Orchestra

(⁵⁄₅ stars overall)
Unilocal 100 Challenge 2016 — ¹⁹⁄₁₀₀
Another day, another day of (re)discovery thanks to Unilocal.What’s with the philosophy? Well, there are places you frequent for years, then sometimes forget about regardless of whether they were good or not. This is one of those places.
I had frequented Orchestra long before Unilocal came on the scene in Japan. Today, I paid them a visit after many years. The personal recommendation by a nearby shop owner was the spark.
Orchestra features curries — made in Indian style using exotic spices but served up Japanese style. That means deep, rich, slow-​simmered curries served on saffron enhanced Japanese rice cooked oh just so right.
As with most restaurants, lunchtime is the best deal for your money; plus, you get to try more things included in the set that would normally cost you ala carte in the evenings. So here we go…
Highlights:
— Menu: ⁵⁄₅ stars (four main kinds of curries offered; more in the evening and an occasional special also at lunchtime; teas (types of chai being main); coffee; desserts (must try!) and cocktails in the evenings)(lunch includes main dish, salad, papad (thin Indian bread); drinks are separate)
— Atmosphere: ⁵⁄₅ (very funky and hipster with a lot of Indian motifs, handicrafts and posters, but lots of handicrafts decorating the nooks and crannies around the restaurant. You can spend a lot of time just visually exploring what’s on the wall behind the main counter — very cool and interesting!)
— Seating: ⁴⁄₅ (room for nine along the counter; one table for a couple; one more table for a group of four — that’s it so this means there is often a line outside during busy mealtimes)
— Service: ⁵⁄₅ (friendly, attentive and sincere — really, even without asking they are confident in providing quality food and service)
— Taste: ⁷⁄₅ (you might be borderline between trying to decide if it should taste like Japanese or Indian curry — don’t be. Just appreciate the amazing dance of flavors seasoned with just enough tang to break out in light perspiration for the average person. You know the curries are slow-​cooked. The curry base mixes you can see behind the counter — they have been slow-​cooked, simmered down and left to «age» for about 48 hours each. Very rich flavors without having the nasty bite of some over-​seasoned curries you’ll have at your typical Indian restaurant)
What else can be said? Even though atmosphere, design and service all play important roles, the food can make or break a place, right? No issues here at all — very carefully prepared with a lot of love, and it really shows. You’ll want to keep coming back to sample the entire menu. I have high expectations for their desserts, all of which are very reasonably priced, and again, made of unique ingredients.
Yup, I’ll be back, again and again.