Growing up in the UK, Indian restaurants are an important part of your dining out life. As a young adult, the combination of hearty yet exotic food that doesn’t kill your wallet is irresistible. As I’ve got older, the habit of only going for an Indian after an evening in the pub has changed and therefore the actual restaurant experience has become more important. Trishna in London has probably become my benchmark but I can happily cite a number of excellent Indian restaurants around the country that I’d happily return to.
The United States is another story entirely. You can’t resist the urge to search out Indian restaurants as you travel round the country even though it’s difficult to say that we’ve found one that has been truly successful. Philadelphia’s nominee is Tashan that is more focused on producing modern Indian cuisine rather than being a typical curry house. The menu reads very well with its mix of dishes cooked in the tandoor ovens or on the cast iron tawa or sigri open pit.
The restaurant is based on South Broad Street and it was quite a surprise to see that it occupied the corner ground floor spot of a large block of apartments. Stepping into the large dining room made me somewhat uneasy. Tashan is yet another place that insists of keeping the diners in the dark and the only source of light was the bustling kitchen. Our table was close to the kitchen so we could see better than some diners but overall this was poor.
The United States is another story entirely. You can’t resist the urge to search out Indian restaurants as you travel round the country even though it’s difficult to say that we’ve found one that has been truly successful. Philadelphia’s nominee is Tashan that is more focused on producing modern Indian cuisine rather than being a typical curry house. The menu reads very well with its mix of dishes cooked in the tandoor ovens or on the cast iron tawa or sigri open pit.
The restaurant is based on South Broad Street and it was quite a surprise to see that it occupied the corner ground floor spot of a large block of apartments. Stepping into the large dining room made me somewhat uneasy. Tashan is yet another place that insists of keeping the diners in the dark and the only source of light was the bustling kitchen. Our table was close to the kitchen so we could see better than some diners but overall this was poor.
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We had thought about going for the chef’s tasting menu but the unfriendly room meant that we opted for a mix of our own chosen starters and mains. The kitchen takes the approach that plates are sent out as soon as they’re cooked so there is no pattern to how they are delivered to the table. The first of the starters was the diver scallop kangura. The aniseed scented scallops were prepared on the tawa and served with South Indian moille sauce and topped cumin cranberry chutney. The sweet tender scallops were nicely cooked so this was a pleasant starter although there was nothing to really set it apart as exceptional.
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Next up was Mangalorean sausage and this was the best of the starters. The homemade chicken vindaloo sausage was served on a bed of Bombay bhel with a side of chilli paste. The sausage had a great spicy flavour and it combined really well with the blend of cucumber, chickpea, puffed rice, tomato, potato and peanut in the bhel
The last of the starters were plump juicy tandoori shrimp served with herbal fenugreek, toasted pea flour and basil seed coco yogurt. The combination of the subtle heat of the shrimp with the soothing honeyed yogurt was a delight.
Moving onto mains was a real mixed bag. Muscovy duck breast with seven-spiced crispy skin, foie gars, tamarind jus, aloo tikki and stewed vataanas was a lovely dish overall. The combination of the tender spicy duck breast and the tart tamarind was a strong centrepiece for the dish. The delightfully rich seared foie gras also benefitted from the contrasting jus. The aloo tikki topped with mint chutney added body to the dish and a satisfyingly sober counterbalance to the rich meats. All in all this was a really good dish.
When looking over the menu we spent a long time deciding whether to go for the Kashmiri lamb shank or the tandoori lamb chops. We went for the lamb shank served with royal cumin sauce and medjoul dates and this turned out to be a very poor decision. The cooking wasn’t the issue, it was just the sheer monotony of the dish. The large portion of braised shank was delightfully tender and easily came away from the bone and it combined nicely with the sweet gravy. The lack of any pronounced spice or other flavours ultimately meant that it was all a bit dull. We were told at time of ordering that we didn’t need to order rice because it would come with everything. Unfortunately this didn’t happen so we didn’t even have the rice to add a bit of textural interest.
Overall verdict
Tashan was okay but the combination of non-existent lighting and highly variable dishes meant that it only came across as a so-so experience.
Would I revisit Tashan?
Based on the food, there were enough strong dishes that I would go back. However the miserable experience of eating in the dark works against that so overall I’m not sure that I’d return.
Overall Rating - 3/5
Tashan was okay but the combination of non-existent lighting and highly variable dishes meant that it only came across as a so-so experience.
Would I revisit Tashan?
Based on the food, there were enough strong dishes that I would go back. However the miserable experience of eating in the dark works against that so overall I’m not sure that I’d return.
Overall Rating - 3/5
