A Stylish Restaurant Serving Southern Indian Fare

[Editor’s note: This article appeared in our April 2020 issue, but was held for publication online amid last year’s Covid-19 shutdowns. As of February 2021, Samudhra is open for indoor dining, takeout and delivery.]

Style

Modern, stylish Indian restaurant with white modular wall panels and orange-and-brown accents. The lounge area, separate from the dining room, features comfortable chairs and a full bar.

The scoop

Husband and wife Mangesh and Sangeetha Chinthamaneni opened Samudhra—a Sanskrit term for “ocean”—in July 2019. The restaurant’s menu is centered around dishes from southern India, where Mangesh is from.

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The menu

You’ll find recognizable dishes like samosas and chicken tikka masala, but the specialty here is thali, an assortment of dishes served on a round platter. If you choose vegetarian, the assortment of about nine dishes, plus rice, includes veggie korma and palak paneer (cheese in a tangy spinach-based sauce). A non-veg array will likely include goat ahloo and chicken curry. The seafood thali (above) brings you shrimp curry, fried whitefish and a curried fish stew. Other fine dishes: chatpata gobi, a tangy cauliflower appetizer, as well as goat, chicken or shrimp kebabs cooked in a tandoor oven. Don’t neglect to order some of the classic Indian flatbreads like naan (plain, garlic, butter, or rosemary) and roti.

Heads up

Every day from 11:30 am to 3:30 pm, Samudhra offers an all-you-can-eat thali lunch special, $25–$30.