CASSIA
Cuisine: Indian
Address: 6 Fort Lane, central city
Phone: (09) 379 9702
Drinks: Fully licensed
Reservations: Accepted
From the menu: “The Journey Through India Menu”, $95pp
Cassia might not have that new restaurant energy anymore they just celebrated their eighth birthday,
The dishes are brighter, fresher and more seasonal than the last time I reviewed them four years ago, and I think they’re more inventive too.
Loads of places are doing carrots right now, but Cassia’s carrots are the last word on the matter perfectly tender, impeccably seasoned, sweet and fragrant, big unapologetic roasted chunks served with a “korma” cream of cashew, tomato, fenugreek and ginger.
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Advertise with NZME.There’s a final sprinkling of cashew pieces, sweetened with jaggery, over the top and if you find anything from the world of meat-eating that can compete with the way it all comes together, I’d like to hear about it (and, you know, eat it).
Those carrots were just one highlight in a long parade of dishes brought to our table over the course of two hours, including a few we hadn’t ordered.
I book anonymously if possible and pay for everything, but if I’m spotted during a review dinner then I’ll sometimes be gifted a dish which I tend to accept rather than the awkward alternative demanding it be returned to the kitchen and scraped into the bin in the name of integrity.
But at Cassia I felt like we got a lot of extras, so it’s hard to tell you whether, for example, the kingfish ceviche (an incredible dish: the fish sliced and curled like petals of a flower, with chilli-mango sorbet, pistachio paste and a tomato/verjuice dressing) was meant to be awkwardly divvied up like we did, or if it was just an off-menu sample that wouldn’t normally be shared.
I feel like every time there’s a news story about labour market shortages, immigration red tape or unworkable restaurant regulations, Cassia owners Sid and Chand Sahrawat are the ones fronting up in the media and calling for change.
Though they achieve a lot as leaders of the industry, and though you never see any sign of the strain in their restaurants, it’s still hard not think about all these struggles when you’re there eating dinner. Was there a kind of glumness to the boys in the kitchen or was I imagining it?
Like I say, the energy is more subdued than those heady early days of 2014, but the service on the floor is as good as anywhere.
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Advertise with NZME.Research shows most readers only scan the headline, the first paragraph and the final line of a column so let me reward your attention span by using this middle section to spill a little tea.
I booked Cassia at the last minute because the place I’d initially planned to eat dinner told me I wasn’t welcome because they weren’t happy with my last review a few years ago.
Good for them! Surely one of the best parts of opening your own restaurant is to decide who you will and won’t serve and, to be honest, after 12 years of writing these things I’m surprised not to have been banned more often. Still, it’s a shame not to be able to go back because I hear things have improved, even since the 16/20 I scored them last time.
Back to Cassia where every new arrival prompted gasps, followed by long, satisfied groans which, while not erotic, weren’t unerotic either. Indian food has always been kind to vegetarians and some of the stars of this menu feature no meat at all the carrots, yes, but also the cauliflower half a head roasted until soft with a few surface scorches, served in a beautifully rich sort of butter chicken gravy, so you don’t feel like you’re missing out on any sort of indulgence.
The vego snacks are pretty incredible too from the pani puri, a hollow flatbread sphere filled at your table with the most intense coriander water and other intoxicants, to the goat’s cheese and corn pakora which lights up every synapse in your brain.
And then there is meat, glorious meat. One snack is duck leg, cooked to shredability then reshaped into a panko-crumbed, fried cube of deliciousness that falls apart in your mouth.
The beef rib is unmissable again braised to the point of collapse, plated and hidden beneath a bright seasonal medley of green vegetables: okra, asparagus and maybe some spinach adding colour to the sauce.
“There can’t possibly be any more savoury food coming,” said my dining buddy at one point but, inevitably, there always was. As often happens with a tasting menu (called “The Journey” here), by the time dessert came we had no appetite for it.
After an evening full of richness nuts in particular feature heavily, in sprinkles, sauces and creams I’d be surprised if anybody needs chocolate. But feel free to visit then tell me I’m wrong.
There are other, newer restaurants getting a lot of buzz right now, but you won’t find better food than Cassia in the city or, possibly, on the planet.
