Deciding to go out for Indian cuisine the other night, my two boys and I chose a spot new to us and fairly new to the neighborhood, 818-Masala located in North Hollywood. You will remember the horrible food and experience at Curry Land (aka Da Shits!)…so I was a little hesitant, and then like a bolt of lightning I felt that I had entered the Peninsula Hotel, yeah like the one in Beverly Hills were I love the Belvedere and the coffee service…oh but wait this is 818-Masala, what is going on?
We were greeted and seated in a very nicely furnished dining room, and the mood was very pleasant, easy music and a great staff, who ended up being the two owners, Dalwar and Karim. The place is immaculate, very well done and easy on the eyes. We had Dalwar and his cousin Karim serving and serving and no wonder the service was top shelf: Dalwar worked at the Peninsula for many years and it showed in his new restaurant, just fabulous. The way the water was served, the plating and the rest were just perfect, a nice wet napkin to refresh yourself after amazing beef ribs…funny to have beef ribs at an Indian restaurant…but so good, look for the Tandoori marinated beef ribs glazed with tamarind chutney…incredible. If this recipe ever makes it back to the homeland cows might not be safe! Try those ribs….just marvelous. We had a fantastic chicken dish that was just perfect, spiced just right, I also tried a lamb dish that was amazing, I know good lamb. I allowed Dalwar to make the selections telling him that we were hungry and had never been there before. This guy treated us like royalty and the service again was a 10 down the line!
Always afraid to order dessert as this is a deal breaker at many establishments…not at 818-MASALA, we had a dessert called Gulab Jamun, it is similar to a fried donut that is soaked in rose water, honey and sugar…when I heard “donut” Dalwar had me hooked (X-cop, I know donuts)! Please have this with a nice cup of tea, you will thank me.
Oh yeah, in these tough times the entire bill for all this was under $40.00 for three adults and we left stuffed! Check out their lunch, it is all you can eat for under 9 bucks! A great atmosphere, great service and GREAT FOOD.
This is going to be one of Nazarians favorites, 818-Masala is located at 4141 Lankershim Boulevard, North Hollywood, Ca. 91602 818-509-0296 be sure to ask for Dalwar or Karim, a very classy duo.