oh indian food, where art thou?
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It is sad our choices for Indian food in Downtown are seriously limited. Sure, there’s Gill’s and Saffron but that’s it? C’mon. We need more. More, dammit!
Previous angelenic reviews have said it all. Stephen’s gut-wrenching experience at Gill’s does not make me want to dine there anytime soon, and despite Saffron’s positive reviews my personal opinion is they lack variety and dole out small portions for the price. Also, the much anticipated Shaily in the Old Bank District doesn’t sound like they’ll be dishing out tasty grub anytime soon. What to do when you crave Indian food but don’t know where to go? Why, search Menupages of course!
Menupages is one of my favorite places to look for good eats so I was thrilled when I saw Guru Indian Kitchen listed for Downtown at Los Angeles Street between Olympic and 9th. Their online menu looked promising and they’re within walking distance so I promptly went over to pick up some lunch. I had this fantasy it was one of those authentic and undiscovered hole-in-the walls, but my visit ended up being a most confusing one.
Photo courtesy of flickr user Satya.w
The restaurant is located across from California Mart in an International Food Court housing several cafeteria-style eateries including a kebab place, a pho stand and Chinese food among others. I was perplexed because I didn’t see Guru Indian Kitchen anywhere. The only Indian place around was Kurries and Naan. I walked up scrutinizing them (rude, I know) and asked if they had changed the name of their establishment. The reply was “No.” Hmmm.
The nice menu I saw online was nowhere to be found. Instead, the booth was plastered with big, bright photographs of different dishes. Also, the names of some items were different from what was posted on Menupages. Hmmm. I was very confused. Was Menupages wrong? (It wouldn’t be the first time.) **Menupages has since notified angelenic the entry for Guru’s Indian Kitchen will be updated to Kurries and Naan. Thank you, Menupages!
The mystery was solved when I noticed their phone number is the same one on Menupages for Guru Indian Kitchen. At some point in time they probably did change names. OK, I can stop freaking out now. Kurries and Naan and Guru Indian Kitchen are the same beast.
You can order most of their reasonably-priced items a la carte, in either small or large portions. The Bharta eggplant dish I wanted was unavailable, so I ordered a large portion of chicken tikka masala and vegetable biryani.
Their biryani is “cooked to order.” Indeed, I saw them throw it together in a pan behind the counter. It was loaded with generous amounts of vegetarian goodies such as tofu, potatoes, tomatoes, peas and fresh cilantro. However, rice was slightly undercooked and the entire dish had the consistency of risotto. I don’t know about you but I thought biryani is supposed to be light and fluffy, not heavy and soggy.
The chicken tikka masala had a rich and flavorful tomato-cream base with tender chunks of white meat but tasted suspiciously like chicken in vodka cream sauce. (It was actually better the next day.) To think I could have made the same two dishes at home, but better, means I probably will not be going back. On a postive note, the naan included with my meal was warm, soft and actually pretty good.
Kurries and Naan does have redeeming qualities. They deliver on quantity, value and speed. My large portion of chicken tikka masala, large vegetable biryani, naan and a can of soda came to $15.13 and is enough for dinner and two lunches. If you’re hungry, not too picky and don’t want to spend a lot of money I would recommend giving them a try. It will fill you up and if you get too full you can always walk it off shopping at Santee Alley.
The Mastercard/Visa logo displayed on their booth indicates they accept credit card- in case you already spent your cash on faux leather bags, suits, belts, sunglasses, shoes, jeans, etc.
Kurries and Naan (formerly Guru’s Indian Kitchen ??)
934 S Los Angeles Street (between 9th and Olympic)
Los Angeles, CA 90015
213-627-7423
kurriesandnaan.com
Daily 9:30am-5:00pm (??)
Delivery available on orders over $7
*Note- the hours of operation were taken from Menupages which is likely inaccurate and out of date. I suspect they are closed on Sundays because a different vendor in the same food court, Downtown Kabob, is open Monday-Saturday 10:00am-5:00pm. I would assume all eateries in the food court keep similar hours. Also, today is Sunday and there was no answer when I called Kurries and Naan.
-gill’s indian restaurant secret ingredient: nitroglycerin
-deviate from your usual lunch habits, try saffron
-indian restaurant planned for old bank district
13 comments
this place in the international food court hasn’t been guru for a while. isn’t it now called kurries and naan? their website is—http://www.kurriesandnaan.com/. i’ve been there several times and also had food delivered (yes, they deliver!). the food is usually delicious and fresh. the naans in particular are terrific. i love their tandoori lamb seekh roll and their chicken tikka seekh roll. it’s my favorite place for indian food in downtown LA (though i agree that the indian food offerings downtown are paltry). i have indian friends who drive from orange county to eat at kurries and naan.
last week i finally went to saffron after reading all the positive reviews on the blog. i should’ve known better than to expect much from an indian restaurant with no vegetable offerings, but i was hopeful. oh, what a disappointment. the place was busy at lunch—good for them!—but i shall not be returning.
the two other places in the international food court that i really like are the pho place (the pho is much better than at blossom, though of course blossom has a much nicer ambience) and the persian kebob place.
Thanks, m! I’m sorry I got the name wrong. The post has been corrected and I added a link to the Kurries and Naan website. I thought I might have the wrong name but didn’t have time to run over there today.
Their website makes all the food look yummy. This is quite a contrast to how the food looks in their warmers behind the counter. Are there any dishes in particular you recommend? The soggy biryani was such a turn off, I’ll never get that again. But I think you’ve convinced me to give them another chance.
ira, thanks for writing about kurries and naan. i’m sorry your experience wasn’t as good as my eating experiences there have been, but i’m glad to hear that you may try them again. if you do, i hope your next encounter will be tastier.
i usually get the seekh roll or the tikka roll—which they make fresh after you order. i also love their chicken saag and lamb saag. i’m not crazy about their version of bartha, but i like their dals and tandoori chicken. i always ask for their spicy coriander chutney, which is free and makes a delicious dip for naan or samosas. i think their vegetable samosas are quite good.
anyone know if tom gilmore is still planning an indian restaurant for spring street? or was that just a rumor?
There are not a lot of Indian restaurants at all in Socal. Maybe that’s an overstatement, it could be I’m just not looking for them. I dabble into Indian food as much as a date Indian women, which is very rare. Hum, interesting. Never thought of it. I guess we all have our preferences. Asian food kicks ass and…
Sarah:
Shaily that Ira mentioned in her post is the Tom Gilmore restaurant.
Indian restaurants are scattered here and there…there’s a few in Canoga Park I seem to recall. But there’s tons in Little India over in…where the heck is that now? Cerritos? Norwalk? Somewhere down there. I dined there a couple years ago and it was quite good and cheap. Also hit the Indian sweet shop for some overly-sweet dessert treats. Those lasted me a week. I could only eat a small amount at a time because they were so sweet.
Scott - Little India is technically in Artesia
i recommend paru’s vegetarian indian restaurant: 1) they’re closer to downtown than artesia; 2) the food is yummy. try the punjab glory, hell try everything; 3) did i mention they’re vegetarian? their menu is online, check it out.
Paru’s Restaurant
5140 Sunset Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90027
(323) 661-7600
I actually didn’t mind Gill’s too much, except the next day my leftovers decided to go nuclear and nearly burned a hole in my fridge. Saffron is a good, quick lunch, and that’s all they aim for — which is fine.
Artesia is the “Little India” in Southern California. There’s a lot of restaurants on Pioneer Blvd, which is the central business district.
Growing up, I took the Indian food options in my Valley neighborhood for granted, and was saddened by the lack of options in Downtown when I moved here.
WE NEED MORE INDIAN RESTAURANTS IN DOWNTOWN!!!!
Paru’s is great - best Indian close to Downtown.
I like “Makkah” located at 4th and Vermont. Strip Mall location, pleasant budget ambiance inside, great food, chai and Mango Lassi.
http://besthalaltandoori.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/makkah-halal-tandoori-los-angeles
Also try “India Sweets And Spices” a quick drive up the 5 at 3126 Los Feliz Boulevard. They have an order at the counter restaurant and a large grocery store.
http://www.indiasweetsandspices.net/
I heart manas, near USC
http://www.yelp.com/biz/manas-creative-indian-cuisine-los-angeles#hrid:e1IBjE9pVCqBhA4SKcSNiw
But I agree. More indian food!
I’m going to have to be the lone voice in support of Gill’s. I’ve eaten there (always takeout) for the past three years and I love it. Best Indian food I’ve had in Los Angeles. I’ve tried others in all different parts of the city, but they’ve all disappointed me. Gill’s is consistently good. Their tikka massala is great. I’ve never had any digestive problems there, so I’m puzzled about other people’s experiences here.