ISHQ: The New Indian Spot in Town!
I know… I know… Those of you reading may just think this is just another rave review about a butter chicken dish in NYC, but I promise you, ISHQ offers you so much more.
From their chicken tikka to their lamb biriyani, everything was so flavorful and delicious. ISHQ opened back in October and have not gotten the recogition it deserves.
Gupshup $15
We started our meal off with the Gupshup which were these light and crispy puffs that you fill with chickpeas and tamerind water. This was a MUST GET item for me, it is light, airy and packed with flavor. This perfect to share and honestly addicting to eat.
Jalebi Chaat $19
The second small plate we got was this jalebi chaat, and the one thing that stood out to me in this dish was the pomegranate seeds! It added this sweetness to the dish that really made it well-balanced and delicious. Jalebi is the south asian style of cooking where they deep fry maida flour batter into normally circles (like the image) or into a pretzel shape!
chicken tikka $23
Okay, moving on to the bigger dishes! I present you with the juiciest, and frankly, one of the best chicken tikkas I have had in the city. I was surprised as they brought it over and lit it on fire table side, which I give A+ for presentation, but also made me wonder if it would taste as amazing as the show was. The only reason I had my doubts was solely because many restaurants do gimmicks such as lighting things on fire, tableside service and etc for social media, but then tend to lack in flavor. THIS WAS NOT THE CASE! This chicken was a generous portion and cooked perfectly. Juicy, packed with flavor, and honestly, I am still thinking about this dish.
Nizami Lamb Chops $31
Now we have the nizami lamb chops, which were tender and very well seasoned. They were not my favorite dish of the night, but it was solid. It had a nice kick to it, and the yogurt almost labneh like sauce at the bottom really balanced out the dish nicely.
Lamb Biriyani $37
As you can see, the lamb biriyani is HUGE! This is the perfect dish to order for the table to share, and no one will be disappointed. The lamb shank is fall-off-the-bone tender and spiced to perfection. The rice is seasoned, and wow, each bite was just perfection!
Dum Ka Gosht (goat curry) $33
If you have not tried goat… then try it like this! I got to say it was so tender, and the only critique I have is I wish the meat was deboned, so I did not have to worry about taking the meat off! But overall, the curry was delicious, comforting, and packed with flavor, but at this point, I expected nothing less, as nothing was underseasoned at ISHQ!
Kala Jamun Tart $17
Finishing off our dinner with this tart, which I really enjoyed. It was not overly sweet and gooey inside, making it my ideal dessert! The chocolate pearls were a nice touch, and also the presentation was gorgeous, and I was happy to say just as amazing as the dessert itself.
Overall, ISHQ was a bit hit for me, and as a fairly new spot in NYC, I would not be surprised if it started booking up quickly on RESY! So I highly recommend you guys to give this new business some love and go try their amazing dishes and let us know your thoughts!
