Chakra
2497 Yonge Street
416-487-7188
Dinner for two with all taxes, tip, and wine: $155

“Simply revolutionary Indian Cuisine!!”

So says Chakra’s website. I decide to forgive the over-the-top punctuation – I’m a big fan of Indian food, and I’m always curious about things all revolutionary-like.

A nasty wind is blowing when my guest and I arrive at Chakra, but we are warmly welcomed at the door and given our choice of table. Newly opened in the former Mimosa location, just north of Eglinton, the interior by Cricket Design Co. is spacious and thoughtfully lit, and the house music creates an appropriate atmosphere without being intrusive. Colourful paintings by Gregory Burns line the walls. The setting is seductive, and as my guest and I settle in with a gin and tonic, we are looking forward to trying what Chef Johnson Yohannon has described as “modern Indian”.

Off the top, the menu has me a little wary, but not because of the selection offered. I just find it a tad off-putting when I see descriptions such as “cooked to perfection” (appears more than once), “truly delicious”, “delectable”, and “delightful”. This is the kind of self-praising prose I expect to read at Kelsey’s.

My guest and I begin with the vegetable pakoras ($10) and the pomegranate prawns ($14). The pakoras arrive sitting in a broad smear of red paste and are accompanied by two dipping sauces: one is scarlet and spicy sweet with tamarind, and the other is green and bright with mint and coriander. The vegetables in the vegetable pakoras are few and far between, however, and these little wads of deep-fried chickpea flour fail to rise above mediocre. Same with the “prawns”. While I appreciate an attempt at “exotic” presentation with the banana leaf and all, the accompanying fruity sauce is an unsightly pomegranate seed-studded puddle of beige dribble that adds nothing to the tasteless shrimp.

The mains arrive and the presentation is stunningly run-of-the-mill. Chakra introduces palak arugula paneer ($14) – does the arugula make it “modern”? The addition of the bitter green seems superfluous. The chunks of lamb in the classic lamb curry ($16) are adequately tender, and the butter chicken ($16) possesses the desired silky richness in the sauce, but the chicken pieces themselves are just this side of dry. Overall, the meat dishes are two big bowls of bland. The tandoori gobi ($12) disappoints with undercooked cauliflower florets in a nondescript sauce.

The best part of the meal at this point is the naan ($2.50). Our server informs us that “the breads here are awesome” and as far as the naan goes, he’s right. Chakra’s version of this roasted bread is pillowy and soft, spotted with brown bubbles of oven-baked crispness. I didn’t intend to order two servings – I’m not sure why our server felt it necessary to bring us a double order; one would have been sufficient.

Let me pause between courses here to comment on service. It’s friendly enough, but uneven. On several occasions our server was hovering noticeably, to the extent that I felt pressured to hurry up and finish my appetizer so that he could get on with things. The minute I put down my fork, he swooped in to remove my plate. However later in the evening, when my guest and I had finished what we could of the mains, we sat there for an inappropriate amount of time waiting for someone to clear our table. Eventually a young woman arrived and fumblingly removed our dirty plates while confessing “I am, like, sooo not a waitress.” As if we had any doubts.

Moving on to dessert, the gulab jamun ($5) is warm, succulent and floral, and the kulfi ($7) is buttery-tasting and nicely under-sweetened. Don’t try to eat it the minute it arrives at the table, however – it’s delivered right out of the freezer and worthy of a position high on the Mohrs scale.

Summary: The food served at Chakra isn’t horrible or ghastly by any means, but equally passable-to-decent Indian food may be found around town at various buffets with less damage to the wallet. Chakra is a lovely idea, but if one is seeking truly revolutionary Indian cuisine, Chakra doesn’t quite live up to its exclamation marks.