Badshah Modern Indian in Hell's Kitchen, NYC

Meaning "King of the village", Badshah Modern Indian is the latest venture of Abishek Sharma (who gave us Surya) and Executive Chef Charles Mani aka Chef Charlie that I met as he was going from table to table to inquire about the food. He told me that he cooks fresh ingredients found at the farmers' Market and proposes a menu that will change from time to time so it does not bore his diners, as well as himself, keeping only classics that people expect to see on the menu.

Chef Charles Mani from Badshah Modern Indian in Hell's Kitchen

Decor wise, I loved the fact that this place had lots of light, allowing us to admire the nice presentation of the dishes. And of course, you cannot miss the logo in the back, noticing more the big mustache than the king crown. They also have a bar with a nice variety of specialty cocktails. I should mention a detail in the decor: the USB ports that are against the wall, allowing customers to charge their phones. I did not try them though so I cannot guarantee they are actually working and not just there from the prior establishment...

Our meal at Badshah, that opened mid-April, was delicious. They propose a four-course Chef tasting for a very good price ($49) but we decided to try few dishes from the menu. Of course, not surprisingly, I ordered a mango lassi that was quite good, perfect to counteract the spiciness of one of the dishes we had.

Mango lassi at Badshah Modern Indian in Hell's Kitchen

To start, we got the vegetarian samosas that were served with a fenugreek sauce. The samosa were good: flakey, crispy with a tasty filling, they paired well with the thick sauce that had a vibrant color and was very close to the butter chicken sauce we got next.

Good segway indeed: for the entrees, we ordered the butter chicken. I love the color of that dish as well as its smell that fills your nose with scents that make you want to dig in fairly quickly. It was fantastic: thick and flavorful, it had a nice amount of delicious chicken.

Butter chicken at Badshah Modern Indian in Hell's Kitchen

With it, we skipped on rice and got some succulent naan bread that was freshly made, fluffy with a nice char.

Naan bread at Badshah Modern Indian in Hell's Kitchen

The second dish was from the tandoor: paneer tikka. First, I liked the presentation that was really elegant. But then, the paneer was really good.

The last entree we tried was the dal makhni that was made of black lentils and beans slow cooked overnight. I love dal makhni so I was real happy to try this dish that I also ate with naan. However, know that it is a bit spicy, so raita or mango lassi could be a good idea to soothe the heat in your mouth.

We finished with dessert and went for the gulab jamun, these fried milk balls dipped in a sugar syrup. That is when I was told that the flowers on dishes were totally edible. I did not need to hear more and indeed tried the flower served with our dessert: I confirm it was edible!

We had a great dinner at Badshah. It is a great addition in Hell's Kitchen, offering a delicious menu that will satisfy vegetarians and non-vegetarians. Would I go back? Definitely!

Enjoy (I did)!

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Badshah Modern Indian - 788 9th Ave, New York, NY 10019

Indian dinner at Badshah Modern Indian in Hell's Kitchen

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