Baar Baar

"At Baar Baar, glamor is king. The DTLA Indian restaurant with an original NYC location serves ornate spreads of tandoori squash and lamb keema that look like something out of a Chef’s Table montage. Edible flowers cover various chaats. Chutneys and cheesy jalapeño naan arrive on a cart, wheeled through the massive, chandeliered room that's pulsing with house music. The problem is most dishes check the aesthetic boxes without the flavors to match. photo credit: Jessie Clapp photo credit: Jessie Clapp photo credit: Jessie Clapp photo credit: Jessie Clapp photo credit: Jessie Clapp We don’t mean to suggest that Baar Baar serves dull Indian food. Most of the menu revisits known staples from across the subcontinent, swapping out meat for jackfruit and cauliflower and deconstructing classics. Dishes just taste like they've been dialed in at about 60% of their punch potential. Any sting from bloomed spices and hot chiles lands like a gentle pat on the back. There’s a stylish sweet potato chaat on whipped feta that wears a potato string toupeé, but the creamy dairy downs out its subtle spice. The Cauliflower 65 tastes like breaded mush coated in the South Indian dish's classic tangy, sticky sauce, except the red chili powder doesn’t bring any expected heat. On the bright side, LA-inspired Kashmiri duck birria tacos are crispy and dripping with smoky consommé. They certainly don’t register as Indian, but they're delicious nonetheless. We’d happily eat three of these tacos—we’re just confused as to where the so-called Indian spin is hiding. In our experience, the simpler the dish sounds at Baar Baar, the better it will taste. Luscious butter chicken has big chunks of boneless dark meat that fall apart. Roasted lamb shank goes well with its salty nihari gravy and rice. Pair these with the cheese-jalapeño naan and call it a night. Even if some of the dishes work, you'll have the best luck at Baar Baar if you treat it like a cocktail bar where you can snack. That approach might not be the norm—the space looks like the kind of fancier-than-usual restaurant where diners get Brazilian blowouts for their 8pm butter chicken appointments and off-the-clock financial advisors loosen their ties over dosa crisps. Baar Baar may have bigger ambitions than pouring fruity, Bollywood-inspired drinks, but the bar is ultimately the most recommendable thing about this place. Cocktail hour wasn’t exactly what we hoped for from Baar Baar. (After all, LA doesn’t see a ton of big concept Indian restaurants.) But the reality is there are better Indian restaurants in our city. So come here to ogle at pretty plates, snack on dahi puri, and enjoy a well-made penicillin named after a 2003 Bollywood film. Food Rundown photo credit: Jessie Clapp Cocktails If you want proof that these Bollywood-inspired cocktails are creative and well-balanced, just wait until you're at the table and everyone starts asking for sips of each other's drinks. They won't be able to stop. We especially like the gingery penicillin called the “Munna Bhai MBBS,” and the “Slumdog Millionaire,” a gin and tonic with passion fruit and turmeric that's possibly the only poolside cocktail we’ll ever need. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Sweet Potato Chaat Anyone who gets excited about texture will love this dish. The sweet potato chunks are soft yet crispy, the potato strings add crunch, and a fluffy mattress of whipped feta sits at the bottom. Our only note is that the individual flavors in this dish get lost in the sauce. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Kashmiri Duck Taco A great birria taco at an Indian restaurant? We're in. The griddled tortilla holds in lots of juicy duck that comes sopping with smoky consommé. This dish goes all in on the Mexican theme with melted cheese, cilantro, and onion—in fact, it’s so Mexican we’re trying to figure out what makes it Indian. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Paneer Pinwheel Again, texture here is 10/10. These soft pinwheels have so much going on inside, from crunchy pistachios to squeaky paneer. The creamy, tomato-heavy curry is just sweet enough, but too mild to remember in the long run. photo credit: Jessie Clapp Butter Chicken This is some really good butter chicken—soft enough to cut with a fork, silky and creamy, but still light. Lap it up with rice and a side of cheesy jalapeño naan." - Sylvio Martins