Anarkali - Los Angeles

Oh my goodness this place is AMAZING! Big special thank you to our waiter Socrates, who made this experience so incredibly fun for us. Excellent recommendations on the food! The music in there so much fun, great cool atmosphere, amazing food! We will be back for sure! Especially for the good vibes that these folks have. Thank you so much Socrates for making our night very fun.

Surprisingly intimate, yet welcoming space that's good for a date night or a smaller group. The atmosphere is pretty unique too with some interesting architecture. Parking is limited to the streets so it can be a bit of a pain, but other than that worth checking out for some really fresh and tasty Indian food! We got the Appetizer for Two that was perfect combination of goodies--chicken and lamb tikka, samosa, and onion bahje. A good amount to share of classic Indianfavorites. They also have these two sauces, a green and a red one that has a good heat to them and full of flavor. The red sauce is soooo good! We also got some very thin chip-like disk. Not sure if they were complimentary or not, but theywere fun to eat, although a bit fragile. For our main food, we got the Chicken Tikka and Vindaloo Curry. Both were cooked perfectly and was moist and flavorful. The Chicken Tikka paired perfectly with the sauces. The Vindaloo had a goodkick at medium and was very comforting. Oh, and get the Garlic and Basil Naan! Pairs very well and has a lovely fragrance. The Mango Lassi was also wonderful! Super mango-y and thicc! Lastly, we got some of the Rice Pudding complimentaryof the Yelp App check-in. It's a bit different from American style in it being more watery and not as sweet. It was simple, but a nice closer. Anyways, really enjoyed this restaurant and hope to be back soon!

TL;DR: Great service with good food. Can't go wrong here. I ordered Curried Mussels, Masala Fries, Onion Bhaji, Buffalo Wings, Chicken Korma, Lamb Korma, Chicken Biryani, Beef Jalfrezi, and Butter Naan. The Onion Bhaji was pretty standard pakora. Onion battered and fried and served as a small ball so as to eat with your hands. Not bad but not anything crazy good either. The Masala Fries were very interesting. They are thin fries fried to completion and covered in ButterChicken Masala. They were surprisingly really good but I felt as though they didn't give enough of the masala. Towards the end, I was just eating normal fries. I still recommend getting this appetizer but ask for extra sauce on the friesand you will not be disappointed. The Buffalo Wings, in my opinion was the weakest item on the menu. The wings were your standard deep fried wings with hot sauce. Not terrible, but for the type of restaurant it is, I expected something abit different than normal for this one. The Korma dishes were very good. Korma by nature is a very sweet dish so I recommend getting it a bit spicier than usual to make it really shine. I highly recommend this dish. The Chicken Biryaniwas good but definitely tasted a bit dryer than I expected. It's definitely not bad, just could have been better. Honestly the reason why I give this place a 5/5 instead of a 4/5 is the staff. The people running the place are genuinelynice. Our waiter even gave us a free extra order of Onion Bhaji even though we didn't ask for it because he said our party was too big for just one. If you're craving some Indian food I say give this place a go.

Best tikka masala in town! Maybe dim a bit the lights for a better atmosphere

This is my absolute FAVORITE Indian in Los Angeles. I send everyone I know here. The food is exquisite; they get the spiciness right (I'm not a spice girl; my friends are and they never disappoint. If you like Indian, Anarkali is your spot! Price is on point as well. Thank you, Anarkali. We love you.