Benares, located on Murray Street offers downtowners a spot to satisfy their Indian food cravings.

Owned by restaurateur Inder Singh (formerly of Devi/ Baluchi’s) along with General Manager Ranbir Bhatia, Benares offers a menu which covers the diverse range of dishes, that the different states of India offer.

One of the best things I sampled at lunch was their unique version of a tikka – called the “Chicken Tikka Smokey”. These tikkas are made with boneless chicken marinated in smoked curry yogurt, grilled and served with mint chutney. They were really plump, juicy and delicious.

Benares offers really great lunch prix-fixe for ($10.95-18.95), where one can get a choice of three courses in vegetarian, non-vegetarian, seafood or tandoori, all served with Banarsi dal, steamed rice, naan or paratha and dessert. That is one heck of a deal. What I really like is that they don’t do a buffet – rather focus on “a la carte” dishes made fresh for each table.

The drinks menu offers a plethora of Indian accented cocktails, along with a well-curated beer and global wine list. Do save room for dessert as you don’t want to miss creation such as the “Atomic Bomb” (Ranbir’s favorite dessert) made with a warmed chocolate lava cake served with rose-flavored ice cream. The combination was genius!!