Berserkers,
TWEC ™ and fellow board member Jay Shampur was walking out in Yorkville one day this month and just happened to come across a new restaurant opening in the area called Adrak. It specializes in fine upscale Indian cuisine. Frankly, I didn’t even know there was such a thing. Don’t get me wrong, I love Indian cuisine and its varied spicy flavors, but it was never one I associated with fine upscale dining. Until now. Jay originally hails from India and is quite familiar with the concept but had literally given up all hope of ever coming across it in the city of Toronto and felt that he would only find it if he traveled abroad. So imagine his delight when he literally just walked into the place right as it was opening up. Yes, he literally found it opening week and asked me if I wanted to join him to check it out. So we did. And it was so great we went back last night with his friend Deb.
We have become very fast friends with both the floor staff and the kitchen staff, all of whom originally hail from India as well. Well, to be specific, Jay has become fast friends with them. As usual, I am his ubiquitous yet anonymous sidekick sitting at the table with steam coming out of my ears as he charms his way throughout the entire meal and the staff solicit his feedback on the incredible food even though, you know, I’m the one who actually knows how to cook and it’s a miracle if Jay makes it out a kitchen alive. As you can imagine, they appreciate Jay’s presence both for his fellow native origins as well as his high standards in both food and service which are proportionate to the amount of appreciation that he graciously shows them in return.
Adrak is the brainchild of restauranteur Ambica Jain. She and her mother are partners in a restaurant and catering business. The culinary team trained under Michelin-starred Chef Vineet Bhatia. Their original location is in Richmond Hill and the Yorkville restaurant is their first ever expansion. It had a soft opening for the press in March but the official opening happened in April and is when Jay found it.
Both evenings began with an Amouse-Bouche of housemade Papadums.
With the amouse, we chose cocktails both nights off of the incredibly imaginative cocktail menu which is inspired by the culture and history of India. The first one you see is the Rome of the East. It’s made with rhubarb and ginger infused gin, arak, pineapple, ginger infused port, matcha syrup and topped with a showy citrus bubble that is blown on top of the glass at the table. The tall pink one is the Magadha made with Tequila, Mezcal, lemongrass, lychee and passionfruit pulp. The smoked cocktail with the marshmallow on the second one is meant to represent the fog and snow at the top of the Himalayas.
On to the food. It was only Jay and I the first night and I relied on him to make choices off of the menu. We started off with some housemade Garlic Naan.
Our first dish was the incredible Bhatti Lobster. A shelled whole lobster is grilled with a housemade bhatti spice mix and served with malai dip.
To accompany that, we ordered the Chicken Biryani. Yes, that’s the classical Indian rice dish. The staff explained to us that their kitchen staff insist on serving a perfectly al dente Biryani and so use a very intriguing cooking and serving process. When the Biryani is almost done, it is immediately topped with a savory pastry crust and finished off in the oven. The crust bakes and seals the dish, keeping the rice moist and soft. At the table, the water peels back the crust and spoons the Biryani onto the plates.
On our return trip last night, we were joined by Jay’s good friend Deb. With more people, we needed more food. Naitch. So we started off with some incredible Prawn Tandoori. Sesame marinated prawns were grilled in a tandoori with fresh coconut and served with a cheese dip and a radish salad.
Next was the Murgh Salaad. Tandoor grilled chicken top a bed of mixed greens and is dressed with a mint vinagrette.
Our last starter was the Tandoori Gobi Chaat. This vegetarian dish is composed of Tandoor grilled cauliflower topped with fresh pomegranate, sweet yogurt and chutneys. Before ordering, Jay informed us and the staff that he actually hated cauliflower and was deliberately order the dish to challenge the restaurant to make him enjoy cauliflower. Boy, did they ever smack him down on that one. This was fantastic and Jay readily admitted they pulled it off.
