Flavour Of India

This place had me at the complimentary papadams and dips! Tandoori chicken - to die for. Banquet was a good choice - had to have the creamy butter chicken and it delivered. Restaurant is cosy and warm. Staff are great. Unpretentious and tasteful experience. Gets busy on the weekend and they do delivery too so allow a bit more time.

I've never had Indian food before. This is the first one I've ever had.Or here with friends birthday, the little flash bar is so beautiful, very suitable to bring children over oh

Flavour of India has been a fixture of Sydney’s dining scene for 29 years. The usual peak-hour William Street crawl to the Eastern Suburbs gives you plenty of time to contemplate its bright orange signage, done in a font that now has retro appeal. The interior of this long-standing restaurant is more glamorous than the exterior would lead you to believe. Gleaming chandeliers and the wood panelling ceiling look like they have been there since the Eighties, when the venue started out life as an Italian restaurant. It’s surprisingly well insulated from the traffic too, with dancing lights on an ornate mirror and a faint distant hum, as the only indications that we’re parked right on a busy Sydney thoroughfare...

We enjoyed this, would give 3.5 stars if this app let me. It is fancy indian food, which is a bit more expensive but tasty. My favourite was the butter chicken. The goan prawn curry we thought could be improved. The Naan was very good as was the mango lassi. Service was just normal and fit out a bit old school

This restaurant is situated on the busy road and has remained under Chef Hayat for the past 28 years. Easily found parking right in front of the restaurant. Walked in and was greeted warmly. Waiters helped us through the menu. Didn't wait too long for food. The kitchen has tandoori ovens! Don't let the chinese waiter fool you. He's full of life and enjoyed his banter.

*complementary dips (raita, chutney, tomato-onion-cucumber) with pappadums - so crispy and not oily
*onion bhaji - was really crispy and loved the dipping sauce
*spicy crab entree is quite spicy. Of course, indians know their spices!
*malai kafta - vegetarian curry with potato and cashew. Love the creamy sauce it was in!
*best chicken butter masala - this one isn't as sweet as others and I'm loving it. Definitely try this!
*beef karala has potatoes and the beef is tender.
*goan prawn curry - is you love spice and prawns, this will hit the spot.
*the rice is lovely. I don't like basmati rice much as it's normally drier than other types of rice however I found this rice quite fluffy 👌
*cheese and garlic naan - IS THE BEST IN SYDNEY! 😍 Goopy pieces of cheese and the bread is so fluffy. It's made fresh in the tandoori oven.
*if you like mango try 'mango kulfi'. It's traditional indian ice-cream. It's not too sweet and I found it nutty tasting. Mango coulis gives it a sweetness kick if needed
*lime sorbet is very tangy, it actually gave me a jaw freeze. I love anything lemon and I really enjoyed this

Overall food is full of flavour and even the cocktails has an indian spin to it. Definitely a refreshing surprise to see. We definitely enjoyed the night here. Thanks Flavours of India and the team!

FOOD TYPE 
Indian

FOOD QUALITY
Four of us dined on a chilly Fri eve in late August. We started with a single serve each of samosas ($12) and onion bhaji ($12). Each serve had two largish pieces, but chef kindly cut them into quarters for us so that we could share them. Both dishes were fresh and tasty and a quarter serve of each was just right to get us in the mood for what was to follow. And we weren’t disappointed! I ordered my fav lamb saag ($26) and my dining companions chose the garlic prawns ($26), the exotic chicken salad ($26) and the tandoori fish tikka ($28). We complemented that with a tray of basmati rice and two serves of naan bread. Serving sizes were generous and it was the ideal banquet for the four of us. My lamb saag was soft and tender, well cooked just the way I like it and soaked in a rich, flavoursome spinach sauce. My wife’s fish tikka was succulent and moist, whist the chicken salad was an inspired choice, not something we usually have at Indian eateries. The finely sliced chicken was cooked to perfection and accompanied by a wholesome selection of fresh salad ingredients including mango and avocado, to give it a subtle but sweet texture. The warm naan bread and fluffy basmati rice were the perfect complement. Everything was brought to the table, piping hot, straight from the ovens. We ended up with a shared serve of creamy mango kulfi ice cream, on the house. What a great way to end an excellent meal.

ATMOSPHERE 
The atmosphere was homely, comfortable and relaxed. Tables are placed on two levels separated by a little staircase. The decor is quite ornate and stylish with a wooden ceiling, tiled floors upstairs and carpets downstairs. Tables are neatly laid with starched, white napery, white crockery and stainless steel cutlery. On the upper level, is an impressive looking chandelier flanked by modern down lights, to keep the place bright and cheery. At the back downstairs are three interesting “Phantom of the Opera” styled mirrors. There wasn’t a huge turnout for a Friday night; at it’s peak it was only about half full, but that suited us fine, as we were able to enjoy a pleasant evening catching up with an interstate relative. 

SERVICE
Staff were friendly, helpful and polite and neatly attired in smart black uniforms. However, I did find the service a tad slow. The entrees came out in about 10 minutes, but after that it was a fairly long wait of about 25 minutes, for the mains. I guess reason for that is that it’s all freshly prepared. I did get the feeling though, that by 9.30pm, they were keen to close up and go home. I was looking forward to my fav gulab jamun dessert but we weren’t offered the dessert menu, although, as mentioned, chef kindly brought us a generous plate of mango kulfi ice cream as a freebie.

COMFORT 
The wooden tables and chairs were firm and comfortable, although the table was a bit small and we struggled to fit all the dishes. Despite it being a chilly winter’s night, the internal heating kept us warm and cozy, until they decided to turn it off at around 9.30pm.

MENU
Menu is clearly laid out on white sheets, with a strong black font, making it easy to read. It’s enclosed in a sturdy brown leather binder.

TOILETS
Toilets are in the middle of the bottom section. There are separate male and female ones with multiple cubicles in each, so there’s no queueing or waiting around for one to become available. And like everything else in this restaurant, they’re spotlessly clean, and well provisioned.

ACOUSTICS
The carpeted interior and tables well spaced out, make this an ideal venue for a relaxed night out with friends and family. We had absolutely no problem conversing.

COST
With our 25% Ent Book discount (up to a max $35) we paid a very reasonable $117 for four of us and that included corkage at $8 per bottle, two shared entrees, four mains with rice and two serves of naan bread. The dessert of course, as mentioned, we were not charged for.

BOOKING
Given the modest turnout even on a Friday night, I wouldn’t think that booking is necessary.

PARKING/ACCESS
F.O.I. is in a slightly awkward and isolated spot on busy New South Head Rd, not far from the corner of Darling Point Rd. If coming by car from the eastern suburbs, it’s best to get here via Double Bay and Darling Point. We found easy parking on Darling Point Road, where restrictions end at 6pm. If coming from the north, D. P. Rd, is first one after the restaurant on the left, as you drive up N.S.H. Rd. There’s two hour free parking in the nearby Edgecliff Shopping Centre but given the slowish service, that may not be enough.

SUMMARY
We had an enjoyable evening, and everything went off smoothly, starting with a prompt email from the manager, Mr Faysal, confirming our booking. F.O.I. has been in this spot for decades and their professionalism and experience just shines through, meaning that you will have an excellent dining experience here. The food is superb, the service is polite and friendly, if a tad slow, and the ambience is relaxed and casual. The interior design is elegant and stylish, so you’ll feel like a million dollars. Toilets are clean and well stocked and there’s easy parking to be had after 6pm in nearby Darling Point Rd.

RECOMMENDATION
The lamb saag with naan bread or basmati rice. Delicious!

MEMO
The website is in need of an upgrade. The prices shown are out of date, the style and layout is basic, uninspiring and dull and it still has links to “Eatability” a review site that closed down about two years ago. In this digital age where your online presence counts for so much, they should look to improve theirs. That may help them to pull in the crowds, because this is a fine restaurant that deserves to be better patronised.

The food deserves a 3 but the lovely service and atmosphere bumps my score to a 3.5. There was nothing wrong with our dishes - the butter chicken, rogan josh and eggplant curry - but none were sensational either. Not bad but head to Delhi O Delhi in Newtown of if staying in the Eastern suburbs then Dal Bukhara for better Indian food.

Our regular Indian takeaway, we have ordered from here half a dozen times now and have always had a reliably good experience. At first, we thought the dishes looked small but we have found that they are more substantial than they look because of the generous amount of meat in each curry. In particular, the Beef Kerala and Goat Curry (both of which have meat and potato) were not bulked up with a disproportionate amount of potato. They seem to use a good quality meat and we haven’t ever found it fatty or gristly. Vegetable samosas are some of the nicest I’ve had. They are quite large and we usually split them between two now. We were divided on the Raita yoghurt sauce - it was a little too thick for me but others preferred it like this. Similarly, some of us found the Fresh Mango Chicken a little too sweet and mild but I thought it was a lovely complement to the spicier beef dishes. Rice servings vary so much between Indian restaurants that it’s often hard to know how much to order. Here, one serving is only enough for one person so you need one per person. Free poppadoms and mango chutney were included with our order which was nice. Prices are reasonable. Almost all of the curries are $23-$24. There’s a good selection of 8 vegetarian dishes which are $16-$18. Flavour of India is located on busy New South Head Rd, almost exactly opposite Edgecliff Station. Parking can be tight around here but the Eastpoint shopping centre carpark is a good bet.

We had a lovely dining experience at the flavour of India. The food is delicious and as someone from the U.K. who loves a good curry I feel this is one of the best curry houses in Sydney. The chef, Hayat is very personable and during our dinner came and spoke to our group to provide some funny stories and ask for our feedback. The service and food was great and we will be back!

I've ordered takeout from Flavour of India twice now and I am hooked! The curries are robust and flavourful, the naans are thick and fluffy, and the samosas are so good that they're still crunchy and flavoursome cold from the fridge the day after! The delivery time can be a bit slow but it is definitely worth the wait.

Outstanding food for the VERY patient. Hands down one of the best in Sydney, dishes are at another level to most competition but if ordering delivery expect to wait 90 minutes plus, not sure what the hold up is and meals always arrive hot but wow it takes time…