Ah, Sitar! The many memories that I have of you throughout the many years, being a reliable source for Indian cuisine in Brisbane before it proliferated around town into practically every suburb. Well, here we are back again, and yes, you are just as good as you ever were. Since the start, it has always been about quality first and having the utmost amount of quality in both food and service. That philosophy has not changed since branching out, and it has an old school vibe to it. Heck, there is even one in Fiji - I have not tried it out.
While it is never going to be among the best, nor really a must-do on where to eat in town - Indian or otherwise - there is value, there is quality, and it is practically a no-nonsense vibe when it comes to delivering the goods. Like it was already said, the best way to describe Sitar is that it is reliable, you do know what you are going to get, and by golly do you get something good.
For a wrestling fan, it was a great weekend. There was two PPV events on back-to-back days, with the second one being one of the big four. Onto the WWE Network, it was time for the Royal Rumble to kick off the year. And with that, it was time to arrange some delivery for that. Whatever the case for choosing here was, it was selected. It is hard to fault Indian, wherever it comes from, as a choice for delivery. So, not having gone to this one beforehand it was naturally a front-running choice.
Kicking in not even an hour after everything was arranged for dinner, the service was showing some good signs. One of the items I had ordered was "cocodelight", which would have been coconut cake doused in syrup. They were out of that, and offered to replace it with gulab jamun. I promptly accepted, and even then they were a bit surprised at how easy it was. Also with that, he gave the offer for a steamed rice as well, also accepted. That is nothing too major, but small touches really distinguish a place when it comes to service. To make it all the better and noteworthy, the driver rocked up five minutes before the arranged time. So there is definitely credit going towards punctuality and service.
Sitar is essentially Indian. They tow the line while, and keep it with all the classics, have a manageable menu, and you can still find something to like on there. Starting off are the entrees, and they have the tandoori and non-tandoori all rounded up there, mostly going for the meat. Relatively speaking, the naan selection is also quite modest and has everything that could be expected.
Getting to the main part of the meals, there is a tandoori section, as there is salad. Don't expect too many types of rice, just goes for the basics and biriyani. Then we are on to the curries. Then we are onto the big part of the menu, the curries. There is a couple of varieties of dahl, all the traditional curries (complete with choice of meat), seafood and vegetarian getting their own section each - the latter can be chosen as a side serving, plus the Sitar specials which are perhaps the best part of the whole menu. Completing it all are the several accompaniments, a few desserts, and some drinks.
Just one more look at it while writing this, the smart crew behind Sitar definitely have known what they were doing all this time. No wonder my family met with old friends here so many times in the past. They really have gotten the knack, and this is certainly more of an outing for a group than solo.
Getting to the delivery order, I deliberately got it over a certain amount so the garlic naan would factor into it, and attention could be deviated elsewhere. Adding onto that was a beef saag gost, a side order of palak paneer, some chicken tikka, a mint lassi, and gulab jamun. If my house mate were partaking, a lot more would have been gotten.
All of this was pretty good. The chicken tikka was perfectly done, cut into little dices, and each bit of it was succulency tender and had absorbed the marsala mix that was rubbed into the flesh. In fact, it is perfect for mixing into the curry sauce for the main meals, and definitely makes them more robust as is. So, with that starter out of the way it is already quite good.
Both of the curries were delicious. With the palak panner and saag gost, I got them medium and hot respectively. When it came to the spice levels, they were not immediately apparent. Instead of it being like a fire in my mouth, I more felt the temperature in my body rise a bit after the meal. In other words, the spices act as more of a slow burn and those are eventually more effective and allow the meal to be enjoyable. Even in being quite spicy, the saag gost was creamy and smooth on the palate plus the cuts of beef they chose were tender and the sizes were generous. The palak paneer was just as good as it usually is, with the combination of sweet tomato, the nuttiness of the cashews, and texture of the cream - the pieces of cheese and spinach were also a good match for each other.
Then there is the usual additions of a lassi and naan. Lassi rarely ever changes, and is good for what it is. It is creamy, smooth, has a distinct undertone to it with the taste, and the variety here was mint - the flavour was really subtle, especially when put in comparison to mango. Then there was the naan which was also good. It tore apart easily, it had garlic dusted all around it, and was perfect for mopping up the sauce from all the curries.
Well, not too much new to say about Sitar. It still is as good as it was, and provides a decent feed of curry. Knowing how good this lot was, it is possibly safe to say that the rest of the choices are just as good and that when getting a whole lot of people together, it possibly could become that much better.
For a 4.0 rating, I won't lie. Indian is one of the cuisines that I become easily impressed with. Really, with only a few examples from memory it is hard to go wrong with Indian. It tends to be decent and passable, with some that are better than that, and a fair few which are even better and more tasty. Sitar happens to be a bit better than your average curry place.
TL;DR: Unlike a lot of eateries (i.e. Indian curry houses) that branch out to having many of them, this one still has the feeling that it is given the homely touches and attention to detail like it was still the first and only one. There is nothing fancy about the curries here, nothing that is a frill, all of it is the usual helpings expected from most Indian places, and it all really works out in the end.
Many aspects of why Sitar has worked out so well so many times cannot really be delved with this experience, since part and parcel of why it is beloved comes from the service inside the restaurant. That being said, the swift delivery equaled trying the delicious curry even sooner, and to a hungry man that is good enough.
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