Manjit’s

Snog. A friend and I celebrated a birthday here and were so engrossed in talking that I forgot to take any photos! I can report however that the food was very tasty — chicken korma and some sort of lightly spiced totally moreish lamb chops. The vegetable samosa filling was good but the pastry was not as light as it could have been. The ambience here is kind of old school slightly upmarket Indian, a good place to go when you just want to catch up with friends and are not looking for lots of vibe.
Food: 4
Value: 3
Service: 4
Location: 3.5
Ambience: 3
Noise: 5 (perfect for conversation)

SANJAY looked at me as if I was some kind of idiot (not the first person to ever do so). I had just asked Sanjay what were his favourite Indian restaurants in Harris Park (an old Sydney suburb that is the home to a large Indian Australian community)
«It’s just up the road here — Manjit’s in Balmain. I take all my guests from India there and he is famous for his food,» Sanjay explained.
No wonder he looked at me like an idiot — there I was asking him about restaurants a good 40 minute drive from me and his recommendation was only a 10 minute walk away.
India has some 36 regions in India, each with different cuisines — Manjit’s certainly can’t cover such a repertoire but has the most popular of the Indian dishes in Australia with a couple of nightly specials.
For us we use the butter chicken and lamb saag and naan“standard” to judge — the chicken was baked in the tandoor before being added to the rich and creamy gravy while the saag sauce was full of purée spinach with robust spices intertwining with fresh chili (not dumbed down for Aussie palates). The naan was fluffy and soft. Pity there were only two of us — we would’ve certainly loved to sampled more dishes.
We will certainly be saving money — no more drives to Harris Park for us — we do have a damn good Indian restaurant on our door step.

Quality Indian cuisine, and this is coming from someone who is not much of a fan of Indian food. The food was much better than expected, and with great service to boot. Even their kofta was something spectacular; it must have been tailored to the western palette. Thought it would be more spicy; however this is rather a compliment as the meal was just perfect. A great Indian establishment to return to. I would not come here all the time when I am in Sydney; especially because there are many other great restaurants to enjoy in Balmain, let alone in Sydney overall. However once in a while it is okay.
Perhaps if the prices were cheaper and the serving sizes were that little bit more abundant and generous, then I would definitely have this establishment more on my let’s have a great night out and eat here kind of radar; especially if you can’t be bothered cooking. That is the thing; you can be a great cook and not be in the mood to cook; then come here. Perhaps if you are on a bit of a budget; buy those yummy Indian ready to eats at Coles in nearby Birkenhead Point, and then your satisfaction will last a little bit longer in your own domain.