Having come here many times, I recently came here again with a dozen friends to see whether anything has changed. Located at the northern end of O’Connell Street, Beyond India offers all your traditional North Indian fare, and perhaps a bit more, as the name of the restaurant suggests. The place is beautifully decorated with modern leather seats and gorgeous timber table tops. The walls are filled with traditional Indian carved murals and the dim lights create a relaxed atmosphere. The staff here are friendly and inviting, and the service is pretty good.

As I usually do, I ordered the banquet. This consisted of the Vegetarian Tasting Plate, one main course for each person in the banquet, rice and naan bread. A minimum of two people are required for the banquet, and the main dishes are not unlimited, unlike banquets at other Indian restaurants. I ordered the Beef Chennai, my other two friends ordered the Lamb Dhansak and the Goat curry.

The meals arrived after 30 minutes of ordering, which is not bad for a Friday evening. The entree arrived with a Varanasi Samosa, Mixed Vegetable Pakora and an Aloo Tikki. The Aloo Tikki and Vegetable Pakora were well spiced and full of flavour. The pastry skin on the Samosa was perfectly cooked and the filling was delicious. None of the entree items were too oily which was a bonus.

Not long after, the main dishes arrived. The Beef Chennai was amazing. Lean chunks of tender succulent beef cooked in a mouth watering cumin and coconut based curry sauce. The Lamb Dhansak was also good and had a bit of kick, which is just the way I like it. The lamb was lean and tender, and you could really taste the ginger and turmeric in the thick curry sauce. The Goat curry was OK, although the dish did come with meat still on the bone. I do understand that curries taste nicer when done this way as it gives it more flavour, however, when your main dish is half bone, that doesn’t represent value for money.

One does feel a bit cramped at this place as the seats between tables are kind of close to each other. On the flip side, you are allowed to pay for your meals individually. The quality of the dishes were above average, and the service and atmosphere were quite good too. If you’re not having the banquet, the prices here are quite reasonable, however, if you are, there are better value banquets out there. I had an enjoyable evening here, and I’m sure you will too.

WHERE: 170 O’Connell St, North Adelaide