81 O’Connell street
North Adelaide SA 5006
Phone: (08) 8267 6388
7days, Lunch Wed - Sun 12 to 3, Dinner 5 till late
http://www.aryas.com.au/

It's always good to see a new Indian restaurant open up, and so close to work too. Situated in North Adelaide, you would expect some class and fancy dining to be had, and you wouldn't be wrong. A work friend came here a few months ago and thought it was a pretty good place too, so high expectations are on. But as they say, don't judge a curry restaurant by it's vindaloo... or something. Bah, I don't need puns!

Our final score: 7.167/10

I'm always up for something new, and this one caught my tastebud eyes immediately. Apparently named after the Moghul Empress related to a Maharaja, this was a special recipe created by one of the restaurant's family members, and priced at $17 I thought it I might treat myself to some of this royal chicken. The sauce was very creamy, almost like a thick cashew nut green thai curry. The chicken pieces were very tender, and there was a lot of kick to the hotness, although I have noticed that my chili resistance has been really poor lately. Although the food was great, service was a mixed bag. We waited almost an hour as they were holding all the meals to come out at once, which is fair enough but it would have been nice if they told us. Otherwise, very friendly staff, very attentive and the dining area was brand new and very modern, with a slight indian flair. Combined with free desserts and a free bottle of sparkling wine, I guess some points are made up. Overall, I suggest coming in smaller groups or ordering ahead, and you'll have the entire top notch package.

Service: 6.8 -This is a tough one, ups and downs mean I have to rate this below good.
Quality: 9.5/10 -Best non mainstream chicken curry I've had, highly recommended!
Atmosphere: 8.2/10 -Although modern, I still prefer authentic Indian style surroundings.
Value: 7.0/10 -Our bill was $832, the biggest ever. I really don't like it when rice costs $60!
Final Score: 7.875/10

Hotness Rating:

Chow

There are two things to bear in mind when reading this review: 1. I don't normally eat curry, and 2. I can't handle spicy food! But if you want to make it in the curry-reviewing industry you've got to make some sacrifices... so tonight I ordered the Goan seafood curry. Goa, for your information, is a state on the west coast of India famous for its fine beaches. This curry had a one-chilli rating, which is the lowest spiciness rating after "none". Sadly, I discovered on the first forkful that this was a cruel misrepresentation (assessment corroborated by other parties). I can't tell you if my meal tasted good or not, because all I could taste was BURNING. It cleared my sinuses right out? I did enjoy the naan, because there was lots of it and it wasn't spicy. And everybody got a free dessert which was awesome because they weren't spicy either. Um. My meal was too spicy.

Service: 7.0/10 -Cheerful, the waitress had a 'memorise-all-the-orders' party trick. Loses marks for trying to up-sell us on water and because the food was so slow!!
Quality: 8.0/10 -I think... the texture was good.
Atmosphere: 9.0/10 -Very classy. Not particularly Indian? But there was a chandelier.
Value: 6.5/10 -Fairly pricey for curry, but the naan was plentiful and I did order the seafood deluxe! Bonus marks for free dessert.
Final Score: 7.625/10

Hotness Rating:

Claire

My prawn dish was flavoursome and the prawns were of a high quality and perfectly cooked. The coconut sauce was of low hotness but suitable, subtle and appropriate spice. However, my experienced was marred across the board with the service and time to serve. Everyone in the restaurant ate before our whole table. People who came in after our table, ordered after us, ate and left before we had our meals served. However, they were prompt with the drinks service, or was that their business plan? The roulette chillies were as hot as lava - I felt the skin underneath my tongue pealing off. The lady took the orders in her head and needed to ask each person at least three times to get it right...why didn't she use a note pad and pen? The quality curry, rice and breads of the feast saved an otherwise frustrating eating experience.

Service: 2.0/10 -Frustratingly slow with meal service. Repetitive order processing.
Quality: 8.2/10 -Prawns of excellent quality provided a great base for moderate spice complex.
Atmosphere: 5.9/10 -Chandeliers, water features, lack of Indian decor. A feeling of: are we in an Indian restaurant, or the Hyatt?
Value: 7.9/10 -Prawn Curry $21.50, quite reasonable for prawns.
Final Score: 6/10

Hotness Rating:

Ken

Yet another great turnout means another chance to burn the tastebuds of new members. I tried just one piece of chili and I cried. I think I'm getting soft. Top effort to all those who committed!

Claire's Roulette Hits: 1 sextuple 1 quadruple
Jas's Roulette Hits: 1 sextuple
Ken's Roulette Hits: 1 quintuple
Alice's Roulette Hits: 1 quintuple
Chow's Roulette Hits: 1 single 3 doubles 1 quadruple
Brigitta's Roulette Hits: 1 quadruple
Dan's Roulette Hits: 1 quadruple
Vanessa's Roulette Hits: 1 triple
Richo's Roulette Hits: 1 triple
Ben's Roulette Hits: 1 triple
Josh's Roulette Hits: 3 singles 1 double
Daniel's Roulette hits: 1 single 1 double
Gus' Roulette Hits: 1 single 1 double
Byron's Roulette Hits: 1 single 1 double
Nathan's Roulette Hits: 1 double
Annie's Roulette Hits: 1 double
Burge's Roulette Hits: 1 double
Dan P's Roulette Hits: 1 double
Eli's Roulette Hits: 1 double
Taryn's Roulette Hits: 1 double
Mark/Lara/Brad/Wiser/Lauren/George/Abby's Roulette Hits: 1 single

Everyone agreed these were darn hot!

Mark takes the first one pretty calmly...

...unfortunately for Annie, her worst fears came all at once!

Richo is just a chili machine, a chili unit. 3 pieces is a walk in the park.

You can't see, but Claire had to eat 4 pieces. I could feel the heat from here!

Alice the lucky last entrant eating 5 pieces to close yet another jam packed event!