Review Piquancy - Hawthorn

Fabulous service and great food! Dropped in for a Friday dinner and was amazed by the flavours of every dish we ordered. Would recommend the tandoori chicken, soy chilli cauliflower, butter chicken and Matar mushroom korma.

Although initially, I thought we made the wrong choice as we were the only Asians there: but after tasting the two delightful starters of tandoori chicken and soy chilli cauliflower, we look forward to the mains. The lamb roganjosh, pork vindoloo and aloo baingan (eggplant, potatoes, etc) were delicious, tasty and not too spicy.

After eventually finding a park on this stretch of a busy road, we went inside, sat down and began to peruse the extensive menu that does offer a few different things than you'd normally find on a typical menu at an Indian restaurant. It is a shame, however, that the staff don't know what the items are, because when bringing out entrees, they gave the wrong items to the wrong people as a result, and they missed out on trying what they wanted (which could be problematic if you have an allergy or something). My samosas (which were SO GOOD) came out first and only after some questioning, the other items came out, but by that time I was done with them, because the wait was quite extensive. In spite of those hiccups, everyone loved their food. The mains were good. The food came out all at once this time, which was great, but there needed to be some juggling as the table sizes are small. The kitchen accomodated the few requests we had which was nice, and everything was delicious (except we just could not taste the garlic on the naan or see the chives, which makes me think they gave us plain naan instead). Basically, other than a few glitches with staff not being spot on that night, the food was great and the atmosphere was nice (along with nice, modern decor) and definitely worth trying again. Parking can be tricky, and so it might be best coming for an early sitting. Would I come back again? Yeah, if I'm in the area, for sure.

Ordered takeout (meal for 2) and was impressed with the flavours and quality so we decided to dine in and check out the Meat Free Monday. Food was amazing once again and packed full of flavour! We wish we could've fit more food in and try more dishes. The staff were also super attentive but not overbearing. They were always readily available when we had a request and made sure we had enough food and water on the table. We're already planning our next visit back and looking forward to making our way through the rest of the menu.

This is so far the best Indian restaurant in this area. You cannot find any other Indian restaurant that serve such a variety of greens and vegetables like this. However, the main dishes (curries) arrived quite too long. We finished the starters and had to wait almost half an hour which did make us feel a bit less favourable for the curries but everything was still amazing. Highly recommend going with more than 4 people to be able to try a lot of dishes.

Ordered a Door Dash delivery for lunch the other day. WOW the best Indian I’ve had in Melbourne. It arrived hot, delicious and fresh! I must say they are very generous with the proportion. Will definitely be coming into the restaurant next time!

Love the food, and the customer service. We've only ever ordered takeaway, and the food has consistently been good. Ordered a takeaway this evening and the food delivery company brought the wrong order - the manager ended up bringing our order to us himself, complete with 2 beers as an apology. Definitely recommend this place!

The most delicious butter chicken I have ever tried and I have tried a lot! Service is outstanding and warm. I am glad it’s so closed to my house. The pork vindaloo is a bit too salty for my liking but if you eat it with plain rice then It’s ok. The chicaron adds a very unique taste. I want to try everything else on the menu.

Food was quite different but very good. Service was excellent even though very busy even on a Sunday ! Expensive wine list and $15 corkage but it still only cost $50 a head which was good. Love the atmosphere and the sleek decor .

We had a dinner meeting here and it was delicious. The food was fantastic! Love how it’s so fresh. Service was great - extra shout out to DJ. I liked the chilled out vibe and the beer fridge was cool. Was pretty busy when we went and we got everything on time and everything looked great too. And we got yummy kulfi at the end - part of Christmas season which was a nice touch � I will be back!

The menu is delightful. I can honestly say that there is nothing on the menu, not to love. Beautiful people, great food & fabulous service.

Food here is very average. Service average. Dishes come one at a time, literally rice on its own ten minutes later followed by one curry etc. The goat curry is over cooked and no balance in spices. Tandoori chicken average. Prices here, you would think that you are in a Michelin star restaurant. Manager dressed in jeans and a flannel shirt and no genuine interest in what we really need. Guys, you need to buck up. Your food presentation is good but that's about it.

Great food, very attentive service, great selection of beers. Will be back one Sunday for the all you can eat curry taster!

Excellent food and great service. Took my family and the six of us were greatly impressed by the style and quality. Will definitely be back :)

I was excited to hear great thing about the restaurant so me and my husband decided to check it out. Unfortunately the food wasn’t a wow factor and it wasn’t what we expected. The naans were really yummy. The price is ridiculous expensive! We will not go back again anytime soon.

Crap indian food i ever had!! Never go there

Beautiful food, accommodating service, nice fit out, nice ambience. Will definitely return 👍🏻

Awesome Indian tastes with a modern twist and great service ...

All you GF types will love it, bloody good food for all.

Authentic, rich, generous, delicious food. Well done guys. Keep up the good work.

Arrived cold.

We visited Piquancy tonight for dinner and by way of a meeting finishing earlier than anticipated we arrived 45 minutes ahead of schedule. The website when we booked the night previous suggested there were no spaces available for the earlier sitting but upon arrival it was largely empty. I hope people aren’t booking and not turning up, given the circumstances they would be very disrespectful. <br/><br/>I wasn’t particularly amused when staff immediately tried to insist we had to do the set menu and claim we should have realised that from the website when the website stipulates no such thing and I had specifically asked the day before whether we could order a la carte. <br/><br/>We also were given a menu without prices and when the bill came we were kind of flabbergasted to find our small entree dish actually cost more than both our mains, had we realised we probably wouldn’t have ordered it. We were also charged for each individual naan rather than as the naan basket of three and just felt they were trying to sting us at every opportunity.<br/><br/> Definitely did feel the warm hospitality we have come to expect from this chain of venues and would certainly class this as well below the standard that has been set by their other establishments

Excellent flavours. Beef is brilliance and fish is sublime as is the cumin rice and naan. Beef second time round was a little over salted and therefore over flavoured. But it’s worth another look. Great flavours that don’t die wondering.

Have visited their sister restaurant Bapu Ji a few times now and have been meaning to try out Piquancy and got to do so last night, although unfortunately only for take away at this stage. They have a relatively short menu of meat curries and a slightly larger range of vegetarian and vegan friendly options. <br/><br/>Their samosas were absolutely giant but quite mild. The tandoori chicken was delicious and tender. <br/><br/>For curries we had the butter chicken (often a good comparison dish) and the Dal Makhani. Both of these were super mild on the heat so we should good for any spice newbie but I should have asked for the heat levels to be dialed up a little more than they were. Heat aside tasty spicy succulent dishes and much enjoyed with our naan and rice. <br/><br/>Their take away offer at the moment includes 30% off for pick up and they even threw in a free beer. <br/>

I always get takeaway from here and they have never failed me! I order the $14.95 lunch pack which comes with a choice of curry, a HUGE slab of naan bread and rice. The quality of the curries I've tried is always consistent, delicious and great value for money! I've only ever had takeaway from here, but I couldn't recommend it more!

Overall, it was good experience with modern touch to Indian food. But you can eat much more delicious food for bit less and comfortable seating. There was only one waiter upstairs and he confused at times. They added someone’s wine to our bill. Naan had too much salt and olive oil added, due to that I didn’t appreciate their dhal makhani to the full extent.

This place is up there with the best of Melbourne Indian. Every dish we ate was as good as I’ve had. Not cheap but well worth it and I loved the idea of self service beer, cider and soft drink.

Best butter chicken in Hawthorn, no question! Rice and Kashmiri Naan were also delicious. We had this meal delivered, but the restaurant looks really cosy and we’re looking forward to dining in sometime really soon and trying out the other dishes.

We wanted to try a new restaurant and came across this restaurant on Zomato Gold, so we decided to give it a try. <br/><br/>Service - all staff were really friendly and nice and very professional the entire time. <br/><br/>Food - I must say the food was amazing, all dishes had so much flavour and I could have gone for seconds had I not been full haha. We ordered Munchurian Balls, Chicken Tikka, Butter Chicken, Daal Makhani, Palak Paneer. We were surprised on how each dish was cooked so well and presented well too. <br/><br/>Ambience - we really enjoyed the decor. It seems more fine dining but we really liked it. The decor is in relation to BabuJi (restaurant in St Kilda) as they are the same owner<br/><br/>Overall - we really enjoyed our food, service and the ambience is great, this is probably my new favourite restaurant now and I can’t wait to go back again!

Awesome hidden gem!<br/>Love every bite I have eaten here. The best thing is they keep changing their entrée menu every quarter which makes me come back again. Both the dishes I had were spot on! Highly recommend this place.

The best Indian in Melbourne! You can get good Indian food everywhere these days, but piquancy is just at another level! The tasting menu banquet ($49 for 2 entrees and 2 curries and unlimited naan and rice) is such so great for the quality of food. I’ve been 4 times now and I just can’t fault it, so glad I found this little place near me.

Fantastic Indian food! We ordered the papadums, butter chicken, smoked eggplant curry, fish tikka and naan. All dishes were scrumptious! Almost all dishes were gluten free and the gluten free naan had great texture. The service was very good.

Amazing Indian! We used to travel across town for Indian until this popped up around the corner. Always yum, always get really good service and we always leave feeling that we’ve had a great night.

We had a lovely Valentine's dinner at Piquancy a few weeks ago, they had a really good value set menu, couple of entrees, mains, plus rice, nann and raita and dessert! They nailed our favourite thing, the pani puri, it was awesome. Can only be described as a flavour explosion in your mouth! The service was great and they gifted us with a bottle of wine on the way out for Valentine's Day, it was very unexpected and nice!

Great range of dishes for vegetarians as well as plenty for meat and seafood fans. The fresh mint sauce that accompanied the papadums was sublime and spicy - a great start. <br/><br/>The Tokri Chat is something I have never heard of before but it was delicious - one serving was definitely enough for 2 people.<br/><br/>Next it was Dal Amritsari and Lamb Dhungar with garlic naan and a gluten-free naan - very impressive. Almost all their dishes are listed as gluten free but they are clear that their kitchen is not fully gluten free, which is refreshing.<br/><br/>The wine list was good and although overall it was a bit pricey, it was also a bit different. We loved the contemporary decor and it was buzzing on a Thursday night.<br/><br/>We'll be back.

Disappointed! We went to this place on Valentine’s Day, hoping to have a wonderful dinner.. but left the place feeling we had spent too much on a ‘not so satisfying meal’.. the ingredients listed dint match the meal.. the paneer starter dint taste fresh n was cold, the Tokri chat base, we could taste the stale oil n the dessert was the most disappointing.. we couldn’t have more than just a spoon.. we really don’t mind spending on good meals but this cost us $120 for the two of us but we felt leaving like we had just wasted that money. We haven’t tried ‘Babu ji’, but when we do end up there, hoping that’ll be better than this..

Nice local modern Indian restaurant, part of the Babu Ji clan this local hawthorn eatery delivers stylish Indian cuisine. Best to come with a group as the portions are massive and a bit too much if there is just the two of you and you’d like to try a few dishes. Quite pricy as well, but it’s BYO.

We were the early birds this night! First in but by the time we left the place was buzzing!! The food was delicious and good value for the two person banquet, the wine menu was a little on the expensive side, looking around $15 per glass!<br/><br/>You wouldn’t want to go for a big start to the night as the alcohol will probably bring up the bill a bit but if you are just after some good food and 1 or 2 drinks then its definitely worth checking out.

Saw many good reviews on the Internet so we tried it on a Saturday night. It was a full house on Saturday nite which was a good sign. However there were only 3-4 staff running in and out, up and down (2 stories). We were seated to an uncleaned table and no one brought us a menu or clean the table for 15 mins. That was fine. Then ordered food and waited for probably over 45 mins. Hard to draw an attention from any staff. Ordered a pork dish which was overcooked; ordered a curry which was as small as the size of a dog paw and cost about $24 I think. Good luck. Won't go back again.

Piquancy , in Hawthorn’s Auburn Village, is the new Indian restaurant from cousins Mani Waraich and Ranjit Singh, owners of St Kilda’s Babu Ji. Babu Ji is one of our favourite Indian restaurants in Melbourne, so when we heard about Piquancy, it didn’t take us long to head over for a visit.

Winter is a time for all things hot and spicy, and with all the fragrant Indian spices packed into their menu, Hawthorn's Piquancy certainly fits the bill. Many of Piquancy's dishes feature a teaming of ingredients that deviate from the traditional, but still manage to encapsulate the core flavours and spices that make up Indian cuisine. Hearty winter comfort indeed.

So excited for a new Indian restaurant in the area. We had the tasting menu which was $49pp. The tandoori chicken and the batata vade were the entrees in which we all had one each. They were generous and delicious. The mains were a bit of a let down. We had 5 people in our group and they brought out 2 mains for all of us to share. Then, 'if' we finished them, they would bring out 2 more of the same mains. They were ok but somewhat lacking in flavour. We had to end up ordering the two curries as it just wasn't enough. The dessert was a let down. It's a cone with a half melted condense milk cardamom popsicle inside and the waiter tells you to 'pull it'. So weird. Very hard to eat and sickly sweet. They also have a big projector playing Bollywood music clips. They are trying to be funky- it just misses the mark and comes across tacky. I would probably suggest you steer clear of the tasting menu and just order al la carte

<br/>Piquancy: a pleasantly sharp and appetizing flavour and spiciness<br/><br/>True to its name, Piquancy delivers experimental Indian dishes bursting with flavour – don’t worry if you can’t handle spicy food though, as the dishes we tried were very mild.<br/><br/>From the team behind St Kilda’s Babu Ji, this modern Indian restaurant brings a welcome energy to the otherwise quiet strip-shop area of Auburn Road, Hawthorn. With a light-box image of an impressively moustached turban-clad man as their street sign, and rolling Bollywood videos projected onto the wall, there’s a hint that once you step inside, you’ll be faced with something quite unexpected.<br/><br/>When we visited on a Thursday night, the cosy downstairs dining space was full. So, we were taken upstairs to a much larger open area, which featured the same clean white walls and modern furniture, but it didn’t match the downstairs ambience. Although – looking on the bright side – I was out to dinner with a bunch of girls, so it was actually perfect for our chit chat.<br/><br/>The menu is split into two sections: ‘from the street’ and ‘from the pot’, and for those who want to remove the decision-making angst, there’s also a ‘tasting menu’ option. You can imagine the excitement of my gluten-free friend when she discovered that pretty much the entire menu is gluten-free. That even includes the naan, made with psyllium husk, quinoa, chickpea, lentil and corn flours.<br/><br/>Highlights from ‘the street’ were: sunehri prawn, tandoor roasted prawns marinated with saffron and corn puree; and chloe tikki, a chickpea croquette with ginger, avocado salsa, and served with roasted tomato sauce. And from ‘the pot’, we couldn’t pass on the more familiar dishes of butter chicken and the fish curry. The food was a little slow being served, but it looked impressive and tasted clean, light and aromatic.<br/><br/>If you’re after a feast, go along one Sunday and sample the ‘special nights’ all-you-can-eat for $28, offering traditional curries that highlight India’s culinary diversity.<br/><br/>There’s a GYO (grab your own) fridge containing 40 beers, and the wine list is short yet sharp, with a lovely selection of local wines.<br/><br/>It seems the locals in Hawthorn were crying out for a new modern Indian restaurant, as this place is buzzing. Bookings can be made online, and walk-ins are also welcome. Plus, there’s a take-away menu for those lazy winter nights at home.

Modernised Indian in a suburban context. Pricier than the typical suburban Indian. Some entrees were inventive and tasty. Chicken tikka was sadly underdone but replaced in full with better cooked pieces. Curries pleasant enough. Nearly there. Worth a try and hopefully builds up to be a great addition to the Auburn Rd strip.

Came here with my family to try out this new Indian fusion restaurant. We all enjoyed the food, but there were some standouts for each of us. The main group favourites were the pani puri, beetroot paneer and the batata vada, all from the street food section. We tried the fish curry and the lamb curry, and both were nice but I think they needed a bit more of a flavour kick. The naan was delicious though. The service was okay, probably could have been a bit more attentive at times. I would come back here for the street food selection :)

Hawthorn’s new Indian restaurant, Piquancy (meaning a pleasantly sharp and appetising flavour) is living up to its name with an enticing mix of flavours and spices to transport diners to the streets and homes of India. . Mani Waraich’s and Ranjit Singh’s family-orientated upbringings in Punjab are prevalent in Babu Ji and is also at the forefront of Piquancy.

It's great to see a creative and interesting approach to Indian food open in this fairly conservative neck of the woods. The decor is modern and a little cold which fits the food. On a busy Saturday night the service is clearly a bit strained but friendly. On arrival We are told to sit at the "bar" (slight exaggeration) for five minutes while the manager is found, although our table is ready and waiting. The waitress offers to take our order then realises she doesn't have a pen. Our food came out very fast considering the place was packed that night. The help yourself beer fridge is impressively well stocked with an excellent range, and easy to use on a busy night. I'm quite surprised licensing laws allow help yourself fridges! <br/><br/>The food is interesting but I didn't think it was better than the regular restaurant Indian food and definitely not U.K. Indian food standard. It was fairly pricey for the size of the serves. The coating on the 4 sunehri tandoori ($25) prawns was slightly bitter and it overpowered the delicate prawn flavour. The 2 potato and lentil balls (batata vada $20!!) were well seasoned, tasty and generously sauced and unexpectedly came out cold. The fish curry ($25) was rich, smooth and delicious but I'm not a huge fan of blue grenadier and I think a firmer fish would work better. Im perplexed why the menu describes this dish as a "must try for the adventurous" - there was nothing adventurous about it unless you think coconut cream is way out there. We also had the naan basket, and enjoyed the first piece of garlic naan but it could have done with a cover- sitting in front of the front door on a cold winters night meant we had cold hard Naan by the time we got to the third piece. <br/><br/>I had really high hopes for this place and I'm planning to go back for the Sunday night special and hope that is better value and experience. <br/><br/><br/><br/>

I've been here a number of times for both dining in and takeaway. As a past devotee of Babu Ji, I was excited to see Piquancy had opened in my neighbourhood, and my expectations were not disappointed, in fact, they were more than fulfilled. The restaurant itself is large and modern with a huge upstairs area. It's also very popular! The food is exquisite with lots of vegetarian dishes that are different, tasty, and delicious. Entrees are varied and the pani puri ... a must. Samosas are huge so be careful. The bread is beautifully flaky and crisp. Highly recommended

This place is sooo good! I love its older 'brother' Babu Ji but now Piquancy in Hawthorn is so much closer!! Food was bang on and had all the amazing flavours of Babu Ji I remember. The pani puri was the bomb - you can't go there and not try it ok? Flavour explosions that can't be explained. The curries was divine and the naan bread was cooked perfectly. Love the fit out of this new place - we came when it first opened but it won't be long before it'll be hard to get a table in the small but cosy place! Job well done guys!

So surprised after reading the other reviews. A warning to diabetics, load up on insulin before you visit as most of the dishes we've had from the set menu are sickly sweet.<br/><br/>Presentation is fantastic, very hard to flaw. But after your second appetiser, you'll start to notice the heavy use of sugar.<br/><br/>By main course, you'll be begging for mercy. By desert, your teeth will be aching. <br/><br/>Looking around me though, everyone looks genuinely happy and look like they're enjoying the coco pop curry's.... but I'm not sure why.

Very good service<br/>Fragrant dal and lamb dishes served in copper pots<br/>Great beer choices<br/>Wine list ok but pricey<br/>Smart interior tends to be rather cold but has crazy Bollywood flic on wall<br/>Definitely recommend

From the people behind Babu Ji in St Kilda comes Piquancy, which has recently settled into Auburn Village in Hawthorn East. Classic curries and street food are on the menu, but Piquancy also serves contemporary Indian, in part demonstrated by its non-traditional name. Sharp, stimulating, exciting, appetising. The definition of piquancy is what they hope to achieve with their food.

Piquancy is an Indian restaurant newly opened in Hawthorn. The meaning of the word piquancy is ‘a pleasantly sharp and appetising flavour’ which describes this restaurant to a tee. The flavours are bold, unique and delicious. The same crew who created Babu Ji in St Kilda have created this new restaurant showcasing traditional Indian flavours. The food is sure to put a smile on your dial and take you to the streets of India all in one mouthful.

Exemplary rice and Dahl delivered quickly. Chicken tikka and fish curry also beautifully composed with great ingredients but it is the Dahl and rice that will make me return. The plain rice was amazing and the Dahl had layers of flavours I adored. Interested to see what other dishes are like and to try the naan

If your expecting your normal Indian then think again. This restaurant offers so much more. Sure they've got Tandoori chicken but its fragrant and juicy not dry or orange. We started with the Pani Puri which none of us had ever had before. Its like a food shot that wakes your mouth up. Followed by the Tandoori chicken and the Seekh Gilafi. Kebabs served on rosemary skewers is not your typical Indian presentation more modern Australian but it worked. Our mains were goat curry which melted in your mouth, fish curry which was the hit of the evening with its creamy golden coconut sauce and the Aloo Baingan-  potato and eggplant curry.  I would definitely have any of these dishes again but there is so much more I want to try.  Décor is clean fresh and modern. Lots of people on Saturday night so it was loud and hard to hear your own conversation but that adds to the atmosphere. Lovely staff and venue worth a visit

Such a welcome addition to this neck of the woods. Food is fresh and flavoursome, striking a balance between traditional on the one hand and inventive on the other, without tipping over into the ridiculous unlike so much fusion these days. Soars above its competition and sets a new bar, esp for the generally mediocre Asian fare in this neighbourhood.

Sunday night hangover cure bliss. Could not fault the food. Shared the all you can eat thali with my better half and for $28 pp it's of great value. Lamb curry, butter chicken, Dahl and rice. Epic. We also ordered 2 sides of their naan bread, they were light and fluffy with a crunch. Perfect. Can't wait for the next hangover so I can at least have an excuse to make such a pig of myself.

Amazing food. A great range on the menu. 2 entrees and 2 main with rice & naan for three was perfect. A local restaurant we will come back to soon.

The new Indian on the block.<br/>Second night of business and a good numberSer of diners. Very tasty in a Inner East Melbourne way.<br/>Portions and pricing like many many other Indian restaurant. Small serves big price!!!<br/>$20. for a serve of Dhal.<br/>Wine by the glass $13, 15, 17.<br/>Service was good, Ambiance very good as the music was truly background.<br/>Good luck to Piquancy in a very tough market<br/>