Punjabi Curry Cafe

Overview

Owned by married couple Raj and Krystle, Punjabi Curry Cafe in Collingwood serves up authentic North Indian cuisine, without boasting about any modern twists. This stuff is the real deal, and with 15 years experience as restaurateurs, they know what they're doing. 

The restaurant features an exposed tandoor oven, so while you wait for your meal to arrive, you can sit back with a drink and watch the chefs skilfully fry up some of the best naan bread in Melbourne. 

The menu is extensive, with a vegetarian list that puts most other restaurants to shame. Highlights include the palak paneer, a fresh spinach and cottage cheese dish cooked with herbs, tomato and spices, and the shimla aloo jeera, a dish of capsicum and potato cooked with cumin and spices. 

Elsewhere, meat eaters aren't forgotten, with a range of lamb, beef, goat and seafood to choose from. If ordering goat the goat masala is excellent, cooked in the chef's special mixture of mushroom, tomato and capsicum. Then there's the delicious Punjabi kadai. King prawns are cooked in a traditional wok with fresh tomatoes, onions, capsicum, ginger, garlic and spices — it is as authentic a dish you'll find anywhere. 

Wash all this down with a good selection of beer and cider, including Kingfisher lager on tap, or a glass wine from their modest but well curated wine list. There is also a fair selection of whiskies to indulge in, depending on the kind of night you're having. If you're after something other than booze, then try one of its lassies, including mango or namkeen.