India Oven Masala Bar & Grill
Goat Korma
Butter Chicken
Saag Paneer
Butter Naan
Basmati Rice
Pakora
Vegetable Samosa
Lamb Seekh Kebob
Tamarind Chutney
Gulab Jamun
Gajar Halwa
Located at 1040 East Flamingo Road, an area once dense with Indian Restaurants and UNLV students, it was late 2017 that owner Ulzan Mehta merged India Oven and India Masala to become India Oven Masala Bar & Grill, the interior one of Las Vegas’ most elegant and its combination of dishes representing North and South India offering a great deal of diversity.
Not far from Maryland Parkway and the National Atomic Testing Museum, a lifting of COVID-19 restrictions recently returning India Oven Masala’s popular Buffet, it was for the third time this year that catering was requested across town on Wednesday, the spread for 25 guests arriving on-time, temperature appropriate and complete with all seviceware, plates and utensils.
Happy to let the accountant-turned-cook concoct a menu, six prior events pleasing a variety of guests, it was with bold aromas perfuming the office that attendees gathered plates and perused options before selecting, recognizable items such as Kebobs, Naan and Rice predictably going first while Samosas also proved popular thanks to both their familiarity and taste.
Slower to accept Saag Paneer, its visual appeal always in question even though the combination of springy Cheese and Spinach is unquestionably delicious, it was no surprise that Butter Chicken many mistakenly called Tikka Masala also went quickly, the brightness of Coriander particularly noteworthy while creamy Gravy helped sell many on Bone-In Goat Korma.
Requesting extra Chicken on this visit, plus golden Pakora that are good on their own but better with Chutney, it was after a few more pieces of Naan that Dessert was enjoyed, several Syrup-soaked Orbs followed by impeccable Gajar Halwa that still ranks as the best to grace this writer’s mouth.
N/A: Making it blog policy to not ‘rate’ places based on catering alone there are only a few Indian Restaurants in town that offer the breadth and quality to please a diverse staff, and on Wednesday Ulzan Mehta and his team at India Oven Masala Bar & Grill outperformed expectations once again.
RECOMMENDED: Butter Naan, Vegetable Samosa, Goat Korma, Saag Paneer, Tamarind Chutney, Gajar Halwa, Gulab Jamun.
AVOID: N/A.
TIP: Currently 11:30a-3:00p and 5:00p-10:00p daily.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
www.indiamasalalasvegas.com
