Came here for a group dinner with friends. We ordered a lot of dishes and shared most of it. I love Indian food, always have.. But even more so since I got together with my partner who is from Kerala. This is to say that I have a lot of experience with great Indian food. Over all, I'm a big fan of what the team behind Dhamaka has created here. Unapologetic, bold Indian flavors. Everything was fantastic! For the food alone I would rate them 5 stars. However, for the price point, you expect more from the dining experience. Better service, a more sophisticated atmosphere.. better place settings, etc. If we had the exact same food and experience but with pre-pandemic Manhattan prices I would have given them 5 stars. But for a fairly pricey meal, I expect more.

I'm so glad I checked out Dhamaka! One of the best Indian meals I've had. It was fairly easy to snag a reservation; I hear it used to be a lot harder. I made it on the day reservations opened for the day I had in mind (2-3 weeks out) and there was plenty of availability. Come the day of the reservation, and the restaurant was hopping even on a Monday evening at 7:30. I arrived first and waited for the rest of my group to arrive before getting seated. The food menu is one page and is divided up into different sections like snacks, grill, pots, etc. which made it easy to order. There's a good variety of both veg and non-veg dishes. If it's your first time here, I would recommend coming with a larger group so you can try more items. There were 5 of us, so we ordered a number of dishes to share: Gurda kapoora ($23) - my friend recommended this dish, so we all gave it a try. Honestly couldn't tell it was made with goat kidney and testicles since everything was chopped up and cooked into a curry. We all thought it was very tasty. If only it came with a couple more pieces of pao for dipping, that'd be perfect! Afghani chicken ($31) - good flavors but the breast meat portions were a bit dry Achaari lamb ribs ($22) - I thought I wouldn't like this that much since I don't like Indian pickle (achaar), but the lamb ribs were so tender that I didn't mind the pickle flavoring as much Paneer nawabi korma ($36) - curry made with housemade paneer. This was a bit spicy but OMG the paneer was the softest paneer I've ever had, softer than even the fresh paneer I've tried in India. Nalli biryani ($75) - biryani made with slow braised lamb shank. This was my favorite dish of the night! The lamb was super tender and the rice flavorful without being too spicy. I expected it to be very spicy but somehow it wasn't that bad, which is shocking because I have extremely low tolerance. I also really enjoyed watching them cut open the bread layer sealing the pot closed. We also ordered some extra chapati and rice on the sides to eat with the curries. Please note that 20% gratuity is charged for parties of 5 or larger.

Dhamaka has been on my list for a while now and finally my friends and I were able to check it off on a spontaneous Thursday night. Dropping by without a reservation at around 8 pm, all the tables were spoken for but there were 4 spots left at the bar so we took it. It was definitely the right move, as it seems like Dhamaka is really good at table turnover/having guests show up right on the dot and I don't think we would've been able to check out the place otherwise. The cocktail menu was super interesting looking, with a lot of drinks on the savory side. However, we opted for a bottle of wine for the 4 of us. Food-wise, we got: - Nalli Biriyani: honestly we could've ordered this alone and left full. The portion was MASSIVE. The biriyani itself was pretty tasty although I wouldn't say it was an arm and a leg above all others (so honestly, unless you're going in a group of 6+ I'd say skip it and get biriyani elsewhere). - Bhopali Murgh Rezala: the chicken pot was good but again nothing super special. I'd probably try a different pot next time. - Lasooni Palek: the best dish we tried imo. Simple but bursting with flavors, we ordered it with a side of chapati. All in all a fun experience to try! A little bit on the pricier side and personally I like Adda better, but if you're in the neighborhood it's worth checking out.

With comforting food and quick service, Dhamaka is a solid Indian restaurant tucked away in Essex Market. I will start by saying though I am no expert with Indian food by any means, but I did think this meal was pretty good. For four people, we got the following and were able to finish most: -Baingan Bharta (3.5/5): we started with this eggplant dish, which was honestly pretty good. Had a bit of a kick to it with the green chili but the eggplant was perfectly grilled and minced without being overdone. -Paratha (4.5/5) and Chapati (3.5/5): we got these sides to accompany the eggplant dish, the definitely enjoyed the paratha more (it was more flaky and crisp). Great to enjoy with apps and the mains! -Nalli Biryani (3/5): came to Dhamaka pretty much since I wanted to try this famous dish, but it wasn't my favorite dish of the night. It was extremely spicy (I have a lower spice tolerance), but the rice also felt a bit dense and dry + the lamb was not as tender as I hoped. It paired well with the yogurt sauce on the side though, which cut through the spice. -Bhopali Murgh Rezala (5/5): this was actually my top dish of the night. It wasn't spicy at all which is probably why I liked it but the chicken was also really tender and the sauce was relatively lighter and paired nicely with the parathi. -Paneer Nawabi Korma (5/5): probably some of the best paneer I ever had... it was so extremely soft! The paste was also great and had the nice texture of some nuts, but was also on the spicier side. Honestly, a really close second for me. We also got some drinks to share! Never had Indian-inspired cocktails before so was excited to try these: -Aam Sutra (4/5): this was my favorite drink -- it was super refreshing, a bit like a spicy margarita -Goan Gangster (3/5): this drink was really unique and came in a mini coconut, but I am personally not the hugest fan of whiskey-based drink (although the whisky in here is more subtle). The coconut foam though is really fun -- it's super light and really tasty, kinda like a cloud. A bit on the more expensive side, but all the food comes out really fast (we were in and out in an hour) and tastes pretty high quality!

Dhamaka is located within Essex market on the corner. While Essex closes at 8, Dhamaka does stay open until 10 PM. I highly recommend a reservation because this place is quite busy. In terms of food my friend had warned that the spice levels are too high. She had come here a while ago. This is why we were quite careful when we ordered. Everything we ordered was very flavorful but not too hot to handle. I don't know if the level of heat has changed over the years. Next time I will definitely try to order more variety of dishes with less caution. Everything we ate was extremely delicious. We got the: 1. Nalli dum biryani- this was literally at every single table and I understand why. It is really delicious and a good size portion. 2. Ajwani paneer tikka- i tend to be someone who prefers meat but this was my favorite dish. I loved the flavor on this 3. Bhopali Murgh Rezala- this is a delicious chicken curry. I highly recommend this one as well. It is on the mild side 4. Naan- even their naan is better than the average naan 5. Lassi- this is dessert in a cup. I am not one to skip dessert but in this case I did. This is really so delicious that I keep craving it and would go back just for this. Overall, great experience. Seating is a little tight but it was fine.