Etoile Des Indes

1806 St. Catherine Ouest.
New location at 5860 Sherbrooke Ouest.





http://www.etoiledesindes.com/

Etoile is not far from where I live, and after a week or so of
deliberation I decided I would stop in. Several passes at different times of day did little to diminish its apparent bustle, and I concluded, aided by perhaps the only dining universal, that an empty restaurant is to be avoided, that it was worth a try.

Maggie was hungry but wanted to stay in, and I convinced her, and myself, to try take out.
As I wandered in it was a dark 9pm, and the place glowed with a soft candle-lit warmth. The proprietor had the rounded leanness befitting Indian businessmen, and he spoke to me quickly but gracefully, looking over the top of his glasses. It did not begin well. They didn't have the samosas I wanted and at his suggestion I reluctantly ordered the vegetable Pakora. Maggie had explicitly requested butter chicken, which was available under a different name.

The wait would be about ten minutes, and I sat toward the back and looked longingly at the fare delivered and consumed. The atmosphere and decor were tasteful and plain, lined with the visual amenities typical of most Indian restaurants, yet without the tasteless, inconsequential display of postcard- pretty scenes alongside objects of worship.

My food arrived shortly thereafter and I hurried back. I quickly assembled a pair of plates and removed the Pakora, divided and drizzled them with the unfortunately thin mint sauce, and set the fragrant slices of garlic naan next to the portions of rice. I sat down next to Maggie and we eagerly opened the butter chicken.

I was enjoying myself and the general experience, having had the benefit of good service and ambiance; Maggie was predictably skeptical and was quick to critize the main course. It looks, she quipped, like a sad orange milkshake. She said the preparation was wrong, that it was too sweet and too viscous. The assessment took fewer that five mouthfuls, and she has declared herself finished even sooner. I continued to eat happily, vaguely mindful of my intention to later reflect on the experience, and noting, somewhat uninspired, that the Pakora was a bit dry.

This is a restaurant that is worth a second look. I intend to make one; they say the customer is always right, and however our first take-out experience concluded, Etoile Des Indes has plenty of others. Enough, in fact, that they have opened a new location. I take it that that's what we're seeing in the advertisement below, which doesn't look at all like the location on St-Catherine's.

For now, 6/10.