Spice Affair had it’s soft opening last year in November, then in mid January this year they had their grand opening, I missed both! Well I may have missed both of those openings, but I certainly didn’t miss the stellar experience I had during my personal tasting at Spice Affair. This restaurant will outlive any of its competition in Los Angeles, with its fine ingredients and blending of exotic spices; it truly is a spice affair!
General Manager Anupam treated me like royalty, and indulged my senses with every part of this wonderful cuisine. I just can’t say enough about my experience, just delicious with a capital D!
Here’s what I tried:
Cocktails:
Indian Ocean, Grey Goose Citron with lychee and fresh coconut water. Very refreshing and light, but it packs a punch so watch out.
Cardamom Martini, Grey Goose with bold flavors of Cointreau, Cardamom and honey. I would order this martini every time, its just that good.
Angelica, refreshing Vodka Martini a hint of raspberry, served in a martini glass done with utmost attention to detail, it will not disappoint.
Salads and Soups:
Seared Tuna Salad, with mango chutney rub, arugula, Namak, para crisp, green apple and apple vinaigrette. For the heath conscience this is a wonderful salad.
Mushroom Cappuccino delicious soup of pureed wild mushrooms, served as a cappuccino. Really the best mushroom soup I ever tasting with just a hint of Indian spice, truly a big winner.
Appetizers:
Spinach Veiled Pine nut and Fresh Cheese, a nice first course with elegant presentation.
Artichokes Hearst from Tandoor, artichokes hearts, tantalizing marinated, and tandoor grilled. This is a very interesting dish, full of flavor and very low in calories.
The Chickpea and crackling caramelized walnut Kebab, famous kebabs from the flat grill with hand pounded chickpeas and caramelized walnuts. Meaty little gems with a great burst of flavor.
Deep Deviled Scallops, cooked with mango cream and char finished. Well of course this would be one of my favorites, the scallops are plump and just pop in your mouth.
Black Pepper Shrimp, shrimp covered in velvety coconut and pepper sauce. These are huge shrimp and the taste is off the hook, as well as the presentation.
The Kababari / BBQ:
Jhumke BBQ Prawn Crowns, crunchy jumbo prawns delicately marinated with lemon, garlic, and fine herbs, spit roasted with saffron. Everything here is fantastic, including these big huge prawns.
Flash Grilled Sea Bass, sea bass marinated with fresh herbs and turmeric. Nicely prepared, fresh and flaky.
The Tandoori Chicken, an all time favorite from Punjab. What a fantastic job they did on this chicken. It is falls of the bone tender with very rich aromatic flavors, another huge hit!
Curry and Masala:
Butter Chicken loaded with love, cream, butter and tomatoes. One of Spice Affairs most popular dishes and you can totally understand why. It has huge buttery consistency with rounded tomato flavors, wow.
A Punjab Connection, chunky chicken cubes slow cooked in aromatic spices. A true traditional menu item, and very delicious.
The Northie Lamb Bliss, tender lamb cooked to perfection as in homes of Northern India. Only do this one if your want a lot of heat, with the tender lamb being a big plus as well.
Shrimp and Scallop Moilee, Kerela style coconut, curry leaf, and mustard sauce. Another one of my favorite, with its rich yellow curry sauce, very mild but amazingly subtle. I loved this dish.
Vegetables:
Just the Saag, a traditional creamed spinach, fenugreek, and seasonal leafy veggies. Great spinach flavor with just a hint of cream.
Paneer Butter Masala famously loved velvety tomato and Paneer and cream. I love matar paneer, which is a cousin to this dish, instead they use masala sauce and it adds so much more to this very sexy dish.
Ginger Okra Flock and Fire, stir fried ladyfingers with an herbal infusion of ginger. You have to be a fan of okra and not very many people are. Okra gets a bad rap, but if you try this spicy dish you will forever be a fan.
Tangy Stuffed Eggplant, stuffed baby eggplant caramelized onion, almonds, tamarind & tomato. These are very small eggplants stuffed to perfection.
Bread and Rice:
Dum Chicken Biryani with magical whiffs and broiled saffron strands. They cook this like a pie; complete with a bread topping and crust, the layered flavors are astounding.
Raita, cucumber fresh mint and roasted cumin powder. Always meant to cool off your palate and this raita doesn’t disappoint.
Naan, butter Naan, with olive, thyme, garlic and chives. This bread is very flavorful, just the perfect addition, and to be able to soak up all of these glorious sauces is stupendous.
Kulcha with Onion and Gorgonzola, another wonderful menu item, with the cheese not being a typical Indian ingredient in breads.
Wines:
Viognier, Cambria, Santa Maria Valley, CA 2013. This wine has a sort of floral effervescent quality that lends itself perfectly to the light vegetable appetizers.
Sauvignon Blanc, Tiki, Marlborough, New Zealand, 2012. Most of this type of wine from New Zealand has a sort of grapefruit finish, and this one is right up there with the best.
Chardonnay, Mount Eden, Edna Valley, CA., 2012. Wines from this region are elegant and bright; this should be paired with any of the shrimp or scallop dishes.
Zinfandel, Renwood, Amador County, CA., 2011. This is a very hearty wine that should proudly be consumed with any of the meat curries.
Malbec, Pascual Toso, Mendoza, Argentina. For me this wine worked nicely with the butter chicken curry, it just hits all the right notes.
Dessert:
Chintu Ki Rasmali, pistachio with saffron, cottage cheese, condense milk, honey crumbles. It’s sweet, but not too sweet, and the consistency is like tapioca pudding but far more exotic.
Raspberry Pencotta, hazelnut cake, hazel nut crumbles. This was a very special house made dessert that they do not have on the menu. It was smooth and silky and the crust or cake was simply divine.
Mango Moose, served in individual plastic square containers, that was just heaven in a cup.
The décor is very festive with it’s multi colored fountain and it modern inspired interiors. There are many different rooms for events. There is a huge banquet facility in the back, as well as a separate private dining room. The bar can also be used as an event space, each having screens for a viewing area. No matter where you eat or where you have your event you will feel at home and well taken care of.
Owner Dr. Puneet Chandak, who owns the Indian Restaurant named Broadway Masala in Redwood City, wanted to open an upscale Indian restaurant in Los Angeles, he felt that Beverly Hills would be perfect. Spice Affair was opened to meet the desires of high-end celebrities and business executives. Broadway Masala just got its Michelin star recommendation, and has only been opened for 14 months.
There are lots of Indian restaurants in Los Angeles, but none with this kind of amazing food and flavors. Everything I tasted was on point, each with such individual perfection. Really if you want the best Indian food in Southern California try Spice Affair, do it now before you have to wait a long time for a reservation, this place is hot!!
They also have a fantastic Happy Hour with food and cocktails from 3-7 pm daily.
Spice Affair
50 N. La Cienaga Blvd.
Beverly Hills, CA. 90211
310-400-6800
www.spice-affair.com