Devi

After agonizing for weeks about the perfect place to take my sister for her 21^st birthday family dinner, we finally settled on Devi. It is astonishingly difficult to pick a restaurant that satisfies all of my individual family members’ requirements. However, after debating for some time on Chowhound, I managed to do it. Devi is an upscale Indian restaurant, often considered the best in the city. The space is quite small though decadent with cascading drapes in bright orange and red colors and beautiful hanging lanterns. It has a narrow yet tall feel to it with high ceilings and two stories. They gave us a charming table in a private corner of the restaurant, surrounded by their wine selection (how perfect).

My sister and I arrived long before our parents so we ordered cocktails to start. They have some really creative drinks such as the Mumbai Margarita my sister ordered which was dotted with cayenne pepper to give it a kick. We ordered some appetizers once the rentals arrived: a trio of samosas (goat cheese and spinach, traditional pea and potato and ground lamb and pecorino) as well as a lamb kabob. The samosas were tasty though too heavy on the shell and light on the filling. The lamb kabobs were good enough but the main courses were the stars of the show.

I had a lamb shank which was tender and fell right off the bone with a masala sauce and parsnips. The spices were perfectly balanced without being overwhelming. Cardammon? Tamarind? Indian spices are so unique. My sister ordered the lamb chops which came with a pear chutney and potatoes. My Dad ordered the fish of the day which was halibut with a mint coconut chutney and lemon rice. My Mom went out on a limb and had venison (none of us had ever tried venison at an Indian restaurant) which was well executed in a tandoor oven with radish rice and cranberry-citrus chutney. Everyone’s was good though the family agreed that mine was the best. We ordered many side dishes: crispy okra, yellow lentils, and saag with paneer as well as a plain naan and a goat cheese and spinach naan. My family can certainly eat ;) The crispy okra was really unique and was essentially fried strips of okra which looked like shoestring potatoes. They had a nice salty-spice to them. The other sides were delicious as well though none as unique as their signature fried okra. For wine, my Dad ordered a Zinfandel called XY Zin which neither of us had heard of but it was rich and spicy and actually complemented our meal well.

Devi was a home run. The service was spot on and I loved everything about the food. The food had some unique borrowings from other cuisines such as the pecorino in the samosas which I appreciated. They didnt deviate (sorry I couldn’t resist) too much however, from the traditional roots of Indian cuisine. Bonus:The chef is actually a fellow blogger!

Devi: 8 East 18^th Street betw 5^th Ave and Bway
Cuisine: Indian
Average App/Entree Price: $11/$27
Food: Very Good
Service: Very Good
Value: Very Good
You Gonna Finish That? Every last bite.