Address: 137a Richmond Rd
Phone: (09) 378 4500
Strangely-named, the Indian restaurant M came with several recommendations, giving us great expectations, dangerous though they may be.
The restaurant itself did nothing to dispel the excitement. Cool and modern, with a spacious, polished concrete room out back and a stylised "M" on the window, it set the tone perfectly. And the plate of kachori we ordered while we waited for Bob and Barb only underlined our first impressions.
The kachori ($9.50) was part of the tapas selection which doubles as M's entree menu. It was like a samosa, only 10 times better. The pastry crust was thin and crisp, the filling of peas, coconut and almonds spicy rather than hot, the entire ensemble quite delectable.
M can't quite decide whether it's a restaurant or a tapas bar, but that doesn't really matter. It's in Richmond Rd, Grey Lynn, where there's plenty of foot and drive-by traffic. We treated the tapas like entrees: another plate of kachori for me; half a dozen mussels ($9) and two servings of fried fish ($13.50 each) for the others, all washed down with tall Coronas served with the regulation wedge of lime in the neck of the bottle - and with glasses for people who prefer. The kachori was the standout, though the garlic naan bread with chutney and raita ($7 for two servings) came a close second.
The mussels, which came in a thick tomato soup, seemed more Provencale than Indian in flavour and the fish, which arrived looking like miniature Huntly bricks, was dry and unremarkable despite the turmeric. The garlic naan, on the other hand, was first class.
The bread was light as a cloud, crisp and flaky, but none of that greasiness you sometimes get, while the raita and chutneys were just delicious. We grazed until the panfried snapper ($23.95) arrived, followed closely by Barb's lamb with spinach and Brian's lamb rogan josh (both $16). Next came the eggplant ($15), sprawled all over the plate, and a good five minutes later, Bob's chargrilled chicken salad ($14.50).
The meals were relatively small and served with smallish servings of cardamom-infused brown rice, but, as always with Indian food, we ended up thoroughly satisfied. After initially being dismayed by my eggplant which was a lot sloppier than the knockout version I'd had at the Artisan Vineyard in Oratia, I enjoyed it mightily - as did Bob, who, being the birthday person, could not be stopped from helping himself to the tender, spicy flesh studded with peanuts and cooked with onion, sesame, chilli, coconut and other vegetables. He then fell in love with his chargrilled chicken. Though concealed by a balsamic-coated rocket salad, when he dug below the tender leaves, there it was, drenched in spices. The fish was also a knockout.
Fried crunchy with plenty of salt and spices, it was hoovered up in no time. Down the other end of the table though, the murmurs were not so approving. The lamb and spinach curry was not as tasty, nor as full of spinach, as another we'd recently had. And the lamb korma was pronounced too bland. All was forgiven though when they both dug into their rice pudding with lime and papaya ($12).
The desserts arrived looking like fancy flans: creamy, spiced rice, offset with fresh papaya and sugar-crusted lime juice. Brilliant. The pistachio-crusted icecream was also excellent.
Overall it was a good, rather than great, meal. The bill, at $249, was extremely reasonable, though we did feel it was unfair to charge extra for rice and chutneys.
Rating out of 10
Food: 7
Service: 6
Value: 8
Ambience: 7
Our meal: $249 for five entrees/tapas, five main courses, a plate of garlic naan and chutneys, four desserts, four Coronas and two teas.
Wine list: M has a well-rounded selection of wines and an excellent choice of beers.
Verdict: Cool looking, sometimes brilliant, modern Indian food. Don't miss the kachori, eggplant or rice pudding.
