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Nirvana Restaurant

Nirvana Restaurant on UrbanspoonAfter our hot chocolate crawl on Saturday, I was hoping to do an early walk-in at Chicha, but it turned out that they were fully booked and were expecting to be swarmed by their Dine Out Vancouver reservations by around 5.30pm, so they couldn't squeeze us in.

I honestly didn't expect that so after some flustered fumbling around we ended up at a non-DOV venue, Nirvana. We dined pretty early so it was empty inside except for a couple of small tables. Interesting decor, including a painting of Buddha sort of out-of-place with the other Indian artwork. Anyway, very Indian feeling.

Menu had reasonable prices and it would turn out the portions were very good. Some prices are slightly higher than on the online menu.

Papadum (free after you have place your order)

  • Like papadum everywhere - salty, slightly bitter.

Gluten Free Chilla ($2.95, a type of Indian pancake)
  • Chilla uses chickpea flour, so it is gluten free. Topped with assorted veggies.
  • I found this dense and dry, probably due to the chickpea flour. My South Asian friend really liked it though.
Alu Gobi ($11.95) curried cauliflower and potatoes
  • Curry + rice. Pretty basic.
Vegetarian Thali ($15.95) A traditional Indian vegetarian dinner served on a Thali (platter) with Mutter Paneer, Dal, Vegetables, Rice, Chutney, Roti, Raita, and Kheer
  • Obviously what to get when you can't decide on one thing or you like sampling lots. Which is totally me.
  • Looking from the top, the thali containers of stuff look quite small but they were quite deep. About a cup's worth each of three curries, plus raita, plus dessert (kheer). Comes with a not-overwhelming amount of fluffy rice as well as a roti. All this adds up to a pretty filling meal for the price.
  • If you ask for spicy, you get spicy! I totally like this. It's also real spicy without too much bitterness. Not wimpy North American white-man-spicy.
    • If you happen to order spicy and find it too much so, have a bit of 
Nothing special here except for curry that is well prepared and a nice portion for the price, even if a portion of your meal is rice.
Dinner for two came to $32.39 after tax and before tip. Less than Dine Out Vancouver for a very filling portion of a home-cooking style meal. So what is it that we expect from Dine Out Vancouver?


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