The one half of my family is from South India but I damn do love me some North Indian cuisine. So can you imagine my delight when I was recently invited to come and try out the menu at the Ghazal in Melrose Arch.

Now I am not a professional foodie by a long shot but I sure do love food and love eating out even more.

Ghazal recently opened their second restaurant in the prestigious  Melrose Arch. I love love love the Bryanston one so was hoping this one was just as nice. Nestled in a sexy corner on the original side of the ‘arch’ (near the African themed restaurant) you don’t have to bump into the usual ‘Sandtonites’ that you really don’t want to see. There is parking just below the restaurant which makes this super convenient and easy.

I decided to take my bestie along and make a night out of it. Entering the restaurant, you get the sense of an elegant upmarket experience, unlike so many Indian food offerings in Sandton. This was nice.

The staff are super friendly and welcoming from the entrance. We were ushered to our booth which could easily fit 10 people. We felt special. We started the evening off with a glass of a fruity white wine perfect for the chilly night.

First up we had a platter with a selection of colourful eats: Pieces of Chicken Tikka, Onion Badjia, Chicken and Lamb Samoosa’s,(in true North indian style, these were almost the size of my fist) and of course all the sauces to go along with it. Loved the spices which was rich in flavour yet not too overwhelming for my ‘non-lover-of-spice’ date. The chicken was tender and very very very juicy, cooked to perfection. Did I mention it was juicy.

Next we had some more wine which the waiter kept refilling.

For our mains, we were just boring. I had the Lamb Vindaloo (my standard comparison meal) and Chicken Biryani. This was accompanied with rice and butter / garlic naan. But when the eating began, there was nothing boring about it at all. It was like a feast right at our table. My lamb was simply delicious, tender and super spicy – just the way I loved it. Her biryani was to die for – not too dry, just right. There was alot of food left over and the waiter offered to pack it up for us for take-away. Hubby was pleased shame!

By the end of the meal, we had already decided it was the best meal we had in a long long time and would be back again and again. Needless to say I have been back maybe three / four times before even doing this review.

We had some more wine but simply did not have any space left for dessert. We ended the night off with a coffee and chat on their ‘stoep’ which was a suggestion from the manager. We sat on their outdoor swing and chatted for another hour before realizing we were the last people left in the place. Sadly we had to leave and get back to our families who were left home to fend for themselves.

Awesome experience we had at Ghazal. Try it out for yourself.

8.5/10