Amaya, The Indian Room

Joanne Kates (The Globe and Mail Restaurant Critic) writes…”Amaya, which opened recently in the (renovated) premises of the former Jov, is heaven-sent. The combination of silken service and excellent ingredients freshly cooked, with sensitive spicing, is seductive in the way that only the food of the subcontinent can be - rich, assertive, complex, exotic.”

"Ordinary Indian restaurants throw some red-marinated chicken in the oven and call it tandoori. Amaya does tandoori duck breast, ruby slices in orange-inflected sauce with shredded apple. Move over, duck à l'orange. Lamb shank xacutti is uber-tender lamb in a complex sauce with cardamom, coriander seed, coconut, cloves and a hint of sweetness. Coconut lobster curry is what happened when the maharani met Marie Antoinette: a sauce so creamy it meets and matches the soft flesh of barely cooked lobster, but unlike a French cream sauce, this one is jazzed with ginger, garlic and cardamom pods.”

Just as the food avoids clichés, so does the setting: the 40-seat dining room is accented with subtle hints of India through stunning photography, creating an inviting atmosphere that is casual and friendly, yet elegant and sophisticated.

Amaya is open seven nights a week from 5:00pm.