The arc, then, should be that Palo Alto could only create a restaurant like Ettan. Like, say Tamerine, which I did like in the first few years. ( Tam Tam, hard to say if it moves the Sake Bomb Curse ). Rooh, with stronger and more interesting flavors and a touch less schmaltz, had to come from somewhere else.
In other mid-peninsula indian news, Dosa Point is doing quite well on Willow, and has captured the business of more than a few who just want a pleasant meal at a reasonable price.
I was reading Rooh’s web site yesterday and they said the chef was India chef of the year a couple of times. I have no idea how meaningful that is, selection criteria, etc. But I guess having it can’t be too bad. Perhaps someone with knowledge of the India culinary scene can chime in.
I saw him chatting with a diner a few feet away, he seemed interesting enough, I should probably hold further judgement until I actually eat the food. Maybe I’ll click around for a reservation… I do recommend Rooh though ( if you have to eat in palo alto ). My go-to for indian is still aachi aapakadi in Sunnyvale, with backup as Himalayan Kitchen when I want it spicy. If I’m not in Palo Alto.
I will probably head there at some point. I am pretty bored with PA dining recently. But that’s for another topic. Trekking to Santa Clara for example takes so much time.
Rooh SF was the first in a series by this restaurant group iirc.
The NYC restaurant was next - called Baar Baar (for some reason they decided to change the name even though the menu was identical).
Looks like the Palo Alto menu is focused on the grill, with a few menu favorites from the original.
Baar Baar was my favorite modern indian place in nyc - well for about 6m - until the expansion plans came calling and the head chef left to open a New Delhi restaurant, and then a Chicago one. Looks like they’re on pace for one a year, given Rooh Palo Alto now.
The food in nyc suffered significantly once the head chef moved on to the next project. Curious how the others fare over time.
Rooh has a takeout menu during the Shelter in Place Order. I had their food a couple of times. Both were splendid.
On the left was Chicken pepper fry, slathered with an lemon aioli. Well fried. Came with a peanut chutney. Pretty nice dish. On the right was the splendid Goan Prawn Masala Curry. Their spicing was spot-on. Nothing more, nothing less. Just a delightful chorus of spices, which includes kokam in an onion/ tomato based curry. This curry was the best dish we’ve had for months. Easily a few tiers better than the popular Zareen’s on Cal Ave, which we buy from often enough. Of course, the prices are also higher than Zareen’s. But its good that Palo Alto has some good high end Indian now. I personally rate Rooh higher than Rasa in Burlingame and August 1 Five in the Civic Center neighborhood in the city.
Concur about Rooh. Twice post-covid for the takeout and the texture of the tastes is always superbly above what else is on offer in the area. Also had that Goan Prawn dish, very very nice.
Thank you for comparing the two, especially to Rasa’s. We’ve been to the latter but never to Rooh or Ettan, so I had been wondering how they all compared to one another.
One of these days, we’ll hopefully get back to traveling and be able to stop at Rooh.
And, I tried Ettan last week end. Such a different kind of menu. Instead of bold lucious spices, it’s much more “cal-indian” with bold veggies. I think I like Rooh better, but there’s a place for both.
The most interesting dish we had from Ettan was an asparagus pongal. It was a main, and it was very rich, and good california asparagus with lots of tasty little veg around it ( like microradishes? ). NOT a salad.
Lamb shank nihari was excellent. Succulent lamb. Nuanced and balanced nihari sauce. I am sure the dish looks better on a plate but it was great. The nihari sauce are steps above the nihari served at Zareen’s. Zareen’s nihari is no slouch either.
Chicken pepper fry. Quite a decent appetizer. Though after having a couple of meals here, I liked the mains quite a bit more and will be sampling through more of their mains menu.
Goan prawns and squid peri peri from late September.
Wow, this was excellent. Even though I haven’t eaten around much this year, I would put this as one of the best of the year candidates. Fresh prawns and calamaris slathered with a tomato-based sauce that were mildly spicy, a little sweet and plenty savory. Plenty of aromatic garlic to add an additional punch. Highly recommended.
I haven’t made it back to Rooh often. But if most of their other dishes taste like this, they deserve a Michelin.
