Please note that part of the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own!

Madam Ji is not unknown to me as I went there a couple of weeks ago for lunch and I was really excited to go back as a guest for dinner. It used to be Surya, that I first visited in 2015, meeting with Chef Lala Sharma, the father of Chef Abhishek Sharma who now runs the place among other acclaimed restaurants (Badshah, Swagat). Chef Abhishek Sharma explained to me that he wanted to create a sister restaurant to Badshah, a popular joint located in Hell’s Kitchen, Badshah being casual and Madam Ji more elegant. The dining room is indeed quite elegant with its beautiful decor, the dining room being dominated the name in neon of the restaurant, surrounded by nature, and by the beautiful painting by Kavi, a Florida based artist who was born in Mumbai and raised in LA, representing a king (badshah) and a queen (Madam Ji), that is the concept sought by the Chef.

For lunch, they offer only a prix fixe menu that is an incredible deal: for $14.95, you get the soup of the day or salad, an entree, a rice, a naan and the dessert of the day. You cannot beat that! The soup of the day was a tomato soup. Well, not just any tomato soup: it was a smoked tomato soup made with tomatoes roasted in their tandoor, and cooked with various spices like cinnamon. Creamy, with a fantastic smell, it had so much flavor that I just wish I knew what spices they are using to do make it at home (although I do not have a tandoor…). This soup is in fact on their dinner menu.

Smoked tomato soup at Madam Ji in Greenwich Village, NYC

We then decided to both get vegetarian dishes so we could share. We chose the chana masala (chickpeas cooked in a fire roasted tomato curry) and the paneer makhani (cottage cheese served in a buttery tomato sauce spiked with fenugreek). Both were good, but I admit that my favorite was the paneer Makhani that was delightfully creamy, the paneer being homemade. I ditched the rice and just ate it with their fluffy naan, using it to grab pieces of cheese or chickpeas while at the same time dipping it in the sauce.

The dessert of the day was kheer or rice pudding, made with coconut milk, pistachio, cardamon, almonds and rose water. Comforting, it was a great way to finish the lunch. Quantities seem small but I can tell you that I was full when I left!

Dinner was a different, still amazing experience. We started by having some drinks: the mango lassi of course that is a drink we always get when eating Indian, a good way to counter the heat of some dishes, although I admit that the food there was not spicy. And then, a 1947 beer that goes really well with Indian food and that I discovered last year (check out my podcast episode with Nirav Vyas, founder of 1947 Beer on Apple Podcast and Google Podcast).

For appetizers, we tried their samosa that was crispy and comforting, but I admit that their Malabar Aubergine was the star: It consists of crispy slices of eggplant served over a coconut malabar sauce with spinach and goat cheese crumble. This beautiful dish was delicious: crispy and creamy, you get several flavors when you bite into it that blend harmoniously together.

For her entree, Jodi got their P&B skewers cooked in their tandoor that is Paneer and Broccoli (not Peanut Butter!). I admit that we did not know it would be a small dish. Still, it was quite good and their homemade paneer had a nice bite, without being rubbery. It was smothered in delicious spices that gave a very subtle heat. On my side, I went for the truffle lamb korma as it was recommended over other dishes. I did not regret it: the creamy sauce was superb and I could not stop dipping naan or paratha in it! I did not taste any truffle, but it was so good that I did not care. By the way, the paratha was awesome: slightly crispy and delightfully greasy.

Last was dessert: we got their gulab jamun (my favorite Indian dessert) and their kheer that we loved when we went for lunch.

These meals were great: Chef Abhishek Sharma proposes a modern menu with a wide range of dishes that make you want to try everything. I truly appreciate the fact it has the right amount of spiciness so you can enjoy your meal. The menus at Madam Ji and Badshah are quite similar with few difference, so if you are not in Greenwich Village but Hell’s Kitchen, check Badshah out!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Madam Ji - 154 Bleecker St, New York, NY 10012

I Just Want To Eat!