There’s a tasting menu for that
Sarkar describes his food as “progressive Indian,” with technique honed from his French cooking background, but never fusion. “I try to follow how we eat in India. Maybe visually the dishes look different, but when you eat them, it reminds you of the real flavors of India, and that’s our strength,” he says. Indienne offers four seven-course tasting menu options: non-vegetarian, vegetarian, pescatarian, and vegan.
“When we opened it was the end of COVID. The sentiment, the mood, everything was different,” he says. They originally aimed to balance tasting menu sales with à la carte options, but after about eight months, the team noticed more of a demand for prix-fixe dining, and nixed the à la carte menu (though they eventually brought it back for walk-ins looking for smaller, snacky options at the bar).
The menu changes twice a year but a few signatures regularly show up on each of the tasting menus. The yogurt chaat with strawberry, mint, and tamarind was inspired by the Eton mess (a mix of crushed meringue, strawberries and cream) Sarkar learned to make while cooking in London, but he’s taken it to different flavors. “In some parts of the country, we start with something sweet, and in others it’s bitter or there’s a sweet-sour-tangy thing going on, and our yogurt chaat is a true representation of that,” he says. He also makes a warm chicken terrine with truffles and cheese fondue that looks like the popular Indian cashew dessert, kaju katli, as well as vegan dishes like morel samosas, jackfruit katsu, and more.
From pani puri to fully composed dishes, everything looks like a work of art, presented on textured stone plates, some with small pedestals that pop up from the plate like wooden mushrooms, rock beds, or ice pebbles (“but you won’t see fire or smoke coming out of anything,” laughs Sarkar. “We want it to be to the point and not overwhelming.”). There are add-on options for things like lobster tail, and Sarkar says with notice, he can accommodate most allergies, from egg to alliums. Priced from $135-$155, the tasting menus are a relative steal compared to others around town. “Sometimes you dine in a tasting menu restaurant where there are a lot of courses, but at the end, you don’t feel full. In India, when you eat, we have to be satisfied in terms of quantity and quality,” he says.
Dining and Cooking