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Williamsburg's Tikka Indian Grill Expands to Kew Gardens

By Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska | July 22, 2016 2:20pm | Updated on July 24, 2016 1:20pm
 Chicken tikka masala and saag at Tikka Indian Grill in Kew Gardens.
Chicken tikka masala and saag at Tikka Indian Grill in Kew Gardens.
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DNAinfo/Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska

QUEENS — A Williamsburg-based Indian restaurant recently opened its new outpost in Kew Gardens, bringing traditional Indian flavors with a modern twist to the neighborhood, the owners said.

Tikka Indian Grill, at 119-30 Metropolitan Ave., replaced Venue, a Middle Eastern restaurant which closed last year.

Tikka, spearheaded by Bangladesh-born chef Malika Khan, launched its first restaurant in Williamsburg, at 185 Grand St., just off of Bedford Avenue, in the fall last year, earning rave reviews.

“We serve traditional Indian cuisine from all over India but in our styling and the way we do everything it’s a little bit New Age, not like your average Indian restaurant where it looks very old school,” said Chandler Ramcharitar who works at the new Kew Gardens location.

The menu which includes both Northern and Southern Indian options, offers various seafood and meat dishes, like its signature chicken chop ($14.95), as well as chicken tikka masala ($13.95) and shrimp malai curry ($16.95).

 

 

You have to try it to believe it. Chicken chop made in our in house tandoori oven. Tikka Indian grill never lets your down l.

A photo posted by Kew Gardens New york (@tikka_indian_grill) on

 

Also on the menu are several vegetarian options, including saag, or pureed spinach with choice of chickpeas or paneer cheese ($11.95) and baigan bharta, which is smoked pureed eggplant with light ghee ($11.95).

The restaurant uses fresh ingredients from local markets, and everything "is made from scratch," including breads and sauces, Ramcharitar said, adding that dishes are baked in a clay oven, or tandoor.

The restaurant, which is BYOB at the moment, features a large outdoor patio which can sit up to 30 people, Ramcharitar said. About 25 patrons can dine inside the restaurant, including nine at the bar.

The family-owned eatery is also planning to open another location in Astoria, Ramcharitar said.

(DNAinfo/Ewa Kern-Jedrychowska)