It’s take two for Mughlai Indian Cuisine on the Upper West Side. Previously located at 320 Columbus Avenue and 75th Street, Mughlai closed in 2015 to make way for another Indian restaurant – Saffron, which shuttered in 2017. That space is now under construction and will re-open again as a small pizzeria run by Jeffrey Lefcourt, founder of The Smith.
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Mughlai will return to the neighborhood at 489 Columbus Avenue between 83rd and 84th streets, taking over the space where Indian eatery Ashoka stood before closing in February.
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“We are New York City’s best-kept secret in the search for amazing Indian food,” states Mughlai’s website. Currently, they operate four locations in Manhattan with sites on the Upper East Side, Kips Bay, midtown and downtown on Cedar Street. Mughlai says their renowned chefs use “only the freshest produce and spices” to prepare their cuisine.
We still remember our favorite dishes from Mughlai, like the spicy Lamb Vindaloo or the Tandoori Chicken prepared with yogurt and spices in their clay oven. The Mughlai special dum biryani of chicken, lamb, goat, shrimp and egg slow simmered with basmati rice and whole spices is a great variety dish. It’s complimented by a robust naan selection which includes garlic, paneer, peshwari, keena and plain options. Mughlai’s paratha, a flatbread native to South Asia, also has a deep bench to choose from with aloo, mint and plain on their menu.
Mughlai Indian Cuisine currently averages a 4.5 star rating on Yelp across its four restaurants. “Good food and great price,” said one commenter before calling out their “Pillowy soft naan, extremely flavorful chicken tikka masala and buttery basmati rice.”
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It’s the same story for Mughlai on Google, where they have a 4.5 star average as well. One 5-star reviewer says, “The ginger chicken kabob is a must try! The tandoori salmon was wonderful,” at their West 55th Street location. They also point out the Mughlai staff was “all very friendly and helpful.”
While an opening date hasn’t been set, Mughlai’s hours of operation are 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch seven days a week. For dinner, they’re open from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Fridays. Saturday is 3 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. with a Sunday stop at 10 p.m.
I am glad that Mughlai is opening on Columbus, but does anyone know what happened to Ashoka? The food there was reliably good, and the owners seemed like such nice people— always gracious and accommodating.
Mughlai was my ex-wife and my go-to Indian place on the UWS; there was a period when we practically lived there. We even befriended one of the servers, who ended up as a close friend: I stayed with him at his home in Las Vegas when I was there in 2003.
Mughlai had some of the best Indian food this long-time Indian food lover has ever had. Their vegetarian thali was the best. I can still taste the chutney.
If they have maintained their previous level of food and service excellence, it is going to be hard to get a table there. 🙂