Indian Accent in Manhattan

June 30, 2016: Yesterday evening I went to the much hyped up Indian cuisine restaurant that goes by the name of Indian Accent located at the Le Parker Meridien Hotel on 123 West 56th Street.

I had heard a lot about this restaurant in New Delhi run by restaurateur Rohit Khattar but have never been there. Some three months ago the New York joint got operational. It was a little difficult to get a table on two day’s notice, but by the afternoon I got a confirmation.

It is quite common among hyped up Indian restaurants all over the world that when you call to book a table they say “It is full” and then you get a call back informing you have a table. I have noticed this trend with many Indian restaurants in Dubai, Bangkok and London as well.

But Indian Accent was full house when I got there and there weren’t any other Indians in the whole restaurant. Apart from the hostess and couple of senior staff, I did not find any Indian bearers serving food. Given the non-Indian footfalls it is no surprise that Indian Accent has also created few dishes especially for New Yorkers, including beef items.

The décor of the restaurant can best be described as being minimalist designed by Rohit’s wife Rashmi in collaboration with designers BHDM to give a modern look. The restaurant’s chef is Manish Mehrotra who I think is also a partner of Khattar. The restaurant offers about $100 per person fixed meal menu. I did have a meal there but honestly was not satisfied. Although the meal served was more than enough to fill up your belly but wasn’t good enough to live up to the taste of an Indian meal. How can you define Indian food without roti, naan or rice. That’s true! A three-course 100-dollar meal in this restaurant does not include Indian breads and rice because as they say they serve “modern Indian cuisine”.

ess bee