Author: jean komatsu
Last saved by: GCS

Everest Café (lunch)
1645 Solano Avenue, Berkeley, CA
http://berkeley.eat24hours.com/restaurant/everest-cafe/2674/index.php
Review date: March 2011

Carlos and I stopped in for lunch. We wanted to compare this tiny, pleasant Himalayan restaurant with Himalayan Flavors/Berkeley, which we visited two weeks ago. We tried the exact same dishes, making the comparison easier.

Although Northern Indian/Asian food is never as spicy-hot as Southern Indian curries, it still has a bit of a chile kick. With its emphasis on fresh herbs and spices, it has a more flowery, aromatic cast to its food than Southern Indian restaurants.

The chicken mo-mo's with tomato chutney were very good, but not quite as stuffed full as Himalayan Flavors' were. The chutney was a bit spicer than Himalayan Flavors' dip, but with more flavor of coarse-ground cashew nuts in it. 

The saag paneer, fresh cheese cubes in spinach sauce, was the best version I've had in any restaurant. The curried spinach was delicious, and the cheese cubes were truly fresh, fried golden on the outside but still moist inside. A small dish of tart tamarind chutney with yellow mustard seeds is served with it, and really perks things up with the contrast of flavors.

Sadly, the mixed tandoor grill was not as good. It's cheaper than HF, but the lamb are in tiny dice, the chicken remain in big cubes, and two shrimp all sit atop too much green cabbage with only a few onion shreds and some raw broccoli florets. The flavor was good, but the meat had overcooked and was too dry, and cabbage doesn't caramelize on the iron platter the way onions do – it just chars.

The raita is good, but not as generous as their competitor. On the plus side, the chai is good and free refills – at Himalayan Flavors we spent $16 on 4 tiny espresso cups of chai, which was ridiculous. Be aware that at Everest, the iced tea is also chai, half strength and very cold.

We ordered the onion naan bread and liked it, although they don't saute the onions first, just dice finely and put them in the batter, which makes the onion flavor very mild, especially compared to Breads of India and some of the others. It’s a less-puffy naan than Himalayan Flavors, which gave it a minor point from Carlos as he prefers the flatter traditional Indian naan.

We enjoyed Everest and would definitely come back for the saag paneer and to try some of their regular curries. Himalayan Flavors has a nicer interior, slightly higher prices, the grilled meats are perfectly on-point, and it offers some intriguing lamb and noodle dishes Everest doesn't carry, to offset that overpriced chai. But that latter fault really bothers Carlos, who adores chai in large quantities with his curries, so Everest and our other favorite, Indus Village Pakistani/Berkeley, win on that important issue.

One starter, two entrees, two beverages, with tip was a modest $58.