Julian A.
Yelp
We were quite excited to visit Pippal, having heard some good things about it. Beyond the fact that it's an Indian restaurant, we weren't entirely sure what to expect--but that was part of the intrigue. It was a Friday night, yet we didn't have much of a wait, which was a pleasant start.
The dining room is spacious and inviting, with just the right level of buzz to make it a great spot for a group night out. I particularly liked that most of the wait staff were dressed in traditional Indian attire--it added a nice touch of authenticity to the ambience.
The drinks were decent. I ordered their take on an Old Fashioned--bourbon, chocolate bitters, and ghee--which was surprisingly well balanced. The ghee and chocolate softened the bourbon's edge beautifully, and the side of caramel popcorn, as unlikely as it sounded, actually worked. My friends ordered non-alcoholic drinks that looked over-iced and overly sweet, which didn't seem quite as successful.
The food, however, was where the excitement started to taper off. For starters, we had the Lamb Burrah, Chicken Tikka Trio, and Paneer. The Lamb Burrah turned out to be a deep-fried lamb cutlet--certainly not a kebab in any traditional sense. While it was soft and tasted fine, it wasn't what I expected, and the portion sizes were disappointingly small. Normally I wouldn't mind smaller portions if the food stood out, but this felt average at best, leaving us a bit underwhelmed.
For entrées, we ordered the Malai Kofta, Laal Maas, and Butter Chicken. The Butter Chicken was reliably good--mild, but not objectionably so. The Laal Maas, much like the Burrah, was tasty but misnamed--flavorful, yet not what you'd call Laal Maas in spirit or spice. The Malai Kofta leaned too sweet for my taste, though my friends didn't seem to mind as much.
By dessert time, we'd lost interest. The staff's enthusiasm seemed to fade too, which didn't help the mood. When the check arrived, we noticed a 'mandatory' large-party gratuity added on--even though we were a party of five, and the menu clearly stated it applied to parties of six or more. We weren't fussy guests (at least, I don't think so), so that came as a surprise. By then, we just wanted to wrap things up--and frankly, it felt like the staff did too.
We left Pippal hoping not to repeat the experience.
Do I regret eating there? Probably not.
Would I go back? Definitely not.