Ghazal Indian Cuisine
131 Broadway @2nd Street, Jack London Square, Oakland
Review date:  June 2008

This new Indian restaurant opened up so Carlos and I tried it one night. If you’re in the area – say, hitting the Barnes & Noble bookstore – it’s worth a try if you like Indian food. 

Nothing unusual, but we tried the Fish Pakora, Matter Paneer (cheese cubes and peas in spicy gravy), and Tandoori Mixed grill. All of them were good, and prices are reasonable. This is something fairly rare in the JLS area, especially for dinner. Up until now Hahn’s Hibachi was the only other moderate-cost dinner choice in this area.

You can order your dishes mild, medium, hot and extra hot. The matter paneer in “hot” was fine for me; Carlos would order extra hot. Of the items from the Tandoori, the lamb cubes and lamb kebabs were clear winners; the chicken and shrimps were tasty but overcooked.

Another good thing was the tandoori was not oversalted, as many of them are. Note the iced chai is not sweetened, and there’s no sugar on the table so you’ll need to ask for it. 

Also, some of the waitstaff can’t speak much English. The restaurant is good-sized and so far, almost empty.

Prices: one starter, one naan, rice, raita, two entrees, with tip: $54