Sitar of India – Downtown, Charleston, WV
Dan says…
Sitar of India is one of those Charleston gems if you love ethnic cuisine. You can’t get anything like Sitar anywhere else in town unless you are invited to a meal at the India Center. Sitar has been open for more than ten years and recently changed hands within the same family. …
Lunch specials… I ordered Peas Pilao/pullao, a vegetarian dish, which is similar to Biryani. The difference is that all the ingredients are cooked together in a Pilao whereas in a Biryani the key ingredients a cooked separately from the rice. This is a very filling meal and still a bargain at $5.99, but it used to be $3.99, oh well. The menu describes this dish as a “Aromatic basmati rice cooked with fresh green peas and lightly spiced.” Lightly spiced is an understatement. If you ask for medium is will be spicy and good. Your brow will have little beads of sweat when you are done eating. If you order hot the hair on your head will stand on end right before your head explodes. The endorphin rush is almost worth the pain. Almost. It is serve with raita, which is a yogurt sauce to cool it down a bit. If you are like me you will need a full order on Nan/Naan to take the heat away. Nan is a unleavened bread baked in the tandoori clay oven and they brush it with ghee. This is like crack cocaine to a carb addict.
Peas Pilao with Raita and Plain Nan
I have eaten at Sitar for several years. It is very consistent and enjoyable. I have tried too many things on the menu to count and they are all good. The surly reference in the title is directed at a server who used to work under the previous ownership. He was a good server, but quiet and very “matter of fact.” If Sitar had a dining room that offered a little more intimate and private feel they would get a perfect rating, but for now it is a FOUR FORK experience.
Susan says…
Sitar of India inspired me to try some Indian cooking of my own. I live in Teays Valley so it’s not very convenient to come back to Charleston in the evenings or on the weekends to enjoy their fine Indian cuisine. I love the unique flavors in Indian food so much I ordered a couple cookbooks by Madhur Jaffrey and spent some time gathering special ingredients at the International Grocery so I could attempt to make my own. Ron & I like pretty much anything sprinkled with curry powder (hot, of course), garam masala and cardomom.
I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to duplicate the delicately flavored sauces at Sitar, though. I have tried about all the different sauce flavors. You can get chicken, shrimp or lamb with the sauce that you like. I prefer the chicken but have tasted the lamb and it was tender and delicious. My absolute favorite thing I have tried there is the Chicken Tikka Masala. However, it is only available in a dinner portion so I usually don’t get that at lunch.
Today I had the chicken curry, medium spicy, with nan. The curry was $5.95 and the nan an extra $1.99. My nose was running and my face felt hot a third of the way through which equals AWESOME. I am not a spice fanatic, but if a thing says it’s spicy, I expect some heat. I can’t seem to get much heat from the little chili pepper designated items on the Chinese menus, Thai food does a much better job with heating up the dish. If you want full flavor and a sweaty brow – go Indian. I heard Bobby Flay say in an interview once that Indian food is where the flavor is and I couldn’t agree more.
Just the smell when I walk in the door makes me anxious to dig into the pretty oval-shaped silver dish. They have white linen tablecloths adorning the tables, comfortable chairs and cloth napkins. I enjoy these fineries. They bring you a papadam to get things started. I liken it to a large Indian-style “tortilla chip”. If you dare, put some of the Indian -style “salsa” on it. It’s some type of onion chutney, I think, bright red in color, and very, very hot. They left a pitcher of water on the table for us. Smart thinkin’.
If you don’t like or can’t handle very spicy food, don’t worry. When your order is taken you will be asked “how spicy?” to which you can reply “mild, very mild, just waive the spices over the pan but don’t pour any in”. Misty (the girl who thinks milk is spicy) successfully eats there by using this tactic.
No matter what you order for your appetizer and/or entree. You MUST, I repeat, MUST get nan. (Sometimes spelled “naan”.) This is a seriously yummy pita-looking round of bread baked in a tandoori oven. They have many different flavors including one with peas and one with coconut. I usually get the plain nan. A colleague ordered the garlic nan and it was super-garlicky. Good, though.
I have never tried anything at Sitar I didn’t like. If you are at my table, I will stare you down until you ask if I’d like a taste of whatever you have just so I can expand my experiences in this cuisine. Today, I tried Daniel’s meat samosas, his Peas Pilao, and Jeff’s garlic nan. I have already tried Misty’s Aloo Matter (peas and potatoes) so she was off the hook today.
Unique, elegant, delicious. A bit pricy for me when you add up all the components: entree, nan and drink, but hey – supply and demand, right? Capitalism rocks. I give Sitar of India FIVE FORKS.
702 Lee St E
Charleston, WV 25301
(304) 346-3745
14 responses so far ↓
Jamie Harman // June 3, 2008 at 8:57 am |
I love the chicken na’an! I’m not very adventurous, so I eat that every time. I used to eat it with aloo tikki, until I gave up fried foods.
MCDongato // June 4, 2008 at 9:05 pm |
Five and half forks for Sitar on your scale of one to five! After eating at Indian restaurants the world over (well not in India;) I can confidently say Chicken Tikka Misala at Sitar is THE BEST. If you want intimacy and privacy, take it home. You’ll usually be rewarded with a larger portion, and it’s not nearly as embarassing to lick the container clean of that addictive sauce. Now just bring back the lunch buffet. . .
Daniel // June 4, 2008 at 9:37 pm |
Amen to the buffet!
SagaciousHillbilly // October 17, 2008 at 10:30 am |
Agreed, Sitar is a Charleston gem. Like Fuji’s used to be, it is exceptional and you’ll be hard pressed to find better anywhere. . . I’ve tried.
Countdown T-Minus 13 Days - Sitar Lunch Buffet Returns « Fork You… // November 18, 2008 at 3:35 pm |
[...] Sitar of India offers a wide range of Indian dishes for lunch and dinner served in an upscale, comfortable atmosphere. The buffet will be offered at lunch three days a week. You can read our full review of Sitar here. [...]
Report From the Field - Sitar Lunch Buffet « Fork You… // January 1, 2009 at 2:41 pm |
[...] Obviously I recommend you give the Sitar lunch buffet a try. You can check out our complete review of Sitar by clicking here. [...]
Lynn // January 20, 2009 at 3:03 pm |
I’m a regular Sitar customer and its always been one of my favorite places. I’ve encouraged all of my friends to give it a try, even the meat and potatoes people, BUT my experience this past weekend has changed my opinion. I was there on a busy night and was SHOCKED at the rudeness of the staff. I have never seen a restuarant treat their patrons like this. The place was very busy when I arrived. I intentionally came before the rest of my group, thinking I’d order a glass of wine and wait for them. After 20 mins, no one had stopped to get my drink order. When I finally flagged someone down and asked to order a drink, I was told that he was not the person who takes orders and that I’d have to wait for the person who did. There were 3 people working on a busy weekend night: one taking orders, one taking money, and one cleaning tables. When the person taking orders finally showed up, he said that our table could place ONE order and ONE order only, so I had to wait until the rest of my party came to get a drink. Just seconds after the last person in our group showed up, the server came over and said we could order right now, or we could wait until other tables were done ordering. We waited since our third person had never been there and hadn’t even gotten to look at the menu. We ordered our meals and a bottle of wine because we could see that refills weren’t going to come easily. Later we ordered a second bottle of wine and the server seemed annoyed with us. Later still (but at least 40 mins before closing time), we asked for a second pitcher of water and was told that we couldn’t have it because it was closing time. Not only was it not closing time, but there were still at least 5-6 other tables eating. Our bill came to at least $80, but we weren’t even allowed to have a second pitcher of WATER. We left totally disgusted.
I found out later that some of my friends were there that night and had a similar experience. One of the people from their party was late and their table had already ordered. When the late person showed up, he was told he couldn’t order because his table had already placed their order.
That is totally ridiculous. Most restuarants would be thrilled to be so busy, but instead this one has chosen to understaff their restaurant and be UNBELIEVABLY rude. I will not be suggesting this place to anyone else.
Rebecca // January 23, 2009 at 5:25 pm |
Yup same thing has happened to me. It is insane how rude and nasty they are there. Twice. And my friends were treated horribly recently too.Why does anyone continue to go there? I haven’t been in a year or so and never plan to go back.
Susan // January 23, 2009 at 6:50 pm |
I am really bummed to hear people are receiving crap service at Sitar.
I have experienced less than attentive service, but nothing like what is described in the comments. If so, they certainly would not have received as high a rating.
I usually go at lunch, maybe that is why I have been lucky.
I hope they shape up and start treating all customers like they appreciate their business, or they may not have their business for long.
Hannah // April 29, 2009 at 10:47 pm |
I have always loved the Sitar. I have had dreams about it when I was in other parts of the country for extended periods of time.
Today, I ordered a vegetarian appetizer platter for lunch. I haven’t ordered anything deep-fried from Sitar since they changed ownership, and I was disgusted.
Not one element of the platter was worth eating. The samosa was rubbery, and still doughy inside. The vegetable pakoras, which used to be golden brown and delicious, were bright red-orange and had bits of blackened…something in them. The paneer pakora was tough all the way through and hard around the edges.
I’m wondering if they’re now purchasing these things pre-made and frozen; I’ve always loved their appetizers in the past.
A huge disappointment.
*edited by moderator -Dan
crystal dawn // July 15, 2009 at 10:14 am |
I’ve been going to the Sitar for years and have had some similar experiences when they are busy – rudeness and the like.
However, the food is just TOO good to allow very rare poor service to overshadow that. Again, it has been very rare. In fact, service is usually very fast and because we are regulars, we do get treated nicely.
I’m actually going to the lunch buffet today with my 3 year old – he luvs it!
crystal dawn // July 15, 2009 at 10:18 am |
p.s.
I’ve made an effort to eat at different Indian restaurants around the country… and so far.. NONE can touch the Sitar.
Scott // July 23, 2009 at 11:32 am |
One of my favorite places to eat in charleston.
Chicken Tikka Masala
David // July 23, 2009 at 11:56 am |
The Chicken Tikka Masala is definitely wonderful. It was my “gateway” food into Indian cuisine. I usually try to stay away on lunch buffett days for fear that I’ll never leave. lol.