L’Etoile du Pandjab

11 rue de Beaugrenelle in the 15th

Metro : Charles Michel

In need of something spicy and hot during the cold June gloom we had, we decided to try out another Indian restaurant. This one was a ways from the Eiffel Tour in the 15th, but overall, quite good. The portions were filling, the presentation satisfying, and the food yummy (although not spicy).

L’Etoile du Pandjab is hidden amongst the residential area of the 15th (or should I say, the residential area that is the 15th). The interior is decorated pinkish redish whitish – heck, the normal colors of the majority of Indian and Pakistanian restos. We were surprisingly greeted by a smiling large Caucasian woman. Take that for being a non-stereotypical Indian restaurant! We think she was married to the man working behind the counter, an older and shall we say, “darker” man. She was quite friendly and very happy to explain all the dishes and strange looking things that were put before us, without patronizing our lack of knowledge of Middle Eastern cuisine.

We ordered an eggplant entrée (sorry, don’t remember the names), which was quite tasty, especially with the normal 3 sauces (a weird fruity sweetish one, a green more spicy one (reminded me of salsa verde), and the last which was a mix of vegetables and spices and was the most spicy. The eggplant was fried and laid on a bed of greens.

I ordered a lamb curry (red) and my significant other took a chicken curry (green I recall- I think it was because of the spinach). My lamb was quite good, however my only complaint was that the lady asked if I wanted it spicy and I said “oui,” and it was not at all spicy. Of course, adding that third sauce to your plate always makes things better, but I still wish it had more kick. Still good though – and the woman was super nice to let us have refills on the rice for free! The chicken curry was mixed with spinach (hence the green) and was very good. It gave a spin on the normal chicken curry. My bf also took a cheese naan – can never fail there.

For dessert, we have no idea what we took. All the better, right? It came in tall glasses, apparently rhum was used, plus sugar, and it looked like large brown pool balls. It tasted like donuts to me. Yup. Fried donuts with raw sugar and rhum. Yum times. They didn’t have much choice of desserts unfortunately, and the other choice was an almond pastry which is not my fav, but this one wasn’t too bad.

It wasn’t too expensive, if I recall, about 20-24 euros for the menu (entrée + plat +dessert). Naan was 5 euros. I would recommend this restaurant to someone who is in the area of the 15th to go and try it, but make sure to ask for extra spicy!!!