Great Restaurants in Chattanooga; Sitar Downtown-Best Indian
Sitar in downtown Chattanooga offers a great Indian experience
AUTHOR: ARTSY CHOW ROAMER
Great Restaurants in Chattanooga
SITAR DOWNTOWN-BEST INDIAN
When my husband and I were dating, one of the first places I took him for good beer, spicy food and long conversations was a little hole-in-the-wall Indian restaurant called Raja up on Peachtree Road in Atlanta. Many might not remember it. It was family owned, kind of dark inside and they used to store dry goods in the bathrooms in their small less than stellar space.
I know…it doesn’t sound like much but we loved it and went often. So much so that the Saha’s faces would light up with the biggest of smiles when we would come through the door; sorta like when you visit your grandparents ya know?
The new digs in Buckhead was my go to for Indian until closing Photo: Rachel Taylor for the AJC
We made many good food memories in that place through the years as we celebrated marriage, waited on a favored niece to be born up the street and followed them to their new and better digs up in Buckhead. I still dream about Chicken Korma sweetened with bananas, Papadams dripping with tamarin and mint sauces and Lamb Vindaloo that left your mouth feeling a little more than warmed.
Awhile back we felt like Indian and headed their way only to be disappointed to discover developers had eaten up their location and they had quietly closed the doors and retired. I miss them. But I recently found a place that reminds me of them and this post will tell you why.
DOWNTOWN LOCATION
Sitar is located right across the street from the Aquarium in downtown Chattanooga making it pretty easy to get to from the interstate. We snagged a shaded parking spot right out front. I got a wonderful sense of deja vu as we wondered around the corner to find the entrance under the stairs.
I opened the door and a pleasant blast of curry smells and warm breads hit me in the face from the lunch buffet. The gentle music of the sitar was playing in the background while pictures of the Taj Mahal beckoned from walls and candles glimmered softly in the darkened interior.
Yes…I said to myself. This feels like Raja; a little kitschy with a touch of Bollywood. It wasn’t that busy which was fine with me for those of us who continue to worry about all things crowded. Our host smiled broadly and showed us to a comfy booth in the corner laying our menus in front of us.
I ordered a glass of white wine and my husband ordered a tall Taj Mahal-just like we always used to do. I know I am in the right place when the menu is like eight pages long, has pictures and takes awhile for you to decide what you want (like we didn’t already know 😂).
DRINKS AND APPS
So we asked for an order of Papadams with all the condiments possible and they arrived with our drinks in short order so we could nosh while perusing. They were crisp and hot but missing the pepper flakes I was used to.
It didn’t really matter once you started dipping them in onion relish, mint and tamarin sauces. Tamarin is my favorite and this one was pretty good. The sweet sour flavor goes so well with so many different food items I could put it on shoe leather and lap it up.
Next up, an order of Samosas and Onion Bhaji. For those who don’t know, these are little fried pockets of heaven; peas and potatoes for the former and simply onions in dredge for the other. Everyone’s recipes vary but the secret is in the frying.
They need to remain moist and not overdone with clean fresh oil when at their best. I will admit that I was a little concerned with the fry color on the Bhaji’s when they arrived but they were absolutely delicious; puffy crisp little pillows of oniony goodness while the samosas offered crisp tender veg that soaked up sauce.
ENTICING ENTREES
Flipping through the menu pages there were so many different meats to choose from; chicken, lamb or goat to fish, shrimp and scallops. I considered trying their Mulligatawny or Coconut Soup but decided not to push it. Tandoori Specialties were listed along with many choices of Roti Char (breads) like Naan and Paratha done in a variety of ways.
There’s an impressive list of Chefs Specialties and Combination Dinners if you are of a mind to try many things together. If you are vegetarian there are excellent offerings that include potatoes, spinach, peas, mixed veg and chick peas. There are also a lot of rice dishes from fried with cumin seed or veg to mains mixed with chicken, lamb or shrimp in a biryani style.
We opted for a simple rice, Naan bread, Chicken Korma and Lamb Vindaloo (some things never change) and sat back to wait for all the little silver dishes to arrive. When they did I was hard pressed not to clap my hands together and rub in glee.
Everything smelled so wonderful and looked so creamy and lush. My British friend and I enjoy cooking Indian together and agree it is one of the more difficult foods to master. It is labor intensive and requires the constant watching and stirring of pots all day as they slowly stew and make the meats fork tender and the sauces intense with flavors.
WONDERFUL FOOD
My Korma was wonderful. The meat was so tender and the sauce was thick, creamy and lush. The only thing I missed was the addition of bananas to sweeten it further. The Vindaloo was very spicy in the best of ways and the lamb just melted in your mouth.
We used the yummy Naan and rice to scoop up condiments and sauces and ate as much as we could. We still had to ask for boxes and extra cups of condiments to take home and we made another dinner out of it giving us a twofer.
Indian food is expensive perhaps compared to others but knowing the labor involved and getting two meals out of it makes it not only good for the soul but for the purse as well. Sitar offers a daily buffet and most of the people there were going back and forth trying many different plates of food.
Our empty plates tell you everything you need to know about Sitar
CONCLUSION-PUT SITAR ON YOUR RADAR
Put this downtown restaurant on your radar the next time you visit or are passing through Chattanooga. I’ll bet it’s cozy and dark for dinner and will make for a great date night where dinner can be long and filled with little silver dishes of deliciousness to share. It has worked well for us and I am glad we found another Raja to welcome us into their Indian home. We’ll be back often. Enjoy the music video above to get you in the mood for some great food.
If you enjoyed what you read, you might also enjoy reading other posts under Edible Fare on the blog. There are reviews on other restaurants as well as just interesting foodie things you might want to know. Join our tribe of curious adventure seekers and get a freebie recipe for making your own duck bacon! Until next time…
Cheers!
Artsy Chow Roamer
Follow me on You Tube, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram & Twitter
Food
If you liked what you read, click on the button below!
Why? You’ll get a recipe for duck bacon which will impress anyone you serve it to plus other great stuff I promise you’ll want!