria and that's why I wanted to let you know about a new Indian restaurant, Seva that will open tomorrow. Its opening will be a soft launch so they might not have all menu items available yet. But rest assured Veggies, Seva boasts a lot of vegetarian and vegan options for you to enjoy.
I was able to get a special sneak preview of the menu from the proud owner, Charu Rajput. A sampling is below and as you often do, please email me at critic@foodistanyc.com to see the whole thing.
Appetizers:
Bok Choy Crispy Curls - Gram flour batter, mango powder, lemon, mint raita...$3
Chicken Samosa - Minced meat turnover, coriander, mint and tamarind chutneys...$3
Pakora - Cauliflower, onion, potato fritters...$3
Entrees:
Tandoori - Tandoor is an earthen oven that is heated by charcoal. Meats, seafood and vegetables are marinated and rubbed with our spice blend, skewered and cooked slowly in the Tandoor resulting in juicy foods with smoky flavor.
Tandoori Veggies - Cauliflower, broccoli, bell pepper, mushroom, mango powder rub...$8
Tandoori Shrimp - Ginger-garlic rub, sour cream, lemon juice...$11
Mix Grill - Chicken Tikka, Chicken Malai Kabab, Lamb Seekh Kabab, Tandoori Shrimp...$11
Biryani - Biryani is a complete meal in itself. Meats or vegetables are cooked with long grain Basmati rice in a Dum method. A closed thick-bottomed utensil is used in which the main ingredient is slow cooked with rice, saffron, bay leaf and cardamom. It is served with cucumber raita.
Mixed Vegetables....$8, Chicken...$9, Lamb...$10, Shrimp...$11
Vegetarian and Vegan:
Malai Kofta - Vegetable croquets, cardamom, tomato, fresh cream...$8
Saag Paneer - Chopped spinach, homemade cheese, ginger, garlic...$8
Kadai Paneer - Homemade cheese, bell peppers, onion, cumin, tomato...$8
Try it out and let me know what you think. Review to come soon...
Is this where Megna was? That was my favorite Indian in Astoria.. such great chicken tandoori. Megna was off of 30th Ave on 34th St. Did they rename themselves to Seva? Is it the same place?
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that's it Margs! We'll have to check it out.
ReplyDeleteyeah it's def the same place
ReplyDeleteMy wife and I ate a Seva yesterday for dinner. We were actually headed to Gandhi a few blocks away but we found a parking space right in front of Seva and decided to give it a try. Most everything was great especially the Rosemary Nan is was EXCELLENT. And they were very kind, especially to ask us how we would prefer the spiciness of our dishes. Service was quick, but there was only 3 other people there besides ourselves. The prices were great as well as the portion sizes.
ReplyDeleteThere were only a few things that kept it from being perfect. We ordered the mint lemonade. It came with a lime and chopped mint. Surprisingly It was carbonated. I thought it tasted more like ginger ale and my wife thought it tasted like mountain dew. We sat in the back corner table. It looked like the top of the table was painted with a black latex paint that seemed to cause the napkins to stick to the table. And overall there was still the smell of drying paint. We will probably come back in the future and hopefully these little things will have disappeared.
Hi Foodista,
ReplyDeleteIf you have not tried Seva yet, get over there! I tried it about a month or so after it opened and have already been back a handful of times. It is delicious and from what I can tell is family run.
One thing worth mentioning, outside of the delicious food and good service (try letting your water glass sit empty for more than five minutes - go on, I dare you), is their well priced prix fixe (PF from here on out) lunches and dinners.
Lunch is $8 and dinner is $12, with the main difference being that dessert comes with dinner. They also have a similarly priced delivery PF. It's a great deal, with choice of appetizer, entree and dessert. The PF portions are just enough that if you go hungry you will be full but not uncomfortably stuffed at the end of your meal. This and an order of nan on the side provides a good introduction to Seva.
What makes Seva good is that they take pride in their food and obviously want you to enjoy yourself. I have had at least two people ask me how I was enjoying my meal each time I have eaten there.
Seva rides a fine line of not providing enough atmosphere. It is not uncomfortable but if they did any less with the decor it would not feel as substantive an experience, which is to say that you would feel like you were in a lower end restaurant. Instilling this feeling in patrons is a disservice because it does not reflect the quality of the food or service. I will say that this is quickly forgotten when your food arrives.
The music is a funky-sometimes-Indian-inspired groove and the take-out crowd seems to be the "more hip" Astorians (cue the rolling sound of a sitar) :)
Some of my personal favorites so far are:
Appetizers: Chicken Samosa, Mulligatawny Soup
Dinner: Lamb Vindaloo, Chicken Saag, Malai Kofta
Nan(flat bread): Rosemary & Sesame
Dessert: Kheer (rice pudding)
The sauces that each dish comes bathed in are so delicious! Also, I recommend a cup of hot chai tea with dessert. This is NOT your Starbucks Chai - go ahead and chai it out.
See www.sevaindianrestaurant.com for a complete menu.
And get ready to Mmmmm!
Aaron
Hi Aaron!
ReplyDeleteWow! Thanks for that amazing review. I'm definitely tempted to go there--and I will. Samosas and nan are wonderful dishes that I usually enjoy so I'm excited to try them out here. Thanks again for your passionate review.
Foodista