Last night we joined our dearest friends in the are and headed around the corner from their lovely home to an adorable little neighborhood Indian spot called Jolsha, which has several locations in the area. The décor is clean, crisp and un assuming with a way white stucco wall on one side, bar on the other and tables spaced a bit too close if the place is busy. I only wish the nice tables were not covered by that silly giant piece of paper that crinkles all over.
Will & I ordered a Campari & Tonic and our server looked lost and returned after a while to say there was only "one left," so Will switched to a beer, which oddly never came with the drinks, so he ad to ask again. The service was indeed a bit odd, but never bad, just confusing. We ordered up a storm and started with the Pappadam and sauces as one always does. None of them were too spicy, and all were full of flavor. The starters included a yummy Prawn Puri which was several shrimp in a medium spiced sauce wrapped in fried bread, Garlic Mushrooms, a Vegetable Somosa that did not get high points and an Onion Bhaji.
The mains were much better with a rich creamy Lamb Pasanda, a Vegetable Biryani for Sam that got raves, a yummy Lamb Curry and my superb Jolsha Lucknow Grilled Chicken consisting of three large skewers of grilled chicken breast with a "mastered" paste, soft cheese, black pepper, garlic, ginger & lemon juice. The "mastered" was mustard of course and the amazing mildly spicy dipping sauce was superb as the meat was juicy, but not heavily spiced. Na'ans here were super, although coconut is a bit sweet for my taste. Vegetable rice is a nice change from the plain and was loaded with all kinds of fresh veggies.
The house wine was only about 14pounds (just over $18) and was listed as "dry-Spain" so I asked to see the bottle which had no info about grapes or anything. The wine was simple, refreshing and indeed tasted like it's description: dry & white, but uneventful, but went well with the rich food as well as the mild spices.
We were all full and headed back to our friend's house for a glass of red before retiring back at our hotel.
