When I first came to Atlanta in the ’80s, Little Five Points was where you went for Indian food.
Then it seemed that all the city’s Indian restaurants were clustered around the intersection of Moreland and Euclid avenues. Every place had a similar menu of North Indian classics, and a cheap, set-price lunch menu that began with a cup of Mulligatawny soup and ended with a friendly, not-too-spicy curry. If you wanted to be really daring, you ordered a wicked-hot Vindaloo.
Today, the city's Indian offerings are vibrant, sophisticated, varied and far-flung, from humble vegetarian cafes in Decatur strip malls to sleekly designed tapas spots next to Lenox Square. Further elevating the scene, two Indian-born chefs who work in Atlanta — Asha Gomez (the Third Space) and Meherwan Irani (Chai Pani) — have been nominated for James Beard Foundation Awards.
Now comes Mumbai-born Paul Nair.
In March, the food-and-beverage entrepreneur behind the 8-year-old Savi Provisions gourmet-grocery chain teamed with chef Vijeesh Parayil to open Jai Ho Indian Kitchen & Bar. Occupying the ground level (formerly home to Madre + Mason) of the Belvedere condo-loft development on Dutch Valley Road, on a wedge of property tucked between Ansley Park and Morningside, Jai Ho is the new upscale Indian kid on the block.
Splashed in shades of squash and aubergine, the L-shaped room reminds me a bit of a ’90s hotel restaurant — with food to match.
There are watermelon martinis and tamarind margaritas, and a wine list worthy of an owner who built the Savi brand, in part, by selling vino. There’s a “Street Eats” menu section with dosas, chaat and a few other token pedestrian nibbles. There’s a “Chef’s Specials” list, heavy on fish and inspired by the cuisine of Southern India, from French-influenced Pondicherry (lamb with rosemary) to Kerala (Malabar prawns and tilapia wrapped in banana leaf).
But the bulk of the menu consists of Indian standards (tandooris, biryanis, kormas, masalas, etc.) — the work of a chef who is more content to play it safe than reach for the stars. At the end of it all, Jai Ho is more likely to send you out with a full tummy than a satisfied soul.
We came one Friday night expecting a feast, only to find a somewhat mixed spread.
A case in point was the Jai Ho appetizer sampler. We enjoyed its one puffy and delicious vegetable samosa (that’s right; just one for the table to share) and solid chicken tikka. But the rest of the lot (chewy vegetable pakoras; unexceptional tandoori chicken wings; pieces of so-called seekh kebab that were really just spicy lamb meatballs) seemed to be cooked in advance and kept warm, not much better than standard takeout-counter fare.
Tandoori chicken arrived on a sizzling platter with red onions, sliced carrots and cucumber, and a side of tikka sauce. It was good but would be better a little less wet and a little more charred.
Wanting for a vegetable side dish to balance the meal, our server didn’t steer us well: We ended up with a $15 entree portion of “dal makhani”: black lentils and kidney beans in a heavy sweet-spicy sauce that reminded me of Fourth of July barbecue beans. (I like the creamy black lentils with yellow currants at the DeKalb Farmers Market buffet much better.)
Naan is as essential to the Indian table as the gravy you sop up with it. Both times I tried the flatbread here, it was more chewy and biscuity than light and delicate. (The version stuffed with ground raisins and nuts did nothing to help.)
Still, there are pleasures to be had at Jai Ho, which means “let there be victory” in Hindi.
I’d be perfectly content with a starter of masala dosa (tangy rice-and-lentil crepes stuffed with spicy mashed potatoes) and a plate of lamb biryani. Both dishes are homespun and comforting and beg to be polished off with a tall Taj Mahal.
And if you are feeling ravenous for Indian food, the $14.99 Saturday and Sunday lunch buffet is a safe and dependable option. (It will even allow you to live out the fantasy of visiting a high-end hotel in India.)
But in trying to do so many things, Jai Ho is just so-so.
In a city underserved in the cuisine of Southern India (especially now that Gomez has shuttered Spice to Table), it offers a splendid opportunity. If the kitchen would only tighten its focus, the restaurant might really shine, and become the kind of culinary destination that its visionary owner wanted all along.
Let there be victory, indeed.
JAI HO INDIAN KITCHEN & BAR
11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; noon-3 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays; 5-9:30 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays; 5-10 p.m. Fridays-Saturdays; 5-9 p.m. Sundays. 560 Dutch Valley Road. N.E., Atlanta. 404-458-6888, jaihoatlanta.com.
Recommended dishes: masala dosa, lamb biryani, gulab jamun
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